I took a gold plaque from inside my clothes.
An embossed emblem depicted a set of scales resting atop a carriage wheel.
“What is this?”
“It is a kind of plaque of appreciation proving that I am a benefactor of the Richgold Merchant Company.”
“Richgold?”
Father searched through the documents.
Among the letters sent by Grand Duchess Lilian was one ordering the destruction of the Richgold Merchant Company.
“I have heard of them. They are a merchant company spreading their name while traveling throughout the nation.”
“That is correct. After personally confirming their capabilities, I found that their reputation actually understates their competence.”
In my previous life, the head of the Richgold Merchant Company died, and Tony took his place.
Even after the Richgold Merchant Company subsequently fractured, it rose to become the greatest merchant company in the Empire.
Now that its original master had survived, it could reach that position even sooner.
“You wish to cooperate with that merchant company and replace the support we receive from House Kareid?”
“That is correct. With their abilities, we will enjoy even greater support before we have time to feel the absence.”
Father stared silently at me.
“You left only a message saying that you were going out, then disappeared for several days. Did you leave with this intention from the beginning?”
His gaze seemed to pierce straight through me.
Grand Duchess Lilian was no fool.
Not a single piece of evidence proving that she had ordered those crimes remained anywhere within the territory.
Had even the smallest clue existed, Father would have pursued it to the end.
The cleanup had been nearly perfect.
Had Isaac not harbored thoughts of betrayal and instead destroyed all the evidence, no one would ever have exposed her crimes.
“Of course not.”
I understood Father’s suspicion, but I could not reveal that I had returned from the future.
“You claim it was merely a coincidence?”
“I simply left on a trip and became caught up in the incident. I did not deliberately seek it out.”
My eyes met Father’s.
I could tell he remained suspicious.
‘What can he do? It isn’t as though he can read my memories.’
I raised my head even more confidently and stared back.
“Very well.”
Father sprang from his seat.
Unshakable resolve filled his voice.
With that firm determination alone, those bastards were already as good as defeated.
His thick, powerful hand grasped my shoulder.
“……Father?”
“We must thoroughly clean out those who have spread through the family and territory like mold.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Would you like to handle it?”
“Yes.”
There was no reason to hesitate.
On a smaller scale, it meant crushing the bastards who had tried to kill Mother.
On a larger scale, it meant executing the faction that ate away at the territory and shackled House Fenrir.
My answer came without a moment’s hesitation.
“……Have you thought this through? The slightest opening will bring a fierce backlash. Do you understand that?”
Even Father, who had intended to entrust the task to me, felt compelled to ask again.
“Yes. I’m confident. Entrust it to me. I’ll handle it without making a mistake.”
“Good.”
Father took down the sword hanging upon the wall.
Its blade was as enormous as a roof beam and as white as the season’s first snow.
Gray fur wrapped around its worn hilt.
[I sense a familiar presence.]
Fafnir whispered.
Just as she said, an indescribably vast power radiated from the sword.
It felt almost as though the weapon itself were pulsing.
“Fang.”
Father stared at the sword in his hand and continued in a low voice.
Even the mighty head of House Fenrir appeared somewhat overwhelmed by the power contained within the blade.
“Long ago, during the Dark Age when Fafnir ruled the world, our ancestor, the Warrior of the North, slew the Demonic Dragon’s northern general, the Demon Wolf Fenrir. This sword was forged from that creature’s fang.”
“I know. Our ancestor took the name Fenrir as his own, and the sword has been passed down from one head of the family to the next.”
“Indeed.”
Father held the sword out to me.
“Take it.”
“Father!”
Fang was the symbol of the family.
Giving me that sword meant……
He intended to make me the next head of the family?!
“Do not misunderstand. I am lending it to you.”
Damn.
He got my hopes up for nothing.
“This sword is the symbol of the head of the family. Everyone will know that I stand behind whatever you do from now on.”
“Then may I swing it?”
I grasped Fang’s hilt.
“No.”
Father, who had begun releasing the sword, tightened his grip again.
“I have never used that sword in a real battle myself.”
Huh?
“Then why do you use a flail when you have such an excellent sword?”
Even while allowing the Jormungands of the South to accuse him of copying them.
“Is that not obvious?”
GRIP.
“I have yet to meet an opponent worthy of that sword.”
“Father, since you’re already lending it to me, could you release your hand?”
“I am lending it. Lending it.”
“Yes, I understand, so please let go! You’re going to damage the sword you treasure!”
“Very well.”
THUD—!
“Ghk!”
He suddenly released it while I was pulling with all my strength.
My head rang from the impact.
“What will you do if you turn my brilliant mind stupid?”
“Brilliant? Whose mind are you talking about?”
Father extended his hand toward me.
I took it.
The calloused hand felt strong and dependable.
“Do not make a mistake.”
“Don’t worry.”
I picked up the heavy sword.
This weapon was both an opportunity and a test from Father.
I had no intention of ruining either.
“I’ll handle it without making a single mistake.”
Your son knows, Father.
I know who the good bastards are and who the bad bastards are.
It was time to punish the bad ones.
***
I began with the knights.
More precisely, the knights who had intruded upon my Coming-of-Age Ceremony duel and blocked me.
The Knight Order’s barracks stood in the northern part of the territory, near the entrance to the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
As befitted House Fenrir’s Knight Order, which valued military strength above all, both the barracks and the surrounding military facilities were enormous.
Their quality rivaled even that of the Imperial Knight Order in the central region.
New knights usually guarded the barracks entrance.
Two knights stood before the doors when I arrived.
“We greet Third Young Master Pietro!”
“Right. At ease.”
“Young Master, what brings you here?!”
One of the new knights, Hans, greeted me warmly.
“I have some business here. Are you on gate duty today?”
“Yes, that is correct!”
“Is the man beside you another new knight?”
“Greetings, Young Master Pietro! I am Ulrich, a newly appointed knight!”
“Good to meet you. I have some business inside. Could you open the doors?”
“Yes, understood!”
CREAK.
Hans and Ulrich quickly opened the doors.
“Thanks. There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“Yes. Please speak.”
I placed a hand on each of their shoulders, leaned closer, and whispered.
“No matter what you hear inside, don’t enter until I call you.”
GULP.
Apparently realizing that I had not come for anything pleasant, both men’s eyes trembled violently.
“……Understood.”
Rather than ask why, however, they chose to obey.
Not bad.
“Good. Keep up the work.”
I patted their backs and entered the Knight Order’s grounds.
THUD—!
The massive doors closed behind me.
“Everyone, come out!”
At my shout, the knights inside the barracks came pouring out.
“We greet Third Young Master Pietro.”
Their attitudes were divided evenly.
Some knights formed up with blade-like precision despite the sudden summons.
The rest sauntered outside and barely bothered to stand properly.
“Hey.”
I approached the man standing at the front of the latter group.
He had been the first to rush forward and block me during my Coming-of-Age Ceremony.
There were also open rumors that he had pledged his sword to the Grand Duchess.
Richard, Vice Commander of the Knight Order, looked down at me with a greasy gaze.
“What brings you to the Knight Order, Young Master Pietro?”
‘What happened to this man in my previous life?’
I tightly closed my eyes and searched my memories.
My previous life had been so eventful that remembering such a minor bastard required digging through the deepest parts of my mind.
I could almost remember……
Ah.
Right.
I had it.
He ignored the common people and followed the Grand Duchess and her vassals everywhere.
Then, when the demons threatened his own life, he fled so fast that his tail might have fallen off.
Because he ran away, some of the few truly loyal vassals lost their lives.
They died trying to protect the people.
Good.
There was no reason to feel any guilt.
[What guilt? His soul is considerably corrupted and has aged most exquisitely.]
‘Really?’
[Indeed. It is unfortunate that I cannot devour his soul immediately.]
‘Wait a little longer.’
I stepped forward.
“I came to deliver this.”
I held out a letter bearing Father’s seal.
“What is this?”
Richard accepted it with both hands.
His voice carried the expectation that his confinement might finally be lifted.
“A notice of dismissal.”
Silence.
No one dared speak.
“……Pardon?”
“Didn’t you hear me? It’s a notice of dismissal.”
Richard stared blankly at me.
It seemed he needed time to comprehend what I had said.
Once he regained his senses, he hurriedly opened the letter with trembling hands.
His expression grew increasingly rotten as he read.
“Wh-what is this?”
“Don’t you know what dismissal means?”
I snatched the order from the man, who stood somewhere between confusion and disbelief.
“A notice of dismissal.”
My clear voice echoed through the Knight Order.
“For the crime of intruding upon House Fenrir’s sacred Coming-of-Age Ceremony, for oppressing and exploiting the people, and for ignoring their suffering despite doing so.”
As I read each word aloud, his empty head gradually turned red.
“For pledging loyalty to the head of House Fenrir while daring to turn your gaze elsewhere, Vice Commander Richard of the Knight Order and the nine knights serving beneath him are hereby dismissed from their positions, effective immediately.”
“Th-this cannot be…….”
“The list is written here. Check it yourselves.”
“This cannot……be true…….”
“And since everyone named is no longer a knight or anything else of importance, pack your belongings and clear out your quarters immediately.”
“This cannot be allowed!”
The vice commander—
No.
The former vice commander, Richard, roared.
His octopus-like head had turned completely red, as though it had been boiled.
“What? What exactly can’t be allowed?”
“Everything I did was for the sake of protecting the territory and its people…… Yes! I, Richard, have lived these past decades guided solely by loyalty! There must be some mistake!”
“Really?”
“That is correct! Allow me to meet His Grace! His Grace will surely understand my loyalty!”
STOP.
“That won’t happen.”
Blocked by my arm, he looked down at me.
“Move aside.”
His voice was a low growl.
“And if I refuse?”
I raised one corner of my mouth.
“What can you do? You’re no longer the vice commander or even a knight. What can someone like you possibly do to the son of the Grand Duke of House Fenrir?”
GRIND.
The sound of his teeth grinding was unmistakable.
Judging by his expression, the final thread of reason inside his head had snapped.
“You bastard!”
SHING—!
His eyes rolled back as he drew his sword against me.
SHING—!
“Hey, don’t interfere.”
At my gesture, the knights who had begun drawing their swords against Richard froze.
“Let’s hear what he has to say.”
“A bastard born from a lowborn mother earns a little favor from the head of the family and suddenly forgets his place! I shall correct your behavior myself!”
“Ha!”
Listen to this bastard.
Former Vice Commander,
there are two things I will never tolerate.
“The second is someone insulting me.”
SHING—!
An enormous blade burst from the worn, ordinary-looking sheath and swept across his shoulder.
“GRAAAAGH!”
The former vice commander’s arm was severed, and blood sprayed from the stump like a fountain.
A crimson pool formed upon the Knight Order’s white stone floor.
“The first is someone insulting Mother.”
What about Father?
Father could take care of himself.
Before I even had the opportunity to act, he would probably crush the offender’s skull with his flail.
SHING—!
Leaving Richard behind, I aimed Fang toward the knights scheduled for dismissal.
“Does anyone else intend to disobey the dismissal order? Raise your hand if you do.”
No one raised a hand.
Fang, the symbol of the head of the family,
had severed the arm of Richard, the man who had once stood above them.
Its meaning was simple.
Anyone who acted out would meet an unpleasant end.
“Good! What a relief. Everyone dismissed should hurry and clear out their rooms!”
The bastards immediately began moving.
I wiped the blood from Fang and returned it to its sheath.
The enormous blade shrank until it resembled an ordinary sword once more.
“Now, what am I going to do?”
I said I wouldn’t use the sword.
Father was going to beat the hell out of me again.