episode_0114

Rumors are loud.

Some last for over 100 days, while others disappear in less than a day.

How far and how long will the rumor brought by Bird and Steel spread?

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『Day 7 – Lunch』

It’s not a stuffy morning. It’s lunch. The worst day, when even the sunlight coming through the curtains is not very welcoming.

It all started yesterday… In addition to Francis’ death and the reason for his death, it was because of those two guys who scared even me, who had gone through a prenatal crisis.

“My head is pounding… ”

I felt pathetic, dumbfounded, like a puppy shivering in front of a lion. Moreover, I had to clean up after myself, so I was thinking a lot about that.

“I already have a lot of documents to process. ha… ”

Work is behind. Nothing would change even if I lay down comfortably in bed and sighed, so I straightened my clothes and went to the office to solve the problem I was facing first.

I asked the maid I met on the way to bring me a cup of tea, then opened the door and headed to my office desk.

“Let’s put yesterday’s work aside for a moment… … ”

–Crack…

Sigh… ! Really, why are you doing that? Even though I try not to think about it, it seems like it has become an instinct ingrained in my body, and the more I think about that incident, the more anxious I become.

Ranche, Samson… Because of the anxiety that those monsters could twist and break my neck at any time… ? Me, to those guys… ? Well, that can’t be possible. I, I…

“Ha… Please, please let’s calm down. Calm down!”

I shook my head vigorously to chase away the distracting thoughts and finally escaped the nightmare. However, even though I was free from the fantasy, I was faced with a realistic challenge again as I looked at the desk full of documents.

“The security captain’s vacancy… Francis’ death… Extinguishment of contract… And how should I explain this to the cat mailman… ”

It is a time when it is best to say that it is like adding insult to injury. The sound of a clock ticking rang in my ears, and I felt like I was trapped.

“And those young people… How can you suddenly show such an attitude? What kind of plan are they planning this time? Ahhh!! I’m going crazy!”

Aides who are jealous of our Lord, who went from being a mere monster hunter to a lord in an instant. Another problem was that the attitude of old people towards themselves, who had accumulated nothing but desires as they got older, changed completely.

The guard captain who was killed while trying to steal information from the territory? I am the one who selects the guard captain, and the guard captain is someone I have hired for a long time.

Each sentence becomes a useful weapon to my counselors, like a sword held in reverse to me. Of course, when they came to visit me yesterday, I was resigned to the amount of spitting and criticism they would give me.

However, on the contrary, they expressed regret to me, saying that the vacancy in the guard captain should be filled as soon as possible to prevent the unrest of the people, and resigned, saying that they would entrust the selection of the guard captain to them.

“What does this mean… I can’t explain the actions of the old people until now, thinking that they gave me one more chance… ”

While I was calmly thinking about what my counselors said yesterday, someone suddenly opened the door and came in without knocking.

“Father, Madam… !!”

“Phew… When I came into the office, didn’t I knock and tell you to come?”

“Well, I’m sorry about that, but… ! Wow, I think you need to watch this urgently first… !”

The person who came in stuttering was the maid whom I had just asked for tea. But the tea I ordered was not there, and I was holding a pile of rough paper.

“What is it? Show me here.”

It was at the moment when I was looking at the paper handed to me by the maid and reading the writing on it, wondering what it was like to make such a fuss that I couldn’t even follow basic manners.

“What is this?”

[I accuse the lord’s wife of extravagance! Are you saying that you are using Young Ji-min’s tax money for your own satisfaction?! Condemn! I protest!]

[Anidiat Silverlight, her appointment was a complete failure!? Security leader Francis Wing’s criminal activities are discovered and he is shot dead… There are also doubts about the Lord’s wife’s practical handling… ]

[The lord’s wife’s incompetence is eating away at the estate!! Anyidiart Silverlight should immediately stop enjoying the entertainment and apologize to the residents of the territory!]

It was impossible. No doubt the information that gave the security guards the silence order was contained on paper in crudely scrawled letters. That’s a lot…

Moreover, there is even a ridiculous fabrication that I am being extravagant with my taxes. It is true that I was collecting various items related to fairies, but the necessary funds and help came from my own money and personal connections.

Above all, phrases that disparage me who devoted myself to the territory…

“Father, Madam… ?”

“Ha, haha… These bastards… !! You’re kidding me!!”

“Hiik… ”

In an instant, my anger rises. What I didn’t do, what I told myself not to do, what I shouldn’t have done… The number one thing that would make you angry even if there was just one came all at once.

I’m already running out of patience… If this happens, I really…

“Aaaa!!!!!”

–Clink! Uddangtang… !!

“My words don’t sound like words!! These damn things!!”

“Well, I’ll go out… !!”

“Do you not understand the word hamgu!! This, this is a trashy fabricated article written somewhere!!!”

Uncontrollable anger led to violence. The documents that needed to be processed in front of me were not even visible. It’s just a mountain of annoying paper that ruins my mood.

The vases that were neatly placed on the desk, the books that were neatly shelved, it all felt like they were laughing at me.

So what should I do… Just hit them all and destroy them. If I don’t do that, my intuition won’t be resolved…

–bang… !! Coo! Clink!!

It must have been around the time when I was about to blow up everything in sight, and when I was about to destroy the last remaining chair and desk, something sticky wrapped around my arm and stopped me from doing so.

“Ha… ha… Hey, Lee?”

A pink tentacle sprouted from the distorted space behind Harry and held me tightly, preventing me from moving any further.

“I’ve calmed down a bit now. Friend?”

“… … A little bit.”

Looking at the piles of broken furniture and smashed windows, my eyes, which had been blinded by anger, gradually returned.

“Let’s talk. Including this paper… Even the changeling.”

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After the pink tentacles were moving around and clearing away the debris, there was silence for a moment, with me sitting on a barely intact chair and Hery sitting on a chair made of tentacles.

It was Heri who spoke first in silence.

“Now that you seem to have calmed down, I have a few things to say first.”

A sweet and spicy smell that came out every time Harry opened his mouth. Since I have a bright nose, I didn’t change the perfume or bath salts, and judging from the way the smell focused on the area around my mouth, I thought I must have been drinking something delicious.

When I smelled it, I felt like the anger and deep-rooted anxiety that had been burning until just now were slowly disappearing.

“Ah, um… okay. I was thinking of doing the same.”

“First things first. The whereabouts of my familiar are unknown. I hid my magic power in the forest without anyone knowing, but it disappeared without a trace. If it had been destroyed, when the destruction signal was sent, it wasn’t even there. There will be small animals in the forest too. Was there any signal from there?”

Heri’s familiar… Ah, that tentacle with one eye. I understand that it is quite high-performance, but the news about that is also unknown.

“Unfortunately, not only did my rats and sparrows go into the forest, but communication was cut off within the territory as well. It’s a pretty good timing for it to be a coincidence, right? Thanks to you, I can no longer hear you talking at night or during the day.”

“What are you guessing?”

“Nothing. There really isn’t one. If the animals I work with had died, I would have noticed right away. But seeing as there aren’t even any signs of that… ”

“Only survive. Are you saying that the familiars are already out of our hands?”

Herry’s guesses were half wrong and half right. It’s true that it’s out of our hands, but if the initiative has passed, there’s no way I wouldn’t feel it, as I’m naturally connected. in other words…

“A state of being mutated into something. I think so. The identity that was initially registered has changed, so the owner does not notice. Is it difficult to understand if I say it this way?”

“Ha… It’s a pain in the ass. So then, isn’t that mutation possibly passed on to the owner? Have you disconnected from your familiar?”

Sacrament is a type of magic that allows one to inject magic power into one’s own possession. Normally, it is necessary to exchange magical power in order to exchange what creatures made into familiars see and hear, so if one of them is contaminated, there can be a negative effect on the other.

“No, not exactly. I don’t know if it’s an employee like you that you created yourself, but I… Our family’s familiars have better performance than regular familiars, but they need to be met once to break a contract with the real thing. Once you see that there is nothing wrong with my body, it doesn’t seem like anything special… ”

The Serenpid family’s familiars have effects such as a wider radius of action and greater power than familiars used by other wizards, but contact is essential for breaking a contract.

“That’s a real headache too.”

“My worries are gone. Let’s skip over the unknown whereabouts of the familiars, changeling… Did you find out the details?”

But nothing else is important to me. Harry, who was calming me down and talking to me, clearly mentioned the word changeling.

Changeling, a criminal act that has been carried out since time immemorial under the name of fairy swapping, where babies born with disabilities or with disfigured faces are abandoned in the forest. At least that’s what I knew so far.

But nothing else mattered to me. ‘Fairy’s Change’. Since there was no way such an origin could have been born without any reason, I asked Heri, who studies ancient magic, to interpret the changeling.

“Changeling. Well, I did some research and was surprised. It’s true that it actually existed.”

Heri muttered without hiding his surprise. That seemed like good news to me at the same time.

It’s clearly the fairy’s fault that Ed disappeared… ! From the look on Harry’s face, my hypothesis was turning into certainty.

” To be precise, I only found out that it ‘existed.’ Why do fairies swap humans, what is their principle of action, and how do the swapped humans come back? Everything is unknown. There is too little information.”

Although Heri’s subsequent supplementary explanation did not contain much hope, I was enjoying the joy of finally being able to meet my lost younger brother.

“I sent an access request to the Academy Library to obtain related information. We are planning to go and investigate all at once, including the gender-changing magic. Are you going to come along?”

The Academy is a treasure trove of knowledge, containing everything from ancient books to the latest literature. I would like to accompany you, but…

“I want to go, but I can’t take a single step from here until this situation calms down… ”

Paper spread out on the desk. He said, pointing to the things that Herry and the maid had brought.

“This isn’t the only thing. Lacey, who has still transformed into a woman, shows no signs of returning to her normal self, and Beth and Myrit are fighting a divorce battle… Plus this stupid fabricated article.”

“Ha… You are having a hard time too. I’m just saying this, but what’s written in this article isn’t real, right?”

“Of course! What are you looking at me for? I’m an instigator. This is a fabricated article prepared by those who want to slander me!”

I swear to my husband, my lord, that I have never used taxes to buy luxury goods. I don’t understand what they live for in the first place.

“You know. know. But I’m worried about those fingernails. You always bite your nails when you’re anxious or in a corner. When you see something that has been chewed to the point that it bleeds, there is something in your heart that is groaning.”

Oh, when I looked at my hands after hearing Heri’s words, I saw fingernails that had been torn to the point of being almost torn off. It didn’t hurt until now, but when I looked at the wound in person, I felt like the pain was coming back to life little by little.

“Nothing… no. Rather, is this the end of the story? It’s not right to give a congratulatory order to a friend who hasn’t seen you in a long time, but I need some time to gather my thoughts.”

“Phew… okay. I don’t know what it is, but it must be related to this.”

Harry took out another piece of paper from his pocket and placed it face down on the desk.

“Soon, I will order my trike to send me some milk. Just drink that and calm your mind. Because it feels like all the agony disappears like melting snow. It tastes really good♡”

“Yeah, right… ”

“Then I’ll go. I hope you have a safe day.”

“Yes… ”

After dismissing the friend who showed favor to me, I opened the paper that Heri had left behind. There…

[Who will be the hero who will defeat the guard captain’s denial and stop the lord’s wife’s extravagance?]

The phrase was written, and behind it, the back of a woman was elaborately drawn.

“This is… … ?”

Big buttocks, fleshy back muscles, and smooth wings. A picture that can only be described as sensational to the viewer. I know this person’s identity.

“Ran, check… ?”

The sentence written on the paper and the back of Ranche. And what the elder said yesterday overlaps.

[Since the anxiety of the people of the territory is beyond words, it seems urgent to appoint a new commander as quickly as possible. [Leaving aside the handling of this situation]

[I will also yield this appointment to your wife.]

[I just ask for one thing… To prevent something like this from happening, I hope to become a just person who has strong power but is not swayed by temptation. So, let us just leave. I hope you make a good choice. ma’am]

It couldn’t be all for this… … ?

Are you going to worsen public opinion about me, narrow my position, and elevate Ranche to the position of captain?

–Cracked… !!

“Damn… My, what I believed was wrong… Those shady old men!”

The captain of the guard is in charge of the security of the territory. Such an important status could not be raised without meeting or verification. It was supposed to be like that, but…

“Was this the reason why the appointment of the captain was handed over…? !”

Originally, it was the lord’s authority to appoint a guard captain. However, the lord, or Lord Seo-bi, handed over that authority to me, and after discussing it with his counselors, he appointed an appropriate person to the position of leader…

Even the throne handed over authority to me. Therefore, it is up to me to decide who the guard captain will be.

What that meant was the same as passing all responsibility on to me. If the newly appointed guard captain does a good job, it becomes my credit, but if he commits fraud, it also becomes my responsibility.

“I was attacked by an outsider… Damn… !”

And the new guard leader is pointing at just one person, to a point that gives you goosebumps. The join people who made me tremble with fear…

Every time I thought of Ranche’s face, an unexplainable feeling of anxiety came over me again, and I felt like I had become the weak.

My mother once taught me something about ministry magic. The Serenpid family is said to be able to copy and use the physical abilities of the animals they work with, but has a tendency to assimilate into the animals’ habits and instincts.

That is obedience and subservience to the overwhelmingly powerful. In such cases, relying on someone is said to be an efficient and effective solution.

“West… I’m sure the West can help you… !”

My husband, who possesses powerful political skills and an aristocratic dignity that makes it hard to believe that he was a former monster hunter.

At first, I went to see him only because I heard his name, Edward, but the moment I looked into each other’s eyes, I felt a sense of longing and realized love.

I was relying a lot on him, who was able to use the wolf’s intelligence and strength appropriately. Thinking that I could certainly help in times like these, I rushed out of my office and headed to the West’s office.

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–Knock knock, knock… …

“Seo, Sir… !? Are you listening? It’s me. Annie!”

I quickly ran to the West’s office and knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response. I shouted loudly to see if he was taking a nap, but the only sound that came back was a knock.

“Now, wait there!”

“Yes… ? Boo, ma’am… ! What’s going on?”

“West… Where are you, lord? Normally, I would be at work… ”

I stopped knocking meaninglessly and started talking to a maid passing nearby. I know that this maid is the maid who cleans the master’s office. He must know something…

“The lord left the mansion early this morning. But seeing as you haven’t returned to the office yet… ”

“Okay… okay. It’s okay to stop.”

I felt like I didn’t have to listen to any more comments. Where on earth have you gone… ?

The consultation with my wife was over, and I trudged back to my office, feeling gloomy and anxious once again.

“When will the West return? … G?”

With a sigh, I opened the door to my office and entered…

[I was waiting. Annie♥]

[oh… I thought you were away, but you came back right away. Annie♥]

“La, Ranche… And Beth?”

Ranche, the source of my anxiety and irritation right now, and Elizabeth, my old comrade. These two people were sitting in my office.

“Ugh… ♡ What is that smell again… !”

At the same time, the acrid heat and terrible smell filled the entire office…

A sweet smell that sticks to your nose… It was the same scent as Heri. It feels like I’ll become addicted if I keep smelling it… Why in my office?

Almost immediately after I noticed that the wooden desk, which was probably made of solid wood, was stained with something thick and white, my sixth sense alerted me.

//Run away from here right now//

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