Chapter 47
“…Ah, the witches.”
They really did exist.
The evil dragon Ater rose to its feet again.
“This is rare. Forest spirits and witches gathering in one place again. And this is even near human territory.”
Why would two races that avoid humans return here?
Because of the Saintess?
Or…
“That insolent cat.”
The Great Spirit of the Forest lightly nudged the dragon’s head once more with its snout.
Ater lazily rolled onto its back in response.
“On the very day her aunt sent me to protect her, she chased me off with hissing. That brat. Should I just not protect her?”
“Protect her.”
“Hmph.”
“Did you not see it as well?”
That grotesque thing.
The rest went unspoken, but Ater understood perfectly what the Great Spirit meant.
After all, that was why it had been lingering around the Deiamor estate.
If it strayed too far from the Saintess and those around her, it felt like that grotesque thing would reach out its claws even toward itself.
Even for an evil dragon that had inherited ancient knowledge and experience, it was something terrifying.
It was something that had never existed since the creation of the world.
“…Do you know what it is?”
“What devours, twists, and recreates our world.”
“Recreates…”
That seemed accurate.
That grotesque thing kept touching its targets and began changing them into strange forms.
But it didn’t seem to be exerting its full power yet.
Because—
“It couldn’t do anything against the Saintess’s blessing.”
That was why Nivellia Deiamor and the people around her remained unharmed, even with that thing lingering nearby.
The blessing of Saint Muniel was protecting them.
“When you camp, you eat meat.”
The first night’s dinner was meat grilled over charcoal.
Various cuts of meat, marinated in spices made by the witches, were grilled to a golden brown over charcoal that Ardores had painstakingly prepared.
“……”
“……”
Drool streamed from the children’s mouths as they stood before the grill.
“Don’t touch.”
Kaleo waved the tongs in his hand, keeping them at a safe distance.
Today’s cook was Kaleo.
“It’s dangerous, so stay back. Otherwise…”
As if on cue, a strong gust of wind scattered glowing charcoal dust like sparks.
“Wow!”
“Fire! Fire!”
The children ran away when sparks flew, then quickly gathered again when they disappeared.
After watching for a while, Nivellia suddenly looked at Kaleo suspiciously.
“Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you good at grilling meat?”
“I am. Ralph always enjoyed the meat I grilled too.”
“Who’s Ralph?”
“That’s Uncle Kalarov’s nickname.”
Soles explained from the side.
“Father and Uncle Kalarov have been friends since they were young.”
“Ohhh.”
Nivellia nodded.
Kaleo continued,
“When Ralph and I went hunting in the forest, I was always in charge of cooking.”
He bragged endlessly, saying that without him, that guy would’ve starved to death because his cooking was terrible.
Nivellia, who had been listening blankly, suddenly asked,
“Dad, were you and Uncle in love?”
“…What?”
“Hahaha!”
Before Kaleo could respond, Celetina burst into laughter.
Nivellia immediately ran over to her.
“Mom! Dad was in love with Uncle!”
She huffed as if it were a serious problem.
“Oh my, that is a big problem. Then what should Mom do?”
“You should divorce him and demand alimony.”
“Where did you learn such things?”
Celetina kissed Nivellia on the forehead and spoke gently.
But Nivellia still looked dissatisfied.
“A partner is only one.”
“That’s right. You shouldn’t cheat.”
“Nini was mad today too because Aref cheated!”
Aref, who was nearby, quickly shook his head.
After simply reaching out to a cat once, he had somehow become a cheater, and now he was nervously watching Nivellia’s mood.
“Nini waited only for Aref…”
“I see. But I’m sure Aref likes Nini very much too.”
Celetina offered him a lifeline.
Aref nodded vigorously.
“I-I like My Lady the m-most…!”
He confessed shyly, his face redder than the charcoal.
“You hear that?”
“……”
“Nini.”
You can forgive him now.
In truth, Aref hadn’t done anything wrong. At most, his “crime” was looking at another cat in front of Nini.
“Aref was just being kind to a cat.”
“That’s the problem! Right in front of Nini!”
“Nini isn’t a cat, she’s a person, so can’t you be a little generous?”
“Nini is a cat.”
“But you’re also a person, right?”
Celetina gently held Nivellia’s chubby hand.
Nivellia stared at her hand.
There were no soft pink paw pads, and pressing her palm didn’t reveal hidden claws.
Instead of fluffy white fur, there was only soft skin.
“…Yeah.”
I’m a person now.
Sometimes, when Nivellia faced that reality, it made her feel strange.
“Aref.”
Pushing aside that difficult feeling, Nivellia approached him.
Then she hugged him tightly.
Seeing the young pair embrace, the adults smiled warmly.
Only Kaleo looked restless, thinking, Isn’t this too early? I’m not worried—no, actually I am…!
“Aref.”
“Yes.”
“If you cheat, I’ll kill you.”
“…Yes.”
He had no intention of cheating.
In fact, he didn’t even fully understand the situation.
But he gave the answer Nivellia wanted—and intended to do as she wished.
Only then did Nivellia pull back slightly and beam a bright, innocent smile that could melt anyone.
Aref’s heart softened completely.
That night, the meat Kaleo grilled melted in their mouths like honey.
And so, the first night of camping came to an end.
“Damn it!”
The Count Petra’s son threw down the newspaper he had been reading.
Each time he exhaled sharply, his neatly groomed mustache trembled as if it might fall off.
The newspaper on the floor contained details of the recent press conference held by Rubeo’s head, Celetina.
Because of that cunning woman, I’ve been made into a liar!
Celetina had clearly drawn a line, stating that she and the Petra heir were not close and that Rubeo was busy with ongoing business preparations.
The Petra heir, who had been slightly ahead in the succession race, was shaken by this article.
Taking advantage of that, his older sister surged ahead.
The Petra young lady had introduced a new product—“insurance”—which had received positive responses in the northern regions where it was first sold.
She also announced plans to expand it across the capital and other regions soon.
It was practically a taunt directed at her younger brother.
“Those who don’t know their place…!”
The Petra heir resented both his sister, who kept blocking his path, and the head of Rubeo, who had ruined his efforts.
As he fumed, a voice spoke beside him.
“It’s alright. It’s not completely over yet.”
The Petra heir turned.
There stood a broker he had recently come into contact with.
“Felsone.”
A man with a sturdy build—especially broad, angular shoulders—Felsone was a highly renowned broker in the financial world.
Any business he discovered or stock he showed interest in always turned out to be a huge success.
To recruit him, the Petra siblings had tried every possible method.
Especially the Petra heir, who desperately needed him.
He couldn’t beat his sister with ability alone.
He needed someone to help him.
By sheer coincidence, he had met Felsone at a bar he frequented and managed to bring him to his side.
“Rubeo has always been cautious and conservative. There’s a reason Celetina succeeded at such a young age.”
“Thanks to her, I’ve been made a liar!”
“You can just call it a misunderstanding.”
Felsone shrugged his broad shoulders casually.
His physique was as solid as a knight’s, but his face was half-hidden.
No one knew what he looked like—he always wore a white mask over his eyes.
“What matters is that you can take the share Rubeo may have invested in.”
“Easier said than done.”
The Petra heir laughed dryly.
But inwardly, he was burning with impatience.
The magic stone mining project in the Kingdom of Frock was a guaranteed success.
If the quality was good, even a fingernail-sized piece of magic stone could be worth millions of Uba.
When Felsone first mentioned it, the Petra heir had secretly consulted an informant to verify the information.
Fortunately, it was confirmed to be true.
“It is certain that the Kingdom of Frock recently discovered a magic stone mine. There’s a high chance they’re looking for investors due to lack of funds. Forty years ago, they tried to betray the Saintess and were instead crushed by her…”
After leaving the informant, the Petra heir immediately gathered his available personal funds and handed them to Felsone.
Soon, Felsone brought back securities as proof that the investment had been successfully made.
“If you invest one million Uba, you will receive magic stones worth ten times that value.”
Felsone repeated what he had said before.
Even so, the Petra heir was anxious.
If he could just acquire the shares that Rubeo had foolishly abandoned, he would gain wealth surpassing Rubeo’s within months.
