Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Promising Hero Is Strange from the Start (5)
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[ Aaaaaaaaah! ]
Phoebe's body swelled up massively before turning pitch black. Tears resembling blood droplets endlessly fell from her distorted face, patterned like the wings of a giant moth.
[ The demon beast is going to eat us! ]
Phoebe's black soul swirled around the room like a vortex. Her thrashing was so violent that the table rattled. Soon enough, she scattered in all directions, fleeing from the door of death as if escaping its grasp.
"No way, did she achieve enlightenment from the shock and pass on?"
[ No. ]
The door of death, now gaping wide in its grotesque form, shook its head.
For Phoebe to react so violently meant that the demon beast—the monster that ate people—was right here, this guy. More precisely, a demon beast kin to the door of death.
I fished the Sugar Lord flailing between the door of death's teeth out with my hand. With the Sugar Lord perched on my knee, I shook the door of death vigorously and pried it open. It was damp and hot, disgustingly sticky. It even made the queen ant on my knee seem cute by comparison.
"Hey, door of death. I've got a question. Are you some kind of demon beast?"
[ Demon beast... they call it demon beast... humans decide... ]
"As Phoebe said, your species name is 'Garden Ghoul,' right?"
[ ...... ]
"Why aren't you answering?"
The door of death chuckled creepily, rolling its eyeballs around. Horrifying as it looked, this thing was shaped like a real idiot.
Maybe it didn't even know humans called it a 'Garden Ghoul.' Like how a cat wouldn't know if humans call it a cat or a dog.
Of course, this one seemed capable of human speech to some degree...
I grabbed the door of death, which seemed lost in a daze, and decided to start with simple questions.
"One plus one?"
[ ...... ]
"What's the capital of our empire?"
[ ...... ]
"What's your name?"
[ ...... ]
No answers beyond its giggling. That settled it.
The door of death was stupid.
It wasn't something you could chat with casually like a person.
So the village chief was using this moron to summon demon beasts? And the goal was probably to capture and sell them. If Phoebe was telling the truth, the chief was colluding with someone in a conspiracy.
That 'someone' was most likely a summoner. Otherwise, they couldn't communicate with these idiots to call forth demon beasts.
If I got lucky, I could learn new skills or growth secrets from that summoner. We could team up and take out Pippin.
"This must be what they call a smooth path."
It hadn't been long since I became Sierra, and here I was, already on the verge of sending one of the male leads to the afterlife so quickly.
I kicked the door of death away and flopped onto the bed. The Sugar Lord on my thigh startled and stood on two legs before sitting back down.
"Right, I summoned this one too."
The Sugar Lord looked around before diligently cleaning its antennae with its front legs. It looked just as dumb as the door of death.
"By any chance... Sugar Lord, can you talk too?"
"......"
The Sugar Lord ignored me completely, continuing to wash its face.
If it couldn't understand speech, how was I supposed to give orders as its summoner? Doubt crept in.
Last time, the sweet horde hadn't listened either and caused trouble. They'd ignored my order to grab Pippin and bit Veridis's leg instead. Instinctual hunger. Low-level summons only had that much intelligence.
If the Sugar Lord was the same, I needed to find a new familiar fast. Having zero usable summons was too much.
"Sugar Lord. Hand!"
I commanded solemnly.
"......"
The Sugar Lord seemed utterly uninterested.
"As expected, it's dumb too. Damn it, and I've got so many male leads to deal with ahead. No, there's still time. I can capture other summons. Yeah, this ant was just a casual grab anyway. For fun..."
After a short sigh, I tried again.
"Sugar Lord, roll over!"
I twirled my finger. This time, there was a reaction. It raised its antennae, paused, then slowly spun in place.
"Oh..."
It moved its antennae as if waiting for the next command. I readjusted my seat and tested the Sugar Lord with various orders.
The Sugar Lord could do 'roll over,' 'go there,' 'come here,' 'bite,' 'don't bite,' and 'wait.' It didn't get anything else.
"Not completely useless, then."
It's natural to reward a servant who obeys well.
I broke a cookie from the table in half and gave it to the Sugar Lord. It spread its front legs and jaws wide to accept the treat, then started looking around again.
[ Sugar Lord's message: Lost in shocking wandering. ]
Ah, right. The Sugar Lord and its minions could leave messages in the status window. At least that was something. Communication wasn't entirely impossible.
As the message said, the Sugar Lord was stumbling around, unable to find its way back.
"Alright, go home. Desummon."
The door of death approached and gaped its mouth wide. The Sugar Lord crawled inside without fear, cookie in tow. Soon the status window flashed.
[ Sugar Lord's message: Token of loyalty. ]
[ Sweet horde's message: Glory, glory, glory! ]
Checking the status, the ants seemed to be having a fine time inside the door of death.
"Just what does the inside of this thing look like?"
I grabbed the door of death and brought my face close to its mouth. Contrary to expectation, there was no stench. It felt refreshing instead. Like pressing my nose to a clean air conditioner vent.
[ Hungry... stomach... ]
The door of death mumbled. Its red eyeball rolled around freely like a chameleon's.
I tossed the remaining cookie crumb inside as a special treat.
"Eat this at least."
[ ...... ]
Ptoo. A black tongue-like flap pushed the crumb out.
What? I tried again, same result.
Ptoo. The door of death rolled its eye at me. Somehow, its pathetic form seemed aggrieved.
Ptoo.
"I didn't even put anything in this time."
The door of death smacked its lips.
[ Eats... demon beasts... swallows... summons... ]
It eats demon beasts and swallows summons, huh.
Given that the Garden Ghoul Phoebe mentioned devoured her body, it could eat people instead of demon beasts too.
Maybe this one as well...?
The thought made me shiver, having bravely shoved my face into its maw.
[ Close... kin... cold homeland... food stolen... ]
What was it trying to say?
Well, this idiot's vocabulary was limited. Stuttering, jumbled understanding. No point expecting much—keep questions simple.
"Do you have kin too?"
[ Kin... the starved ones... far away... ]
"So you have kin. Any nearby? How many?"
[ Yes. Feel them. Summoner is there. Foolish... ]
"You know where the summoner is?"
[ ...... ]
The door of death smacked its lips a bit, then vanished with a slurp. I hadn't desummoned it—it was totally acting on its own.
***
"Keep your mouth shut. Don't stand out. Do as you're told."
Pippin recited the life wisdom Kaku had taught him.
Two hours into his punishment. Pippin's body was soaked in sweat, but his master's gaze was sharp.
"But Master, it wasn't an ordinary demon beast—it was Veridis. That was..."
"Pippin!"
"Sorry."
Kaku struck Pippin's shoulder. Pippin's body, braced by his arms, collapsed.
Kaku roughly hauled him back up.
"It's a village not worth protecting."
"Yes."
"We've saved up almost all the money. Soon I'll send you to the city. Become a knight of the imperial guard. Then you'll be free."
Until then, live quietly.
In Kaku's mind, Pippin needed to stay as hidden as possible.
Pippin's potential grew more dangerous the more it showed. The ruthless villagers would exploit him and discard him cruelly.
They might even kill him, like Phoebe.
"I'm scared, Pippin. Scared you'll be sacrificed."
Unlike the worried Kaku, Pippin was calm.
He knew how strong he was. He'd surpassed his master long ago.
He could handle the villagers' bullying with brute force. He could destroy this tiny village in an instant.
But he held back.
For the one remaining family who wanted him to live as an ordinary, lazy boy.
'But...'
As always, he let the nagging flow in one ear and out the other, thinking of Sierra Gluttony.
The boy who stood tall even before the snake-like village chief. The boy who tore off Veridis's leg with breath-like magic.
Pippin's sharp instincts screamed.
'That noble master will recognize my worth.'
Pippin desperately wanted someone to acknowledge his true strength. He craved praise.
'But, but, but, but...'
He knew it wouldn't work. He'd learned that living quietly was best. Stand out, and you'd get cursed at, robbed of money.
He knew it well.
'But!'
Just once tomorrow, one last act of defiance.
Just once would do.
If he could just talk to someone who saw his value...
***
Phoebe didn't return until morning. Seeing the door of death must have been quite the shock.
Well, facing the demon beast that ate you alive—who wouldn't be rattled?
"No need for me to worry about her."
I muttered to myself as I got up. Time to summon the village chief and demand he hand over Pippin's head.
Once Pippin was dealt with, no need to waste time in this dump. I wanted to gorge on fine cuisine back in my lavish castle. Stroll the beautifully manicured gardens.
Yeah, finish it now.
In high spirits, I flung open the curtains. As I basked in the fresh sunlight, things outside were unusually rowdy.
A crowd swarmed the inn's front entrance on the first floor. Murmuring among themselves, with a cart in the center.
Had the chief already come bearing bribes? I changed clothes while watching, but the crowd showed no signs of dispersing.
Going down to check, a face rougher than the chief's wrinkles awaited me.
"Master! Master, good morning!"
It was Pippin, dolled up in his shabby clothes.
He couldn't enter the inn because people were holding him back. Dandel, spotting me late, pushed through the crowd.
"Duke!"
"What's going on here?"
"Well... that boy Pippin from yesterday keeps insisting on seeing you, throwing a fit."
I glared at Pippin, who greeted me with a bright smile. He waved wildly at me, etiquette be damned. If the crowd hadn't grabbed him, he'd have kept swinging until I waved back.
[ ♥♥ ]
Two red hearts over that innocent, beaming head.
What a moron. We'd just met yesterday, and here he was with this friendliness. I'd even declared I meant to punish him.
He couldn't even recognize his enemy. Wonder what the crown prince saw in this fool to take him as a retainer.
"Get that thing out of my sight."
Even at my firm response, Dandel just floundered.
"Do I have to say it twice? I said get rid of it."
"Uh, Duke..."
Dandel huddled before me, sweating bullets.
"We've been trying to move him for an hour, but he won't budge. He's so strong, ten men can't push him. He's no ordinary kid."
Then the source of the problem called out cheerfully.
"Master! I brought a gift!"
Pippin swung his arm, and the people holding him toppled like bowling pins. Ignoring their glares, he beamed.
"I brought Veridis meat."
Dandel paced anxiously around me.
"That's what he says."
"He's offering demon beast meat?"
Not some caveman, trying to win favor with a hunk of meat. Though he did look thick-headed enough for it.
"Just take it roughly and shove him off. Forget him—call the chief. I was just about to settle that fool's..."
"Master!"
Pippin dragged the cart rumbling into the inn. I raised my hand, halting him right before me.
Luckily, he didn't charge like a buffalo. Instead, he stopped meekly like the Sugar Lord, looking down at me with sparkling eyes. His hunched posture made him look like a large dog on hind legs.
I pointed straight at the floor. Pippin promptly knelt.
I couldn't help but snort.
Not recognizing enemies wasn't enough—he had no pride either? There were limits to stupidity and dullness.
I didn't hide my contempt.
"Pippin."
"Yes!"
"Scram. Don't let me see you again."
"......"