Struggle for Survival 6
Struggle for Survival 6
When the subordinates attacked in earnest, the young rakshas fell in an instant.
Among those swinging their weapons, the most brutal was unexpectedly Homi. It was because of what Eugene had said at the end of the death sentence.
-In the future, any of you who survive might grow up and come to harm my children. If that happens, that too is your right.
Of course, Eugene had not actually meant that he was condoning revenge. It had merely been an abstract expression.
But from Homi's perspective, she could not help but take it differently.
She had long watched Eugene commune with the Wandering Castle's core, move the vast magical castle, and bestow the blessing of the Eucharist.
In Homi's eyes, her lord was the one person who suited the word "power" better than anyone else.
The words such a figure had spoken struck Homi like a kind of ominous prophecy.
As if to nip that possibility in the bud, she swung her weapon to leave not a single raksha alive. She even made certain to slit the throats of those already dead.
It was a ruthlessness and killing intent that could nowhere be found in her usual gentle and tranquil demeanor.
"Homi. That's enough."
Only after Eugene seized her shoulder did she stop moving.
"They're already all dead."
Nod.
Eugene drew a handkerchief from his breast and wiped the spattered blood from Homi's face.
"This is bitter work even for seasoned mercenaries. There was no need for you to step in."
Eugene did not know it, but in truth Homi felt not the slightest discomfort.
The deep wildness that had stolen her voice had not granted Homi only physical prowess and the power of the roar. It had also bestowed upon her the callous heart of a predator.
Just as a wild beast can be utterly merciless toward any creature outside itself and its own family. Just as a lioness feels no anguish when she kills a cheetah's cub.
Dispatching young rakshas was an easy task for Homi.
She closed her eyes and tilted her head, accepting Eugene's touch, relieved that his children were now safe.
* * *
Relations among the sain were a war of all against all—a cycle of devouring and plundering one another.
Even though the sain had all been driven from their homelands by Samur, they did not band together out of any sense of kinship.
Among them, the raksha were powerful, warlike, and matriarchal, with a strong interest in adornment. Naturally, the spoils to be taken from them were enormous—far beyond anything the small-folk could offer.
Ornaments of gold, silver, and precious stones were a given, and they were also laden with goods seized from trade caravans.
"This is a chess set carved from ivory. A treasure so rare it can only be acquired from the creatures of the East called elephants."
Varda marveled as she picked up the white pieces and the chessboard, examining them from every angle.
"Does that please you more than jewels?"
"Of course! Such a first-rate item is not easily obtained even by a great lord. You need not only vast wealth but also a measure of fortune to lay your hands on one."
Recently Varda had been sparring with Eugene in swordsmanship so the two of them could work out sword techniques that would let her use thornvine magic more effectively.
-When defending, set your sword a little more on the diagonal. That's better for deflecting the impact.
-Like this?
-Yes. You have no need to slash or thrust with your sword, Varda-nim. You only need to keep your balance. Then the thorns will wrap around the enemy and squeeze them on their own.
They crossed blades and worked up a sweat. What she felt in her palm was a pleasant impact—a physical exchange shared through the sword as though dancing a waltz. For Varda, who was a mage but did not dislike physical exertion, it was an enjoyable time.
Afterward, it was her turn, teaching Eugene chess. It was an intriguing time of exchanging moves, spying into each other's innermost thoughts, and connecting mentally.
-Check.
-...Please take back just one move.
-No.
-Just once.
-It's not even checkmate yet. Strive a little harder. If you make a habit of taking back your moves so easily, your skill will never improve.
-But the queen is dead.
-Hm?
-I don't like it when the queen dies.
-...Fine. Only this once.
Body and mind. An ivory chess set that could guide that two-sided communication with greater refinement—it was a spoil that brought more joy than jewelry studded with dangling gems.
Varda also had no reason to be greedy. She already possessed plenty of precious jewelry and clothing brought from her mansion in the Emerald Forest.
"Indeed. It would be hard to find anything that suits you better than what you are already wearing."
Eugene gazed at the tiara upon Varda's head. It was a staggering treasure, intricately crafted by shaping emeralds into leaves and joining them together.
"The ears... the ears are too much!"
"Pardon? What was that?"
Eugene pretended not to hear and gently touched both the earring and her ear.
Its form differed from a common earring that dangled from the earlobe. It was shaped like a flower that wrapped around her long ear, suited to an elf's physical characteristics.
Each one was a work of art that most perfectly adorned her beauty as a forest spirit.
'What is Varda-nim's true identity?'
It was something he had always wondered about.
Living in the Emerald Forest far from the elves' settlements. Growing up with a unique nanny who was a dryad. Her tremendous magical aptitude. A beautiful appearance that, without any explanation, attested to her nobility.
She even possessed Last Autumn, an Etherje sword worthy of serving as a royal family's sacred relic.
There was an unspoken rule between Eugene and Varda not to ask about each other's past. But he was beginning to think it might be all right by now.
"Now... is that not enough?"
"Just a little more."
"Ugh."
Because she was the sort of woman who, even when he touched her ears—the pride of an elf—would simply blush and feel not the least displeasure.
Afterward, Eugene walked around and checked on his looting subordinates as well.
Trade goods including craftworks were piled in the storerooms, but the gems and ornaments were still worn on the bodies of the rakshas.
"Looting is fine, but be sure to thrust at each one's vitals once more before you begin rummaging. There's a chance they may be feigning death and could lunge at you."
"Do you think we've only been in a fight or two?"
"Good heavens, we're not greenhorns. You can keep such worries to yourself."
They were all seasoned warriors. To die absurdly in a situation where all that remained was to reap the harvest would be the most unjust end imaginable.
Stab!
The subordinates confirmed their kills on the fallen rakshas and then stripped off the ornaments.
In Homi's case, apart from her rough, scratchy long tongue and tail, she possessed an appearance almost identical to a human.
The rakshas, on the other hand, were far more bestial overall. Only from the chest down to the abdomen were they somewhat smooth, like humans.
Because of this, a small incident ensued.
"What the hell are you fondling... you bastard?"
"W-wait! It's a misunderstanding!"
The mercenary who had been removing four piercings connected by a gold chain recoiled under his comrade's suspicious glare. He was on the verge of being saddled with an absurd false accusation.
"The raksha tribe has a culture of piercing. It is a method often employed by females in heat to seduce males."
"Thank you!"
"Well, I'll be. Those fellows truly do all manner of things."
Thanks to a nearby adventurer who vouched for him, the misunderstanding was swiftly resolved.
The trade goods stored in the warehouse were Eugene's share. Boxes of pearls, silk cloth brought over from the south, barrels brimming with pepper, and ceramics worth more than their weight in silver.
Loads of goods that could fetch high prices in the city were carried out.
However, the spoils that pleased Eugene the most came from a place other than the warehouse.
"What is this?"
What Marbas brought was a staff made by binding the bones of various races. At its tip hung a bizarre religious symbol. In appearance, it truly seemed fit to be the relic of a heretical priest.
"It is an item I obtained while tracking the fleeing rakshas. Those who wore garments bearing shamanic patterns rather than weapons were the priests and shamans. It must be a relic precious enough that they sought to smuggle it out even as their tribe was being annihilated."
Within the staff swirled an intense mystery. Yet, as befitting a relic of the Raksha, it was a sinister energy utterly incompatible with humans.
"I know it's valuable, but we can't use it, and selling it would be difficult. People from the religious orders would foam at the mouth if they saw it."
"Offer it to the Goddess Vanas."
Marbas spoke as if he had been waiting for the question.
"A relic of another god, you mean?"
Eugene thought of the goddess statue enshrined within the Wandering Castle. To offer a relic of the sain faith—tempered in blood and slaughter—to the human goddess who presided over tolerance...
"Many faiths coexist peacefully now, but in the past they fought bitter wars against one another."
"I know. I was raised in a monastery, after all."
"Do you also know that victorious orders would plunder the relics of defeated orders and offer them upon their own altars?"
"That, I did not know."
From the robbed god's perspective, it would be a cruelty worse than having the very source of their sustenance stolen away.
"Offering the symbol of a defeated faith makes the finest tribute. It fattens a god and fills them with rapture more surely than the faith of countless followers. Even today's great religious orders once grew by devouring weaker faiths that way."
"I've studied the orders quite a bit, but this is the first I've heard of it. They must have erased the records."
"Of course. It is a shameful part of their history to reveal to the masses."
Eugene examined the skull staff in his hand from various angles.
There was no precious-metal medium at all—not even gold or silver. Yet despite being made entirely of bone, the object contained an astonishingly powerful mystery.
It must be the result of refinement over long ages, wrought solely from the blood, pain, and death of countless sacrifices.
'So the ingredients are cheap, but it's like a top-tier dish requiring centuries of dedication?'
It was truly a sacred relic worthy of a sain faith.
"If I offer this, what will the Goddess Vanas give in return?"
"Well, I do not know. However, few beings are as thorough in transactions as a fallen god. If you offer a tribute brimming with nourishment, she will surely return something commensurate."
"Though the ones who benefit will probably be the residents who go to pray to her rather than me."
Marbas, having not considered that aspect, wore an awkward expression.
"Since they reside in my castle, they are my people regardless. If they receive blessings, that will soon become my strength. Thank you."
"What is there to thank? All I ask is to be allowed to observe the offering."
The aged summoner's eyes sparkled with anticipation. He was far more interested in such matters than in mere spoils of war.
Eugene also took up the gifts for Homi and Cassandra.
"It's a comb made of onyx. Do you like it?"
Nod, nod!
Homi's eyes gleamed as she nodded her head furiously.
Despite being a grown woman, she had no interest in earrings, necklaces, or pretty clothes.
Yet there was one single exception: combs. In Homi's room, her comb collection numbered over fifty. For it was an essential tool for grooming her pride and joy—her tail.
Eugene held the comb, which emitted a black luster, and stood before Homi.
"Now, your tail."
Pop!
When Eugene extended his hand, the long, plush white tail sprang up and settled into his palm.
Brush.
Swish.
While gently kneading the tail, he simultaneously stroked it with the comb along the grain of the fur. At this, Homi's composed face melted into softness.
"Ah-ooo."
Her neatly poised legs gradually loosened and crossed until her formerly disciplined posture had completely collapsed.
'Is it really that good?'
In the end, Eugene had no choice but to stop brushing.
"I'll continue this later when it's just the two of us."
With the eyes of many subordinates around, going further than this was difficult. He also had to preserve Homi's dignity.
Homi, holding the case containing the set of four onyx combs, turned away with a satisfied face.
Lastly, the gift prepared for Cassandra was a coral necklace.
"What kind of gem is this?"
Her violet eyes rounded with curiosity.
"Is this your first time seeing coral?"
"Ah, so this is coral. It's truly beautiful."
It was only natural for someone from a people so far removed from the sea.
Many lacked the freedom to relocate, and straying even slightly from the roads was fraught with danger. The majority spent their entire lives never leaving the village of their birth, growing old and dying there.
Cassandra closed her eyes and leaned her neck forward slightly. A gentle smile lingered on her lips.
Discerning her intent, Eugene placed it around her neck, and the corners of her mouth lifted further.
"They say that beneath the distant sea, such coral is so abundant you could kick it aside, like a garden on the ocean floor."
"It's like a flower garden carved from stones of every color. Fish as bright as butterflies swim between them, and the surface casts wavering shadows. The scattered sunlight makes it feel as though you are walking inside a rainbow."
"Haa... It must truly be a spectacle."
Cassandra sighed as if dizzy from mere imagination. She had always yearned for the seas of foreign lands.
Walking along the sea bordering Samur was pleasant, but what Cassandra truly wanted lay much farther away.
-If you sail southeast from the Samur Sea for many months, islands warm all year round appear. Beneath those waters lies a coral colony called the Garden of the Gods. There is even an island composed entirely of coral.
Cassandra remembered the tale a trader had told her long ago, down to the very last syllable.
"Someday, taking everyone from the castle on a vacation to some deserted island in a foreign land wouldn't be so bad."
"Ahahahaha!"
Cassandra clutched her stomach and laughed at the image. By the standards of this era, such a trip would be an absurd luxury and a dangerous journey, but with the Wandering Castle it was a different matter.
"Yes. There is nowhere the Castle Lord cannot take us. Until then, I suppose I will have to console myself with this."
Cassandra delicately fingered the coral resting near her bosom.
"Thank you for the gift. I will treasure it for a lifetime. Though I shall have to remove it during battle."
Cassandra placed a hand over her chest, stepping one foot back according to courtly etiquette.
* * *
They had gathered everything worth taking. It was time to leave.
"Will these suffice as proof of subjugation to show the city?"
"Perfect."
The severed heads included those of the female chieftain and the males who had fought beside her.
"The heads of the males will be more certain proof than the chieftain's. They are the ones protected in the safest places. To kill this many is impossible without annihilating the entire tribe."
"Good."
Eugene immediately ordered preparations to withdraw.
Both he and his subordinates were fatigued, and above all, they were in no state to carry any more spoils. Further fighting would yield little profit.
Going any farther from civilization would also be dangerous. No matter how strong an army was, remaining too long where it could not be supplied was sheer recklessness.
Before leaving, however, the rescued people had to be washed because they were caked in filth from head to toe. Their own health was one concern, but they could also spread disease through Eugene's army.
They were too weak to wash in cold water, so some effort had to be made to heat it.
"Don't be so scared. You don't really think we're going to boil you, do you?"
"W-we believe you."
"Of course! You're the ones who saved our lives."
The survivors, placed inside a cauldron heated over a fire, rolled their eyes in terror.
They had seen this same cauldron boiling small-folk only a few hours earlier.
Watching that sight, Eugene too found himself wishing to return swiftly and soak his own body in warm water.
Eugene had driven deep beyond civilization, exterminated the largest raksha power, and burned other sain settlements along the route as well.
This much should have been well worth the money.