Chapter 160 – Grand Duke Collector (12)

Sometimes in life, there comes a moment when you have to lose face.
For Erzsebet, that time was now.
What was the reason for storming into the castle with iron soldiers at the forefront?
Wasn’t it precisely to use his own power to further solidify his political position?

Coming to the floating island was in the same context.
This grand communion meeting must succeed.
The reason Adalbert Aubes, the former commander of the Knights of Hooksclaw, who retired after the Great War, did not stop Erzsebet’s actions even though he was in Thessalon was probably because he knew that.

In fact, unlike the previous meeting, all but one of the archdukes who were sick of war voted in favor.
Because she didn’t know who the credit was for, Erzsebet was able to let go of her pride.

“Herze has one more favor to ask.”
“…”

Of course, whenever I looked down at myself with that shit-chewing expression, my teeth would grind apart.
Still, I held on and maintained a smiling face.
Even though he is a godfather, he is not the type to give something away easily.
Even Erzsebet had no choice as she refused to receive any financial compensation.

The future of the kingdom hangs in the balance over a short nasal noise he hasn’t made in front of his father since he was 11 years old.
Trying to force that miserable fact into the space behind reason, she put her request into her mouth.

“Is it possible to find one more polar bird in the Ravier Mountains?”
“Can you at least pair me up?”
“No, because Lord Katreya was not persuaded at all. “I think I want either Titan Rhino or Extreme Hue.”
“Hmm…”

He thought about it, and before long he shook his head.

“It will probably be difficult. The polar bird was an endangered species even during the Great War, and if you still find it, a skirmisher rather than me would have already reported it to the royal family.”
“Then…”
“Of course, Lehel also said that he has no intention of passing up his Mage Tower’s Mon King Battle prospect. If things continue like this, negotiations will not be possible.”
“Tch…”

I tried my best to be cute, but it was completely useless.
Louis asked Erzsebet, who immediately returned to her strict attitude.

“Four, no, five people have already agreed. Can’t we just do it among ourselves?”
“That can never be done. “The grand principle and fundamental purpose of the Archduke Council is to prevent the power of magicians from being controlled by the royal family.”
“It means unification of opinion for that purpose.”
“Yes. “I’m sure those who supported it now don’t want the purpose of the meeting to fade.”
“All right. “First, let me talk about gastronomy separately.”

Although there seemed to be no solution, Lewis took action again on his own.
The more this happened, the heavier Erzsebet’s heart became.
Of course, his help was grateful, but if things continue like this, he doesn’t even know how to repay the favor.
Because I have received so much so far.

“Hey, Louis…”
“Yes?”
“Is there anything else you want…”
“It’s done.”

Nevertheless, Lewis refuses the reward again.
Territory, salary, title, decoration…
Nothing is enough.
Beating down imperial nobles to protect her princess.
He stole her saintly woman away from the eyes of Seongguk.
What on earth should we give to that man who single-handedly changed the hearts of as many as five archdukes?

“Oh right. “Princess.”
“Yes!? Whatever you want… !”
“Stop being nervous about that weird cutesy thing. “Because I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Okay…”

Erzsebet shouted behind Luis, who left the conference room without entering.

“You continued because you liked it before!! What kind of nonsense are you doing now? … !!”
“When did I… Anyway, see you later.”

She avoided eye contact, trying not to say the only thing she had left to offer.

***

The conference room on the central island is increasingly crowded.
I left the women who were obviously waiting for me and headed to the Potusae Stadium in the Baltic Mountains.
I lay down between the trees, holding in my hands the 5 gold binoculars I bought at the general store.
I saw birds leisurely eating grass in the distance.

According to kingdom law, conditions are required to raise a creature that has combat power higher than that of a low-level monster, whether it is a familiar or a pet.
All you have to do is pay documents and a certain amount of money and report the owner to the relevant ministry.
The reason her gourmet balls cannot take Lehel’s titan Rhino by force is because she is already recognized as the legal owner.

I don’t know if it’s an animal protection law or to protect humans, but it’s definitely a pretty good system.
According to the legal principle, the steel dogs in the concession stand clearly belong to Goliath, but for some reason, no reports have been received, so they are just kept.
I too can be taken away at any time… They’re still loyal to me, so it’ll be okay.
I won’t change my owner easily.

Anyway, the reason I came here was to find an ownerless bird.
Of course, an ordinary potousae won’t satisfy a gourmet ball.
At least he had to be better than the others.

“Where did it go? It must be around here…”

After searching for a while, I couldn’t see the target, so I moved my gaze to another place.
Audience seats provided for tourists lined up outside the stadium.
I was able to find him right there.

“Found.”

It was the ice duck that had been with us since Skandal.
The guy who was pecking at the bread that someone had thrown away had now grown to the size of an adult man.
Of course, she is a being born from Adela’s magic, but she has not registered ownership, so she is not her property.
I don’t know if he was attached or not, but he didn’t even seem to provide food.

If we catch that guy and make a deal with Gourmet Ball, this long meeting will end.
As I took a step forward, the ice duck began fluffing up her fur as if sensing an ominous energy.

“Bleep!!”
“Do not rebel. “It will be over soon.”

I have a lot of good memories with this guy.
From the moment I took over from Liv, memories with the ice duck passed by like a flash of light.
We also went to the bakery section of the hotel and fed them some bread.
He also stopped him from attacking Caroline whenever he tried.
I received help from the sewers knowingly or unknowingly, and thanks to that, I was able to win the Potwosae race.
But that happy relationship ends here.

Kwaang!!!

As he stepped on the steps, a chill spread and cracks appeared in the audience.
The body made entirely of ice was not only large, but also weighed hundreds of kilograms.
In addition, Adella’s unique magic is the strongest ice that even the five-colored ball Scarlet could not easily pierce.
It can never be broken at a normal wizard level.

“Beepee——!!!”

In other words, the rush of an ice duck with the hardness and speed of a truck in another world’s reincarnation is death itself.
If you take it from the front, even if you are a knight of the kingdom, your life cannot be guaranteed.
I immediately jumped to the side and hit the guy in the side.
Bang! Some of the ice broke with a sound, but it was blocked by thick wing ridges.

“Whoa… Let’s go together when we have good words. If you keep doing that, they can cut you off and take you away.”
“Beeeee!!!!”
“Okay, let’s do it, right? “You fell behind.”

I clenched my hand, which was losing all sense from frostbite, and raised it.
And in line with the ice duck’s second charge, it rushed forward strongly.

***

“Oh my god… “What is this?”

At the time Lehel found Lewis, the area around the stadium was already half-destroyed, and a group of released Potu birds were running wild.
It was semi-accident that she ended up there after finishing her meeting.
This is because the restaurant she didn’t pay for because she was taking Louise to Sacré Lair happened to be near the stadium.
After paying for the food she couldn’t pay for yesterday, she was startled by a loud noise and headed to the source.
In the middle of a stadium covered in thin ice, an ice duck was breathing heavily, glaring at her Louise.

“Whoa… Are you going to listen now?”
“Beep—beep——!”
“Still? It won’t work. I should just grind it like shaved ice and eat it with a gourmet ball…”
“Yes, boss! “What are you doing now!!”
“Chairman?”

When Lehel came to mediate the situation, both Ice Duck and Lewis stopped moving.
She looked around the messed up stadium for a moment, sighed, and asked.

“What the hell is going on?”
“That is…”

The answer that came back was truly extraordinary.
The plan is to give the ice duck to Gourmet Ball and get her approval.
Lehel thought for a moment as she looked at the guy whose size had shrunk considerably.
Isn’t that malicious inventory?
I wonder if Katreya, who has many other phantom beasts, will accept that ice duck as one of her own.

“I’m trying to convince this guy that he’s going against the grain and won’t go. Well, I understand that if you go to the gourmet shop, you won’t be able to eat the bread from the cafeteria anymore.”
“… At least I know that the persuasion the boss is talking about is very far from what I know. But boss.”
“Yes?”
“You’ll never be able to eat bread, right?”
“Beep——?”

Because Lehel had a close relationship with Katreya, she knew very well about her return.
At least from Ice Duck’s perspective, she had nothing to lose by becoming Gourmet Ball’s familiar.

“I don’t know about him, but he is very nice to his family. Currently, the island with the most airship traffic in Plum is also Katreya Island. “Everything in it is food to feed the phantom beasts, so how could it be possible that there isn’t even a single bread?”
“Beep!!?”
“Of course, you have to eat things you don’t want to eat, so it’s not all good, but there’s probably no problem… Huh?”
“Beep!! Bleep——!!”

As soon as she heard her story, the ice duck kicked Louise with her foot and urged her to quickly take her to the island.

“Can I go now?”
“Yes…”

Louis, who was dumbfounded, nodded his head with a helpless expression.

***

“Didn’t you resist desperately to protect your loyalty to Adela?”
“Beep—!! Bleep——!! Bleep!!”

There’s nothing like that.
Ice Duck was already ready to sell her soul for a piece of bread given by Gourmet Ball.
After putting the boy who was restless even inside the airship in a cage, I clicked my tongue and took out a cigarette.
Just then, someone grabbed my hand from next to me.

“Smoking is prohibited here~?”

[Fires during flight can spread into great danger.]

Just as I was about to express my gratitude at the warning notice that caught my eye, I realized that it was a familiar face.

“Gourmet ball… ?”
“Hello~ Lehel’s boyfriend.”

A metallic clanging sound coming from the rings worn on all ten fingers.
Sparkling purple eyes shining behind long bangs.
The last grand duke who had not yet agreed to the agenda and the ruler of Hwansu, the Messenger Duke, was Katreya.

“This is a ship heading to my island. What’s the deal?”

A mysterious voice crawling like a snake tickled my ears.
Before I knew it, her hand had entangled my fingers in a tight grip.

“I heard you finished talking with the princess.”

I lifted the cage I was riding next to and showed him the ice duck inside.
Now that I look at it, I think it looks quite cute thanks to its smaller size.

“That?”
“It is a rare creature that cannot even be compared to the Polar Bird or Titan Rhino. “He is quite intelligent and knows how to use magic.”
“Hmm~. “It looks sturdy.”

I shoved her ice duck at her, smiling like a salesperson trying to sell her wares.
Katreya, who is said to be interested in rare animals, also seemed quite intrigued.

“Yes? Instead of making this guy a subordinate, I agreed to this meeting…”
“No, you.”

Uh?

Crack!!

I was taken aback by Gourmet’s sudden behavior and came to my senses when I saw the blood flowing from his finger.
She bit my finger, giving off a very foreign aura, different from what the archdukes had shown so far.

“Ugh, it’s definitely sturdy. “I’ve been keeping an eye on you since I was standing next to the princess. It’s more interesting than I thought, isn’t it?”
“It’s not me, it’s this guy…”
“Are you not human?”

At those words, my expression inadvertently hardened.
Meanwhile, Katreya continued to chew on her hand, cutting off her muscles and eating them, reaching down to her small bones.

“Hmm, alchemy magic? There’s quite a bit of body replacement. The blood flowing not only through the hands but also throughout the body seems unusual, and above all, these bones…”

Bye!

A second burst of sound struck the quiet airship.
But this time it didn’t come from my body.
Without hesitation, Katreya bit down on her finger bone and spat it out with her broken tooth, muttering in a slightly surprised voice.

“Dragon… ?”
“Hmm, that’s…”
“There you are.”
“Yes?”

When she realized that my body, or rather my existence itself, was unusual, she attacked me with all her might.
The hull rattled and the cage rolled across the floor, releasing her ice duck.
Without even paying attention, Katreya’s eyes sparkled like an alchemist who found the Philosopher’s Stone.
The only place her gaze was fixed on was my eyes.

“Would you like to go with your sister? “I’ll give you anything you want.”

Uh?