Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Haves Are Worse - 3
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Before I was possessed, I grew up in South Korea as an orphan with no relatives or family to speak of.
But I was never lonely, not even once.
I had the orphanage director who cherished me like his own son, and brothers with whom I shared bonds thicker than blood.
The time I spent at the orphanage was the warmest, happiest memory of my life.
Because of that past, I placed great importance on family affection.
Whether bound by blood or forged in the heart. I admired those who knew how to cherish family.
People like the wolf girl who wanted to grow strong to save her little siblings.
"What's your name?"
"Hunting Dog No. 4!"
"I mean your real name."
"I don't know. I can't remember!"
Forgetting her own name?
Before the doubt could even fade, Maribel cut in flatly.
"Sir Heinz, slaves have portions of their memories cut out when they're sold off. Things like names or affiliations."
"Is it really necessary to go that far?"
"It's promoted to the world as a fresh start under a new master, but in truth, see it as memory erasure to prevent escapes."
Suddenly, memories surfaced of the days I'd enjoyed playing Aslon Chronicles.
The game mechanic of buying slaves to bolster forces, then naming them as I pleased.
A system feature in the game manifested in reality as this cruel form of memory erasure.
A setting that had felt utterly inconsequential beyond the monitor now choked the breath from my lungs as reality closed in.
Because it meant the precious pasts of the slaves I'd bought so casually had been wiped away because of me.
"If her memories were erased, how does she even know she has siblings?"
"Because I still remember their scents! Warm scents that make me want to protect them... I'd never forget those scents!"
"So you remember them by scent."
This meant memory deletion couldn't touch her innate abilities.
A wolf girl who, despite losing her past, remembered every scent she'd ever encountered.
Ways to exploit the girl's ability flooded my mind, stirring greed, but I tamped it down.
"But why come to me? I'm not as strong as you seem to think."
"The first time I saw you, brother, I thought there couldn't be anyone as scrawny in the whole world."
"......"
A heavy fact struck me to the bone.
A girl far younger than me had seen right through how worthless my body was at a glance.
It was depressing. Without money and luck, this body was little more than a corpse.
"But brother, you were totally different from the weaklings I've seen! Not cowed in the slightest, toying so casually with people way stronger than you! You had a kind of strength I didn't know existed!"
"I have to concede your eye for talent."
It had just been bluffing to avoid being underestimated. But she'd interpreted it that way?
The wolf girl gazing up at me with sparkling eyes, Maribel nodding beside her with a pleased smile.
Their burdensome stares set my face burning.
"Just getting strong isn't enough! I want the power to dominate people, like you do, brother!"
"......I don't have any power like that. I just played the gamblers for fools with money."
"Sir Heinz, wealth is a power in its own right."
"Can't argue there."
"Then I wanna be rich like brother too!"
Training her strong myself would be tough, but making her rich? That I could manage easily.
Hire the wolf girl officially, pay her salary on time every month. Done.
I intended to compensate my direct subordinates handsomely, no skimping.
The question was whether a wolf girl freshly freed from slavery would want to serve under someone again.
But letting her slip away would be a waste of her talent.
Better to take the shot—even if it became my downfall, at least it'd be food on the table.
"Want to get rich? Work for me."
"If I become brother's slave, I'll get rich?"
"Not a slave—a subordinate. Work for me, and I'll pay you, feed you, and put a roof over your head."
The girl's wolf ears perked straight up.
Each basic perk clearly thrilled her, her eyes shaking with excitement.
No doubt nothing had ever been properly provided during her slave days.
"Meat? As a subordinate, can I eat as much meat as I want?"
"Beef, pork, chicken, lamb—just say the word. I'll feed you till you can't even think of meat anymore."
"I-I don't wanna be rich! I wanna be brother's subordinate!"
Recruitment had been far easier than expected.
Was she that desperate for meat?
Well, if someone here started selling kimchi, I'd pay any price for it.
Isekai food was greasy across the board, after all.
"Now that you're my subordinate, let's pick a new name. Can't keep calling you Hunting Dog No. 4."
"Yeah! Whatever name brother picks, I'll love it!"
"Then Coco. That's your name from now on—Coco."
"Coco...!"
"What a cute sound. Any special meaning behind it?"
"Afraid not."
There was no hidden meaning, but there was an origin.
A deeply personal one: her hair color matched my favorite chocolate cereal.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Maribel and I returned to the mansion with our new family member, Coco.
An unexpected windfall from what had turned into a highly meaningful outing.
But while I was satisfied, the knights and servants of the mansion reacted coldly.
They frowned at the grubby girl's appearance.
As Coco bowed her head under the prickling stares, Maribel quietly patted her shoulder.
"Maribel."
"You called?"
"Take Coco and get her washed up right now. Dress her in something nice too."
My words came with a cold sweep of the surroundings, scattering the blatant stares in a hurry.
Without even glancing at Coco, I added,
"Feed her a hearty meat-heavy meal. To put her to proper use, she needs some meat on those bones first."
"Understood."
Coco had carried that heavy bundle all the way from the capital.
With some decent muscle on her skinny frame, she'd be several times stronger than now.
I couldn't prove her value right away, so for the moment, we'd polish her appearance at least.
As I watched Maribel lead Coco toward the baths by the hand, I turned my steps toward the office.
Walking the now-deserted corridor, I let out a short sigh.
"Gonna have to overhaul the entire mansion interior sometime soon."
If they'd just frowned at her dirty clothes, that'd be understandable.
But if it was contempt aimed at beastkin, that was another story entirely.
Elves would soon be settling in the territory, and beastkin visits would become routine.
What if someone from the Altesia house sparked a conflict with them?
It'd only give me headaches, having taken Lena and Coco as subordinates.
Better to uproot the seeds of discrimination before trouble sprouted.
Resolving to plan ahead, I stepped into the office—and spotted a familiar back.
"Young master, you're finally back!"
"Yeah."
Luke whirled at my presence, greeting me as if he'd been waiting.
But the moment I saw the ornate envelope in his hand, a sense of unease stirred.
"An invitation's come for you, young master!"
"Invitation?"
"You haven't forgotten already? In a week, all the western nobles gather for the social!"
"Tell them I'm not coming."
"Can't do that! The family head insisted you attend no matter what before he left!"
How was I supposed to remember events from before possession?
But with it being the family head's command, I had no choice.
No matter how fearless a punk Heinz was, he was just a lapdog before his father, the family head.
With my reluctant attendance confirmed, a sigh burst forth.
"If I have to go anyway, might as well enjoy it to the fullest!"
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Adenberg Mansion.
The same invitation had been delivered to Marquis Donovan's office.
After skimming the contents, Donovan clicked his tongue roughly.
"Tch! A social, right when things are busiest."
"So you're not going?"
A voice came from the corner of the office, where a shadow perched by the window.
It was Lena, the elf flashing an elegant, curved smile.
"Of course not! You think I have time to flirt with other nobles?"
"What a shame. Word is Heinz Altesia is attending."
"What?"
Donovan's eyebrow twitched.
That punk at the social?
He'd fully expected him to skip it to laze around, but Altesia's presence changed everything.
"Reliable intel?"
"Straight from the Altesia family head himself. Our inside source in their ranks—can't be wrong."
"Then no reason he wouldn't show...!"
Donovan set the invitation back down, abandoning his plan to rip it up. A sly smile crept across his lips.
He stroked the invitation like it was a priceless treasure.
"What's your plan?"
"Why ask what goes without saying? I'll cut that punk's windpipe at the social!"
"Bad move. Think you can pull off an assassination at the western hegemon, Duke Grimjack's mansion?"
"Urgh...! Got something better?"
"Assassination's a stretch, but crushing his spirit? Easy. Assign seventy percent of the house knights as your escort. Show off Adenberg's prestige and break Altesia's nose."
"Oh, that's not bad at all!"
Donovan clapped, clearly pleased.
Imagining Heinz cowed and crumpled, he couldn't stop laughing.
As Donovan laughed uproariously, Lena at his side burst into laughter too.
Two smiles in the same room. But the intentions behind them pointed in entirely different directions.