I Thought I Was the Monster Duke's Fake Tranquilizer - Chapter 35
His heart and lower body were burning as hot as could be, yet his head had suddenly turned ice-cold, as if doused with freezing water.
‘Over something like this?’
It was true that the kiss with that small woman had felt good…
‘But aren’t I on my way to slay a demonic beast right now?’
Losing his composure to this degree was thoroughly unwelcome.
Wasn’t the very reason he despised his rampages because he hated being unable to control himself?
‘Even so, this is too much.’
Swish.
After a brief moment of deliberation, he raised his fist and aimed it at his lower halfâ
“Your Grace?”
The innkeeper, eyes bewildered, pointed frantically.
“Over there, over there!”
At the same moment…
Screeeech!
Demonic beasts soared up from the forest bordering the gate.
Edward abandoned the action he’d been about to take, and all thoughts along with it.
Then he kicked off the ground and launched himself toward the beasts.
* * *
“What shall we do with the demonic beast corpses?”
“They’re toxic. Take them to the temple.”
“There’s no temple around here…”
“Must I look into that for you as well?”
“N-No, not at all!”
The subjugation had ended in an instant, without any particular difficulty.
What was more, Tepe and Gorgo had joined him before dawn had even broken.
After luring the temple soldiers far away in the duke’s steadâwho had unfurled his wings and departedâthe two had waited until enough distance was secured, then torn a teleportation scroll that allowed them to reach Edward directly.
And the moment they saw he was in combat, they had thrown themselves into the fray.
With the dragon incarnation who slays demonic beasts and his two most trusted lieutenants in the mix, it was only a matter of time before things were settled.
All the more so because Edward had moved far faster than usual.
Those who didn’t know that he’d hurried so because of what he’d left behind at the inn were busy flocking around him now that the subjugation was over, singing his praises.
The ones who stepped forward most eagerly were the nobles of the gate.
“Good heavens. You are truly remarkable, Your Grace.”
“This isn’t even a place where demonic beasts frequently appear, so no one here quite knew how to fight…”
“Now that it’s come to this, we would like to treat you to a grand banquet.”
And when he had turned toward the inn as if thoroughly annoyed, they had followed him in a swarm all the way to the front courtyard.
“Please, hear us out. There is a truly renowned chef at our gate…”
They were clearly desperate to forge some connection with the hero, by any means.
Edward, soaked in the blood of demonic beasts, curled one corner of his mouth and answered.
“Fobbing me off with mere words and cuisine?”
“…”
“If you have something to say, why not use coins or territory instead. Mines, too, for that matter.”
“Ha, haha. The hero jests…”
“Does it sound like a jest?”
“…”
“No, now that I think about it, I’d rather not receive any. I have more than enough of such things already. Managing them is a hassle, besides.”
At those words, the expressions that surfaced on the nobles’ faces were predictable.
Roughly half of them looked thoroughly put off by him, clearly wishing he would just leave. The other half, regardless of what he said, wore the expressions of those who either worshiped him or were desperate to cling to him and extract something.
It was all familiar scenery, without a trace of novelty.
“…Your Grace. There is a new matter to report.”
And as was always the case with that scenery, there was a problem more irritating than the subjugation itself.
Tepe and Gorgo looked at Edward with troubled faces.
Edward shifted his gaze to the soldiers who had come running, tense beyond measure.
They were the soldiers who guarded the vicinity of this gate.
“So, to sum up.”
“…”
“I gave orders to evacuate them to the west, and you evacuated them to the east.”
He had clearly instructed them to evacuate the residents to the silver mine in the west.
But because he hadn’t explained why they needed to go there, the soldiers had made their own judgment and evacuated them to the east instead.
To the largest academy in this gate city, no less.
The soldiers were only stealing furtive glances at Edward, gauging his mood, whenâ
The person who had been standing in the corner with a discontented expression the entire time the nobles were fawning stepped forward.
It was Count Moro, the lord of this gate city.
“With the deepest apologies, Your Grace. From the outset, your order was…”
The count steeled his gaze and puffed out his chest with righteous dignity.
“…It was an order we could not follow!”
