Chapter 179 - The Giant's Legacy (3)

3

The light led me somewhere as gentle as the light itself. A place like a pure white bedsheet spread out to the horizon.

Someone else had already arrived.

“Oh?”

“Hmm.”

Our eyes met. The other person's catlike mouth curled into a small smile.

“Welcome, Death King. Exactly ten days, I see. There's no one more trustworthy than a young person who keeps his promises.”

The one who held the Tower's gold coins in her grasp. The Union's leader, the Count.

The Count wore traditional Indian clothing. Despite her immense wealth, her sari was plain and monochrome. To make up for that, perhaps, the pattern on her fan was lavish.

“Thank you. Uh, are the fairy children doing well?”

“Oh, don't even ask. They've become utterly shameless while I wasn't looking!”

The Count fanned herself. Gold-leaf arabesques shimmered as the fan swayed.

“The fairy children had so little sense of money that I gave them intensive lessons in managing it. Fairies or not, they can't live on nothing but blades of grass, can they? Well, wouldn't you know it, the little rascals fell head over heels for the feel of money in their hands. Now they judge everything solely by whether it'll turn a profit. The world's going to the dogs!”

“...”

The elves really had a rough fate. Before my regression, they had reigned as a blood-crazed warrior race under the Flame Emperor. Now, guided by the Count, they had evolved into misers.

Children take after their parents.

“Aren't they just faithfully following your teachings?”

“Now, now, what do you take me for? I simply see money as water. A vast body of water. It must fall as rain, flow as a river, and embrace everything as the sea.”

“In short, you spend money like water.”

“Oh dear, exactly right. I can't even show off in front of you, Death King.”

The Count chuckled behind her fan.

“Anyway, when are the others coming? We've gotten along a little better lately, and now their discipline's gone slack.”

Huh?

“Didn't you always get along?”

“We were merely civil. In the old days, we made a great fuss about being best friends and sworn sisters. After the Great Purge, things grew rather cold. We only became close again after you came along.”

“Oh.”

“Of course, some of us stayed close throughout.”

Sworn sisters.

'They've been through a lot.'

Though I prided myself on having grown fairly close to my fellow hunters, I was still in the dark about their pasts. I had only recently heard about the Inquisitor's—Bambolina's—childhood.

“Oh, right.”

Thinking of the Inquisitor reminded me of something.

“I hear the Paladin is seeing someone. Do you know who it is?”

“Hmm? Why do you ask?”

“I'm a little curious. The Paladin almost always wears a helmet. I was wondering whether she wears it on dates, too...”

“Of course not.”

The Count smiled in amusement.

“You may not know this, but the Paladin takes great care of her hair. It's magnificent when she takes off her helmet.”

“Oh, really?”

“Indeed. It sways like rice heavy with sunlight. The reason she wears a helmet in the first place is...”

POP!

It happened just then. A comical sound interrupted our idle chatter. The Count and I turned our heads at the same time.

“Sorry, sorry! I was doing Tower-related work and got held up.”

The constellation [The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages] appeared with a pillow in her arms. For some reason, she looked busy. “Whew...” she sighed, wiping sweat from her forehead.

“Let's see. Oh, you've cleared floor 33. Have you finished talking?”

“Talking? We're waiting for our companions.”

“Huh?”

The princess tilted her head.

“Why are you waiting? The other kids are waiting for you.”

“What?”

“Oh... Ohhh, sorry. I didn't explain this properly either. It's been so long since I last managed a stage that I keep forgetting things. Honestly. Falling to constellation status nerfed my intelligence way too much. It's almost down to the level of my main body in Zrakua...”

What was she talking about?

Under our blank stares, the princess gave a little “Hup!” and flicked her finger.

[The Princess Who Walks Through Mirages announces the eliminated participant of the floor 33 stage.]

I turned to the Count, who happened to be looking at me as well. An eliminated participant? Hadn't everyone made it through this stage without anyone being eliminated?

The princess spoke.

“You're eliminated if you completely give up on supremacy, or decline so far that you can never aim for it again. Simple, right? That happened to the Mountain Snailfolk on floor 32, and on floor 33...”

The Tower's voice rang out.

[The eliminated participant of the floor 33 stage is the Count.]

My eyes widened. The Count's mouth fell open.

As if hammering an already embedded nail even deeper, the Tower announced:

[Announcing once again to all participants.]

[The eliminated participant of the floor 33 stage is the Count.]

“W-wait! That's absurd!” the Count said.

She was so flustered that cat ears popped out of her head.

“Why am I being eliminated?”

“Well, the fairy race gave up on supremacy. Since you're in charge of them, you're automatically eliminated. I understand you want to blame me, but I have to follow the rules, too... Sorry.”

“It makes no sense! The fairy race stayed quiet throughout this entire stage! They didn't participate actively in the war, nor did they expend much of their strength. How could they be eliminated?”

“What happened was... Hmm, too much trouble! See for yourself.”

DING!

Another ridiculous sound rang out, and a video appeared in midair. Did constellations choose all these sound effects themselves? If so, that was seriously nuts.

“Hmm.”

Several fairies had gathered in the video. As befitted elves, their ears were all long and pointed.

“The Earth Spiritfolk have turned into monsters.”

“I'd heard the legends, but I never imagined they'd actually be monsters. They're beyond anything I imagined.”

The fairy elders murmured among themselves, twitching their large ears.

“I thought the general was lying to avoid taking responsibility, but apparently not.”

“Good heavens. Did you plant a spy in the expeditionary army? You traitor.”

“Anyone who didn't is an idiot. What if the general suddenly goes fucking crazy on the expedition and turns his sword on us? I know you all planted spies, too. Quit playing innocent.”

“True enough.”

“You have a point.”

“We can't trust someone unconditionally just because they're one of our own. Our trust is far too expensive, and our lives far too precious for that.”

“You little darlings. So our commanders were having a grand time spying on each other in camp instead of fighting the war they were sent to fight. No wonder the holy expedition or whatever failed.”

Hmm. How should I put this?

This was a far cry from the refined conversations I'd imagined elves having...

“What should we do? All the funds we've poured into organizing the coalition army will go to waste.”

“I'd hoped to at least recoup our investment by enslaving the Mountain Snailfolk.”

“This isn't the time to worry about breaking even. The very fact that the Earth Spiritfolk have risen as the hegemon is the problem. We devoted centuries of painstaking effort to bringing the Gillfin Folk under our control, only for these random bastards to make a mess of everything. It's time to reconsider our grand strategy.”

Uh.

Flustered, I looked at the Count.

“Union leader... Don't tell me...”

I'd thought a multiracial coalition army couldn't possibly spring up on its own. Could it be?

The Count was just as flustered.

“I-I only taught the children a little about using money.”

“More like fucking around with money. What on earth did you teach them for them to grow up into shadowy masterminds...?”

“I didn't intend this! Didn't I tell you the children had grown up strangely? No, more importantly, these are racial secrets! Confidential information! Why are you showing it to the Death King without permission?”

The Count snapped at the princess.

Unbelievable.

While I had been raising the Earth Spiritfolk with pure intentions, the Union's leader had been scheming behind the scenes for an economic victory. Without this video, I wouldn't have known until we cleared floor 40.

'Wait, come to think of it, didn't I act on her advice, too?'

When the Earth Spiritfolk were clashing with the multiracial coalition, the Count had advised me: [“Try negotiating terms that benefit every race.”] I had entered Uburka's dream because of that advice.

In other words...

“Count, you were planning to rake in all the easy trade profits for yourself... And when and how did you get control of the Gillfin Folk? You're uncanny.”

“Damn it. We didn't control them. It was mutual assistance. The Gillfin Folk live in the water, so building trading ships is difficult for them, isn't it? Whereas the fairy race lives in forests and excels at working wood...”

“Good grief. They were transporting salt and trading in ships the elves built for them?”

“Leased to them, to be precise.”

The Count groaned.

“Every trading ship operated by the Gillfin Folk belongs to the fairy race. They pay a ship tax for every round trip. And every ship leased from the fairies is required to dock only at ports run by the fairies...”

“Huh? How did you manage that?”

“We offered a thirty-percent discount on the ship tax if they docked at fairy-controlled ports. With free repair services thrown in...”

“Wow.”

“And while the Gillfin Folk can swim along the waterways, they can't deliver salt to inland villages and cities. The fairy race took charge of that.”

“If they're using elven ships and elven ports, naturally they'll end up using elven freight wagons. So when the Gillfin Folk work hard to produce salt and transport it to the ports... the elves can play games with the distribution margins? The harder the Gillfin Folk work, the more money the elves make for nothing?”

“Precisely.”

My mouth fell open.

What the hell? That was one vicious business scheme.

“Union leader, you really... truly... are the real deal.”

“If you want to make big money, you have to control the platform!”

The Count bristled.

“I merely taught the children an obvious truth. Besides, I don't want that look from someone who raised the Earth Spiritfolk into ignorant muscle pigs!”

“No, I only raised them to be strong so they wouldn't get beaten up wherever they went. My intentions were pure.”

“Your purity froze to death and shriveled into a mummy. By that reasoning, I merely taught my children a little truth about the world so they wouldn't have to work themselves to the bone!”

“Children have to experience some hardship to grow up right!”

“Ha! Hardship only makes life hard. What kind of bullshit is that?”

“Parents like you are why kids these days are so small-minded!”

“Parents like you are why kids these days are sick at heart!”

“Ugh, you really are a cheapskate.”

“And you certainly live up to your name.”

“What's wrong with Kim Gongja?”

“Even your name is brimming with stuffy scholar spirit!”

“Fucking hell.”

The princess offered her assessment of our bickering.

“You two are kind of funny... You're making me think of my mom, too...”

As we argued over our philosophies of raising children, the holographic video serenely played on.

“Shall we turn the coalition's blades toward the Earth Spiritfolk this time?”

“No. The cost-benefit ratio is terrible. At least the Mountain Snailfolk had the holy land. What do the Earth Spiritfolk have? What would we do with a settlement full of mud?”

“I hear mud is very good for your skin...”

“Then go improve yours, pretty thing. I'm not interested.”

“Let's surrender.”

The fairy elders blinked. The Count and I shut our mouths, too.

“Hmm?”

“Let's surrender. We can't win a fight, and even if we did, there's nothing to gain. Pouring money into it won't get us anything, and anything we did get wouldn't benefit us. It's a losing proposition no matter what we do. A bust. We should fold while it's cheap.”

“Have you gone mad? You want to shut down the business?”

“I'm saying we should set up shop somewhere new,” the elven elder said.

“We offer our nation to the Earth Spiritfolk and become a vassal state. In exchange, we request their protection.”

“A vassal state?”

“Protection?”

“All our ships and ports will come under the Earth Spiritfolk's authority. The whole continent is scared shitless of them. Sailing and trading under their flag would be much safer than it is now. They'll favor us for being the first to volunteer as a vassal, and the more they favor us, the more they'll trust us. We can use their name and military strength practically for free. Like a fox borrowing a tiger's might.”

The elders pondered this.

“You want us to bow our heads of our own accord...”

“If we're going to bow anyway, the cheaper we do it, the more it'll be worth.”

“It does hurt my pride a little.”

“We just have to get back as much as it hurts. All that matters is making money, isn't it?”

“That's true.”

“We'll pay the Earth Spiritfolk tribute every year. They'll be pleased if we offer ten percent of our profits.”

“Ten percent? Isn't that a bit steep?”

“We can actually pay one percent and bullshit them that it's ten. It'll be fine. There isn't an idiot among our people who can't keep two sets of books.”

“That's true, too.”

I'd never heard of elves keeping two sets of books in my life, but they seemed to consider it common sense.

The elders spoke casually.

“All right, let's surrender.”

“It's only becoming a vassal state. No big deal.”

“What do the Earth Spiritfolk like? Dirt? Would they be happy if we offered dirt with gold dust in it?”

“What would sound like a convincing reason to surrender?”

“According to our spies, they're incredibly ignorant. We can blather pitifully about how we've fallen for their splendid muscles and want to mooch off them in a land where those muscles bulge, and look at us, we may have a little money, but do you see any muscles? That should work.”

“Really? Surely they can't be that ignorant?”

“It's truly astonishing that such an ignorant race exists, but the more ignorant they are, the easier it'll be for us to siphon off them. Let us simply thank the heavens.”

“Thank you, O Great Cat.”

“Thank you.”

“Under our guardian god's care, we fleece suckers once again today.”

“May we make money for nothing tomorrow as we have today, and may we forever suck the workers dry. Through ship taxes, land taxes, logistics taxes, distribution taxes, warehouse taxes, and every other name, let us milk every last drop of profit. Thank you.”

The elders traced some kind of symbol in the air. Apparently it was the fairy race's own sacred sign. As they bowed their heads in unison, they even looked rather holy.

“...”

I fell silent.

“...”

Even the Count could only remain silent.

“Yep. So they surrendered.”

The princess beamed.

“They genuinely have no interest in supremacy. They say they're happy as long as they make money. They really mean it. They want to live as parasites on the Earth Spiritfolk forever and rake in the easy profits... Hmm. Since they voluntarily gave up on supremacy, I ruled them eliminated. Any questions?”

“I have a complaint!”

“Sorry, I don't accept complaints.”

[The Count fails to clear the stage.]

[The Count is eliminated from the stage!]

“This is unreasonable!”

The Count's figure began to fade. She would probably be transported straight to the first floor.

“This makes no sense! I merely taught them how to coast through life, so why would they give up on supremacy over that? Power! Power is the ultimate destination of wealth! Why?”

“Fairies don't have many desires to begin with. Maybe once they discovered the joy of making money, they stopped needing anything else? I guess they decided they only wanted the easy profits, like you said.”

“D-Death King!”

The Count reached out to me.

“Help me! Protest with me! I can't accept being eliminated like this!”

Hmm. Hmmmm.

“I'm sorry, Union leader. But honestly, I think you brought this on yourself. It's certainly not because I'm sulking over you calling me a stuffy scholar. That's just how it is...”

“No!”

The Count screamed and disappeared, enveloped in light. Only her anguished cry remained, echoing for a while.

Light flared.

The next moment, the Sword Star, the Black Dragon leader, Viper, and the Paladin were summoned.

The Black Dragon leader looked around.

“... We had to wait a little again. Death King, did something happen?”

I shook my head.

“Nothing happened. Come on, let's move to the next stage.”

I won't forget your ridiculous elimination, Count.

Make lots of money.