IBWMD 35

~Chapter 35~

“Why Is the Duke Here?”

“Why is the Duke coming up in this conversation?”

Karl’s tendency to become outspoken whenever dragon lore came up made me a little uneasy about where this was headed.

“You’re not about to say something heretical again, are you?”

Karl raised his eyebrows at my suspicion. He wore a rather mischievous expression.

“Not at all.”

“Then?”

“The Duke is also someone burdened by countless rumors just because he supposedly carries dragon blood.”

…Like that one rumor that he could kill his spouse.

Karl nodded, as if he could read the thought I hadn’t said out loud.

“Some of those rumors are true, of course.”

“….”

“But most of them are ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?”

“Like how he drinks human blood under every full moon.”

“What? That’s absurd!”

That’s like a mix between a werewolf and a vampire.

When I scoffed, Karl responded in a solemn voice, still smiling.

“That’s what priests and saints who came to Saint Portou used to say.”

“Huh.”

“They said the Duke’s blood was impure, and if left alone, he would truly gain demonic power and start drinking blood.”

“As if dragons are vampires now?”

“That’s why they insisted he drink holy water blessed each morning.”

“That’s laughable.”

“There was a Duke who actually followed that order, drinking temple-issued holy water every morning.”

“…He must’ve suffered quite a bit.”

I bet the current Duke is dealing with similar nonsense.

I patted Karl on the shoulder, indicating I understood.

“I get it.”

“…”

“You’re saying it’s the people who believe those rumors that are the real fools.”

Not the Duke, who’s suffered from generational slander, nor someone like me, whose life was upended by someone else’s careless words.

It’s those who speak so freely about others’ lives that are the true idiots.

A soft laugh escaped me again.

“I should pass these stories to some jesters later.”

Why did this conversation make me feel so at ease?

Maybe I even felt a little warmth toward the Duke now, whom I had previously just disliked.

I looked at Karl, who grinned teasingly at me.

‘I thought he was quietly kind…’

But to hear him say these words…

‘…He called me a good person.’

Maybe he was trying to comfort me, too.

My chest warmed slightly. I could feel the musket he had given me swaying on my back.

‘Now that I think of it…’

I felt the urge to do something for him.

He’d given me food, this comfort, a fine musket—he’d done so much for me.

It felt wrong to just receive everything and give nothing in return.

I glanced sideways at him. His gaze met mine instantly, and his golden eyes, lit by the glowing mana orb, sparkled with brilliance.

I found myself staring, entranced. The mood wasn’t bad—

“Still, I’m a bit worried since I heard you used to live as a man.”

“Worried?”

“Could it be that you’re interested in women as well?”

…So I thought.

Right. No wonder he hadn’t teased me—he was saving it for this.

“Excuse me. That was just from when I was younger. How long are you going to—”

“I’m just worried you might go out dressed as a man and end up seducing women.”

“Stop. Just stop talking.”

‘Worry about something else!’

Even as I covered my ears and walked, Karl’s voice clung persistently.

“I mean it. You even have a maid who proposed to you tagging along, don’t you?”

“Beth isn’t even my type. You can stop worrying about her.”

“Then does that mean she’s your type…?”

“Excuse me?!”

“Do you like small, Chihuahua-like women? Even though you’re small yourself?”

I could almost hear him muttering something serious about not being able to shrink in size. I grimaced.

“No! Besides, my husband is the Duke, remember?”

“…Right.”

Why did he look so proud when I said that?

Even as those thoughts crossed my mind, we kept walking further in.

Eventually, we entered a massive cavern far larger than the mine entrance.

Grooooowl…

The sound of a bear’s cry echoed.

“….”

At the sound, all humor vanished from our faces.

I spotted the wounded bear in a corner.

Grooowl…

Our eyes met. The creature seemed to accept its fate and closed its eyes.

As I steadied my musket, Karl added:

“No need for a tripod?”

“…It’s not moving right now.”

Joking even now, huh?

I understood he was trying to ease my tension, though.

I took a slow breath and muttered a prayer.

Bang!

The shot rang out, and the bear’s cries ceased.

I approached its lifeless body, drew a cross, and said:

“At least it wasn’t a real monster.”

If it had been, I wouldn’t have been able to take it down so easily.

Just as I sighed in relief, I noticed footprints beside the corpse.

Wait. Footprints?

They look fresh…

“Get down!”

“Aaaah!”

“Huh?”

A panicked scream rang out from deeper inside. Karl and I both turned toward the sound.

Huff, huff!

“Run!”

“…What?”

From the depths of the tunnel, several grimy adults came rushing out, locking eyes with us.

“….”

This was familiar—just like the man we saw earlier being chased by the bear.

“Uh… Uhh?”

“What are you doing?! Snap out of it!”

Jolted by someone’s shout, the adults scattered, diving behind abandoned carts and rocks, shivering as they yelled:

“You two, get down too!”

What now…?

Screeeeech.

A chilling shriek raised goosebumps on my neck.

Something emerged from the mine and clamped its jaws on the bear’s head.

Crunch.

The sound of a skull being crushed rang out clearly.

“…Speak of the devil.”

It was a real monster.

Bang!

I fired immediately, hitting its head.

Screeeeech…!

Its rolling eyes landed on me.

Because I didn’t infuse the bullet with holy energy to avoid revealing myself, the shot lacked full power.

Then I’ll just shoot until it dies.

Not that difficult, honestly. Because—

Slash, slash!

The monster’s limbs and tail were being severed in front of me.

Anything that came within a certain range—

Karl blocked it all, creating openings for my shots.

He moved like he knew exactly what I needed without being told.

We’re moving like one body.

The thrill of fighting alongside a great companion surged through me.

Bang, bang, bang!

The sharp scent of gunpowder pounded in my chest.

Screeeeech…

As I landed another bullet, the monster dropped and convulsed.

Then—

A golden aura shimmered around its neck.

Slash!

Its head and torso were cleanly severed.

A swift, precise execution.

Thud.

Its body twitched one last time—then stopped.

* * *

“It’s pretty heavy.”

I walked between alleyways, the bear hide Karl had skinned draped over my shoulders.

We had to discard the parts contaminated by the monster, but there was still plenty of usable material left.

“I could’ve carried it.”

“No thanks. I want to carry it myself—it feels like I really earned it.”

I’d turned down Karl’s offer to carry it a dozen times. Humming, I adjusted the hide on my shoulders.

“Still, I’m glad we salvaged this.”

“…After such a reckless act, you had to salvage something.”

Karl added a slightly sarcastic note. He’d supported me well enough during the fight, so I ignored the tone.

“I’m also glad we rescued the adults.”

I hoped they were safely reunited with Eliza by now.

Just as I suspected, those ragged adults were Eliza’s caretaker group. Once we told them we’d already met her, the story flowed quickly.

“Well, you see…”

As soon as the new boss arrived, they’d been handed unfamiliar cigarettes—popular among soldiers—and asked to investigate.

“But the soldiers who smoked them started acting weird.”

“Eventually, they even got violent asking for more.”

Just as I thought—it was the drug-laced tobacco that once trended in the capital.

“Those cigarettes had strong withdrawal symptoms. No wonder the soldiers were losing it.”

At that point, a few caretakers had raised concerns with their higher-ups.

“We demanded to know what they were giving us. Just because we’re bottom-of-the-barrel doesn’t mean we’re dumb enough to ruin the territory.”

“Not that the territory would care about us.”

Karl’s pupils narrowed at the self-deprecating remark. The adults grumbled, then continued:

“After that, they locked us up for months…”

“And recently, dumped us here.”

Thankfully, they’d been exiled to this wild mountain—no, Everest—just a few weeks ago.

Which meant, precisely—

“The same day I warned Jeremy…”

The very day embezzlement and drug activity were exposed at the Duke’s estate.