Mid-motion, Lucia’s expression froze stiff.
“Hey miss, did you actually win big this race!?”
“Y, yes…this is the ticket…”
Lucia’s voice trembled as she presented “one” dragon ticket.
“N, no way, you really did hit the jackpot!”
Repeatedly checking the ticket, the man excitedly informed her:
“With the 10th favorite dragon, that’s a 30 million Gald payout! Damn, you picked well!”
“…By the way, how much would it have been if I’d bet the same amount on the 16th favorite?”
“If you’d hit that, every damn journalist would be lining up to interview you! Betting that same amount on the 16th favorite would’ve maxed out at the cap of 500 million Gald!!”
“Ahaha…I see…”
“…Hey miss, why do you look like you’re about to cry?”
“No, it’s nothing…could you please issue me an exchange voucher…
“Oh, well… In any case, that’s great. You can give your child some good news, can’t you?”
“Yes, the young master will surely be happy too…”
After answering weakly, Lucia left the racetrack with a slumped shoulder.
After Lucia returned to the inn carrying the prize money and Kurtz on her back.
“–I hate the young master.”
Lucia was puffing out her cheeks while hugging a pillow and rolling around.
“…Don’t your words and actions seem increasingly childish as time goes by?”
“I’m sixteen, so I’m a child.”
“Aren’t you ashamed as a sixteen-year-old human?”
“I’ve reverted to being sixteen, so I’m just acting accordingly. I’m not pretending to be a child like the young master, nor am I acting like an adult while saying I won’t get excited by your nudity, and then sneaking peeks at my chest.”
“The latter is simply an issue of height difference, so it’s a false accusation.”
“Yes, with that statement, it’s proven that you were looking at my breasts. Yay, you’re a pervert.”
Lying on the bed, Lucia kicks her feet as if expressing dissatisfaction.
She was clearly sulking.
Not only had her words and actions become childish, but even the way she sulked had become childish and troublesome.
“I said the highest prize money would be 500 million Galde, but I didn’t say we were going to get it. If we draw too much attention, people will try to investigate our true identities, and unnecessary contact with people will increase, which will hinder our future activities.”
“I understand that, but… 500 million Galde is an amount I’ve never even seen before…”
“It’s a large sum at present, but considering the scale of our future activities, 500 million will become mere pocket change. After all, we have to grow to a scale that can rival a ducal house within the short span of seven years.”
Popping a candy into his mouth, Kurtz envisions their future prospects.
Seven years from now, Artesia will lose her life.
However, it’s not as simple as just breaking the [Curse of the World Tree].
The revival of the fallen Eisenhud, the recovery of lost lands and properties, the cancellation of agreements made with other ducal houses… They must eliminate the circumstances surrounding Artesia, or they cannot truly save her.
To do so, they must build a [power] rivaling that of a ducal house.
“The 500 million is an investment for the future. So I hope you’ll understand.”
“Well, I wasn’t really angry, but as punishment for not explaining, I’ll take three hundred million Galde for myself.”
“That’s fine. It was money for you from the start.”
“Really, is it okay?”
“It was money I borrowed from you in the first place. And–it should be enough to hire you for a job, right?”
Hearing those words, Lucia narrows her eyes slightly.
“…What’s the request?”
“Next, we’ll infiltrate an auction venue. I want you to retrieve the transaction records, ledgers, and other related materials I’ll specify later, and pass them on to the appropriate person.”
“Alright. Anything else?”
“The assassination of Sandor Ureki, the host of the auction.”
In a calm, matter-of-fact voice, Kurtz tells her.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“If an unforeseen situation arises and you need to take action during the infiltration, you may kill others as well. However, you must definitely spare Count Guilenzio-Baris, who will be attending the auction that day.”
“Ureki and Baris… aren’t they members of the Ornament Ducal House’s faction?”
“That’s right. While Sandor-Ureki’s position within the faction is low, he has a network of minor connections across various regions and deals in a wide range of goods, including rare books, gems, precious metals, and even stolen goods, confiscated items, human and demi-human slaves, which are put up for auction.”
The existence of slaves has persisted throughout history.
It’s an unavoidable circumstance… a meager choice left for orphans born from conflicts, and a means of population control in impoverished areas like poor villages.
Thus, the existence of slaves and slave trade contracts are recognized.
However, slave contracts must be entered into with the consent of both parties, and actions that force others into slavery, such as abduction, are strictly prohibited crimes.
“In this case, an elf who has been illegally captured will be put up for auction. Rescuing them is the top priority of this request.”
“…Well, if it’s an Eisenhud person, it’s only natural to help demi-humans, I guess.”
Lucia nods lightly, as if in understanding.
In the past, the human and demi-human races were adversaries.
Amid this, the Ducal House of Eisenhud actively interacted with the demi-human races, mediating conflicts that had spread across the continent by acting as intermediaries between the races.
For this reason, [Eisenhud] was a special house among humans for the demi-humans, and the Eisenhud people referred to the demi-humans as [comrades] and built friendly relations with them.
However–this relationship crumbled following an incident three hundred years ago.
“So the young master’s plan is to bring the demi-humans into our ranks as allies, right?”
“That’s right. We’ll recruit those who were once [comrades] and allies of Eisenhud.”
“…To be honest, I don’t think the demi-humans will cooperate. I think the young master knows more about the circumstances surrounding that.”
With a troubled expression, Lucia responds.
“After all… even now, the demi-humans resent what happened during the [Demi-human Hunt] three hundred years ago.”
Three hundred years ago, there was a surge of assaults and murders targeting demi-humans.
The crimes ranged from random, serial killer-like attacks to large-scale battles resulting from minor disputes, with some incidents leading to horrific casualties.
The demi-humans referred to these atrocities as the [Demi-human Hunt].
To resolve the issue, the demi-humans pleaded with Eisenhud.
For the demi-humans, Eisenhud was the only human house they could trust.
However–Eisenhud ignored all of the demi-humans’ pleas.
“During the investigation of the ducal house, I also heard about the [Demi-human Hunt] from the demi-humans. Some of them, being longer-lived than humans, knew about the events back then. Everyone spoke of it while expressing anger and resentment towards the head of the house at the time, with some even refusing to utter their name.”
If they had simply ignored the pleas, it might not have earned such resentment.
However, the then head of Eisenhud relinquished all their authority, territories, and assets to the Emperor and the Six Great Ducal Houses, effectively disappearing from the public eye like a fugitive.
Afterward, the Emperor and the Six Great Ducal Houses worked to resolve the situation, and the [Demi-human Hunt] that had threatened the demi-humans came to an end… but the negative feelings harbored by the demi-humans did not dissipate.
All the blame was directed towards the one young girl who made the decisions–
“–That’s why she’s been called the [Great Sinner] by the demi-humans.”
The head who made all the decisions was the seventeen-year-old Artesia at the time.
Before the [Demi-human Hunt] issue surfaced, Artesia had lost both her parents in an accident and ascended to the position of head at a young age. Shortly after, she was forced to make a decision and relinquished all the authority held by her house.
Eisenhud lost everything except its name, forgotten even by fellow humans, and etched as an object of hatred among the demi-humans who remembered its name.
After hearing such an ill reputation of the master he admires–
“–That’s right.”
As if suppressing his emotions, Kurtz responds briefly.
“So… the young master sees her as a benefactor, doesn’t he?”
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