Chapter 66: Commotion at the Earl’s Residence
My wrist, which I’d extended to receive the letter, was grabbed, and simultaneously, a knife was pressed against my stomach.
They probably thought they’d hidden their killing intent as they approached, but it was completely obvious, and their movements were so slow I almost laughed.
“This knife at your stomach isn’t just a threat, you know. I can stab you anytime. Make the wolf back off! We’ve come prepared; if we’re attacked, we’ll take you down with us.”
“That’s all well and good, but at least tell me who this letter is from.”
“Make the wolf back off!”
He tapped my cheek repeatedly with the knife, ordering me with a faint smirk.
It’s when you think you’ve won that you let your guard down.
I smoothly grabbed the wrist holding the knife and squeezed.
He let out a surprised “Eh?!”, but there was no way an ordinary man could match me, who possesses Agility and Super Strength.
The wrist I gripped made a nasty sound, bent in an unnatural direction, and the knife clattered to the ground.
The other man turned his back to flee, so I gifted his rear with my instantaneous power, causing him to dive headfirst onto the road.
《Hoo-chan, bring that man here.》
The man who had dashed onto the street was struggling to get up, but Hoo-chan grabbed his leg in her mouth and dragged him over.
Still holding the first man’s wrist, I swung him around and slammed him to the ground. Then, I smiled at the man Hoo-chan had dragged over.
“Y-You monster!”
“I’m just a little stronger than most people. How rude of you.”
“Do you have Beastmen blood in you too?”
“Who sent you? It’ll be better for you if you talk sooner rather than later.”
“I’m a messenger from the Earl-sama. If you kill us, the Guards won’t stay silent!”
“Oh really? And what’s thiiis?”
I thrust the Identification I’d received from the Queen-sama before his eyes. I wonder if Zalm didn’t report it.
He did say he wasn’t interested in the power dynamics of nobles, and if he reported it, the fact that he’d spoken with me would be exposed, so perhaps he kept quiet.
“I wonder if you understand~. Even if the Guards come, there’s nothing they can do. Choose! Will you end up vomiting blood like your friend, or will you talk and survive?”
Perhaps he couldn’t believe the Identification right in front of him; he was staring at it with wide-open eyes, seemingly speechless.
“No way… That’s… impossible.”
“Speak! Who sent you!”
I grabbed the man’s arm and slowly twisted it as if wringing a towel. “Aghghghgh! It hurts! Stop it!”
“If you don’t talk, I’ll crush you. After I crush both your arms and legs, I’ll crush your balls, you know.”
When I gave him a bright smile, he broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, “Studd! We were ordered by Studd-sama! Please, stop!”
“Who’s Studd?”
“He’s Earl Halewood-sama’s butler! Please stop, I beg you!”
“What were you planning to do, threatening me with a knife?”
“We were told to bring you to the residence. They said you’re a wolf tamer and formidable, so we were instructed to get close and threaten you with a knife.”
This was getting ridiculous. They hadn’t shared information amongst themselves at all.
Well, if they have business with me, I might as well pay them a visit.
A noble’s residence should have a garden, so I might be able to call Bee-chan.
If that doesn’t work, well, I’ll just have to rampage in some other way.
“Well then, how about you guide me to Earl Halewood-sama’s place? Since you came to pick me up, you must have a carriage, right?”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Carrying the man who was out cold from vomiting blood, and kicking the other man—who was clutching his crushed arm and sweating profusely—I headed for the carriage they’d arrived in.
The coachman was surprised to see me approaching the carriage, carrying one man and kicking the other. However, when the profusely sweating man yelled “We’re heading back!” at him, the coachman hurriedly opened the door.
Taking Hoo-chan and Mii-chan with me to storm the Earl’s Residence would just make them a hindrance, so I asked them to stay behind.
Earl Halewood’s residence was in the nobles’ district. The carriage passed through the entrance to the district without even stopping.
Just as I’d expected, there were quite a few trees behind and around each mansion. When I called out to Bee-chan, I got an immediate response, but I firmly instructed her not to come until I specifically summoned her.
The smoothly running carriage paused temporarily at a service gate. Once the gate opened, it started moving again, circled around to the back of the mansion, and stopped.
Immediately, the back door opened, and knights rushed out towards us.
The carriage door was roughly pulled open, and someone called out words of appreciation, “Good work!” However, upon seeing the fellow sprawled inside the carriage and the other man, pale-faced and clutching his arm, their expression changed.
“What happened?!”
Even when questioned, they were too frightened to answer.
“You’re being asked a question, so you should answer them.”
“Are you Shinya?”
“That’s right. This ‘invitation’ from Earl Halewood-sama is quite uncouth, isn’t it?”
“Enough with the talk, get out!”
This is hardly the way to treat an invited guest.
When I stepped out of the carriage, my arms were grabbed, and I was dragged into the building and made to stand before a certain man.
“Studd-sama, this is the man, Shinya.”
“Hmm, you seem quite confident in your abilities. However, for a mere Adventurer to behave so rudely towards the knights of an Earl’s household is unforgivable. But, very well. Present the Flower Nectar you possess to the Earl-sama. Do so, and your numerous impudences shall be forgiven.”
Oh my, how very direct of you~.
Unfortunately, for such an ill-mannered Earl, I have no intention of offering him even a single glass of water.
“Flower Nectar, you say~? If you wanted it, you should have approached me with proper courtesy. I have no intention of handing it over to someone who sends ill-mannered knights and men who behave like bandits.”
One of the men who had come to fetch me in the carriage was whispering something to the butler who called himself Studd.
“You gravely injured those who came to retrieve you?! Such insolence towards the retainers of an Earl’s house!”
“Retainers, you say? Are people who suddenly grab your arm, press a knife to you, and order you into a carriage what you call ‘retainers’?”
I snorted derisively, kicked Studd in the stomach, then swung the knights gripping my arms and slammed them against the wall.
“You bastard! Stay still!”
Sensing an attack from behind, I did a light Jump, and using the momentum of my descent, I kicked their head, sending them flying.
I sent a knight reaching for the sword at his hip flying with a body blow, then parried an incoming sword strike with my arm, knocking the blade away.
He was staring dumbfounded at his sword, which had bent into an L-shape from the impact, so I brought him back to his senses with a round-trip of slaps across his face, then kicked him in the groin to put him to sleep.
I grabbed the collar of the butler, who was vomiting after I’d kicked him in the stomach, lifted him up, and ordered, “Take me to Halewood’s office.”
He was astonished at my ability, having subdued the surrounding men in an instant, but he still dared to spout nonsense like, “Do you think a lowly cur like you can actually meet the Earl-sama?” So, I delivered a light punch to his solar plexus to silence him.
“What’s thiiis?”
To the butler, whose face was bright red as he gasped for breath, I thrust the Identification I’d received from the Queen-sama.
The butler’s eyes widened; he was utterly speechless.
“For the likes of an Earl’s butler, I wonder if this is the first time you’ve seen one of these?”
“No way, it’s a lie… There’s no way you could possess something like this!”
I delivered a three-slap combo to the agitated butler’s cheek.
“Take me to your master’s place. Making such a demand should be permissible for me, don’t you think?”
I asked, lightly tapping the tip of his nose with the Identification.
When the butler didn’t reply, I unleashed my killing intent—the King’s Pressure—on him for just an instant. His red face turned deathly pale.
I grabbed him by the lapels, hauled him to his feet, and ordered him to go to Halewood’s office.
Perhaps he finally realized I was serious; pale-faced and breaking out in a cold sweat, he staggered towards the door.
As I followed the staggering butler, I saw two guards standing in front of the office door.
They were surprised by the butler’s battered face and disheveled clothes, but at his urging, one of them knocked and announced, “Butler Studd-dono and a guest.”
As I stepped through the opened door, an angry shout flew at me: “Who the hell are you?!”
“Earl Halewood-sama, I am Shinya. I’ve come in response to your gracious invitation.”
Shoving the butler aside, I offered my greetings as I walked towards the man leaning back arrogantly at his office desk.
The guards lining the walls rushed forward, but I kept them in check by bathing them in my King’s Pressure.
However, the Earl’s personal guards seemed to possess considerable courage and skill; after only a moment’s hesitation, they drew their swords.
I leaped back towards the wall, pulled up my hood, and then proceeded to batter the attacking knights with my wooden sword.
I might be inferior in pure swordsmanship, but my Agility and Super Strength more than compensated. Combined with the results of my daily training, I didn’t feel like I could lose.
In the blink of an eye, I struck down all eight of them. Then, stepping before the Earl-sama, I pinned him in place with my King’s Pressure.
After letting out a small shriek, “Hii!”, he just gaped like a goldfish, unable to say a word.
Or perhaps, he couldn’t speak.
“I see no reason why I should be summoned by you at knifepoint, you know. You so arrogantly demand I hand over the Flower Nectar, but who exactly did you hear about it from?”
His face was gradually turning red, as if he was running out of air, so I eased up on the King’s Pressure.
Since the sound of many footsteps was heading towards the office, I pulled up the front of my collar and tightened the strings of my hood, then I grabbed the Earl’s collar, slammed him to the floor, and immobilized him.
The men who rushed in with enough force to kick down the door, swords drawn, paused for a moment at the sight of the guards collapsed inside the room, but when they saw the Earl spread-eagled and groaning, they charged at me silently.
I parried their swords, and then unleashed the King’s Pressure on them. It seemed they lacked the courage and skill of the guards, as their movements dulled.
I grabbed the arm of one whose sword I’d parried, threw him at the men who were rushing in like an avalanche, and then grabbed the leg of a fallen man and swung him around.
In less than five minutes, there was a mountain of injured men in the room. Since I’d refrained from attacking above the neck, it felt like I was in a Mock Battle.
The Earl, sprawled on the floor, was wide-eyed at the pathetic state of his subordinates, but the real show was just beginning.
I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, lifting him like a kitten, and threw him onto the sofa.
I plopped down on the seat opposite the Earl, who was struggling on the sofa, and continued to glare at him while keeping the King’s Pressure on him.
Suffering from the pain in his body and the King’s Pressure, he was trembling, unable to stop his cold sweat, so it seemed talking was out of the question.
When I looked for the Butler, he was trembling behind the door, so I dispelled the King’s Pressure and called out to him.
“Studd, the Earl-sama needs something to rouse him. Bring some alcohol from the cabinet!”
He flinched at my voice but stood up, looked back and forth between me and the Earl, and headed towards the cabinet on trembling legs.
I was in the mood for it on the rocks, but it didn’t look like there was any ice prepared.
I could hear footsteps approaching from a distance, but dealing with each and every one of them is a pain, huh.
If I left it to Bee-chan, she wouldn’t be able to tell them apart and would likely slaughter everyone, so I can’t call her.
The guys who rushed over stopped when they saw the knights I’d sent flying, now sprawled at the entrance of the office.
“Move aside! Father, what is going on?!”