Food Procurement
I slung a thick coat over my shoulders and buckled the hefty sword to my waist. Whether it was thanks to this body's memories or because the original owner had lived and breathed the blade, the weight of the real sword—something I'd never wielded in my life—felt strangely familiar and comfortable.
Striding toward the castle gate, I heard frantic footsteps chasing after me without pause.
"Y-Your Grace! Please wait! Where on earth are you going?!"
It was Hans. Not content with my sudden order to set up a massive cauldron in the square, he was now freaking out at the sight of me fully armed and heading out of the castle alone.
"Just stepping out for a bit."
"You must at least take some guards from the territorial defense force!"
"No need. I'm going alone."
I drew a firm line, but Hans blocked my path, pleading desperately.
"But Your Grace! If you insist on going alone, at least let me accompany you! If anything happened to your precious body, I...!"
"Hans."
I halted and whipped around. Staring down at him with Theodor's signature chilling blood-red eyes, I asked in a low, steady voice,
"It seems you don't trust me."
His eyes wavered at my words. But his response came quick.
"...No, Your Grace. No one knows better than I how overwhelming your power is."
It wasn't flattery. It was the blind conviction only someone who'd served by his side for years could have.
I smirked and said,
"Then that's that."
I turned and resumed walking.
"Stay here and wait. Finish setting up the square. If the cauldron isn't boiling when I get back, I'll pluck every last hair from your mustache."
"...Pardon? Did I... mishear that...?"
"You did. See you later."
Leaving the flustered Hans behind, I waved lightly without looking back and kept going.
Just as I approached the massive gate, my eyes met those of the guards stationed rigidly before the firmly shut iron doors. They froze at the unexpected appearance of the Grand Duke.
I tossed a casual word their way without breaking stride.
"Good work."
"......Gasp!"
Their eyes bulged like frogs'. The Grand Duke, always as cold and indifferent as ice, had just offered them words of encouragement—it must've short-circuited their brains. But they quickly straightened up and bellowed,
"P-Please return safely, Your Grace!"
I didn't reply, just raised a hand lightly as I passed through the gate.
Perfect. The respectful gazes boring into my back sent a thrilling shiver down my spine.
The moment I left the walls' protection, the North's biting morning air pierced deep into my lungs. The skin-freezing north wind whipped mercilessly.
But oddly, my body under the coat wasn't shivering from the cold. No—if anything, I was sweating.
My palms gripping the sword hilt were slick with cold sweat.
The reason was simple.
I was tense.
Or honestly, terrified out of my mind.
Of course I am. I'm just an ordinary modern guy who's never thrown a punch at anyone, let alone held a real sword.
And now I was off to hunt magic beasts? Without even knowing how strong they were or what they looked like?
It was insane by any measure.
Still, I'd dragged myself out here alone without soldiers for one fatally realistic reason.
What if I brought guards and they saw my pathetic swordplay?
The Grand Duke, guardian god of the territory and believed to be the continent's strongest—flailing around because he couldn't even take down a wild boar?
"Huh? Our Grand Duke sucks at swordsmanship? All he knows is how to throw punches?"
The people's trust would hit rock bottom in no time. Worst case, they'd whisper,
"Is that really the Grand Duke? Looks like the shell's the same, but someone's swapped out the insides, huh?"
And my cover would be blown.
So I had to test it quietly, alone, away from prying eyes.
Of course, I wasn't charging out suicidally without a plan. I had a rational hypothesis—and conviction.
Yesterday in my room, when I tried to curse, my lips automatically filtered it into Theodor's refined speech.
Even my speech patterns synced perfectly to "Theodor mode".
So even if technical knowledge was beyond me, shouldn't this body retain the continent-topping "power" and "muscle memory" honed over a lifetime?
No—it had to.
Or I'd be dead.
The original novel described Theodor's prowess as superhuman. With specs like that, magic beast small fry should be crushable by sheer force.
Right. Today's outing is a tutorial to test my body's specs and limits firsthand.
So my destination was set.
The towering Snowy Mountains I'd glimpsed from the mansion window that morning, scraping the clouds.
Finally reaching the foot of the Snowy Mountains after crossing the snow-blanketed plains, I stopped.
...What the hell happened to this mountain?
It had looked impossibly tall from afar.
But up close, the lower slopes weren't the dense conifer forest I'd imagined.
They were sheared clean, like a giant buzzcut—massive trunks hacked off, leaving only ugly stumps.
...Way too many for just firewood.
No matter how the territory folk shivered, they wouldn't have clear-cut an entire mountainside.
Was this diverted south too? Fancy logs for Ayla's greenhouse garden?
...Obvious, even without asking. All because of that damn Ayla.
I wasn't even surprised anymore by the original owner's litany of sins.
With a resigned sigh, I pressed on.
The higher I climbed the Snowy Mountains, the fiercer the north wind howled. With every tree felled, there was no windbreak—the sharp gusts battered me unfiltered.
I trudged silently upward for a while.
Then.
Grrrrr...
A low, savage beast growl echoed from somewhere.
I froze, yanking the sword from my waist.
In the barren snowy expanse, a pack of massive wolf-like magic beasts surrounded me in a circle. Ash-gray fur bristling, bloodshot eyes gleaming.
Ah, damn it. Should've brought the guards.
Instant regret hit hard.
Even normal wolves scared me, and these were huge.
But spilled milk. Show fear or your back here, and I'd be their hearty meal.
I steeled myself, drew a deep breath, and glared them down.
The tense standoff stretched.
Then one wolf couldn't wait—it kicked off its hind legs, lunging for my neck.
Screw it!
Eyes squeezed shut, I swung the sword down wildly from overhead.
Shwick—!
A chillingly smooth sensation ran through my hands, like slicing through giant butter.
...Huh?
I cracked my eyes open cautiously.
Unbelievable.
The massive wolf lay split clean in two from brow to tail tip—vertically perfect. Not a drop of blood on my clothes. Overwhelmingly clean.
Splatter— The late-flowing red soaked the snow. The remaining wolves recoiled in horror, backing away.
The hefty sword in my hands felt like a feather now.
This is it. This is top-tier continental power...!
A jolt of unknown thrill and euphoria raced up my spine.
Right now, I was the strongest, coolest guy in the world.
I lowered the dripping blade tip slowly and gazed at the murky gray sky.
"Haa..."
My breath puffed white.
Channeling the inner teenage romantic I'd buried deep, I intoned gravely and low,
"I hadn't meant... to draw my sword."
Then I swept my chilling blood-red gaze over the pack.
Each wolf that met my eyes whimpered and flinched. Even their ferocity crushed by continental-top-tier presence.
Aaah. Defense phase over. My turn.
Boom—!
I kicked off the snow-hard ground, charging them.
"Too slow."
Shwick! Slash! Clang!
Each swing sent shockwaves radiating. No fancy techniques needed—just overwhelming speed and power raining down.
Wolf heads flew across the snowfield; massive bodies carved to chunks.
In seconds, a bloody corpse pile stained the white expanse.
"Yelp! Yelp!"
The survivors, unable to bear the power gap and terror, tucked tail and scattered.
But my body had fully adapted to the hunt's rush.
Where you going? The territory's having a feast tonight.
I slashed mercilessly at their fleeing backs.
Splurt—!
Far off in the blizzard, a wolf's head arced cleanly into the air.
I readjusted my grip on the blood-dripping sword and looked up toward the peak, thick with magic beast aura.
This wasn't enough to feed the territory's starving mouths.
...Today, I'm wrecking this mountain's ecosystem.