Ch.60Black Blood – 5

“Khuhuhuhuhu.”

Andrei sat in a large armchair, bursting into laughter repeatedly.

Several empty bottles rolled around on the small round table, and beside it, a girl wrapped in tattered rags trembled while holding a half-empty bottle of alcohol.

With each tremor, the iron chain around her neck rattled.

After emptying his glass in one gulp, Andrei silently extended his arm into the air, and the girl hurriedly poured him more alcohol. The transparent liquor gurgled as it filled the glass.

Andrei let out another strange laugh, sank into the armchair, and picked up a piece of greasy meat from the plate on the armrest.

He couldn’t contain the smile spreading across his face.

Andrei was immersed in happiness as he imagined his fortune multiplying dozens of times over and the golden future that would unfold before him.

With that kind of wealth, establishing strong connections to the royal palace wouldn’t be difficult at all.

“You there.”

“Yes? Yes, yes! Master!”

The girl who had been blankly staring at the plate while holding the bottle with both hands answered hastily. Her terror-stricken eyes glanced sideways at the bloodstained whip lying near the armchair.

Normally, even that would have been enough to warrant punishment, but today Andrei was in an excellent mood. Good enough to overlook such behavior.

So perhaps it wouldn’t be bad to show a little, just a tiny bit of mercy.

“Are you hungry?”

When Andrei’s finger pointed at the plate of meat, the girl’s eyes widened momentarily.

But she inadvertently looked at Andrei, then quickly lowered her gaze, alternately examining the whip and the plate, unable to make a decision.

Of course, that was natural. It had been only about 10 minutes since she’d been severely whipped for not pouring alcohol promptly.

The whip marks on her back were still swollen along the wounds. She was filled with fear about what excuse might bring the whip down on her next.

“Tsk, this is why slave girls are useless.”

“Hii, hiik! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I truly apologize for being presumptuous—”

“Here, eat it.”

Andrei threw the plate over the head of the girl, who had prostrated herself flat on the ground and was trembling violently, almost convulsing in response to his casually uttered words.

Being an expensive plate, it didn’t break, but it made quite a dull impact sound as it collided with the girl’s head.

The girl clutched her head. A small, choked groan escaped her as she suppressed the scream trying to climb up her throat.

A few pieces of meat landed on the crown of her head, while the rest rolled around on the floor. Pork fat dripped down her forehead and neck.

But that was a good thing regardless. The girl didn’t miss this small opportunity.

She hastily put down the bottle, removed the meat from the top of her head, and stuffed it into her mouth. She also reached for the meat that had fallen to the floor without hesitation.

Such distinctions were a luxury for the girl.

She had no time to care about the oil dripping down her forehead and neck through her matted hair. At this point, paying attention to such things was beyond her—she was far too filthy already.

Andrei turned his head away, grimacing as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. If he hadn’t been in such an elevated mood, he would have kicked her stomach and lashed her with the whip immediately.

“Holy water, holy water… Kehihihit.”

As his disgust subsided slightly, desire-filled laughter continuously escaped between his teeth.

He laughed so loudly that the fat rolls his clothes couldn’t fully conceal jiggled with the vibrations.

Finding a massive lake made entirely of holy water was incredible enough, but it was even better that it was supposedly of the highest quality.

As soon as he heard the news, Andrei left his trading company, verifying the information’s authenticity and moving faster than anyone else.

He killed the first discoverer without hesitation to control the information and bribed the lord with a large sum to immediately obtain an official seal. The lake was well worth it.

With this location, becoming the continent’s greatest merchant was no longer just a dream. Andrei was lost in such happy thoughts when it happened.

A polite knock was heard.

Three times. It meant there was something that absolutely needed to be reported. Andrei called out irritably.

“What is it?”

“Excuse me, Master.”

The wooden door creaked open. Along with it, a relatively well-dressed man entered.

The man quickly surveyed Andrei sitting in the armchair and the girl who had already devoured all the meat and was now licking her fingers.

“I see you were enjoying a drink. I apologize for the intrusion.”

“Never mind that. Just tell me what’s going on.”

“There are intruders, sir.”

“Intruders?”

Andrei narrowed his eyes. Intruders in this deep forest, and in the middle of the night?

“Or perhaps they might be guests.”

“Are you trying to play word games with me?”

Andrei was no fool. In fact, he was quite intelligent.

Someone coming here unexpectedly in the middle of the night, and they might not be intruders but guests? Anyone would recognize that as nonsense.

As Andrei’s expression turned grim, the man bowed his head in apology.

“I apologize for disturbing you, Master.”

“Hmph, fine. Continue.”

“A woman who appears to be a nun and a man.”

“Church people?”

Since there was a woman who looked like a nun, that was the only logical conclusion.

Have those church bastards already caught wind of this? Andrei cursed inwardly. They were always like ghosts when it came to matters related to their money or safety.

“Given that they’re accompanied by a nun, I assume so, but you’ll need to find out the details yourself, Master.”

“Myself?”

“Yes. Despite telling them I had authority, they insisted on meeting you.”

“They specifically asked to meet me?”

“No. They said they needed to meet the person in the highest position—”

“You stupid fool!”

Andrei threw his glass at the man. With a thud, it hit the man’s abdomen, splashing its contents.

The transparent alcohol soaked his clothes thoroughly. But the man bowed deeply without showing any sign of displeasure.

“I apologize.”

“You should have said you were the final authority! What do you think they’ll think when they see Andrei of Jupiter Trading Company personally here?!”

Andrei rarely left his mansion unless it was for an exceptionally large deal.

But staying here in the middle of the night, even building a temporary house? That could only mean something big was happening.

“Why don’t you just put up a sign saying ‘Valuable Item Here’ and build a road while you’re at it! You dull-witted bastard! Do you not understand why I only brought a few expensive, competent men?!”

“I have no excuse.”

After fuming for a while, Andrei let out a deep sigh and sank back into the backrest.

The man remained motionless, keeping his head bowed. This suffocating silence continued for quite some time.

After what seemed like an eternity, Andrei finally spoke.

“…Tell them it’s late, so we’ll talk tomorrow morning. Say we can provide lodging if they want.”

“They said if you were sleeping, they would take responsibility and do whatever it takes to wake you up and bring you.”

At those words, Andrei muttered low curses. Thanks to that idiot’s loose tongue, he now had to move in the middle of the night.

Given how things had unfolded, not going wasn’t an option.

Promising himself that he would tear out that man’s tongue once he found a useful replacement slave, Andrei gestured in acknowledgment.

“Let them in.”

The man looked outside and commanded, and four sturdy men rushed in.

The men stood at the four corners of Andrei’s armchair and, with practiced movements, manipulated the chair to extend long handles outward.

Having created an impromptu palanquin, the men each grabbed a handle and lifted simultaneously. It was a perfect movement without the slightest tilt.

The door of the temporary house opened wide, and the palanquin began to move outside.

“What shall we do with that slave?”

Andrei, who had been sniffing the grass-scented wind, turned around at the man’s call. The girl trembled when his indifferent gaze fell on her.

Andrei yawned widely, as if annoyed.

“Deal with her as you see fit.”

“Understood.”

The man raised the corners of his mouth and approached the girl, twisting his wrist this way and that.

Sensing her impending fate, the girl desperately tried to crawl toward Andrei but got caught in the iron chain and fell backward with a choked sound.

“P-please spare me! Please—”

The girl’s faint plea for help was blocked by the closing door. Andrei sank back into the backrest. There was no particular reason to order her disposal, but he was just in a bad mood.

Besides, that man would be disposed of soon enough anyway, so he might as well let him indulge his desires to the fullest before then.

Meanwhile, the palanquin carrying Andrei continued to move without pause.

Despite the forest being full of weeds and tree roots, the palanquin didn’t shake at all. That was to be expected. Those who did shake were already dead.

“We’ve arrived.”

One of the men announced, stopping the palanquin. Since the temporary house had been built close to the lake, the arrival was quick.

Andrei narrowed his eyes to see what kind of unethical bastards would do such a thing.

As reported, there were two people. Both were unfamiliar faces.

The one standing in front was a black-haired boy. No, it was hard to tell if he was a boy or a man.

At first glance, he looked like a young boy, but there was something about his overall demeanor that made it difficult to simply label him as such.

While his appearance was unmistakably that of a boy, his posture and every movement suggested a veteran who had spent years on the battlefield.

Puzzled by this strange dissonance, Andrei tilted his head.

Behind the boy stood a nun, just as the male slave had reported. Andrei narrowed his eyes further as he confirmed the nun’s appearance.

At some point, a gloomy desire began to creep into those eyes.

Despite the boy partially blocking her from the front, there was an enormous bosom that couldn’t possibly be hidden, a nun’s habit deeply cut at the sides revealing her waist completely, and even garter belts tied around her thighs.

Rather than the attire of a nun who should be completely covered, it was closer to that of a saint who needed to be eye-catching and flamboyant.

‘Has a saint come in person?’

Andrei briefly thought so but soon changed his mind. There was no religious group large enough to produce a saint in this area.

If there was, it would be the Holy Faith at best, but the saint of the Holy Faith was at least a two-month carriage ride away from here.

That meant this woman was just a simple nun who wore such perverted attire purely by her own will or perhaps the boy’s.

The thought crossed Andrei’s mind that perhaps he could use this as a bargaining chip.

Whatever these people wanted to discuss would be related to the highest-grade holy water, so he could start by setting an extremely high price and then gradually lower it, proposing a compromise involving that woman in the process.

It was a very classic method, but it worked well for that very reason.

“Ahem. Welcome, everyone. I am Andrei of Jupiter Trading Company—?!”

The last thing Andrei saw was the nun’s fist extending toward him in the blink of an eye.

Before he could even think ‘When did she…?’, Andrei’s head exploded like a watermelon dropped from the top of a magic tower.