Chapter 152 - Hatred Toward the Beast! (2)
“Come out, you lord's wife!! How dare you fuck with me!?”
We barged into the complaint office at the entrance of the Lord's Castle, kicking the door open harder than necessary—me and my bitches in tow.
The petitioners and staff shot bewildered looks at the sudden appearance of a monster bellowing at the top of his lungs. Getting stares like this didn't faze me anymore. Hell, this was exactly what I wanted. Marching in and drawing all these eyes on us made it way harder for them to pull any shady shit behind closed doors.
Today, I was playing the pissed-off landlord who'd just gotten word his property was about to be seized. Don't think I'd just roll over, Celestia or whatever the fuck your name is!
“D-Divine Beast!? What's wrong, sir!?”
“What the hell is this!? Are you guys messing with me!?”
The familiar face from the front desk—who'd processed my paperwork a few times—came rushing over with a startled expression. I shoved the documents in his face, and he took them hesitantly, scanning them over... only for his eyes to bulge and his hand to fly to his head like he was about to faint.
“Lady Celestia has... uhmm...”
“I just finished remodeling the damn place, and now you're slapping me with this bullshit seizure!? Is this how things work in Radia!?”
“No, no, sir! Not at all, Divine Beast!”
I raised my voice loud enough for everyone around to hear, and the clerk started glancing nervously at the onlookers, trying to calm me down... Nope. I was just getting started.
“There must be some misunderstanding. I'll look into it and get back to you...!”
“Look into what!? You sent the notice saying seizure in three days! I've already hired all the staff—what, you gonna throw my people out on the street!?”
“No! It's not...!”
“That lord's wife, Celestia whatever—bring her out here right now and make her explain!”
“Ugh, Divine Beast, please...!”
I ignored the clerk clinging to me with a desperate look and kept causing a scene for a good while.
“...Lady Celestia truly despises monsters... She probably saw that you'd acquired a building and jumped to conclusions without checking properly.”
After I'd rampaged enough for the crowd to get the gist, I followed the clerk to what looked like a reception room. That should've been plenty—no noble would dare pull strings now with all these witnesses.
Monster hater, huh... Did that apply to me too?
“I'm a monster, sure, but I'm still a Divine Beast...? And she pulls something this reckless?”
“She grits her teeth at the sight of any monster. Divine Beast or not, it doesn't matter to her. Radia's got such a huge adventurer scene partly because of her...”
“What, like human supremacy or something?”
“Not quite. But... Lady Celestia has her reasons.”
The clerk trailed off, hinting at some backstory. Parental grudge or what? Whatever. My building mattered more right now.
“Even so, the lord should've explained everything about me... No idea why she's doing this now.”
The young clerk stroked his chin, looking genuinely puzzled. He seemed fresh out of whatever passed for civil service training here—probably equivalent to a brand-new ninth-grade clerk back on Earth. Yeah. What was the point explaining to a guy like him? This poor kid didn't look like he had much pull anyway. Time to call in Celestia whatever-her-name-is.
“Anyway, I'll look into this and update you tomorrow—”
“No, just summon Lady Celestia here. I need to sort this out now.”
“B-But nobles can't just be called on a whim...”
“Oh? So she can fuck around with a citizen's property, but we can't even ask her to show up? What a class act.”
Klea, sitting beside me, flashed a smile at the clerk, and his pupils dilated in shock. Puhuhu. Our Klea was a saintess, after all. You guys weren't in a position to make her wait.
The flashy, stuffy saintess robes were doing their job—nobody could mistake them for ordinary garb.
“...F-Fine, let me check with my superior...”
“No need.”
As the clerk stood, sweating bullets under Klea's smile, the door opened and a woman's voice cut in. I looked over at the owner of that voice... a woman with sky-blue hair that rang a vague bell.
Where do I know her from? That woman...?
“I didn't expect a saintess to come calling like this. Didn't you turn down the Lord's invitation saying you had other business...?”
“...Well, something ridiculous happened to my master. Of course I'd step in.”
“...I heard, but a monster as your master? Truly absurd, this saintess business.”
Ah. I remembered. It was that woman I'd bumped into on my first visit to the Lord's Castle! Yeah, she'd sneered at me, muttering something filthy as she passed. That glare jogged my memory.
“...You can go now. I'll handle this.”
“Y-Yes, ma'am...”
I could see the clerk sigh in relief as he bowed and scurried out. Yeah, good job, ninth-grader. Go rest up.
“...I figured you'd show up, but causing a scene like this? Monsters must lack any sense of decorum.”
The moment the door shut, Celestia glared at me and spat out that brazen nonsense. I felt Lizbet bristle beside me, so I patted her to calm her down before eyeing Celestia, who sat cross-legged in front of me like she owned the place.
Her outfit screamed high-end noble—every accessory looked pricey. Sky-blue hair pinned up elegantly. Sharp features that matched her hair perfectly. Her skin had that polished noble glow... Made her look late twenties, maybe early thirties. Was this really the lord's wife? The age gap seemed huge—the lord looked over forty. No way she was that old too... right?
“Haha, I might lack manners, but you did hit me with something worth getting mad over.”
“Such temper... Divine Beast or whatever, you're still just a monster at heart.”
Her impudent barbs should've pissed me off, but oddly, they didn't. I'd figured her for some uptight monster-hating auntie, but she was surprisingly hot. That softened me up to her jabs... Guess I'm just another male after all.
And what really warmed my heart—what jumped right out at me—was the massive rack straining against her dress. With that face... tits on par with Klea's monstrous pair! Damn... Up close, yeah, she and Klea were top-class in Radia. Throw in that guild director I hadn't seen lately, and that made a solid top three!
Impressive. A city with three sets of udders like that? No wonder...
Suddenly curious about this auntie's status window... Time to test out that Demon Eye I'd been practicing.
Name: Radir Neve Celestia
Race: Human
Level: 52 (12800 / 164000)
Title: The Ice Witch Who Guards Radia
Age: 42
Bitch Record: [Husband: Radir Bell Albert] [Childbirths: 1]
“...Huh?”
“What?”
I'd practiced linking my Demon Eye with the status window, but showing such a scary glare outright felt off, so I rubbed my eyes as cover and flicked it on quick...
The insane stats hit me like a truck, and I rubbed my eyes again on reflex.
What the hell? Level 52!? Guards Radia!? Ice Witch!? I figured it'd just say "Lord's Wife" or some shit!
What is this!?
“Can't monsters even speak? Say something.”
“N-No... You need to explain, ma'am. Why are you seizing the building the lord himself gave me...?”
I stammered it out while mentally replaying the status window. Holy shit... For real? What the hell was this lord's wife before?
I'd been half-ready to slap her smug face, but now? One wrong move and I'd be dead. Higher level than even Bivora. Sweat prickling down my back all of a sudden!
“Seems the lord got something mixed up. No paperwork ever came through changing ownership to you.”
As I reeled from Celestia's status, she fixed me with a sharp glare and laid into me.
“Criminal guild property reverts to the lord by default, so we have to handle it. But when we went to auction it off, there you were, bold as brass, occupying it. Remodeling without permission? That's a crime.”
“What are you talking about? I got the lord's approval and filed every damn document ages ago.”
“Oh? I'm the final sign-off on land and buildings, and nothing reached my desk. Lying's perjury, you know.”
Wh-What...? Hold on. Calm down. Her status isn't the priority right now. No paperwork filed...? She's the final approver? Weird that it's not the lord... But more importantly, did that idiot lord not even tell his own wife!?
“Guess I need to talk to the lord directly. Come with me.”
“Oh, that won't work. The lord's out inspecting the terrain and monster activity around Radia—visiting nearby villages. It'll take two or three weeks.”
...The hell? The lord's gone right now? Wait... Is this bitch using his absence to screw me over...?
“So talk to me. I haven't heard a thing from the lord, no paperwork's come my way—you're just a criminal squatting on lord's property. Got it?”
...Look at this cunt. It was clicking now. Monster-hating lord's wife takes advantage of hubby's absence to fuck over the monster. But what about cleanup? Kick me out or frame me as a criminal, then smooth it over when he gets back?
“...Once the lord returns, he'll confirm I got the building fair and square. Can't you wait?”
“No can do. The law must be strict for everyone. No exceptions.”
“Aha. Right. No exceptions...”
She's full of shit. In this noble society, law's whatever the powerful say. Her actions screamed it: ear-rings if on the ear, nose-rings if on the nose.
“So, if Viscountess... Celestia Viscountess, was it? If you committed a crime, you'd face punishment too?”
“Of course. Not that it would happen.”
“You've really heard nothing from the lord?”
“Nothing. Think I'd issue a seizure if he ordered otherwise?”
“And if that's a lie? What then? Kneel, bow, and apologize?”
“Ha! Doubting me? Fine, if it turns out I'm lying—which it won't—I'll do it.”
Alright then... Guess we'd confirm straight from the lord's mouth.
“Good. Then let's go find the lord.”
“...? Didn't I say he's not—”
“Whatever. Get your mount ready. Liz!”
“Got it, Master~”
I called Lizbet, then summoned swirling black smoke around me as I shifted into full horse form. As soon as I lowered my body, Lizbet and Klea hopped on, and Lizbet reached out to the wide-eyed Celestia.
“Wha—kyaa!!!”
Celestia's body floated up, plopped right at the front of my back. Nice. My bitches knew the drill without a word.
“Wh-What did you just do!? Get me down...!”
“Hold on tight. We're fetching the lord right now.”
You misjudged your prey, you bitch! Think you can bluff with the lord away!? We'll drag his ass here, confirm everything, then make this 42-year-old hag kneel and grovel!!!
“Kyaaaaaaa!!!”
With that, I bolted out of the Lord's Castle, Celestia and my bitches aboard.