Chapter 25: Aroma and Stench

Banquet hall of Valdrova Castle.

Perda was observing from above as the knights gathered.

“How repugnant.”

Ruri, who was also looking toward the hall, said that.

“It seems that your hatred toward humans is too strong.”

“It is not hatred toward humans. It is that those are repugnant.”

As if she could no longer endure it, Ruri covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief.

“When I heard they were wandering knights I thought they would be like field rats, but how can they be even worse?”

All of them were covered in perfume all over their bodies.

But that was only meant to cover the smell according to the human sense of smell.

For Ruri, who was a dragonspawn, it did not work.

Ruri gagged.

“Do humans really go around giving off such strange smells? This is neither smell nor aroma. What is this stench like garbage and waste?”

Perda nodded as if he understood.

“When one is going to have an audience with a king, that is the minimum.”

“Do you mean not bathing?”

Ruri asked with an incredulous look, and Perda nodded again.

“It is one of the virtues of knights. Bathing and eliminating the odor is a disgrace for a knight. Even if they have arrived in haste, the important thing is to demonstrate that they can emit fragrance.”

“You know those primitive customs well.”

“I come from a family of knights, so it is natural.”

Perda had also always thought it was a primitive custom.

Probably most knights thought the same.

But it still existed simply because of what they call tradition.

The knights of the empire are capable even of stabbing their own father for tradition.

“Do you also do it, Perda?”

“I am not a knight. There is no reason to do it.”

Perda liked cleanliness.

When he lived in the bath, he always kept it clean, and cleanliness had become something impossible to separate from him.

“It seems they have all gathered. What will you do?”

“Hmm…”

Perda observed the people carefully again.

‘As I thought, he is not here.’

Perda had attracted the wandering knights by promising a territory in exchange for delivering thirty monsters.

It was a condition to gather monster corpses quickly, but it also had another purpose.

He wanted to observe the wandering knights.

‘Is the walking fortress, Alberto, not here?’

A wandering knight who wore armor as heavy and resistant as a turtle’s shell.

He wielded a great sword in one hand and a large shield in the other.

He walked the world only with his two legs, without horse or squire.

A humble knight, but at the same time noble.

‘He was never someone interested in territories or loyalties, but I thought the far east would catch his attention.’

He had sworn to fight everything that threatened humanity.

And the far east was full of threats.

That was why Perda thought the walking fortress would want that position.

“Are you looking for someone?”

While he was observing, Ruri asked cautiously.

“If I am looking for him, I am looking for him. If I am not looking for him, I am not looking for him.”

“What does that mean?”

“It is like hoping to find a silver coin lying on the road while you walk. Enough talk, let us go down.”

“Yes.”

Ruri’s index finger pointed at Perda’s feet.

She moved her finger and a white whirlwind began to spin silently beneath Perda’s feet.

Perda felt his body become light.

‘Heaven Stair.’

A third-level spell that allows one to descend from the air to the ground slowly and safely.

A small and almost useless spell, but very used by nobles to maintain their elegance.

Perda placed his foot in the air.

His body slowly descended diagonally toward the platform.

“Eh?”

Someone saw him and exclaimed.

“Someone is coming down.”

“Is that… the owner of this castle?”

The wandering knights, lacking much perception, stared as he descended.

Perda placed his foot on the platform with his hands behind his back.

Then he slowly turned to observe the wandering knights.

He had the dignity of a great magician that fit perfectly with that elegant magic.

Even the most clueless wandering knights fell silent.

“A pleasure.”

He greeted with a solemn voice.

***

Stephan, who was observing Perda, was momentarily stunned by his presence.

‘Is that the man who lives under Valdrova’s roof? An idiot brat drunk on power?’

He could not help being surprised.

He had heard that the dragon queen’s fiancé was barely a recent adult, but he really was young.

Among the wandering knights there was no one younger than him.

Even the youngest was five years older.

‘And even so his bearing is as imposing as that of the heads of families who have maintained their position for decades.’

Although he was at least five years younger, no one dared to impose themselves using age.

‘This is not the time to think about that!’

Stephan recovered from his trance.

He was standing in front of a ruler and still standing stiff-legged!

Some quicker knights were already kneeling.

Stephan lightly struck Robellus’s side.

“Knight.”

“Eh? Yes?”

“You must kneel.”

“Eh? …Ah!”

Then, hurriedly, he knelt.

It was an awkward attitude and poorly aligned with protocol, but what did that matter now?

The other knights also reacted and knelt.

Perda continued speaking.

“I am Perda Valdrova, fiancé of Queen Valdrova and currently regent of the duchy.”

“We greet the regent of the duchy!”

Someone shouted in a loud voice.

The knights who had been distracted repeated the greeting with delay.

One of the knights standing at the front adjusted his hair.

He tried to introduce himself before anyone else.

“It is a great honor to step upon the territory of the ruler of great power. Allow me to introduce myself…”

“Ah, that is not necessary.”

Perda cut off the arrogant knight.

Not listening to a knight’s introduction was contrary to royal protocol.

‘Why did he stop him?’

There was no need to think too much.

He simply had no intention of following protocol.

“The wrappings you prepared are useless. What is inside is pure garbage. Why create expectations?”

“…What?”

“W-what do you mean…?”

All the wandering knights reacted in surprise.

Their plate armor clattered with a metallic roar.

‘This is getting very dangerous!’

The smell of perfume was already making Stephan dizzy, and now the atmosphere was turning hostile as well.

But Perda, after throwing that insult, remained as calm as an immense river.

“Do you want me to say it more clearly? It means that all of you are empty inside. Inflated bread with no filling. Empty carts that only make noise.”

Bang!

Someone struck the floor with his gauntlet.

“Your words are excessive, Regent! I ask that you withdraw that comment!”

A fierce-looking knight spoke.

His armor was full of scars, as if he had passed through countless battlefields.

He was the same one who had bought thirty monster corpses from Stephan.

‘Wow, what incredible audacity.’

While Stephan observed with a tired expression, Perda stared down at him.

“That my words were excessive…?”

He nodded slowly, as if accepting that point.

“Very well. If my words were incorrect, then I will apologize.”

Perda walked with his hands behind his back along the edge of the platform.

His gaze passed over all the wandering knights.

“Is there anyone here who hunted the thirty creatures with their own hands?”

“Ugh…”

“Ahem…”

Some of the knights who had been about to protest the insult cleared their throats and lowered their heads.

But those who had not done so observed the reactions of the others with mocking smiles.

The fierce-looking knight kept his head high.

This time Perda asked those who still held their heads up.

“Is there among you anyone who hunted thirty by himself?”

“Hmm…”

“Hunt them alone? How could someone…?”

Some murmured, but when overwhelmed by Perda’s gaze they closed their mouths.

Others lowered their heads again awkwardly.

That meant they had captured the monsters solely with their own strength, without obtaining them elsewhere.

‘There is no one like that.’

If a wandering knight had the strength to hunt thirty monsters alone, he would already be serving under someone.

The fact that all of them kept their heads raised meant they were all lying.

Perda could not know what they had done, so they simply acted shamelessly.

‘No… if the lord of the territory were not a complete idiot, he would not believe that either.’

Stephan observed Perda’s reaction.

Perda looked at those who had their heads raised and nodded.

“I see.”

However, Perda accepted it.

So easily?

“Then I will apologize.”

Perda approached the young maid beside him and extended his hand.

She took from her skirt a parchment sealed with red ink.

“Do you know what this is?”

Perda held it up while asking.

Even the dullest immediately understood what it was.

“What I have here is the certificate of ownership of the territory and the title that belonged to Tesalos Wolcher. Only your names need to be written for it to become valid.”

It was exactly what all the knights desired.

“After all, you have hunted thirty monsters and offered them, so I must keep my promise, must I not?”

He said that while placing the document on the table of the platform.

“If you wish…”

That was like the gunshot that signals the start of a war.

“Come and take it.”

The light burst in the eyes of all the wandering knights.

Stephan flinched instinctively.

It was a scene he had seen far too many times.

‘It is just like when we put up a 70% discount sign to clear inventory!’

When one gets trapped among those ladies with bulging eyes, one ends up crushed.

And here they were knights.

The fight would be even worse.

He decided it was best not to look and lowered his head.

But no one moved.

Not even Robellus beside him.

Stephan slightly raised his head and asked him.

“Knight, are you not going?”

“Ugh… ugh…”

He could not.

Robellus was suffering.

His eyes were so wide it seemed they might pop out as he stared at one point.

Stephan turned his head out of curiosity.

“H-hah!”

He also let out a choked cry.

‘A… dragon?’

In the place where the maid had been.

There was a silver dragon coiled up, looking at them with fury.

No one could move under that gaze.

‘What in the world is this? When did it appear here? Or… were we the ones who arrived somewhere else?’

Stephan even wondered whether they had been transported somewhere else.

The fear was so deep that it prevented clear thinking.

While everyone was paralyzed, someone stood up.

“Success…”

He breathed like an old man about to die.

“A territory…”

“Marriage… escape…!”

Like dying elders, they began to advance with difficulty toward the blank certificates.

The race toward the platform had begun.

Then—

— Grrrr…

The dragon’s figure distorted.

The form that had remained still began to growl with fury as they approached.

The wandering knights who had forced themselves to move froze again.

The silver dragon, which had been coiled, began to move.

— KROAAAR!

It roared as if someone had touched its inverted scale.

***

— If you use Dragon Fear, what will happen to the knights?

Before meeting the knights, Perda asked Ruri.

— Most will flee. They will believe a dragon is chasing them.

— And if you use it weakly?

— Hmm… their senses will believe there is a dragon and they will not be able to move.

— That will be enough. When I give the signal, could you release a little Dragon Fear?

— Against knights?

— Yes. If we are going to choose the lord of the territory, at least he should not be a coward.

Perda said it, and Ruri more or less agreed.

‘I thought anyone would do…’

But her thoughts began to change.

‘Damn smell.’

It was because of the smell.

Dragon Fear made them break into cold sweat and their body temperature increase.

The heat intensified, and the smell of perfume mixed with sweat became even stronger.

On the ceiling a nauseating cloud had formed, what people crudely call a burst of stench.

Even Perda could now perceive that unbearable smell mixing in the air.

For Ruri it was a true hell.

Those who were sweating did not even realize it.

They were too busy trying to endure Ruri’s Dragon Fear.

Some trembled with fear.

Others advanced by force, driven by greed.

“M-me too… now… I will prosper…!”

“A dr-dr-dr-dragon d-doesn’t s-scare me…!”

They even began to say their most miserable thoughts out loud.

It was a perfect combination to test Ruri’s patience.

‘I want to throw them out right now.’

But Ruri fulfilled her role.

She tried to observe until the end.

Then her silver eyes finally saw him.

That man who was at the front and climbing the platform.

He had gone days without bathing and gave off an unbearable stench.

On his skin, sweat had run and dried repeatedly in several layers.

A drop of sweat slid down that man’s cheek.

As it slid, it dragged the accumulated dirt on his face and mixed with it.

When that sweat reached the tip of his chin, it fell like a drop formed at the end of a stalactite.

Ploc—

The dirty, foul-smelling sweat seeped into the precious floor of Valdrova Castle.

Crack.

Inside Ruri’s mouth, the sound of something breaking could be heard.

At the moment all that information connected in her mind, Ruri lost her reason for an instant.

Dragon Fear was released at its maximum and covered the entire banquet hall.

It was only an instant, but it was more than enough.

“Ahhh! I don’t want to die!”

The knights who had managed to move while overcoming the fear were the first to turn around and run.

Panic spread in an instant.

“Move! I’m getting out of here!”

“Aaaah! Mom! Mommm!”

The knights began to run in a pathetic way, making noise with their armor.

Without anyone ordering it, everyone ran toward the exit, and the hall became empty in an instant.

“Hmm…”

Perda, who had been observing everything, looked at the enormous doors now shattered and spoke.

“I wanted to observe a little more. What a shame.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter. There are many useless people like those. Others can always be chosen.”

Perda’s eyes slowly moved to another place.

“Besides, it seems the selection was not a complete failure.”

In the place that seemed to have been swept by a storm, one man remained standing.

He was not a knight.

His legs trembled, but if one looked carefully, it was because he was forcing himself not to run away.

His eyes were full of tears and mucus hung from his nose.

Fluids came out of every opening in his face.

The situation was so terrifying that it seemed he might suffocate.

Even so, his eyes continued to look at Perda.

Whoever he was, he seemed like someone worth listening to.

**

Valdrova Castle, reception room.

“What is your name?”

“M-my name is S-Stephan Pascal.”

“Your name is S-Stephan?”

“I-I’m sorry. I-I stuttered. S-te-phan.”

“It’s fine. I understand. I only wanted to make sure. Speak calmly, you don’t need to force yourself.”

“Y-yes, sir… Huff…!”

Stephan had still not recovered from the aftereffects of Dragon Fear.

He breathed deeply again and again, but a few attempts were not enough to calm down.

‘He has an extraordinary mental fortitude.’

Even with trembling lips he was able to maintain a conversation.

Perda kept that thought to himself and asked him.

“If you belong to the Pascal family, do you have a connection with the Pascal trading company that I am thinking of?”

“Y-yes. I am the second son of H-Herman Pascal. C-currently I am sub… deputy chief of the imperial main branch. No, de-puty chief.”

“I see. What brings you here?”

“I-I was selling monster corpses to the knights… and I thought that perhaps Your Highness might need them… so I came to talk about it…”

He was a man who had come with a clear purpose.

He had suppressed his instinct to flee because he could not give up that objective.

‘But what makes me hesitate is…’

His name.

Stephan Pascal.

‘It is a name I have never heard.’

Herman Pascal was the most famous merchant of the empire and the continent, so Perda knew him well.

After his death, the struggle for the inheritance had intensified.

But the protagonists of that dispute were only two.

Merchit and Tilda.

‘Then Stephan is a solitary candle in the middle of the sea.’

On a windless day, a ship condemned to wander forever until it dies forgotten.

A man with the qualities to be an heir, but without support, destined to disappear without glory.

There were enough reasons to consider him someone insignificant.

‘But if he is destined to collapse due to lack of support…’

What would happen if he himself provided that support?

‘Merchit and Tilda have already consolidated their own factions.’

Even if Perda supported one of them, he would gain nothing.

‘But if I introduce Stephan as a new force into that struggle…’

If he succeeded, he could use the commercial network and information of the Pascal Company, considered the best in the empire.

That would greatly help the development of the Far East, which was practically wild territory, and even a technological revolution.

“Stephan.”

Perda, who had already made a decision, spoke.

“While you calm down, do you want to hear a rather absurd proposal?”