Chapter 58: Because It Hurts
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 58: Because It Hurts
Ferda approached President Bernard and handed him a bottle of liquor.
"What is this?" Bernard asked, blinking.
"I thought you might need it, so I brought it along."
"The... the whole bottle?"
"It’s been a difficult day, hasn’t it?"
It had been, quite literally, a grueling day.
Except for the times he’d downed dozens of cups of coffee to stay awake, Bernard’s heart had never hammered against his ribs so violently. He couldn't calm down. With trembling hands, he gripped the neck of the bottle and drank.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
It was whiskey with an alcohol content of over sixty percent. A searing heat scorched his throat as it went down, but he didn't pull the bottle away until half of the potent spirit was gone.
"Thank you for saving me," Bernard gasped, wiping his mouth.
"There is no need for thanks."
"May I ask one thing? This... this thought simply won't leave my head, so I must ask."
"Go ahead."
"How... how did you know I would be in danger?"
How did he know?
It was because of a technique that the now-deceased Thesalos Wolcher used to boast about constantly. Yet, when Wolcher had suddenly announced that the technique was flawed, he had been more furious than anyone. That specific level of rage had made everything clear, and it was then that Thesalos Wolcher had made him realize something.
Bernard wasn't the same Bernard back then.
But by the time Ferda realized it, it was already too late. Nothing could be proven, the technology had vanished, and Bernard had ended his life as the worst President in history.
Recalling that memory, Ferda had calculated the moment the President would be in the most danger. That moment was, naturally, when he was returning to the city.
I was lucky.
The surveillance, which might have dragged on, had been resolved quickly.
Ferda answered the question calmly. "I have ears everywhere as well."
Bernard let out a hollow laugh at the familiar phrase. "Damn it... everyone seems to have ears somewhere. Why am I the only one who hears nothing?"
"It’s not just that. A man of your stature, the President of a city, traveled without even a small escort of soldiers. Being exposed to danger was a foregone conclusion."
"Because it wasn't efficient."
"To the nobility, efficiency is a fool's errand."
"So it seems. I am feeling that truth deep in my bones today. Those who thought they’d enjoy attacking the President of Escoleia... they will taste hell starting today."
Bernard’s face turned beet red. Between his fury and the intoxication, his grip on reason was fraying.
"To think... that a demon was targeting me. To think that a demon—the kind people mock you for even mentioning, calling you a paranoid delusional—actually appeared before my eyes..."
His eyes grew moist, as if he were on the verge of breaking down.
"Do not cry," Ferda said.
"Kh-ugh... I'm sorry."
Ferda watched with a look of slight displeasure as Bernard wiped away his tears.
"At any rate, you must realize it now. The demons are constantly seeking an opportunity to lead this continent toward ruin."
"Yes..."
"This continent must belong entirely to us. Even if it does not belong to us specifically, it must never fall into the hands of demons."
"You are absolutely right."
"Then, I shall make a proposal."
Ferda reached out to Bernard, who was currently drowning in alcohol and emotion.
"Lend me that technology—the Monster Appearance Prediction Device."
In an instant, the fog in Bernard’s lightheaded brain cleared.
"Lend it to you...?"
"Exactly as I said. The blueprints and the mechanisms required to manufacture the equipment."
The request was polite, but it was essentially a demand for everything he had. Bernard understood the implication instinctively.
"Is that... what this was?" Bernard asked, his voice trembling.
"What do you mean?"
"Putting me under surveillance, waiting until I was in danger, and then..." Bernard’s finger tapped the half-empty bottle. "Giving me this strong liquor by the bottle... it was all a scheme to get your hands on my technology, wasn't it?"
It was a cheap trick to make him emotional. Ferda must have been hoping he would let go of the final, precarious thread of reason hanging by his pinky finger.
Bernard expected Ferda to deny it. Like any noble, he would surely feign ignorance and try to argue his way out of it. Bernard was already picking out the words to refute him, but there was no need.
"That’s right," Ferda admitted readily.
Overwhelmed by indignation, Bernard surged to his feet and shouted.
"To try and get what you want by manipulating someone in distress...! Have you no shame, Regent of Valdrova?!"
Unlike the frantic Bernard, Ferda asked calmly, "Why should I be ashamed?"
"Why should you be—?! You're asking because you don't know? Did you think you could win my favor by using a person's life like that?"
"If I wanted your favor, I would have used sweet words. I would have beguiled you with empty flattery. But I couldn't care less about your favor."
Ferda gestured toward Bernard’s head.
"The only reason I wanted you to live is because you are the one who holds that technology."
"So I only survived because I was useful?"
"You almost died because of that technology, so is it really so surprising that you were saved because of it?"
Bernard couldn't argue. He had nearly died because he was useful, and he had been saved because he was useful. But that also meant he was nothing more than a tool to Ferda. Bernard couldn't stand being treated that way.
"You...! You aren't even human!"
He pointed a finger, swaying with drunkenness, and stomped toward the door.
"If you leave this place, you will die."
Bernard’s footsteps halted. Those words, laced with a grim chill, seemed to bind his feet like a snare.
"Are you threatening me now?"
"No. I am merely stating a fact. If you wander around at this hour of the night, you'll be eaten by monsters, if not demons."
"I'd rather be eaten than stay in a place like this!"
Ferda set down his teacup and stood up.
"If that happens, everything you’ve built will crumble into nothingness."
Bernard flinched. Those cold words weren't born of Ferda’s selfishness; they echoed Bernard’s own inner fears.
"I heard the one who attacked you mimicked your appearance. What do you think he could have done in your form?"
"..."
"He would have quietly destroyed everything only you know. Your blueprints and records would have been turned to ash and scattered to the wind. As if... they never existed in the first place."
"..."
"And what then? What do you think a man with the face of an incompetent President would do? He would sit at your desk and lie in your bed without permission. He would scribble with your pen and press your seal of approval. He would squander the budget and tear you and your city down."
"Ugh... aaaah..."
Bernard collapsed to the floor. To him, Escoleia and his research were his wife and son. The thought of them being destroyed without his knowledge was horrifying.
"Ugh... h-huuuu..."
Bernard finally burst into tears, curling into a ball and trembling violently. He was isolated and lonely.
"I am a man who has declared that I will conquer the Land of Demons. The demons are my enemies, a race of cockroaches that must be eradicated."
Ferda extended his hand.
"To achieve that dream, I need the technology you possess."
Bernard looked down at the hand. The Ferda Valdrova he knew was a 3rd Circle mage. However, his hand wasn't the soft, pampered hand typical of young lords from prestigious magic families; it was calloused. He was a man from a knightly family. He was a man who had once dreamed of being a knight. That dream had been frustrated, and he had become the Archduchess's fiancé.
Ironically, Bernard felt a sense of honor and trust from that palm.
"I will share the blueprints and mechanisms of the items I am developing. In exchange..." Bernard poked his own chest with a finger that wavered from the alcohol. "This knowledge is entirely mine. Make that point clear."
Bernard was asserting his intellectual property. His warning was for Ferda not to take any credit. To a scholar, intellectual property was their pride and their everything. To Ferda, it was nothing.
"Your name will surely be remembered in history."
* * *
Ferda headed to the Consilus territory with President Bernard. Once Bernard returned to Escoleia, Ferda planned to have Arwen treat him well before providing an escort.
"How is the President?" Ferda asked Count Consilus, who sat across from him.
"The priests say the shock was severe, so he needs at least another day of rest. It’s the first time someone who usually dies of high blood pressure or a heart attack almost died at the hands of another, after all."
"Is that so?"
"More than that, his body is a wreck because he drank so much so suddenly. It’s as if he went on a massive binge somewhere..."
"I gave it to him. It was the liquor you gifted me."
"You gave him the whole bottle?"
"He finished half of it on the spot."
"Why would you do something so barbaric...?"
"Because it hurts." Ferda sipped his tea. "I gave it to him because he must be hurting enough to want to die."
"It’s a miracle he didn't actually die."
"Rest is well and good, but send him back to Escoleia as quickly as possible. There is something I must receive from him."
"I will tell Arwen."
Consilus looked dazed. He recalled the shocking sight he had witnessed just a few hours ago when Ferda’s carriage entered his castle.
"By the way... I feel like I've seen thousands of monsters in my life, but a demon... I think this is the first time."
"No need to be surprised. I hadn't seen one either."
"Above all, this is the first time I've heard of a demon that can mimic a human."
Demons had three prominent characteristics: sharp teeth, red eyes, and black skin.
"I suspect it might have been confused with a Doppelganger," Consilus added.
"A Doppelganger."
"If it has no form of its own and merely imitates the appearance and voice of another, it can only be a Doppelganger. President Bernard was likely confused and distressed."
"So you're saying he might have been mistaken."
"Yes."
It was a logical point. Ferda pondered the words.
"Do you know the difference between a Doppelganger and the original human?"
"Since they only mimic the outward appearance, they cannot imitate what is under the clothes. That is why we strip them to check."
"Correct. However, I am told this creature replicated everything inside as well. Even the genitals."
"He checked... even the genitals?"
"If you do things halfway, you're bound to get caught."
"True. Regardless, if even the genitals were identical, it’s less of an imitation and more of a replication."
"That wasn't all. I felt the exact same mana from him as I did from President Bernard. He didn't just mimic Bernard; he became him."
"If he became the man himself... it must have been nearly impossible to tell them apart. Sir Jed must have an extraordinary eye for detail."
"He was lucky."
Ferda was grateful the man was bald, and even more grateful that he kept that head polished to a shine.
"So, is that Doppler demon being kept well?"
"Yes. We’ve fitted him with heavy restraints, and I’ve ordered the executioner to torture him."
"Is he still at it?"
"Yes."
"How many hours has it been?"
"It’s been about four hours since they started, right after we arrived."
Ferda placed his index finger on his chin. "How long do you think it will take to extract information?"
"The man is a skilled technician. If you give him two days..."
"A single day is too long for my temperament."
"I will tell him to do his absolute best."
"No." Ferda stood up. "I may be impatient, but throwing a tantrum when there's a solution is inefficient."
"Does that mean you intend to perform the torture yourself?"
"I happen to have a bit of a knack for that field as well."
A noble claiming to have a knack for torture was a strange thing to hear. Yet, it wasn't surprising. Ferda was the man who had killed Thesalos Wolcher without batting an eye.
"May I use the alchemy workshop?"
"Yes. However, we don't have many ingredients for poisons. Will that be alright?"
"It’s fine. I’m not planning to make poison anyway."
"Ah, in that case, please feel free to use it..."
Ferda walked toward the workshop, and Consilus watched his retreating figure.
If it’s not poison, then what kind of medicine is he making...? Wait.
His thoughts were swallowed by a question. What he saw was Ferda’s back as he moved away. On the back of his black clothes, something seemed to be wriggling and moving.
"I must be seeing things in my old age."
Consilus rubbed his eyes and stood up, dismissing the sight as nothing important.
* * *
Deep in the dungeon of Count Consilus’s castle.
The executioner, wearing a black hood, was performing his duty. The man with the face of President Bernard was hanging in a wretched state. He was bound to a steel rack with his tendons severed; even with the strength of a knight, he wouldn't be able to escape easily.
Into this place, where no one but the executioner and the prisoner ever came, an unexpected guest arrived.
"Greetings, Regent of Valdrova."
"May I see your handiwork?"
"Yes, of course."
The executioner stepped aside, and Ferda walked forward. The man’s condition was truly horrific. His face was swollen, and his body was covered in dark bruises.
"Impressive," Ferda muttered. "Your skill in inflicting pain without killing is remarkable."
"...You flatter me."
The executioner was taken aback by the first compliment he’d ever received in his life. This area was a foul place, practically bordering on hell itself. To walk in here without hesitation and call the work "impressive"...
"Your role ends here."
"But I haven't extracted any information yet..."
"I’ll handle it myself. Here is your fee."
Ferda handed the executioner three gold coins. The man was stunned by the sudden windfall, but he knew exactly what to do.
Once the executioner had left, Ferda pulled up a chair and looked up at the bound man. His head was slumped, eyes tightly shut.
"I know you're still conscious. Now that you've been revealed as a demon, shouldn't you stop pretending to be a frail human?"
At those words, the man with the slumped head looked up. Unlike his battered face, his eyes were full of life.
A light of interest began to swirl in Ferda’s eyes.