The Ruffian Baron (1)

The morning of my discharge.

At the entrance to the sanitarium.

As I waited for someone, phrases flooded through my mind.

The quest objective had been to continue meeting with Maria Caligosa.

I'd figured the quest might fail once we parted ways — but apparently this, too, counted as one of the branching points.

I answered yes inwardly, and new phrases began to appear.

What exactly was this Ark of Curses?

It was a trait I'd never seen even while playing Luke's Biography.

The moment I wondered, this system — or whatever it was — helpfully supplied the answer on its own.

A trait I rather liked.

Going forward, if I found any useful-looking curses, I'd need to consider transferring them onto myself. In a fantasy world, there was no harm in cultivating enough power to protect myself.

Whether curses were common enough to collect was another question entirely.

I looked back.

Inside the sanitarium building, someone was watching me through a window. When our eyes met, she gave a light wave of her hand.

Maria Caligosa.

The silver-haired, purple-eyed girl who had once been bound by the Curse of Emotionlessness. Even though that curse now resided in me, she still wore that same mask-like smile.

The transfer of the curse was certain. And yet—

"Beauty and the curse…"

When she transferred the curse to me, Maria had suddenly pressed her lips to mine. Even before the possession, I had never kissed anyone.

Haven't you even read the fairy tales? A kiss is essential when breaking a beauty's curse.

At the time, my emotions had been indescribably chaotic — but now, recalling it, my heart was perfectly still. That, too, was surely thanks to the Curse of Emotionlessness.

Maria hadn't come to see me after that. As though she no longer had any business with me.

I looked up at the sky.

Instead of clouds, things like masses of tentacles drifted overhead. They even had wings. Was this thanks to the Ark of Curses? Compared to the bleeding eyes in the heavens or the tooth-lined mouths along the horizon, these were almost cute illusions.

They were still plenty horrific — but perhaps the Curse of Emotionlessness simply kept any real feeling from taking root.

Maria pointed a finger at her own neck.

"The catalyst."

The catalyst for the Curse of Emotionlessness. A pendant made of silver. I was wearing it around my neck, tucked out of sight beneath my clothes. I pulled it out and showed it to her.

Maria smiled faintly and nodded.

It was something she had received from her mother, but now it was mine to keep safe. If I ever lost the catalyst, there was no telling how the curse bound to me might twist.

"Been waitin' long? Damn priests — how can they be this slow at their jobs?"

A man approached with the clanking of armor. Brenden, a retainer of Baron Manfred. Messy hair, a scruffy beard, a rough way of talking. Hard to believe he served a noble house — but then, that was the Manfred barony for you.

"A dark mage was discovered hiding here yesterday. The Inquisitors are due to arrive, so things are in chaos."

"Aigoo. Then we'd better clear out quick. Carriage is waitin' in the alley over there. I told 'em to grab some snacks for the road."

"Understood."

Brenden took the lead. I looked back at Maria one last time. She turned and vanished into the building. Watching her silver hair scatter as she walked away, I thought:

Maria, who had been the Demon King in Luke's Biography. The Curse of Emotionlessness that had made her the Demon King was broken, and Karl — the one who would have given her purpose as Demon King ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— was leaving.

The Witch of the Apocalypse, who would have swallowed half the continent, would never appear.

After we'd walked a short while, Brenden spoke in a voice full of surprise.

"Whoa. Did they have a real skilled priest at that sanitarium? Young master's condition's improved a hell of a lot. Huh? Used to be you'd freeze up and start shakin' after just a few steps, sayin' you were scared."

"Well… something like that."

Karl had supposedly seen illusions once every ten minutes. And he'd had no way to suppress them. He wouldn't have been able to walk the streets alone.

"Those dark circles under your eyes still look like you ain't slept in ten days, though. Bwahaha! Everyone's been missin' you."

"Really?"

"Course! Really."

We hadn't walked far, and already I was short of breath. Even before the possession my stamina hadn't been great, but Karl's body was truly, severely frail. Once I got back to the family estate, building up my physical strength would have to come first.

I was just starting to resent Brenden for not parking the carriage right in front of the sanitarium when, fortunately, it came into view.

A girl stood in front of the carriage, glancing around as though something frightened her. When her eyes met mine, she hurriedly bowed her head in greeting.

"W-welcome back, young master."

"This is the maid who'll be attending you from now on."

"I'll be in your care."

"Y-yes!"

"We're leaving now, so help the young master aboard."

"Yes! Y-young master, this way."

Brenden climbed up to the driver's seat, and the girl opened the carriage door. After I took my seat, she climbed in as well and shut the door behind her. The carriage began to move.

"Haaah…"

"Why the long sigh?"

"Eek! I'm sorry! I'll be more careful!"

"No… I wasn't scolding you. I was just asking."

If I'd been the son of some proper noble house, it might well have been a problem. But the Manfred barony was not a place that stood on ceremony.

"W-well… now that we're leaving, I feel relieved… It's my first time in a city… Everyone walking around in such fine clothes… and I'm so shabby…"

"You've had a hard time because of me."

"Ah, no!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Before arriving at the estate, I wanted to organize my memories of House Manfred. Talking to myself made it easier to sort my thoughts, but having someone sitting directly across from me made that awkward. I'd just have to organize things through conversation instead.

"So. What's your name?"

"Huh? M-me?"

"Yes."

"S-Sophie, young master."

"So-Sophie?"

"Sophie!"

"And your age?"

"Fifteen… years old."

"I'm a year older, then. This is our first meeting, right? When did you start working for our house?"

"S-since last year."

I figured I should start with the family. First, my parents — Baron Manfred and his wife.

"Do Father and Mother treat you well, Sophie?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"O-of course! The Baron is a-always so merciful, and Madam as well…"

That couldn't be right. The Baron Manfred in my head was less a noble and more a bandit chief. His nickname was "Ruffian" for a reason. The other nickname for Karl the demon-worshipper — "the Ruffian's brat" — existed because of that man. The Baroness was an educated woman, but "kind" was not the word for her.

"Are we talking about the same parents…? Neither of them has that kind of personality…"

"I-I'm not lying!"

"You can speak freely. Father's always drunk, and Mother does nothing but nag, doesn't she?"

"That's… uwaaah…"

She was a rather adorable maid. The journey home didn't seem like it would be boring.

"How are my older brother and younger sister doing?"

The eldest son, Cain Manfred, and the Baron's only daughter, Clara Manfred.

"C-Cain-nim is… everyone says he looks exactly like the Baron…"

Meaning he looked like the heir to a bandit chief.

"Clara-nim is… I only met her for the first time recently myself… She's been living in a dormitory at an academy in another city. She came back for a short break this time…"

After leaving the city and traveling for half a day, we spent the night at an inn in a village and set out again. Conversation made the time pass quickly. Sophie had grown comfortable enough that her stuttering had almost disappeared.

The scenery outside was nothing to admire. Only the desolate lands of a region that had been at war until recently stretched out before us. Corpses still littered the ground, crows tearing at the flesh.

"Kyaa!"

The carriage lurched hard. It seemed to have stopped abruptly.

"Are you all right?"

"Y-yes…"

From outside came the sound of Brenden cursing. And other voices as well. About ten figures, weapons in hand, could be seen surrounding the carriage.

"—Hand over everything you've got and we'll spare your lives!"

"What the hell are you pig bastards?! Get lost right now!"

Their builds were roughly human, but their bodies were covered in fur, and boar-like tusks jutted from their mouths. Beastmen.

"Wh-what do we do…"

"Don't worry. Brenden is strong."

In the barony, Brenden ranked around third in combat strength. Beastmen might have tougher bodies than humans, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but numbers like these were no problem for him. There was a reason Baron Manfred had sent only Brenden as an escort.

The problem was that he'd have to fight while protecting Sophie and me. If I could project illusions without physical contact, I might have been able to help.

"Ah, shit, seriously. We're right on the edge of the barony. You bastards! Don't you know who I am?! …Huh?"

Just then, the ground began to tremble with the sound of hoofbeats. The beastmen looked startled as well — so at least these newcomers weren't their allies.

I tried to see who it was through the window facing the driver's seat, but Brenden's body blocked the view. A moment later, though, the shout that rang out told me exactly who had arrived.

"Shiiit, yaaah~~!! You,,, furry,,, bastards~~!!!"

You could hear the liquor on his breath from the voice alone. I'd never seen this man in Luke's Biography, but he remained vividly in Karl's memories.

Karl's father — and now mine.

Christopher Manfred.

It was unmistakably Baron Manfred himself.