Chapter 244 - Collection
Several central nobles slipped out of the social gathering hall.
Unless they felt the cold night wind, it seemed the fire burning inside them would not die down.
“To be honest, I truly do not understand how His Highness the Crown Prince could do this to us central nobles.”
A feudal lord whose family had inherited the title of Viscount for generations expressed his dissatisfaction.
“Ahem…”
“Hm, hm…”
At that, the other feudal lords gave their indirect agreement, if not in words.
With those votes of approval, the Viscount put even more strength into his shoulders and spoke.
“While the Imperial Palace closed its doors and struggled with the delegations, we handled every state affair His Majesty put on hold…”
The Viscount let out a heated sigh and continued.
“His Majesty said nothing about the efforts the central nobles sacrificed over these seven months, and His Highness the Crown Prince only keeps a foreign blood kin close.”
“…Ahem. It would be better to think that our turn will come soon, but I do think it is wrong for him to look after an outsider before us central nobles.”
“That is correct. To speak frankly, how could our order be pushed back behind a blood kin from the East? In Parfe, no less.”
Once the Viscount opened the floodgates, the other nobles began adding their own words one by one.
Even among the central nobles, those with names had high pride, and they were even less accustomed to this kind of disregard.
To be precise, they were not accustomed to being disregarded within their own territory.
The higher the title of the feudal lord, the more that was true.
“May I ask what Count Baha thinks?”
“Hmm…”
The person who had led several influential nobles out of the social gathering hall was no different.
However, both the way he expressed his anger and the degree to which he did so were completely different from those beneath him.
“For now, calm yourselves. Did the Chancellor not already tell us what we should do?”
Enter the snake’s den. Clash directly. Face him, face to face.
However, that was not the way the central nobles had survived.
“He has already rejected our invitations. Unless that blood kin comes to us himself with full courtesy, there is no need for us to give him another opportunity for an audience.”
“You speak the truth.”
“Then what should we do about that outsider? I wish to hear your wise opinion, Count.”
Those who would enjoy rule like kings within their own castles once they left the social gathering hall competed to lower their heads.
For a moment, Count Baha felt as though he had become an emperor, and he smiled gently.
“First, make this clear. What is the purpose of what you wish to say now?”
“…The purpose, you say.”
The nobles’ faces grew complicated. At the same time, just as they had done at first, they began watching one another’s reactions again.
However, the one Viscount who had first raised the topic did not hesitate.
“Regret. I want to make him regret mistaking the fact that His Highness the Crown Prince is temporarily backing him and disregarding the central nobles as a whole.”
“Yes. Regret seems appropriate. If we kill him, the aftermath will only become troublesome.”
“Yes, yes. That would be best.”
“I agree as well.”
The nobles below the rank of Count, more than five of them, followed the trend like a school of fish.
“If that is the Viscount’s opinion, and if that is the opinion of the feudal lords, then I will also devise a method here.”
The one leading that school of fish spoke as though he had not been the one to decide the direction.
“And so, I say this.”
Soon, the leader subtly guided the path once more.
“Recently, I discovered something rather interesting. I brought it onto my ship because I wished to show it to His Majesty, but I think using it may not be a bad idea.”
“Your loyalty truly reaches the heavens, Count.”
“May I ask what sort of object it is?”
“Could it perhaps be an undiscovered animal, or a newly developed weapon?”
Flattery and interest poured out. Count Baha stroked his well-groomed beard and shook his head.
“My loyalty is nothing compared to that of the feudal lords. Also, what I brought is neither an object nor an animal. No, rather, I suppose it is closer to an animal.”
Count Baha’s eyes turned toward the Viscount who had been brimming with courage since earlier.
“Viscount Rumot. Have you, by any chance, heard of Main?”
“Ma…in.”
Viscount Rumot blinked and chewed over the word.
It seemed he was hearing it for the first time, and the other nobles did not seem much different.
However, that would probably be true of the emperor and the Crown Prince as well.
“All of you feudal lords know well that I have great interest in collecting unusual objects.”
“Yes, yes. We know.”
“I also heard that you recently won the auction for a dragon egg fossil. Congratulations.”
The Count accepted the congratulations with a short nod and continued.
“While doing so, I discovered something that strongly stimulated my desire to collect.”
The nobles did not say it aloud, but they vaguely guessed where he had found it.
If none of the nobles gathered here knew of it, and even the Count had only discovered it recently, then it would not have been in an ordinary place.
In that case, it was obviously from the black markets in the neutral zone. Count Baha was a person who did not hesitate to peer into black markets as well.
His claim that he had brought it to show the emperor was obviously a lie too.
After all, he also had a collection aboard his ship.
He placed the items he cherished aboard his ship so he could view them even while traveling long distances. Main was surely one of them.
Viscount Rumot swallowed dryly and asked,
“What sort of thing is this Main?”
“The first impression I had upon seeing it was that it was extremely savage and violent. Yet once it finishes its task, it becomes more stealthy than anything. A truly charming creature.”
“I-I still cannot quite picture it.”
“Yes. Of course not. Then how about this?”
Thud—
Count Baha’s hand rose onto Rumot’s shoulder.
“Come with me to my ship, see it with your own eyes, use it yourself, and teach that fellow what regret means.”
“M-Me, on your ship, Count?”
“Yes. The ship is not wide enough for all the other nobles to come with us, so one person, you, would be appropriate.”
“Th-That is…”
Viscount Rumot glanced to the side without realizing it.
The Viscount, the youngest among those gathered here, saw the eyes of his seniors filled with envy and jealousy.
That was because they knew exactly what kind of path to advancement it meant for a Viscount to receive a Count’s request and help with a Count’s work.
“If you dislike it, I can have someone else—”
“No…! I can do it. I wish to do it.”
“I knew you would say that.”
Smiling, Count Baha gestured to the other nobles.
“You may all return for now. Viscount Rumot and I seem to be tired, so we must leave the social gathering hall.”
“…Understood.”
“Please return safely.”
The nobles opened the path the two would take.
After leaving the social gathering hall and even riding in the Count’s carriage, Rumot swallowed a low groan.
He could not tell whether this was a dream or reality, but at the same time, he was worried.
It was the unavoidable worry a person felt before doing something reckless. Count Baha, on the other hand, was composed.
“Do not worry. There is no way I would make my junior do something dangerous, and it was you who wished to climb into this carriage.”
“Yes, yes. I was not worried. I suppose I became nervous at the thought of seeing your refined collection.”
“Haha. You are quite something.”
Count Baha laughed heartily.
Like his refreshing laughter, the night wind that had been cold began to feel refreshing at some point.
The carriage gradually approached the ship at the landing platform, and soon the Count spoke.
“I will also teach you how to use Main, but that does not mean there are no precautions at all. You may be a little surprised when you first see it.”
“Understood.”
Viscount Rumot did not pay it much mind.
Right now, his head was full of other things.
It was full of the Fifth Son of the East, whose arrogant expressionless face would shatter in shock and panic, and of his future self, who would have the Count at his back.
However, that did not last long.
When they arrived at the ship and stood before an iron cage together with the Count, his sweet fantasy was the first thing to shatter.
“C-Count. This is…”
“This is Main. What do you think? Is it not truly worth seeing?”
What Count Baha called Main was crouched inside the iron bars.
Its exposed skin shone with a strange purple hue, and its eyes were covered with black cloth.
Its outward appearance was clearly human, yet it did not feel human in the slightest.
That did not mean it felt like a beast either. As stated, its appearance was unmistakably human.
“I lack both discernment and insight, so I do not properly understand the aesthetic value contained in your collection, Count.”
“That is fine. I did not think you would understand it all at once either.”
Clap, clap—
Count Baha lightly clapped his hands.
Soon, a man who looked like one of the Count’s servants brought in a goat.
The goat was fairly large, with horns already grown.
Creak—
The man opened the iron cage and sent the goat inside.
Even then, Main remained crouched and did not move at all.
“According to the seller, another name for Main is prisoner of hell. A prisoner who was being punished in hell and forcibly dragged up into the human world.”
“……”
The prisoner of hell could not eat anything under its harsh punishment.
It lived in extreme hunger and curled its body so it would no longer feel hungry.
It did nothing, saw nothing, and endured its hunger again and again.
Therefore, the scent of a beast that had drawn close was far too stimulating.
――!!
“…!”
Viscount Rumot unconsciously took one step back.
The thing that resembled a human stretched out its crouched body, and its limbs were grotesquely long. Its body was grotesquely thin.
Its hands, where the joints showed clearly along with its arms, seized the sheep, tore it apart, and shredded it however they pleased.
Its two hands were full of flesh mixed with hide, fur, and innards.
Everything that had made up the sheep, whether bone, horn, or organ, entered Main’s mouth.
Blood was splattered all over the floor, but the sheep’s corpse was nowhere to be seen.
“A goat that must have weighed well over fifty kilograms disappeared in less than five minutes. Is that not astonishing?”
“…It is astonishing. Certainly…”
Something close to three meters tall and human-shaped had eaten a sheep alive.
It would be difficult to find anyone in all of vast Parfe who would not be astonished by that.
Count Baha smiled with satisfaction.
“There is no way someone on the level of a blood kin from the East would die to Main, but this creature’s monstrous strength and speed are worth seeing. It will be more than enough to accomplish our objective.”
“If its numbers increased, it could even kill him.”
“Heheh. That remains to be seen, but it is an enjoyable thought.”
Rumot took one step closer to the Count.
“Then, Count, how should we bring this near the Fifth Son?”
“That is the amusing part.”
The Count answered and glanced at the man who had brought the bucket a moment ago.
He did not look like an ordinary servant as he strode closer.
The closer he came, the more noticeable the scar near his eye and his huge frame became.
A hand as large as that massive frame seized Rumot’s wrist.
At the same time, pain like what the sheep must have experienced a moment ago surged up from his palm.
“Aaaagh…”
His body was filled with so much numbing strength that even his scream would not come out properly.
“Endure it for a moment. It will be over soon.”
“Ugh…”
Just as the Count said, the pain did not last long. However, his body fell forward on its own.
On the palm he saw as he fell, some pattern had been engraved like a scar.
It was a black cross.
“With this, you can control that Main. Now do you understand what I mean?”