Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Purified Waters and In-Law Chaos
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Gulp, gulp!
“Phew! This water tastes amazing!”
A mercenary who had scooped up water from an oak barrel and chugged it down let out a refreshing exclamation as he wiped his chin.
His nearby comrades chimed in one after another.
“Right? Weirdly, the water’s been tasting better lately, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah. It used to be murky even after boiling, but now it’s so crisp it clears your insides right out.”
“Feels like all the grease in your gut is getting washed away?”
“Exactly! Even my bowel movements are better now.”
“Look at this guy’s skin. Smooth as can be—like he’s shedding or something.”
Indeed. It wasn’t just about taste; digestion had improved too, which was a huge relief for those suffering from constipation.
It was even impacting sales at the makeshift tavern run by the supply unit.
The main reason the troops drank ale so often was the poor quality of the water, but with water this good, there was no need for ale anymore.
“Heh heh! Wondering why the water suddenly tastes so good? I know the reason.”
A knight spoke up, and the water admirers gathered around him, eyes wide.
“Oh yeah?”
“Did they spike it with something? Like spit from some fancy noble lady?”
“You filthy bastard!”
“In our line of work, that’s a bonus!”
“Ke ke ke!”
“You lunatics. That’s not it.”
The knight smirked and replied, then suddenly turned serious.
“You guys hear about Sir Eugene? No, Duke Eugene Valtara. Word’s spreading among the nobles that he captured an evil spirit and purified it.”
“Huh?”
“Evil spirit? Sir, is that for real?”
The mercenaries’ expressions changed.
They were superstitious. And in the mercenary world, it was taken as fact that armies that failed demon hunts or lost battles had evil spirits attached to them.
“That’s right. But His Grace captured the sneaky bastard and purified it himself.”
“Ooh! As expected!”
“Only he could pull that off! Yeah!”
The mercenaries’ faces lit up instantly.
Strictly speaking, vampires and evil spirits were much the same, but the Duke Eugene they’d seen and experienced was nothing like the wicked vampires preached about in church.
To enemies, he was the Grim Reaper incarnate, but to allies, he was the most trustworthy commander and upright lord in the world.
He even walked around bare-skinned in broad daylight without issue, which led to rumors among the mercenaries like this:
- Duke Eugene is a vampire beloved by the gods!
Everyone knew vampires feared sunlight, so to explain Eugene shattering that common knowledge, what else could it be?
And a Eugene like that could certainly exorcise an evil spirit.
“But what’s that got to do with the water tasting better?”
“Heh heh! Well, His Grace showed mercy to the thing. Instead of destroying it, he commanded it to use its mystical power to purify the water. Now that it’s purified, it’s not an evil spirit anymore—it’s a noble spirit!”
Ooooh!!!
The mercenaries who finally learned the real reason for the water’s change exclaimed in unison.
“Isn’t he just incredible? His Grace didn’t do it for himself—he did it for all of us.”
At the knight’s words, the mercenaries nodded repeatedly with moved expressions.
A commander who thought of his subordinates first!
The ideal hero from stories was none other than their leader, Duke Eugene.
Of course, that hero wasn’t quite as idealistic or generous as they idolized.
* * *
“Since the water changed, the troops’ loyalty has skyrocketed.”
“Good work.”
“Yes, sir.”
Partek, now a captain of a hundred, saluted and left. Eugene smiled in satisfaction.
“Heh heh! No more stomach issues, and combat effectiveness will rise too, right?”
“Of course. These aren’t short-term hires—they’re long-term. If one guy gets sick, it turns into an epidemic in days.”
“A lot of them were suffering from the old water. Lucky for me I’m a vampire. Heh heh.”
Galpredic chuckled. Vampires were mostly immune to poisons and diseases harmful to humans.
“Anyway, with this, morale won’t be an issue.”
Lanslo’s advice was spot-on, based on his experience moving from Brantia to the Kaylor Kingdom.
Eugene’s army now consisted of about three hundred Brantian mercenaries and men from Kaylor.
Food was one thing, but water quality affected everyone greatly, and many had been suffering from it.
That’s why Eugene prioritized supplying them with the purified drinking water cleansed by Mirian, who was finally doing water spirit work.
As a result, stomach ailments vanished completely, and Partek’s team’s opinion campaign(?) boosted loyalty even further.
“Fewer sick guys means they’ll fight better going forward. Like loyal warhorses.”
Eugene hadn’t purified and supplied the water because he particularly liked the troops.
He just wanted his underlings in top shape to fight—for his own convenience!
“Such a coldly pragmatic decision, but hardly any nobles actually follow through. As expected of Your Grace. Ha ha.”
“Me? Aren’t the ones who don’t grasp or follow that simple principle the weird ones? Hmm.”
Eugene tilted his head, genuinely puzzled by Lanslo’s words.
Lanslo and Galpredic exchanged glances and laughed at the sight.
Perhaps this was what made their employer and master truly special.
Doing what everyone knew in their heads but couldn’t due to greed, as if it were nothing.
Even if his goal was pure pragmatism—no, especially because it was—they couldn’t help but rate him higher. That was Eugene’s uniqueness.
“Luke. The map.”
“Yes, Master!”
Luke, beaming with pride beside him, quickly unrolled the Brantia map.
“Hmm. So we’ve taken about thirty percent of mainland Brantia?”
Lanslo traced a line on the map with his finger.
“Yes. From here to here—the entire southwest region is now Your Grace’s territory.”
“Hard to tell from the map, but how big is it?”
“About twice the size of the Winslon earldom. Bigger than the Karlsbagen Peninsula.”
“Ho.”
Eugene’s eyes gleamed at the territory now vast enough to call a nation.
“Over twenty sub-lords, and three major ones like the Liward barony. In Brantian history, families that secured this much land all claimed kingship and founded dynasties.”
“I see. How does it compare to Kaylor Kingdom?”
Lanslo smiled awkwardly at Eugene’s question.
“That’s one of the top five kingdoms on the continent. You’d need to unify all of Brantia to match it.”
“No. I see it differently.”
Galpredic shook his head and stepped forward.
“As Master knows, Kaylor’s royals can’t even control their great nobles or free cities. Maren and Mopern outright ignore them. Meanwhile, Master already holds two Brantian cities. In real power, I’d say Master outranks Kaylor’s royals.”
“Hmm. Hearing Sir Galpredic, that does seem right.”
“Indeed.”
Even after coming this far from nothing, Eugene’s expression remained calm.
Lanslo spoke up in a more serious tone.
“How about pausing here to solidify internal bonds? Set firm borders, exterminate bandits and roamer monsters completely. Oh, and tour the demon realms once.”
“Hmm. The land’s bigger, but not fully stable yet. I agree with Lanslo.”
“Sir Durak’s opinion is good, but I’ll follow Master’s lead.”
Galpredic and Luke nodded to Lanslo’s words.
“Hmm.”
Eugene scanned the map sharply, then looked up.
“No. We don’t stop.”
“Pardon?”
“Huh?”
To the three surprised men, Eugene spoke in a firm voice.
“The same thought you just had—any Brantian force claiming kingship will think it too, right?”
“Umm. Probably…”
“That’s why we can’t stop here. What happens when a raging typhoon settles in one spot? The storm dies down, the force weakens. Same for us. Resting now would just kill our momentum.”
“Oh!”
“As expected of Master!”
Eugene continued, looking at each in turn.
“Galpredic, Lanslo. You come with me to continue the conquest. First, settle the ransom with the Fransil family, then decide whether to fight or ally based on their reaction.”
“Ku ku ku! As Master wills!”
“Understood. And after that, it’s obviously that, right?”
Lanslo grinned, and Eugene nodded with gleaming eyes.
“Yeah. We head for the northern Byman Orcs.”
There were other human factions claiming kingship besides Fransil, but they were lighterweights compared to the Byman Orcs.
The human ones relied on royal bloodlines and legitimacy over actual power.
But the Byman Orcs truly dominated northern Brantia.
“Um, Master? What about me?”
As his squire, Luke wanted to assist and fight alongside Eugene, so he asked cautiously.
Eugene turned to him with a sullen look.
“Isn’t it obvious? You handle territory stabilization and demon realm subjugation.”
“Me? Me, sir?”
“Yeah. You’re the only one the Brantian locals will bow to without complaint or issue. Lord Crollmarin.”
“Ah…”
Eugene smirked at Luke, who looked stunned, embarrassed, wistful, and reluctant all at once.
“I’ll give you Randolph and the Brantian troops. Reference Pitamoras’ advice and give it a shot. Rally the city leaders and lords properly. It won’t be easy. But I…”
Thud!
Eugene placed a hand on Luke’s shoulder, his face grave and solemn.
“I trust you.”
“…!”
I trust you~ trust you~ trust you~ trust you~
Eugene’s final words echoed in Luke’s mind. His heart pounded wildly, eyes reddening.
Loyalty to his master blazed like wildfire amid surging emotion.
Luke rubbed his teary eyes and dropped to one knee before Eugene.
“As Master’s squire and Count of Crollmarin! I’ll stake my life and soul to live up to your trust!”
“Good. I trust you.”
Eugene nodded with perfect ducal solemnity.
But inwardly, he smirked wickedly.
‘Now I’ve dumped the biggest hassle on him. It’s what you’ll be doing till you die anyway, so consider it practice.’
As expected, Lord Eugene never took a loss.
“Then let’s head out immediately.”
At Eugene’s order, the two knights left to assemble the captains.
Soon, Eugene’s army split: Brantian troops under Luke and Randolph, the rest under Eugene.
“You lot! Time to march!”
Wooooah!
The mercenaries who’d crossed the sea dreaming of fame and fortune roared back heartily.
Sky-high morale and unshakeable confidence fired up everyone’s spirits.
But.
“Kkiee… Kkhik hik! Spare meee. My body’s rotting awayyy. Wanna playyy. Wanna resttt. Pleeease, milorddd.”
The golden evil spirit—no, the water spirit finally back to its true lazy self—sobbed after twelve hours daily of grueling labor soaked in filthy water.
“I’ll cut it to eight barrels depending on how you do.”
“Kkhik hik! Thank yooou, milord. You’re all I got. Forgive this fool. Kki heh heh hik!”
The spirit, struck by justice’s iron fist, knelt in repentance—a pitiful sight.
“Good. I’ll put two gold coins in your piggy bank each month. Behave till you’re grown, and I’ll give it all at once.”
“M-milordiiiing!”
The spirit flung itself into Eugene’s chest, nuzzling desperately.
Lanslo whispered to Galpredic at the sight.
“His kid-handling skills are top-tier, huh?”
“Yeah. Poor future kids. They’ll be under Daddy’s thumb till they die.”
* * *
Days later, Eugene and his army reached near Valtara ducal castle again, encountering a patrol unit on rounds.
“Reporting to Your Grace!”
The scout captain leading them prostrated urgently before Eugene.
“Hm? Trouble at the castle?”
“No, not that. Actually, the ones who came to negotiate Lord Lorraine’s ransom…”
As the scout continued, Eugene’s expression shifted.
“So, the Fransil family’s eldest son was captured by the Brodia royals?”
“Y-yes!”
“And those Brodia royal knights said… to free their in-law, surrender to me?”
“Y-yes, that’s it.”
“…”
Eugene wondered if he’d understood correctly.
‘Fransil family as my in-laws? Meaning I’m with that girl…’
Eugene’s gaze naturally turned to Lorraine.
Already downcast after her semi-forced(?) parting from Luke, Lorraine’s face was now ghostly pale.
“M-me? M-marry Your Grace? Me? Why, why me? Whyyyy! Waaah!”
“M-miss.”
Lorraine burst into tears, comforted by knight Bonmer.
“Your Grace. What’s going on? Marrying into Fransil? What about your promise to me? Weighing us Elrand against that failing house!”
Prabo, face hardened, demanded answers.
“What? Failing house? Master Prabo! You done talking?”
“How dare Master Prabo speak like that!”
Elrand’s elf knights raged at Prabo, while Fransil knights snapped back.
Eugene, unfairly painted as a bigamist schemer, stood amid the chaos alone.
(To be continued in the next chapter)