261 – A Certain Noble’s Tyranny (side Tolman)

During our camp to rest our horses, I draw my sword to examine its blade.

“Aah, my sword aches. It yearns to slay the barbarians.”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself very much, Tolman-kakka.[1]

The pale-faced man approaching me with a smile is the foremost among my retainers, the magic swordsman Azalea. From his achievements on this trip, soon he shall soon be known as the greatest at both magic and sword in the country of Ardesia.

Originally he was another noble’s retainer, but I enticed him into my service with money. After getting worked up about complaints about his social status, preparations were made around that noble’s territory and he was forced to flee in the night. No, was it a suicide? I suppose it doesn’t matter, it was that trivial a thing.

“It’s been a while since I’ve killed a human after all, fu-fuhuhu… Well, killing savages that lack morals or wisdom might not be much different from slaughtering animals, though.”

The purpose of this journey is to kill the mythic beast known as carbuncle. The carbuncle is a monster of legend, with fur that shines green-white and a jewel embedded in its forehead. There is a rumour that an adventurer sighted it near a Lithovar settlement a few decades ago.

In the country in which my territory is located, Ardesia, as a result of the king’s infertility due to illness and the death of the crown prince in an accident, it has become that there are no young males with royal blood. For that reason, following ancient precedent, the first princess shall marry one with court rank, who shall then be made king.

The first princess has stated that her husband shall be the candidate who prepares her the most magnificent gift. Upon consideration, I came to the idea of stuffing and presenting her with the mythic beast, carbuncle. If I can obtain that monster, then there’s no doubt that I shall triumph over the other candidates.

In my search for the carbuncle in this forest, what I expect to be both the biggest clue as well as my biggest hindrance is the tribe of barbarians known as Lithovars. As a result, I have brought the first eighty units of my private army,『The Starved Hunters』.

Although there are exceptions, a typical unit consists of eight soldiers, so in total there are almost six-hundred-and-fifty present. I had thought it a little excessive, but there is a rumour that the Lithovar tribe has a double-headed dragon as a guardian deity. Because the scale and state of their settlement is unknown, in order to be sure of defeating them handily, I had no choice but to bring great numbers.

However the cost of moving so many soldiers is immense and, although it is just a corner, this land is nominally within another noble’s domain, so I suffered hardship in order to obtain permission to bring such war potential.

I had insisted that the hunting of the carbuncle was secondary to my primary purpose in virtuously exterminating the Lithovar tribe. However, it seems that the Lithovars only rarely leaves the forest depths, so my proposal was not shown much interest.

Perhaps the Lithovars do not cause as much damage as was rumoured. My guess is that the person in charge of the area near the forest fabricated a story about suffering damage from the Lithovars as a way of arguing for less tax to be sent to the capital. Regardless, I was able to win permission through a large bribe to the lord of this area.

I was made to do needless work and to take on further expenses, but since I shall be invading the forest, I am likely to make the Lithovar tribe my enemy all the same. It was a necessary cost. If anything, it is cheap when one considers that this will be enough to make me king.

Incidentally, the commanding officer of the first squad of 『The Starved Hunters』is that man with the poor complexion from earlier, Azalea. This time, he shall primarily be working as my escort. Nonetheless, as I shall be attacking from the front personally, he shall be worked hard.

I have heard that the Lithovar tribe is strong, but they are probably no match for the elites of『The Starved Hunters』. If it is needed, there are squads within 『The Starved Hunters』who specialise in attacking the opponent’s weaknesses by doing things such as taking hostages in order to limit the their movements.

Although it is possible that I am being too cautious of a barbarian tribe, I shall not be attacking straight away. I will send scouts to probe their state of affairs and check their war potential, then strike at the perfect time in order to crush the settlement in one fell swoop. I will torture information about the carbuncle out of woman and children that I leave alive, but afterwards they shall of course be massacred.

With this, not only will the carbuncle fall into my hands, but at the same time I can achieve military prowess by destroying the infamous barbarian tribe. There is no doubt that I shall be made the king of Ardesia as a result.

“Azalea, what do you think of this plan to destroy the Lithovar tribe?”

“This Azalea was once again impressed by your wisdom. Your plan will keep casualties to a minimum. All that’s left is to see how much information the scouts bring back.”

“Fuhahaha! I see, that is surely true! However, are you not thinking that it would be more interesting if there were some more uncertain elements? After all, we have both the renowned magic swordsman yourself, and myself, who is feared as the Sword Lord. Dim-witted savage monkeys could never be a match for us!”

I raise my voice, and the assembled soldiers of 『The Starved Hunters』laugh out in agreement.

Azalea suddenly looks behind me, a look of consternation on his face. I turn around to see a single person not laughing, sitting separate from the group.

It is Nell, a member of 『The Starved Hunter’s』first unit, led by Azalea. A pair of animal ears sprout from his deep blue hair. He’s a felis huma[2] brat.

He is one of the people who, no, one of the animals that have fled slavery and been accepted in large quantities into Ardesia. From my point of view, counting such demi-human filth as humans is repulsive.

His skill with the sword is excellent, so I put it in First Unit, but I can stomach neither his species, appearance, nor personality. In the moment, I am unable to stomach the way he is sitting with an expression that cools the atmosphere. He has the stench of an animal, and so is the only member of First Unit that I have not allowed in my mansion.

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Azalea moves closer to Nell, peering at his face.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Nell? Tolman-kakka has gone out of his way to raise our morale, and yet you give such a cold reaction. Perhaps there is something wrong with your health?”

I also stand up and approach Azalea and Nell.

“Oh, that’s it, I see now! If your health is poor, then there’s no helping that you ignored your benefactor. I was just thinking I should tear off those uselessly big ears!”

I pinch Nell’s ears, forcing him to his feet.

“Ow-oww! S-sorry! B-but, umm…”

“Hm? Hmm? 『well』what? If you have something to say, then say it. I don’t think you have any reason to hesitate.”

“No, it is nothing…”

“It’s not nothing, is it? Say, Azalea, you think so too, right? This fellow, he was about to say something, don’t you agree? As both his ears and his mouth are decorations, would it not be good to lighten his face a little? If you think so too, I could prune them off now?”

As Nell once again hesitates to speak, I take my dagger from my cloak and hold it to his lips. His expression tightens as he looks at the blade, but eventually he gulps as he makes his resolve.

“Err, umm… No matter how savage the Lithovar tribe may be…to massacre their woman and children, that is…I must say that I have some reluctance… I was wondering if, with this much military prowess, if it wouldn’t be possible to simply threaten them to remind them not to fight us…”

“As I thought, you don’t need this mouth, do you?”

I turn the blade lengthways and thrust it into Nell’s mouth. He leans back to try and escape, but I hold his neck in place with my other hand. He is able to stop me pushing the blade further by clenching it between his teeth, though blood drips down its edge.

His face pales, tears forming in his eyes as he falteringly shakes his head.

“Fuhahahaha! It is a joke, a joke. This is why humourless people are such trouble! Does everyone think so too?”

I say, and the soldiers all laugh out.

As though relieved, Nell relaxes his jaw. Taking the opportunity, I knee him in the chin. Blood spills from his mouth as he collapses to the ground in pain.

“Ah, aah! Aaaaaaah!”

Nell moans as he rolls on the floor.

“What a fool! I am already bound by contract to the idiot lord of this land to massacre the tribe of barbarians dwelling in the forest! This is why slow-witted demi-humans are so troubling!”

I’m sure that lord doesn’t care much about the Lithovars either, but at this crucial time I cannot take on any ill-repute. If I make a mistake, I would be burdened with unnecessary expenses.

After shouting, I wipe my chest with my fingers. Having confirmed that his blood got on me, I spit on the ground.

“It’s dirty with beast blood. Oi, someone bring me something to wipe it off with.”

The moment I say that, Azalea appears with a cloth. It is as though he predicted this flow of events and prepared it beforehand.

“Should I get Nell some medical treatment?”

“Ah, I suppose he is part of my military strength after all. It would be problematic if he become useless. He must die on the battlefield rather than here.”

[1] -kakka: honorific for nobles
[2] the same race as Nina

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