Chapter 72: Visit to the Sake Cellar

“Now that your thirst is quenched, let’s get you talking. What’s your relation to Marquis Fleming?”

“My father.”

“Father? You’re from a branch family?”

“The marquis was downgraded, and our family was reassigned to Berna as counts. The adventurer who got into a dispute with the Warrens Trading Company must be you. Because of that, our Fleming marquis family has been confined to this tiny viscountcy. Though we were granted the title of count, we’ve become a laughingstock throughout the kingdom! And it’s all because of you and the Warrens. Thanks to this, the fate of my father is unknown, and my older brother has been confined under supervision, unable to speak to anyone.”

“Hah—are you stupid? I was chased by Warrens’ agents and dragged into a torture chamber. It was a huge inconvenience for me!”

“I will avenge this grudge, so be prepared.”

Ah, is that so? Then for the sake of my peaceful life from now on, perhaps the troublemaker should disappear.

Say whatever you want, but take your grudge to your father and that Warrens bastard! Even if you try to chase me using your noble authority after we part ways, I have no intention of letting that happen.

I gathered the sprawled knights in one place and trapped them in a dome, then enclosed the count and the butler-like man in separate small domes.

“I understand your intentions well, but I have no intention of fleeing this country. So, either you or I must die to settle this, and I have no intention of dying.”

I smiled and then tossed a small flame, infused with magic, into the count’s dome.

Though only about the size of a thumbnail, it burned continuously due to the magic within.

The small flame hovered in front of him, never extinguishing, and his unease gradually grew. I was about to make that unease real.

I conjured a second flame; he seemed to sense my intention and shook his head in protest, but I ignored it.

Third, fourth… the flames multiplied, and unable to escape, he cried out,

“Hot! Stop! Please extinguish the fire! I’ll never interfere again, so stop it!”

Soon, it shifted to pleading,

“Please, I beg you, save me!”

“You expect help even though aiding you would endanger me?”

“Forgive me! I was wrong. I shall never trouble you again, so please help me!”

“How can I be sure you’ll keep that promise?”

“I will. I’ll even write a written oath and make amends for the trouble I caused.”

A written oath, huh… but the apology is more appealing. Show some sincerity when apologizing—there’s even a line like that in yakuza clichés.

I dispelled the magic flames around the struggling man.

“I understand the written oath, but what exactly is your apology going to be?”

“I will give you whatever you desire, please forgive me.”

He said his brother was confined, but he clearly lacks the resolve to be head of the family. If you’re going to act all high and mighty as a noble, then even in a losing battle, you should resist to the end—but that works out well for me.

“Then I want two items and a written apology from you.”

“A written apology…?”

“Of course. You ignored the kingdom’s rules and the adventurers’ guild, dragged me to a dungeon without explanation, and interrogated me without charge. And you shouted all that stuff like, ‘Even if you cry and beg for forgiveness, I’ll torment you so badly you’d rather die. I won’t kill you! I’ll let you drink potions endlessly while enjoying the sight of you screaming.’”

“W-well, that was because you kicked my face…”

“Exactly, your noble pride is in tatters. But you forcibly dragged me into the dungeon. And the first thing you said when you entered: ‘Has such a small man brought misfortune to the Fleming family?’ That’s your complaint about the royal punishment, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. Our Fleming family remains loyal to His Majesty the King and the Kingdom of Sutherland.”

“I don’t care about that. For now, two items and a written apology. You said, ‘I’ll give whatever is desired,’ so there’s no coercion here.”

I conjured flames again, and he immediately agreed:

“I will provide the requested items and write the apology.”

I performed a body check on the count, removed his magic pouch, and threw it aside. I also lifted the dome from the butler-like man and inspected him.

He had a slender knife hidden on his arm, separate from the magic pouch.

“You’re a butler, I presume? Name?”

“Wiles.”

“Hmm, Wiles, a butler and bodyguard, I see.”

He seemed quiet… not really. Slender, but fairly muscular, and his aura changed as soon as I stood nearby. People like this are dangerous, so it’s better to keep him trapped in a dome.

I enclosed Wiles in a dome again and grabbed the count by the collar, making him stand.

“Please, let me drink a potion.”

“You’ll get a potion once you give me what I want. Walk!”

“Wh-where?”

“You caused me trouble. When apologizing to an adventurer, of course the items are in the treasury. Ah, you have the key, right? You know what happens if you pretend you don’t.”

“It’s in the magic pouch.”

“Magic pouch?”

“The one you threw earlier.”

A troublesome fellow. I picked up the thrown pouch, used the slender knife to pierce the count, letting a drop of blood fall, and brought it to his mouth.

“Now, remove your user registration.”

“Hah…”

“You won’t be doing as you please. I’ll open the treasury myself.”

Sweating nervously, he immediately removed the user registration when I floated a flame in front of his nose.

I reached in and saw a golden-decorated sword, likely a treasured longsword, a shortsword, and a small shoulder bag along with clothing. Same pattern as the magic pouch, so probably a magic bag.

I guessed the treasure was here, so I made him remove the user registration for the magic bag as well.

Having apparently learned that resistance was useless, he half-crying, removed the user registration, so I reached in to check.

As I suspected, there were numerous leather pouches, but also a jewelry box, along with camping gear, plain clothes, and travel outfits.

The sword I took out was modest in design—clearly intended for escaping or abandoning the kingdom.

“What’s the capacity of the magic pouch and magic bag?”

“Rank 3 and Rank 12!”

“You’re a noble, right? Don’t get desperate. How much time extension do they have?”

“Both are 180 hours. Not exactly what a thief would use, huh.”

“I didn’t say I wanted the magic pouch or bag. By the way, how much is a Rank 12 magic bag worth?”

“For a Rank 12-10, 31,500,000 Dara.”

With a 180-hour time delay, adding 170 hours’ extra time delay would be 17,000,000 Dara plus fees, totaling 48,720,000 Dara. Nearly 500 gold coins—quite expensive, but at this point, I might as well take compensation equivalent to a magic bag and a house.

“How much is in here?”

“…20,000 coins.”

He answered in a voice that seemed to come from deep within his gut.

20,000 gold coins equals 2,000,000,000 Dara.

I took out one pouch—it was heavy and had no noble crest. Judging from the weight, if each pouch holds 200 coins, there must be around 100 pouches.

Since he had prepared useful items, the treasury was no longer important.

I transferred everything into my magic pouch and then tossed back the magic pouch and magic bag.

“One more thing—guide me to the sake cellar.”

He claimed he didn’t know the location, so I trapped him in a dome and ordered the butler to stand and lead the way. A sweeping kick and a kick aimed at my face came, but he collapsed with a groan.

He must have hurt himself, kicking the small shelter I had made to protect my face with full force.

Besides, he was tied behind his back—there was no way he could take me down using just kicks.

I kicked the sitting butler’s backside to make him stand, and then he led me to the sake cellar.

He trudged along with a scowl, dragging his feet, clearly still scheming according to his aura—but I’m not so naive.

He indicated a specific door with a nod of his chin, so I floated a light and opened it.

“Show me the location of the count’s favorite drinks.”

Wiles raised his eyebrows slightly but maintained a blank expression as he walked.

Stopping in front of a shelf lined with bottles, he muttered,

“All of these are the count’s favorite drinks.”

“And the shelf behind?”

“Those contain the rarer items.”

I started randomly identifying the count’s favorites first, but all I sensed was [alcohol].

The rarer items were the same—[alcohol]—so I continued identifying a few bottles of each type.

Wiles glanced at me sideways with an uninterested expression, but when he realized I was using identification magic, he looked disappointed and turned away.

One bottle in a beautiful wooden box identified as [poisoned liquor]—so he really did keep some.

All five bottles in that box were [poisoned liquor], so I set it aside and continued identifying.

For each identical type, I checked two or three bottles, and all non-poisoned alcohol went straight into the magic pouch.

All of the count’s favorites were also placed in the magic pouch.

Once I cleared the shelves behind him and the count’s favorite shelves, I moved to the opposite side, while the butler looked on in disbelief.

These shelves were filled with similar bottles, but apparently the count didn’t like them, so I happily took them.

I estimate I threw several hundred bottles into the magic pouch. When I reached into the magic pouch, dozens of bottles floated above my head, threatening to make me feel tipsy just from looking at them.