Chapter 73
The car carrying my family and the viscount and viscountess slipped through the gate and into the city.
As the car proceeded along the main street, the curious eyes of the city's residents continued to pierce us.
"Oh, my! This certainly draws the people's attention. Would you sell this horseless carriage to me?"
"Your Lordship, this is a summoned beast, so it only obeys me, and no one else can operate it."
"I see~ What a shame."
"The same goes for the enormous summoned beast with the long arm. It is fed special oil, and if it is not given any, it will die very quickly."
"Come to think of it, Boss was using magic tools to make oil and mixing various chemicals together to prepare their food, wasn't he?"
Nyamena's voice came from the rearmost seat.
"That's right. This one is surprisingly delicate."
While we were talking, we arrived at the merchant's shop in question.
It was a large, three-story stone building facing the main street. According to Nyamena, it served as a shop, warehouse, and sleeping quarters for the employees.
Sogaram's residence, as the owner, was apparently elsewhere.
A large, collapsible awning projected from the first floor, with all sorts of goods displayed beneath it.
At a glance, it looked like an ordinary shop, but the goods had presumably been gathered through pressure and intimidation in various places.
I left the viscount and viscountess in the car and approached a man who appeared to be an employee. He had narrow eyes like a fox and wore what looked like a red bandanna around his head.
"Welcome. Are you looking for something?"
The man approached, rubbing his hands together.
"Do you also buy things here?"
"Of course. We buy anything at all~"
"Oh? Anything?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Then buy this."
I took the female Cave Spider I had killed some time ago out of my Item Box.
The enormous white body had appeared with a rumble that shook the earth and crushed the shop entrance. Since I had put it in my Item Box immediately after killing it, it was still perfectly fresh.
Red bodily fluid flowed out, staining the goods in front of the shop crimson.
"Waaah!" "Eeeek!" "What the hell is that?!"
Screams rose from all around at the monster that had suddenly appeared.
"I killed this monster. Buy it from me."
"C-customer, we can't accept something like that!"
The employee shouted after his legs gave out and he fell on his backside.
"You said you bought anything. Was that a lie?"
"B-but... I never expected anything like this..."
"What in the world is going on?!"
A man emerged from the back wearing brown clothes with large gold buttons that stood out. He was perhaps ten years older than me, with red hair slicked straight back.
"Hey, are you Sogaram-san?"
"Who are you?! What do you want?!"
"I'm Kenichi. Mage Kenichi."
"Kenichi?"
"You harassed my wife's shop quite a bit. I've come to return the favor."
"I don't know any wife of yours!"
"The stall selling soup in the market. Don't tell me you don't know it."
"...Oh, that little girl's shop. I thought a little rough treatment would make her kneel right away, but she even dragged the viscount into it..."
A group of rough-looking men came filing out from the back of the shop—about twenty of them.
"Hey! Shut this fool up!"
"B-but, Sogaram-san! Anyone who could kill a monster like that..."
"He apparently has an Item Box, but he probably just brought in a monster that died in the forest! Don't let him fool you!"
"I see. Put that way, it might be true."
Perhaps convinced by Sogaram's words, they seemed ready to attack. They were awfully simpleminded.
A catfolk man stepped forward from among them. Hmm... This one could be troublesome.
As I hesitated over whether to take a weapon or heavy machinery out of my Item Box, a black shadow darted past my side and stood in front of the catfolk.
"Hissss!"
The Forest Cat, Bell, bared her sharp, gleaming white fangs and threatened the beastfolk.
"W-why is Lady Forest Cat here...?"
"She's my woman."
The catfolk recoiled at the god's messenger that had suddenly appeared in the city. I stroked her back while glaring at them.
"The Forest Cat wouldn't side with villains, would she? In other words, you lot must be villains if you're going to oppose her. Isn't that right?"
"Uuugh..." "W-wait!"
The catfolk were clearly bewildered.
"If a catfolk fights a god's messenger and dies, I wonder what will happen to his soul?"
"H-hey, Sogaram! I'm out of here!" "Me too!" "If we die to something like this, we're definitely going to hell!"
Oh? Even these people didn't want to go to hell? Still, I couldn't imagine they would make it to heaven after all the evil they had done.
Perhaps Bell's threat had been effective, because the catfolk began fleeing in all directions.
"Hey! Wait! Damn it, over something like this..."
"Ha-ha-ha! I knew relying on those cats was a mistake!"
A voice came from behind Sogaram.
"Will you handle it, then?"
"One or two cats are nothing to me."
A tall dogfolk man wearing gray fur stepped forward from behind him. This was my first time seeing one of the species up close, but he looked almost exactly like a wolf.
I see. He looked a lot like a Black Wolf. Apparently, these people worshipped Black Wolves as divine messengers.
The dogfolk drew his sword and raised it, and just as he was about to attack us, two arrows pierced his exposed torso.
Myaree and Nyamena had fired them.
"Don't underestimate a mutt, nya."
"How dare you raise a hand against Lady Forest Cat?"
Hey, don't hold back. They really did hate each other.
"Ggh... Damn..."
As the dogfolk fell to his knees, two more arrows drove into his head. Naturally, he died instantly.
The remaining thugs began backing away.
"Eeeek!" "Waaah!"
The onlookers who had been watching the fight also began screaming.
"Damn you!" "You bastards, what have you done?!"
The other men put their hands on their swords and drew the white blades.
"Summon Yu○bo!"
For fighting people, the more maneuverable Yu○bo had the advantage. I operated the levers while pressing down on the foot bar.
"Yu○bo's spinning attack!"
The arm of the heavy machine spun rapidly in circles, knocking the thugs away one after another.
"Gyaaah!" "Gwaaah!" "Ugh!"
Arrows then struck the fallen villains one after another. As one man tried to stand, Bell bit down on the side of his neck and pinned her prey to the ground.
The men retreated before the overwhelming power of the steel monster and the Forest Cat.
"Damn it! You think you can murder people in broad daylight and get away with it?"
Sweat beaded on Sogaram's forehead as he stood alone. There were still thugs behind him, but they had completely lost the will to fight.
"No, no. The instant that dogfolk drew his sword, you all became heinous criminals plotting to assassinate the viscount."
"What?!"
The viscount and viscountess stood beside me as I said this.
"Sogaram, we have had dealings with each other, but I had no idea you were plotting to assassinate me."
"You bastard! You rotten viscount! You betrayed me!"
"That is a strange thing to say. I have never once joined forces with you."
I had thought him a rather unreliable noble, but he had more guts than I expected. A noble was still a noble, even if he was rotten.
But now we had a legitimate reason to crush these people.
The enemy had lost the will to fight, and the battle was over, so I stored Yu○bo away for the moment.
"All right. Summon Ko○tsu-san!"
I stored the Cave Spider in my Item Box, then took out the large heavy machine.
The iron giant appeared in midair and crushed the goods in front of the shop, flattening them like rice crackers.
"What the hell?!" "It's a monster!" "Eeeek!"
Screams rose from the crowd.
When I took the driver's seat, the yellow giant roared, raising its steel bucket to a height of nine meters.
The spectators were shouting as they watched Ko○tsu-san, but the noise of the heavy machine's engine drowned them out, so I couldn't make out what they were saying from where I was.
When the steel claws sank into the stone wall, it began crumbling with a clatter.
"Waaah!" "Help me!" "You're kidding! We have to fight a monster like that?!"
The remaining thugs Sogaram had hired also began fleeing the scene.
I was just about to demolish the place in spectacular fashion when Marrow-san waved at me from Ko○tsu-san's feet.
He had apparently just arrived in a carriage.
"Kenichi! Don't destroy anything else!"
"Huh?"
I stopped the engine and climbed down from the heavy machine. The beastfolk had their weapons trained on Sogaram, who was still standing.
"This building is usable. It would be a waste."
Apparently, he wanted to use this fine building as a branch of the Marrow Trading Company. They had not yet settled on a suitable property.
"You're Marrow!"
"It's been a while, Sogaram-san."
"Oh, Father-in-Law, you know him?"
"Well, how should I put it... Ha-ha-ha..."
They had probably encountered each other at Commercial Guild meetings and noble parties.
"Father-in-law?"
"That's right. The woman you harassed is Marrow's daughter. She's my wife, so this gentleman is my father-in-law. Do you understand now?"
"Damn it! All of you set me up!"
"Not at all. If you and the other merchants had quietly withdrawn, there would have been no need for such forceful measures."
"Sogaram, I hear your wife and daughter are beautiful. Once I've had my fun with them, I'll sell them into the pleasure district to earn money for me."
Of course, I had no intention of actually doing that. It was only a threat.
"Wait! My wife and child have nothing to do with this!"
"What are you talking about? You tried to lay hands on another man's wife. You meant to torment her after frightening her into kneeling, didn't you? Why is it wrong for me to do the same thing?"
"Ggh..."
Sogaram's knees buckled, and he sat down on the ground.
Perhaps Bell decided that the enemy was gone, because she returned to Anemone in the car.
"Now then, what kind of magic should I use you as a test subject for...?"
"Wait! Please, wait! I give up. My family and I will leave the city! Let us settle it at that!"
"Kenichi-dono, could you resolve this a little more peacefully?"
I couldn't very well refuse when the viscount, my sponsor, asked me that.
"Then renounce all your wealth. I'll allow you to take only what you can carry."
"...Understood."
Sogaram remained sitting on the ground, staring intently downward.
So that settled it—or so I thought. Was the urge to kill him, since that would leave fewer loose ends, a side effect of that leaf?
But Marrow-san and the viscount and viscountess did not seem to want that. They only wanted him to leave the city.
"Your Lordship, is this acceptable?"
"Yes. I have no objection."
"Damn it..."
Sogaram looked bitter, but all his men had already fled, and the matter was settled.
Once Sogaram, their leader, had raised the white flag, the other merchants would probably quiet down as well.
The story of the iron monster that had appeared during today's uproar would spread too.
Since it was going to come out anyway, I might as well reveal it in a spectacular fashion so foolish people would think twice before crossing me.
"Ah! You mean the mage with an Item Box who uses an iron summoned beast—the one who defeated the heinous bandit Shaga in Dalia...?"
"I heard that too. But I heard he fled Dalia and disappeared. So he was in Astrantia?"
As the onlookers began buzzing, Sogaram looked up at my face again.
"Damn it. Why is a mage like that here of all places?"
"I fled Dalia and was planning to lie low in Astrantia, but then some idiot meddled with my wife's shop. What a nuisance."
In contrast to the dejected Sogaram, Marrow-san was in high spirits. Perhaps incidents of this scale were an everyday occurrence when you were in business.
He did not seem shaken in the slightest.
"Ho-ho-ho. We acquired an excellent property for free."
"I did collapse part of the wall, though. Is that all right, Father-in-Law?"
"Repairs on this scale should be finished quickly. What a dutiful son I have."
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"The Boss and the young miss's father look more like the villains, nya."
"They do, nya."
Myaree and Nyamena were whispering while still holding their bow and crossbow.
Primula stood behind them, looking a little embarrassed.
"Nyamena, did you think I was just some harmless old softie?"
When I asked the two of them, that did seem to be the case.
"I can be serious when I need to be, you know. Otherwise, I couldn't protect Anemone and Primula."
"So we're not worth protecting?"
"You two are plenty strong already, aren't you? But of course I'll help if you get into trouble."
I stroked the sulking Nyamena's head, and she looked pleased.
Still, after everything that had happened, I had finally gotten revenge on the people who had harassed Primula. I felt much better.
Some people had died, but they were all the city's most notorious troublemakers, so no one would stand up for them.
Things in this viscount's territory would probably improve a little now.
------◇◇◇------
Sogaram liquidated all his assets in the city and left Astrantia with his family in nothing more than a small carriage.
Since they headed in the opposite direction from Dalia, they were probably going to Akimenes or Iberis.
I spoke with his wife as well, and she turned out to be a surprisingly ordinary woman. Apparently, she had known all along that her husband was involved in wrongdoing.
She seemed to have wanted him to stop, so she even appeared happy that the uproar had resulted in their expulsion from the city.
The Astrantia branch of the Marrow Trading Company moved into Sogaram's shop, and the other merchants were brought under its umbrella as well.
Primula's shop also came under the Marrow Trading Company, with procurement and other matters handled collectively. This should allow us to cut costs considerably.
Originally, it had been a soup shop intended to use up the meat of the Fang Bear I had killed, but we should be able to reduce the cost of buying vegetables and bread.
Astrantia's spice syndicate was also dissolved, so spices and the like could now be purchased more cheaply than in other cities.
A lot had happened, but things had finally settled down, and peaceful, leisurely days returned.
The corn in the field ripened thanks to Anemone's magic, so we all ate it together.
We decided to start by roasting it simply. Anemone heated it with magic, then I brushed it with melted butter and gave it a char over a charcoal fire.
A fragrant aroma and white smoke filled the area.
For some reason, the viscountess was with us too. Wasn't she coming here every three days or so?
"Kanan-sama~ You come to visit so often. Is His Lordship all right with this?"
"He's fine! He's visiting his mistress again today!"
"Huh? Wait, the administration is all right, isn't it?"
"That is fine too."
According to the viscountess, the viscount's mistress was a considerably more—uh, plump woman than she was.
"What the hell? Is that his taste—or is he looking for a substitute mother...?"
A so-called mother complex...
"Probably both!"
"If that's the case, Kanan-sama probably isn't his type."
"Heh-heh-heh... To suffer such humiliation... Kenichi-dono! Is this golden vegetable still not roasted?"
"It should be ready soon."
The corn had acquired a nice char, so we all bit into it with no regard for manners.
"Yummy! Why is it so sweet, nya?!"
"I showed you before. You thin the plants until only one ear remains, concentrating the nutrients in it."
"Then would that linker tree you planted produce sweeter fruit if it bore less of it?"
"The fruit should become larger and sweeter—or so I think."
The viscountess bit into the roasted corn without listening to our conversation.
"Huff, huff! What a luxury! It's this sweet, yet it isn't a fruit?"
"It's a vegetable—or rather, it's in the same family as wheat and the like."
"What?! This is?"
The viscountess said she had never seen a plant resembling corn, either.
"Let's make soup with this for dinner."
"Yay!"
"But there aren't many ways to prepare it. Boiling or roasting it seems like the tastiest option."
"Can't we make bread with it?"
Anemone, who was in charge of bread, seemed particularly interested in that question.
"If you dry it and grind it, it becomes a powder—more like potato flour, though. But I think you could make something if you mixed it with wheat flour."
"Starch, so to speak?"
"Exactly, Kanan-sama."
"Kenichi-dono, do you have seeds for this vegetable?"
"I do, but are you asking me to give them to you? I have absolutely nothing to gain from it..."
The viscountess slammed her hand down on the table.
"That is because you said you have no interest in the body of the greatest treasure in this viscount's territory—me!"
Who calls themselves a treasure?
"I have absolutely no interest in such a thing. I have a wife, after all."
"I'm here too!"
"And there are two beastfolk as well."
"Grrr! To think I rank below children and beastfolk! What unbearable humiliation... How can this be? This is what you get with Unique Mages..."
Primula looked dejected beside the viscountess, who was eating in frustration.
"What's wrong, Primula? Everything worked out, and we've even established a foothold for the Marrow Trading Company to expand into Astrantia."
"If I hadn't said that I wanted to do business in Astrantia, none of this would have happened..."
Well, that was true. It had all started with the soup shop meant to use up the meat I had killed.
"Even so, what kind of merchant can resist when they see something that might become profitable? Besides, I like seeing you so cheerful when you're doing business."
"Am I really that different?"
"Yes."
"You brood over things while muttering to yourself, then suddenly start grinning and running around excitedly, don't you?"
Primula's face reddened at Anemone's observation.
"Kenichi walks around the same spot like a bear too, then suddenly starts fighting invisible enemies."
Anemone really did notice everything. Invisible enemies? That was shadowboxing. Any man would shadowbox.
I really want to smack the pull cord for a ceiling light, but there isn't one here.
There are also things like, "He winds up—and throws the first pitch!" Or swinging a golf club whenever I pick up an umbrella.
"More importantly! What is the matter with the seeds of this corn you mentioned?!"
"Very well. I will give them to you. If rumors spread that the viscountess obtained them by offering her body to a terrifying evil mage, her popularity should rise."
"Oh! That is wonderful! His Lordship can turn it into a story and put it in a book!"
Seriously, she was going to use that premise? Still, hearing them talk like this, it did not seem as though the viscount and viscountess had a bad relationship.
They were together during official business as well.
"However, even if I give you the seeds, there is no guarantee you will succeed in growing them."
"I understand. We can give small amounts to the village headmen in various regions and have them experiment until they find the best method."
She really intended to begin cultivating corn.
It had a great many uses, so if cultivation went well, it might spread throughout the country.
Still, I really gained absolutely nothing from this.
That was why people called me a softhearted fool...