Chapter 13
Be Thorough with the Calculations
Burnell Marquis.
Age: 27.
Graduate of the 525th class of Veritas Academy.
Assigned title: “Total Mess.”
Residence: A semi-basement room in the slums of Escholeia.
(The previous tenant could not endure it and fled after only a week.)
Current assets: 72 gold coins.
“When the hell are you going to pay me back, you bastard?!”
-72 gold coins
Two massive men were tearing the house apart, accompanied by another man who was smaller than them but had a far more vicious-looking face.
A man knelt on the floor, trembling helplessly as he watched their rampage.
The frail man with the oversized glasses began rubbing his hands together.
“P-Please give me just a little more time. It’s an experiment that needs to be observed over the long term, so I believe the results will take a little longer—”
“How much longer is ‘long term’ supposed to mean? I gave you a whole year! You said you’d produce meaningful results within a year!”
“I-I said it was possible. But collecting the corpses of magical beasts is difficult, and I…”
“Ah, enough.”
The loan shark waved his hand dismissively, cutting him off.
“I don’t need excuses. Can you turn what you have right now into money or not?”
“Th-That… probably won’t be worth any money. There are still too many variables…”
“Haah…”
The man looking down at Burnell was a loan shark.
He lent money at outrageous interest rates to people who could not even qualify for bank loans.
His kind usually intended to seize the research before it could ever be completed.
“I really stepped in a pile of shit this time.”
It seemed he would not be able to recover even the money he had lent Burnell Marquis.
The loan shark dragged a worn-out chair over, sat down, and placed a cigar between his lips.
“Fine. I’ll extend the deadline for your debt.”
“R-Really?”
“On the condition that you abandon your current research.”
“…What?”
The loan shark exhaled a long stream of cigar smoke.
“From what I hear, you were pretty impressive in your first year at the academy. I checked your transcript. You weren’t merely the top of your class—you ranked first in your entire graduating cohort.”
“Ah, yes. Back then, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do, so I only put in a half-hearted effort. I did end up taking first place, though…”
Half-hearted.
Burnell was probably the only person alive who could describe taking first place as something he had done half-heartedly.
“So do something else. Put that half-hearted effort into another project and produce some results. I’ve collected a few projects from other worthless bastards like you. I’ll hand them over, and you can finish them for me.”
The loan shark leaned forward.
“Do that, and I’ll erase your debt. What do you say?”
“Could I… perhaps work on them while continuing my other experiment? If it is only that much work, I should be able to—”
Thung!
A dagger flew through the air and embedded itself in the floor directly in front of his crotch.
“Eeeek!”
“I try speaking nicely, and suddenly you think you can say whatever you want. I hear organs are fetching a very high price these days because of that thing called the Infernum. How much did they say we could get?”
“If we leave him just alive enough to keep breathing, it should cover all the interest.”
“How about it? Sell your organs and keep doing your precious experiment. You don’t want that, do you?”
“N-No, I would rather not…”
“Then abandon your research and work for me.”
“That is also a little…”
Thud!
The loan shark’s foot slammed into Burnell’s side.
“You bastard! Do you think I’m here to trade jokes with you?! You don’t want this, and you don’t want that either? Then die, you piece of shit! A worthless bastard like you doesn’t even deserve to live!”
“Urgh! Ugh! Ugh!”
Burnell curled up helplessly as they beat him.
Unable to make even the faintest sound, he screamed inwardly.
‘Someone… someone, please save me!’
His prayers for a single rose to bloom from the gutter had never been answered.
“That’s enough.”
But today was different.
The beating stopped.
The thugs and the loan shark turned toward the door they had smashed apart on their way inside.
Burnell raised his head and followed their gaze.
“Sorry to interrupt while you’re having such a pleasant time, but I’d like you to stop.”
A ray of salvation—the very thing Burnell had so desperately wished for.
Its color was gray.
“Ah…”
Burnell fell into despair.
He did not recognize the man.
There was no reason for a complete stranger to save him, so despair was the only natural response.
The loan shark, who had been completely absorbed in the beating, ran a hand through his hair and licked his lips.
“Judging by your appearance, you look like some young master from a good family. Don’t interfere right now.”
“My apologies, but I’m afraid I must interfere.”
The gray-haired man pointed at Burnell.
“I have business with that man.”
By the time Ferda entered the semi-basement room, the beating was already well underway.
Seeing Burnell being beaten like a dog that had bitten its master, Ferda thought,
‘What excellent timing.’
He had appeared precisely when the man must have been desperately wishing for a savior.
“That’s enough.”
And so, Ferda stopped the loan shark’s beating.
Burnell was quickly forgotten as the loan shark tilted his body and looked Ferda up and down.
“You don’t look like the bookish brats from Escholeia. Are you from out of town?”
“Yes. I came from elsewhere.”
“Did that bastard borrow money from you too?”
“No.”
“Then wait your turn. I was here first. You can speak to him after I’m done teaching him a lesson.”
“How considerate of you. What would you say if I paid off his debt?”
A brief silence followed.
A subtle expression of suspicion crossed the loan shark’s face before he spoke.
“Seventy-two gold coins, including interest. Can you pay?”
“Of course.”
Seventy-two gold coins.
Now that Ferda had become the lord of Valdrova Castle, it was not a particularly large sum of money.
He could have handed it over as casually as tossing aside a rib he had been eating.
However, Ferda did not immediately accept the proposal.
His blue eyes shifted toward Burnell, who lay curled up and bleeding.
After looking at him, Ferda made another offer.
“Let’s do this instead. You beat this man and damaged his property, so let’s deduct the cost and settle the debt for fifty coins. What do you say?”
The loan shark let out an incredulous laugh.
“Ha! Are you insane? Everything we broke in here is barely worth three gold coins.”
“Is that so? Then take forty-nine. I’m generously pricing the man you beat at around twenty gold coins.”
“Have you lost your mind? You expect me to throw away twenty gold coins just because we got a little friendly with him?”
“Then the negotiations have failed?”
“This isn’t a negotiation. You’re trying to rob me!”
“Then I suppose they have failed.”
Ferda raised a finger.
“In that case, we’ll settle the account by having you receive exactly what you gave him. Luri.”
Luri, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward.
“Put them in exactly the same condition.”
“…”
“Do not worry. I will honor my promise.”
“Haah. Understood.”
The silver-haired maid, her hair tied in a side ponytail, approached with a blank expression.
“What’s with the brat?”
“Bringing a little girl into a slum like this? Is that young master an idiot?”
The hulking men laughed obscenely.
Unlike those enormous, uneducated fools, however, the loan shark had enough experience to understand.
That little girl was not merely a little girl.
At that moment, the suspicious child released a fraction of the power she had been concealing.
Her silver eyes emitted a strange light.
Piiiiii—!
A high-pitched ringing simultaneously pierced their ears.
“Ugh!”
“Guh?!”
“Wh-What is this?”
The thugs and the loan shark were startled.
Yet something else was even more alarming.
“Ugh… Urgh…”
“M-My body…!”
They could not move.
No matter how hard they tried, the most they could manage was to tremble.
Their bodies refused to respond, as though they had been turned to stone.
Luri swept her gaze over them before walking toward the nearest thug.
“You will be the first one I deal with.”
Luri pointed at him.
At that instant, the space surrounding the thug distorted like a mirage.
Bam-bam-bam-bam!
A rapid series of blows erupted, and the thug collapsed.
“Ugh… Uuuugh…”
His entire body was covered in bruises, and blood streamed from his nose as he groaned on the floor.
He had been reduced to exactly the same state as Burnell.
‘What the hell was that?!’
The remaining thug and the loan shark broke into cold sweats.
Nothing like this was considered normal in their world.
Her eyes shifted toward the other thug.
“You’re next.”
“H-Huh…?”
Bam-bam-bam-bam!
The loan shark was witnessing the phenomenon for the second time, yet he still looked utterly unable to make sense of it.
The air distorted, followed by a barrage of blows erupting all at once.
‘Magic!’
He had identified what it was, but that alone did not mean he understood it.
‘It’s magic, but… there’s magic like that?’
The girl’s spell used no magic circle. She merely flicked her finger through the air.
And that alone produced such destructive force?
“Next… Well, there’s no one else, so I suppose it’s you.”
“Ugh… Uwaaaah!”
The loan shark made one final desperate struggle.
His body had gone rigid, trembling uncontrollably, but he tried to force it to move nonetheless.
The space before his eyes distorted.
Bam-bam-bam-bam!
The loan shark pitched forward and collapsed.
Crack!
“Aaaargh!”
Another scream erupted.
As he fell, the index finger of his right hand had bent backward and snapped.
“Agh! My fingeeeer!”
An unexpected variable had entered the calculation.
“You bastard! You said you’d make us exactly the same! His finger wasn’t broken!”
The loan shark screamed and thrashed like a madman.
With that vicious face of his, he was throwing a tantrum like a child.
The head of the loan-sharking operation had first raised his seed money through intimidation and extortion.
His true talent was now being displayed in full.
It was such an absurd sight that anyone would have been dumbfounded.
Ferda, however, was not.
“You’re right. This has become quite troublesome.”
Ferda’s expression turned grave as he stared down at him.
The loan shark felt a strangely ominous chill.
“You are saying that it is unfair for your finger alone to be broken, correct?”
“Y-Yeah, you bastard! What are you going to do about my finger?!”
Ferda lowered his gaze toward Luri.
“This gentleman says he has been treated unjustly.”
“Understood.”
There were only two ways to soothe such a grievance.
Either provide suitable compensation—
or do the exact same thing to everyone else.
Ferda had no desire to compensate him.
Crack!
“Aaargh!”
Crack!
“Uwaaagh!”
The fingers of the other two thugs were broken in exactly the same manner.
Thinking the matter settled, Luri turned to leave.
“Luri.”
Ferda called her name.
“Yes?”
“Is there not still one person left?”
“…Are you serious?”
Luri narrowed her eyes as she asked.
Ferda nodded.
“Calculations must be thorough.”
Luri looked as though she could not understand his reasoning.
If the calculation truly had to be exact, then there was indeed still one party remaining.
“Huh…?”
Burnell Marquis.
Crack!
“Aaaaargh!”
She broke Burnell’s index finger as well.
The loan shark, who had been throwing a tantrum, and even his subordinates were left speechless by the sight.
‘Wh-What the hell?’
‘Why did she break that bookworm’s finger too?’
‘Aren’t they on Burnell’s side?’
The spectacle was shocking enough to make them forget the pain resonating through their own bones.
Ferda had said things should be fair, and so he had Burnell’s finger broken as well.
Now every last one of them was in precisely the same condition.
‘What kind of deranged lunatic is he?!’
That was when they began to feel genuine fear toward Ferda.
Ferda swept his gaze over their condition and nodded in satisfaction.
“It appears satisfactory to me. Speak up if any of you believe you have been punished more harshly than the others.”
The corners of Ferda’s lips rose slightly.
“I will make certain everything is handled fairly.”
“N-No, there’s nothing!”
“Th-This is more than enough!”
“Is that so?”
Ferda held out a hand toward Luri.
She pulled a pouch from beneath her skirt, and Ferda tossed it to the loan shark.
It contained exactly sixty-nine gold coins, with the cost of the damaged property deducted.
“Now that the debt has been settled, you may leave.”
“Th-Thank you.”
They fled without so much as looking back.
Watching them disappear, Ferda casually spoke to Luri.
“You are quite proficient with magic.”
“I merely used the most basic of techniques.”
“Is healing magic included among those basics?”
“I know enough to perform it to a certain degree.”
“Then I would appreciate it if you treated Burnell, who is rolling around over there.”
“Ugh… There’s no need.”
Burnell, still groaning in pain, waved his hand.
“If someone receives too much healing magic, they can eventually develop resistance to it. I cannot risk a situation in which healing magic fails to work when I truly need it later… I can endure this much.”
“A rational judgment befitting a scholar.”
Burnell grabbed his finger.
“Uuuurgh…!”
Crack!
He forced it back into place, then bent it several times.
After confirming that it had returned to normal, he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“Phew… Thank you for saving me.”
Even though you did break my finger.
He swallowed those words before they could leave his throat and asked Ferda,
“May I ask your name?”
“I am Ferda Valdrova.”
“Valdrova? Is that not the name of the Red Dragon?”
“It is. I am the man who will become her mate.”
“Huh? D-Don’t tell me! You are the one engaged to the Dread Queen…?”
All color drained from Burnell’s face.
He dropped to his knees once more and prostrated himself.
“I-I-I beg your pardon for failing to recognize the Dread Queen’s husband!”
“No, it is only natural that you would not know. Pay it no mind.”
“And he is not yet her husband. He merely bears the Valdrova name for now.”
Luri quietly interjected to correct him.
Burnell introduced himself.
“My name is Burnell Marquis. As everyone knows, I am the scholar called ‘Total Mess.’ Though I am sure you already knew that before coming here. Haha…”
“Yes. I am well acquainted with your reputation.”
“What business could someone like you possibly have with a failure such as me…?”
“I find it tiresome to speak in circles, so I will be direct. I am interested in your research.”
“M-My research?”
His eyes widened.
Even the loan shark who had financed him had treated his research as the work of a fool.
Yet this man claimed to be interested in it?
“Come to Valdrova Castle, and I promise you unconditional support for the research you are currently conducting.”
“Pardon?”
“I am saying that we will provide whatever materials, research funds, and facilities you desire, without question.”
“G-Gasp!”
Unconditional support.
It was an unprecedented offer, the kind no scholar had ever received.
Burnell was thrilled, but at the same time, deeply uneasy.
He wondered what condition the man would impose in exchange.
Burnell asked in a trembling voice,
“Wh-Wh-Wh-What is the condition?”
“Your research. I intend to use it to create weapons.”
Burnell’s expression stiffened.
“Weapons… you say?”
“Yes. Using your research.”
Burnell, who had looked ready to cheer only moments ago, shook his head.
“Then I cannot accept.”
“Is that something you should say to the man who paid off your debt?”
“E-Even if you put a blade to my throat, I cannot do that. I… want a peaceful Serdes Continent. All I wish for is for the people living upon it to be happy.”
Ferda had never expected the discussion to go smoothly.
Burnell Marquis was a pacifist.
“Tools of war… will only create more victims. Even though you are my benefactor, I cannot agree to that.”
Ferda rested a hand against his chin and murmured,
“So you would not change your mind even with a blade at your throat?”
A chill ran down Burnell’s spine.
He had heard countless threats before.
Threats to kill him.
Threats to cripple him.
But this was different.
It felt as though death itself were embracing him from behind.
“However, consider this.”
Ferda dragged his index finger across the dust-covered floor.
“Whose efforts do you believe allow you to sit here in a rat-infested sewer and conduct your research without a care in the world?”
“This is the life I chose.”
“No. It is not something you chose. Peace is not created merely because an insignificant person like you decides to enjoy it.”
Burnell tensed.
There was unmistakable emotion in Ferda’s voice now.
“The Dread Queen Valdrova, who will become my mate, goes to the front lines almost once every three days. She fights magical beasts capable of destroying a city like this as though it were nothing. What do you think she wagers each time she goes?”
Ferda continued.
“A small piece of territory? The lives of the people in the Far Eastern lands? Or perhaps my life?”
He pressed a finger against his own chest.
“No. She stakes herself.”
Ferda’s voice hardened.
“You would throw away your life for your pathetic convictions. She, on the other hand, turns her life into a noble sword and cuts down her enemies to create peace.”
Ferda had always watched Valdrova as she fought on the front lines.
From the highest place, he had secretly engraved the sight into his memory.
Even now, it was as though her figure had once again appeared before his eyes.
His chest tightened.
Ferda’s fingers unconsciously dug into his own chest.
Forced to watch helplessly from afar, the only thing left to him was guilt.
“That is why I will do anything for her.”
A flame flickered deep within Ferda’s eyes.
“So regardless of what you think, I will make you create weapons.”