Chapter 176 - Valdrova's Hound

"Heh-heh-heh! Hellooo!"

The moment Ferda saw Echidna's face, he felt something new.

It was not the lovely newness he always felt from Valdrova.

'How strange.'

The gloom she had when he first saw her had grown worse, yet her vitality had become brighter.

For an ordinary human, gloom and vitality would usually go hand in hand, but this woman was the complete opposite.

That incomprehensible element made her even more unpleasant.

"I heard you completed the formula."

"Yes! I! At last! Finally! Made it!"

Echidna rejoiced, waving her hands wildly.

"Explain it."

"Yes! If you look here..."

A doll with a build similar to Zed's came into view.

The picture-perfect face of a childish young lady was gone, and a sculpted face was taking shape.

He could tell where that obsession had been directed.

"It may look like a simple doll, but inside it, I have trained it to perform maid duties!"

"A maid..."

In other words, a tall male Luri.

"Can you show me a demonstration?"

"Yes!"

For the demonstration, Echidna deliberately knocked a cup on the table to the floor.

SHATTER!

When that sound rang out, the doll that had been standing demurely raised its head.

The doll creaked as it moved at first, then began cleaning up the spot where Echidna had dropped the teacup.

It started with sweeping, then mopped it spotless, and even finished the cleanup perfectly afterward.

"It is designed so that, without needing specific orders, if you give it a situation, it can respond appropriately to that situation!"

"I see."

It did move just as she said.

"... Though there are some problems."

The flaw was that the entire process took two hours.

If Luri had seen it, she would have gotten so frustrated that she would have kicked it into scrap within three minutes.

That was not all.

Its extreme slowness was a flaw too, but after moving for about ten minutes, it suddenly dropped its head and stopped.

"We will need to reduce unnecessary mana consumption too."

"Yees... That's true..."

That work could be done by referring to the optimization work of puppeteers.

After all, they had long studied dolls to make themselves appear like a summoning branch.

'Applying puppeteers' knowledge to magical engineering...'

Among the puppeteers' theories, there were some things humans could not do precisely because they were human.

What if those things could be applied to magical engineering and used?

It might be possible to reduce them to children playing with wooden dolls.

Would that be all?

Right now, this was merely a new male model trained in maid work, but given time, it would be mass-produced in the form of adult men.

And if they learned the training and spirit of elite soldiers, they could be used in actual combat too.

'There is one problem, though.'

The golems Echidna made were similar to humans.

In other words, rather than golems, they were closer to homunculi.

The reason homunculi were frightening was because they could not be controlled.

In fact, the homunculus that was the legacy of Edgar, a great alchemist, had yearned for freedom and nearly destroyed a kingdom.

There was no guarantee Echidna's golems would not do the same.

"If you ordered these things to slaughter humans, would they begin slaughtering?"

"I would separate them depending on their purpose... but they cannot be used as war dolls."

"Why?"

"Because this world needs love more than hate!"

"..."

He was left speechless by the irony of a witch loving peace.

He thought it impressive that she could say that while giving off such a gloomy aura.

"What about removing demonic creatures?"

"That might be possible! Demonic creatures are bad things, after all!"

That was enough.

Because that function was what Ferda needed most.

Suddenly, after hearing her words, one question led to another.

"You said they cannot wage war."

"Yees."

"Can you tell me why they cannot?"

Echidna was not the type to bluff, so the fact that she was so confident meant she had something to rely on.

"It is because of this!"

Echidna opened the built-in wardrobe.

Inside, instead of clothes hanging from hangers, there was a single wooden doll sitting on a chair.

Unlike the tall, handsome wooden dolls scattered around the gloomy witch's room, it had a small build.

In terms of height, it was about the size of Luri or Mori.

It was obvious who the model was without even looking.

"I call it the Hive Mind!"

"The Hive Mind?"

"So... these children are very curious and learn all sorts of things, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Children like that need someone to tell them, 'No-no, you mustn't do that.' This child plays that role. It filters things in advance."

"So it serves as the mother body."

One question led to another.

If there was a watcher, then who watched the watcher?

"Who controls the mother body?"

"I made it remember only principles that no one can interfere with. Just three of them."

The three principles she stated were as follows.

First Principle: All golems are tools, not humans, and tools have a duty to benefit humans.

Second Principle: They must absolutely obey the First Principle and obey the Hive Mind.

Third Principle: While obeying the First and Second Principles, a golem must protect itself.

"Not bad."

"Right?"

Echidna beamed at Ferda's response.

If the clause saying they had a duty to benefit humans was an absolute rule, then they would not be able to participate in humans fighting humans.

'Is that actually better?'

Echidna was a witch who possessed a Red Circle.

If.

It was extremely unlikely, but if she went berserk, became a warmonger, and turned the armies she had created into her own, that would become a disaster in its own right.

"Um..."

While Ferda was imagining something unsettling, Echidna twisted her body bashfully and her lips twitched.

"I worked so hard, you see... So now... um... will you hand custody over to me?"

"Custody?"

"Yes!"

Echidna nodded fiercely.

"That damned lizard kept interfering over and over, picking fights with me over dominance, and I wanted to strangle her so many times."

"But I endured it and worked hard, you know?"

"Maybe this is a mother's heart?"

"..."

"Hehe, heh-heh-heh...!"

Echidna laughed chillingly.

Ferda realized what that chill he had felt was.

'It was what I felt when I entered this room.'

That bizarre sensation of being full of vitality while becoming even gloomier.

Because Echidna was serious about Mori, and Isabella was just as serious, they must have waged a battle between spear and shield without yielding a single inch.

And at last, Echidna's invincible shield had been completed.

'... When I think about it, this is completely insane.'

Using a witch's obsession to make her work.

Ferda felt the situation turning troublesome.

He had taken Mori hostage, but Mori was also a useful resource.

'Mori's efficiency is the problem.'

Ever since Echidna and Isabella began taking turns looking after Mori, its efficiency had improved.

If he declared that he would entrust Mori to Echidna, Mori would be treated like a toy again, and its efficiency would drop.

Unable to make an easy decision, Ferda asked this.

"May I decide after asking Mori?"

Ferda shifted the responsibility elsewhere.

"Of course!"

Echidna accepted it as if that was even better.

"Are you serious?"

At Ferda's question, Echidna struck her chest and said this.

"No matter what, I am far better than that lizard woman!"

Only then did he realize what Echidna was thinking.

She believed it was a binary choice between Echidna or Isabella.

That was why she had not kept one possibility among the options in mind.

-I judge neither to be suitable.

"Whaaat?!"

It was an obvious result.

The only one who did not know that result was Echidna.

"W-wait, can you tell me who should be your guardian instead?"

"For example, Echidna, or Echidna Philiaz, or the gloomy witch lady..."

Echidna offered various choices, but Mori answered cruelly.

-It is suitable for Head Attendant Luri to become my guardian.

"You mean Luri?"

When the two were in the middle of fighting, Mori had been managed under Luri's hands.

Unlike the two who cared for it with utter devotion like a child, Luri only gave a tool the bare minimum care it needed.

From the perspective of a rational tool, that was the best environment, and it was only natural that it drew out the highest efficiency.

"You said we should actively reflect Mori's opinion, so..."

"Uuuu..."

Echidna looked as if she were about to cry like a mother who had lost her child, and Ferda let out a sigh.

"For now, we will keep things as they are."

Echidna brightened again.

She must not have known that maintaining the status quo could feel so welcome.

Conversely, Mori's expressionless face subtly twisted.

"This is the best option."

Intending at least to comfort Mori, Ferda placed his hand on Mori's head.

Then Mori carefully removed Ferda's hand from its head and wrote this.

-This is behavior that lowers efficiency.

Mori whipped around and left.

Ferda faintly understood what it was he sensed in that face.

The far east was land under the Grand Duchy's territory.

As land that had once been the base of the Demons, who were called the enemies of the Serdes Continent, it was a region with strong special characteristics.

That was why the powerful autonomy and military force held by the margraves of every kingdom were central to it.

In that regard, the Arken Empire differed from other kingdoms, and the margraves' power was not strong.

The far east had been the weakest.

Yet it had won recognition of its autonomy, exceptionally so within the centralized Arken Empire.

It was a story as miraculous as the wise king's odds of victory when he defeated the giant troll Goliath.

For the nobles of the far eastern alliance, it should have been an endlessly happy moment.

Except for one person.

"Move faster, quickly!"

"Even if you rush me, if the horses tire out, that is the end of it, sir!"

"It won't be easy until we reach a relay station and change horses, sir!"

"A mere coachman has no right to talk back!"

"If we're late, you die too, do you understand?!"

Baron Guillot urged the coachman on like a man with fire at his heels.

He was trying to flee in the dead of night.

Hearing that autonomy had been secured meant Alexander had been defeated.

That meant that if he stayed here, he would be in a situation where he never knew when his head might fall.

He knew what became of the man who sold the savior for thirty pieces of silver.

He did not want to end up like that.

"A-are you all right, my lord?"

His loyal servant wiped the sweat beading on his face and asked.

"I am fine."

"What do you plan to do from here?"

"As I said, we must first cross north."

"If I sell some goods there and use information from the Empire, I should be able to obtain one position at least."

He had thought life as a baron on the border was the worst, but to think things could become even worse than that.

Baron Guillot let out a sigh at his own wretched fate.

"Damn it... Why do I have to suffer this... I, who carry the blood of House Guillot..."

"Indeed, sir."

"My lord, you have lived for this Arken Empire, so how can this be?"

"That damned... How did everything get so twisted because of that damned upstart...?"

Baron Guillot lamented his circumstances, and the servant flattered him.

As they hurried along, he felt as if the carriage's movement were gradually slowing.

It was not his imagination.

The carriage had come to a stop.

"Coachman! What are you doing?!"

The coachman did not answer.

Baron Guillot shouted at the silent coachman at the top of his lungs.

"You son of a bitch!"

"Do I no longer look like a noble to you either?!"

"I asked what is going—!"

The door burst open, and his words stopped.

The face that barely entered the carriage's light was one he knew well.

Among them, it was the face he least wanted to see.

"C-Count Concillus..."

"It has been a while, Guillot."

"So we meet like this."

"Y-yes, indeed."

"How are you here...?"

How is that man here?

Leaving Guillot, who wore such an expression, aside, he looked at the servant seated across from him.

"Well done."

He said that and tossed over a pouch of coins.

Unlike the dumbstruck Guillot, the servant glanced around nervously and nodded.

"... Thank you, Lord Count."

The servant slipped out as if fleeing on the spot.

In the seat where the servant had been coaxing him that all would go well just moments ago, Count Concillus planted himself.

"What brings you... here?"

"What do you think brings me here?"

"I merely came to greet you."

He spoke in a cold voice.

"While I was at it, I also greeted your son and wife."

"..."

"Are they in the carriage behind us?"

"I have not checked, you see."

Count Concillus slowly raised his eyes.

Death dwelled in those eyes.

Baron Guillot's body trembled like a man doused in cold water in the middle of winter.

"They are people you will never see again after today, so ought you not greet them properly?"

"I suppose I should check once."

When he shifted as if to rise, Baron Guillot, who had been trembling, dropped to his knees.

"P-please, spare at least my son and wife's lives."

"My son and wife did nothing wrong..."

"It was merely my own independent action, Count Concillus."

Concillus sat back down.

"Can they truly be innocent because it was your independent action?"

"Beans grow where beans are planted, the children of devils will become devils, and the children of traitors will become traitors."

"What reason do I have to leave alive your wife and child, who would bring nothing but harm if spared?"

"Is there not affection from all these years?"

"Did you not attend his baptism and pray for my son's future?"

Guillot appealed to affection.

"As a fellow human and as a servant of Altes, please show mercy."

"I swear in the names of Altes, my father, and the Emperor that I will not speak of this to anyone and will live quietly."

And he laid before him every shred of honor he could offer.

"As you say... children are without sin."

"The same goes for your wife."

He reached into his back pocket, then took out a bottle of liquor and two glasses and set them on the small table.

"I know they are that innocent as well."

"They have no reason to die."

Concillus poured the liquor as he spoke.

"But in the midst of war, how many die because they have a reason to die?"

"War is the act of driving ten thousand people to death for the sake of one man."

He carefully picked up the glass filled with amber liquid.

He looked down at his own face reflected in the liquid.

"My son... had no reason to die there either."

Bitterness lingered in Concillus's mouth.

"If I had been just a little more selfish... he would have had no reason to be there either."

He swallowed the bitter taste lingering in his mouth along with the neat liquor.

This time, he filled the glass placed in front of Baron Guillot.

"Drink."

"... Hic... sob."

"If you drink it now, the road ahead will be at least a little easier."

Baron Guillot picked up the glass while sobbing.

He moved it up to his lips, but he could not bring himself to swallow it down.

"Is this necessary?"

He asked him one thing he could not understand with his own mind.

"Is it necessary to do this for that man Ferda?"

"Do you truly need to bear that weight and karma?"

After cutting down the neck of a fellow noble, Count Concillus would no longer be able to live as he had before.

The trust and honor he had built would crack, and someday, he would meet the same fate as Guillot himself.

Hearing those words, Count Concillus let out a hollow laugh.

"Compared to the karma I will shoulder from now on, your head is merely one petty pebble among many."

"..."

"Wait for me in Hell."

"I will follow soon."

Baron Guillot finally downed the liquor.

SLASH!

The moment the warm sensation of neat liquor wrapped around his throat, a cold line wrapped around his neck.

Baron Guillot's head flew through the air and rolled across the floor.

Before anyone knew it, a sword was gripped in Count Concillus's hand.

Blood dripped down, and Concillus shook that blood off.

Concillus picked up Guillot's head and stepped out of the carriage.

In front of the carriage, men in lacquered armor were waiting.

"His wife and son?"

"We did as you ordered."

"They must have gone without pain."

Concillus instinctively examined their complexions.

Since this was their first time killing a child and a woman, their expressions were heavy.

"I am sorry for making you do something difficult."

"It is something someone had to do."

Just as Concillus took on the work Ferda had to do,

the knights took on the work Concillus had to do.

It was because they knew the weight their lord carried.

Concillus handed over the head and mounted his horse.

"Announce it as prepared, applying the conspiracy to commit treason and the various embezzlement charges."

"Yes."

"Where is next?"

"House Granduchi."

"Where is the baron?"

"He is waiting inside the castle."

"According to intelligence, he is in the middle of evacuating his wife and children in advance."

"Do we pursue them?"

Concillus nodded.

"Pursue them and bring back their heads."

"I will not tolerate mistakes."

"We will obey your command."

After that day, two families that had ruled within Grand Duchess Valdrova's territory disappeared.

From that day on, a new nickname was engraved upon Count Concillus.

"Valdrova's Hound."

Ferda uttered Concillus's new nickname aloud.

"It seems the rumors going around these days call you that."

"A hound, you say."

"I am honored beyond measure."

Though it was a derogatory term, Concillus laughed heartily as if pleased.

Ferda could not laugh along.

"Did you have to make such a choice?"

Ferda knew everything he had done.

Not only had he heard it through the shadow knights, but Concillus had also told him using this occasion.

"Fear creates an unstable political situation, and in an unstable political situation, a new power is forged."

"I am a man who must disappear someday."

"Is that new power me?"

"That is correct."

Concillus answered calmly.

"Of course, not everyone will trust and follow you, Regent."

"But they will think you are an option worth considering enough."

"..."

"If there is an opportunity, you can become the center at any time."

All of this was for Ferda's sake.

Ferda did not doubt that for a moment.

Concillus had risked his life, used aura backlash, and bought them time.

However, just because it had been done with good intentions did not mean he could simply be happy about it.

'If Concillus disappears someday, I will have to lead them alone.'

Where there are meetings, there are also farewells.

When that time came, what choice would Ferda himself be making?

As a vague unease tried to torment him, he forced himself to ignore that thought.

"I will make certain to repay as much as you have helped me."

Normally, Concillus would have been modest and said he had only done what was natural.

"Since you have brought it up..."

But unlike the line that should have come automatically, his reaction was reluctant.

"As it happens, something has recently occurred, and I am in need of help."

"What happened?"

"Well..."

Concillus let out a long sigh and explained.

After hearing his explanation, Ferda understood why he had sighed like that.

Even Ferda was dumbfounded as he summarized it.

"... He forced himself on a noble young lady?"