Chapter 140: Chapter 104: Speedrun (1)

༺ Speedrun (1) ༻

[…Say that again.]

“…I asked for you to send me some materials related to sexual techniques.”

[…]

On the other end of the call, Beatrix wrapped her hand around her chin and fell into deep thought.

She opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, before closing her mouth again.

It seemed she didn’t even know where to start.

In the end, seemingly to have given up on everything, she grabbed her head and spoke with a resigned tone.

[What kind of bullshit did that fucker do this time?]

“…”

Even though Dowd was blatantly getting sworn at, Eleanor couldn’t find it in herself to defend him this time.

And when thinking about the words that would follow, this feeling weighed onto her even more heavily.

“Dowd…s-said…c-c-chi-ch—””

Eleanor stammered out the sentence with a face flushed bright red.

It was understandable. The sentence she wanted to say was something that could embarrass even herself; A woman who had never shown any emotion on her face.

[…Ch? What? Did you malfunction? Are you broken?]

“He…said…we…should…have…a…child.”

[…]

“A-And, I thought it wouldn’t be too bad to have at least one before conducting the ceremony.”

With a soulless expression, Beatrice, who had been silent for a brief moment, began to speak with great difficulty.

[Why did that topic suddenly come up?]

“…He announced his intention to accept a concubine for childcare, so he…uh…said we should…p-push ahead w-with such plans…soon.”

[Eleanor.]

Beatrix took a deep breath. The tone that came out of her mouth was lower than usual.

It was her attempt to stay calm and talk nicely without exploding.

Or at least, she tried to. It was a nice try, though.

[Are you insane—?!]

“…”

Eleanor instantly shut her mouth at the expected reaction.

After all, even if the culture of encouraging both legitimate wives and concubines was prevalent among high nobility, that didn’t mean the parties involved would be happy about it.

Moreover, Beatrix was someone who knew very well that Eleanor had consistently given Dowd her pure love.

No matter how the words were structured and constructed, there was no chance she would take it graciously.

[You, you…How can you talk about such a thing so easily…! A concubine?! A bastard who just received a mere Viscounty dares to demand such a thing first from the Young Lady of a Duchy? How does that make any sense—!]

“…”

Unbecoming of her usual self, Eleanor continued to get scolded as she bowed her head and pursed her lips.

Except for her father, she had never experienced such a treatment from another person in her entire life. However, if the person involved in her discussions with Beatrix was Dowd, this wasn’t an unusual thing.

[You idiot! And you aren’t angry at him?! It should be him who should get on his knees and beg for your acceptance! He is the one who should be showing his belly like a dog! How can you be so easygoing just because he mentioned that he wants to have a child with you—!]

“…But…”

Even while continuously hearing such admonitions, Eleanor stammered out her words.

“…H-He asked for it to that extent…If I refuse, i-it might hurt h-his feelings, right?”

[…]

Going beyond mere anger, Beatrix now looked at Eleanor with an expression closer to utter horror.

There should be limits even when one was blinded by love.

He asked her to accept a concubine since he would have a child with her?

And she just accepted that without hesitation because she was worried he would get his feelings hurt?!

Was this really the same person who had previously declared that she would kill any woman around him if she wasn’t his top priority?!

[If you let him get a concubine, there’s a chance that he won’t prioritize—]

“I don’t think such a case would ever happen.”

[What?]

“He won’t have time or luxury to focus on someone other than me when we’ll be having our children.”

[…?]

Mm.

Wait a moment.

Something was odd.

The focal point of the conversation seemed off.

Beatrix paused for a moment, reflecting upon their recent conversation.

Wait, previously…

Didn’t she say she was fine with ‘at least one’ before conducting the ceremony?

[…]

Ah.

I see.

Beatrix met Eleanor’s eyes with a look of realization on her face.

[…How many children are you thinking of having?]

“…?”

Eleanor looked at Beatrix, as she tilted her head in puzzlement.

Her appearance seemed to question why Beatrix would ask something so obvious.

“Shouldn’t it be at least five?”

[…]

“Accepting a concubine for childcare would be meaningless unless we have at least that many. There is no doubt that Dowd had such intentions when making such a request as well.”

[…]

No.

That probably wasn’t it.

He probably would already feel incredibly burdened with just one, let alone five.

With cold sweat dripping down, Beatrix gazed at Eleanor.

‘…Naturally, if she plans to give birth to that many kids, there is absolutely no leisure for him to pay attention to the concubines… Actually, he won’t have any leisure to pay attention to anything at all.’

Marriage and childbirth among high nobility was like a huge business of itself.

Considering Eleanor’s health, as well as the aftermath of the following political and cultural storm, giving birth to five children would require Dowd to stick around Eleanor for at least a dozen years without being able to go anywhere on his own.

This woman was definitely speaking with that in mind.

‘Of course she is. What did I even expect from her?’

Eleanor would never accept another woman attaching herself to that man in such an easy manner.

Her ‘possessiveness’ was probably still the same. If someone else tried to take away the time that she and that man had together, there was no doubt she would rush in to remove such obstructions, her eyes ignited with fiery rage.

However…

All that was added was, well… How should she put it…

Now, there was also an opportunity to ‘wring out’ that man, Dowd, whenever she had the chance to.

That bastard really dug his own grave.

While Beatrix clicked her tongue, Eleanor turned towards the door with a questioning look at the sound of a knock.

“Wait. It seems like a guest has arrived. I will contact you later.”

Lately, it somehow felt like many people were coming to visit her accommodations.

With that, Eleanor ended the call.

The person outside the door was someone she recognized as well.

“…Talion?”

The 1st-year student who had been sticking around Dowd lately.

“Oh, do you remember me?”

“Of course. I know everyone and anyone who has been nearby Dowd for at least five seconds.”

“…”

Thanks to the fact that his social network wasn’t as wide as she expected, it wasn’t difficult for her to keep track of him.

As such, Eleanor couldn’t understand why Talion’s expression went stiff after hearing her words.

“…Um, yes. This is indeed a message from Senior Brother Dowd as you just mentioned.”

Talion let out a few coughs, clearing his throat.

“He said he had something to request from you.”

“I understand. What do I need to do?”

“…Isn’t it better to hear the contents first before accepting?”

The speed of her response was fast enough for Talion to react in such a way, but Eleanor just shrugged her shoulders without a care.

“It is not right to procrastinate any work. As someone who is about to become a parent, shouldn’t I be a role model for my children?”

“…?”

For Talion, it was a sentence that he could not even begin to comprehend.

System Message

[ Contact has been made with target ‘Faenol’. ]

[ Interaction with the ‘Heretic Inquisition’ has been released! ]

[ All authority corresponding to the discretion of the ‘Heretic Inquisition’ can be requested for cooperation! ]

[ Changes are made in the scenario. ]

[ Special Interactions will occur later with all existence related to Devils! ]

Seeing such messages, I sighed inwardly.

The biggest reason for seeking cooperation from Faenol was ultimately because of this.

The most significant help I could receive from her was the authority of the Heretic Inquisition, who could exercise power that even went beyond the law when it came to matters related to ‘Devils’.

It was not Faenol’s personal abilities that I aimed for.

‘…I can’t expect anything related to combat from her.’

Being the Vessel of a completed Devil meant having immense power, but at the same time, it also meant that the consequences would be just as significant if things went awry.

It was not necessary to take such risks.

Rather than that…

‘…What does it mean by Special Interactions with existences related to Devils?’

It was going to unfold later? The fuck was going to happen again?

As I was lost in such thoughts, a sulky voice flew out from within Soul Linker.

[Why are you standing in a daze again? Did you lose your mind or something?]

“…Are you mad?”

I asked as such to Caliban who was inside Soul Linker.

[…It’s not a matter of being mad.]

Caliban responded with a sigh.

[Honestly, I’m not even angry because I don’t understand anything. It’s just absurd to me. The being that I had no choice but to kill by sacrificing my own life is somehow alive. Moreover, now she is whining to you about how she wants to die again.]

Indeed, his voice was more despondent than angry.

[Are Vessels usually like that if they have collected all the Fragments? When they become an Incarnation, do they resurrect even if they die?]

“…That shouldn’t be the case.”

Even in the original game, Eleanor, who had her head cut off by Iliya during the Final Boss Battle, remained dead.

It was just that this phenomenon occurred because she was none other than the Incarnation of the Red Devil; An existence with an Authority that was insanely tenacious in matters related to life force.

“Your goals align either way, don’t they?”

I tapped Soul Linker as I continued speaking.

“You want her dead, the Heretic Inquisition wants Faenol dead, and she herself wants it as well.”

The problem was…

When put into perspective…

Even the Guardians, the Empire’s greatest knights, and the Heretic Inquisition, who didn’t shun away from any means if it meant hunting Devils, were not able to find a way to ‘completely’ kill Faenol.

In the end, such a bizarre request fell on my lap instead.

[Do you really intend to do as she wishes?]n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“…”

Well… Yeah, I guess I had to.

I was talking about her request for me to seduce her.

Her theory was that the closer my relationship with a Devil’s Vessel was, the more ‘control’ I had over the power of a Devil. If this was true, then the more favorable she felt towards me, the greater the possibility became of sealing the Red Devil.

Basically, it meant skipping the entire final boss battle of Chapter 4.

In the original game, only Iliya, wielding the Holy Sword, could inflict anything resembling a ‘hit’ on existences related to Devils.

If such an effect could indeed be achieved by just that, there was no reason for me to not try it out.

It was a tremendous difference that allowed me to immediately understand why messages about ‘Scenario Changes’ or whatever popped up when I met her.

“…”

Of course, that was one thing.

What was more important was that, by agreeing to such a request, I had been delegated the authority of the Heretic Inquisition from her.

That meant, I would be able to endure all the ‘backlash’ for what I needed to do from now on using that authority.

From now on…

I could not delay even for a single moment.

All the tasks lined up in front of me must be dealt with at the fastest speed possible.

First and foremost…

Like I did with the Sea Serpent, I needed to leave an ‘Imprint’ on each Demonic Creature which were virtually permanent tenants of the zones nearby the Forge of Struggle.

Although there was usually a great burden of danger when it came to doing such work on Demonic Creatures as strong as the Sea Serpent, at the very least, I could not give up on this. It was honestly an essential component that I needed to complete for this boss battle.

As such, I even had to mobilize methods that I originally had no intention of using.

[ Main Quest ]

〖 Apostle of the Reversed Sea 〗

[ 21H left until the ‘Great Duel’ Incident! ]

[ The boss battle will follow immediately after the incident in question! ]

Once again, the time remaining seemed to have significantly shortened compared to before.

‘Damn it, I can’t trust the time limit this fucker gives anymore.’

With such thoughts in mind, I confirmed two blue lights sequentially flaring on the magically engineering communication device in my arms.

They were signals; One from Talion, who went to Eleanor, and the other from Iliya, who went to Yuria.

It probably meant that they smoothly handled the tasks I requested them to do.

“…Okay.”

And next to me, Riru, who was in the same group as me, was cracking her neck and knuckles.

“In the Hunter’s Night, the sea held the least importance, unlike the Scorching Zone, Snowfield Zone and the Jungle Zone. From today until the end of the period, it’s practically a free-for-all in those zones.”

Riru spoke excitedly with sparkling eyes, as if she was a child who had just found Santa Claus.

“It’s best to go to the Scorching Zone first. We can obtain essential components that are necessary for long-term survival in the wilderness by hunting the Demonic Creatures in that area. Then, based on the obtained materials, we can choose the next route by making the wisest judgements poss—”

“…Riru.”

“Yeah?”

I halted a very excited Riru’s tirade.

From her perspective, it might feel like going on a picnic. Even I could see that.

Originally, I also had a lot to do here.

I intended to experiment with Valkasus’ Forbidden Sorcery, check out the newly acquired equipment, and slowly test how strong the skills I had gained so far were.

And above all, I was going to humor Riru, regardless of what she wished to do.

However…

What I needed to do right now was to prepare for the boss battle tomorrow by any means necessary.

Even if it meant shattering this person’s romanticism and expectations into itty bitty pieces.

I looked towards the steel gate opening in front of me. The heat of the Scorching Zone was transmitted intensely.

“Sorry, but this time, we don’t have time for hunting or anything like that.”

The ‘Flame Demon’ of the Scorching Zone. The ‘Ice Tiger’ of the Snowfield Zone. The ‘Horned Ogre’ of the Jungle Zone.

Their status was not lacking at all, even compared to the Sea Serpent; Special-Grade Demonic Creatures commonly referred to as calamity-grade.

However…

In this current situation, I had to reach out to these existences that were dangerous to even meet.

And as long as I had even brought out such a card…

The time I needed to spend taking out all three of them was…

“…I’ll finish it within 5 minutes.”

There was a mountain of things I needed to do in just one day.

And I could not delay for even a single second..

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