Chapter 101

Chapter 101 - Opening for Business (3)

There were a total of three groups of knights observing the Moving Castle. Two of them gave up on entering and left for other places.

However, the group led by Knight Evans, who had hunted the Direwolf, remained.

"We are entering that castle."

"Sir Knight!"

"Do you have any better ideas? Are you going to be satisfied with just one Direwolf pelt?"

"That is..."

The mercenary who tried to stop him out of fear closed his mouth.

It was because the pups inside the cages were shivering violently wrapped in soaking wet blankets.

At this rate, they would catch a cold by the time they reached a proper resting place, and there was a high probability they would die.

"Think of each one of them as being worth their weight in gold. Every one that dies means your extra bonuses vanishing."

Money was always the sole factor that made mercenaries overcome their fear.

"There is nothing to be afraid of. That castle must definitely be the Moving Castle that appeared in Bonyard. That is also a place where people live."

Evans spoke with certainty.

The knights who gave up and left were from the countryside, so they were ill-informed.

However, Evans and his fellow knights were from influential families here. They grasped high-quality information through various routes.

"The man standing on the balcony is probably Sir Eugene."

"We couldn't confirm his face because he was far away, but that kind of physique and aura aren't common."

The knights agreed. Having fought on the same side in the tournament as members of the Clear Stream faction, they couldn't forget that intense presence.

The influential nobles in southern Gord also grasped that Eugene had become the master of the Moving Castle.

"Bonyard's victorious knight!"

"The fortress destroyer!"

"I heard he even cut down the Royal Guards of the Roman Emperor with a single strike."

The mercenaries chattered one by one about the rumors they had heard from their colleagues.

"Weren't you on the same side in the tournament?"

"The honorable Sir Eugene will surely welcome us warmly."

'What the hell, he's a total stranger and it wasn't even a real battle.'

The mercenaries cursed inwardly. Anyway, these things called knights were bastards with a completely different mindset from normal people.

"Now stop spouting nonsense about evil spirits and quietly follow me."

"U-understood."

When a knight of Evans's caliber persuaded them this patiently, the mercenaries had no choice but to follow.

No matter how terrifying superstitions were, if they kept resisting, they would soon have to worry about getting stabbed.

Swooosh!

As they reached the castle gate, the downpour intensified.

"Is there a hole in the sky?"

"It seems like it won't stop for at least a day."

Since there was a structure protruding above the gate, they could at least avoid the rain just by standing close to it. However, they couldn't just stand there forever.

Thump. Thump.

Taking a deep breath, Evans knocked on the gate twice.

Rumble!

Then, immediately, the gate moved with a heavy sound.

Once it fully opened, the first thing that met their eyes was the massive hall inside. And the light from the glass tubes illuminating the entire place.

"It's not something to be compared with lanterns."

"There are no candles burning inside. They trapped the light! That's magic!"

The torches and candles mercenaries knew were merely objects that turned deep darkness into bright darkness.

In this era, true light was a power that only the sun could bestow.

However, the brilliant light sources from the glass tubes at the top of the hall completely drove away the darkness without allowing even a single speck to remain.

"I haven't seen anything like this even in ducal households, no, the royal palace."

As expected of those from wealthy families, Evans and the knights had been invited to numerous banquets. They even visited Gord's royal castle, but this was their first time seeing such a sight.

At that time, a knight and Dwarf warriors appeared from across the hall, which was elevated higher than them.

Gulp.

Swallowing their saliva, everyone tensely placed their hands on the hilts of their weapons.

It was because they spotted the head of a massive black-horned demonic beast hung in the center of the hall.

It was so lifelike and imposing that for a moment, they mistook it for a living demonic beast glaring at them.

"It's a trophy. Everyone calm down and take your hands off your weapons."

By the time Evans issued the order, the knight who had stopped on the railing above the demonic beast's head looked down at the guests.

Though they hadn't exchanged a single word yet, everyone instinctively realized that knight was the very person who had slain the demonic beast and turned it into a trophy.

"I am Eugene Meier, the Castellan of this place. For what reason have you visited my castle?"

"I am Evans, a knight of the Bellingham family."

Evans stepped forward as the representative.

"Following the strict orders of Count Andar, we encountered severe weather while standing at the vanguard of the New Year Subjugation, and urgently needed a place to take shelter."

In his brief introduction, Evans packed in maximum justification.

The power of his family, the great cause of the subjugation war showing loyalty to Count Andar, and even the honor of standing at the vanguard. To make it hard to refuse by any ordinary standard.

Eugene almost burst into laughter because his inner thoughts were too transparent.

"You and I share the connection of fighting on the same side in the tournament. I had no intention of treating you poorly from the moment I opened the gate."

"Thank you."

The knights felt relieved at Eugene's hospitable response.

"Have you eaten?"

"Due to hurrying down, we couldn't..."

"We will serve you warm food, so please follow the guide."

The newly arrived servants and slaves welcomed the guests. Eugene's gaze shifted to the steel cages.

"What are those?"

"They are Direwolf pups captured alive during the subjugation."

"Having rushed through this heavy rain, their condition must surely be poor. There are competent veterinarians inside the castle. How about leaving them to their care?"

Evans hesitated. Because it was an incredibly precious spoil of war, he felt burdened leaving it in the hands of others.

"I will gratefully accept your consideration."

His deliberation was short.

The person in front of him right now was not some nameless knight or mercenary captain. He was the master of this massive castle, favored by Count Andar, and a knight with immense martial prowess.

Hesitating itself could become a grave insult.

"Where are your horses?"

"They are at the castle entrance. We thought riding them inside would be disrespectful."

"Excellent. We will move those horses to the stable as well. We will wipe them down and provide good feed."

"I will undoubtedly report your honor to my family and Count Andar!"

Moved by the hospitality beyond their imagination, the knights bowed deeply.

* * *

Thanks to the diligent internal reorganization efforts so far, they could entertain Evans's group in a small banquet guest room rather than the communal dining hall.

"Since we are also busy with internal maintenance, we haven't prepared much. Still, we prepared it with sincerity, so please enjoy."

Eugene's words were not mere pleasantries. Well-roasted beef, beer, and some fruits. In terms of variety, it was a simple spread.

'Beer instead of wine.'

'This hospitality doesn't befit a noble owning such an incredible castle.'

Two immature knights even harbored such disrespectful thoughts inwardly. However, everything changed the moment the meal began.

"...!"

"I-is this really beef?"

The knights lost their minds at the meat quality and flavor melting on their tongues. The more they chewed, the more sweetness and savory flavors swept through their mouths.

"Is it edible?"

"It is way beyond edible!"

"I have been invited to many banquets, but this is my first time tasting such a delicacy. How on earth does it have this texture and aroma?"

To a knight, a sense of fashion and gastronomy was as important as martial prowess.

Eugene smiled at the knights who wore faces full of admiration.

"There is a low-temperature storage inside the castle. Since they were aged there, it will be different from the meat you've encountered so far."

In this era, meat was mostly roasted immediately after slaughter. Afterward, it had to be salted with enough salt to burn the tongue or turned into jerky to preserve it.

Although dry-aging was possible in some regions, due to technological limitations, it was merely a process focused on preservation.

Beef that went through perfect wet-aging followed by being seasoned with various spices was essentially an out-of-place artifact flavor not permitted in the current era.

Gulp gulp.

The young knight who had been inwardly looking for wine emptied his cold beer halfway the moment he took a sip.

Refined in Valda's workshop and infused with Elf special additives, it was already exhibiting a taste of another dimension.

"Aren't these dates? It's my first time seeing undried ones."

In Gord, only completely dried ones were distributed. Tasting raw dates for the first time, the knights moved their hands busily at the crisp refreshing taste.

The imposing castle and the monstrous combat prowess shown in the tournament. The atmosphere, which had been stiff because of those two things, instantly relaxed.

Observing that, Eugene stroked his chin.

'Once the maintenance is properly finished and we host them, we could melt anyone we receive as a guest.'

If he restored and operated the luxurious VIP banquet hall and public bath, filled the storage with various foods, and prepared beautiful dancers, acrobats, professional chefs, and musicians?

Sometimes, it could bring about results that even hundreds of troops couldn't achieve.

Eugene had no intention of navigating this world solely with martial prowess. Had he deemed it necessary, he was willing to endlessly utilize the power of pleasure, just like Panis.

And depending on how it was used, the Moving Castle perfectly met the conditions for the purpose of hedonism.

* * *

After the meal ended, the knights were guided to the stable.

It was because their restlessness over the important spoil of war, the Direwolf pups, was obvious.

"This is already beyond the level of a stable."

Evans thought he was being surprised too often today. To the point where he was rather becoming calm from continuously seeing such astonishing sights.

Their warhorses were having a happy time as if they were on vacation.

Some were frantically munching on the crops in the central feed troughs. Whether it was delicious, their innocent eyes curved into crescents.

Brrrt!

Neigh!

Some were constantly scratching their backs and necks against large stationary brushes.

They continually rubbed their backs and cheeks against various types of brushes—ones laid on the floor, ones standing straight like trees, and ones hanging in the air.

As if finally relieving the resentment of the itchiness they suffered for a long time.

Some ran around making friends with the horses of the castle's cavalry. It was thanks to the spaciousness that allowed racing even though it was a stable.

The knights widened their eyes at the sight of Dark Elf warriors managing the horses everywhere.

"The Blackhand Mercenary Group!"

"Are you keeping them under your command?"

Their notorious reputation for slaughtering overwhelmingly more knights than any other mercenary group was famous across the continent.

Especially for the Gord knights, who lacked horsemanship compared to other countries. The hit-and-run tactics of the most elite mounted archers were an object of terror.

"They are loyal friends. It's truly reassuring having them stay together in the castle."

"Are you joking? Nothing in this world could be further from loyalty than those guys!"

As famous as the Dark Elf warriors' skills were, or rather even more so, was their arrogance.

Their attitude of looking down on all races other than their own as inferior and even viewing nobles as laughable doubled their notoriety.

However, from the appearance of the tribal warriors offering a disciplined military salute upon spotting Eugene, no sense of chosen elitism could be found.

A lord-vassal relationship. That single phrase sufficed; they were filled only with absolute politeness.

"Are you here, Castellan? The ones you entrusted to us shouldn't have any problems."

A Dark Elf veterinarian showed them the Direwolf pups, which had become fluffy and dry.

Without any shivering, they were dozing off, presumably having finished eating until full.

"Sir Evans. Do you feel relieved now?"

"...I offer my sincere gratitude for the hospitality."

Evans and the other knights bowed deeper than their initial polite nod.

'When I saw him at the tournament, I just thought he was a knight with incredible strength, but this is...'

'There was a reason Count Andar and the high-ranking nobles treated him exceptionally well to an odd degree.'

It was because, apart from the excellent treatment, they realized Eugene was a far more powerful noble than they had imagined.

-Count. Even if he is the victor, isn't this too much?

-I will go to his quarters and demand an explanation.

That was the case during the long banquet after the tournament ended. As the victor, Eugene, who should have been lifting the mood, was absent the whole time except for the first few days.

However, Count Andar appeased the complaining lower-ranking knights without showing a single sign of discomfort.

At the time, they thought the Count let it slide because of his personality of favoring the strong, but seeing it now, that wasn't everything.

'It was because he was someone who could act that way.'

The power he commanded.

There was truly one more simple yet absolute reason.

* * *

"You have treated us so excellently, I wish to offer something in return."

"What reward could I possibly desire for hosting honorable knights?"

"When you put it that way, I can't stay still even more."

At Evans's signal, a hired hunter stepped forward and unfurled a map. Evans pointed to a few locations on the incredibly crude drawing.

"These are hidden trails leading into the Demonic Forest."

It was an era where good information was thoroughly privatized and used to consolidate power. For an outsider like Eugene, information about such shortcuts was precious and could not be bought even with money.

Waiting for Eugene's cartographer to copy it down, Evans spoke.

"Not far beyond here, it is said an army of Gnolls has arisen."

"An army? Not a tribal unit?"

"Yes. They've shown signs of gathering on a large scale since half a year ago."

Sociable monsters have their own languages and use a crude level of writing.

However, due to their excessive ferocity, they rarely managed to band together beyond a certain level.

"In fact, southern Gord was originally a land where Gnolls settled and flourished. As our ancestors settled and pioneered, they were pushed back into the Demonic Forest."

"Surely they aren't trying to reclaim their homeland or something, are they?"

"No. Gnolls are fierce and simple-minded, but they aren't idiots."

Evans smiled and waved his hand.

"They know humans have grown too powerful to be defeated. But plundering is a different story."

"That is also the reason the three Counts gathered to host a joint tournament. We needed a New Year Subjugation with a stronger intensity than usual."

The other knights supplemented Evans's explanation.

"If the Gnolls have risen at the army level, isn't it dangerous to move individually like this? You should respond with an army as well."

The knights laughed at Eugene's question.

"A variable occurred with that."

"It seems a great chaos erupted in the Demonic Forest recently."

Eugene's mind suddenly tingled, and something came to mind.

"The Great Chieftain who united nearly a thousand Gnolls died, and the army was severely damaged and shattered as well."

"They probably had an internal conflict or fought an exceptionally strong giant monster."

Thanks to that, the plan to respond with an army was canceled, and the orientation of the New Year Subjugation changed to merely increasing its scale; that was the full story behind this event.

'Is this because of me?'

Eugene recalled unleashing the monsters the Moving Castle had harbored right in the middle of the Demonic Forest.

Not only the Trolls or Orcs Eugene saw, but the Gnoll army that was planning to invade southern Gord also seemed to have fought a massive bloody battle.

Evans pointed to a location on the map.

"The Gnoll speculated to be the Great Chieftain's successor is currently here leading about 100 subordinates."

Among monsters, variants occasionally appeared. This phenomenon happened particularly often among species like Goblins, Orcs, and Gnolls that reproduce quickly and form packs.

Such individuals often gathered their kind on an impossibly large scale and caused disasters in the area.

Priests used to explain that they were great warriors sent down by an evil god to spread malice in the world.

"According to hunters operating in the Shield Mountain Range, it was a massive Gnoll covered in pitch-black fur."

"It's just a Gnoll in the end, isn't it?"

Eugene was thinking of something like a Hobgoblin among Goblins.

"They said it was more than twice the size of other Gnolls, with forearms like logs. Against something like that, even Trolls would slowly avoid it. It didn't raise an army for nothing."

Eugene's eyes sparkled.

Imagining the form of the massive black Gnoll, he felt the hunting instinct flaring up within him rather than a sense of danger.

His palms itched, and his appetite stirred. Because it was about time to craft the next masterpiece after the Wendigo trophy anyway.