Valdrova's Hound

“Heehee! Hello!”

Ferda felt a sense of novelty the moment he saw Echidna’s face.

It was not the lovely novelty he always felt from Valdrova.

‘How peculiar.’

The gloom he had sensed when he first saw her had deepened, but her liveliness had grown brighter.

An ordinary human would usually have gloom and vitality accompany each other, but this woman was the exact opposite.

The incomprehensible elements only made her more unsettling.

“I heard you completed the formula.”

“Yes! I! Finally! At long last! I made it!”

Echidna waved her hands around in delight.

“Show me.”

“Yep! If you look here~.”

He noticed a doll about the same build as Zed.

Gone was the picture-like face of a frivolous young lady; the carving was beginning to take the shape of a face.

He could tell where that obsession had been directed.

“This may look like an ordinary doll, but I’ve trained it to perform the work of maids!”

“A maid……”

It was basically a tall male Luri.

“Would you demonstrate?”

“Yep!”

For the demonstration, Echidna deliberately dropped the cup on the table onto the floor.

Crash!

At the sound, the doll, which had been standing demurely, raised its head.

The doll initially moved with creaks, then began cleaning up the spot where Echidna had dropped the teacup.

Starting with sweeping and continuing through mopping, it cleaned everything thoroughly and even perfectly tidied up afterward.

“It’s designed to respond appropriately to a situation without needing specific commands!”

“I see.”

It did move as she said.

“……Though it has some problems.”

The drawback was that the entire process took two hours.

If Luri had seen it, he would have been so frustrated that he kicked it into scrap within three minutes.

That was not all.

It was painfully slow, but after moving for about ten minutes, it suddenly dropped its head with a *plop* and stopped.

“We’ll have to reduce its needless mana consumption as well.”

“Yeees…… That’s true……”

That task could be handled by referring to the optimization work of the puppeteers.

They had long researched dolls in order to make their craft appear like a summoning discipline.

‘Applying the puppeteers’ knowledge to magitech…….’

Even among the puppeteers’ theories, there were things they could do precisely because they were human.

What if those things could be applied and used in magitech?

They could even be made into children who played with wooden dolls.

Surely that was not all.

For now, it was merely a new model of a man trained in maid duties, but with time, it could be mass-produced in the form of an adult man.

And if they learned the training and mindset of elite soldiers, they could be put to use in actual combat as well.

‘There is one problem, though.’

The golems Echidna made resembled humans.

In other words, they were closer to homunculi than to golems.

The frightening thing about homunculi was that they could not be controlled.

In fact, the homunculus that was the legacy of Edgar, the great alchemist, had yearned for freedom and nearly destroyed the kingdom.

There was no reason Echidna’s golems could not do the same.

“If you ordered them to slaughter humans, would they begin slaughtering?”

“I’ll divide them according to their uses, but…… I can’t use them as war dolls.”

“Why?”

“Because this world needs love more than hatred!”

“……”

The irony of a witch who loved peace left him speechless.

It was amazing that she could say such a thing while giving off such a gloomy aura.

“What about eliminating monsters?”

“That might be doable? Monsters are bad, you see!”

That would do.

What Ferda needed most was that function.

Hearing her words, he suddenly found one question leading to another.

“You said they couldn’t wage war.”

“Yees.”

“Could you tell me why they can’t?”

Echidna was not one to bluff, so her confidence meant she had good reason for it.

“It’s because of this!”

Echidna opened a built-in wardrobe.

Inside, instead of clothes hanging from hangers, there was a wooden doll sitting in a chair.

Unlike the tall, well-built wooden dolls strewn around the gloomy witch’s room, this one had a petite build.

In terms of height, it was about Luri or Mori’s size.

There was no need to look to know who the model was.

“Behold, the Hive Mind!”

“The Hive Mind?”

“I mean…… they’re very curious children who learn all sorts of things, right?”

“Yes.”

“Those children need someone to tell them, ‘You mustn’t do that~ Bad!’, you know. This child plays that role. That’s how I screen them in advance.”

“So it serves as the parent.”

Questions continued to follow one another.

If there was a watcher, who watched the watcher?

“Who controls the parent?”

“I made it remember only principles that no one can interfere with. There are exactly three.”

The three principles she mentioned were as follows.

First Principle: Every golem is a tool, not a human, and a tool has a duty to benefit humans.

Second Principle: It must absolutely obey the First Principle and submit to the Hive Mind.

Third Principle: While obeying the First and Second Principles, a golem must protect itself.

“That seems sound.”

“Right?”

Echidna beamed at Ferda’s response.

If the provision requiring them to benefit humans was an absolute rule, they would be unable to fight other humans.

‘Would that be better?’

Echidna was a witch with a Red Circle.

If.

Even if it was extremely unlikely, if she went berserk, became a warmonger, and took the armies she had created for herself, that in itself would become a catastrophe.

“Um……”

As Ferda was imagining an unsettling scenario, Echidna twisted her body and moved her lips.

“I worked so hard on this……. So…… are you going to hand over custody…… to me now?”

“Custody?”

“Yes!”

Echidna shook her head vigorously.

“That damned lizard kept interfering and picking fights with me so many times that I wanted to strangle her over and over. But I held back and worked hard, you know? Is this what being a mother feels like??”

“……”

“Hehe, heehee……!”

Echidna laughed eerily.

Ferda understood what the eeriness he had felt meant.

‘So that was what I felt when I entered this room.’

That strange sensation of her becoming more gloomy even as she overflowed with vitality.

Since she was as sincere about Mori as Isabella was, the two must have engaged in a battle of spear and shield, neither giving way by an inch.

And at last, Echidna had completed an invincible shield.

‘……Come to think of it, this is completely insane.’

Making use of a witch’s obsession to get work done.

Ferda felt the situation becoming troublesome.

He had taken Mori hostage, but Mori was also a useful resource.

‘Mori’s efficiency is the problem.’

Since Echidna and Isabella had begun taking turns caring for her, Mori’s efficiency had improved.

If he declared that he would entrust Mori to Echidna, Mori would once again be treated like a toy, and her efficiency would fall.

Ferda asked about a decision he could not easily make.

“May I ask Mori and decide?”

Ferda passed the responsibility on to someone else.

“Of course!”

Echidna accepted it as though she was actually pleased.

“Are you serious?”

At Ferda’s question, Echidna struck her chest and said,

“Even so, I’m much better than that lizard woman!”

Only then did Ferda understand what Echidna was thinking.

She had assumed it was a binary choice between Echidna and Isabella.

Thus, she had not even considered the possibility that one could choose neither option.

-I judge both to be unsuitable.

“Whaaaat??!”

It was the obvious result.

Echidna was the only one who did not know it.

“Th-then, can’t you tell me who should be your parent? For example, Echidna, or Echidna Philiaz, or the gloomy witch, or something…….”

She threw out various choices, but Mori cruelly tossed back an answer.

-It is appropriate for Head Maid Luri to become my guardian.

“Luri?”

When the two had been fighting at their fiercest, Mori had been managed by Luri.

Unlike the two who tended to the child with utmost devotion, Luri provided only the minimum care necessary for a tool.

From the perspective of a rational tool, that was the optimal environment, and naturally drew out maximum efficiency.

“Since you were the one who suggested we reflect Mori’s opinion seriously……”

“Uuueee……”

Echidna whimpered like a mother who had lost her child, and Ferda sighed.

“For now, we’ll keep things as they are.”

Echidna brightened again.

She had never expected maintaining the status quo to be this welcome.

Conversely, Mori’s expressionless face twisted strangely.

“This is for the best.”

Ferda placed a hand on Mori’s head, wanting at least to comfort her.

Mori carefully removed Ferda’s hand from her head and wrote,

-This action decreases efficiency.

Mori spun around and walked away.

Ferda could faintly tell what that expression conveyed.

* * *

The Far East was a land under the Grand Duchy.

As the former home of the demons known as the enemies of the Serdes Continent, it was a highly distinctive region.

For that reason, the powerful autonomy and military forces held by all kingdoms’ margraves were its key features.

In that respect, the Arken Empire differed from other kingdoms, and the power of its margraves was not strong.

The Far East was the weakest.

It had won recognition of autonomy in the centralized Arken Empire—an exceptional achievement.

It was a miraculous tale as unlikely as the wise king’s odds of defeating the enormous troll, Goliath.

It should have been the happiest possible moment for the allied nobles of the Far East.

Except for one man.

“Move, quickly!”

“Hurrying won’t do any good if the horse gets tired! It’ll be difficult until we reach a relay station and change horses!”

“Don’t talk back just because you’re a coachman! If we’re delayed, you’ll die too, understand!?”

Baron Giyot urged the coachman on like a man with a fire under his feet.

He was attempting to flee in the dead of night.

Hearing that autonomy had been secured meant Alexander had lost.

Which meant that if he remained here, he could lose his head at any moment.

He knew what fate awaited a man who sold his savior for thirty nyang of silver.

He did not want to end up like that.

“A-are you all right, my lord?”

His loyal servant wiped the sweat beading on his face.

“I’m fine.”

“What do you plan to do from here?”

“As I said, I’ll head north for now. I’ll sell some goods there, and with the Empire’s information, I should be able to secure a position.”

He had thought life as a baron in the borderlands was the worst it could get, but apparently things could become even worse.

Baron Giyot sighed over his miserable lot in life.

“Damn it…… Why do I have to suffer this fate……? I, who bear the blood of House Giyot…….”

“Indeed, my lord. You lived for the sake of the Arken Empire, so how could this happen to you?”

“Why did everything have to become so twisted because of that damned…… upstart……”

Baron Giyot lamented his circumstances while his servant fawned over him.

As they hurried along, he felt the carriage’s movement gradually slow.

It was not his imagination.

The carriage had stopped.

“Coachman! What are you doing!?”

The coachman did not answer.

Baron Giyot bellowed at the unresponsive coachman.

“You bastard! Do you no longer see me as a noble either!? I asked what was happen—!”

The door flew open, cutting off his words.

The face that appeared, barely lit by the carriage’s lamp, was one he knew well.

It was the face he least wanted to see.

“C-Count Consilius……”

“It has been a while, Giyot. We meet again like this.”

“I-I suppose so. What brings you here……?”

How is that man here?

Ignoring Giyot’s expression, he looked at the servant sitting opposite.

“You’ve worked hard.”

With that, he tossed over a pouch of money.

Unlike the dumbfounded Giyot, the servant nodded, cautiously reading the situation.

“……Thank you, my lord Count.”

The servant fled the carriage as though escaping.

Count Consilius took the seat where the servant who had coaxed Giyot moments ago that everything would be fine had been sitting.

“What brings you…… here?”

“What do you think brings me here? I merely came to pay you a visit.”

He spoke in a frigid voice.

“And, while I was at it, to pay a visit to your son and wife as well.”

“……”

“Are they in the carriage behind us? I haven’t checked.”

Count Consilius slowly raised his eyes.

Death dwelled in them.

Baron Giyot’s body trembled like someone doused with cold water in midwinter.

“Since they are people you will never see again after today, shouldn’t you say your farewells properly? I suppose I should check.”

As he shifted his weight to rise, the trembling Baron Giyot fell to his knees.

“P-please spare my son and wife, at least. They have done nothing wrong……. This was my own arbitrary decision, Count Consilius.”

Consilius sat back down.

“Can an arbitrary decision mean you bear no guilt? Beans grow where beans are planted, the devil’s child becomes a devil, and a traitor’s child will become a traitor. Why should I spare your wife and child when letting them live would only do more harm than good?”

“Surely you remember the affection between us? You came to my son’s baptism and prayed for his future, didn’t you?”

Giyot appealed to their past bond.

“As a fellow human being, as a servant of Alte, please show mercy. I swear by Alte, my father, and the Emperor that I will never tell anyone about this and will live quietly.”

Then he laid before Consilius every honor he could offer.

“As you say…… the children are innocent. Your wife is as well.”

He reached into his back pocket, took out a liquor bottle and two glasses, and placed them on the small table.

“I know they are innocent people, too. They have no reason to die.”

Consilius said as he poured the liquor.

“But how many people die in wartime despite having no reason to die? War means sending ten thousand to their deaths for the sake of one.”

He carefully picked up a glass filled to the brim with the amber liquid.

He looked down at his own face reflected in the liquid.

“My son, too…… had no reason to die there.”

Consilius tasted bitterness lingering in his mouth.

“If only I had been a little more selfish…… I wouldn’t have had any reason to be there either.”

He swallowed the bitterness lingering in his mouth along with the neat liquor.

This time, he filled the glass set before Baron Giyot.

“Drink.”

“……Hic…… Sob.”

“You should drink now; it will make the journey a little easier.”

Baron Giyot sobbed as he picked up the glass.

He brought it to his lips, but could not bring himself to swallow it.

“Is this really necessary?”

He asked Consilius about the one thing his own mind could not understand.

“Is it necessary to do this for that bastard Ferda? Do you really need to shoulder that burden and that karma?”

Having cut down a fellow nobleman, Count Consilius would no longer be able to live as he had before.

The trust and honor he had built would crack, and one day he would meet the same fate as Giyot.

Consilius let out a hollow laugh at those words.

“Compared to the karma I’ll carry from now on, your head is merely one of countless insignificant pebbles.”

“……”

“Wait for me in hell. I’ll be following soon.”

Baron Giyot finally drank the liquor.

Slash!

At the instant the warm sensation of the neat liquor wrapped around his throat, a cold line encircled it.

Baron Giyot’s head flew through the air and rolled across the floor.

A sword was in Count Consilius’s hand before anyone knew it.

Blood dripped steadily, and Consilius shook it off.

Consilius took Giyot’s head and stepped out of the carriage.

Men in lacquered armor were waiting in front of the carriage.

“What of his wife and son?”

“We did as you ordered. They should have gone without pain.”

Consilius reflexively studied their expressions.

It was the first time he had killed a child and a woman, and his expression was grave.

“I’m sorry to make you do something difficult.”

“Someone has to do it.”

Just as Consilius did what Ferda had to do,

the knights did what Consilius had to do.

Because they knew the burden their lord carried.

Consilius handed over the head and mounted his horse.

“As planned, announce that he was charged with conspiring to commit treason and various embezzlement offenses.”

“Yes.”

“Where next?”

“House Granducci.”

“Where is the baron?”

“He is waiting inside the castle. Intelligence says he is evacuating his wife and children ahead of time. Shall we pursue?”

Consilius nodded.

“Pursue him and bring me his head. I will not tolerate mistakes.”

“I shall obey.”

From that day onward, two families that had governed the interior of the Grand Duchy of Valdrova disappeared.

From that day, Count Consilius was given a new epithet.

* * *

“Valdrova’s Hound.”

Ferda spoke Count Consilius’s new epithet aloud.

“The rumors going around these days seem to be calling you that.”

“A hound, you say. I’m deeply honored.”

Consilius laughed heartily as though he was pleased, despite the insult.

Ferda could not laugh along.

“Did you really have to make that choice?”

Ferda knew everything he had done.

He had heard it through the Shadow Circle, of course, and Consilius had also told him here, taking this opportunity.

“Fear creates instability, and new powers are forged in unstable times. I am someone who must disappear someday.”

“Am I the new power?”

“That is correct.”

Consilius answered calmly.

“Of course, not everyone will trust and follow you, Regent. But I think they will see you as an option worth seriously considering.”

“……”

“If the opportunity arises, you can become a rallying point at any time.”

All of this had been for Ferda.

Ferda had no doubt that it was.

Consilius had risked his life by forcing his aura into reverse to buy Ferda time.

But he could not be unreservedly happy simply because it had been done with good intentions.

‘If Consilius disappears someday, I’ll have to lead alone.’

When there is a meeting, there is also a parting.

When that time came, what choice would Ferda himself make?

As a vague unease began to torment him, he decided to deliberately ignore the thought.

“I will certainly repay you for all the help you have given me.”

Normally, Consilius would have humbly said he had merely done what was expected.

“Since you bring it up, I should mention…….”

But unlike the line that would have come automatically, his response was reluctant.

“As it happens, something came up recently, and I am in need of assistance.”

“What happened?”

“It’s……”

Consilius let out a long sigh and explained.

After hearing his explanation, Ferda understood why he had sighed so deeply.

Even Ferda, summarizing what he had said, found it absurd.

“……You assaulted a young lady?”