CH 100

Galfredik had grown bigger and bulkier since their last meeting. Apparently, he had hired mercenaries to subjugate evil lands in the Archivold marquisate and the Beogalan barony. His transformation had come about after he drank the blood of the intermediate-rank monsters he killed in the evil lands.

‘He should be about as strong as I was just after the subjugation of the Tywin family’s dungeon.’

Galfredik was Eugene’s vassal, and as such, Eugene could immediately grasp Galfredik’s level as a vampire. In addition, Galfredik was originally an incredibly skilled knight. Since he was always training and gaining experience, he would naturally become stronger over time.

“Brantia?” Galfredik asked.

“Yes. Things turned out that way. We will be departing soon, so keep that in mind,” Eugene responded.

“If that’s what Master says, then, of course, I will follow you. But what’s going on all of a sudden?” Galfredik asked.

“Well…” Eugene began to explain what had happened with Count Winslon. Eugene thought of Galfredik as one of the only people he could share everything with.

“Hooh! The Duke of Batla?” Galfredik exclaimed.

“Do you know about it as well?” Eugene asked. 

Galfredik responded with a wide grin. “No. It’s the first time I’m hearing about it.”

“…Then why are you pretending that you know about it?” Eugene asked.

“Haha! It’s a duke, right? A duke is part of royalty, which means that they have the right to challenge the throne. In other words, if you do well, you could even become the king of Brantia, Master,” Galfredik responded.

“I’m not interested in that,” Eugene refused.

“What?”

“Kiek?!” Both Eugene’s vassal and the spirit were surprised by his response. Eugene calmly stated, “Why are you so surprised? Becoming the Duke of Batla may be a possibility, but do you really think I can ascend the throne as Brantia’s king? I’m a vampire.”

“Well… Is there really no way?” Galfredik mumbled.

“Right! Sir Eugene is destined to become the great demon king! Kiek?!” Mirian started to scream, then was stifled as Eugene shoved her into the leather pocket.

“I would not want to. Let’s say the impossible happened and I became the King of Brantia. You want me to stay locked up in a castle and play king? I should just live out my days comforting and playing house with the nobles and lords of Brantia?” Eugene said.

“You have a point. My head hurts just thinking about it,” Galfredik responded.

There were stark differences between being a lord and a knight. No matter how outstanding a knight was on the battlefield, it didn’t mean that they would make an excellent king. The two paths were entirely different and the education they received was different as well. As such, oftentimes, even successful knights were incapable of managing even a small territory properly, which was why most of them recruited agents to take care of domestic affairs.

“Anyway, let’s focus on taking over the Batla Duchy for now. That way, I can complete the entire set,” Eugene said.

“Hehe. Is that the true reason? You’re coveting the equipment?” Galfredik asked.

“…Maybe a little bit?” Eugene replied with a grin. Obtaining all the other pieces aside from Wolfslaughter and Madarazika was definitely one of his primary objectives. In fact, he was more interested in the shield and the armor than the title of duke. Since the two remaining pieces were made for defense, he was looking forward to how great they could be.

“Whatever the case, I’m good! Haha! The name of Rowan Galfredik will make its way across the sea! Ah, will it be just the two of us?” Galfredik asked.

“Luke and the wizard will be with us. Ah, and I intend to take Partec’s group as well,” Eugene responded.  

“Good. Slave Number One is from Brantia, so he should be quite useful, and I’m sure that Partec and the lads will prove their worth as well. They’ve been getting quite good as of late,” Galfredik commented.

“Hmm? Did you teach them while I was away?” Eugene asked.

“There’s no point in training with anyone who’s weaker than Partec. That piece of luggage you gave me is just too weak,” Galfredik responded.

“Ah, come to think of it, we should take your aide as well. How is she? Is she adapting well?” Eugene asked.

“She’s become a little obedient,” Galfredik answered.

“Hooh?” Eugene expressed his curiosity. Although she put up the pretense of being a knight, it still became obvious that she was raised in a sheltered environment as a direct descendant of a marquisate. So how did Galfredik make her obedient?

“This is all I need. Hehe.” Galfredik grinned while tapping on his scabbard. 

Eugene instantly understood. “I see. Indeed, there’s no better teacher than a good beating.” 

“That’s the way it works, right? Haha! Anyway, who’s the lad that came with you? He looked pretty strong,” Galfredik commented. Galfredik was a strong knight to begin with, and after becoming Eugene’s vassal, he had grown to the point of accurately estimating an opponent’s skills by simply observing the air around them and the way they walked. Lanslo Drak was exuding one of the most extraordinary auras among the knights Galfredik had encountered until now.

“He is one of Count Winslon’s knights. He seemed pretty useful, so I asked to have him accompany me for a little while. He’s a quarter elf, and he’s pretty strong,” Eugene answered.

“Hooh. Can I have a go at him?” Galfredik asked.

“Do as you please, but don’t injure him,” Eugene responded.

“Very well. Hehe. I will have to play with him as a greeting,” Galfredik was overjoyed.

“That’s right. Big bear! No, Gal! You show him! You need to determine the hierachy and show him how things are from the get-go!” Mirian crawled out of the leather pocket and twirled around Galfredik’s head while shouting.

“Gal? Determine… the hierachy? I think the spirit just said something. Is that right?” Galfredik said with a frown.

“Kiek?”

Eugene was astonished and asked. “You can hear it now?”

“Yeah. I can barely see something that looks like a fruit fly. I can hear a whiny voice as well,” Galfredik responded.

Eugene was surprised, but it made sense. Indeed, just as he had grown stronger throughout the expedition, Galfredik had grown stronger as well. Since the two vampires shared a bond formed by a covenant of the soul, it would be possible for Galfredik to express some of Eugene’s powers as well.

“I’m not a fruit fly! My voice is enchanting! Don’t you know that they call me the minstrel of the spirit world?! Kieeeek!” Mirian retorted angrily.

“How noisy,” Galfredik muttered.

Clap!

“Kiek!” Mirian screamed after being caught between Galfredik’s thick palms. She was squashed flat, but she escaped the palms by softening herself like water. Then, she began to wail loudly. “Kiehehekheuek! Even the big bear is looking down on me now! Oh, who could possibly understand my sorrows! Ah~! Spirits, please come and listen to my story!”

Eugene immediately noticed that the spirit was about to enter a monologue. As such, he shoved her into the leather pocket and tightly sealed the entrance before she could even begin.

***

“I will go! Please, please take me!” While Galfredik had grown stronger during Eugene’s absence, Romari appeared even more devastated than before. The bags under her eyes had grown a shade darker, and it was now nigh impossible to tell whether she was a human or a raccoon. When Eugene had just left, Romari had been filled with excitement at the thought of studying the twin-headed ogre undead. After all, even though there were clear differences between chimeras and the undead, she knew that there was still a lot to gain from studying the latter. But her expectations were completely shattered in just a day.

The dwarven miners and engineers from Moffern were extremely competent, and she had to spend all her time refining the mountain of silver that was being mined every day. It was an unending nightmare of labor for Romari.

In addition, she also had to dedicate herself to research from evenings to late nights after refining the silver, which caused her to slowly wilt away into a living skeleton.

“Heheuk. Sir Eugene, please take me with you. It’s so hard being here. Please save me!” Romari begged.

“Well, I’ve heard that the silver production has improved substantially thanks to you, so I will do that,” Eugene responded.

“Thank you! You will be blessed,” Romari wiped away her tears and bowed. She continued, “When will we be leaving?”

“The sooner the better. Delmondo is doing a good job running the territory even without me, so there aren’t any problems that we need to get out of the way,” Eugene replied.

“I see. Then I will make preparations right away! Ah, you need to get ready as well, right, Sir Eugene?” Romari asked.

“Get ready? What preparations would I need to make?” Eugene was puzzled. The City of Maren was providing them with a ship to cross the sea, and he wasn’t planning to bring a large army with him, so he thought that there wouldn’t be much to prepare.

“What? I thought that we were going to Brantia, right? Then you must prepare a coffin,” Romari answered.

“A coffin? Like a coffin for corpses?” Eugene asked.

“Yes, yes. It’s an absolute necessity,” Romari answered.

Eugene was made speechless for a moment. He wondered what the wizard was going on about. However, Romari intuitively sensed that an opportunity had presented itself for her to show off her wizardly knowledge for the first time in a while. As such, she straightened her posture before speaking. “Ehem! It appears you didn’t know, Sir Eugene. Members of the Dark Clan must enter a coffin when they are crossing the sea.”

“Why?” Eugene asked.

“You travel along the coastline on a boat in the inland sea, right? In such situations, the earth’s power still has some influence, so members of the Dark Clan won’t be subjected to any adverse effects. But it’s different when traveling the open sea since the earth has no influence. That’s why you must go into a stone coffin filled with soil. You need to pay special attention when it comes to sealing the coffins as well. Of course, it will be fine for you to come out for a little while at night,” Romari explained.

“Dammit,” Eugene muttered a curse.

“There’s no helping it. Eheem! Anyway, only someone like me, who succeeds the legitimacy of the Blood Shadow School, would be privy to such knowledge and know methods of dealing with it in advance! I dare say I might be the only one,” Romari declared.

“You’re being a little cheeky,” Eugene commented.

“N-no way! Hoho! You must be mistaken.” In an instant, Romari shriveled up. She continued, feeling as if she were treading on eggshells. “You should be good when you arrive in Brantia. Since the continental church has little influence in Brantia, it might be fine to reveal your identity as a member of the Dark Clan.”

“What? Is that true?” Eugene asked with shock.

“Yes, yes! It’s true. Well…” Romari was scared that Eugene might leave her behind. As such, she explained everything she knew about Brantia. “Thanks to that, there are more members of the Dark Clan in Brantia than in this kingdom. I heard from my master that in the distant past, there were even places in Brantia where vampires ruled as lords. Ah, well, it was only possible because they were high-ranking nobles within the Dark Clan.”

“I see.” Eugene nodded. He was greatly surprised. If what she said was true, couldn’t he live in Brantia without any worries?

‘As expected, this kingdom was the problem. Even the empire doesn’t antagonize vampires as much.’

It felt as if he had stumbled upon a new path. In addition, he found a new objective.

‘I will take Brantia.’

Even though he had no definite plans or methods just yet, Eugene could only focus on obtaining the Batla Duchy for now. However, Eugene was convinced that he would find a way if he dove straight in and struggled, just as he had done until now.

***

Three days later, Eugene departed from his territory. He felt slightly worried that he was leaving his territory far too often, but he was quickly relieved of his anxiety. For some reason, Delmondo was burning with enthusiasm. The head of the Moffern merchant guild, Gardye, had begged Eugene for mercy, but that wasn’t Eugene’s problem.

Eugene once again praised Delmondo for his work and devotion to the territory. Naturally, he reduced Delmondo to tears once more.

It was due to a piece of good news. It was reported that Essandra would soon return from her expedition. As such, the free knights that Eugene collected would also return to his territory, which would resolve the security issue of the land. But of course, there wasn’t really a security issue in the first place since Eugene’s neighboring nobles, including Baron Beogalan, would never dare to invade his territory.

After ensuring that all internal affairs of his territory were in order, Eugene headed to Maren via Moffern.

***

“Do you like it, Sir Eugene?” Maren’s mayor asked proudly. 

Eugene nodded in response. “It is very nice.”

“Hahahaha! Luckily, one of the royalists had a very nice merchant ship in their possession. Maren’s engineers did their best to modify it. Even the strong waves of the Brantian Sea won’t cause any problems for her.” The mayor boisterously laughed as he explained.

Eugene had no choice but to believe in the mayor’s words after seeing the ship personally. The ship was named “Elion” after the water spirit king, and it was more than ten meters longer than any other ship Eugene had ever ridden. Moreover, it possessed many masts and oars as well.

“It must have cost quite a lot,” Eugene said.

“Hahaha! The royalists had a considerable sum of money in their possession. I originally assumed that they were close to ruin, but they had secretly garnered an enormous sum in order to take over the city one day. Those poisonous vipers…” The mayor explained.

“How much is it?” Eugene asked.

“Don’t be too surprised. In total, there were over 300,000 silver coins,” the mayor answered.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeek?!” The spirit’s jaw melted into water as it dropped with shock. It was truly an unfathomable amount of money.

‘300,000?’ 

Eugene’s eyebrows wriggled. He was also incredibly shocked. Although he was incomparably wealthier compared to his past life, this was on another level. However, the mayor understood Eugene’s response a little differently.

‘As expected, he considers himself to have ownership over it as well.’

In any case, the royalists had attempted to kill Eugene, and Eugene was a knight as well as a nobleman. It was customary for whoever attempted the killing to pay a ransom. However, all relevant parties were currently in prison, so Eugene could ask for whatever he wanted as ransom.

“Ahem! Sir Eugene,” the mayor coughed and called out.

“Please speak,” Eugene answered. But his expression and voice were still slightly stiff from the initial shock as if he was angry.

‘What endless greed! Well, only someone like him could possibly dream of an expedition to Brantia. I knew he wasn’t ordinary.’

The mayor became confident in his thoughts.

He looked at Eugene and spoke as kindly as possible, “There are various circumstances to consider with the laws of our city and the situation of the guilds. About 10% of the confiscated property will be handed over to you as consolation money. I know how generous you are, so I hope you can understand that…”

Whoosh!

“...!” 

The mayor stammered unknowingly as Eugene’s gaze burned bright like a flame. Even if Eugene was the hero of Maren, surely, he wouldn’t exercise violence against the mayor…

“Forty-thousand,” Eugene stated.

“W-what?” The mayor stammered.

“Let’s go with forty-thousand, shall we?” Eugene added.

“L-let’s do that. Forty-thousand, good!” The mayor agreed.

“Horray! Horray! Kieeeeeeeek!” The spirit of desire released herself from the bindings of sanity. This was the most fitting gift for them before they left for Brantia.

Forty-thousand was a large sum of money. It would take years of hard-earned silver mining to gather such an amount.