Chapter 4: The Kodoku Banquet and the Unpalatable Man ④
From this point on, it’s just a waste of time. The poison has already begun to take effect on Lord Griem.
“You bashtard, whad are you shaying…”
As he started to say that, Lord Griem-sama suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth.
“Whad ish…!?”
“Your speech is becoming slurred, isn’t it? Soon, you won’t be able to walk. Eventually, you’ll lose consciousness and die. To ensure your demise, I had you ingest ten times the lethal dose.”
Foaming at the mouth, Lord Griem clung to the back of his chair.
With bloodshot eyes, he frantically looked around, and then his gaze fixed on Lieutenant Krimine.
“W-Why ish she unharmed!?”
“Isn’t it obvious? What kind of superior officer would make their adorable subordinate drink poison? How absurd.”
I said, and began to prepare for our departure.
“Don’t forget the tableware we brought. I borrowed the best set from Battalion HQ. If we don’t return it, it’ll be deducted from my pay.”
“W-Wait…”
Knocking over his chair with a clatter, Lord Griem glared at me with a terrifying expression.
But it doesn’t matter anymore. This man is already dead.
“There is no antidote for that poison. It will be a short remaining life, but at least you’ve gained the amusement of pondering why you lost.”
Lieutenant Meinen, I’ve avenged you.
I opened the door and called in the soldier who was waiting outside. This guy, he was eavesdropping on what was happening inside. It seems the information about a Griem family informant among the lower ranks was true.
“The execution has been carried out. Call for the military doctor to confirm his passing.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
With a surprised look, the soldier saluted and quickly descended the stairs.
Lord Griem, being treated as a dead man, was red-faced with anger, but he seemed to have no strength left in his body.
It’s most pitiful to suffer from incomplete poisoning. This way, he’ll pass away peacefully. I have at least that much mercy.
I spoke to Lieutenant Krimine, who looked restless.
“Don’t worry, you haven’t ingested any poison. Don’t look so dazed. We’re on a mission.”
“Y-Yes, sir! Lieutenant-dono!”
She saluted sharply, and then asked me anxiously.
“Are you really sure I’m alright?”
“I’ll explain later. I won’t tell that gentleman over there.”
I grinned, then turned my back on Lord Griem.
“If you meet Lieutenant Meinen in hell, tell him to pay his bar tab. He’s a scoundrel who made me cover the whole bill even though we agreed to split it.”
“You bashtard…!”
No longer having the strength to move, Lord Griem was groveling on the floor.
Soon, the military doctor came rushing up the stairs, so I yielded the spot to him.
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Y-Yes.”
With a tense expression, the military doctor nodded and offered Lord Griem his shoulder.
“I will attend to your final moments. Come, to the bed.”
“Am I… am I really going to die…?”
You are. I killed you.
But that’s over now.
“Let’s go, Lieutenant Krimine.”
“Yes.”
We closed the door and decided to wait in a separate room until his death was confirmed.
＊ ＊
Lord Griem’s death was confirmed that evening. Even after losing consciousness, his heart didn’t stop for quite some time, so it ended up being late.
Unwelcome as we were, we received the death certificate and promptly set off on our return journey.
“I really didn’t eat any poison, did I?”
Even on the way back, Lieutenant Krimine was excessively worried, so I gave a wry smile.
“Of course not. There was no poison in those baked sweets.”
“Eh!?”
Lieutenant Krimine stopped in her tracks.
“W-Wait a minute, Lieutenant-dono!? Then how did you poison him!?”
“Don’t you get it? The things he consumed there were the baked sweets and the tea, right?”
“Aaah!?”
Lieutenant Krimine’s eyes widened.
“Could it be the Battalion’s stock of Deadly Poison Tea Leaves? That really simple one?”
“A little quieter, Lieutenant. It doesn’t seem like we’re being followed, but it’s best to be cautious.”
“S-Sorry.”
Lowering her voice, Lieutenant Krimine hurried after me.
“But Lieutenant-dono, isn’t that against the rules?”
“I never once said the poison was in the baked sweets. The duel method is to make the opponent drink poison, so it’s his fault for not being wary of the tea.”
Schemers tend to get caught up in their own schemes; he became engrossed in the assortment of cookies that looked so obviously suspicious.
He probably underestimated us, the Ceremonial Battalion, after the past two encounters. It was unlike him to engage in a straightforward, fair fight.
Remembering my best friend’s smile, I suddenly stopped.
“Lord Griem in his prime would have easily seen through such a petty trick. I hear he was quite a sharp fellow. But old age and the fear of death dulled his judgment.”
“Um… if he had seen through it, what would have happened?”
“I would have given a wry smile and challenged him to a different contest. Actually, I still had two more boxes prepared. Traps where, even if I failed, I would almost certainly survive.”
“That many!?”
Seeing the astonished Lieutenant Krimine, I gave a wry smile.
“I went through so much trouble preparing, yet it was settled with the very first box. I feel like an idiot for requesting expenses for three boxes. The Battalion Commander is going to give me an earful.”
The remaining two boxes cost a ridiculous amount of money, after all.
Lieutenant Krimine, looking extremely curious, questioned me.
“Out of curiosity, what kind of methods were they…?”
“There’s a mushroom known only to woodcutters and hunters. I hear it’s incredibly delicious.”
In my previous life, it was known by its Japanese name, ‘Hoteishimeji Mushroom.’ When I looked for it, I found something similar in this world too.
“This mushroom is harmless on its own, but if you drink alcohol with it, you get unbelievably sick. The alcohol is the real trick. If I take just one sip and make Lord Griem drink a lot, he’ll collapse first. After that, finishing him off would be easy.”
“That’s not something a human would do, is it? As expected of you, Lieutenant-dono.”
That’s not a compliment, is it?
Lieutenant Krimine pressed further.
“And the other one?”
“If I tell you any more, my reputation is likely to sink even lower, so I refuse.”
“That’s not true at all! In my eyes, Lieutenant-dono, your reputation is higher than anyone else’s!”
Is that really true?
“Well now, we need to get through the forest before sunset. Let’s hurry.”
“Wait, Lieutenant-dono! What was the last one?”
“Try and guess.”
With a mischievous smile, I started walking briskly.