Chapter 54
"I heard there are many demi-humans in Trollmide Territory."
I recalled the events of Chapter 2 and went over, one by one, the things I could acquire at this point in time.
"I'm interested in lizardfolk."
I thought of the character who came after Elena.
I used her often in the original.
I said, lost in nostalgia.
"I would like you to find and send me a lizardwoman with exactly the appearance I specify."
Trollmide Territory bordered the frontier.
Demi-humans captured outside human territory gathered in Trollmide Territory.
Demi-humans did not make their way into Reator Territory, which lay considerably farther inland, but they certainly existed in this world.
"You mean you're going to make a lizardfolk a slave?"
Lisette asked in surprise.
"So that's your kind of thing?"
"Pardon?"
The texture in the surrounding gazes changed in an instant.
"Who knew you had that kind of taste."
"There must be a reason he hasn't married at his age."
"Ha-ha. What a hero."
The nobles' gazes showed disgust, shock, and strange curiosity.
I looked back over what I had said.
Demi-human, slave.
This was a porn-game world.
Slaves led to sex slaves.
How was I supposed to explain this?
I had a separate reason for needing a lizardfolk, but I wasn't obligated to explain it, and explaining it would only hurt me, so there was no way to clear up the misunderstanding.
Baron Melansa changed his expression as if he had misunderstood, disguising it with a cough.
"A lizardfolk slave isn't difficult to procure. Very well. We'll use that as the condition. Kyle. Don't the clan members call you a genius? Now is the time to show your skill."
The boy called Kyle was pushed forward by the baron, a hand against his back.
The boy stood in the center of the courtyard.
A prodigy who had been registered as a C-rank adventurer despite being a little younger than Elena.
Elena walked out from the audience to stand opposite him.
"Mister..."
"...It's a misunderstanding."
"Isn't it?"
"I said it's a misunderstanding."
I jerked my chin toward the boy.
"Go win easily and come back."
"Yes."
Elena nodded and turned toward the boy.
The boy was confident, but he glanced nervously at Alex's corpse before looking Elena up and down.
His face flushed red.
"C-could I set one condition too?!"
he shouted boldly.
"If I win this duel..."
The boy raised his index finger and pointed at Elena.
"I want that woman for myself!"
"What the hell are you saying, you fool!"
Baron Melansa scolded the boy with a flustered expression.
This was a complete mess.
"If I win this duel, please let me have that woman!"
But a strange ripple emanated from the boy's voice, so faint that no one noticed it.
It was faint, but no one noticed the subtle suggestion.
Except Elena and me.
'What a load of crap.'
It was hypnosis too.
Hypnosis came in different types.
The kind Alex used, unilaterally hypnotizing someone, was top-tier hypnosis.
Hypnosis with conditions was tier two, but its effect was still enormous, as befitted hypnosis.
It ignored the magic resistance nobles boasted of and interfered with their minds.
- Oh?
Beatrice, who had been silent due to internal injuries, showed a hint of curiosity.
It seemed to interest her because it was the same school.
He seemed to use it unconsciously, but as a result, he had become a reckless pup that didn't know to fear the tiger.
"A duel needs a reward to make it exciting, right? All right. If you win this duel, I'll hand Elena over to you."
"What?!"
Elena spun around in surprise.
She was startled by Lisette's words.
Lisette, unaware that she had been hypnotized, accepted the boy's proposal.
But hypnosis of this school came with conditions despite its intensity.
Just as Beatrice's hypnosis came with the condition that she had to fulfill other people's desires, the hypnosis the boy had cast also had a balance.
"Elena, you should make a proposal too. What will you take if you win?"
"Uh... I..."
"His life."
I spoke.
"Take the life of that insolent brat who's running his mouth."
"C-can I?"
"You're claiming the right to decide each other's life or death. You just have to kill him in this duel. Who's taking whom?"
This was why I hated hypnotists.
If left alone, one of the many nobles would become a hypnotist's pawn, sow discord, and be forced to betray everyone.
Once a hypnotist had caught my eye, I had to kill them by whatever means necessary.
"Mister..."
Elena looked at me with warm, softened eyes.
For some reason, she looked at the boy with a happy expression.
She pointed her sword and spoke.
"You may take my life in this duel. If you can win, I'll gladly die for you. The moment you win, I'll die right there. If I lose, I'll be too embarrassed to live."
"Y-you can't die."
Though flustered, the boy looked at Elena, even more flushed than before.
The moth drawn to Elena's beauty cleared his throat.
"B-but fine. If I win, you're mine from that moment on. I'll have you come to my bed tonight and play with me to your heart's content, so l-look forward to it."
"What are you talking about? I'm going to die. Well, there's no way I'll die after being trained by Mister."
Elena assumed a stance.
Her eyes narrowed and changed in an instant.
"Come at me prepared to die, too."
"I'm a C-rank adventurer. I'm far, far more amazing than you."
"You're C-rank even though you're younger than me. That's impressive, so I'm not letting my guard down."
A servant stepped onto the stage and gave the signal.
At that moment.
Kyle kicked off the floor and shot forward.
The reason he had reached C-rank despite his young age.
He released abundant mana to strengthen his body.
Kyle, having gained physical abilities at a C-rank level, closed in on Elena in an instant.
His sword grip and foot placement. A sword strike learned nowhere properly and brute-forced with mana.
Elena failed to react to the sword strike flying at her, her eyes filled with surprise.
The spectators murmured.
"What part of that makes him a promising talent?"
"Our adventurers are simply competent; it's not that the Trollmide adventurers are weak."
"Ha-ha. What an unfortunate turn of events."
Elena looked down at Kyle with startled eyes.
"Isn't that right?"
At the moment their attacks clashed.
Elena deflected Kyle's sword and struck his chin with her fist.
Kyle's upper body bent far backward, and he toppled over, crashing down.
"K-Kyle, what are you doing?! You're a promising talent of our Melansa Clan! The clan master bragged until his mouth wore out that you became C-rank, and you can't even catch some girl?!"
"Baron Melansa."
Baron Melansa shut his mouth like a mute with a mouthful of honey at Lisette's rebuke.
"M-my lady. Well, this is... We have shown you an embarrassing spectacle."
"Indeed. This entertainment has failed once again. Then, knights, I'm sorry, but could you escort Baron Melansa to his room?"
"""Yes, ma'am!"""
The knights in the audience grabbed Baron Melansa by the shoulders and hauled him away.
With the baron dragged away helplessly behind her, Lisette left them with one last remark.
"Then, Eck, only the matter between the two of us remains."
"As I expected."
Lisette looked down at her loyal subject with an overbearing air.
"You shed blood at a banquet where everyone was supposed to enjoy themselves. You must pay the price for ruining an atmosphere everyone was supposed to enjoy. Eck, what will you offer to express your apology?"
The audience gave predatory looks, wanting payment for ruining their mood.
They showed their intent to tear me apart if they disliked even the slightest thing, to tarnish my honor even a little.
But even this was a lenient outcome thanks to Lisette backing me.
Otherwise, the knights would have taken me away and thrown me in prison.
"I'll offer the gift of favor."
I said through clenched teeth.
"I suppose I am still unqualified to be your loyal subject. I will offer the gift of favor you personally gave me, my lady."
"Eck, do you mean that?"
I put strength into my throat and spoke.
My tightly clenched fist trembled.
I shouted with all my strength so that a careless gasp would not escape me.
"Please forgive me if I give you that."
The audience murmured.
"Does that mean Lady Lisette bestowed a gift of favor upon Eck?"
"And he's offering it back? Ha-ha."
"It seems he's genuinely repentant."
A gift of favor was something a master bestowed when acknowledging a retainer.
It was the highest honor.
The nobles nodded at my offer to return the gift.
Lisette, who had given me the gift, accepted my apology with a troubled expression.
"I accept your resolve. It seems I placed a burden on you. This entertainment is over. Everyone, return to the banquet hall. You should enjoy yourselves a while longer before you leave."
Lisette dismissed the audience and led them away, bringing the matter to a close.
***
People gradually left the courtyard, leaving Elena, Phila, and Varie.
"E-Eck."
"What is it, Sir?"
Varie pulled me by the arm with reddened eyes and dragged me to a corner of the courtyard.
She spoke discreetly.
"A-are you really planning to give back the lady's gift of favor? That precious thing?"
"That's how it turned out."
I couldn't meet her gaze and turned my head away.
"I think it's still far too burdensome for me to bear."
"I-I suppose so."
Varie sidled closer.
She came so close that her breath touched my face.
She whispered softly.
"But it is a precious item the lady personally gave you. Its condition may have suffered in storage, so before returning it to the lady, I should inspect it first."
Varie snorted.
She didn't close her eyes once while speaking.
'This crazy knight.'
It was an item that would only make me feel uncomfortable if I kept it anyway.
A gift bearing Lisette's scent—if Elena caught me carrying it around, I wouldn't even have an excuse. Especially after already being mistaken for a lizardfolk.
I obediently held out what was in my pocket.
Varie's breathing grew rough.
She carefully accepted the gift with both hands.
"Oh..."
An exclamation escaped between Varie's lips.
She gripped the gift in both hands, pressed it to her mouth, and inhaled deeply.
"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuup..."
And exhaled.
"Haaaaaaaah..."
A chill ran straight up my spine.
Goosebumps rose along my forearms and climbed to the nape of my neck.
Maybe this was the first genuine pervert I'd met since entering the porn-game world.
'Crazy.'
I reflexively took several steps backward.
"Haa... my lady..."
Her clouded, unfocused eyes wandered through empty air.
The upright, dignified, and broad-minded female knight I knew was nowhere to be seen.
She was merely a lust-drunk sow, panting beneath the moon, her cheeks flushed as she reveled alone in ecstasy.
I barely suppressed the urge to vomit.
A noble young lady who offered her own panties as a gift of favor, and a female knight who buried her face in those panties and became intoxicated by their scent.
Once again, I was reminded that this world was insane.
"Sir Varie."
"Didn't I tell you to call me Varie?"
Varie turned toward me with the gift pressed to her nose.
Perhaps my gaze looked strange, because Varie flinched.
"Ahem. F-fortunately, there isn't any damage. You handled it quite carefully for a commoner. I'm glad to have you as a friend."
"Is that so?"
"....A gift of favor is an intimate gift exchanged between master and retainer, so don't tell anyone about it. I could show it to you because you're a fellow loyal subject, but if someone asks to see it, never show it. Understand?"
"I will."
She placed the neatly folded panties back in my hand.
"I'm truly glad to have you as a friend."
"........Could you let go of this?"
Varie finally managed to open her hand, and the gift returned to mine.
"Wouldn't it be all right for you to return it to Lady Lisette?"
"Don't say that! A gift of favor is a precious ritual exchanged directly between master and retainer. It must not pass through someone else's hands."
"......I understand."
Varie left the courtyard following Lisette.
A chilly breeze blew.
The gift was warm with someone's breath.
***
"Are you finished talking?"
"Haa... Yes."
I returned to Elena.
Elena pointed to the boy lying collapsed on the floor.
"But what are we going to do with him now?"
"It'd be cleaner to kill him."
Elena immediately drew her sword.
"W-wait a moment."
Phila, who had been silently watching, grabbed the hilt of Elena's drawn sword and stopped her.
"C-could you at least tell me why he has to die? I-I don't think Eck's judgment could be wrong, but... I want to know why, I suppose..."
Phila's trembling gaze avoided mine, and her voice grew thin.
Mages were the sort who couldn't rest until they knew the cause behind every result.
Kyle was a hypnotist.
Hypnotists were subject to immediate execution.
If they started plotting something somewhere, the situation would spiral out of control.
If I'd let Alex go, he would have realized I had a defense against hypnosis and hypnotized the nobles excessively.
In that case, cutting him down on the spot would be cleaner and easier than explaining everything, but—
'If I tell her, she'll wonder how I know that.'
The existence of hypnotists had been concealed by the power of their hypnosis.
Regardless of Phila's doubts, the mere fact that I knew of their existence and how to deal with them would draw excessive attention from them.
The nobles here were no match for them.
If even one noble were hypnotized, the entire family would rise up, so it might actually be better to let them be slowly infiltrated as if we knew nothing.
Hypnotists basically sought an easy life.
If I needlessly provoked them and made them live industriously, it would only complicate things.
That was why, once discovered, they had to be eliminated immediately, preventing them from even thinking of going to work.
'Still, maybe I should let one of them live.'
As it happened, the hypnosis over life and death had been placed on the hypnotist himself.
Since it commanded him to follow at the cost of his life, I wouldn't have to worry about betrayal.
"That boy and this fellow named Alex use some strange power. I don't know the details either, so before killing him, let's ask him first. He just woke up."
The boy flinched and shuddered, then slowly opened his eyes.
His pupils trembled.
"C-could you let me live?"
"If you accept one treatment, I might be able to let you live. Will you do it?
"Yes!"
The boy answered energetically.
Naively, he didn't even ask what he would have to give up in exchange for living.