Chapter 135
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Dear Departed Elder
Gerald Winchester wanted to settle things with a verbal agreement, but I told him I would go with him to his estate tomorrow after the social gathering. I suggested we discuss the details of the sponsorship there.
After sending Gerald Winchester off, Liche, who had been standing silently in the background, asked in a trembling voice.
"Do we really have to go there...?"
"Of course. We have to."
When it comes to money, you get a mutually satisfactory result by dealing face-to-face, not with a verbal agreement. Not that an agreement is necessary for a sponsorship, since it's a one-sided gift to begin with.
"I thought you weren't going to accept any sponsorships?"
"That was the original plan."
Liche seemed to hate the idea of going to her family home, and I originally had no intention of accepting sponsorships either. Who knew what kind of crap they'd pull after giving me their dirty money. But Gerald's intentions were too despicable to let slide. Daring to use me? Then I'd have to use him right back.
"Ugh..."
"Liche. People can't always live doing only what they want."
Sometimes in life, you have to do things you don't want to.
"I know that, but..."
I brought the wine to the disheartened Liche's lips. With the help of alcohol, you can do things you normally couldn't. Liche took the wine from me and sipped at it.
Just then, Lucia and the Emperor were approaching. I didn't know why, but the combination itself reeked of trouble.
"Your Majesty. This is the adventurer I mentioned earlier."
"Oho. Is this the man you spoke of? The one who might become the fourth S-rank adventurer?"
"In fact, if the conditions are met, it's possible at any time."
Just as Lucia said. I just needed a letter of recommendation from the Alchemist to become S-rank. Hearing this, the Emperor's eyes lit up like a child's.
After all, befriending an S-rank adventurer, known as a human weapon, would be helpful in a pinch. For instance, if a monster comparable to an S-rank invaded, or in the unlikely event of a war between nations.
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Abraham de Albert."
The Emperor extended his hand to me. A clear offer of a handshake.
A normal handshake is a very common form of greeting. The problem is that the person offering it held the title of Emperor.
I didn't know whether the Emperor intended it or not, but for him to personally offer a handshake in a place full of nobles was an act that validated me as a person.
A handshake is usually a greeting between equals. For the Emperor to do such a thing to me meant he acknowledged me as an equal, or at least someone similar. And the only positions equal to an emperor are S-rank adventurers and kings of other nations.
I had no reason to refuse the handshake, so I accepted it, and naturally, the surrounding nobles' gazes fell upon us.
"However, you seem quite young to have reached such a high level. Is this man also in a field similar to the Alchemist's?"
"No, Your Majesty. Surprisingly, his field is martial."
"Hoh... At his age?"
The Emperor stroked his beard, looking as if he were deep in thought. There was actually something I hoped the Emperor could help me with. Should I ask?
"Your Majesty."
"Hm? What is it?"
"If it isn't too much to ask, may I make a request of you, Your Majesty?"
Normally, no one would dare make a request to the Emperor's face. But the people of this world didn't expect formalities from adventurers, and there was no way I, someone from Earth, would have any.
Fortunately, the Emperor was a hearty man, bold enough to joke about his own life, so he readily agreed.
"Haha! Yes! One needs that much nerve to become an S-rank adventurer! So, what is it? Money? Honor? Just say the word!"
"May I eliminate a certain family?"
"......?"
***
A day later, we left the inn early in the morning to head to the Winchester family's estate. The obvious method of travel was by carriage, but...
-Liche. How long does it take to get to your estate from here?
-By carriage... a little over a week?
-Oh, for fuck's sake.
No matter how luxurious the carriage, the ride could never be better than a car's. To have to travel for a whole week with that kind of ride quality... I absolutely couldn't stand it.
Besides, I had met Liche's older sister and brother that morning. The brother seemed fine, but she didn't seem to get along with her sister, so it would have been painfully awkward to travel in the same carriage for a week.
So, we decided to send the carriage separately and travel ahead using a teleport.
That morning, we joined the Winchester family and headed straight for Jeomineol Academy to get the recommendation letter and to ask Lucia to use her personal connections for a teleport.
-Lucia. I have something to do for the sake of world peace. Can you help me?
-...What?
And Lucia readily helped.
Right after we arrived in the duchy via teleport with Lucia's help.
The members of the Winchester family, having used a teleport that even nobles couldn't use freely, showed signs of being quite impressed, though they didn't let it show on the surface.
By now, Gerald must have his happy-circuits running at full throttle. Thinking I was just an ordinary A-rank adventurer, he now saw I had connections to an S-ranker. If no one was around, Gerald probably would have busted out a celebratory twerk.
"Ahem... Let's head to the mansion, then."
Clearing his throat to draw our attention, Gerald Winchester immediately led us towards the mansion. The mansion was certainly large, but having just seen the Imperial Palace yesterday, and having seen mansions of this size in other territories, I wasn't particularly impressed.
Even though it was her first time home in a while, Liche didn't seem very happy about it. Not that I planned on staying long anyway.
It would take a week to get back to the Empire from here, so I had to accomplish my goal and leave immediately.
Liche's sister and brother went to their respective rooms, and upon arriving at the mansion, Gerald had the butler guide us to the drawing room, saying he would be back after changing his clothes.
As we waited, being served by the butler, the count returned shortly after, having changed his clothes.
"My apologies for the wait."
Gerald sat on the sofa across from us, and the butler who had just been pouring our tea stood formally behind him.
"Not at all. More importantly, shall we have a productive conversation?"
"Indeed. Then let's discuss the sponsorship."
He showed a silent reaction to the word 'productive'. I didn't particularly like it, but in a way, Gerald Winchester was similar to me. He only saw reality and judged everything based on practical gain.
With a personality like that, he wouldn't even entertain a conversation if he thought there was the slightest chance of a loss.
So he must have judged that sponsoring me now would yield various benefits in the future. Let's hear how much he was offering.
"Is there an amount you have in mind?"
"That's not for me to decide."
I'd never received a sponsorship in my life, and anyway, it was up to the person giving it, not me.
"In that case, how about 10 gold coins a month?"
10 gold coins a month. As long as I didn't waste it, it was enough to live comfortably without working. As expected of a duke, he was a big spender. But if I was going to take it, I might as well get more, right?
"Why not think of it as giving your daughter some extra allowance and spend a little more?"
*Your daughter is in my party, so why not spend a little more?* That's what I was saying. At my words, his left eye twitched almost imperceptibly.
What, did it pain him to spend money on the daughter he threw away? But Gerald, deciding he couldn't back out now, raised the price as if doing me a great favor.
"...Fine. How about 20 gold coins."
"And what do you want from me for that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't play dumb. How many people sponsor someone out of pure goodwill?"
"Hmph. You're right about that."
This wasn't some streaming site. Who sponsors someone out of pure goodwill?
"What I want from you is support in the event of a monster invasion, and, though it's unlikely, if a war were to break out with another family."
The latter was unlikely. I hadn't heard any rumors of war since I came here. That meant the monster invasions were the real issue, but that was a problem virtually every territory faced. That's why every territory had an Adventurer's Guild.
However, the 'war with another family' part could have multiple interpretations if you read between the lines. What if Gerald were to cunningly and insidiously provoke a war with another family, and I had to go support him?
'What a complete bastard.'
He probably wouldn't actually go that far, but I didn't need to explain how prone humans are to making mistakes. Now that we were mostly done talking, shall we get to the main event?
"Sounds good. Then now..."
Die. I said, pulling a sword from my inventory.
"......"
"...What?"
Gerald, perhaps having some trick up his sleeve, was disappointingly unresponsive. The one who questioned me was a bewildered Liche.
"W-Wait, what are you talking about, Luke? You never said anything about this...!"
Of course I didn't tell anyone. To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your allies, right? I didn't tell you because I knew you'd just get in the way.
"It's just as I said. I'm just taking out the trash for the sake of world peace."
If the water upstream is tainted, the water downstream will be too. So I'm just filtering out the tainted water early.
"Did you come here intending to do this all along?"
"Yes. Did you think money could solve everything?"
To be honest, money does make the world go round. But that's only when they just give it to you or ask you to do work worth the amount. If they try to work you to death for 600,000 won a month like some country's army, I'd rather not take the money at all.
The moment I was about to say, *Now, let's kill them all.*
"......!"
"Ugh!"
"Ngh...!"
The other three suddenly went limp, slumping forward, their heads hitting the table.
"It seems the effects are finally showing."
Gerald foolishly revealed that this was all his doing.
"Paralysis poison. I'm a rather cautious man."
He must have put paralysis poison in the tea we drank earlier. No wonder he wasn't flustered. But to poison his own daughter... The Demon God would be out of a job at this rate.
But there was just one problem.
[ Status Effect Resistance (B+) has been activated. Purifying paralysis. ]
I was perfectly fine.
"But for someone so cautious, you didn't do any research on your opponent, did you?"
"......!"
Gerald was stunned. He clearly hadn't expected this. Then again, he only saw me for the first time yesterday; he wouldn't have had time to investigate.
Besides, a passive skill like Status Effect Resistance isn't outwardly visible, so it's natural that no one would know about it except for Luna and Yui, whom I'd told.
"One of my favorite things to do is crush bastards who think they're all high and mighty. How did you know to set the stage for me so perfectly?"
I was just thinking how annoying it would be if Liche interfered, since that would just add to the body count.
He even took her out for me. How considerate, right? If only he'd shown that same kindness to others, he wouldn't have to die. What a shame.
"So, Father-in-law. Would you kindly become my *late* father-in-law?"