~Chapter 7~
The dining hall was so large it could be used as a playground for strong men, with a long table placed down the middle.
People’s eyes turned to me briefly, then they laughed and looked away.
‘Sigh.’
Almost every seat was taken.
Only the main seat in the center, the seat to the right of it, and a far corner seat were empty.
‘There’s lots of good food at the front.’
I came all this way just to eat, so I made a quick decision.
I jumped quickly to the seat to the right of the main one.
“M-Miss!”
Syphon gasped, reaching out, and I felt the shocked eyes of the others in the hall.
‘Why?’
Just as I widened my eyes and tilted my head, someone announced:
“The Duke has arrived!”
Everyone stood up from their seats. I awkwardly jumped down and tried to follow.
Heavy footsteps and the sound of a cane came closer to me.
I heard the sound of him sitting.
“Sit.”
His voice was dry, bored, and emotionless, echoing in my ears.
I looked up and saw his gray hair and sharp eyes, heavy with boredom.
His stubborn mouth was tightly closed.
‘This must be the Duke.’
I stared in wonder and jumped clumsily back onto the chair.
I lost my balance and struggled to sit properly.
Syphon looked helpless but then closed her eyes and helped me sit.
Only when my small head popped up above the table did I finally feel his indifferent gaze on me.
His eyebrow twitched up sharply.
“You! Do you know where you’re sitting? How rude to sit without permission like an uneducated brat!”
Someone near the main seat shouted at me.
I turned and saw an unpleasant face.
Next to him was the cousin who had humiliated me earlier, the one who danced tap with the rats.
‘Ah, he snitched again.’
Kids are always like that.
“Where is this?”
“What?”
“Is this a forbidden seat? Grandfather?”
I turned and asked the most powerful elder there.
“…What?”
He frowned looking at me.
“I hear there’s good food here, so why can’t you sit?”
People gasped.
“Isn’t that the idiot…?”
“He can speak after all…”
“I heard so too…”
They whispered in amazement.
Syphon almost fainted standing there.
“…No matter.”
The cold eyes with no life glanced at me and looked away.
“Enjoy yourselves.”
“Thank you for your hospitality. Nightshade will surely help the Duke’s status.”
“Good. I hope Mari likes it.”
As the Duke started eating, I blinked, feeling like I was hit on the back of the head.
‘Night… Shade?’
Why mention that here?
“Ha ha, thanks to making a deal with Duke Nigel, good things are happening.”
Long mustache, protruding buck teeth, tiny thin eyes, protruding cheekbones, and a mole near his lip.
This guy had a bad look.
My centuries of fun in the human world said so.
His grin was just a conman’s.
“Thanks to my father for agreeing to the deal.”
That Nigel was the father of that brat cousin who got rats as a gift and had been rude to me.
Something smelled wrong.
A horrible mark of a pushover.
“E-excuse me!”
I raised my hand, gathering attention.
“W-what is Nightshade?”
I asked with wide eyes, and Nigel sneered.
“Nightshade is a mix of orichalcum and mithril. Do you even know what that is?”
I knew.
Better than anyone.
“Wow, that’s impressive! Show me too!”
“What? Who said what…”
He stammered in confusion.
“What are you planning to do with that?”
He got annoyed and shouted louder.
“Ah, it’s fine. I happen to have some.”
The merchant smiled warmly and showed me a fist-sized ore.
Syphon came forward, took it, and put it in my palm.
‘That’s Dark Night Ore?’
Why was this pretty rock called Nightshade here?
Dark Night Ore is very hard and light, good for making beautiful decorations but not much else.
Though it’s harder to work than Nightshade.
It used to be as common as street stones a thousand years ago in the demon world, but now?
Did it become a rare precious stone while I wandered the spirit world after death?
“Pretty, isn’t it? This ore is a legendary mix of rare orichalcum and mithril.”
I was speechless.
What is he saying…
I held my throbbing head staring at the Dark Night Ore.
“Also, I refined a sword better than the last time. Please accept it as a gift and try it.”
The merchant nodded to an assistant who carefully handed a sword to the Duke.
Despite the interruption, the Duke took the sword calmly and drew it.
“This is much more beautiful than the last one. Is this the Nightshade used to forge the strongest Demon King sword?”
He quietly praised it.
“They managed to mix materials that don’t normally mix.”
“Haha, it took millions of mileon just for research and equipment. But finally, we found the legendary recipe.”
The long-faced merchant rubbed his long mustache and laughed heartily.
Had Dark Night Ore turned into Nightshade without me knowing?
Orichalcum and mithril supposedly can’t mix, but actually, they can.
There are swords made of Nightshade, but only demons can make them.
Plus, the method is a top secret known only by the Demon King and close aides.
How does he know this?
I was stunned and slowly thought it over.
Three theories:
He’s a scammer.
The secret leaked without me knowing.
I’m too dumb to recognize ore.
I ruled out number 3 — no way a genius like me is dumb.
Number 2 was unlikely — no records of the method existed.
So, number 1 must be true.
And he has a terrible look too.
“Nigel, what price did you agree on?”
“Fifty million mileon per Nightshade piece used in a sword!”
“Fifty million per sword?”
Sighs and gasps echoed.
“Even if it’s rare, fifty million per sword… That’s too much for knights…”
Someone muttered.
“Hmm…”
How much is fifty million mileon anyway?
Money units changed, and I couldn’t grasp it.
‘Should I stop this or not?’
Whether they lose money or not doesn’t concern me.
If the family goes bankrupt from a scam, I just watch happily.
‘Wait, is that revenge?’
If they all die, does the property become mine?
‘…No, they’ll fail first.’
No need to think more.
“If you die and are reborn, you must do enough good deeds to atone for your sins.”
That memory suddenly came back, and I bowed my head.
I realized I had no choice.
Which comes first: good deeds or revenge?
Since I need magic for revenge, good deeds must come first.
The genius me accepted reality.
