Chapter 105

Journey to the Capital (1)

Retracing the memories of my previous life, I finished compiling a list of monsters with rare abilities to consume with Predation[S+]. Then, before properly embarking on the journey to the capital, I stopped by Frecce.

I needed to ensure a steady supply of provisions for the recruits, raw materials for the Villagers, and daily necessities for the county.

"Not to worry, my lord!! Your humble servant will see that everything runs smoothly!!"

Adlan shouted with confidence. It was no exaggeration to say he was as reliable as Kai or Bernard.

"The Predator restaurant will cover the costs."

The absurd amount of money in my Inventory tended to overshadow it, but the Predator restaurant was actually earning a staggering profit, too. Its average daily profit was roughly one hundred thousand gold, on par with the monthly sales of a small or medium-sized trading company.

'Though stock is starting to run low.'

Supply couldn't keep up with demand. After all, I was the only one who could supply the monster meat.

'The infinite ice troll meat idea didn't work out.'

To remove a monster's Madness, I had to use Predation[S+]. But once I did? The ice troll lost its regenerative ability.

An infinite supply of monster meat was fundamentally impossible. It reminded me yet again of just how broken the power of Infinity[M] was.

In any case.

'Once I get back from the capital, I'll need to start expanding the Predator Merchant Company in earnest.'

By then, the county's Villagers would be producing decent goods, too. The Predator Merchant Company was currently too small to promote, distribute, and sell them across the continent.

With that in mind—

"Adlan, bring me a bottle of the finest wine you have in storage."

"P-pardon...?"

Adlan tilted his head from side to side, then asked,

"Might I ask what you intend to use it for, my lord? Depending on whether it's a gift or for your own enjoyment—"

"I've been invited to court society."

Strictly speaking, it was Seraphia who had been invited, not me, but that was beside the point.

"I intend to recommend your company's wine there."

"... P-pardon?!"

Adlan froze on the spot. For a moment, he seemed unable to comprehend what I had said.

"Have you forgotten who I am?"

"Ah...!"

Only then did his eyes widen. Apparently, he had briefly forgotten that I was House Whitewolf's eldest legitimate son.

In any case, the benefits a merchant could gain from breaking into aristocratic society were beyond measure. All the more so for Adlan, whose clientele consisted primarily of the upper classes. And this was court society, the very pinnacle of high society.

"Th-th-that's...! That's...!!"

"What are you waiting for? Go fetch it."

"I-I'll fetch it right away! Just a moment! Only as long as it takes a sparrow to shit!!"

Adlan dashed into the storeroom. I expected him to take a while, but he emerged almost immediately. Apparently, he had a secret weapon stashed away for just such an occasion. It was a deep brown, an unusual color for wine.

"This here is called 'peanut wine,' my lord!"

"Peanut wine?"

I'd never heard of it. Not even in my previous life. Wine was made by fermenting grapes, so where did peanuts come into it?

"I developed it myself!"

"You did?"

"Indeed! By fermenting peanuts and honey together, I've created something with both a nutty richness and sweetness!"

... It sounded quite promising.

"It has a sweet, nutty flavor and goes down smoothly, followed by a wonderfully full-bodied finish! I can vouch for it!"

"Can I taste it?"

"Ah, well, this is the only bottle I have..."

Adlan scratched his head awkwardly and continued.

"The truth is, I burned through all the money you gave me just to finally produce this one bottle, Lord Adrian..."

"All of it?"

"Hehe..."

He was more serious about wine than I'd thought. In any case, if there was only one bottle, I couldn't drink it.

"Look forward to good results."

The moment I took the peanut wine, Adlan prostrated himself on the floor.

◆Adlan's affinity toward you has reached its maximum!

A translucent message appeared at the same time.

◆Error: Adlan is a character who cannot reach the [Affection] state.

◆Affinity obstacles - Same Sex, Savior

◆The [Affection] state cannot be reached unless the affinity obstacles are removed.

◆Adlan's affinity toward you is in the [Trust] state.

◆Characters in the [Trust] state believe in and rely on you completely, and will follow you in all things.

◆Adlan will willingly accept personal losses for your sake.

And with that—

"My loyalty belongs first to Lord Adrian!! And second to money!!!"

I had even finished grinding affinity to recruit Adlan as a branch manager for the Predator Merchant Company.

* * *

"Lady Seraphia. Your meal is ready."

A voice suddenly called from outside the carriage.

"... Eek!"

Seraphia's small shoulders flinched.

She hastily wiped the drool from her lips and looked out the window. It was already growing dark outside. She straightened her rumpled clothes and lightly smoothed her tousled hair with her hands. Then she opened the carriage door—

"Hurry! We need to finish before the sun sets!"

Soldiers were driving stakes into the ground to set up camp.

"Come and eat, everyone!"

Off to one side, the maids bustled about with food and cooking utensils. Warm meat stew and freshly baked bread steamed over a makeshift stove, giving off a delicious aroma.

As the soldiers gathered to eat one by one, Seraphia called out to one of them.

"Excuse me...!"

"Loyalty! You called, my lady!"

The soldier dashed over in an instant and saluted.

Seraphia glanced around before asking him,

"Is my brother in his carriage?"

"Lord Adrian left camp quite some time ago to scout the area."

"To scout?"

"That's right. He's been gone a while, so he should be back soon."

"... Oh! Thank you for telling me."

"Of course! Please call me whenever you need anything!"

He saluted again and ran off to join the meal.

Then the maid who had woken Seraphia spoke up.

"You should eat too, Lady Seraphia."

"I'll eat a little later."

Seraphia perched on the edge of the carriage.

She quietly watched the soldiers eating around the campfire, wolfing down their stew and bread.

"Wow! How did they make it taste this good?!"

"It's a hundred times better than what we ate back in the county!"

Their faces were full of happiness as they joked with one another over their meal.

'I'll eat with Brother when he gets back.'

And conversation would naturally follow. She kept thinking of things she could talk about with Adrian, her imaginings brimming with excitement.

"The bread's good, but this stew is just insane!"

"You couldn't get a meal like this even in the capital."

"I doubt even the royal chef could make something this good."

"Isn't that going a bit far?"

"... Is it?"

The soldiers' boisterous chatter from beyond the campfire only heightened Seraphia's excitement and anticipation.

* * *

The capital of the Kingdom of Battenberg lay in the central part of the continent. Its climate was temperate, with four distinct seasons and a wide variety of natural environments. In other words, genetic variations had accumulated as organisms adapted to the changing seasons, increasing biodiversity—

Deep in the densely wooded mountains, some distance from camp, the forest's darkness obscured the light of the setting sun. Tangled branches blocked my view. I kept moving forward, illuminating the darkness with a glowstone and hacking through the branches with Dragon's Claw[A].

"It should be around here... Ah, is that it?"

I spotted a large cave in the distance. Deep and dark, without a single ray of light reaching inside, it resembled the gaping maw of an enormous beast.

If my hunch was right, this cave was the perfect habitat for that creature. I put the glowstone in my Inventory and stepped inside.

It was as though the entire world had gone black. Had I been able to wield aura or magical power, I could have secured a field of vision, but neither applied to me. I ventured deeper into the cave, relying on the feeling in my fingertips.

'This should do.'

I took the bait I'd bought beforehand in Frecce out of my Inventory and set it down. From here on, it was a waiting game.

'It's been a while since I lay in wait.'

Recalling my days in the special task force, I concealed myself in the darkness.

* * *

How much time had passed? Seraphia waited endlessly for Adrian to return. Yet no matter how long she waited, he never came back.

With each soldier who finished his meal, her shoulders drooped a little further. With each dish the maids cleared away, her head sank a little lower.

"Lady Seraphia."

A maid who had been watching her sympathetically approached with care. Appetizing food steamed in her hands, but—

"I'm not very hungry. It must be because I had a snack earlier."

... For some reason, Seraphia had no appetite at all.

* * *

How much time had passed? Just as the pitch-black darkness was dulling even my sense of time—

'It's here.'

Something registered in my senses, which now rivaled ESP. I couldn't make out its appearance in the utterly lightless space. But when I activated Predatory Instincts[S], its information appeared before my eyes in a neat display.

==<Entity Information>==

Entity: Cave Fisher

Classification: Monster Kingdom, Class Gastropoda, Order Mucocellida, Snail Family

Sex: Hermaphrodite (Male)

Age: 6 years

Traits: Slime Cell[B-]

The entity's name was Cave Fisher. It was the creature I had been looking for. Literally, the name meant a fisher living in a cave, but it wasn't an actual fisherman. As its classification in the snail family suggested, it was a rare monster that had mutated from a snail.

But a snail was still a snail. Cave Fishers were slow, too. They therefore lived in almost lightless caves or underground environments like this one, ambushing and devouring prey that wandered in to rest or shelter from the rain. Since their hunting method resembled fishing, they had been named Cave Fishers: fishers that lived in caves.

Its ability was Slime Cell[B-].

◆Slime Cell[B-]

: When this skill is activated, the player consumes [10 kcal] per second to coat their cells with slime possessing potent chemical properties. The coated cells reduce bodily friction, increasing joint range of motion by [+8,380%] and pressure resistance by [+1,350%]. They also promote division of damaged cells, increasing healing ability by [+15%].

<This skill can be toggled [On/Off].>

Slime was the first thing that came to mind when one thought of snails. Cave Fishers were creatures whose slime had evolved. Perhaps that was why their slime wasn't sticky. It was moist, smooth, and odorless.

It also made an effective ingredient for healing potions, and its benefits for skin care were unrivaled. Coating armor with it dramatically improved its waterproofing and durability as well.

'There was a reason the Emperor rounded them all up.'

The Emperor had bred Cave Fishers in a laboratory beneath the imperial palace. By mass-producing armor coated in their slime and distributing it to his forces, he had mercilessly crushed the allied army.

... Anyway.

By coating my cells directly with that same slime, I could increase my joints' range of motion: the range through which my muscles could move while exerting force. In other words, I would gain a body capable of optimal movement in any situation or environment.

The downside was its high calorie consumption, but I could overcome that through its synergy with Regeneration[B+]. A [+15%] increase in healing ability was, in other words, equivalent to a [-15%] reduction in the calories required for Regeneration[B+].

◆Activating derived skill, 'Find Weakness[U]'!

Once I used Find Weakness[U], I grasped the Cave Fisher's vulnerabilities at a glance. At the same time, a distinctive feature stood out: it had two genitals.

Cave Fishers were hermaphrodites. A single individual could be either male or female. Interestingly, they held a 'fight' to determine their sex. When two individuals met, they fought before mating. The winner became the male, and the loser the female.

["Isn't that fascinating?"]

... Or so Iliana had taught me.

Thus, being a hermaphrodite (male) meant it was a powerful individual. And a six-year-old hermaphrodite (male) meant it was the strongest specimen, with a six-year undefeated record, but—

CRUNCH!

◆You have defeated the Cave Fisher!

◆You have gained 150 combat experience!

To me as I was now, it was nothing more than an excellent source of genetic material.

* * *

A week flew by in the blink of an eye. The journey to the capital was already well past its halfway point.

'Today, too...'

As always, Adrian was nowhere to be seen. At meals, during breaks, even whenever there was the slightest spare moment, he invariably disappeared. It had already been a week of this.

'I haven't seen Brother's face even once.'

Somehow, it was harder to see him here than it had been back in the county. Far from growing closer to Adrian, she felt as though they were drifting further apart.

The journey to the capital was nothing like she had hoped. Seraphia sat alone in the carriage in silence.

"Hah..."

A sigh escaped her for no particular reason, and her gaze dropped to her lap.

At that moment, she noticed a shadow creeping down from above her head. But what could be casting a shadow inside the carriage?

The instant she cautiously raised her eyes—

"Ee—mmph...!"

Before a scream could escape her lips, Seraphia's throat was abruptly blocked.