Chapter 100: Whip

Hori’s words about waiting at the mansion for two days weren’t a lie. As soon as classes ended, she packed her belongings and came to find me.

Given how quickly she had packed and left after classes, it seemed the loan shark must have given her quite a hard time.

“…Are you really going to wait for two days?”

“Yes!! I’ve been waiting my whole life for this day!! Compared to the time I’ve been waiting, two days is nothing!”

“Alright then. The staff hasn’t arrived yet, so let’s grab a bite in the dining hall before you go.”

We briefly set down Hori’s luggage in the classroom and headed to the dining hall. After a quick meal, we gathered her things again and made our way to the mansion.

Hori’s steps toward the mansion were as light as if she were going on a picnic.

With her brisk pace, Hori arrived at the mansion before me. The moment she stood in front of the main gate, she stopped, mouth agape at the sight beyond.

Judging by her reaction to the newly renovated mansion, Hori seemed to appreciate true beauty.

“What do you think? Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Huh? Oh, yes… It’s… amazing….”

Upon entering the newly renovated mansion, the first thing that caught the eye was the massive blade protruding like a horn from the roof.

Turning away from the blade gleaming orange in the sunset, one’s gaze fell upon the garden in full bloom with white flowers, interspersed with hundreds of sheathed katanas thrust into the ground.

Besides the garden, katanas were placed throughout the mansion grounds, carefully positioned so that one could feel their presence from anywhere.

The most notable feature was the giant katana model, over 10 meters tall, installed between the garden and the fountain.

This enormous katana, as if left behind by a giant taking a brief rest, boasted a majestic appearance that made one’s heart swell just by looking at it.

Hori seemed affected by the sight of this massive katana. She stared at it intently for a moment before finally speaking.

“By the way, Ian. I’m just curious, but does my workshop also have that… blade sticking out of it?”

“No, I ran out of money, so I couldn’t install one there.”

“Oh….”

Hori let out a deep sigh, seemingly disappointed that a blade hadn’t been added to her workshop.

Seeing her reaction, I made a mental note to add a blade to her workshop as soon as funds allowed.

“But Ian, I thought you said you were short on money because of rebuilding the territory. Where did you get the funds to erect such a huge katana?”

“There was some alcohol left behind by that mother and daughter in the kitchen. I had it appraised thinking it might be valuable, and it turned out to be incredibly expensive.”

The joy I felt then was at least ten times greater than finding a crumpled bill in a jacket I hadn’t worn in ages.

Although Marina had emptied four bottles, selling the remaining alcohol brought in enough money to renovate the mansion.

“No way, how expensive could it have been… How much did all this cost?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember the exact amount, but it was around 7,000 gold coins, I think?”

“7,000 coins…?”

Hearing a sum that far exceeded her common sense, Hori stiffened like a freshly forged katana.

Muttering the number seven thousand repeatedly like a broken record, Hori seemed like she might stay that way forever, but eventually spoke.

“…For a moment, my mind went completely blank.”

I could understand why Hori reacted like that. 7,000 gold coins was enough to build a small mansion in the royal capital.

One might wonder if it was right to spend such a large sum on renovating a mansion that would only be used for three years, but I had no doubt that creating a sword-friendly environment would lead to skill improvement.

“When it’s a situation where you absolutely need to spend, you shouldn’t hold back.”

“This is a situation where you absolutely need to spend….”

With an expression that suggested she couldn’t quite understand, Hori gathered her luggage and headed to the room she had stayed in before.

A moment later, the clattering sounds from the room stopped, and not long after, Hori emerged with beads of sweat on her forehead.

She must have had quite a struggle organizing her many belongings, as Hori let out a tired sigh while coming down the stairs.

“Good job. By the way, the bathroom is on the second floor.”

“No, it’s not that… I wanted to ask what kind of medicine you want before the workshop is repaired.”

“A medicine that can make me stronger without pain.”

“Is there really meaning in strength gained without suffering?”

“Is doping the same as training?”

If it had been someone else, I might have smacked them on the head for such a statement, but having grown somewhat accustomed to Hori’s madness, I let it slide.

“Then, is there no medicine that can make you permanently stronger instead of temporary doping? Rather than being in pain every time, it’d be better to endure it once and be done with it…”

Even as I said it, I realized how absurd it sounded. This wasn’t a game; there was no way a medicine existed that could make you stronger just by drinking it.

It was too unreasonable a request to ask even a genius like Hori to create such a convenient medicine.

“Even you probably can’t do this, right? It’s not just temporary, but permanent.”

“No? It’s possible, though?”

“…It’s possible?”

Thinking I might have misheard, I asked again, but Hori nodded with a nonchalant expression.

“Are you… really serious?”

“It’s possible, but I’m a bit conflicted about whether the pain that occurs while drinking the medicine should be considered the same as the pain from doping…”

“Why are you worrying about that…? Shouldn’t you be concerned about how difficult it is to make the medicine or how rare the ingredients are?”

“The ingredients are partly right, but… the manufacturing process itself is simple enough that I could make it with the equipment in the room.”

Upon hearing the details, it turned out the medicine wasn’t created by Hori, but by an alchemist from long ago named Wave.

“The medicine, later named ‘Demon’s Essence’, was developed based on an idea that came from watching the creation of demon swords in a forge.”

Wave, who had seen power infused into swords using demonic materials or demon components, wondered if the same principle could be applied to humans.

Thus was developed the Demon’s Essence, a medicine that directly imparted the power of the being used as a material to the consumer, creating a more robust physique.

“It sounds like an incredibly beneficial medicine, so why aren’t people taking it?”

“Well… there was one problem.”

“Problem?”

“To briefly explain how the Demon’s Essence enhances the human body…”

If we considered the human body as a vessel and the power within it as water, the Demon’s Essence poured more water into an already full vessel, expanding it.

This way, the vessel itself—the total amount of power—became larger, so the effects remained even after the medicine wore off.

“But the problem is that during this process of expanding the vessel, most consumers couldn’t withstand the strain on their bodies and died.”

“Well, in terms of baldo, it’s like forcibly cramming two katanas into a single scabbard, so that makes sense. But then, couldn’t you start with weaker materials to make the medicine and gradually expand the vessel?”

“The ingredients are expensive, so it costs a lot to make even once, and above all, it’s difficult to regulate. The amount each person can handle varies.”

In the past, many believed they would be fine and took the Demon’s Essence. If 100 people consumed it, about 99 would die on the spot.

“In the process, several young heirs from knightly families and noble houses died, making the Demon’s Essence the first drug in the kingdom’s history to be banned from production.”

“But you’re saying you’ll make it for me?”

“Hehe… When have we ever cared about such things?”

However, given the risks associated with such a drug, even I was somewhat reluctant to take it multiple times.

If possible, I’d like to finish it in one go, which meant using the strongest material available for a single dose.

“…Isn’t there a dragon or something?”

“That’s right. Dragon blood has many uses.”

Who would have thought I’d understand Marina’s desire to find a catalyst to maintain the barrier in this way?

Given that dragons were rare even in the original novel, this plan had to be put on hold for the time being.

“Then for now, we’ll have to use the ordinary medicines I make!!”

“……”

Motherfucker.

—Raei  Translations—

“…This is truly absurd.”

The moment I heard the conversation between the demon swords reflected on the wall, it felt as if I had been hit hard on the back of the head with a hammer, leaving my mind blank.

The dialogue was so devoid of intelligence and dignity that I wondered if they might be putting on an act, suspecting their eavesdropping had been discovered.

Feeling utterly dumbfounded, I looked at the doctor sitting next to me, who also wore a flabbergasted expression.

“Usually, when people decide to purge someone but face difficulties, don’t they come up with a strategy or something? Instead of just giving up immediately?”

“These are creatures who can’t even accept the fact that they’ve become obsolete. Don’t expect too much from them.”

That’s why whenever they faced even slightly challenging tasks, they either passed them off to someone else or turned a blind eye and ignored the problem.

They’d probably abandon their idiotic ideologies about demon sword liberation movements the moment they found a new master who satisfied them.

“So what did the boss say after seeing this?”

“Smirked and said this: If the horse doesn’t move, apply the ‘whip’ to make it move.”

“Whip?”

For a moment, I wondered what he meant, but then I recalled that thing we had been keeping for hundreds of years and chuckled.

“…And here I thought he was going to say something meaningful, but it’s just a cheap wordplay.”

“Ahem… Well, since he said to apply the whip, let’s use that new thing we brought in along with the whip. Ganryu, you should prepare to depart as well.”

“To be honest, I don’t want to get involved with idiots like them, but this is work, after all. Still…”

I really didn’t want to do this.