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“Is that true? Can you really use black magic?” Eugene asked. It was a surprise, but Eugene was more concerned than happy. The magic of controlling undead monsters was strictly forbidden in all religions, regardless of what school the wizard belonged to. If it became known that his wizard was dabbling in black magic, he would make an enemy out of everyone.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Romari asked.
“The incense burner. It’s a magical tool related to black magic, isn’t it? Should you be using it carelessly?” Eugene asked.
“Oh, I know what you are talking about,” Romari responded with a grin after noticing Eugene’s suspicious gaze. She then continued with a solemn, serious expression, which was a little different from her usual self, “Are all knives made to kill people?”
“What?” Eugene asked.
“That’s not the case, right? No one is afraid of a chef who cooks with a knife in the kitchen. Although everyone knows that a knife is a tool capable of hurting and killing people, no one says anything about it when it’s in the hands of a chef,” Romari said.
“Hmm.”
“It’s the same with the incense burner you gave me, Sir Eugene. No, rather, it’s the same for all magical tools. It all depends on the identity of the user, just like how it’s different for a robber to hold a knife compared to a chef,” Romari explained. She was revealing aspects of her identity as a truth-seeker for the first in a long time.
“…You know you’re sounding like a bit of a snob right now, right?” Eugene said.
‘You little raccoon!’
“Oh my…” She slouched for a moment after hearing Eugene’s honest opinion, then inched closer to Eugene before whispering, “Anyway, I think I can move it, so just tell me whenever you might need it. Undead are just like knives. What matters is who is using them. You can also use the undead to do good things, after all.”
“Hmm. That’s true…” Eugene muttered. In the first place, that was the reason why he had dressed the undead twin-headed ogre in priestly clothes. Even though it was a monster black magic had revived, it was now serving as a symbol of faith and miracle as a ‘converted’ monster.
‘If I can make good use of this…’
Eugene pondered how he could make use of it all. Currently, the undead was nothing more than a symbol since it had been rendered immobile after the black wizard’s death.
Romari spoke once more, “Anyway, Sir Eugene. Are you going to keep those vampires with you?”
Eugene turned his gaze to where Romari was gesturing. He frowned when he saw Christian, who stuck by Galfredik’s side after being completely dominated, and Rohime, the half-slave who had finally recovered.
Eugene then answered, “I intend to do so for the time being.”
“Are you okay with that? Both are vampires with relationships with the Crown Prince, right?” Romari said.
“That’s why I should keep them even closer. Besides, I don’t think they will leave even if I tell them to leave,” Eugene responded.
“What?”
He continued, “Think about it. I caught both of them right in the midst of their doggery. Moreover, they’re in perfectly fine conditions considering the sins they have committed. What will happen if they return to the empire unscathed? What do you think the person who sent them will think?”
“Ah…”
Anyone would become suspicious. No, rather, they would obviously be unable to escape untouched.
“And they know that. Aside from that, the vampires they serve are lesser than me, right? That’s why they decided it would be better to serve me instead,” Eugene said.
“Is that so? The masters of vampire high lords should be Origins, just like yourself, Sir Eugene…” Romari said.
“Well, I guess not all Origins are the same,” Eugene responded. He had contemplated the same issue. According to the words of Romari and the other vampires, it appeared that the ones called the ‘monarchs’ of the vampire clans were Origins. However, the masters of Christian and Rohime seemed weaker than himself. In fact, he had a hunch that they were even weaker than Galfredik.
‘It would be nice if I could use Charm on them. What a shame.’
He attempted to extract information regarding the monarchs from Christian using Charm, but it was ineffective due to the Covenant of Blood made as members of the tribe.
‘Well, since these two failed, they’ll send others. I’ll eventually come to an answer if I keep destroying them one by one.’
There was no need for him to take the initiative and step foot inside the enemy’s base. Considering Crown Prince Voltaire’s personality, Eugene didn’t think he would give up so easily. He was certain that the arrogant, yellow bastard would definitely try something else.
“Anyway, you don’t have to worry about them anymore. They’ll have to be obedient if they want to keep their lives. Moreover, they should be quite useful as well,” Eugene said.
“Well, they should be strong since they’re vampire high lords. You are going to use them to fight monsters, right?” Romari asked.
“No,” Eugene answered.
“What? Then what will you do with them?” Romari asked.
Instead of answering, Eugene turned his gaze toward the two vampire high lords. The two figures were scurrying after listening to Galfredik. Romari’s eyes followed along.
“Huh? No way…” Romari’s eyes filled with realization.
Eugene grinned. “That’s right. There are no better bodyguards than them when it comes to protecting the prince.”
Christian and Rohime stood in front of Prince Localope and bowed politely. Prince Localope had a grim expression, but he nodded in response to the greeting of the two vampire high lords. Eugene had already informed him of the arrangement earlier.
“Are you going to have them escort the prince?” Romari asked.
Eugene answered, “That’s right. Those targeting the prince are either vampires or wizards, so there is bound to be a limit for regular knights. I guess you could call it fighting poison with poison, as vampires know vampires best.”
But he also had another reason for making the two serve as Localope’s bodyguards.
“And those two are related to Crown Prince Voltaire in some way. Since he is after Localope, what will happen if we make them Localope’s bodyguards?” Eugene said.
“Knowing the Crown Prince’s personality, he will blow his top. Wow! Sir Eugene, you truly have a heavenly talent for teasing and screwing people,” Romari exclaimed. It explained why his contracted spirit was the way she was. Like father, like daughter, was it?
“Don’t you think that maybe none of this would have happened if that yellow bastard hadn’t kidnapped you?” Eugene asked.
“Wow! I didn’t know that you… Sir Eugene!” Romari cried out.
Eugene turned toward Galfredik, who was coming this way, then spoke, “Are all the delegations on board?”
“They should be about done boarding that ship. Dammit. Why the hell do they even have more luggage than us? We’re the ones leaving on an expedition,” Galredik complained. It was decided that the delegations of the countries contracted to Maren would join Eugene on the expedition. The various representatives had already confirmed the power of both Eugene and his subordinate knights through the knight competition, but due to the gravity of the current issue, they wanted to be with Eugene every step of the way.
“Be nice to them. They’re valuable customers financing the expedition,” Eugene said.
“In other words, pushovers. Hehe!” Galfredik sniggered.
‘It’s so obvious that they are master and vassal. Although they look different, they look exactly the same when they laugh.’
Romari shook her head while watching Eugene and Galfredik chuckle with insidious expressions. Now that the founding ceremony had concluded, the delegations were simply foreign nobles from the moment they left Maren.
Foreign nobles following the expedition of Maren’s king? Eugene wouldn’t stop them, but he had no obligation to guarantee their safety. So, when Eugene notified them of this fact, the nobles offered to pay a large, separate sum for Eugene to protect them. In other words, the nobles had paid a large sum for Eugene to eradicate the monsters in their own countries, as well as a separate sum to guarantee their safety. Naturally, they weren’t happy to waste so much money, but what else could they do? They were the ones with the most to lose, after all.
‘Make money and kill monsters. While taking care of the yellow bastard and the imperial vampires. Nice.’
“Raise the anchor! To your positions!”
Uwwooooo!
The sailors roared in response to their captain’s command. The vampire smiled contently. He had never made a loss, and he wasn’t planning on doing so in the future.
***
After a smooth voyage along the coast, the expedition arrived at the Port of Moffern in the Carls Baggins Peninsula.
“Aaaah! Your Majesty! It has truly been a long time!” Moffern’s mayor threw a grand welcome for Eugene by mobilizing the guild leaders. At one point, he had coveted Eugene just as much as the governor of Maren.
“Have you been well?” Eugene asked.
The mayor replied, “Yes, of course! Ah, right! Once again, congratulations on the founding of the dukedom! I should have gone personally, but Her Excellency Archivold was simply so strict.”
The City of Moffern could not help but show consideration for Essandra, the conqueror of the Carls Baggins Peninsula. Since Essandra had sent her younger brother as an envoy, it could have been seen as a challenge to her authority as the master of the peninsula if Moffern had sent their own delegation.
“That’s fine. The governor, the parliament, and I know too well that Moffern’s friendship with the dukedom is unwavering,” Eugene said.
“Ah! You are as generous as ever! Truly honorable!” the mayor exclaimed while rubbing his hands together. He seemed to have gained more weight since the last time Eugene met with him. Although both were port cities, Maren and Moffern had different standings, even when they still belonged to the Caylor Kingdom. Now that Maren had taken in its surrounding territories and declared itself as a dukedom, the gap had only widened even further. As such, the mayor felt the need to maintain a tight, harmonious relationship with Maren.
Naturally, though he was smiling on the surface, he was incredibly upset inside.
‘Keugh! Only if I had caught Sir Eugene first… Only if I had been more aggressive… The position of Maren’s governor would have been mine!’
Unfortunately, it was much too late. Therefore, he judged that it was in the best interest of his city to provide Eugene with the best treatment possible, as it was unclear when Eugene’s next visit might be.
“Your Majesty. If there is anything you need, please let me know. I dare not translate the friendship between Your Majesty and me, and the relationship between the Dukedom of Maren and Moffern into gold and silver, but I will not disappoint you,” the mayor said.
“Huh? Are you saying you won’t take any money?” Eugene asked.
“Of course, of course. Friendship! Loyalty! That’s the motto of Moffern, is it not? Hahahaha!” the mayor roared. Naturally, there was no such motto. The mayor had come to a decision after being briefed about the number of people accompanying Eugene, immediately after the expedition arrived at the port. The number was much lower than what he had expected.
‘High-efficiency investment is what it is. Hehe!’
The mayor grinned while hiding his innermost thoughts.
Eugene said, “I’m grateful. Then I will take you up on your offer. I would appreciate it if you could prepare meat-based meals that would last a month for about three hundred people.”
“W-what? T-three hundred?” the mayor asked, dumbfounded. He had already confirmed that there were less than one hundred people, including the foreign nobles. He had also heard that the foreign nobles would be taking care of their own supplies. So, what was this ‘three hundred’ all about?
Eugene answered, “That’s right. Our friends over there; they really eat a lot.”
“Our friends…?”
Eugene gestured, and the mayor turned his head. He saw a group of men and women flocking the dock. They were all clad in blackish plate coats much larger than their own bodies. Although they seemed huge, how much food could about ten people possibly…
“Oi! Beowulfs! The mayor here is going to supply meat. If you have anything you want, say it now!” Eugene shouted.
Kwuooooo?!
The figures immediately turned their heads at Eugene’s shout.
Kwarararararara!
“Hiek?!”
“W-w-what is that?!”
The beowulfs grew twofold in size and grew gray manes as well. The mayor and the residents of Moffern on the dock shouted in shock. The beowulfs charged at Eugene with sparkling eyes after transforming into lycanthropes.
“Meat! Meat! Kuwuuuuugh!”
“Anything is fine? Really?”
“Hieee! Hieeeeeee!”
The mayor slowly retreated when he saw the drool of the beowulfs dripping from their large, sharp fangs. Eugene placed his hand on the mayor’s shoulder with a smile. “I will leave it to you, Mayor. Moffern’s friendship and loyalty; I am looking forward to it.”
“Meat is loyalty!” the beowulfs exclaimed.
Kwuooo!
The mayor was left with no choice but to nod fervently as he watched the flickering tongues of the hungry wolf-humans.
***
After receiving ten carts of food from the City of Moffern out of friendship and loyalty, Eugene decided to leave for Castle Archivold the next day. Delmondo’s letter mentioned that the situation in the peninsula wasn’t extreme. However, it was much faster to travel by ship to reach the countries adjacent to the Roman Empire; and to do that, one had to circle around the Carls Baggins Peninsula. Eugene judged it would be better to stop by the peninsula and take care of Essandra’s worries and strengthen the bond of trust between them as well, as Essandra had always been favorable toward him.
However, just before the fairly large expedition left Moffern in the morning, knights and nobles holding the flag of the Archivold Marquisate came to Eugene.
They brought shocking news.
“The delegation of the Holy Empire was kidnapped by pirates?” Eugene asked.
“Yes. They sent us objects belonging to the high priest and are demanding ransom. It seems that they contacted us after learning about the relationship between Your Majesty and Her Excellency Essandra. They are demanding five thousand imperial gold coins…”
“No wonder the delegation from the Holy Empire was late!”
“What should we do about this? It’s a high priest of the Holy Empire.”
Everyone castigated the pirates while worrying about the high priest of the Holy Empire.
“How infuriating. Those damned pirates dare…” Eugene expressed his anger as well. The foreign nobles looked at him with admiring eyes.
‘Although he’s from another race, he has faith. He’s worried about the high priest.’
‘The king really is no different from us.’
“They dare to bargain with me for ransom? I will tear them all to pieces.” Eugene’s expression turned grim. For the first time in his life, someone was trying to rob him in broad daylight.