The High Court of Justice is really full of free time, huh. As you see, I am just another drunkard. Something like the dirt that emerges when you hit something, or like the tab at the tavern. Gahahahaa.
Yeah, it is as you say. Even though I look like this, back in the past I was given the title of First Generation Knight. I was unstoppable, they said. Thanks to that, there was a little brawl at the tavern……and that was how I returned to being a good-for-nothing commoner.
So, uhh, what do you want to ask me about? You will be treating me for tonight, right? In return, I will answer anything you ask.
…...Obeniel? You are asking about the succession matter in the Obeniel Family?
You’re saying that the succession of the household by the eldest son went too smoothly? Why instead of a succession dispute, the other side, the second son backed down so easily?
…...What, that’s it?
The residence I was in back then, how much do I know about that second son or whatever young master?
Uh-huh? He was child prodigy who studied alchemy on his own in spite of his young age, a shrewd fella who sold in bulk the potions he concocted on his own and was also the prodigy that the neighbouring country’s magic academy invited. Surely, just by hearing this, others have said that he was more suitable to succeed the family instead of the mediocre elder brother. Hahahaa!
Still, well. Shall we look at it from another perspective? That guy, how useful would he be if he was the head of the Earl Family, would ya say?
I don’t wanna badmouth the former master’s son but an alchemist is, after all, just a vulgar fraudster. From dubious prescriptions that cannot be distinguished between poison or medicine, to tall tales of transmuting lead to gold, and last but not least, immortality too! There must be a limit to big talk. There is no way a parent would want to pass the role of family head to a child who wears such a hat. From what I heard, that master-sama absolutely refused to drink the medicine his son prepared even on his deathbed. Well, that was the extent of it.
Even peddling potions in the city isn’t acceptable. Isn’t that right? For the big shots, it isn’t their job to do trade. Their job should be making their subordinates do trade. They aren’t allowed to put on the shoes of others.
To begin with, he spent only a year abroad at the acclaimed Academy before getting expelled? What in the world was he guilty of……?
Yes, I have no idea what happened over there. I’m sure you’ll just need to do a bit of sniffing to find out, but young master Talese — the second son in question — before entering the Academy, he gave the knights the sack.
You should be able to understand from this much right? From the start, he wasn’t a suitable vessel to inherit the Earl Family. Hence, he wasn’t a fella that would carry the entire family on his shoulders. Even with nobody running the show, it wasn’t like the family would collapse and disperse. Therefore, that was how the elder son became the head of family with little resistance.
Is that enough for you? You get it now? That the young master did not become the family head was completely something he brought on himself. There was not one bit of the “plot” that could be extolled at a cheap opera.
…...Yeah. Had that eerie brat inherited the Obeniel Family, it wouldn’t be strange if the entire Family went downhill.
…...This way, it is good as it is.
Huh? Whaddya say?
Heh, hehehe……
Yes, that guy was killing those slaves.
Hahaha…...you are making quite the mystified face huh? Mystified as to why he had no qualms about killing slaves despite not raising his hand to his retainers and maids or throwing tantrums at his family.
Oh, nope. I ain’t criticising him. Certainly, I agree. That those slaves do not have citizen rights. Since they are just belongings. That’s how it is written in the laws of this country too. The same goes for Sankt Gallen and Marlbair. If they’re just belongings, even destroying them — killing them, is not even on par with kidnapping. It’s up to the owners. All depends on their moods, yeah.
My way of speaking was poor, really. Rather than killing, it was torture. Without a care for their cries or screams, he let them die in the end.
No, wrong. What you said was that he might be sadistic?
Calmly! He did so calmly! Regardless of whether the person was crying, screaming, groaning, dying! He doesn’t cry, rage, laugh or rejoice! His frozen snake eyes follows the slaves as they writhe and die!
Ahh, no, wrong. I was wrong. Totally wrong! His reaction was that of indifference. However…...right, he did say those were part of his experiments. Yes, indeed. Alchemy experiments, he said. He fed the slaves drugs, gave them injections, cut their skulls or stomachs open while they were still alive and dissected them when they died…...unbelievable. Doing all that calmly, when he was just a brat!
When they grimaced in pain and died as he had planned, he would snickle! Yes, it went perfectly, he would say! The experiment was a success! When it doesn’t go as expected and the slaves die, he would click his tongue! God dammit, what the heck was that guy saying!? What did he think the lives of slaves amounted to? Doing all that…...it was as though he was a demon!
Yes, right. At long last, the family head couldn’t take it and rushed to the church, claiming his son had been possessed by a demon. …...However, the pastor diagnosed him to be clean! How can that be possible, such utter bullshit!? If that wasn’t the deed of a demon, then what else could that be!?
That’s right, it was all his fault that the master was at a loss. At first, he ignored it while feeling disgusted. And he was an aristocrat too. Just the slaughtering of slaves. B-but y’know!? He was doing it every single day, countless of people! How many did that guy kill in the residence!?
Dead in the night, there would be a open fire in the courtyard! I knew what it was, it was a cremation! Slaves, who were pale as sheets, were transporting dead slaves on wagons, and flinging them into the fire! While in fear of being next! Argh, damn! I remembered! The burning smell of meat mixed with medicine — till today! Even today!
Ugh!?
Ugehhhhhhh!!
But y’know, I ain’t spouting lies here?
…...Ahem. I beg your pardon.
We were on the topic of that child, right? Yes, she was indeed a child that leaves a deep impression. Everything about her from top to bottom was strange.
From the time she registered with the guild,she towered above the rest. It was weird. Anyhow, she was such a small child.
That is so. We are not even sure if she is ten years old. Moreover, she was a girl.
I was quite shocked…...when I noticed a carriage bearing a snake insignia had stopped in front of the guild, a noble child and his attendant maid got off. I initially guessed that he was the client for a quest. It was rare for a child to be the client, but obviously, he was an aristocrat so that was possible. Perhaps he succeeded the family at a young age and maybe had one or two important errands that he wanted the guild to put requests for. However, I was mistaken.
That child came to register as an adventurer, you see. Yes, that young master, the second son of the Obeniel Family said so himself.
I was taken aback. What are you saying, child? Are you sane? If he asked to register himself, I would be able to understand, just barely. It was common to see boys yearning to be adventurers, and there were cases of aristocrats becoming adventurers when they weren’t inheriting the family. That being said, the person he wanted to register was his attendant maid. I asked him to repeat a few times, but he would reply that it was this child each time.
So, I took a good look, and the thing was, the tiny-looking maid-san wore a collar. A silver crude-looking collar. Yes, it was a slave collar.
Well, registering slaves as adventurers was, umm, not totally unheard of. There were parties that had slaves to carry their luggage or to act as meatshields when the time calls for it. Or on the extreme, a rich person might form an all-slave party and use them fully until they were wiped out, that kind of stuff.
Still…...a girl? Furthermore, she was a cute doll-like and slim girl with a fair complexion. No matter how you think of it, rather than giver her the job of an adventurer, I think she should have remained as a maid.
Not only would that not pose a problem to the system, it would also be totally up to the owner to use his slave too. And yet, wasn’t what he was doing throwing aside all face and rational thinking?
And that’s why, just to make sure, I asked. Do you really want to become an adventurer? I said to the slave child. It is written officially in the regulations that, “A requirement to be an adventurer is that the person intends to go adventuring”. With this, if the child was unwilling, I would have called it off.
Well, had the obedience magic been used beforehand and she was instructed to say “Yes” when being asked like that, then it couldn’t be helped. Nevertheless, the person who brought her was a child too. I was sure that he would be caught in this trick of mine.
And next? Somehow the child agreed readily without stumbling. She was willing from her heart.
How did I know? Though there might be obedience magic, it is still unable to change one’s intentions. With resistance from slaves themselves, orders that bend one’s will would make slaves behave slowly and hesitantly. Still, that child showed none of that. It really was her own desire.
I accepted the registration since there was nothing more I could do. I am a receptionist, after all.
It may sound harsh, but in this field, the fundamental principles are freedom and self-responsibility. Freedom is to allow one to become an adventurer even if it is illogical. Freedom is to allow one to take on requests that are beyond their abilities. Freedom is to allow one to die for the aforementioned reason. I cannot hinder a person who wanted to be an adventurer from doing so. Naturally, as befitting of my position, I would earnestly recommend that they take quests which are aligned with their abilities whenever possible. Since this concerns the trust between us and the requesting client too.
Ahh, my apologies. I veered off topic.
That child’s name was…...her name was Yuni. She did not have a surname. She registered at the age of ten. Her registered class — a name that reflects one’s signature moves and job scope — was Spellsword.
Isn’t this amazing? A Spellsword is, among the adventurers, a start amongst the stars. Wielding both magic and the sword, a Spellsword can easily deal with any situation. Saying it from the mouth is easy, but it isn’t just about innate talent, it has to be complemented with a correspondingly high level of training to be fit for this class. Bluntly speaking, it isn’t something a slave can become, much less a ten year old girl.
Oh, yes. From what I overheard, there was a puzzling request from the Obeniel Family many years ago. Anyways, it was something about requesting for adventurers to teach skills to a slave. The request was handled by a senior of mine, and when I heard about it, I thought to myself that there really existed weird aristocrats, but now, on hindsight, it was in order to train her, I suppose.
Obviously, she became famous in a blink of an eye. She was a slave, a girl, a Spellsword and a maid to boot. A clump of controversies.
Had she anything to do with maids, you ask? Of course, she had. That child, for some reason, was wearing a maid uniform. Even when she came to take requests, or to receive rewards or when shopping in town — always. Most likely, she dons that outfit when she goes adventuring too. That’s what the rumours, originating from the town’s gatekeepers, say about her. They said they let a collared maid with a sword through. Weird, right?
It wasn’t just one or two occasions when other parties caught wind of the rumours and asked the owner to sell her to them. As you know, she is a slave and if the owner was agreeable, her status was such that her very self was a tradable product. It is human nature for a buyer to want to get their hands on an excellent rookie. And to top it off, since she had a beautiful appearance, don’t you think she has the makings of an extraordinary meal, if you get what I mean? Well, the young master did not part with her in the end.
You ask how she fared as an adventurer? Undisputedly stellar. Because she did not form parties and went solo — what you may term as a lone wolf — she did not go for large-scale quests which required the strength of numbers. However, her request completion rate exceeded 90 per cent. Most of her failed quests were due to other adventurers who booked it and established a lead. For a solo who does mainly exploration and item finding quests, she probably surpasses the skill level of a ranger.
She stopped at rank C, but if she took on most quests like how other normal parties do, I believe she would be A class by now. Originally, the right to give yourself a nickname is reserved for rank Bs and above, but for her, we made an exception and allowed her to do so at rank C. Currently, she is known as “Yuni the Silver Wolf” and her name has spread so wide that if you are an adventurer in these parts, but didn’t know her name, chances are you are an illegal adventurer.
Huh, you cannot grasp the extent of her abilities? A rank A adventurer might be tasked to subjugate dragons. Does that make it easier to understand? An incident that requires the mobilisation of an army of significant size can be dealt with the capabilities of a few rank As — or possibly just one alone. . Right, she has no impressive achievements that can be examined for reference, but from my standpoint, she is doubtlessly a rank A.
Just that, well…...she is a troublemaker. She was a docile girl and was not the type to start a tussle. After all, she stands out doesn’t she? Adventurers are a capricious lot who live acting fancifully and showing off. Among these brutes, as long as you are too outstanding, you’ll be embroiled in conflicts in no time.
For example, let me see……
Eh? You ask if I didn’t feel anything scary or weird from her master?
Ahaha, please stop. I have no reason to think like that of her master, right? I mean, c’mon, right? Judging based on our conversation here, right?
Please guess my answer. Really. I beseech of you.
Well, these kinds of things happen. From then on, whenever the adventurers in these parts spot a maid, they would pay attention as to whether that maid had a collar on her. Sometimes, there would be freshies who are unaware of that and upon incurring her wrath, they would disappear into an unknown darkness or something like that. Such a ghost story is also prevalent here. Ahahaha.
There seems to be several similar cases like that, but the one that leaves the biggest impression on me was this incident. After all, it happened before my very eyes. My liver went cold—, honestly.
Ahh, besides that.
Unfortunately, we had to relinquish our valuable talent.
Yes, regarding the master studying abroad, I heard he was at Sankt Gallen. Truly wasted. Though, I hear he has returned as of recent. Still, I haven’t seen him at all. Maybe he is busy with work at his residence? Well, there is no doubt she is with her master.
If you do meet with that child, please send my regards. Also tell her, please do consider doing some quests at our guild when she’s free. I am still somewhat apprehensive about her, but as long as I do not meddle unnecessarily, she would be a reliable person.
To her master…...please tell him to hold onto her reins tightly. Yes, that’s all I can think of to say to him.
Still, about this conversation, is it really related to the succession matter?