“Your words are wasted on me. I am honored.” I bowed back.
But... Oh gods. Thinking of what was about to unfold was giving me a serious knot in my stomach. But I couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.
“I would very much like it if you would accept a reward,” he said. “Do you have anything in mind?”
“I do.” This was probably going to cause me big problems, but I had to commit to it. Okay, I thought. Here goes nothing. “I came here today through Beast Woods, to the south. The villages of said region are currently being menaced by demons in command of ferocious beasts.”
“I see.”
“Firstly, I would like to confirm—does Your Excellency have the power to mobilize soldiers to hunt demons? Is that possible?”
A serious look came over his face. “Speaking purely in terms of capability, it would not be impossible. Not impossible, but certainly difficult. You saw that wyvern,” he said, massaging his temple in little circles. “We never foresaw a monster that great coming directly to Whitesails, but we have been experiencing similar monster incidents frequently within the areas of Southmark governed by the Fertile Kingdom.”
I was almost afraid to ask. “When you say similar incidents...”
“Yes, I mean that strange, toxic miasma. Those touched by it are corrupted by the poison and go berserk.” He explained that beasts with that stuff flowing through their body were rampant right now. “What about you, William? You had your arms around the neck of that wyvern as the gas flowed from it. Has it not affected you?”
“I don’t poison easily, Your Excellency.”
“I am glad to hear it. Soldiers often collapse after a fight with those beasts, you see.”
Thinking back on what had happened with the god of undeath, it looked like these kinds of poisons didn’t affect my body, which had been raised on holy bread. So that was what happened when an ordinary person came in contact with that miasma... And there were many monsters like that...? This was probably, no, definitely the demons’ doing.
“We are spread too thin as a result of the previous King’s expansion policies. We are unable to even provide adequate protection to all of the villages that are under our governance. I hope you can understand what I’m saying.”
I could, and what he had left unsaid, as well. Under such circumstances, he couldn’t spare troops for independent settlements on the frontier, which neither paid taxes to the Fertile Kingdom nor were under its aegis. If he did, he would face backlash from the villages that were a part of it. He couldn’t pull his forces from those paying their way and give them to those not paying a penny. In terms of capability, it was technically possible, but practically speaking, impossible without a doubt.
“In that case—” I’d found out what I needed to. Now for the real talk. “Could Your Excellency grant me permission to organize adventurers and hire mercenaries at private expense to hunt the demons?”
I’d been thinking about it for some time. There was no way I could go out on my own and hunt down the huge number of demons running rampant in Beast Woods. And if I couldn’t do it alone, I was going to have to spend money to hire people and increase my numbers.
But the moment I asked, I saw the Duke of Southmark’s temple twitch. He silently brought his hands up to his eyes and rubbed his temples again and then, slowly, he returned his gaze to me.
“William, do you understand the meaning of what you have just asked me?” He stared at me hard. The mood inside the room slowly began to change.
“I do understand the magnitude of what I am asking for.”
“And still you request it?”
“Yes.”
The Duke stared at me for a long time. I felt like I’d just learned the true meaning of the phrase, “powerful eyes.” That stare alone would be more than enough to make a person of weak temperament quake in their boots and withdraw their opinions. But I had my oath to fulfill.
“I beg you to consider just how many villages will otherwise be put to the torch, how many people will end their lives amid hunger and suffering and violence.”
“But to save them all would be a feat so great that not even the gods could accomplish it.”
We stared at each other, neither backing down.
The duke was the first to look away. Then he shrugged. “What rotten luck,” he muttered. “This would have been far easier had you simply been a man of no repute.”
“I sympathize fully, Your Excellency. That said, had I not killed the wyvern, I may not have been granted an audience.”
The duke put his hands up to his eyes and rubbed his temples again. It was probably his tic. “Quite. However...” He fell silent.
The accomplished Wyvern Killer was already starting to act undesirably.
It was just as he had said: if I were just an ordinary man who couldn’t bear to see the border areas in such a state and wanted to gather a few people at private expense and do a little bit of demon hunting, that would have been fine. He would probably have been able to overlook that. The reality was that this world was full of evil races, and hiring adventurers because the lord couldn’t respond fast enough wasn’t uncommon at all, so that would have been within the limits of acceptability.
But I was none other than the hero known as the Wyvern Killer, who was furthermore being mistaken as having some noble background; and I was declaring my intent to assemble forces that could potentially serve as a private army, and operate in Beast Woods, an area to which the lord’s power didn’t currently extend.
What’s dangerous about that, you ask? Only that there are so many potential risks stacked on top of one another in that scenario that it’s impossible to list them all. For example, I could become the leader of a rebel movement. I might be acting in another country’s interest. I could overdo it and end up provoking the forest beasts and evil races instead.
So the prudent course of action was obvious.
“I must give consideration to having you killed.”
The duke suddenly looked a lot more intimidating.
“That’s frightful. How will you say I died?”
“I will leave you with your dignity, that at least I promise. How about this: you suddenly started coughing up blood, presumably poisoned from your battle with the wyvern. We tried to treat you, but alas.”
The solemn guards standing behind the King’s brother shifted slightly. The moment he gave them the order, I was sure those two would kick over the desk and lunge at me.
I could probably dispatch those two, but I thought I sensed soldiers concealed in hidden rooms on the left and right, who would probably try to hack me to pieces. I would also have to worry about projectiles. The duke himself looked quite skilled, too. And if he ordered them to, the guards would go on the defense while he retreated, so it would be difficult to take him hostage...
Just in case this developed into a battle, I found myself thinking about how it would play out, but the truth was that there was really no point thinking about it. Even if I could kill everyone in this mansion, it would be the end of me socially. It was never an option.
“Oh?” The duke’s eyes flickered towards Menel. “Oh my... How frightening.” He made a big show of shrugging his shoulders. Wondering if something had happened, I turned to look behind me, but only saw Menel standing there, expressionless.
“What?” he said.
“I thought... Never mind.”
Hm. What was that? I couldn’t keep looking at Menel, so I turned back to the duke.
I may have brought this on myself, but even so, things were not headed in a good direction. I had to get through this situation. My hands were getting clammy under the table. I had no confidence that this was going to work...