As I kept fending it off, I suddenly realized that there was a part of the snake’s body that would get latched onto if I passed it off at a certain angle.
I tried a few more times.
The tug became more obvious.
I tried to cut there.
The snake quickly turned and lunged at me after I parried its lunge.
I timed my lunge to coincide with its timing.
“—!”
The snake, which had constantly taunted me until now, looked surprised to see me.
The other side’s momentum and my own strength.
Then, I angled the blade properly and plunged it into the latch.
Then the blade, which had been too stiff and slippery to pass through, went through as easily as if it were cutting tofu.
I continued to charge forward, pushing forward with the leviathan.
After completely passing each other, the snake’s body snapped open like a fish opening.
“The game is over, isn’t it?”
The snake was stunned by the slash and stopped moving completely, though it was probably not painful since it was embodied in the ring of armor.
After waiting for a while.
“You, strong. Be your, servant.”
The snake’s demeanor changed drastically and it became very calm.
Is it some kind of trap? As I thought.
――――――――――――
Name: Noah Ararat
Minister of Justice
Gender: Male
Level: 10 / ∞
HP
D+E
MP
E+E
Strength
D+A
Stamina
E+E
Intelligence
E+D
Spirit
F+D
Speed
F+E
Dexterity
E+D
Luck
E+D
Fire
E+A
Water
D+S
Wind
E+F
Earth
E+D
Light
E+C
Darkness
E+C
―――――――――――
The status “+” in the corner of my eye, Darkness, went all the way up to C, so I knew it truly became my subordinate.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
The snake nodded its head up and down nicely, and then released its embodiment.
Where the serpent had been, the ring of armor and the serpent’s staff – Apophis – had fallen.
I picked them up.
“As expected, Noah-sama!”
Audrey, who had been keeping her distance until then, approached me with an impressed expression, having sensed correctly that it was over.
☆
A few days later, in Gaien’s study.
Although I had already been dismissed as the Prime Minister, I kept the study that I had remodeled to make it easier to use in the course of my political duties.
In that study, I was receiving a report from Don.
“What’s this?”
I asked Don as I looked at the list after receiving the report.
“These are gifts sent in the joint names of the governor of Ararat. All of them are local products of Ararat region.”
“Ararat, huh”
“Yes, a gift for their new lord, Your Highness.”
“Oh, that’s common then.”
Although this was the case, it was actually my first experience.
I got Almeria as my fief when I was just a baby, and the adults around me handled all of these things.
So, this is the first time they’ve actually sent one to me.
“No, no, it’s not common.”
“Hmm?”
“This list is twice as big as usual. I’ve never seen a list this big before.”
“Really?”
“Some of the items on the list appear to be from the general public. The political affairs during His Highness as the Prime Minister, the flood control of Almeria Nisir. They must have heard rumors about Your Highness and sent them voluntarily.”
“I see.”
“With Gilbert, it was about a third of this.”
Don, who had once worked for the First Prince, said with a wry smile.
“That’s why, it’s really amazing.”
“But I can’t help it if I get this much. Anyone there?”
“You wanted to see me, sir?”
A boy opened the door and walked in.
Unlike the inner garden, the ban on men was not as strong around this study, which was located in the outer garden, and there were male servants.
The boy looked new to me, so he must have joined the estate recently.
“Distribute this among my subordinates. Evelyn likes to drink, so I’ll give her one tart of brewed wine and one tart of distilled wine. Shirley, who is in the Imperial City, will take two of these cold iron swords, and Foster and Howard will take one each. Dylan, who has a daughter, send him a whole lot of silk. Byron gets a bottle of brew, and Cindy gets a jar of all four honeys.”
Distribute the gifts according to the taste and status of the household members.
Especially those who were out of the house, not in it.
When I had finished, I wondered if I had omitted anyone.
“I understand. Evelyn-san got one tart each of brewed and distilled liquor. Shirley-san will take two swords of cold iron, and Foster-san and Howard-san will take one each. Dylan-san will take silk. Byron-san will have a bottle of brew, and Cindy-san will have a bottle each of four kinds of honey. That’s it.”
“……”
I looked at the boy, a little surprised.
The boy flinched a little when I looked at him.
“I-Is there a mistake?”
“No, it’s the other way around. Well, I don’t know how you could have remembered everything in that one moment, just from hearing it once.”
The boy was relieved to know that he hadn’t been scolded or anything.
“What’s your name?”
“My name is Gran, sir.”
“How long have you been in the mansion?”
“About a month, sir.”
“Why did you come here?”
Immediately after I spoke to the boy, Don wanted to say something, but when he saw that I was asking for personal information about Gran one after another, he closed his mouth.
On the other hand, when asked, Gran answered my question with some confusion.
“My parents are sick and my brother doesn’t make much money, so I was looking for a way to make some money, and there was a recruitment for eunuchs.
“I see.”
Eunuchs receive a certain amount of money at the beginning of each month, in addition to their monthly salary.
Because of the castration, or the cutting off of the male genitalia, the eunuch would receive a large sum of money as compensation or a favor.
“So, your parents are ill”
“Though they’re a little better, they’re still ……”
Gran turned a little down, his face darkening.
‘Fumu. How much do you get paid now?”
“5 reens a month.”
“Let’s raise it to 50.”
“…………………… eh?”
Gran looked at me like he had no idea what was going on.
“So you will be under Don from now on. You understand?”
The last word went to Don.
Don nodded quietly.
He understood that I was counting on Gran’s memory and was going to use it.
“T-thank you so much! Thank you very much! Thank you very much!”
Gran bowed again and again, before leaving the study to distribute the goods.
Don who remained turned to me.
“As expected, sir. From now on, I’m sure he’ll be so grateful to you that he’ll risk his life for you.”
“No need to risk your life.”
“Huh?”
“People are treasure. Serving someone is good, but you have to live to serve them.”
“Very good, sir.”
Don bowed to me with a look of complete and utter admiration.