Chapter 163

Chapter 163 - Symbol

To celebrate the punishment of the Hydra, a grand banquet was held. This was not limited to the areas that suffered damage, including the City of Water. It is a festival in which everyone belonging to Sicily participates.

"Great-grandfather's enemy is finally dead! I must absolutely see that damn bastard's corpse!"

Knights from families located far from the Hydra's appearance area came visiting.

"How much funding can our merchant company mobilize right now? We must scrape it all together and depart immediately. Competitors will swarm like flies."

Native merchant companies and foreign merchant companies stopping by for trade scrambled to visit and purchase the Hydra's by-products.

"The monster that has tormented the island has fallen to a human's axe. The Apostle State declares that all human sacrifices in Sicily have been extinguished. Disasters threatening humanity must be confronted with steel and courage exactly like this time. The blood shed in that process must be that of warriors, and turning into innocent living sacrifices must not happen."

Clerics belonging to the Apostle State also celebrated the subjugation and circulated official documents throughout the island.

They intended to take this opportunity to uproot the island's indigenous culture of offering human sacrifices whenever a Hydra appeared or natural disasters occurred.

'Was what the Apostle State aimed for when commissioning with a massive amount of Talents exactly this?'

The religious orders had an underlying goal besides defeating monsters to expand their influence as conquerors.

The fact that it wasn't a material goal like "I will have more territories!" or "Hand over the iron mine!" exactly like other nobles.

In that they aimed to expand the philanthropic value of abolishing human sacrifice, it is indeed befitting a religious group.

Dudududu!

"Might. Tell me whenever you're tired. We can rest up and go."

Grrr-!

At Eugene's whisper, Might growled as if telling him to stop joking.

Currently, the two have separated from the unit and are dashing toward the Moving Castle at full speed.

"Dad! Dad! Look over there!"

"Ah, what is it this time... wh, what is that?"

A group of farmers discovered Eugene and got terrified.

"Hannah! Get down!"

"Grandpa, why? Kyaaa!"

The heavily wrinkled old man made his granddaughter lie face down while covering her eyes. The farmer and his wife also screamed and flattened themselves on the ground.

It's not that they recognized Eugene as a noble and tried to show courtesy. The old man shouted with all his might while lying face down.

"It's the Grim Reaper! Never make eye contact. He'll reap your soul!"

The farmers saw Eugene riding alone and mistook him for the Grim Reaper from folklore.

"Sorry to startle you with this."

Might, possessing a size that defies comparison with ordinary horses.

A Wendigo hide cape and surcoat bringing to mind a Reaper's robe.

A massive axe stuck like a flag in a special saddle, exuding a vicious presence.

An incredible speed traversing the land like the wind.

To ignorant farmers, it was exactly the perfect image to mistake for the Grim Reaper.

Might, focusing solely on running in a straight line, is already an appearance closer to a spirit of the wind rather than a creature. It traverses the land of Sicily like a black squall.

Crunch.

Crack.

The stones the hooves touched shattered, and when stepping on dirt, it bounced up as if exploding.

While the Hydra dismantling was taking place, Eugene announced he would go to the Moving Castle alone.

Because whether it's cold storage or preservation reagents, there is no place more perfect than there to process the Hydra by-products.

- You cannot go alone, Viscount. Please reconsider.

Hind immediately opposed. His proper argument was that even if it slows him down, he must be equipped with escorts.

- Every minute and second is precious, so I will run at full speed. Even if escorts are attached, they will fall behind anyway.

- You are no longer a wandering knight. Your body is responsible for Prides numbering in the thousands, and including city residents, over a hundred thousand people.

Rex also opposed, but persuading him wasn't difficult.

- Don't you want to possess the highest quality monster composite bow? 100% tension is better than 90%, isn't it?

- That is obvious, of course!

- Therefore, freezing, refrigerating, and alchemy processing are urgent. Because the faster the muscles and ligaments are worked on, the better the quality becomes.

- Are you allowed to speak so cheaply like this?

Whether it's weapons or luxury goods, the closer one gets to high-end specifications, exorbitant costs are exchanged to raise the quality by 1%. Once it reaches the very top tier, it cannot even be solved with money.

- Minor Chief. The City of Water is the closest stronghold from here. The warehouses and alchemy workshops there are extremely poor. The spoils of war obtained from this hunt are the greatest treasure in the history of our clan. Shouldn't they rightfully be handled in top condition?

A witch looking to be in her early 40s defended Eugene.

She is the leader leading the medics and a veteran witch. An direct disciple of the three High Witches who forced themselves to receive the prophecy of annihilation, ruined their health, and retired.

As a matrilineal society, even Rex, the Minor Chief and leader of the army, had a hard time ignoring that authority.

- Rest quietly here. I am busy, so I will be going first.

This was the reason Eugene was running like a post horse right now. Having run without resting or sleeping, he finally arrived at his destination.

"Lord?!"

"How come without even an escort..."

The Dwarf guards guarding the castle gate were startled and welcomed their Lord. They were filled more with bewilderment and fear rather than gladness.

'Did he perhaps suffer a defeat?'

Covered in sweat and dust, a tired face, fleeing alone on horseback. With these combined, it was a natural thought.

"Not a single person was killed in action, and I chopped off the Hydra's necks one by one. I found 7 attached. Do not worry uselessly."

"N, no, we had absolutely no such irreverent thoughts."

Having their inner thoughts discovered, the Dwarf guards sweated profusely and gave a military salute.

"You suffered, Might. Go to the stable and rest comfortably."

Grrr-.

Eugene kissed Might's cheek and headed to the audience chamber.

It seems the guy missed the Moving Castle too. Having spent time in Sicily abundantly eating chicken and tuna, the grass growing in the magical feed trough is special as expected.

"The Lord has arrived."

The stable keepers noticed before even seeing Might's entrance.

Because the hundreds of warhorses that had been comfortably sprawled out here and there suddenly stood at rigid attention and began to shrink back.

Grrrrr-.

Ne, neigh.

Snort.

The strict enforcer of the Moving Castle's stable had returned.

* * *

After warping the castle to the wasteland near the fierce battlefield, Eugene fell fast asleep.

It was a given. Tracking the Hydra without resting much after the Orc subjugation, and then traversing to the Moving Castle after hunting the bastard.

"Uuuum."

"Are you coming to your senses?"

Dawning consciousness, Eugene felt a soft palm stroking his cheek. Even the Elf's perfume that wafted in a beat faster than that.

"How long did I sleep?"

"A full day has passed. Considering the battles and forced marches you undertook, even this would be insufficient."

Smooch.

At the sensation of lips touching his cheek, Eugene opened his eyes.

"I genuinely welcome your return."

Golden eyes like the sun, golden hair like sunlight were filling his vision.

"I wish you would sleep more."

"My recovery is faster here too. Nothing is hurt anywhere, and I already feel as if my body has regained its vitality."

"Still, getting more shut-eye is..."

"I really am fine."

Eugene, pulling away Valda's hand pressing on his chest, felt something strange.

"I don't think I took a bath from what I recall."

Eugene had been changed into clean silk clothes.

Clean without a single speck of sweat or dust anywhere on his body. It was refreshing not only in places like his cheeks and neck, but even his stomach and groin.

"Because resting in such a dirty state wouldn't allow you to sleep completely."

When Valda pointed to one side of the room, Dark Elf maids bowed their heads.

"They truly suffered a lot washing you cleanly without waking up your unconscious self."

"..."

Eugene unknowingly lifted his pants and looked.

The secret garden that had become a magpie's nest from battles and forced marches was neatly trimmed like a willow tree.

"Why are you acting like that?"

Unlike Eugene who bowed his head in rapidly rising embarrassment, Valda is composed. Because leaving one's naked body to a maid is not a shameful thing as a person of noble status.

"As expected, your fatigue hasn't fully dissipated."

"It's fully dissipated. Let us head out quickly. There must be many waiting for me too."

Eugene sensed the boisterous noise coming from the 1st floor of the castle. Valda returning from Catania must also be to direct the banquet.

"You all suffered... a lot. Thank you."

Before leaving the luxurious room, he expressed his gratitude to the maids.

"Not at all."

"It was what we rightfully ought to do."

"Congratulations on the great subjugation."

As ones selected as maids, they are young ladies from reasonably successful families even within the clan. Their noble faces are filled solely with joy and pride.

'Am I the weird one?'

The embarrassment here seems to belong entirely to Eugene.

Looking at the politely gathered hands of the women, it feels as if he can recall the sensation of their touches remaining on his skin.

"..."

Eugene shook his head and quickly moved his feet out of the room.

* * *

A lavish party is undergoing within the banquet hall in the castle.

Nobles, merchant company heads, and mercenary captains from all over Sicily ate and drank crazily since broad daylight.

"The lance in this grasp stabbed the Hydra countless times!"

A Dark Elf knight reeking of alcohol from his entire body climbed onto a dining table and raised his fist.

"Truly incredible."

"We saw from afar too. Compared to the sight of the knights charging, the Roman jousting matches were merely child's play."

When mercenary captains clapped and flattered, the Dark Elf knights got even more excited.

"Of course! No matter how fiercely you hold tournaments, would it match actual combat?"

"Have you ever held a lance and stabbed a Hydra? Don't speak if you haven't. It's an entirely different level of taste from piercing Orcs or wild boars and such."

Mercenary captains, merchant company associates, and nobles seeking entertainment responded with cheers. Braves who established great war merits rightfully deserved such treatment.

"Damn it. I'm dying of envy."

Sicilyn knights gulped down alcohol with faces mixed half with acknowledgment and half with jealousy.

Eugene, watching the scene from the seat of honor, popped a grape into his mouth.

Moving the Moving Castle here wasn't solely because of the Hydra's carcass. It was also to entertain the nobles and make the Meyer family's authority known throughout the entire island.

"Oh my god! I've never seen a banquet held piling up ice like this."

Valda actively utilized the power of the refrigerator-freezers.

At one spot in the banquet hall, a 3m tall ice sculpture is decorating it, and ice cubes meant to be put in alcohol or fruit drinks were piled up fully.

Clink.

Gulp gulp.

"Kyaa!"

Perhaps due to a refreshing coolness they had never tasted before, the guests were drinking far more profusely than at other banquets.

The host, Eugene, as well as Valda had to accept numerous toasts.

Since everyone is drunk, there are many who move more instinctively. Those offering drinks to Valda as if possessed by her beauty outnumber those offering completely to Eugene, the person in power, by several times.

"It is an honor to meet the Mage of the Emerald Forest. Please accept the drink this lowly one offers!"

"Subordinates loyal to his valor as a knight! Ev-en reaching this wonderful castle! I felt envious of the Viscount Excellency looking at many things, but the best among them is Valda as expected! The gods are truly too much. To push all this fortune to one person. Uhuhuuk..."

Among them, there was even a person with a habit of crying when drunk. Or they might just be crying out of envy.

"Somehow, it feels like deja vu?"

"...Be quiet. Whose fault is all of this."

The noble Elf lady returning from the restroom glared at the slyly smiling Eugene.

Valda did not refuse incoming drinks and treated the guests doing her best as the prospective lady of the house.

"Wahahaha! You truly are a strong drinker! I did hear Elves drink better than Dwarves."

"Indeed a dignity befitting the advisor of the Hydra Slayer!"

Valda sighed seeing the wine glasses approaching from all directions as soon as she returned from the restroom. However, on the other hand, she is also satisfied.

While Eugene's great achievement of subjugating the Hydra shakes the entire island, the banquet is a massive success.

Every visiting guest admired the majesty of the Moving Castle and was touched by the special food and alcohol that could only be tasted here.

Gulp.

When Valda emptied her glass in one go, the knight who had handed it to her stomped his feet in excitement. He's a knight who came seeking to express gratitude for making the bastard pay the blood price for his great-grandfather.

"I swear upon the name of our Kirson family. There is nothing in Sicily that can compare to Viscount's honor and Valda's beauty! If anyone objects to this, I will correct their wicked thoughts!"

When Valda smiled holding the empty glass upside down, they praised that hearty nature from all sides.

Beauty and elegance, monster-like drinking capacity and toughness. A woman possessing all of these together, one couldn't help but be charmed as a knight.

'Now Meyer's legitimacy and dignity in Sicily must stand upon a solid rock.'

This too is a branch of domestic help. If it's for that, she can go to the restroom as many times as she wants.

* * *

On the roof of the Moving Castle, Hydra hides are hitting the wind. Dwarf blacksmiths, Dark Elf hide artisans, and witches gathered and moved busily.

Because strong winds always blow here, it's well-ventilated, which is a great help to the workers' health. There's a facility that sprays water stored in the castle and a magically operated forge.

It was the optimal place to process monster hides and organs.

"It truly is a kick-ass color."

Rex clasped his hands together like a young girl with ecstatic eyes.

"It is incredible. It was a cool hide even when it was alive, but this is truly..."

Eugene also nodded his head.

When wiping away the dirt and dust and polishing it with various chemicals, it gave off a shine to the point of thinking 'So this is a masterpiece!'.

Whenever the widely spread hide was hit by the wind and fluttered, the geometric patterns squirmed, giving the momentum of putting them into hypnosis.

"Beautiful."

The sight of the knights, servants, and artisans looking at the hide all having hazy faces made him wonder if they were truly hypnotized.

"The Hydra is only recorded in our ancestors' records to have fought and retreated. I never imagined we would truly come to acquire its hide."

To Rex, who has the blood of a nomad and hunter flowing in him, the emotion seems particularly distinct.

"If you go to the Imperial Palace of the Eastern Empire across the sea, it is said there is a super-sized carpet completed by a great artisan family over 10 generations. Have you heard of it, Sir Knight?"

"No. To make it over 10 generations, it must indeed be an incredible treasure."

"It's said it's decorating the back of the Caliph's throne. Those granting audiences are said to receive an illusion of seeing a halo from the Caliph thanks to that carpet."

"Isn't hanging it for such a purpose the point in the first place?"

"Yes. However, compared to this hide, the Caliph's carpet and such would be no different from trash."

Since the Hydra is also a type of snake, it possesses uniquely special patterns. The patterns and colors resemble those of a viper, appearing extremely threatening.

Furthermore, as is the case with large monsters, the mystery of a powerful predator dwells in the hide even after its death.

"Uheuht!"

The skin of the working Dwarves or Dark Elves alike was all covered in goosebumps. Some even shuddered their bodies as if right after urinating.

Because whenever they looked at the dark brown patterns engraved on the hide, they felt an illusion as if they were placed in front of a giant snake's jaws.

"Take breaks while working. You'll collapse at this rate."

"I am fine, Lord."

"You don't look fine at all to me."

Eugene forcibly peeled away Worker, who was acting stubborn with sunken eyes, and sent him to the resting area.

"Thank you. No matter how much we told him, he absolutely wouldn't listen..."

The primary disciple Dwarf bowed his head. Like other Dwarves, his beard was also sticking out jaggedly as if struck by a static electricity bomb.

"At this rate, even if made into armor, would you even be able to wear it?"

"It is like this now because it is clumped into one mass. Once cut to make armor and after receiving the witches' processes, wearing it won't be a problem. Th, then I shall..."

Perhaps worried Eugene would send him to the resting area too, the primary disciple swiftly returned to his workplace.

Taking a rest leaving this wonderful hide is rather a painful thing as an artisan. During the rest, if other bastards progress the work, wouldn't his own touch get on it that much less?

"Put all the chemicals in."

"Th, this much?"

"Didn't I tell you to put it all in, did I tell you to put 'more' in? Just pour in a whole sack."

In another place, witches were picking on apprentice witches while processing tendons and muscles.

A composite bow made using a monster's carcass becomes an incredible strong bow capable of penetrating right through unless it's iron armor.

"Ah darn it. Cannot do your work properly? Do you not see a speck of fat left on the tendon here?"

"I am sorry."

"Fucking sorry ends it? If it's made into a bowstring while fat is attached, invisible rot seeps into the inside."

The Dark Elf woman who raised a spicy-looking palm glanced sideways at Eugene for a moment. Then she stealthily lowered her hand and scratched the back of her head. It was truly natural.

It seems she was about to give a good picking-on, but realized the stern Lord was observing and held back.

"If so, the internal tissues of the string rot little by little and then could snap during battle. Then whether it's our warrior, or someone the warrior was trying to save, they die exactly like that. The victory that could be reaped with that single arrow could also evaporate."

The witch's words are not an exaggeration. An arrow popping the eye of a medium-to-large monster, an arrow piercing the neck of a commander leading an army.

There are exceptionally many such instances in the history of war. And that stems from a stray arrow shot by a mere archer.

"From now on, scrutinize it until your eyeballs fall out. Understood?"

"Yes! Hiccup!"

"Sigh."

Eugene and Rex looked at each other.

"A bit scary, isn't it?"

"She would have to be at least that much to operate a matrilineal society."

From the witches' appearance, a military discipline with a different feeling from the army wafted profusely. Just bringing to mind hospitals in Eugene's memory.

* * *

Truly large and powerful high nobles or kings of each country possess special royal guards.

The Immortals who participated in this Sicilyn expedition as enemies are also the personal knights of the Eastern Empire's Caliph.

For their existence itself to outwardly act as a deterrent threatening opponents, and inwardly act as a symbol establishing the monarch's authority to the vassals.

Therefore, the members' skills are skills, but equipment to make them special is needed. There needed to be something capable of establishing dignity just by looking at them.

That is the reason why passable high nobles have a hard time properly equipping a royal guard.

In the case of the Immortals, they exuded a sense of intimidation through the triad of Eastern Empire specially-made full-body scale armor, Zweihanders, and height surpassing the average.

Now the Meyer family also achieved the conditions to create a royal guard.

"Are you truly bestowing this precious armor upon us?"

Hind and the tribe knights, receiving the prototype Hydra armor, asked in trembling voices.

"It is a regret, but it is not a bestowal. It is standard-issue equipment granted as a free rental while serving under me."

"It is a reward sufficiently exceeding our station! Because this is a treasure even the great Lords of Roman would covet!"

The retainers also received Hydra armors. They are armors slightly singed by fire or ruined, of a lower quality than the knights'.

"Uaaaa."

"We will serve with all our loyalty!"

Of course, even with just that, tears of emotion burst out here and there. Befitting retainers, their postures did not get disheveled trying to maintain discipline, and they only shed thick tears drop by drop.

Because they knew this singed leather armor was also an unsellable treasure with money.

Because it was difficult to process, it had to be used as a whole piece, or because it was a weak area, multiple sheets had to be overlaid, so parts that were too heavy were made into horse armor.

When some fully armed knights and retainers stood in front of the Moving Castle like that, it was truly a spectacle.

"Lord. Please have mercy on us too!"

"I will issue them sequentially as they are completed, so don't worry."

The tribe knights who hadn't received armors yet looked at Eugene with desperate eyes.

"If the momentum is like this with merely 8 people, how wonderful would it be if everyone lines up fully equipped? I am greedier for it than you guys as your monarch."

Riders and warhorses wrapped wholly in Hydra hide without a gap.

It is terrifying, as if thousands of vipers were clumped together and squeezed into the shape of a knight.

"You won't have to train to harbor venom in your eyes and pressure others now. It gives me goosebumps even seeing you as an ally, you brats."

At Eugene's words, the knights laughed heartily, and the retainers struggled to hold back their rising corners of mouth.

"Isn't allowing this precious armor to retainers excessive? I am worried vain wind might already enter them."

The Dark Elf man who is the most senior among the tribe knights spoke worriedly.

"I understand your worry, Sir, but it is a necessary task. Now you guys do not function merely as my sword."

"Yes? What does that mean."

The knights, born soldiers, made puzzled faces.

"The enemies who will directly fight my army are not many. Rather, there are far more ordinary commoners like farmers, laborers, and herders watching from afar."

Eugene pointed at the knights and retainers wearing the prototypes.

"Just seeing it once! Implanting a memory that will last a lifetime from a single look is important. Majesty and threat must be harmoniously blended into that. Because a person is bound to be more careful of someone they fear than someone they revere."

There is no monarch who cares about the concept of propaganda as much as Eugene.

The vassals focused only on the sturdiness and weight of the armor they would gain this time, but Eugene was the opposite.

He paid more attention to the threatening viper patterns engraved on the Hydra's hide.

"The vigor is sufficient, so what's left now is the quantitative aspect. When seen once, it must be able to fill the entire field of vision. For that, just you Sirs is insufficient. It'll give a full feeling only when the retainers also stand in line."

Eugene formed a rectangle using the thumbs and index fingers of both hands and paced around hither and thither. A satisfied smile was engraved on his lips.

"We don't really know what it means, but if the Lord desires it."

The knights just took it as it is. Since it wasn't just once or twice their Lord acted like this. What's important was that he always brought in profits surpassing their cognition.