The Damn Family Is Back Again

207 – 207. The Wrathful Ones (7)

It was as expected from the scent.

Harnie did not participate in the battle.

Only Karsein’s sword on one side bore the scent of venom and the trace of mana used, with no smell of artifacts or other magical tools used.

It wasn’t just Talphone who noticed the scent, the eyes of the Lilpeton tribe members also showed their alarm. For them, who had hunted the Scorpion King countless times, this was too reckless a deed.

Soon after crossing the entrance, Karsein dismounted from the horse and presented an object.

“I brought this as proof.”

“…There’s no need to bring the Scorpion King’s stinger; it can be distinguished by the scent.”

“Really?”

“Anyway. This is more than enough to acknowledge.”

Did he not defeat the Scorpion King alone?

He passed the test of Lilpeton, not just adequately, but to a degree that seemed more than sufficient.

Talphone announced the fact right here and informed all members of the Lilpeton tribe, followed by a time of robust and brief applause.

The very act of facing the Scorpion King alone is enough to make one’s tongue wag, especially since the Scorpion King of the Urome region is an unusually overgrown specimen.

No one in Lilpeton could doubt Karsein’s abilities.

Then Talphone extended a map.

“This is the room where you’ll stay. Rest and decide on the date and time yourself. I don’t mind whenever it’s scheduled.”

Karsein took the map and moved along with Harnie.

Watching Karsein’s retreating figure, Talphone sighed faintly.

With this, the two trials Talphone had set forth were concluded.

Now, only the final test of combat remained.

Is he truly a survivor of the Wederos Kingdom?

I believe his skills have somewhat proven that.

Not to mention, the faint scent of mana also closely resembles that of the Wederos Kingdom.

“Though it seems he himself doesn’t quite understand what the Wederos Kingdom is.”

A survivor of the Wederos Kingdom. Just that fact alone made him a man worthy enough to establish diplomatic relations with.

No. Perhaps even more than that.

But…

There remains a sense of wonder.

“What is this scent exactly…”

It’s different. Clearly changed.

The scent emanating from his mana.

This dense scent of mana is probably due to awakening. It’s speculated that he awakened once while capturing the Scorpion King.

When one truly opens their eyes to mana and uses it, awakening often comes with intense emotions. Whether it’s blaming one’s own weakness, trying to save someone dying before their eyes, or exerting strength through the will to survive, the cause is ultimately one.

Fittingly, the most precarious situations turn the individual’s emotions inside out.

Karsein must be no different.

He too must have been swept up in a whirlwind of emotions. And this whirlwind of emotions was entwined with Karsein’s sword, allowing the scent to be discerned.

However, the unique scent of his own mana was so intense it was almost suffocating.

“What kind of life has he lived to emit such a thick scent of loneliness and pain?”

Karsein’s mana offered an abyss of solitude and pain, seemingly endless. Moreover, just smelling it brought a strangely chilling sensation.

I knew he was a forsaken child, but could that be all there is to it?

No. Certainly, that can’t be everything.

At the very least, Talphon was certain that something more was hidden.

***

It could be said that a sigh of relief was taken.

It was reckless, but somehow, having awakened to mana in the midst of it all, I managed to defeat the Scorpion King alone, and not only Talphon’s reaction but also that of the Lilpeton tribe followed, so my affinity and recognition must have sufficiently increased.

Yet, it seems there’s still one very big hurdle left for me.

“…Excuse me, Harnie? Isn’t your room that way?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Then, could you give me my room key…”

With a grin.

She’s just smiling refreshingly, but somehow, I can feel a refusal in Harnie’s expression.

Holding both keys, she only unlocked my room. And then, with a gesture, she seemed to hurry me inside.

-Gulp.

Swallowing hard, I entered the room, and then I heard something lock with a click. Tense, I turned around to see her approaching with a smile.

“Karsein. Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“…”

…A chill runs down my spine.

She’s smiling with such a pretty face, but somehow, the eeriness doesn’t fade.

Having experienced it a few times, I get the feeling.

Harnie is very angry right now.

“That…”

“The artifact. Didn’t we agree to use it if it got dangerous?”

“I did, I did…”

Huh. In my head, I was sure that when this question came up, I wasn’t supposed to answer right away but beat around the bush first to calm things down…? I accidentally replied with honorifics?

…Am I in trouble?

“Then why didn’t you use the artifact even though you were in such a state?”

“Uh… Well…”

“You could have just screamed for help, so why didn’t you use it?”

“Um, Harnie? That…”

“Kar. Se. In?”

With her eyes gently folded, she slowly approached me.

Ugh, let’s give up.

The pain will be brief.

-Slap!

“Ugh!”

A scolding barrage came along with a stinging slap.

“People! Huh? Do you have to worry me like that?! Huh?!”

“Ouch! It hurts! I’m telling you, I’m injured!”

“Injured, my foot! You’re yelling loud enough, seems like you’re fine! Huh?! Geez, catching the Scorpion King all by yourself?! What is this───”

As the nagging continued, my mind began to numb.

Harunie sighed deeply and turned away.

“Hmph. That’s what you get for doing something so worrisome. Going off and getting hurt all alone.”

“…”

I want to make excuses… but I can’t.

After catching the Scorpion King, I just collapsed right there.

Harunie sighed again and tapped the chair.

“First, we need to treat the wounds, so show me your back.”

I could do it myself, of course…

But the atmosphere wasn’t right for refusal.

“…”

It’s an unfamiliar sensation.

To have someone else’s hands, smeared with medicine, touching my wounded body.

For someone like me, who’s usually subjected to more harm than healing, this sensation is strangely awkward.

“So, when are we leaving?”

“Huh?”

“The 4-week meeting is coming up soon, weren’t you going to explain to Talphone that we need to delay our report at the meeting?”

Ah. Is that what ‘when are we leaving’ meant.

Hmm. That’s definitely a problem.

Right now, I’m here to pick up the third agent for the episode’s progression, but to report at the 4-week meeting, I’d have to leave the west and head east.

But that’s not possible.

“No. I’ll be staying here a while longer. While applying for a rest week.”

“Whaaat?!”

Ah, that’s a spot that’s been hurt quite a bit.

“Seriously? Rest Week is… the one and only chance for a symposium participant to declare a break!”

I’m well aware of that.

At the Eastern Nobility Conference, absence from reporting leads directly to failure and disqualification.

Therefore, the one opportunity given with the start of the symposium must be used when one cannot come to report for some reason.

When one must take leave for illness or injury.

When quarantine due to plague treatment or unavoidable circumstances like a relative’s funeral or trial occurs.

That’s when Rest Week is declared to continue the symposium for a week.

“I know that.”

“And you’re using your Rest Week despite knowing?”

“Yes.”

“Karsein…”

Harnie called my name with an expression of disbelief.

Well, it’s understandable.

Talphone’s last condition said it’s fine whenever the party decides, so it’s not too late even if I finish the fourth-week report and satisfy it then.

It must feel strangely wasteful to lose the only means of Rest Week like this.

But from my perspective, the view changes.

[ 3. Achieve over 80% completion in a duel with Talphone. ]

The status window demands that condition from me with over 80% completion.

Talphone himself said to fight with all my might… it won’t just be a simple duel.

I don’t have to go that far.

The mere existence of this condition is explanation enough.

How dangerous is it to add a condition that never existed before? Such variables must be blocked in advance or sorted out before problems arise, as they tend to slowly strangle the player.

Moreover, by accepting Talphone, the third agent, it helps to clear this episode more stably by unraveling the secrets of Chatren a bit faster.

Lastly, it’s also because of my own senses.

Having just defeated the Scorpion King and awakened to mana, I must maintain this sensation and grow my power. It’s only right to prepare for the duel with Talphone by facing the beasts, not by reporting.

For these reasons, there was enough cause to complete this condition in advance.

“I’ll send a letter to Camilla through Tasha. If you’re going to waste your precious Rest Week because of me, you may leave now, Harnie.”

“…”

Harnie, who had been listening, applied the medicine once again.

“For that reason, I’ll use it too. Rest Week.”

“What? Ack.”

Slap.

“Who else could it be, getting hurt like this and causing so much worry? A fiancée should be by your side, right? Hmm.”

It’s surely a loss.

I wondered why they would act like this.

But.

“You’re not going to tell me to go back on my own now, are you?”

The atmosphere was not like that this time either.

Before long, Tasha had collected the Rest Week applications from me and Harnie, delivering them to our respective estate agents, Camilla and Mina, and thus we continued to stay longer in Lilpeton.

***

Meanwhile.

At a similar time, the residents of Rusmayer were secretly meeting with the guards.

Just as Kian had suspected, seeing the abandoned agricultural equipment in Chatren, they were now secretly checking the contents of the trash bins.

“Hmm. We brought it here secretly, but this is…”

“It’s not easy to separate.”

“Usually, we ask magicians to deal with it. We don’t separate the trash like this.”

The trash bin was a mix of everything from food waste like peels and seeds to wrapping paper, pieces of agricultural tools, and charred soot, making it difficult to sort.

Then Kian rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

“Don’t worry. We’re good at rummaging through this kind of stuff.”

“Huh? Why are you good at rummaging?”

“Well… to survive, we had to rummage through other estates’ trash bins.”

“I see. Rusmayer is…”

“Hey, don’t make that face. It was just a joke. Anyway, kids!”

“Yes!”

Melik, Tony, Diena, and other boys and girls who had shared poor times together rolled up their sleeves and stepped forward.

And so, the trash of Chatren was quickly sorted.

“The condition of the discarded agricultural equipment is indeed serious. It doesn’t corrode like this normally.”

“There are too many types and too many pieces. How could it break this much? It’s just farming, after all?”

“Besides that, something else is strange. Why did they buy so much high-grade fertilizer?”

“Hmm. The fertilizer too… Sniff sniff. It seems like something else is mixed in.”

A large number of suspicious items were detected.

Finally, something particularly dubious was grasped in Kian’s hand.

“…Those are somewhat concerning, but this is what I find most suspicious.”

“A piece of wood, you say?”

“It doesn’t look like an unusual piece of wood.”

“Could it be leftover firewood that’s been discarded?”

While that might be what some would think, the residents of the Ruthsmayer domain recognized the dissonance immediately.

Such things are not used as firewood.

No. They cannot be used as firewood.

No. Is this even wood to begin with?

Something this hard cannot be called wood.

Rather…

‘A demonic beast.’

It was far more plausible to consider it a part of a demonic beast’s body that had fallen off.

-Ding!

▶You have received information from the agent.◀

[ A strange piece of wood was found in the trash bin of the Chatren domain. ]