by Virlyce
“The grill is ready. Would you like me to man it?”
A student interrupted my thoughts. Apparently, you could even earn contribution points by doing mundane chores like cleaning and cooking. The student who asked the question was standing by a sliding glass door inside of our room that led to the roof outside. A sparkling pool and grill could be seen just beyond the puffy red curtains. I really want to make him man it, but I can’t guarantee he won’t poison me. “I’ll do it. You can leave.”
The student ignored me and looked at Ilya. I’m really going to smack the backs of these demons’ heads one day. They’re always ignoring me. I wonder if they’ll ignore a sword to the face.
“Thank you,” Ilya said. “You can leave.”
The student nodded and made his way out of the room. The door clicked and locked itself as it closed. Meat! I can finally eat after not eating for so long; I can’t wait. What do I have to cook? …Not penises, those are for sale. Hm. Ilya has all the corpses, I’ll take hers. What was I thinking about earlier before I was interrupted? I can’t remember. “Ilya! Meat!”
“You … want to eat a divine beast?” Why was Ilya backing away from me? I killed those things! Their bodies belong to me. “D-do you know how valuable their meat is?”
“Beasts are born to be eaten! Don’t tell me their price or you’ll make my heart hurt.” I held my hand out. “Ring, please.”
Ilya gulped. Why did she look so scared? “We can order uncooked meat from—”
“No.” She’s hiding something, or she’s just very reluctant to give up the corpses. It can’t be that she already ate them all, right!? If she did…, I might have demon for dinner. “Take out that manticore. I’m going to eat it, and you’re not going to stop me.”
Ilya pursed her lips. “What if I said it was poisonous?”
“I’ll let you try it first.” Obviously. I’d test it on Puppers, but he’s not alive yet.
Ilya tilted her head. “You … were going to share with me?”
What am I, a savage? “Of course, what the heck? Unless you’re not hungry?” I went through a life-and-death ordeal with Ilya. I won’t trust her to make me food, but I won’t be so cruel as to starve her. Plus, I really don’t know if manticore is poisonous or not, so it’s always good to have a trial dummy.
“N-no,” Ilya said. “Here.” She gave me one of her rings. Great! Let’s start! “But what if Mr. Shinx comes here and realizes you’re eating a manticore?”
Did she say something? I couldn’t hear her over the sound of the grill starting. This is a really fancy cooking implement, much better than a campfire. There’s some buttons you can press to increase or decrease the level of flames. And there’s even this handle that you can rotate to make the meat cook more evenly. Magic’s amazing. This probably counts as a magic tool, doesn’t it? Well, I doubt I’d need to use my mini-map, and Ilya can cast a better version of haste than my dress can.
I rifled through Ilya’s ring and pulled out the manticore. I better cut off a part of it and store the rest just in case Bartholomew comes in here and realizes we’re eating a manticore. Why am I so smart? I think I’ll eat the hind leg first; I think that’s the best cut of meat? I wouldn’t know. All I know is that I was never fed that part of an animal before. I was always fed with vegetables or the gross parts of animals like intestines. Until I met Snow that is, but I like pretending that part of my life never happened. Which part?
Anyways, I should ask Ilya why divine beast meat is valuable. I’m curious because she gathered enough courage to try to keep it for herself. “Hey, Ilya. What does eating divine beast meat do?”
“…Makes you feel full?” Ilya asked. She put on some slippers and stepped outside of the room, standing next to me by the grill and pool. She looked around. “I feel like I’m in a mansion. But we’re still in the desolate mountains; it’s a bit unsettling.”
“Stop trying to change the subject! Why’d you want to keep the meat for yourself?”
Ilya looked down. “Divine beast meat is very rich in nutrients. Of course, it’s nothing like absorbing a beast core, but for magicians, it’s a godsend,” she said. “We’re not good at absorbing beast cores, but we can, at the very least, eat the beast’s meat for a minor boost in our abilities.”
“But aren’t you rich enough to buy it since your dad is special and all?” A duke’s supposed to be pretty high up there in nobility, right?
“It’s very hard to kill a divine beast without damaging its meat,” Ilya said, “since, you know, explosions are what magicians are best at. My family only eats divine beast meat on special occasions, and only direct descendants of the emperor can afford to eat it every day. Like I said, it’s very valuable.” She smiled at me. “I really didn’t think you’d share any with me, but you’re a nicer person than I thought.”
…Maybe I shouldn’t eat this.
***
I feel guilty. I’m shamelessly using up Mr. Shinx’s contribution points, living my life in debauchery in the first-class suite of an inn with the finest service, feasting on the meat of divine beasts with an expert cook, and freely studying all kinds of spells through the scrying orb in the corner of the room. But it feels. So. Good. I want to live this way forever, but I know it’s temporary, and at the end of it, I’ll have to confront Mr. Shinx’s anger. Is this what it means to live your life to the fullest knowing you’ll die the next day? Abandoning every restraint and forgetting all the consequences because your time is limited? It’s only been three days, but I have a feeling I can sink much, much further into depravity if I don’t stop myself now.
“Before we leave, I’m going to steal this bed. And grill. And pool. And peeping-Tom orb.” Lucia rolled around on her bed and sighed, her tail twitching occasionally. At least she knows it’s stealing. “Ilya. More meat!” She sat up and stared at me. “Quit peeping and give me the ring.”
But a teacher was lecturing on the intricacies behind fifth-circle magic…. Ah, if I don’t give her the ring, she might break the orb. I didn’t want to, but I released the scrying orb and tossed Lucia one of my interspacial rings. I think that one had a dead beast inside of it. I put my hands back on the scrying orb, and the image of the teacher and blackboard reappeared. Good, I didn’t miss anything important.
“Do you want some?” Lucia asked, her voice coming from outside the room.
“Yes, please!” I called back. Lucia is an amazing cook. She’s infinitely more times better than Rogath, who only had bread stocked up in his pantry. Maybe it’s the materials Lucia’s working with, but she’s also better than the chef working at my dad’s mansion. Now that I think about it, the prince had a lucky encounter with a dryad to become a fourth-circle magician. I guess, Lucia counts as my lucky encounter. …Even though she’s using my father’s influence. I should use it more often.
“There’s no divine beast in this one!” Lucia shouted. A ring flew into the room and bounced off the wall. It looks like this lecture will have to wait. At least there’s a recording feature built into the scrying orb. How convenient is that? After turning on the feature, I picked up the ring and checked inside. It really was empty except for a few engraved bones. Then was it this ring? No, this one’s filled with bones too. Then, this one…?
“Um, Lucia. There’s no more meat.” Even I couldn’t believe my own words.
“What!?” Lucia stomped into the room with wide eyes. “Did you check all your rings!?”
“Yes. You didn’t take any when I wasn’t looking, right?” I always left the rings on the counter for Lucia to rifle through whenever she wanted to. She enjoyed engraving the bones of the beasts.
“No way,” Lucia said and shook her head. “Besides, do you really think I can eat seven house-sized spaces filled with divine beasts in three days? I could eat one a day at most.”
“Then there’s only one explanation.” Well, there were probably more, but this was the only one I could think of. “The cleaner stole them.”
“That
little greasy bastard!” Lucia said, her eyes widening. “I knew he looked sketchy! I should’ve cut his head off when he ignored me.” Her eyes narrowed into slits, and her tail violently twitched. She lifted her head into the air and sniffed twice before her eyes glazed over and turned white. “Found him.”
Oh dear. White-eyed Lucia was the scary Lucia I knew from my time traversing the mountains with her. When her irises and pupils reappeared, she became a lot nicer. I think it has something to do with the Unrelenting Path of Slaughter that she’s always shouting about. It’d also explain her colorblindness. I should probably follow after her in case she gets targeted by a teacher or a patrol.
The door to the room flew open as Lucia dashed outside, her sword in hand. I had to cast my standard spells to keep up with her, and I didn’t forget to lock the door before I left. The receptionist smiled at me as I ran past her. A few demons in the streets pointed at us, and I could feel my face turning red, but I didn’t stop chasing after Lucia. My gut told me if I lost sight of her, something extremely bad would happen.
Lucia continued to run until she arrived at the street vendors surrounding the portal into the base. I saw the student who cleaned our room talking with one of the merchants. He turned his head, and his eyes widened when he saw us. A yelp escaped from his lips as he whirled around and ran. But he didn’t get very far because Lucia shouted, “Unrelenting Path of Slaughter: Flying Blade!” And his legs fell off. The demon screamed and planted face first into the ground. He rolled over onto his back with the help of his arms, constant shrieks coming out of his mouth.
“Bastard!” Lucia growled and leapt forward. Her sword plunged into his shoulder and came out the other side, shattering the ground beneath the demon. “Where’d you put them?”
“I, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the demon yelled. It was hard to make out his words through his sobs. I’m not sure why I followed after Lucia. I don’t think anything I could do can change the current situation.
Another shriek pierced the air as Lucia twisted the hilt of her sword. The demon’s shoulder cracked, and his arm was severed as Lucia pulled her sword out of the ground. “Where’d you put them?” Lucia asked again as she plunged the sword into the demon’s remaining hand, pinning it to the earth. “Your neck is next if you lie.”
“That, that merchant,” the demon said through whimpers. “I sold them to him!”
Lucia whirled her head around, and the merchant at the street stall stiffened. Lucia snorted and pulled her sword out of the demon’s hand. She stomped over to the merchant and held out her palm. “Hand them over.”
“T-this is robbery,” the merchant said. He glanced behind me, and I turned my head to follow his gaze. The patrols were approaching. “Help! Over here! Help!”
Well, the three days of debauchery were good while they lasted. I just hope Mr. Shinx’s name is good enough to get us out of this mess. I don’t see Lucia taking down a group of sixth-circle magicians led by a seventh-circle leader.
***
“Hold it right there!” a voice shouted at me. “Release your sword!”
They want me to let go of Durandal? There’s no way in hell that’s happening. I pointed mini-DalDal at the merchant. “This man has my items. What is the punishment for trafficking stolen goods?”
“That’s not true!” the merchant yelled. “I pay for every one of my transactions. Is it my responsibility to check the source of my items? The beastkin is insane! Look at what she did to that man.”
Wow, there aren’t many people who become more talkative when there’s a sword pointing at their face. Maybe I should move it closer.
“Stop!” the patrol leader said. One of the patrol members ran to the fallen demon’s side, picking up his legs and arm along the way. “Let’s discuss this calmly like civilized folk.” He looked around. “Who’s the one responsible for this beastkin?”
“I am,” Ilya said, raising her hand. She bit her lower lip and ran to my side. “Lucia, put down the sword, please. The merchant isn’t going anywhere. I’ll get your stuff back, I promise. I want to eat it too, remember?”
Well, if Ilya can get those corpses back without an issue, then I won’t have to use force. My tail isn’t stiffening, so I can probably fight these people if Ilya fails. Yeah, I’ll let Ilya handle this. I lowered mini-DalDal, making sure to cut the merchant’s stall on the way down.
“Can I see your I.D.?” the patrol leader asked Ilya.
Ilya shook her head. “I don’t have one,” she said. “I’m a close friend of Bartholomew Shinx; my name is Ilya Pentorn.”
“A friend of Teacher Shinx?” the patrol leader asked and furrowed his brow. His eyes widened. “Did you say Ilya Pentorn? B-by any chance, is your father…”
“Duke Pentorn,” Ilya said and narrowed her eyes. Wow, there it is again with the name dropping.
The patrol leader paled and looked behind himself. The patrol members looked away and lowered their gazes to the ground. The leader pursed his lips before facing Ilya. “I see, Lady Pentorn,” he said. “May I ask what the situation is?”
Ilya pointed at the demon I dismembered. “That man worked as a cleaner for the VIP room of the lodgings I was staying at,” she said and snorted. “He stole the contents of four of my interspacial rings and had the audacity to sell it off to this merchant over here. If it weren’t for my bodyguard, he would’ve gotten away with it. Can the Arcane Arts Academy shoulder the responsibility of having my goods stolen?”
I became a bodyguard? To be fair, it is in my best interest to keep Ilya alive. I guess I am her bodyguard. …I demand a wage!
The patrol leader cleared his throat. “No, ma’am,” he said. He glanced at the merchant. “What are you waiting for? Give her back her goods.”
The merchant bit his lower lip and glanced between Ilya and the patrol leader. “I, I paid for these,” he said. “You can’t do this.”
The patrol leader’s face turned red. “Who’s your backer?” he asked in a low voice.
“I’m an independent merchant,” the merchant said. “The merchants’ union is my backer.”
“Let me see your I.D.,” the patrol leader said, holding out his palm.
“I have to show you my I.D., but she doesn’t?” the merchant asked, pointing at Ilya. “How can you believe she is who she says she is?”
The patrol leader’s brow furrowed, and his gaze shifted onto Ilya. She placed her hands on her hips in return and snorted before asking, “Can you afford to offend the duke?”
How domineering! I want to be able to do that too! Life isn’t fair. But I already knew that, didn’t I? Power is everything, which is why I have to get stronger! Wait, I thought I was getting stronger for Durandal to wake up faster. And to become a legend. …Welp, three birds with one stone; becoming stronger will solve every single one of my problems.
The patrol leader turned his head back towards the merchant. “I.D.” he said, his voice practically a growl. The amulet around his neck glowed bright orange, and I saw tendrils of green in the air flowing towards the man. How am I supposed to see mana without the Path of Slaughter if my theory is right and I have to incorporate the path without actually using it? I turned the path off, but I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
Wait, I can project my qi outwards. I could do that for a while now, but I forgot about it because of the path. How did it work again? I willed my qi out of my body, letting it expand outwards like a hemisphere. When it touched the man’s amulet, I felt a faint sensation like a single hair brushing along my arm. I tried to focus on it, but the amulet stopped glowing when I was getting close. The merchant had handed over his I.D. to the patrol leader.
The merchant’s eyes widened as a tearing sound rang through the air. The patrol leader threw the two halves of the I.D. over his shoulders without even looking at it. “You’re no longer welcome here,” the patrol leader said. “Return Lady Pentorn’s items or drastic measures will be taken.”
“T-
this is illegal,” the merchant said and fell to his knees.
“In these parts of the mountains, the Arcane Arts Academy is the law,” the patrol leader said and took a step forward. “Your union didn’t tell you about this when you came here?” The leader looked around at the merchants and students who were watching the spectacle. His voice echoed over the area. “Are all the merchants this uninformed?”
One merchant called out, “No. We all know the rules.”
The merchant on the ground laughed. “You want your goods back?” he asked and stared at Ilya with wide eyes. “Then take them!”
A mountain of beast corpses appeared in the center of the market. The pile was easily five times my height even though there were only nine beasts. Divine beasts are big, okay? Ilya’s face paled as she pulled out her rings and stored the corpses as fast as she could, but everyone was staring at her when she was done.
The patrol leader opened and closed his mouth a few times. “W-were those all divine beast corpses?” he asked in a low voice.
Ilya took in a deep breath and placed her trembling hands on her hips. She cocked her head to the side. “Birds risk their lives for food. Do you know what people risk their lives for?”
Sex?
“Treasure,” the patrol leader said, his face returning to a neutral expression. He bowed. “I asked something I shouldn’t have. I apologize.”
Ilya nodded and came to my side. She whispered to me, “We should take the teleportation array to the academy grounds back in the capital. If we return to the wilderness, we’ll be attacked.”
“Can I sell my penises first?”
“There’ll be a better market for them in the capital,” Ilya said and tugged on my sleeve. “Please, Lucia.”
Well, I guess that’s fine. I still have 24 divine beast cores in reserve for when I finally finish absorbing this manticore’s. A break from killing divine beasts would be nice. And if we go to Ilya’s mansion, I’ll definitely get better treatment than I was in the VIP room, right? A warrior needs a calm and relaxed mind to breakthrough! Slacking will make me stronger! This is training.
