7. Protectorate>
Sian observed carefully the Akra that had entered his body.
As soon as the Akra entered, it tried to absorb the surrounding energy. Sian watched that process with anticipation. There was nothing bad about getting stronger.
But before long, Sian’s expression became filled with disappointment, and Steel, who had been watching him, opened his mouth with a curious look.
“Brother, what’s wrong? Is it not working?”
“It doesn’t help me much. *Sigh*…”
The Akra that had entered Sian’s body tried to absorb energy, but instead, it was devoured entirely by the blood raging through his body. A few of them managed to hatch successfully, but that was nowhere near enough for him to become stronger. And even those few completely dissolved away.
But he wasn’t greatly disappointed. On the contrary, it was what he had expected. As if he could get stronger with something like this so easily.
“Hmm… That’s a shame. By the way, can’t I get more of this from somewhere…? It looks like it’ll take some time for these to grow inside my body…”
Parhum flinched when he met eyes with Steel, who was looking around restlessly. The eyes of a predator hunting prey were there.
Seeing that, Sian let out a sigh and stopped Steel.
“They’ll grow with time, so let’s take it slowly. From what I’ve heard, this Akra itself seems to have considerable effects. By the way, if one is the lord of a huge Protectorate… the energy they collect must be enormous.”
“Theoretically, yes… but in such places, there are usually many nobles where there are many commoners, so in the end, it’ll be similar. Those with higher ranks will take a larger share, that’s all.”
“Oho.”
Because the limits of strength were different, this world had evolved in a remarkably different direction. Sian found it utterly fascinating.
As they chatted about this and that, something became visible in the distance.
“Hmm… Is that what you call a Protectorate?”
“Yes, it is.”
The scene that unfolded before them was somewhat different from what Sian had imagined—he had envisioned a large castle with commoners huddled together inside.
A massive, massive tree.
So enormous was it that the trunk of the tree, towering atop a rock, far surpassed the scale of an ordinary castle. Even more astonishing were the giant branches and leaves stretching out in all directions. Enhancing his eyesight to examine them, he found that each and every leaf was larger than a grown man.
It did not particularly emanate an auspicious light, nor did it seem to be inhabited by fairies, but the tree’s overwhelming size exuded mystery through its very existence.
Moreover, the overflowing vitality dwelling in each trunk and every leaf highlighted the grandeur of that tree.
He had been so focused on the tree that he hadn’t noticed, but near the roots, within the shade formed by its leaves, a large village had formed.
“Good heavens… Is that a Viscounty?”
“Yes. That is the Roke Viscounty. Could it be… is this your first time seeing one as well?”
“…….”
‘Just where in the world did he come from……’
Parhum looked at Sian and Steel with an expression of amazement—they had said this was their first time seeing the Tree of Kicyllus as well.
“Is that a tree that grew on its own?”
“Hmm… You could say that, and you could also say it isn’t.”
After that, Parhum began his explanation.
Count Kicyllus possessed tremendous supernatural abilities and boasted might even among counts. And the vassals who gathered beneath him to receive Kicyllus’s protection had, while fusing and experimenting with their supernatural abilities, produced a masterpiece among masterpieces.
Therefore, the
The House of Count Kicyllus had wanted to monopolize this tree, but pressed by the strong-arm tactics of the House of Duke Roreubal, they had no choice but to distribute saplings of this tree to nobles who claimed they would build protectorates. However, because they were extremely difficult to make, they were distributed according to the size of the protectorates, so in the case of very small baronies like the one where Parhum had stayed, it was common to build protectorates without saplings. It went without saying that commoners could neither acquire them nor raise them even if they did.
But the Tree of Kicyllus was a sapling absolutely necessary for nobles to build protectorates of a certain size or larger. This tree grew based on the energy of the noble trying to build the protectorate and the energy of the commoners who would live under it; there was no question about it being called the Tree of Grace.
Once the sapling was planted and infused with a noble’s energy, the tree would begin growing ferociously, using that energy as a starting point. It would devour the surrounding mountains and land, absorbing minerals from the soil, growing endlessly at an incredible speed. Therefore, in the early stages of growth, when the trunk had fully grown and the roots took hold in the ground, it was impossible to build a village. Even if one were built, it would be crushed by the spreading roots and the rapidly growing trunk.
Once the roots and trunk had grown like that, villages would begin to be built below. And above, the trunk would expand, branches would grow, leaves would hang, and fruit would develop. The size of the tree varied depending on the level and number of nobles who infused energy into the sapling, as well as the number of commoners supplying energy to the tree.
The resources required were not insignificant. Not only were saplings difficult to obtain, but the tree also absorbed no small amount of energy from both commoners and nobles. But it was by no means a losing investment.
Its mighty, sturdy roots blocked even the invasions of ordinary subterranean dragons, and its trunk became excellent material for houses. So tough was it that many nobles shaved the trunk to use for training.
What was important were the leaves and fruit. That sapling, which grew by consuming a noble’s energy and absorbing the Akra of commoners, would begin to absorb the surrounding energy once it grew past a certain level. And while most of that energy was used to maintain its gigantic frame, a portion of it was used to bear fruit and spread leaves.
Boiling and consuming the leaves, which served the role of absorbing energy, reinforced each individual’s energy and helped them grow stronger, and in the case of the fruit, the taste and nutrients were so tremendous that they helped the commoners living in the protectorate survive without having to dangerously go outside to hunt.
In a sense, it was a tremendous treasure of the ages, even greater than Akrata.
If Akrata had allowed humanity to unite and grow, the Tree of Kicyllus provided humanity with stability.
“If we had also had the Tree of Kicyllus in our barony, we would have held out a bit longer… but a tree like that is a luxury for a territory the size of a barony.”
“Hmm……”
“If we don’t have that, we have to go out to hunt for food. Crops alone are not enough, after all. It’s dangerous in many ways.”
Sian, who had been admiring the gigantic tree before him, nodded at those words.
“Then if we arrive there, will you be settling down?”
“I suppose so. Thank you very much.”
Recalling the sneer Baron Raul had shown when they first set out, Parhum expressed his gratitude to Sian and Steel. He had wondered why Raul had sneered—it turned out the man had been certain they would die before they got there. They had decided to migrate based on their experience hunting in the vicinity, but the road between the protectorate and the territory for migration was completely different in terms of danger. It was more dangerous than expected. If they had not met the nobles before them, they would likely all have died.
While they shared this and that story, the Mubakal carrying Parhum, led by Raba, gradually drew closer to the village below the Tree of Kicyllus protected by Baron Roke.
The closer they got to the village, the clearer its structure became. There were no buildings like houses in the village. They merely hollowed out the weaker parts of the roots exposed above ground, using them like caves.
At first glance it sounded primitive, but in reality, it was not primitive at all. Although they were roots, the thicker root branches easily exceeded ten meters in thickness, so the interiors looked extremely spacious.
And though they were roots, they were not filthy; the people living inside kept them clean, giving them a structure akin to a fairy village from a fairy tale.
As Sian looked at the scene as if fascinated, Parhum opened his mouth.
“There is no need to go out of your way to obtain materials to build houses. Just doing it like that makes for excellent houses. Of course, if you live there, you have to supply a small amount of energy to the Tree of Kicyllus, but… that amount can be sufficiently recovered during normal daily life, so it isn’t a problem. Rather, thanks to the energy flowing through the Tree of Kicyllus, the body grows sturdier.”
“Hmm… Then Mr. Parhum, once you arrive there, how will you secure a place to live? Are there no conflicts with existing residents… or anything like that?”
The honorifics from the noble before him were burdensome to Parhum, but he had heard that there were people like this, so he forced a smile and answered.
“Haha. There is nothing like that. You just settle in a suitable spot, hollow out the tree roots, and build a house like that. It is difficult to hollow them out unless you are at a certain level, so it would take some time for migrants to do it on their own, but they can stay in the Mubakal in the meantime.”
“Hooh……”
Before entering the village, Sian had wondered if there would be some inspection like on their continent, but unexpectedly, there was nothing.
But thinking about it, there was no way there would be inspections in a neighborhood without laws or status. And from the nobles’ perspective, distinguishing each commoner one by one held little meaning.
From the nobles’ perspective, all that mattered was that the newly arrived commoners supplied Akra diligently.
Having arrived without issue, Sian and Steel greeted Parhum and parted ways.
Watching Sian and Steel disappear into the distance, Parhum thought it was the most unusual experience he had had recently. Nobles who diligently used honorifics and knew nothing at all.
‘Ah… then I should have told them one more thing… dammit… well, it probably doesn’t matter.’
Parhum realized he hadn’t told them something important about Akra, but thinking nothing serious would happen, he focused on the Mubakal.
☆ ☆ ☆
According to Parhum, nobles often stayed in the middle trunk sections. Even so, a powerful energy could be felt from the trunk side. To be precise, one could notice by observing the flow of energy heading from the roots toward the trunk.
The roots, spread as vast as the tree was gigantic, had a considerable area even just in the parts exposed above ground; one could feel people packed tightly together living there. And Sian, sensing this with his senses, was able to resolve one more curiosity.
“Hoh… So this is how they receive Akra.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Actually, I’ve been wondering since earlier. If they received Akra hand-to-hand like that, just how long would it take to collect all that Akra? They said it was periodically collected from commoners, but……”
“Hmm, now that you mention it.”
Akra seemed like something that could traverse and be transmitted through the air to some degree, but it did not appear possible over long distances. One or two people might be manageable, but Steel had also been curious about how they collected Akra from so many people; it seemed Sian had figured it out.
As Steel looked on with a curious expression, Sian opened his mouth.
“It seems they collect the Akra through this Tree of Kicyllus here.”
“Hoh… You can see that too?”
“Of course. Well… I can’t see deep inside the trunk, but I can see the flow moving from the roots toward the trunk. It is likely flowing to the man called Viscount Roke who protects this place. Or to the barons who stay beneath him.”
“They collect it like some kind of tax… Still, with a method like this, even large protectorates can collect as much as they want.”
Akra was so unusual that he hadn’t thought of it, but its structure was similar to a lord steadily collecting taxes from the residents of his territory.
Sian and Steel were in no hurry, so they walked along the paths formed by the roots, taking in the sights. Since the path to finding Ragaope immediately seemed hopeless, their minds actually felt lighter. And the thought that if not now, they might never get to see a new world like this stirred the wanderlust hidden in a corner of Sian’s heart. Wandering around with just Steel brought back memories of past travels, making it feel even better.
But Sian felt something awkward.
“For some reason, it feels like the gazes around us are disregarding us… I must be imagining things, right, little brother?”
“…….”
Hearing Steel's single remark that pinpointed the present situation with clarity, Sian could tell where the awkwardness he was feeling now stemmed from.
☆ ☆ ☆
Rupika made an expression of scorn as he saw the one man and one woman walking on the path above the roots.
'Aren't they lower-class wretches...'
He wasn't the only one making such an expression. Everyone lingering in the streets wore the same face. The weak deserved to be scorned.
From the nobles' perspective, commoners were all the same, so they only divided ranks among themselves, but among commoners, ranks were divided as well. Because it was human nature to establish a pecking order wherever they went.
There wasn't particularly any other standard. Rather, that standard was clear.
Did all who witnessed the deeds of nobles fear and hate them? Not at all. They cursed the tyranny of nobles outwardly, but inwardly, everyone envied them, wishing to build up their strength and raise their realm quickly to ascend to a noble's position.
Even if one had talent in arts, smithing, architecture, or was acknowledged as a master in a field, what of it? In the end, the one who ruled over all those masters was a noble.
Another meaning of noble: one who rules.
A noble had absolutely no need to excel at anything else. They only needed to know one thing: how to rule. And in this deformed world, the fastest and surest way to become a ruler was solely to build up martial might and raise one's realm.
Fortunately, that path was wide open to commoners as well. Nobles were too busy dealing with other nobles, and the House of Duke Lorval rejected the notion of nobles blocking the path of commoners in pursuit of the strength of humanity as a whole. The energy provided as the price for the nobles' protection wasn't significant enough to critically hinder becoming a noble.
Therefore, even commoner society deformedly pursued the supremacy of martial might. In any case, the fruit of the Kikyullus tree took care of food and sustenance, and if one remained within the protective territory, the nobles provided protection.
In protective territories like Parhum's, which lacked the Kikyullus tree, everyone had to combine their strength to hunt and survive together, so camaraderie was strong. But those living under the protection of the Kikyullus tree and the nobles had an environment where they could independently pursue only their own strength, so relatively speaking, that atmosphere was even stronger.
In this environment and culture, the weak were naturally ignored. To be precise, those without talent. Had the nobles—who were not pleased by the decrease in commoner numbers—not kept things in check, a catastrophe might have occurred long ago.
And Akra, which had become a blessing to commoners, possessed a peculiar characteristic that allowed one to identify the weak.
This was no exception even for nobles. In a way, it was fortunate for commoners. They could avoid the disaster of recklessly charging at a noble without discerning eyes and losing their heads in one blow. When nobles approached, commoners felt the resonance of Akra so strongly it could make them faint. While one could hide their momentum from other nobles, the resonance of Akra could not be concealed.
But unfortunately, it was a disaster for those without talent. They couldn't even bluff. Humans unite firmly when there is an external enemy, but once placed in a stable environment, they immediately divide into factions and classes. And from the perspective of commoners who had built a stable environment under noble protection, the weak—clearly distinguished by resonating Akra—were delicious prey.
The weak with feeble Akra within their bodies were one of two things. Either a cripple who truly couldn't find even a speck of talent, or a naive dreamer who claimed to have dreams and pursued a path other than martial might.
The latter were more numerous, but it wasn't very important. The core was that both were good prey to trample. Even the nobles didn't particularly welcome those who contributed nothing to Akra supply and only consumed the fruit. No, they even had a tendency to subtly encourage it. Because they needed to set an example for commoners to diligently raise their realm and contribute to Akra production. Dreaming fools were of no help from the nobles' perspective.
In this macho environment, the naive dreamers were scorned as lower-class, and those without powerful parents were pushed to the outermost districts of the protective territory along with their entire families. They were condemned as bugs who contributed nothing to the protective territory and selfishly chased only their own dreams. Most feared lynching and didn't dare set foot toward the central district.
But surprisingly, such lower-class individuals were walking boldly down the main road leading to the center of the Roke protective territory.
The evidence that they were lower-class was clear. Not a shred of Akra resonance could be felt from the one man and one woman before their eyes. To be precise, from the half-decent-looking woman, there was a faint resonance. But that level was utterly feeble. As if she had only started akrata a few days ago. Moreover, the man was even worse. No resonance occurred from him at all.
And Rupika was not so good-natured as to let such bug-like wretches pass obediently. Nor were the colleagues he usually got along with.
The others were merely watching with scornful gazes. At times like these, someone with action needed to step forward and show them something.
Thinking thus, Rupika strode forward, and his friends followed behind him with snickers.
"You lower-class wretches over there, stop right there."
Sian and Steel looked at each other upon seeing the four men approaching with sneers. Because it was an experience so novel it was unparalleled.
On the continent they lived on, there were no people who would purposely pick a fight with them—a combination that looked unusual at a glance. Even if there were, almost none approached so openly like this.
Sian had almost never encountered people who picked a fight so openly, and with such blatant disregard at that, so he observed them with curious eyes.
Steel beside him took it even further. Though she possessed beauty, she had a statuesque figure and a solid appearance that made anyone think she had trained extensively. Moreover, her unbridled speech made those who tried to mess with her think twice. To Steel, who had lived her whole life crushing those before her, these people speaking such provocative words felt very novel.
The curiosity born from that novel feeling was what allowed them to remain standing there in one piece.
"'Lower-class,' you say. That's a word I'm hearing for the first time."
"Indeed."
The second son of the House of Count Roman. And the King of the Taran Kingdom.
To them, who had lived lives quite far removed from lower-class existence, it was a very unfamiliar word.
"Hmm... Is it because we live on a different continent that they can't sense momentum or... such things?"
No matter how well he tried to conceal it, Sian always emitted a certain degree of momentum out of consideration for those who might train with Lady Steel, yet this reaction was a first.
"Well... I don't think it's that. They seem incredibly certain... as if there's something else. Well, we can ask slowly. Huhuhu, it reminds me of that child Jagron."
Steel put on her gloves with an extremely excited expression. The fellows standing over there looked to be about Grand
-Bander level by their continent's standards. Probably around that brat Jagron whom the Stantal kid had brought over saying he'd introduce him. At that level, even if she used her gloves, she could pull her punches and still beat them up joyfully.
But seeing that, Sian grabbed Steel from behind. And he swiftly snatched the gloves away, took out the metal rod given by Ragaope, and placed it in Steel's hand.
Steel grumbled, seeming displeased.
"Ah, what the... little brother. I haven't tried this, but I feel like the impact sensation won't be as good as the gloves."
"If you use those gloves until they produce an impact sensation, wouldn't you just end up using this Kikyullus tree as fertilizer? We're here to ask a favor, so please exercise some restraint."
"Oh my, little brother. I wasn't planning to make corpses."
"......."
"Sigh, fine. I guess you can't feel my sincerity in trying to diligently use my little brother's gift."
"I gave it to you so you wouldn't get hurt."
Though she wasn't pleased, perhaps because it was still more enjoyable than nothing happening at all, Steel swung the metal club in her arm with a whoosh and walked toward the four men.
Rupika, watching that sight, looked at the two with a dumbfounded expression, then laughed at his colleagues behind him. Seeing fellows with no Akra resonance putting on such bravado was almost cute. Judging by how something appeared and disappeared, they seemed to have some trick, but such a thing was nothing but a clown's act before a blade.
"Hey, those gloves from earlier are mine."
"Hehe. Then can I use the woman first?"
"Hey... that's low."
"I like men better. Kehehehe... you guys fight over her."
Steel arrived before the four men who were bickering and opened her mouth with a curious expression.
"Hey kids, there's something I'm curious about."
"......?"
Momentarily speechless at the woman's attitude, asking questions with such a calm expression, Rupika turned around with a "could it be?" expression and asked with his eyes.
Whether there was a baron living in the Roke protective territory who had such a lady as a daughter.
If she were the daughter of a baron, she wouldn't be in a position to be scorned even if she pursued her dreams. Because if they touched her, the baron would immediately rush over and beat them to a pulp.
But the three behind him shook their heads vigorously. The most important thing for commoners was information about nobles. Especially those cherished by nobles. They might never be able to touch nobles, nor would they ever, but if they accidentally touched a commoner cherished by a noble, they could be torn limb from limb.
The woman before them did not exist in their memory. They might not know if it were a large protective territory, but this place only had four barons and one viscount.
Seeing his companions' attitude, Rupika regained his confidence and approached the woman before him.
"Hehe. So you were a crazy bitch. A bitch with no resonance acting so bold. Didn't your parents teach you it's dangerous to go outside?"
"Hmm... my so-called parents had their necks snapped by my siblings. Where I used to live, inside the house was far more dangerous than outside. By the way, resonance... so that's the basis of your judgment."
She didn't know what resonance was, but she could ask these fellows slowly. She had debated kindly taking out her gloves for the ones who made her recall dirty memories of the past, but as Sian said, there was no need to cause a huge accident from the start in an unfamiliar continent, so Steel gripped the rod in her right hand tightly and opened her mouth.
"Still, my so-called parents did teach me one thing."
"Hmm?"
"Why use your mouth when you have a good blade. It's the creed I've lived by."
Having finished speaking, Steel smashed the forehead of the fellow before her.
Smaack!
"Kuaaaack!"
"Hmm?"
Steel wore a questioning expression at the unexpected result. She had definitely swung intending to shatter the fellow's forehead. She had planned to knock the one in front unconscious, then subdue the remaining three, and ask him what resonance was when he woke up.
But contrary to expectations, the fellow didn't faint and was letting out an incredibly painful scream.
Since she couldn't make such a novice mistake, the cause lay in the rod her little brother had given her.
"Huhu. So this wasn't an ordinary item. Shall I try using it once and judge?"
The most basic way to check a weapon's effect was to swing it.
Having gained unexpected fun, Steel smiled pleasantly and swung the rod toward the three who were making surprised expressions behind.
"Hmm... so the Akra inside your bodies resonate with each other, is that it?"
Steel thought these little things running around inside the body could do all sorts of things. To think they even had such a function.
"...
Yes, that's right."
"I see... so that's why you were so brave. Bringing up other people's family education and all."
"......."
Rupika wanted to beat his past self, who had run his mouth arbitrarily, to death. Even his past self, upon seeing his current state, would gladly take the beating.
“By the way… then this is going to keep being tiring. The people here seem to believe in this thing called Akra a lot more than I expected.”
Then again, if there was no one on the continent who didn’t use it, and it always resonated and told them a person’s level, it would be stranger not to believe in it. Even if something felt off, humans judged based on past experience.
“Miss Steel… saying it will be tiring with such a delighted look on your face is not very convincing.”
“Oh? That’s not true, little brother. I love peace, but if things are like this, flies are going to keep buzzing around me. And you don’t have Akra in your body at all.”
“Even so, you should keep the Akra in your body. If it makes you stronger, there’s no need to go so far as to try to expel it outside your body.”
“…
You noticed?”
“If you gather it at your fingertips so blatantly and try to draw it out, anyone would notice.”
Sian sighed as he spoke. From the moment he had said that the Akra inside one’s body resonated and allowed one to gauge another’s level, Steel had been carefully gathering what little Akra was inside her body at her fingertips. She was probably trying to pretend to be an ordinary person, but Sian had no intention of letting Steel play that sort of antlion game.
“Ehh… fine. If it makes me stronger, I’ll keep some in my body. Still, it’ll take quite a while for this to grow up to my level. Hehe.”
Perhaps there was a limit to the speed at which Akra grew, for it was slowly dividing inside Steel’s body as it devoured her energy. It would probably take quite a while before it produced a resonance corresponding to Miss Steel’s true level.
Steel seemed to have realized that as well, and she was wearing a pleased expression.
“……”
“Hehe. Little brother, don’t look at me like that. And it might actually be better to look weak. We don’t even know what level this place is at yet, so it won’t do us much good if everything is exposed like that.”
“……”
That was true, but even a monkey could tell that Miss Steel had no such intention.
“By the way… the lord who’s supposed to protect this place isn’t coming out when it’s this noisy?”
“Indeed. I thought we might be spared the trouble of going to find him.”
Even though four people were hanging from the fine hairs on the roots, he had not come out to see.
“I guess he just doesn’t care much about commoners.”
“Let’s keep going. Still, we heard quite a few interesting things.”
With those words, Sian and Steel began walking once more toward the pillar of Kiculus.☆ ☆ ☆Locke, who had been standing in the pillar, felt the sudden vibration of Akra and looked outside. A noble who had infused Kiculus with his energy became highly sensitive to the flow of Akra within his protected domain.
And when Viscount Locke looked in that direction, he let out a low groan. Someone outside was being beaten to an astonishing degree. The vibration of Akra he had felt must have come from those fellows. They were being thrashed so mercilessly that even he, watching, got chills. The way their whole bodies were being tenderized evenly was not the work of someone who had done this only once or twice. On top of that, he had no idea what that club was, but despite being beaten like that, the ones getting hit did not have a single broken bone. They merely kept screaming like pigs being slaughtered.
Normally, he would have let it pass. Disputes between commoners were fairly common. As long as they did not die, it hardly mattered. But the fact that he could not sense the presence of Akra at all from the one doing the beating pricked Viscount Locke’s nerves.
Moreover, those hand movements and that speed. Even taking into account that she was holding back, she was by no means beneath him. Even if he could not feel the resonance of Akra, Viscount Locke was not blind.‘She’s a count. And her personality doesn’t look very good either… Why would people like that come to our territory…….’The woman did not seem to be marquis-class, but she looked to be around the middle to upper ranks of count-class. He would have to cross hands with her to know in detail, but even without Akra, one could roughly tell from the way she moved her hands.
At this time, when tensions were rising, the counts were restraining themselves, even if the viscounts and barons might not be. There was no reason for them to come all the way to a frontier protected domain of viscount-class. And on top of that, she had no Akra.
Combining those two points, Viscount Locke reached a conclusion.‘A self-made type, then… But how did she hold herself back until reaching that realm……?’There were people like that from time to time. People born with astonishing talent who, even without Akra’s help and without a noble’s protection, grew strong at a rapid pace, defeated hostile species, and reached the realm of nobility. They were truly as rare as beans in a drought, but among the descendants of commoners who rejected Akra and lived while refusing noble rule and protection, such people did sometimes appear.
However, even people like that usually started itching to roam around once they reached the rank of baron. When a commoner reached the realm of a noble, they tasted that new world and became overflowing with confidence. Of course, getting beaten up after acting up without knowing how vast the world was came afterward, but Viscount Locke had never heard of someone shutting themselves away and doing nothing but train until reaching such a realm.
Viscount Locke summoned the barons under him in preparation for any unforeseen situation. It was just in case, but if they had to fight, it would be better to fight inside the pillar. If they fought outside for no reason, commoners might be swept up in it and the precious sources of Akra supply could be wiped out. Inside the tree trunk, they could fight while receiving Akra’s aid.
The master of a protected domain and his retainers, when fighting within that protected domain, possessed far greater advantages than nobles who did not. Seeing that woman’s martial strength, the best thing would be not to fight, but since he did not know what these unknown people wanted, it was right to prepare first.‘By the way… I’ll have to exempt those fellows from this month’s Akra supply. They’ve done good work. No, judging by how badly they were beaten, one month isn’t enough… maybe three?’If he had not seen those fellows being beaten, he, too, would have treated those people carelessly. After all, he would not have sensed any resonance of Akra from them. But because those fellows had caused trouble first, he was now able to take appropriate measures in advance.
Thinking them commendable, Viscount Locke decided to exempt those four fellows from supplying Akra, and summoned the remaining three barons, excluding the one out on patrol outside.☆ ☆ ☆Kyaruruk. Kyaruk.
Kukuru, a brave warrior of the Gran tribe, was not in a very good mood. It was because he had let prey he had all but caught a few days ago slip away. Those pale fellows tasted good when eaten, and because they nurtured a strange energy inside their bodies, they were also a great help in increasing strength. On top of that, they usually lived hidden in bizarre trees, so they were not easy to find. Since there had been some mad ones wandering around outside the tree for the first time in a while, he had happily attacked them, and in truth, he had nearly succeeded. But when he came to, all of them had been knocked unconscious, and as if that were not enough, all the Antain he had painstakingly raised had been smashed to pieces.
Kyaruk!
Remembering that time made Kukuru’s mood worsen again, and he kicked hard at the side of the Antain he was riding. If the number of Antain was insufficient, there was no telling when those Barkan bastards on the plains might push into the area under his charge. That was why he needed to quickly restore the number of Antain he had lost. If his territory was taken, the chief would be enraged and cut off his head. That was why he had entered deep into the forest, where he normally did not come.
There was little to eat inside the forest, and the strange energy made him feel terribly uneasy, so he did not want to enter, but now was not the time to be picky about such things. He had to quickly find food inside and secure hosts to restore the number of Antain.
Kyarururuk. Kyaruk.
As Kukuru drove the Antain to hunt swiftly and hunted monsters, he thought that the feel of this place was somewhat different from usual. By this point, that bizarre sensation should have grown strong, but he did not feel much of it.
Keruk?
Kukuru found it strange, but decided not to think deeply about it. If he did not feel that sensation, it was actually a good thing. Normally, that energy hindered him and prevented him from going deeper, but like this, he could go farther in and obtain even more food. The chief always told him not to come near this area, but if he obeyed and failed to bring back food, that bastard would be the first to take his head.
While he had his subordinates busily hunting, Kururu, who was looking for a place to sort the prey and rest, discovered a small lake.
To be precise, settling by a small body of water that could have been either a lake or a spring, they sorted the prey and played around, tossing some to the Antain to eat.
Kyarururuk! Kyaruruk!
Thwack!
When his tactless subordinates gleefully drank water by the water’s edge and splashed around, Kukuru’s mood soured, and he kicked one of the fellows who had been fooling around.
The one he kicked went flying into the lake, spraying water in every direction.
Kyaruk! Kyaruruk!
Seeing that sight, the fellows sitting around burst into loud laughter, as if it served him right. But something was strange. The water was not deep, yet the one who had fallen in did not come out.
Keruruk?
Sensing something odd, Kukuru walked into the lake himself. It was to pull out the witless fool. It did not seem likely he would drown in such a shallow place, but even if he was that stupid, it was not bad. They could feed him to the Antain. Even if he was a corpse, they had to bring him out.
As Kukuru slowly entered the water like that, he suddenly felt the ground drop away beneath his feet.……!
Though startled by the sudden situation, Kukuru calmly held his breath and flailed, then suddenly felt his feet touch the ground and stood up.
Rising out of the water, Kukuru trembled at the chilling energy bearing down on him.
Keruruk!
Startled, he dipped himself back into the water, and the energy he had just felt disappeared. Regaining his calm, Kukuru examined his surroundings. Looking beside him, he saw that the witless fellow who had fallen in earlier was also crouching low beside him, just like him.
As he looked around, he realized that the red atmosphere filling every direction was the source of that unpleasant sensation. Thinking that he had to leave this place, Kukuru tried to dip himself back into the springwater. If he did it as he had when he came in, he could probably get out.
At that moment, the witless fellow beside him called to him.
Kerururuk.
Wondering what it was, he looked at the fellow in irritation, and saw him pointing at something outside the springwater. Curious as to what it was, Kukuru looked there and realized why the fellow had called him.
Kyaruru…
A mountain of corpses piled up tremendously high.
Red monsters he had never seen before were stacked up in enormous numbers. Normally, they were so huge and frightening-looking that he would not even have been able to look them in the face, but knowing that they were dead, he was not afraid. Instead, as Kukuru examined them, a delighted expression spread across his face.
Kyaruk! Kyaruruk!
Letting out a joyful shriek, Kukuru ordered his subordinate to tell all the fellows outside to come in. With this much food and this many hosts, they had to hurry and eat it all up. Before it spoiled.
After sending the fellow out, Kukuru slowly rose and headed out of the water. It could be dangerous, but he could not possibly ignore the corpses before his eyes. Thinking he should get a taste before the others came, Kukuru slowly walked toward the corpses.
This was something that happened while Sian and Steel were slowly traveling to Viscount Locke’s domain on Mubakal.