Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Hunt Amidst the Heavy Snow (4)
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Next morning.
The Meursault House was thrown into sudden emergency.
Not only had the troublesome youngest son insisted on hunting orcs alone, but he had actually run off to do it.
"……."
Though the retainers were all bustling due to the immature young master's disappearance, no one truly believed he had gone out alone to subjugate orcs.
The general mood was that he had only said as much and would make a half-hearted show of it.
They figured he had probably slunk off somewhere to draw pictures, true to form.
But only Soleil was genuinely shocked by his frail son's over-the-top theatrics.
'Was my presence weighing on him that much? In this brutal weather...'
The retainers' meeting had begun early that morning.
Just as the patriarch and his vassals were locked in heated debate over the size of the force he would lead, a knight burst through the conference room door.
"D-Disaster!"
Yuda the Administrator frowned and asked,
"What is it? Can't you see we're in the middle of an important meeting...?"
"Young Master Federback has returned!"
Everyone's eyes widened at those words.
The headache-inducing young lord who had run away the previous day had finally shown himself.
Yuda clicked his tongue.
"He was probably off painting landscapes somewhere again. What's the big deal...?"
"O-Orcs! He brought back the heads of orcs!"
"...?"
But at the follow-up report, Yuda could only tilt his head in confusion.
Soon after, a gust of frigid wind blew in from behind the knight.
The stench of blood carried on the bone-chilling cold.
Everyone in the conference room froze, their faces stiffening.
Federback.
The fifteen-year-old boy of the Meursault House.
He had returned.
At the end of the rope in his hand dangled over a hundred orc heads at a glance.
"...!?"
Soleil and Cardina included, everyone shot to their feet.
At first, they thought he had brought some grotesque sculpture.
But those things hanging from the rope, cheeks pierced through, were unmistakably orc heads.
Each face was frozen solid, distorted in extreme terror and agony.
Thud! Thud!
Federback placed something on the conference round table.
It was the sword from Soleil and the shield from Cardina.
In a flat tone, Federback said,
"They served me well."
"... ."
Everyone in the room gaped, mouths half-open.
Ignoring them, Federback continued.
"I wiped out the orcs that came over the northwest ridge."
"Th-There's at least a hundred here? You took them all down yourself?"
Patriarch Soleil stammered.
Federback nodded.
"There are about two hundred fifty more up on the ridge. The severed heads weighed too much to bring them all, so I left the rest."
"!?"
"The cold will keep them from rotting."
Everyone's jaws dropped again.
If what he said was true, then in just that single night, Federback had slain three hundred fifty orcs alone?
Cardina stammered,
"Mercenaries... right, did you hire a mercenary band somewhere?"
"Where would I get the money for that? Besides, there are no mercenaries in these northern backwoods to begin with."
Federback plopped down into an empty chair.
Then he continued matter-of-factly.
"I hunted the northwest orcs last night, but I didn't get to the northeast ones. There are quite a few there, so it might be tough alone in a day. I'll need troops... Hmm."
Federback shifted his gaze to Yuda the Administrator.
Yuda flinched.
'What is that? Those eyes... like a veteran who's rolled through battlefields for decades?'
Cold sweat beaded on Yuda's brow as he averted his gaze.
Fixing Yuda with a steady stare, Federback pressed on.
"A hundred troops should do it. Two weeks' rations ought to suffice."
"...!"
It matched exactly what Patriarch Soleil had proposed.
At the mention of funds, Yuda forgot his intimidation and shot back.
"Young Master Federback, you seem young and unaware..."
"I know. I saw it myself."
"Even so, subjugating monsters isn't..."
"Why not? I did it and know. Have you ever hunted orcs?"
Yuda was at a loss for words.
He knew because he saw it. He knew because he did it.
What more proof was needed?
Especially after bringing back three hundred fifty orc heads overnight.
Soon, Federback spoke.
"May I say a few words before the meeting proceeds?"
All eyes turned to him.
At that moment, Cardina stood.
"Federback. This is an important meeting. I don't know how you got so many orc heads, but..."
Federback listened silently.
In the past, he would have wilted under his sister's words.
But not now.
'She used to just seem scary and cold... but now I see she wasn't.'
It might look like she was dismissing her little brother, but Cardina was just worried the inexperienced Federback would charge in blindly and get countered.
With his age came understanding of her true intentions.
...Then.
"It's fine."
Soleil raised a hand to silence Cardina.
Then he beckoned Federback.
"Son, speak your mind."
Federback continued.
"Father."
"Yes."
"The Demon King will revive soon."
"...!"
Soleil's eyes shook.
Federback went on.
"The orcs' stirring is a precursor to the Demon King's revival. The Meursaults have exterminated demons since time immemorial. We must prepare now. A mere administrator's opinion is irrelevant."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Heat rose on the knights' faces.
Meursault was the bloodline that had fought the Demon King generation after generation.
Talk of its imminent revival set their blood boiling.
Then.
"Oh dear, what is our young master saying?"
Yuda stepped forward.
In a mock-scolding tone toward Federback, he continued.
"Young master, it's morning. Time to wake from your dreams. What fairy tale did you read last night to go on about the Demon King? It's been ages since it vanished."
Most in the current Empire were steeped in peace, devoid of any sense of crisis.
Yuda pressed on.
"Did you stop by a craft shop on your way back? They make them so realistic these days—must be the real deal. Look at the congealed blood on these orc heads? Clay? The fishy smell is spot-on, though."
"... ."
"A fifteen-year-old boy climbing snowy peaks with howling winds alone and slaying three hundred fifty ferocious orcs? Leaving most heads because there were too many and heavy? Who would believe that? It doesn't add up. And you, Young Master Federback, of all people?"
He crossed his arms, twitching his goatee.
But.
"Want to bet?"
Federback said flatly.
"Weather's good today—half a day to the northwest ridge. Go check. If there are a hundred beheaded orcs and two hundred fifty intact corpses, follow my words. Otherwise, yours. What do you say?"
"Haha. Pity the soldiers wasting their steps."
Yuda seemed convinced the heads were fakes.
Even if real, probably bought dearly from some mercenaries.
'Poor fool of a young master. Probably scammed by mercenaries. Orcs dead on a snowy mountain? If so, mercenaries took all the heads. An orc head fetches a fortune...'
But his thoughts didn't last.
"Ad-Administrator!"
One of Yuda's lackeys approached, pale-faced.
"Report from the outpost on the northwest ridge."
"What does it say to make you look like that?"
"Th-They say... orc corpses on the snowy mountain."
"What? Two hundred fifty?"
"N-No..."
As his subordinate shook his head, Yuda's face brightened slightly.
"Right? Not two hundred fifty? Maybe twenty-five? Makes sense—no way without a full knight order..."
"Over three hundred, at least."
"...!?"
Yuda's face soured instantly.
Federback nodded.
"Unintended, but proven nonetheless."
"... ."
Yuda just worked his mouth soundlessly.
His own men reported it—no doubting authenticity.
Ignoring Yuda, Federback eyed the map.
"Orc raids happen yearly, but this year's scale and movements are different. Fail to crush them now, and over five villages will burn in a chain within a month."
Soleil's face hardened.
"The fallout would engulf the entire north."
"Localized response spells disaster,"
Cardina added gravely, arms crossed.
Federback thought,
'In the past, we failed to stop the orc invasion.'
Before regression, the Meursault House made a fatal error in this subjugation.
Following Yuda's advice, they responded passively and locally to each report.
But this year's raids were unusually fierce, dooming the house to decline.
Over five villages razed, defense line gaps.
Followed by other monsters' mass assaults.
The house crumbled.
Miserably.
"... ."
Cardina's eyes gleamed at Federback's words.
She marked dots on the map with her quill.
"Dortsmile, Wetmund, Acre, Yutoras. Villages hit hard by this orc raid. All nestled at one mountainside."
"No way!?"
Soleil slammed the desk.
"Meurso Mountain!"
Meurso.
The mountain where thirty years ago, the previous Meursault patriarch and key members vanished.
The orcs' patterns crawling up this snowy range matched that time closely.
Seizing Yuda's crushed momentum, Cardina spoke.
"Frost in September, two months early. Humans groan under poor harvests—orks worse. Scant prey means inevitable savagery."
"Frost comes early some normal years. Speculation..."
Yuda interjected desperately, but Cardina crushed his momentum.
"Not done yet, Administrator. First frost before crops ripen—unprecedented. Exactly thirty years. Isn't it?"
"... ."
Yuda deflated again.
Once broken by Federback, he couldn't recover.
But he muttered on.
"Everyone's mad. Nonsense talk. Demon Kings, orcs, invasions in this peaceful age... Writing grim fairy tales..."
Then, his eyes met Federback's steady gaze.
"...!"
Cold sweat anew.
'Those eyes since earlier...'
Cold and sharp as a dagger.
Who would peg them on a fifteen-year-old?
But it was natural.
Federback's shell was a frail boy, but inside, the vanguard of the hero party that clashed with the Demon King to humanity's end.
A leech who leeched off others lifelong couldn't withstand such eyes.
"... ."
Yuda finally shut his mouth, eyes downcast.
Then Patriarch Soleil of the Meursault House spoke.
"It's decided."
Everyone straightened.
"Cardina."
"Yes, Father."
"Assemble the troops. We march."
The knights' faces lit up.
Soleil rose.
"Winter approaches. Meursault moves before it. And..."
His gaze swept to one table end.
Normally, Yuda would be called here.
Logistics as vital as combat.
But different words came.
"Federback."
"Yes."
"Handle castle administration and supplies. I'll assign Yuda—consult as needed."
Federback nodded.
Yuda, stripped of all authority, tried protesting but did nothing.
"... ."
Just crushed by Federback's gaze, sweating profusely.
Finally, Soleil addressed the guardian knights.
"Blood of Meursault. Warm yourselves with enemies' hot blood. We shield our families from winter."
"Woooaaah!"
The knights roared.
The banner of orc subjugation rose high.