Chapter 267 - The Cocky Little Pricks Start Striking Back! (3)
“Damn it...! What kind of ill-mannered bitch...!”
Returning to his mansion, Viscount Evid roughly yanked off the scarf around his neck and spat out curses.
The restaurants and eateries under his management. He'd tracked down Seres's movements to confront her about that Divine Beast's tavern that had slipped out from under his authority... but all he'd gotten was a vague promise of follow-up contact and Cecilia's violent outburst.
Since he'd rushed over without an appointment, he'd figured they'd talk properly once a seat was arranged. But Cecilia's final act had been utterly absurd.
“She's going more insane by the day...! She's always been a spoiled brat acting on whims, but this is too much...!”
Cecilia, raised indulgently by the lord and lady, showed no trace of noble dignity. She was already infamous among the nobles, but she'd never been the type to go completely feral in front of everyone like some madwoman.
But today's behavior from Cecilia had gone beyond rudeness—it was practically a declaration of war against him.
“...Her damn mother too! Laughing her ass off when her daughter pulled that rude shit...!!”
Up until now, the nobles had tolerated Cecilia's insolence because the lord and lady at least showed remorse for it. But today? Seres's mocking laugh at the sight of him sprawled on the floor—if she weren't the lady of the domain, he'd have slapped that creepy grin right off her face.
There had been a vacancy due to the monster invasion, but she came from a long line of Radia lords. Sure, she'd dabbled in the low-class adventurer gig, but he'd still thought her a fine noble. To see her act like this? With her behavior screaming outright hostility, Viscount Evid ground his teeth as rage boiled in his veins.
“...Kuh...! Goddamn it, is her whole family fucked in the head... That vulgar sword-swinging lunatic...”
“Shall I fetch a priest from the church?”
“Please do... Oh, and what about that thing I told you to look into?”
The butler, gauging the viscount's mood while eyeing his clutched leg with concern, had already issued orders to the maids around them. Once the maids filed out of the room, the middle-aged butler straightened his expression and approached his master, now alone with him.
“...That Divine Beast doesn't just own the shops you mentioned, sir.”
“What!? What the hell does that mean!?”
“They haven't all opened yet, but several shops have moved into the building he owns. Combining the ones already under his name, it's about ten places—and they're all registered with the Divine Beast as the owner...”
“What!? No matter how you slice it, does that Divine Beast have the cash for that!? And ten spots!? They approved that many businesses for an adventurer!?”
“...The shop owners preparing them applied with the Divine Beast as the listed proprietor. All sorts of industries too. And the lord lady... no, the lord herself approved the payments...”
“What the fuck!? Have they all lost their minds!?”
The viscount's jaw dropped at the utterly ridiculous report.
Business ownership wasn't just about having money—nobles scrutinized assets, original professions, track records, and more before granting licenses. In Essentia, where trade was tough without easy transport, it was a systemic check to prevent power from concentrating in any one group or person.
For an adventurer, two or three businesses was the absolute limit. All nobles enforced that strictly.
It was absurd enough that so many shop owners had transferred ownership to the Divine Beast, but the lord's actions felt like a direct provocation to the nobility.
“What about the other nobles!? Do they know about this!?”
“Most seem unaware. It looks like the lord handled it solo.”
“H-Have they really all gone mad...?”
Lately, the lord's family's behavior had been downright bizarre. Sudden name changes, swapping lord positions without telling the nobles, and now Seres—the new lord—living not in the Lord's Castle but the Divine Beast's place? Dressed like a whore, parading around with him, rumors were even swirling that Seres and Albert had divorced.
If Albert weren't dutifully handling duties and insisting nothing was wrong, the noble gossip mills would be in overdrive.
“A perfectly sane woman... dressing like she has nothing left to show, tattoos etched all over her body...”
No, what he'd seen of Seres today confirmed the rumors—she was definitely cheating with that monster.
Noble wives' affairs were quietly common. She must've just fallen into that with the monster.
“Of all things, with a monster like that... Disgusting... No, with Albert making it so obvious, how does he not know?”
Sure, it walked on two legs, but it was still a freakish monster, right? The idea of getting intimate with a half-human freak was beyond Viscount Evid's comprehension.
A nagging sense that something unnatural was afoot. Gripping his head, he recalled the root of it.
“...That monster. Come to think of it, things got weird right after it showed up...”
“...Indeed. Hero Eaters, saintesses, strange happenings in the city—all since that monster appeared.”
“You feel it too!? That monster's definitely fishy!?”
“But acting on it... the royals are a bit of a hurdle. They seem keen to exploit the Divine Beast however they can...”
Cities outside the capital had some autonomy, but defying the royals was impossible. Hero Knights—monsters beyond human ken—would come calling if they sniffed rebellion.
But as if that weren't an issue, Viscount Evid smirked at his butler.
“So we just show the royals that this Divine Beast is worthless.”
“You mean...?”
“Adventurers are low-class, but useful... Don't we sponsor a guild? Their guild master's a hero, right?”
“Yes. They supply us with monster parts... But how will you use them?”
“If adventurers take down a Hero Eater before that Divine Beast, its value plummets. I'll talk to them. Bring the guild master here.”
“Understood. Then...”
As the viscount waved him off impatiently, the butler bowed and turned for the door. Before he could open it, a woman entered.
“Dear. You here?”
“Hm? What's up, honey?”
“I got an invitation. Lady Andalena's opened a restaurant in the entertainment district. Mind if I go?”
“Andalena? Why the entertainment district of all places...”
“No idea? But she sent it just to me. Figure I should drop by to celebrate the opening...”
“Hrm... Fine, take some guards. Should be okay. Go ahead.”
Distracted by the monster business, the viscount brushed off the invitation to his wife and sent her off without a second thought.
He had no clue. The beast's claws reaching for Radia's nobles were targeting him first.
That his wife was walking into the beasts' den.
Blind to the ruin it would bring him, Viscount Evid waved his wife away.
“S-Se-Sema...!? Who was that guy just now...?”
“Ah~. Just some noble with business for Seres. Don't worry about it.”
“R-Really...?”
Sera blinked, handing over what looked like a quest board list, wondering what that was about.
Eh, no need to stress her out by mentioning I messed with one noble. If he shows his face again, I'll smack him down then...
For now, let's pick something from Sera's quests to loosen up.
“By the way, Sera. Any more Hero Eater sightings?”
“N-No, sir! L-Lord! Using portals makes it hard to track traces... Adventurers aren't hunting aggressively either...”
“Hmmm... I see...”
That bastard. Whatever tricks he's using to zip around.
Seems to be circling near Radia, so I wanna squash him before he goes far.
Plus, he wrecked my back—time for payback.
Need to warm up and hunt him down. He's tied to the apocalypse too.
“Hrm... Let's see... Goblin extermination here?”
“No, bro. Goblins are sneakily unsatisfying to kill. This one here...”
“Estimated time: two weeks... With the boss, a day or two tops.”
Lizbet and Cecilia peered at the list, tossing opinions.
Hmm... Estimated times don't mean much. With my speed...
...Wait.
My bitches: one, two, three, four... Uh, huh?
Even with my size, four riding at once... that's pushing it, right?
Didn't think of that...
What now? Wanna adventure together...
If they cling super tight...
...Nah, too risky. Hrm...
“...Let's stick to stuff nearby. Best for moving all four at once.”
“All four at once... Ah, right. Yeah, tough to haul everyone together.”
Lizbet nodded like oh yeah, that, and the other three mirrored her with realizations.
After hashing it out with my girls and picking a light nearby quest, I handed the board back to Sera.
Mount limitations. Lost in thought over this oversight, I'd completely forgotten that cocky noble's face from moments ago.