Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Only One Who Can Curb a Pet's Gluttony Is Its Owner (1)
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I straightened my clothes and gave Dandel a look. He nodded and stuck close to me. I also mentioned that I'd sent for him, so the village chief should be here soon.
At that moment, Pippin, who had been sitting quietly in the back, suddenly shouted, "Wait a second!"
A spark that hadn't been in his fierce face until now gleamed clearly in his blue eyes. It was almost like the aura of a hero was emanating from behind him. It was a needless solemnity, but for some reason, I didn't want to ignore that gaze.
What an odd guy. To suddenly make such a sharp expression.
"I know everything."
There was some inexplicable power in his voice. A power that even made me, who wanted to brush him off, pause.
"What do you know?"
I asked nonchalantly, but my mind was racing. What did Pippin know? Had he figured out I was planning to deal with him? Or did he have some new information I didn't? Was it something disadvantageous to me?
There were too many people around. How important was what he knew?
Should I summon the Gate of Death right now and have it devour him?
I barely restrained my fist from clenching. Pretending to be calm, I shrugged my shoulders and decided to give Pippin one chance.
Pippin was soft and naive, but his straight jawline gave him a spirited and upright impression. There was no trace of hostility toward me on his decent-looking face.
Pippin leaned forward and shouted.
"You wanted to try magic beast meat too, didn't you, Master!"
The crowd that had gathered froze in an instant. Myself included.
Pippin, misreading the mood, pressed on with even more vigor.
"I felt it when I saw you yesterday! That intense gaze! You kept looking at me with shining eyes! I may not know much, but I can read killing intent."
At that moment, the corner of my mouth twitched slightly. It was getting hard to keep a straight face.
"I... I felt my heart pounding just like when I face a magic beast."
"Are you saying our Duke smells like a magic beast right now?"
Dandel flailed his arms wildly. Pippin ignored Dandel's jumping around completely.
"When Veridis's leg melted away. No matter how I think about it, that smell was yours, Master."
It was an almost animalistic instinct.
"Black smoke swirled, and Veridis's leg flesh seemed gnawed away by something, vanishing in an instant. That's when I felt it. It was a clearer, sharper killing intent than I'd ever sensed from any magic beast."
So he had noticed I was trying to kill him.
But contrary to my expectations, Pippin came to a rather unique conclusion.
"You wanted the meat too, didn't you, Master."
"...How do you even arrive at that interpretation?"
"Well, even a noble like you wouldn't get Veridis meat easily. I get it! My heart races when I see a magic beast too. That's it for you, right? Same as me?"
Pippin's eyes sparkled so intensely it felt tangible. As I turned to ignore him, Pippin stood and grabbed me.
"Don't touch it carelessly."
I shook off his arm, and Pippin immediately deflated, lowering his head. He glanced at the cart out of the corner of his eye, his hands twitching. He hesitated, unable to bring himself to grab me again.
"Just give me one chance."
"What kind of chance?"
"A chance for me to serve you Veridis meat, Master! You're a noble, so you have to keep up appearances and can't inspect Veridis freely, right? That's too sad."
"......"
His pure, foolish face made my resolve waver a bit. But thinking of my sister, I had to be even more ruthless. What my sister wanted was a total massacre ending. Making each male lead suffer misfortune one by one—that was her modest wish, abandoned by the world.
Destroying the peaceful world denied to my sister. That was my revenge, my goal. Nothing but emptiness remained for me otherwise.
I had no right to feel cheap pity looking at Pippin's face.
At least, not until I heard this.
"You're on the village chief's side in the end, aren't you, Master? I know. But! If you think I really broke the rules of the Gluttony Dukedom, then punish me. Either way, they'll take all the Veridis meat and hide. Before that, just once, I want to handle it my way. Since we hunted it together with the Duke, I want to eat the Veridis meat with the Duke!"
Pippin shouted in a whiny voice befitting his age.
The lich had said something like this. He'd suffered endlessly, and both the magic beasts and his earnings had been taken by the village chief.
Just like how my sister and I had been hounded by the country and our creditors.
"Hmph."
So this was a whim. I'd heard even death row inmates get to eat their desired meal once before dying. As a duke who would rule this world, it wouldn't do to seem anxious and harried without leisure.
"Do as you like."
Soon, the cart rumbled noisily as they dragged the massive hunk of meat into the inn. Dandel hovered around me with his usual timid expression.
"Let him have his way just this once."
Dandel sidled up close behind me and said in a fawning tone.
"Your Grace. You can afford to be kind without worry."
His voice sounded like he was holding back laughter, and I bristled, scowling.
"Who said anything about holding back kindness? I'm already at ease. I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Of course, of course. I'll go help over there then. That Pippin guy seems good-hearted but not all there. Just look at how he loaded that hunk of meat onto the cart without a thought......"
Dandel hurried off to help pull the cart in. From the looks of it, he'd crudely torn off one rib rack.
As the cart rolled in with a rumble, Phoibe, who had been sitting on top, greeted me. I just nodded to the lich. Speaking to him directly might make me seem insane.
[Thanks for playing with Pippin....]
I'd thought he'd burst at the sight of the Gate of Death, but fortunately or unfortunately, he was still among the living.
[And sorry.]
A lich feeling guilt for foisting his brother on me? But his next words were unexpected.
[He really can't cook. No, he doesn't even qualify to call it cooking.]
At that instant, an explosion rang out from the kitchen. The people dragging the Veridis meat rushed toward the kitchen like a pack of dogs. Shouts calling for Pippin echoed loudly through the inn.
"You madman!"
Seeing thick black smoke rising from afar, I quietly slipped out of the inn building.
"Guess I'll take a stroll."
***
Even after circling the village once and returning, the mysterious cooking was still underway. Making a duke wait—were they working hard to give me a reason to vent my anger?
But I was curious about magic beast meat, it was true. It was my first time seeing one in this new world. I'd never thought of them as edible. In the game, when magic beast meat appeared, characters would groan "Ughhh" and flee as a gag.
I tried to peek into the kitchen, but Dandel came and blocked me.
"Better not look, Your Grace."
"What the hell is that guy making? What does he plan to feed me?"
"Fortunately, the food itself is fine! Probably......"
"Then Pippin must be the problem."
I waved people aside and approached the kitchen. There, Pippin was silently enduring kicks while prepping vegetables.
"You idiot! What if we fall out of favor with the Duke because of you?"
"That's why orphans are no good."
People shoved or kicked Pippin as they tormented him. Pippin ignored them and focused on his task. The lich Phoibe flailed his transparent body in front of Pippin, trying to block the onslaught.
[Don't bully my brother! Stop it! That's why his hair and even his wife ran away—with that personality!]
It was a pathetic sight, but I couldn't tear my eyes away. I had no desire to wallow in poverty, yet memories of my own wretched childhood kept surfacing. The day I left school early to see my sister in the ER, only to get cornered and beaten senseless by local thugs.
All those days of taking out my anger on my innocent sister and regretting it.
In front of Phoibe struggling to protect his brother even in death, I felt small for no reason.
But as Duke Sierra Gluttony, pretending to be suddenly kind to the Pippin siblings was something I'd refuse even in death. I left without a word.
Instead, in a spot where no one could see, I summoned the Gate of Death. It emerged fully, rolling its eyeballs. Drool dripped unusually heavily.
[Delicious smell....]
The thing was reacting to the Veridis meat scent. So magic beasts could be eaten after all.
"Sugar Lord, come out."
The Gate of Death opened its maw wide. Amid the saliva-slick, jagged teeth, the Sugar Lord trudged out laboriously. It climbed onto the back of my hand, irritably cleaning its antennae with its front legs.
"Take some of your minions to the kitchen and eat the clothes off everyone next to Pippin. Only those next to Pippin. Not Pippin himself. Got it?"
[Sugar Lord's Gluttony Designation]
The status window flashed, and a swarm of ants poured out from the Gate of Death. I set the Sugar Lord on the floor, and the ants infiltrated the kitchen at high speed.
And they proved surprisingly decent intelligence.
"Arghhhh! My clothes!"
"What the—! What's happening! Ah! My hair!"
The sweet horde carried out the orders faithfully. The clothes of those harassing Pippin crumbled away like brittle snacks. Once their outfits were in tatters and nearly gone, they had no time to bully him. They fled in a panic. Pippin, still focused on his work, finally looked around belatedly with a bewildered expression.
I wished I'd watched that scene a bit closer.
I lightly punched the Gate of Death and teased it.
"You visible to others? I hid you just in case."
[Hungry... delicious smell....]
"Answer the question. Are you visible to others? Answer well, and I'll give you some magic beast meat."
[Visible, visible. But hides. Can't hide now. Can't.]
The Gate of Death answered quite sincerely.
"Master! Master! Your Grace!"
Pippin, whom I'd thought was focused on cooking, came clamoring for me excitedly. The magic beast meat dish must have been done. If it even qualified as cooking, that is.