Chapter 25 - Fragrance and Stench

The banquet hall of Valdrova Castle.

Ferda was watching the knights gather from above.

"Disgusting things."

Luri, who had been looking down at the banquet hall beside him, said that.

"Your hatred of humans seems a bit too severe."

"This is not hatred of humans. Those things are disgusting."

As if she could no longer bear it, Luri covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

"When I heard they were wandering knights, I thought they would be something like field mice, but how... how can they be even worse?"

They had drenched their entire bodies in perfume to cover themselves up.

However, that was only covered up by the standards of a human nose, not to Luri, who was a dragon spawn.

Luri retched.

"Do humans go around giving off such a bizarre smell like this? What in the world is this filthy garbage smell that is neither stench nor fragrance?"

Ferda nodded as if he understood.

"When having an audience with a king, that much is basic."

"Not washing, you mean?"

Luri asked with a look that said, "Are you serious?" and Ferda nodded again.

"That is one of the virtues of knights. To wash and erase one's smell is a disgrace as a knight. Even if one arrived in haste, what matters is that one is a person capable of giving off a fragrance."

"You know a great deal about barbaric customs."

"I suppose that is what happens when one comes from a knightly family."

Ferda had also thought it was a barbaric custom for a long time.

Most knights probably thought the same.

It was only maintained because of that damned thing called tradition.

The knights of the Empire were bastards who would stab even their own fathers if tradition demanded it.

"Will you do that too, Lord Ferda?"

"I am not a knight, so what reason would I have to go that far?"

Ferda liked cleanliness.

When he lived in a bathroom, he had always kept the bathroom clean, and cleanliness had now become a part of him that could not be removed even if he tried.

"It seems they have mostly gathered. What will you do?"

"Hmm..."

Ferda carefully observed the people once more.

'As expected, he is not here.'

Ferda had lured the wandering knights by saying he would give them a territory on the condition that they offered thirty monsters.

It was also a condition he had put up to gather monster corpses all at once, but at the same time, he had another reason for gathering the wandering knights to look them over.

'Is the walking fortress, Alberdo, not here?'

A wandering knight who wore armor made of a material as hard and heavy as a turtle's shell, carried a greatsword in one hand, and a tower shield in the other.

Without a horse or even a single squire, he walked the wandering road on his own two legs, and he was a shabby yet noble knight.

'I know he was never interested in territory or loyalty to begin with, but I thought he might be interested if it was the far east.'

He had sworn to fight everything that threatened humanity.

Naturally, the far east was exposed to many threats, so he thought the walking fortress would want that place.

"Is there someone you are looking for?"

As he was scanning them with his eyes, Luri quietly asked.

"If I am looking, then I am looking, but if I am not looking, then I am not looking."

"What does that mean?"

"It is like hoping to find a silver coin dropped on the road while walking. Enough chatter. Let us go down now."

"Yes."

Luri's index finger pointed at the tips of Ferda's feet.

She stirred her finger. Beneath Ferda's feet, a white vortex began to rotate quietly.

Ferda felt his body grow light.

'Heaven Stair, then.'

It was 3rd-tier magic that allowed one to descend slowly and safely from the air to the ground.

Though minor and useless, it was one of the spells often used by nobles to maintain their dignity.

Ferda stepped into the air, and Ferda's body slowly descended diagonally toward the platform.

"Huh?"

Someone spotted Ferda and made a sound.

"Someone is coming down."

"Is that... the owner of this castle?"

The tactless wandering knights stared blankly as he descended.

Ferda clasped his hands behind his back and set foot on the platform.

Then he turned around and looked down at the wandering knights.

The aloof dignity of a Great Mage, befitting elegant magic.

Even the tactless wandering knights had no choice but to shut their mouths.

"Good to see you."

He greeted them in a solemn voice.

* * *

Stephan, who had been watching Ferda, lost himself for a moment at his extraordinary appearance.

'That is Valdrova's kept man? A foolish brat drunk on power?'

It could not help but be strange.

He had heard that the Grand Duchess's fiancé was a young lad who had only just come of age, but he truly was young.

Among the wandering knights, there was no one younger than him, and there was even a five-year gap between him and the youngest wandering knight.

'And yet he overflows with dignity, almost like... he has charisma no less than the heads of families who have held their seats for decades.'

Although Ferda was younger by more than five years, Stephan did not dare think to push forward with age as his weapon.

'This is not the time for this!'

Stephan had been captivated by his appearance before coming to his senses.

A king was before him, and he was standing stiffly with his legs straight!

A few quick-witted knights were already on their knees.

Stephan poked Robellus in the side.

"Sir Knight."

"Uh, hm? Hm?"

"You need to kneel."

"Huh? ... Ah!"

Only then, as if he understood, did he hurriedly kneel.

It was a frivolous appearance that did not fit etiquette, but what did that matter?

Soon after, the other knights also came to their senses and knelt.

Ferda continued speaking.

"I am Ferda Valdrova, fiancé of Grand Duchess Valdrova and currently serving as Regent of the Grand Duchy's territory."

"We greet the Regent of the Grand Duchy's territory!"

Someone offered a greeting in a booming voice.

The knights who had been staring blankly also belatedly repeated after him and offered their greetings.

One knight who had been waiting at the very front first swept his hair back.

He tried to begin introducing himself before anyone else.

"It is truly an honor to set foot in the territory of the great ruler of power. As for me..."

"Ah. There is no need for that."

Ferda cut off the greasy knight's words.

Not listening to a knight's introduction was an act that violated royal etiquette.

'Why did he deliberately stop that?'

There was no need to think deeply.

From the beginning, he had no intention of observing etiquette.

"The wrapping paper you prepared is useless. Everything inside is trash, so why bother making people expect anything?"

"... Pardon?"

"W-What do you m-mean...?"

All the wandering knights made sounds of confusion.

The plate armor they were wearing clattered.

'Uwaaah! This is fierce, way too fierce!'

His head was already spinning from the smell of perfume, and with the atmosphere turning ugly as well, he could not collect himself.

Ferda, who had hurled the abuse, merely flowed quietly like a great river.

"Would you like me to put it more simply? It means all of you are hollow inside. You are hollow puffed bread and empty carts that only make a racket."

THUD!

Someone struck the floor with a gauntlet.

"Your words have gone too far, Regent! Please withdraw that statement!"

A rough-looking knight said so.

His armor had many scratches, giving him the impression of a knight who had crossed countless battlefields.

He was the man who had bought thirty monster corpses from Stephan himself.

'Wow, he's insanely shameless.'

While Stephan was looking at him in disgust, Ferda stared down at him.

"Words that have gone too far..."

He nodded as if acknowledging those words.

"Very well. If my words were wrong, I will apologize to you."

Ferda walked along the grain of the platform with his hands clasped behind his back.

His gaze swept over all the wandering knights.

"Is there anyone here who caught all thirty of them yourselves?"

"Urk..."

"Hmm, hmm..."

Some of the knights who had been about to bristle at being insulted cleared their throats and lowered their heads.

However, those among them who were not included looked at the reactions around them and smiled with contempt.

The rough-looking knight still held his head high.

This time, Ferda asked those who still had their heads raised.

"Among you, is there anyone who caught thirty alone?"

"Hmm..."

"To catch them alone, how could one..."

They murmured, then were overwhelmed by Ferda's gaze and shut their mouths.

Some lowered their heads again and made reluctant sounds.

However.

That meant they were wandering knights who had not procured them from somewhere and had caught them purely through their own strength.

'There is no way such a person exists.'

If a wandering knight possessed enough military force to catch thirty monsters alone, he should already be serving under someone.

The fact that all of them had their heads raised like that meant all of them were lying.

Since Ferda could not possibly know what they had done, they were brazenly pushing through.

'No, unless the lord is a complete fool, there is no way he would believe that at face value.'

Stephan studied Ferda's reaction.

Ferda met the eyes of those holding their heads high, then simply nodded.

"I see."

Yet Ferda acknowledged it.

That easily?

"Then I shall apologize."

Ferda approached the young attendant standing beside him and held out his hand.

She took out a scroll sealed with red ink from her skirt.

"Do you know what this is?"

Ferda asked as he held it up.

Even the slow-witted ones could tell at once what it was.

"What is here is the proof of ownership and title for the territory Thessalos Vulture managed. All that remains is to write in your names, and it will take effect."

The prize every knight desired.

"In any case, you caught thirty monsters and offered them, so should I not keep my promise?"

As he placed it on the table atop the platform, he said this.

"If you want it..."

It was as if that became the signal arrow announcing the start of a war.

"Come and take it."

Light burst from the eyes of every wandering knight.

Stephan reflexively shrank back.

This was a situation he had seen until he was sick of it.

'Middle-aged women when you put up a 70% off sign to clear out inventory!'

If you got caught among middle-aged women whose eyes had rolled back, the expression that a shrimp's back got broken fit so well that your body would not remain intact.

His opponents were knights, so that struggle would be even rougher.

So he judged it would be better not to look and lowered his head.

But no one moved.

Not even Robellus beside him.

Stephan quietly raised his head and asked Robellus.

"Sir Knight, are you not going?"

"Urgh... ugh..."

No, he could not.

Robellus was suffering.

His eyes were round as if they would pop out, fixed on one place.

Wondering what he was looking at, Stephan inadvertently turned his head.

"H-Hurk!"

Stephan also made a sound as if his breath had stopped.

'A d-dragon?'

It was definitely the place where the attendant had been.

There, a Silver Dragon was coiled up and glaring.

Everyone was unable to move because of those eyes.

'What the hell is this? When did that thing get here? N-No, did we come somewhere else?'

Stephan wondered if he had been brought somewhere else.

That was how deeply that fear was obstructing deep thought.

Even while everyone else had stiffened, someone stood up.

"Suuuccess..."

While letting out breath like an old man on the verge of death.

"Teeerritory..."

"Marriaaage... escaaape...!"

Like old men on the verge of death, they struggled toward the blank certificate.

As the race toward the platform proceeded like that,

GRRRR...

The dragon's form twisted.

The form that had been still began growling in anger as they approached.

The wandering knights who had moved by force froze again.

The body of the coiled silver dragon began to move.

ROOOOAR!!

It roared as if someone had touched its reverse scale.

* * *

["What will happen to the knights if you use dragon fear?"]

Before meeting the knights, Ferda asked Luri.

["Most of them will run away. Believing that a dragon is chasing them."]

["What happens if you use it weakly?"]

["Hmm, their five senses come to believe that there is a dragon there, so they become unable to move."]

["That should be suitable. If I give you a signal, can you release a little dragon fear?"]

["At the knights, you mean?"]

["Yes. If we are deciding the owner of a territory, should it not at least be someone who is not a coward?"]

Ferda said that, and Luri agreed to some extent.

'I thought I would not care who it was...'

Luri's thoughts gradually changed.

They said things changed between when one only imagined them and when one began them, but there was a separate decisive factor shaking her heart.

'This damned smell.'

It was because of the smell.

Because of the dragon fear, they were breaking out in cold sweat and their body temperatures rose.

Because of that, waves of hot air rose, and the smell of the perfume they had sprayed and their body odor spread even more thickly.

On the ceiling, a disgusting cloud, commonly called a funk cloud, had formed.

Even Ferda could now feel the foul smell mixing in and reaching him.

For Luri, it was hell itself.

The ones actually sweating probably had no thoughts at all.

Because they were out of their minds from Luri's dragon fear.

Some were trembling in fear, while others were drenched in greed and forcing themselves to move their feet.

"N-Now I... my life is finally going to... turn around...!"

"A d-d-d-dragon is n-n-not s-s-scary at a-all!"

They were even pushing their filthy true intentions out through their mouths, so now the three things were testing Luri's patience together.

'I want to drive them out immediately.'

However, Luri did her best in her role.

She tried to watch what they did until the end.

But then, Luri's silver eyes finally saw it.

That man at the front, climbing onto the platform.

A dreadful smell rose from him, as he had not washed for days.

On his skin, several layers of sweat must have flowed and dried over and over.

A single drop of sweat slid down, slowly tracing that man's cheek.

The old grime on his face peeled away and seeped into that drop of water.

The sweat that flowed down like that reached the tip of his chin and fell like a drop of water forming at the end of a stalactite.

DRIP.

Dirty, smelly sweat seeped into precious Valdrova's residence.

CRACK.

The sound of something breaking inside Luri's mouth.

The moment all that information became lines of text and was perceived by Luri, she momentarily lost her reason.

Dragon fear was released at its maximum and covered the entire banquet hall.

It was only for a very brief instant, but that alone was enough to be effective.

"Aaaaaah! I don't want to die!!"

The knights who had been moving while overcoming their fear were the first to turn around and start running.

Fear spread in an instant.

"Move! I'm just going back!"

"Aaaaaaah! Mama! Mamaaaa!!"

The knights began running disgracefully, their armor clattering.

Without caring who went first, they raced for the entrance, and the banquet hall emptied in an instant.

"Hmm..."

Ferda, who had been watching, looked at the tattered main doors and said,

"We should have watched a little longer. That is unfortunate."

"... I apologize."

"It is all right. Small fry like that are everywhere, so can we not simply select them again?"

Ferda's eyes quietly moved elsewhere.

"And it seems the screening was not entirely for nothing."

In the place that looked as if a storm had swept through it, one man was standing.

He was not a knight.

His legs were trembling, but if one looked closely at that movement, it was because he was forcibly holding them in place so he would not run away.

There were tears in his eyes and snot at his nose.

Bodily fluids were flowing from every hole he had.

It was a situation where he seemed about to suffocate from fear.

And yet, those eyes were directed at Ferda.

Whoever he was, he looked more than worth talking to.

* * *

Valdrova Castle, the reception room.

"What is your name?"

"S-Sstephan Pascal."

"Is your name Sstephan?"

"I-I apologize. I s-stuttered over my name. It is Ste! Phan!"

"It is all right. I understand, and I only wanted to make certain. Speak slowly. There is no need to strain yourself."

"Y-Y-Yessir! Hoo, whooo!"

Stephan had still not escaped the aftereffects of the dragon fear.

He was breathing deeply with all his might, but there was no way he could pull himself together with only a few breaths.

'His mental fortitude, at least, is extraordinary.'

That was proven by the fact that he could hold a conversation even while his mouth was trembling.

Ferda swallowed that admiration and asked him,

"If you are a member of the Pascal family, are you connected to the Pascal trading company I am thinking of?"

"Th-That is correct. I am the second son of H-Herman Pascal! At p-present, I am serving as the br-branch m-manager of the Imperial headquarters. No, as the branch! Manager!"

"I see. What business brought you here?"

"I was s-selling monster corpses to the k-knights, and th-thought that perhaps Her Grace might n-need monster corpses, so I came to discuss it..."

He was a man who had come with a clear purpose.

Because he could not give that up, he had suppressed the instinct that wanted to run away with reason.

'But what bothers me is still...'

The name Stephan Pascal itself.

'It is a name I have never heard before.'

Herman Pascal was the most famous merchant not only in the Empire but on the continent, so Ferda knew him well.

After his death, the inheritance dispute had grown, but only two people formed the central axis of that dispute.

Namely, Muchit and Tilda.

'This man named Stephan is a lonely sailboat... is he?'

On a day without even a breath of wind, he was fated to drift forever and die forgotten.

A person who met the conditions of a successor, yet would die in vain because he lacked the people's support.

There were enough factors to think of him as unimpressive.

'However, if he is fated to collapse because he lacks staying power...'

What would happen if Ferda filled that staying power in himself?

'Muchit and Tilda have already firmly built their own factions.'

Even if Ferda sided with either of those two, there was no room for any crumbs to fall to him.

'I insert a new axis called Stephan into the succession dispute.'

If he succeeded, he would be able to use the trade network and information of the Pascal trading company, called the greatest in the Empire.

It would be a great help to the development and technological revolution of the far east, which was practically wilderness.

"You."

Ferda, having finished his judgment, opened his mouth.

"While you are calming down, would you like to hear one utterly absurd story?"