Chapter 20 - Chapter 20: I Have Had an Inspiration...!
Good day to you. I am Violia Nico Fortesia.
I have just made the best proposal!
'Smoke out all the people who oppose us and slaughter them all.'
Is it not the best proposal—simple, bold, quick, and clear?
"...That's a rather difficult story."
"Is it? If it is just a matter of earning, we can just keep hunting dragons indefinitely. And if there are no dragons, we can just hunt the nobles around here."
"No, it's not just about how to earn. More than that, what are we going to do after making so many enemies?"
It was the best proposal, but it was met with unexpected hesitation.
Hesitation.
"I want to do that too, but there are two problems. First, we don't have many ways to earn that much anymore. Second, if we make so many enemies at once, our lives will be in danger."
"Eh? If we want to earn, we should just hunt dragons! Even if there are no dragons, can we not just hunt other monsters?"
"At the very least, we can't sell dragons for a while. If we sell them that rapidly, the price will collapse, young lady. Besides, we got materials for five dragons at once today, so we're already full."
Well, I suppose so.
I thought of dragon skin as just a somewhat rare material, but apparently, in the general public and in this underworld, it was quite a precious item. If such things were to appear on the market in large quantities all at once, we would not be able to control the price. That would be a problem.
And it would likely be the same for other monsters. In fact, if there were materials with similar performance to dragon materials, selling them might cause the sales of dragon materials to drop.
"As for our combat power, it goes without saying, but there are only four of us, including you."
"And one of them is a junkie."
"Haha, my bad."
That is true. Excluding the junkie Chesta, there are only three people who can be used reliably. Furthermore, Giovan does not seem to want to fight actively, so it is safer to consider it as just the two of us, myself and Doran.
"So, earning that much, making enemies, and crushing them head-on is quite difficult. What do you think, young lady?"
Giovan says that, Doran is nodding, and Chesta is just looking at me... but it seems none of them agree with me.
But is it truly that difficult to realize?
I have thought about many things... but I still feel like we can manage it somehow!
"First. As for how to earn money, that can be handled in any number of ways. Monster hunting is not the only way to earn. We can also find gold, silver, and treasures, can we not?"
"The people we sell those to are mostly the same. In short, it's either a noble who wants it even if it's through the black market, or someone on this side who has an unnecessary amount of money."
"I see. The current products are for nobles. Then, that means there is still plenty of room to earn by selling products for commoners. Well, in short, money can be handled somehow. We just have to find things that sell and sell them. That is all. If that does not work, we can just start by 'creating an environment where things sell.'"
"...An environment where things sell?"
"For example, if there is a war, weapons will sell, will they not? Then, we can just start a war after stocking up on a large amount of weapons. Do you not think so?"
"That's the thinking of a devil, young lady."
I have never spoken with a devil in my life. I do not know anything about a devil's thinking!
"...Well, fine. Let's say we handled the money. And then, the people driven by jealousy would be smoked out and come out... that's what you said. But do you think it'll really go that well? I don't think every single one of them will be smoked out."
"That is fine. As long as we can kill some as an example and take their wealth. The rest of them can just smolder with jealousy in secret and do their best. It is no problem."
"That would be troublesome."
"If they come at us, we just have to crush them. Even if they do not come at us, we will eventually go to them and crush them, so there is no problem. If they cozy up to us, we can just take them in and use them."
In short, I think the biggest problem is if they do something in a place we do not know about. Or, it is possible that we might be ostracized, lose our sales channels, or have trouble with the supply of goods.
However, in that case, we can just crush the sales channels themselves and create new ones. It is not as if we are forbidden from exploiting our allies.
We should crush what can be crushed and squeeze those who cozy up to us.
"What, it's like you're trying to unify the underworld."
...At that moment, Chesta said something wonderful.
"That is wonderful. Let us adopt that. Since we are at it, let us unify this world. It would be best to make the underworld a monolith that is convenient for us!"
"Eh, seriously?"
"I am serious."
Chesta has a surprised face, but to me, it is the best plan!
"Let us go on a rampage. Let us greedily take excessive profits. Let us earn and earn, and laugh at the scoundrels of the underworld. ...And then, after gaining power in the underworld, we shall launch an attack on the surface world. What do you think?"
"Heh. Nice. Sounds interesting. I'm in."
Chesta replied quite easily. For a junkie, he has good judgment.
"It's not like I have anything I want to do anyway. As long as I can get drugs and booze, that's fine."
"A good decision. Doran, what do you think?"
I also asked Doran. Well, I already know the answer.
"I originally intended to buy a noble title with money. That way, I could reach the Royal Family. ...But since I'll be hunted from all sides once I crush the Royal Family anyway, I should stabilize the underworld first."
That is right. If we think about 'after' we have crushed the Royal Family, that is the case. And we must have that much luxury, or it will not be worth it.
"You've got to be kidding, Doran. I thought you were at least a bit more level-headed."
"Oh, Giovan. Are you backing out?"
When Doran, Chesta, and I all stared at Giovan, he let out a grandiose sigh.
"...I'm fine as long as I can live idly."
"Ah, my apologies. I have no intention of letting you escape anymore."
"Right? I shouldn't have listened to this story..."
If you had not, I would have pinned you down and forced you to listen. Ohohohoho.
"...Well, fine. I get it. I get it! Good grief, this has turned into something outrageous... well, it was a life I'd thrown away anyway. It might not be bad to die after doing something interesting at the end."
Yes. Now I have the agreement of everyone!
With this, the execution is decided! Now... the information needed to flesh out the specifics is...
"Then, would you mind spilling all your specialties and secrets?"
It is time to grasp each other's abilities!
"...Seriously?"
"Naturally. Since we have decided to unify the underworld, we are comrades in fate. It is more convenient to know each other's abilities without leaving anything out!"
Or rather, if I do not know that, I cannot even make plans for the future!
"First is myself. Doran has already found out, but my blood is poisonous."
"Wait a minute, young lady. I don't understand from the very start."
...And so, I briefly explained my abilities.
That my blood is a mass of normal poison and magical toxin. That if I smear plenty of it on an arrowhead and aim for the eyes or mouth, I can kill even a dragon in one hit. And that I myself have a strong resistance to poison.
Once I finished explaining, Chesta raised his hand, so I allowed him to speak.
"If your blood is poisonous, does that mean if I bite you right now, I'll die?"
"You would likely die. My blood is 'Dragon-Killer,' you see?"
"Then, what happens when you do 'it'? If you're a virgin, wouldn't the partner die?"
"I already told Doran, but their balls would likely rot off and they would die."
As expected, that was the question. That is the part you are curious about, after all.
"Scary..."
"The enemy of men..."
The reactions of the two were also as expected. I have already seen this with Doran.
"...And so, I think you have already investigated this, but I, Violia Nico Fortesia, was framed for the assassination of the Prince and imprisoned. It was indeed a false accusation, but it is also a fact that I was plotting the assassination of the Prince! Well, those people probably don't have the slightest idea and think, 'We successfully framed her!'"
"So the false accusation they intended to frame you with was actually a bullseye."
"It's pitiful to think what would happen if the Royal Family found out about this."
It is fine. By the time they find out, the Royal Family will have been annihilated! Ohohohoho!
"...I see. Doran. I understand why you decided to trust the young lady."
Once I finished my explanation, Giovan said that and gave a smirk.
"Since your goal is also to crush the Royal Family."
"Yeah. That's right."
Even so, I have not yet been told the secret of Doran's abnormal physical ability.
But before that, Giovan started talking, so we shall start with him.
"Young lady. I'll tell you beforehand, I don't really care whether the Royal Family is crushed or not. My goal is to crush a certain noble, and if I can do that, it's great, but... I don't really care about that either."
"I see. That is wonderful. I shall help you. I also have several nobles I wish to crush. Let us crush them together."
"It's so quick it makes me want to cry."
You should cry tears of joy to your heart's content!
"Well then, my self-introduction... right. As I said before, my goal is to make a certain noble feel miserable. Other than that, my stance is that I'm fine as long as I can live idly. My specialty is... well, brainwork. Since Doran is all muscle, I'm the one who compensates for that. Information gathering is also my job."
"What are your means of killing?"
"Traps. ...In short, I'm useless unless I've set them up beforehand. So I'm not suited for attacking at all. On the other hand, you can count on me for defensive battles."
Traps. That is... quite interesting.
"Does that mean you have set traps all over the town of Elsemarin?"
"Well, I'll leave that to your imagination."
Ah, he has set them! He has definitely set them!
...I shall try to look for them secretly next time.
"Then I'll explain next. Though I feel like you already know."
Next is Chesta's explanation.
"I'm fine as long as I'm having fun. My life was originally saved by Doran, so I'm fine as long as I can have fun until I die. I don't have any particular goal, and I don't have a grudge against anyone."
I had a feeling that was the case, but it is a very simple and clear motive. A person like this, who is a scoundrel for no particular reason, is the most terrifying.
"You've already seen how I fight, haven't you?"
"Actually, I have not seen it properly. I only know that a knife is hidden in your prosthetic arm."
"Haha, you've got good eyes. What, so you already know almost everything?"
Ah, was that it? That was a bit of a letdown.
"As you can see, I blew off one of my arms, so I have a prosthetic arm. I have a knife hidden in it for fighting. I also have a set of tools like ropes inside the prosthetic arm, so let me know if you need anything."
...His way of fighting itself does not seem to be much different from Doran's.
In short, it is a physical battle without a shred of intellect.
...However, in Chesta's case, he seems to have even less intellect than Doran.
In short, he lacks even the reason that an animal should have.
Perhaps it is 'fear.'
...I do not know if it is because he is a junkie or because he lives like a rootless weed. However, if a berserker without a sense of fear comes charging at you while swinging an arm with a knife, it would be quite troublesome... Yes. I can imagine it.
"I'm the last one. I've already told you my goal, but I'm aiming for the destruction of the Royal Family."
"Do you have a grudge?"
"Someone precious to me was taken away. That's all."
Oh, is that so. Well, I shall not ask for the reason in detail. It is not necessary.
"You saw how I fight, didn't you?"
"Yes. Physical combat using physical reinforcement magic. ...However."
While staring back at Doran, who was staring at me as if to gauge my reaction, I decided to speak my doubts honestly.
"It is excessive."
"...You thought so?"
"Yes. It is by no means a human feat."
Physical reinforcement magic is indeed a magic that exists. I can use it to some extent as well.
However, that is only to the extent that one cannot deviate from being a human. Doran's feat... a dragon shoulder throw is something that cannot be explained by physical reinforcement magic alone.
And so, when I asked for the answer.
"Yeah. That's right. I'm not human."
...He gave me a mind-blowing answer.
"Eh? What do you mean? Did you stop being human?"
"I'm a werewolf (jinrou). That's why my strength is much greater than a human's."
...Werewolf.
In other words... a wolf-man?
"You do not have a tail, do you?"
And you do not have ears either. I thought werewolves were supposed to have ears and tails.
"Unless it's a full moon, I'm almost the same as a human. If there's anything different... it's just this."
At that, Doran opened his mouth and showed me the inside.
"Ah, fangs."
Inside his open mouth, there were indeed fangs that were too sharp for a human.
"...And that's how it is. Are you satisfied now?"
"Well, for now."
It is the first time I have seen a werewolf. It is surprising.
And for good reason. Werewolves are... targets of hunting.
Werewolves that possessed more wolf-like characteristics have all been killed. The ones that are still alive now are likely only werewolves like Doran, whose wolf-like characteristics hardly appear on the outside.
...The ones who led the werewolf hunting were the Royal Family. To divert the public's dissatisfaction from the tyranny of the time, the country as a whole hunted werewolves and other demi-humans to extinction.
The reason Doran wants to destroy the Royal Family might be something like that.
...Well, I shall not ask. I shall not say anything either. We shall just leave it at that and pretend we do not know.
"Do you understand our abilities now?"
"Yes. Well, I shall have you tell me the details as we go. For now, it seems I can make a plan."
It is not as if there are no shortcomings, but for now, this is enough.
'Revealing one's hand' means semi-forcibly building a relationship of trust. What I wanted was information, but more than that, the latter was my goal.
"According to the young lady's story, we're going to keep earning, keep standing out, and turn the tables on everyone who comes to attack us?"
"Yes. In short, the first goal is to earn as much as possible. And along with that, the reinforcement of our combat power, but..."
...I shall think for a moment.
There was a reason I was active in the Guild. It was because I wanted to become 'someone they would be in trouble without.'
That way, they would overlook my misdeeds to some extent, and even if I caused some disadvantage, they would naturally let me live if they thought the profit I provided was greater. ...Though there are idiots like the Pin-Hane Girl!
But excluding such exceptions, I think 'increasing our own value' is the correct survival strategy.
In short... what we should aim for is... 'dependency.'
Yes. We just have to make them dependent on us. To become an existence they would be in trouble without... and then, if we crush the people who still attack us first, we can suppress the frequency of battles to some extent, and defeating them individually is the basic of strategy...
...At that moment, Chesta's figure caught my eye.
Chesta apparently started wanting drugs, as he began to take a small bottle out of his prosthetic arm.
...Dependency. Drugs. This... is it not quite good?
"Say, Chesta, where do you get those?"
"Eh... well, they're sold almost anywhere, right? Back alleys and such. And shops like that."
I see.
"How much do you buy them for?"
"This is a magic-type one, so it's expensive. Two gold coins for three doses."
I see, I see.
...As expected, they are quite a rip-off.
"Do you not use leaves?"
"I do. But I get bored if it's always the same thing."
"By the way, how much are the leaves?"
"If it's cheap stuff, maybe three gold coins for ten doses? The expensive ones cost more."
I see...
If it is drug cultivation, it can be handled as long as there is land and time. The cost is almost zero. Of course, we would need to hide from the country... but well, that can be handled somehow.
However, we do not have time to grow leaves. Right now, I want to earn money instantaneously! Explosively! I cannot even spare the time for the leaves to grow!
In short, we need drugs that can be obtained immediately! But I do not want to do something as petty as buying from someone and reselling! If we are going to do it, I want to do it grandly! I want to procure them from the raw materials ourselves! That way we can rip them off more!
...However, to concoct magical drugs, specialized equipment and technology are needed! The initial investment is massive, and it is a bit difficult to get into when we have to either kidnap a technician or learn the technology ourselves!
I am troubled! I am very troubled!
I think drugs are a very good idea! But as for whether we can get drugs...!
Eventually, I plan to burn down a suitable village and use the displaced villagers with money to have them cultivate drugs and then buy them up! But I cannot do something so leisurely right now!
Ah, what should I do! I wonder if there are any drugs (yaku) lying around nearby!
"What? Do you want to try a hit? I can share some with you."
"I do not want any! Besides, drugs do not work on me!"
Ah! It is so irritating! Even at a time like this, because of this constitution! I cannot escape into alcohol! Nor can I indulge in drugs!
...
Ah.
"Could it be that my blood would become a drug if I diluted it significantly?"