Chapter 46 "Retribution"

　The mages' magic blows away the wreckage and levels the ground.

Then, the parts of the mansion that had been assembled in advance are brought in.

Once the parts are brought in, they are assembled and magically joined together to complete the process.

It's a heavy work that requires a lot of people and a lot of money, but with the financial resources of me, Triplett, I have no problem with it.

　Money is the symbol of power. As long as you have money, you can handle almost anything.

　And I'm a perfect person, with money, good looks, and being born in a lord's family.

　I have the backing of the Gnosis, and I am the absolute leader in this town.

　I have my father to watch out for, but he is old enough to be retired.

　If you want, I can help you, you know?

　I smile inwardly.

　In the corner of the property, I see the wreckage of what used to be an inn. I snicker.

　They're idiots. If they had listened to me, they wouldn't have died.

　I'm a little surprised at how strong the old man is, but it turns out to be a success.

　But those two...what are they, knights of the Holy Temple? They're struggling against one old guy, actually not that good, are they?

　I looked back.

　There were two knights of the temple standing guard over me, keeping a wary eye on my surroundings.

　I've known them for a long time, so I'm using them, but should I tell the Order to send someone stronger?

No, let's ask them to dispatch Cathedral knights.

They are the top-ranking force of the Order. Strong men who are recognized for their faith and ability.

　I hear that many female cathedral knights are especially beautiful...

　A beautiful and strong female knight. She might be suitable for my wife.

　It would be a good thing for both the Order and me to strengthen our ties, and everyone would benefit.

　Just imagining it makes all sorts of things swell up in my stomach.

　At this rate, it would be finished by midday.

　In the evening, I'm going to invite the women over for a fun party.

　"Hey! Broker! Gather the women!"

　I gave instructions to the broker who had been standing by.

　The broker nodded silently and disappeared.

...?

　Was it my imagination, or did he seem to be smiling before turning on his heel?

　Oh well. Let's just relax and watch the mansion being completed until the women gather.

I was relaxing in Poc's house.

After the Eid procedure was completed, I moved here where it's relatively clean, and now I'm letting the guys get ready.

　It's nice and easy to let people do it. The guys in control are basically yes-men, although they do voice their opinions.

　They will do their best no matter what the instructions are.

　To take it to the extreme, if you tell them to go blow themselves up somewhere, they'll be overjoyed and die in the explosion.

If I use it on a woman, she'll say with sparkling eyes, "You're so nice! I'd love to be your lover"! with their sparkling eyes.

　Ha-ha-ha. Is this what you call a spoiled?

　A harem is every man's dream.

If it had been me before, I might have said it. Maybe I would have done it.

　I inwardly dismissed that idea as "nonsense."

　Well, I don't think I want to do it now.

　It's just a waste of time to have such a scantily clad woman say "I love you" to you.　

　Fatima is a perfect example. I don't feel any desire for her.

　Even if she whispered love to me, I would just snicker at her.

Now that my libido is waning, I wouldn't want to be around such people except to use them as bullet repellents.

　While I was thinking about this, Pok and the others returned.

"We're back."

　Pok and one other guy were carrying a big burlap sack.

　"Is that it?"

"Oh, yeah. The one with no legs, the one Eid prepared for us."

　"Good. I'll process it right away, and when it's done, take it with you. And you're sure you want to do it this evening?"

" Yeah. The little bastard hired a lot of mages with a lot of money to put it together, so it should be finished by now."

　That was fast. I remember that method of building a house by parts and assembling it all at once at the site.

　Magic is useful because it doesn't require heavy machinery. If the house is finished, it's about time.

　Okay, let's get to work.

I can't wait to see what that little brat gets himself into.

　Night. The sky is clear and the moon looks bigger than usual.

　I, Triplett, watched the moon from the terrace of the house and sipped a glass of wine.

　It's delicious. I guess expensive wine tastes just as good as it tastes.

　Price is proof of taste. And drinking it proves your worth.

　Because expensive wine is inaccessible to those who don't have it.

　In other words, only the chosen can taste it.

　"Hmph."

　A smile broke out.

　In the room behind me, the women I took such good care of are resting.

　Liquor, money, women. I am the victor.

　My life will be complete when my father, who sits on the throne of a lord, hands over his position to me.

　My father is a selfless and boring man who is only interested in maintaining his fiefdom.

　I am thankful that he doesn't interfere with my life, but I don't know if he is the right person to be in charge.

　Those who are above must show their authority with the luxury to match.

　I can't believe that my father is so stupid that he doesn't understand this.

On the other hand, I continue to use my power to show the people below me that I am superior to them.

　It's obvious which one of us is more worthy of being Lord, isn't it?

　I was feeling at ease and was about to take a sip of my wine when... roar.

"...!?"

　What is that? What's that noise?

　I was startled back to my room, where I found the women inside, startled and confused by the noise.

　"Hey! Holy Temple knight! What's going on?"

I shouted, and the Temple Knights came into the room.

　"It looks like an attack."

The Temple Knights reply in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

　Hey! What's with that attitude? My house was attacked!?

What's with that composure?

A group of ruffians came rushing in from behind the Temple Knights.

　"Hey, guys. We've taken care of everything except for this room."

　There were six of them. They were apparently the lowest class of scum in the city.

　Only one of them was wearing a black cloak and hood, so I couldn't make out his face.

He is a member of the scum, so he must be a scum anyway.

　There were some servants downstairs, but judging from the way they spoke, they must have been killed.

　Ha! No matter how many scum gather together, it's a piece of cake with the Temple Knights.

　"Hey! Temple Knights! Clear out these scum!"

　"......"

　"......"

The Temple Knights silently draw their swords and walk slowly, stopping at the terrace and the doorway to the room.

　"Oh, hey! What are you doing? Get rid of them!"

The Temple Knights didn't react as if they didn't hear my order.

　One of them even started picking his ear.

　Seeing this, anger welled up in me.

"Stop messing around! Your job is to protect me!"

　I'll fire these guys when this is over.

No, I will complain to the Order and end their lives as knights.

　I'll make them regret defying me.

The Temple Knights looked at me with a bored look on their faces.

　"I don't care."

　"You're on your own."　

........they said.

　What are they talking about?

"Hey! The women line up against the wall with their hands above their heads!"

The scum yells at the women to line up.

　"No, don't..."

"I don't care what you do to me, just don't kill me!"

　The women line up against the wall with their hands on their heads in fear.

　Hey! What are you doing, doing as they say! Take at least one of the scum off for me!

"Uh-huh? What about the ones who are not involved?"

　"Hey, hey, hey. Isn't he the one in charge here?"

　"Ah. I see. What do you want to do, mister?"

　The bum calls out to the black hood.

"....... kill."

　The Black Hood didn't even look at the woman, just said the one word.

　"Oooooooh."

　Uyssssss."

The scum draw their weapons, their voices unnerving.

　"Wait, wait."

　"Stop. Please!"

　"I'll let you do whatever you want..."

　The women begged desperately for their lives, but the scum ignored them and killed them all.

　"Oh, and make sure you dismember the bodies so we can use them to cover it up later."

　"Ooooooo..."

　"Uh-uh."

The scum in charge gave instructions to the others.

　The others replied with a listless reply and continued their work.

　...What the hell are these guys?

The scum started to mutilate the dead bodies of the women with a blank expression on their faces.

　I noticed something unusual, though it was only dimly apparent. Something is wrong with these guys.

　I don't know what's wrong, but I know it's wrong.

　The black hood slowly approached me and grabbed me by the head and turned me toward the scum.

I tried to resist, but the sheer force of his grip was too much for me to resist, and I was confronted with the corpses of the women who had been destroyed.

　The sight was so horrific that it made me want to vomit.

　"Can you see them?"

　The black hood speaks slowly.

　"You're next."

　"No, no, no. What are you talking about? Who do you think I am? I'm..."

　He slammed my face into the floor.

　Ow, ow, ow. What have you done to me! I'm the next lord!

　I feel a warm sensation on my nose. My nose is bleeding.

　Damn it! I'll never forgive him. I'm going to kill him.

　"Hey! Temple Knights! Kill them! I'll give you all the money you want! Hurry up!"

　The Temple Knights are unresponsive. One of them is even yawning.

　Don't play with me! Why won't you listen to me? I'm the next lord!

　I said I'd pay you!

　"Oi, Do you know who I am?"

　The Black Hood slowly removes his hood.

　A stern-looking man in his early twenties is shown.

　Who is he?

　I seriously didn't recognize him. Who's this? Who was he?

　I desperately tried to remember. But nothing came up.

"Who? I don't know you! You must be mistaken. All right, all right. Apologize now and I'll forgive you!"

　Something passed over both legs.

　After a short delay, a sharp pain hit me.

　"Ooooooh!! my legs! My legs!"

　It hurts. Son of a bitch! He cut off my leg!

　It hurts! Ow! Ow! Ow! My head is filled with pain.

　"Ah. It's hard to say, but he's too stupid to understand unless you tell him, okay?"

　The holy knight is saying something, but I can't get it out of my head.

It's hurts, It's hurts, It's hurts, It's hurts Why should I have to go through this?

　I didn't do anything wrong! I didn't do anything to deserve this!

"...my children to such a man..."

　Miraculously, the man's voice enters my head.

　Child? The word brings yesterday's inn to mind.

　This guy. Is he related to that inn? If so, it's not my fault!

　It's the old man's fault for not surrendering!

The words " the man's child" felt strange to me, but the pain was too strong for me to think straight and I couldn't understand.

　"I've had enough of ......."

　I heard the man say something and then something passed by my neck... I had no idea why and my vision went dark.

　The last thing that came to my mind was, come to think of it, that man looked like the old innkeeper.

　I didn't feel anything again.