Chapter 35: The Fall
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 35: The Fall
My eyes flew open. A clear, bright light was seeping through the gap in the window. I'd spent the last three days tumbling with Sophia and Aenya, forgetting day and night, yet my body felt strangely light. It wasn't just a feeling.
My Stamina Stat had gone up by one. It seemed the saying that sex was a form of exercise wasn't just a joke. After all, satisfying two women at once wasn't easy, even for a man as virile as me.
"Mmm..."
As I sat up, the blanket had slipped down, letting in the chill of the dawn air. Aenya, shivering slightly, burrowed into the arms of Sophia, who was lying across from her.
Sophia's arm instinctively wrapped around Aenya. The two, whose relationship had been no better than Cinderella and her stepmother, now looked as close as a real parent and child. It was all thanks to my efforts.
Of course, once they woke up, they'd go back to not even looking at each other, as if nothing had happened.
In truth, their bodies had just grown accustomed to each other after three days of frenzied passion. Still, wasn't this a huge step forward?
I gave their two uniquely charming asses a pat before leaving the room. A servant, just back from his leave, was sweeping the hallway.
"Ah, Lord Allen."
The servant was clearly flustered. He wore an expression that said he didn't know what to make of me emerging from Sophia's room so early in the morning.
I wonder if he'd faint if he knew Aenya was in there too? I spoke with a nonchalant expression.
"When the two of them wake, bring them something easy to eat."
"Yes? Ah, yes. I understand."
There was no need to hide our relationship. Rather, by revealing that I had Sophia in my grasp, I was making the servants realize something: no one in this mansion could stand in my way anymore.
They probably had a rough idea already, but there's a big difference between knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes, isn't there?
I left the bowing servant behind me. After grabbing a quick breakfast in the dining hall, I mounted my horse. I was heading to Quaran. It was my first outing in nearly two weeks.
"I knew it! They say resolutions last three days! We were all fooled. Changed? My ass. Once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel. If that bastard really changed, I'll change my name."
The moment I stepped through the guild's main gate, I heard a voice that was unmistakably cursing me. Piole was striking a wooden dummy with a blunted sword, her face full of discontent.
"Change your name? Are you planning on getting married?"
"I wouldn't be against it! Because that bastard will never change!"
"Then you should change it to Tobalts."
"What? What does that—!"
Only then did Piole turn to face me. Her eyes gradually widened. As my face was reflected in her now-round pupils, her focus zeroed in on my wound.
"You, your face...?"
"What? Does it suit me?"
Aenya had done her best to treat it, but with the level of medical technology in this era, it was impossible to restore it to its original state. Once the scab fell off, a sword scar would remain, running from under my eye across my cheekbone.
However, my Stamina Stat could be a variable. A high enough Stamina Stat had an effect similar to a troll's regeneration.
"Don't be ridiculous! You look even worse now. Seriously, don't go around looking at people like that. You've got a face that's just begging for a fight."
My eyes were naturally sanpaku, which made me look like I was looking down on people. With the addition of a scar across my cheekbone, I gave off the distinct vibe of an arrogant thug. I'd already confirmed this in a bronze mirror.
"So, what's your answer?"
"Answer? What answer?"
"Didn't you decide to change your name? To Tobalts."
Piole tilted her head, then, belatedly recalling her own words, her face turned beet red in an instant.
"Wh-what kind of bullshit is that?! When did I ever!"
"You're denying it? Did your dream change? To a liar knight?"
"Are you going to keep spouting bullshit!?"
Without warning, Piole swung her sword. It was blunted, but in the hands of someone with her skill, it was still a weapon capable of splitting flesh and breaking bone.
In that instant, time slowed. It was a world I was now growing accustomed to. But there was one difference.
Piole's attack was slower than I'd seen before. Was it just an illusion because it had been a while? I knew it wasn't when I easily parried a surprise attack that I would have been unable to block before.
"You...?"
Piole's eyes went wide. She seemed more surprised than I was. I readjusted my grip and pointed my sword at her.
"It looks like you're the one who's been slacking off."
"So you really want to go at it!"
Piole grabbed a blunted sword identical to her own from a nearby rack and tossed it to me.
"You're angry, but not so much that you've lost your reason? You've grown mentally, I see. My mistake."
"Hey, are you messing with me?!"
Piole immediately swung her sword. The speed was slow, proving that our previous exchange hadn't been a fluke. This time, I was prepared and could block it even more easily.
"You just figured that out? You still have a long way to go. Keep training."
"You son of a bitch!"
Piole swung her sword relentlessly. Her clean strikes, free of any unnecessary movement, still aimed for my vital points.
I held my breath and matched her rhythm. Blocking wasn't difficult, even though my body's reactions were still as slow as a slug's.
Why? Why was it different from before? Suddenly, the final move Roland had shown me flashed through my mind. I instinctively compared him to Piole and found the answer to my question.
'My field of vision... it's expanded?'
It was a conceptual expansion. My actual sight was the same, but I could see more within that field of vision.
Before, my eyes had only followed the sword. Now, they were catching the subtle movements of my opponent's body.
For instance, I could see the muscles in her arm tense before the sword moved, and the path it would take was naturally drawn in my mind.
It wasn't that Piole had gotten slower; my eyes had gotten better. It seemed they'd been upgraded after Roland had taught me a harsh lesson for only focusing on the blade.
The moment I realized this, I also understood why I could so easily block Piole's attacks.
'Piole's swordsmanship is too honest.'
Head, neck, wrist, chest, then head again, wrist, neck...
Her sword only targeted fatal weak points or specific areas that would incapacitate an opponent. The rest were just gaps not covered by armor. That's why it was so easy to predict and evade.
"You don't have any real combat experience, do you?"
"...Wh-what! That's not true!"
Her reply was a beat too late. I'd hit a nerve. Piole's strikes grew faster, her movements becoming quite large.
Just as I had against Roland, I swung my sword up from below, deflecting hers. Not satisfied with that, I immediately shifted my stance and launched a counterattack. My sword drew a semicircle, shooting toward Piole's upper body, which was left open by her wide swing.
"...!"
Startled, Piole took a step back and pulled her sword in. Just before my blade could touch her shoulder, her hastily recovered sword blocked the path, sending sparks flying.
She used the force of the impact to retreat further. Quickly regaining her posture, she pointed her sword at me.
"How...?"
All traces of playfulness had vanished, replaced by an expression of utmost seriousness. I adopted a leisurely stance once more.
"Is this the first time I've made you retreat?"
Piole's face crumpled like a piece of paper.
"Shiiit! Fucking talent...!"
"Talent is part of it, but I think this is a matter of experience."
"Experience? You have more experience than me? How does that make any sense?"
I shrugged and glanced past Piole.
"What do you think, Sir Andrei?"
Andrei had appeared a moment ago. Just like before, his movements were truly phantom-like.
"Allen, what happened?"
It seemed Andrei was just as surprised. Instead of lecturing Piole, he was questioning me. I sheathed my sword and shrugged.
"Well, a lot has happened."
"I'd like to hear about it."
"There's a lot I'd like to hear about too. This works out well."
It had already been over two weeks since I proposed buying the fishing rights. It was time for a decision, one way or another.
"W-wait! What about an explanation? Explain before you go!"
Piole tried to follow, but Andrei closed the door before she could enter his office.
"So, you're saying you fought a knight-level opponent?"
"A proper knight. I can't be sure if my eyes are accurate, but he seemed to be on par with Piole, or perhaps even stronger."
I couldn't reveal the full details, so I'd vaguely explained that I'd fought some nameless wandering knight.
"You were lucky," Andrei replied immediately after hearing my explanation.
"I think so too."
Roland had been saddled with all sorts of penalties, yet he had still half-succeeded in killing me. If he had risked a little bleeding and pressed his attack in that final moment, I would have been the one to die.
I knew it was dangerous, but there was a vast difference between thinking about it and experiencing it firsthand. I didn't think I could pull a stunt like that again.
I briefly glanced at the gleaming bonus stats before turning my gaze back to Andrei.
"However, even if you gained life-or-death combat experience, it's rare to see someone grow as you have."
"I suppose I benefited from my talent. You know I'm quite talented, don't you?"
Andrei's eyes curved into a smile.
"It's not just your skills that have improved. You've gotten smoother. No, is this confidence? Piole deserved to get taken down a peg."
There was a strange look in Andrei's eyes, as if he knew what I had been up to. Then again, this was the man who knew the details of the war my father had participated in. He was clearly gathering information from his own sources.
Of course, he couldn't possibly know what happened in the ancient ruins, so he likely only had a general idea of the situation.
I changed the subject.
"More importantly, what happened with the fishing rights?"
Andrei didn't answer right away, taking a sip of his tea instead. The brief silence brought a sense of foreboding, which soon became reality.
"We've concluded that selling the fishing rights is impossible. Many of the vassals expressed concern that it could become a seed for future conflict and that its value might increase. My hands were tied."
"That's unfortunate news."
The tea tasted even more bitter. I had thought it would not only make me a fortune but also serve as a connection to the Castellan of Quaran. Now, a complete revision of my plans was inevitable.
'Perhaps the Castellan's ability has been activated.'
It was possible that her luck, the kind that throws the world into chaos, had sensed my wicked intentions and prompted the refusal.
"So, the Castellan has decided on a lease."
Andrei wasn't finished. When I looked up, I saw him with a mischievous smile.
"A lease, you say?"
"A lease would have been impossible if the Castellan hadn't been so positive about it. If you get the chance, be sure to thank her. In any case, the term is ten years, and the price is 200 gold coins and two-tenths of the profits."
It looked like the Castellan was making a big concession now, but in the near future, she would be glad she chose to lease instead of sell. From my perspective, it meant 20% of my potential profits were gone.
'Of course, it's better than the deal falling through completely...'
In the end, it was a compromise where both sides gave a little to share the gains. It was a truly ambiguous result. How was I supposed to take this?
In the game, when facing the Blood Princess, absurd things would happen, like reinforcements suddenly appearing or natural disasters blocking my path of advance. That's why she was the most difficult witch to deal with.
Considering that, this decision was too mild to be a full manifestation of her ability. But to say it wasn't her ability at all, the fact that she avoided a huge loss while securing a not-insignificant profit bothered me.
The reason I was deliberating was that if I got swept up in that ability, I could end up as one of the Blood Princess's pawns without even realizing it.
Until I could accurately determine the scope of her ability, I had to avoid direct contact. Having reached a conclusion, I spoke.
"Well, I thought 200 gold coins was already a lot."
"What can I do? Herring have started showing up in the coastal waters. Although the vassals concluded it's a temporary phenomenon, we can't ignore the slightest possibility, can we?"
He was saying he couldn't reduce the price by a single coin. Despite his friendly attitude, he was a vassal of Quaran.
Expecting this, I continued as if I'd been waiting for this moment.
"Then I need to get something from my side as well."
"Hmm, the council of vassals won't like that."
"What about the Castellan?"
The vassals must have told her about my ill repute, yet she still mediated the proposal. Couldn't I take that as a sign of her favor toward me? Though I didn't know why.
"What do you mean by that?"
Andrei's eyes narrowed. It was the look one gives a scoundrel trying to get close to the Castellan for a chance to turn his life around.
I spoke before the misunderstanding could deepen.
"I want to send my younger sibling to the Castellan."
If I couldn't go, I'll just send someone else. In the game, witches' abilities didn't work on each other.
*
Meanwhile, as Allen was deep in conversation with Andrei, someone else was entering the Tobalts mansion.
It was Zaenbold, the son of a civil official who was on his deathbed. Once Allen's closest friend, he handed his overcoat to the servant guarding the entrance hall and asked, his breath ragged as if he had rushed here.
"Where is Allen?"
He, who was also a secretary working at Baron Rasino's castle, seemed to have come in a great hurry.