Chapter 95. The Festival (4)

“My esteemed one, I have something to tell you.”

Before the tasting, the cook approached me.

“Those two who participated in the finals…. I've been watching them, and they are truly dangerous women. They are people who should not be here.”

Even as she whispered, her gaze was directed at Hebrun and Ella.

I had forgotten for a moment.

Alina Pewin's trait.

In fact, she had never seen the Princess of Blood or the mad witch of fire in person.

Nevertheless, she had been glaring at the two of them intermittently throughout the cooking process.

The commentator interpreted this as a show of competitiveness, but it was not.

It was because of her trait.

[The Scales of Good and Evil of the Four Angels].

A cheat-like ability to distinguish between good and evil people just by looking at them.

The weights of those scales of good and evil are based on the Luark Church.

This means that vampires or psychopathic mages are highly likely to come out as evil.

“My esteemed one, shall I take care of them?”

Therefore, that murderous gaze and remark would not be empty words.

Currently, under Alina's command, there are hundreds of paladins and priests, albeit temporarily.

The clenched fist on the table must signify her readiness to declare a holy war at any moment.

“If you just give the signal, the paladins will….”

It was another unexpected crisis.

“The festival is in full swing, Alina.”

Feeling a cold sweat run down my spine, I spoke softly but firmly.

“Many people are watching. Stay still.”

“But….”

“I have a plan for everything.”

I reached out and gently covered Alina's clenched fist.

Fortunately, did she seem convinced by my strong assertion?

The tension in her wide-open eyes slowly dissipated.

“As expected of the esteemed one. You have already calculated all the possibilities.”

“……”

“To punish the wicked while at the same time not instilling fear in the people….”

There was no need to mention that the method was ‘staying still’.

Alina pulled the plate in front of me with a relieved face.

Taking a deep breath, I looked down at it.

As a price for preventing a bloody battle between the paladins and the vampire and the resulting numerous casualties, the reprieve from the punishment of putting something unidentifiable in my mouth was over.

“What is this?”

“It's pudding pasta.”

“……”

“It's a dish that combines only the best parts of dessert and a main dish, allowing you to enjoy two courses together.”

“…I see.”

What should I say.

I don't really get it.

Never mind the best parts, it's unclear if this is even food to begin with.

A yellowish color reminiscent of vomit.

Garnish that is burnt black, making it hard to identify the original ingredient.

An unidentifiable sour smell.

“I'll cut it for you.”

“…Alright.”

Wouldn't I definitely get sick if I eat this?

No, maybe it's better than it looks.

After all, she must have passed the preliminaries and received good evaluations from many people to get here.

However, this complacent thought was dispelled the moment the spoon carrying it approached.

[Deploying [Warrior’s Insight].]

[Skill has been acquired.]

[Miracle: Daily Bread (Level 2)]

It's a miracle skill.

One that makes any food delicious.

Should I say it makes it pleasant to the sight and good for food, as described in the Bible?

The only problem is that it's a miracle that changes the mindset of the person eating, not the food itself.

[Deploying [Lord’s Unyielding Mind].]

In other words, it's a mental-type skill.

One that doesn't work on me.

Before I could even come to my senses, Alina pushed the spoon into my mouth.

A strong sense of crisis stimulates my sixth sense.

The moment an indescribable texture flooded into my mouth.

[Deploying [Bullet Time].]

I bought a moment of time with the trait that has always given me a chance to react whenever I receive a fatal attack.

[Deploying [Selective Loss of Taste].]

By a hair's breadth, the moment the strange taste and texture were felt, I drove them out from my mouth.

“……”

“How is it?”

I'm alive.

That was the first thought that came to mind.

On my taste buds, which were paralyzed by the trait, I could only feel a moderate level of fishiness and savoriness.

However, just from the taste felt for a fleeting moment, I feel like I have intuited something indescribable.

Whether she knew my feelings or not, after I quickly gulped down the contents, Alina explained with a proud face.

“It is a wife's duty, commanded by Luark, to support her husband well. And I have heard that cooking is important in providing support. Therefore, you could say that this dish contains my heart.”

“…I see.”

I moved on to the next dish as if fleeing.

I'm sure it wasn't a mistake that I felt the blessing of Luark, which cleansed my stomach, in the two dishes I ate afterwards.

The evening of the last day of the festival thus came to a close.

‘Master, is it possible that the concept of support for a priestess means putting someone on a one-way carriage to heaven?’

‘…Tick-tock?’

Leaving a serious question in the minds of me and the outer gods.

***

A week passed.

The heat of the festival was doused by the water of reality and settled down.

The fact that the water's temperature was more lukewarm than cold, and perhaps even hot, would be good news for me.

Anyway, as the heat of the festival subsided, the attention on me also waned somewhat.

As the newly established central administration, centered around Bart, began to function in earnest, my workload also decreased significantly.

Taking advantage of the free time, I went out alone for an outing I had been postponing.

A forest three days away from Wolfskrig.

The destination of this outing is the very clearing where I met the Princess of Blood during a reconnaissance mission long ago.

The person I had summoned through Kkumteuli had arrived at the meeting place before me.

“No, I'm telling you, the smell reached me even though I was far away outdoors.”

What is it about being reminded of a nightmare I had almost forgotten?

Isn't it a testament to the Princess of Blood's innate wickedness?

“From what I saw, it seemed like she was completely manipulating perception with divine power, but there's no way a miracle would work on me, right? I had to smell that food garbage smell in its entirety.”

“Keehee….”

“It's a good thing I wasn't a judge. That friend Ash must have had a hard time at night. He seemed to hesitate for a moment as if something was strange.”

That day, I gave Alina's scorecard a zero.

Additionally, I left a short memo in small letters saying ‘Winning impossible.’

It was for everyone's sake.

The dish of the winner of this contest was scheduled to be sold as a special menu at a new bakery opening in the plaza.

I had to prevent poison from being released into the territory.

Fortunately, my fears did not become a reality as Karen was chosen as the winner.

For reference, Karen's dish was a dessert.

Cookies made from rice, the staple food of our territory.

“Anyway… you were in the plaza that day, right?”

Hebrun, who was humming a tune as if in a good mood, suddenly asked me.

“Keeheet, who knows?”

I won't deny it.

I know her sacred relic has a tracking function.

She has a history of using the relic's ability to chase me from Wolfskrig all the way to Gunterburk.

However, that experience also taught me that this tracking ability has a surprisingly wide range and that it cannot specify the tracking target.

“You were there. You saw me cooking too?”

Well, she probably knew I was somewhere in the plaza.

To borrow old man Brol's words, she wanted to attract my, or rather, Tribus' attention.

Her appearance on a stage that didn't suit her, like a cooking contest, must have been for that purpose.

A kind of passive protest, unbecoming of the name Princess of Blood.

It's a natural phenomenon, as she would also want to avoid a conflict with me.

To her, I would probably appear as a high-ranking necromancer who has perfectly mastered [Infernal Meteor] and easily copied Count Calvenia's 6th-level unique spell.

“Did you try my specialty dish?”

“Well, it was edible.”

Playing along appropriately, I got to the main point.

The reason I met her today is to finalize our deal.

“Is Duke Yulister von Zarhill well?”

“Thanks to you. Now he needs to regain his authority and his legion.”

The conditions I had offered in return for her help in Gunterburk were twofold.

The method to resurrect the Vampire Duke and the method to restore his power.

The former was paid as an advance.

It was time to tell her the latter.

It was a problem I had pondered for quite a long time.

***

My relationship with the Vampire Archduchy is subtle.

Officially, we are hostile factions.

From their perspective, I, or rather, Viscount Ash, am an enemy commander who has seized the territory they had ruled for three hundred years.

From the perspective of the Empire I belong to, well, there's no need to say more.

The Vampire Duke, Yulister von Zarhill, is an atrocious traitor who has left his mark on the history of the Empire.

With blasphemy and heresy added on for using necromancy as if it were a daily meal.

My memories with the Vampire Archduchy are not very good either.

I can't help it, since I experienced an [Infernal Meteor] falling on my head as soon as I opened my eyes in this world.

Until then, I had thought that the Vampire Archduchy must be destroyed as soon as possible for the growth of the Empire.

However, it was my second identity that left some room in this ill-fated relationship.

“Keeheehee….”

Tribus.

This guy is a necromancer.

Although he spouts perverted laughter and has a clear psychopathic tendency, he was originally destined to become the second Duke who would lead the golden age of the vampires and is also a member of the church.

Naturally, Tribus had maintained a moderate relationship with the existing vampire forces.

That relationship has flowed down to me, who killed him and took over his identity.

There have been several meetings and deals.

In the midst of that, there has been a slight change in my strategy for dealing with them.

From an enemy to be annihilated to a short-term trading partner.

And further, to a long-term piece that can be used effectively.

The decisive factor was this festival.

Although it was out of caution for Tribus, the Princess of Blood did not rashly lay a hand on my city.

As she knows it, Tribus is in a state of having entered Viscount Ash's command for a planned betrayal.

Tribus, a purely whimsical psychopath, will cooperate with Viscount Ash until right before the betrayal, and therefore, antagonizing Viscount Ash right now is the same as antagonizing Tribus.

In that case, I can expect that the Vampire Duke won't just invade my territory out of the blue after regaining his power.

Under this judgment, I taught his only daughter how to regain that power.

To be precise, the method to break the ‘seal’ that a priest had cast by sacrificing his life a hundred years ago.

“First, you will need to receive volunteers who will sacrifice themselves for the greater good.”

“Sacrifice for the greater good?”

“Keeheet, the ritual to regain his authority requires the hearts of vampires.”

Hebrun frowned.

It's understandable that it sounds suspicious to have to kill your own kind out of the blue.

However, it is true.

To break the ‘seal’ that binds the Vampire Duke, the blood of vampires is needed.

“Can I know the reason?”

“Because the priest who cast the seal intended it that way. He designated the blood of vampires as the release condition.”

“Don't tell me he had the bloodline in mind?”

“Keeheehee, that's right. Because it's difficult to kill your own kind due to the nature of the bloodline.”

“And what else? Is there anything else needed?”

“A lot. Twelve Necro Ogres, a thousand zombies, and….”

I listed a rather long list and delivered the method of the ritual.

The ritual requires a considerable number of undead, soul cores which are the power source of necromancy, and even the blood of their own kind, the vampires.

Still, it's a simpler process than resurrecting the Duke.

The ritual will be completed in six months at the shortest, and a year at the longest.

“If your method really works, then I'll promise you. I will reward you greatly.”

Hebrun left with those words and disappeared.

What kind of relationship I will maintain with the Vampire Archduchy is something to be seen.

Whether I will receive a friendly reward as she said.

Or whether we will maintain the strange neutral relationship we have now, I don't know.

Or she might break her promise and come to attack this side.

Either way, it doesn't matter.

By then, even if they were to attack, I am confident I can win.

Because the Viscount's army, based on the sturdy territory of Wolfskrig, is growing at an unprecedented speed.

However, the reason I left room like this is to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

A situation where the Inferno difficulty far exceeds my expectations.

A situation where it's a challenge that can only be overcome by mobilizing all possible moves and methods.

There have already been several challenges that have surpassed my predictions.

From now on, those hardships may only get worse.

“……”

I have no intention of forgetting the past.

Many people have died.

In the Battle of Burken, I lost many comrades, including Terren.

In the Battle of Wolfskrig, a quarter of the mercenary forces defending the castle walls were wiped out.

Although the casualties in my mercenary band were few, they are still the ones who killed my subordinates and comrades.

However, if I become biased by my emotions and fail to see the future, wouldn't that be a true mistake?

The saying that there are no eternal enemies or allies is close to the truth, at least in this world.

The fact that the sacred relics of the church, which I had been so hostile to, have become my most important allies is proof of this.

‘Master, you seem to have a lot on your mind.’

“I do.”

‘Come on, tell this big brother about it. The Kkumteuli counseling center is having a grand opening!’

“Stop talking nonsense and let's go back.”

Honestly, I don't know.

Whether the wish of the dead is to avenge their deaths.

Or to save more people so that their deaths are not in vain.

I have never asked.

And I will never have the chance to ask.

However, I believe that the comrades who died by my side closed their eyes hoping for the latter.

At least, I want to believe so.

***

Time flew by like an arrow.

About half a year since I was appointed to the territory.

Counting from the time I first opened my eyes in Burken Fortress, a whopping two years have passed.

This city is developing.

To the point where it changes from week to week.

“My Lord Viscount, it's complete. Now we can grind minerals just like we grind grain!”

The water wheel was completed.

The curtain of industrialization had risen.