264
I Killed the Demon King. It Was a Mistake
Chapter 264
Eric Sylvatil removed his glasses and rubbed his face dry.
"Hah......"
On Eric's table lay a 'Sales Trend Report.'
The executives of Knight Night magazine were all watching Eric's expression cautiously, not daring to open their mouths.
"So we're in deficit again?"
"......Yes. Moreover, the loan interest payment date is coming soon...... Ahem!"
The financial executive couldn't finish his sentence and closed his mouth due to Eric's sharp gaze.
"I know that too. It's next week. And payday is this Friday."
Eric scanned the report again.
"How interesting. If we just delay one month's salary, we can pay this month's interest."
"T-that......"
"Why, we delayed it last month too. Can't we delay it this month as well? With words like 'let's overcome this management crisis together as a family'? Can't we just explain it vaguely like that? We're all family, aren't we?"
The executives couldn't speak and just rolled their eyes at Eric's words. They might be able to smooth things over for now. But they didn't think things would improve going forward.
Eric finally couldn't hold back and threw the report.
"Damn you, Caesar......! You... you son of a...! Damn it!"
The reason Knight Night magazine had fallen into such dire straits was simple. It was because of the rumor that Caesar had become an enemy of the Sylvatil Viscount family.
Caesar was a rising sun. He was praised by the Emperor, favored by Arch Duke, and had a righteous image spread throughout the continent as someone who actively participated in demon hunting. The problem was that the stronger Caesar's righteous image became, the faster the Sylvatil Viscount family fell into ruin.
When rumors spread across the continent that Aldo and Eric had tried to steal Caesar's personal assets and eventually ended up in a duel, it severely damaged both the family and corporate image. The magazine's circulation, which lived on image and content, decreased dramatically each month, and now they couldn't even secure advertising.
Bang!
At that moment, the secretary burst into the conference room urgently. Eric glared at the secretary murderously.
"What is it! We're in a meeting!"
"Ah, um... Viscount Sylvatil. That... There's an urgent call......"
"What call!"
"Sir Gideon has called."
At the mention of Gideon, lightning flashed in Eric's eyes.
"What? Gideon?"
"Yes. He said if you don't take it now, he'll hang up......"
What more does that damned Caesar want to torment us with? If they disturb the Sylvatil Viscount family any further here, it won't just be the family business that's ruined, the Viscount family will go bankrupt.
'I can't let the Viscount family go bankrupt just 3 months after I inherited it.'
He needs to handle this as quietly and moderately as possible.
"Everyone out now! Transfer the call here!"
The executives scurried out like cockroaches and the conference room emptied. Eric took a deep breath and organized his thoughts.
Why did Gideon call?
They say he just returned from the demon realm three days ago, surely it couldn't be just a courtesy call. Well, he'd find out once he listened. Eric picked up the receiver as calmly as possible and spoke.
"Good to hear from you, Sir Gideon. Have you been well?"
-Given how many near-death experiences I had in the demon realm, it's hard to say I've been well.
Eric exhaled briefly before speaking.
"Ahem! I see. So what brings you to call?"
-I heard you inherited the position of head of the Sylvatil family.
"......My father passed away recently. I simply inherited it as promised."
Could he be calling to pick at this? Eric thought this Caesar fellow was more persistent than expected.
-How is Young Master Aldo doing?
Is he looking for his former master now? Eric thought Gideon was quite brazen, but tried his best not to show it.
"He's staying at the small villa in Vex that father left him. He says it's more comfortable there."
-Is that true?
"You don't think I drove him out, do you? My brother and I are practically strangers now. Though we're still entangled in various debts......"
Debts.
Eric froze for a moment. Come to think of it, the Sylvatil Viscount family had to provide Gideon with 820,000 dels in pure interest annually. They had to pay Gideon nearly 70,000 dels in interest every month.
However...... Eric hadn't paid the interest while Gideon was in the demon realm. This was because Gideon might have died in the demon realm, and they weren't in a position to pay interest to Gideon anyway.
-The interest has fallen behind by almost half a year. Can you explain how this happened?
"Well, that's because our family has fallen on hard times..."
-What does that have to do with me?
Eric bit his lip hard.
He thought becoming a Viscount would solve everything, but how could he have imagined he would fall so low as to be insulted by a knight who once served the Sylvatil family?
-Let's discuss that matter later. I have something else to ask.
"...Isn't that why you called?"
-It's regarding what Lord Caesar asked me to look into discreetly.
A spark of life returned to Eric's dying eyes. This smells like money.
"What is it about?"
-Has there been any changes with Count Vex recently?
"Count Vex..."
Information about Count Vex organized itself neatly in Eric's mind. However, there wasn't anything particularly special compared to what he had thought. But if it seemed like there was nothing, the conversation would likely end.
"Well, there were a few unusual movements."
-Could you tell me about them?
"To be frank, aren't we strangers? I don't think it's right to just give away such high-level information for free?"
-We are also in a creditor-debtor relationship.
Damn it. The 410,000 del he owed to Gideon flashed through Eric's mind. There's absolutely no way he could pay that amount right now.
"What I'm saying is that I could provide information if approached as a formal request."
-Fine. Let's hear it first and carefully evaluate its worth.
"Where in the world is there such a rule?"
-This isn't my personal matter.
"Then?"
-This is a direct request from Viscount Caesar El Lindger. Will you help or not?
The sweet smell of money wafted past Eric's nose. Had there ever been anything involving Caesar that hadn't caused a stir in the world? Eric's job is to turn issues into money. This is something he must grab onto, regardless of pride.
"Alright. But I have a condition."
-What condition?
"Let me speak directly with Caesar... No, Viscount El Lindger."
-The Viscount isn't someone with much free time.
"It's because the information is so sensitive. I'd prefer if fewer people knew about it."
There was silence on the line. Eric anxiously waited for Gideon's voice to break the silence.
-Very well. I'll contact you soon.
"Let's do that."
As soon as Gideon hung up, Eric threw open the conference room door. And shouted at the executives who were watching him cautiously.
"Bring me all information related to Count Vex immediately! Find out everything, down to what he ate for breakfast this morning!"
***
Caesar finished his shower and heard the news about Eric from Gideon.
"So he asked to speak with me directly?"
"Yes. From what I hear, the Sylvatil family's business is struggling significantly. He must be desperate enough to grab even a rotten rope."
Caesar tapped the table as he fell into thought.
"What's the possibility that Eric has been recruited by Count Vex?"
"It's not impossible."
"My relationship with Brother Eric isn't exactly great, right? It could get annoying if he feeds me false information just to mess with me?"
"The Viscount Bellum family is also looking into it, so we could compare information."
Speaking face to face with Eric would make it possible to guess his thoughts, but that's impossible right now.
"Well, then there's no choice."
Caesar picked up the receiver and dialed Eric's office number. The phone rang exactly three times before being answered.
-Is this Viscount El Lindger?
"Have you decided to treat me as a complete stranger now, Brother Eric?"
When Caesar responded casually, Eric seemed flustered and cleared his throat.
-Ahem! Well, that's not it.
"What is there to trust in these difficult times? Aren't we brothers? As the youngest, I just asked my second brother for some help, but it hurts a bit when you're so businesslike."
-Ah, um... Is that so?
From Eric's perspective, this must be bewildering. Just a year ago, Eric had been plotting all sorts of schemes to kill Caesar, and now here he was talking about brotherhood. His mind must be quite confused right now.
"Well, anyway, I heard father passed away?"
-...Yes, that happened.
"Did he pass peacefully?"
-He went like he was falling asleep. I sent a letter about his passing, but it seems you didn't receive it.
"Luxhope was razed by Elijah, so your letter probably burned up too."
-I see. So will you come visit?
"I should eventually. But it's difficult to move around right now."
Is this enough buttering up? Caesar decided it was time to get to the main point.
"By the way, how is Count Vex doing these days? The economy throughout the Imperial Province isn't doing very well lately."
-It seems Count Vex has suffered more damage than expected. However, it appears he's managing to hold on.
"How so?"
-I heard when the banks come to collect loan payments, he sends his knights to drive them away.
Huh, really. They say nobles have no conscience, but I never dreamed they could be this lacking.
-The interest keeps accumulating but the banks can't collect their money, and several local banks that lent money to Count Vex have already gone bankrupt.
"And the bonds issued under the Count's name have become worthless?"
-Naturally. They're nothing more than kindling, no more, no less. But there's one place that's been buying up all this kindling.
"...Could it be the Royder Order?"
-Exactly.
The ownership of Count Vex's debt has transferred from local banks to the Royder Order. While he might be able to simply send knights to turn away regular local banks applying pressure, it's a different story with the Royder Order.
-And for the past two months until now, Cardinal Anders has been staying as Count Vex's honored guest.
A Cardinal staying at House Vex for two months. This means they're applying regular pressure on Count Vex.
-I heard Lady Olivia recently challenged Lady Gloria to a duel?
While Eric may be greedy and ill-natured, he's not incompetent. Given that he found out why Caesar was looking for Eric in less than 24 hours, it seems he has informants in Homigraph as well.
"That's correct."
-Have the duel date and such been decided?
"Not yet. Since we received the duel challenge, we're in a position to decide the place and time."
-Count Vex doesn't have any knights strong enough to handle you. While it might be possible if Count Vex himself stepped forward, he wouldn't personally get involved in such a chaotic situation.
Yet there must be a reason they challenged Gloria to a duel.
"Who do you think will step forward?"
-There's one knight who's been frequently coming and going from House Vex recently. A knight who's very renowned and famous for being righteous.
"What's their name?"
-Aurora, the morning star.
Aurora, the morning star.
There's no way Caesar wouldn't know this knight's name. While her combat rating is A-rank, which isn't particularly high, she has an exceptionally holy aura, beautiful appearance, kind heart, and righteous demeanor. Thanks to her incredibly well-managed image, just having her in a knight order dramatically increases their honor rating and popularity.
-This is just my prediction, but the moment you express willingness to accept the duel, they'll send Aurora. And have her face you.
"Don't they know that in proxy battles, only contestants registered six months in advance can participate? Procedurally, Aurora cannot participate as a contestant."
-No, there's one more way.
"What way?"
-If Aurora becomes Olivia's sword instructor, she can become a contestant. They would have left evidence of establishing a master-disciple relationship before officially requesting the duel, and they'll use that as grounds to argue for contestant qualification.
Just as Aurora's honor rating is high, any knight who kills Aurora will see their honor rating plummet to rock bottom. If you happen to face Aurora in a duel, even by accident, it would be better to just forfeit.
"But Aurora agreed to such a dishonorable procedure? Isn't she famous for being an honorable knight precisely because she doesn't do such things?"
-I'm not sure about that either. It seems to be related to internal matters of the Royder Order.
To summarize, Count Vex is currently heavily indebted to the Royder Order and is in a situation where he's being half-controlled by them. And given that Aurora has been frequently visiting Count Vex's mansion recently, it means they'll send her out as the duel opponent as soon as the challenge is accepted.
It would be naive to think 'Can't I just subdue Aurora without killing her?' That would be underestimating the Royder Order. The moment Aurora faces Caesar, she will definitely die. The Royder Order will make sure to kill her by whatever means necessary. Then Caesar's honor will fall, and the Royder Order will definitely not miss the opportunity to tear into that gap.
-I think I've provided quite a bit of help, what do you think?… Little brother?
"Well, I seem to have gained more than I expected."
This is enough to trust almost 100% without even needing to verify.
-Then may I make one proposal?
"Go ahead."
-If you end up dueling with Aurora... Though I'm not sure if it will actually happen, but if it does, we at Knight Night Magazine want to write several special feature articles…
Come to think of it, I heard Knight Night Magazine's revenue has hit rock bottom recently. From Eric's perspective, he needs to create new content somehow. There couldn't be a more mouth-watering story than this.
"Well, that's not bad."
-Really?
"After all the help you've given, an interview is certainly possible. But there's something you should note."
-What is it?
"I might not participate directly."
-Then who will?
A knock was heard on Caesar's office door. Gideon opened the door.
Golden hair and clear blue eyes entered, pushing aside the air fragranced with soap.
"Did you call for me? Master?"
It was Gloria.