Chapter 29

“If you ask where the biggest and fanciest place to stay in Rowefelt is, everyone will unanimously recommend Grisha Tavern in the west of the city.”

With its rare five-story structure, various cooling facilities, and a top-notch chef on standby for 18 hours, this tavern is so famous that even the visiting lord of Rowefelt reportedly sighed, saying, “This place seems better than my own lord’s mansion.”

Given their flashy marketing strategy, the accommodation costs at Grisha Tavern are quite steep.

Among the nobles visiting Rowefelt hoping to establish even a small connection with the Duke Lenart, it became a sort of status symbol to determine whether they could stay for more than a week here.

Some intellectuals tutted at this foolish act of using money to establish hierarchy, but Tom, the tavern’s manager, disagreed.

Who cares if it’s pathetic? What’s wrong with looking garish?

The more they waste their money, the fatter Tom’s wallet gets and the happier his home becomes!

Tom prided himself on never having lost his smile toward the tavern’s customers, and recently, his grin had grown even wider.

This was because one customer had rented out the entire tavern a week ago.

Despite that customer’s somewhat overbearing personality and their pets’ unique appearances, Tom didn’t see it as much of an issue.

Sometimes the pets would cause a ruckus around the tavern, but every time, the customer paid for the damages, so he had no complaints.

In fact, considering the compensation was way higher than the cost of the damaged items, he was secretly cheering for more destruction.

So, when the customer returned from a short outing, Tom rushed out to bow politely.

“Welcome back, dear customer! The bathwater and meals are ready, so please, which would you prefer first—”

“-Step aside.”

Tom’s courteous words were sliced off by a cold response.

Glancing at the customer’s expression, Tom immediately froze.

The customer’s blood-red eyes were filled with an indescribable sticky emotion.

Tom quickly sidestepped.

Without even sparing him a glance, the customer strode off toward their room.

Following closely behind were two golden monkeys, serving as attendants.

The bat-winged golden monkey flitted around the customer, almost as if it were gauging its owner’s mood.

The second monkey dragged a wheeled travel bag, leaving clear wheel tracks on the carpet beneath it, hinting that the load was rather hefty.

It was a thing that would be difficult even for an average merchant to move, but that monkey didn’t seem to struggle at all.

Considering it had a physique nearly two to three times bigger than the bat-winged monkey beside it, it was hardly surprising.

Thanks to its massive build, the tiny insect-like wings on its back looked more like decoration.

Tom thought,

‘Whatever it is, I should tell the staff to stay away from this customer as much as possible today.’

He had seen enough instances of out-of-control noble guests harassing innocent staff members.

The current customer’s gaze appeared just as dangerous as those prior guests.

Soon, precautions were communicated, and the staff couldn’t hide their tension.

“Speaking of which, when I went out earlier to buy ingredients, I heard a strange rumor. Apparently, there was a fight in the middle of the street between a golden-haired beast and a knight, and the beast ended up dead. …Boss, is that possibly about our customer’s pet?”

“The guards and students from Lenart Dojo are reportedly searching for a knight in armor and a golden-haired monkey.”

Hearing the employees’ accounts, Tom’s expression turned serious.

“No one has approached us, right? If you’ve been gossiping about the customer, confess now.”

“Come on, who’d get fired from a decent job? Of course, we kept quiet.”

“The customer and the monkeys rarely go outside, so no one around would know… for now.”

The phrase “for now” hit the nail on the head.

Not knowing meant they would soon find out.

And when that day came, there was a real risk that even the staff of Grisha Tavern might get implicated in this strange incident.

They’d be asking, “Why did you hide the perpetrator?”

Tom pondered.

Should he ask the customer what was happening? Or should he quietly inform the guards or the dojo instead? If the tavern got a reputation for tossing guests under the bus, other nobles would likely shy away.

Since returning, the customer hadn’t eaten dinner and remained holed up in their room.

If he were to make a choice, now was the time.

The employees’ gazes were focused on Tom.

As the tavern’s manager, this was his chance to prove his worth.

“Hey, wait, everyone, look at that! What is that?”

“Huh?”

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, Tom never got the chance to test himself.

A pale-faced waitress pointed out the window, and Tom and the employees turned their eyes in unison.

And they froze.

A woman with a pale complexion was staring at Tom and the staff from outside the window.

In the dim night, even though the bright lights inside illuminated the area, the outside view could hardly be seen. Yet, the woman’s appearance was strikingly vivid.

Her black hair was disheveled, her eyes were deeply sunken, and her gaze was filled with blood-red pupils.

Suddenly, the woman moved forward.

Sturdy windows and stone walls were nothing to impede her entry.

Despite the absence of wind, the woman’s white dress fluttered gently.

Everyone was at a loss for words, jaws dropped, unable to make a sound.

Then, amidst the stillness, the emotionless woman suddenly smiled.

-Hehe

Her mouth curved grotesquely to an impossible extent, stretching all the way to her ears.

Blood oozed from the torn corners of her mouth, staining her white dress crimson.

《AHAHAHAHAHA!!》

The woman, or rather the evil spirit, erupted into maniacal laughter.

Several employees fainted immediately.

Tom and the remaining staff tried to flee in terror, but as new evil spirits began to swarm in from all directions, they eventually succumbed to fear and fainted as well.

The evil spirits, having done their duty, disappeared like mist, one by one.

Silence fell upon the first floor of the tavern.

With the front door having been flung open, a small shadow stealthily crept inside.

The shadow surveyed its surroundings before hiding itself in a corner.

Moments later.

-Wukki?

From the staircase emerged the bat-winged golden monkey.

The golden monkey checked on the downed employees, looking around cautiously.

And then, something flew towards the monkey.

The monkey’s response to the sudden thrown object was incredibly swift.

As its membranous wings fluttered, the monkey’s body gracefully maneuvered through the air.

The rock that missed its target hit the wall in vain and fell pathetically.

Though the monkey was searching for the culprit, it wasn’t necessary.

The perpetrator made their entrance themselves.

A girl with shiny blonde hair and vivid violet eyes pointed her sword at the monkey.

“Um, ahem! Monkey! I hereby challenge you to a duel!”

-…Wukki?

A question mark appeared on the monkey’s face.

If expressed in human language, it would roughly translate to: ‘What the heck is she babbling about?’

Matchup 1.

Adelheid von Lenart vs. Bat-Winged Golden Monkey.

***

Feeling bewildered by the sudden duel declaration, the alchemist sharing vision with the monkey was equally taken aback.

Although she had solidified her defenses sensing the magical energy in the atmosphere, the expected attack spell never came.

From the scene on the first floor and the remnants of magic in the area, she could only guess that some necromancy had been at play.

‘Did they put the employees to sleep to keep them from causing a ruckus?’

The hypothesis that sprang to mind filled the alchemist with displeasure.

Was that a missed opportunity for a prime sneak attack? Against me?

After having so ruthlessly robbed me of my beloved creation?

Blood rushed to her head.

If it had been her usual self, she would have recognized the unnaturalness of the situation, but the fire of rage clouded the alchemist’s logical thinking.

Just as she was about to order the monkey to rip the blonde girl apart on the first floor, the bat-winged golden monkey rushed to wrap itself around the alchemist protectively.

CRASH!

Windows and portions of walls flew away, showering debris upon the interior.

And it was the culprit who had created this chaos, rushing at the monkey and the alchemist with predatory speed.

A sword, brimming with threatening energy, marked its mark with a major wound on the monkey’s upper arm.

-■■■■!!

The monkey roared.

Unlike its other siblings, it cried out more like a tiger than a monkey.

With powerful muscles, the beast’s arm and the knight’s cold metallic arm both moved toward their respective goals.

Each clash of vicious claws and sharp blades ignited bursts of red and blue flames like blossoms.

The knight’s kick struck the monkey’s body directly.

With an impact far heavier than it looked, the monkey shot backward, crashing through the wall.

As the knight fearlessly pursued, swinging his sword down, the ground caved in, and the knight and monkey both fell into the abyss.

Matchup 2.

Tin Knight vs. Insect-Winged Golden Monkey.

***

Before the lone alchemist.

As the dust from the rampaging monsters cleared away, someone emerged.

A witch with black hair tied back, cascading over her shoulder, wore an outfit that exuded an air of mystery.

In her right hand where she usually wielded a giant wooden staff, she firmly gripped an ominous something wrapped in cloth.

“Thanks for your help earlier.”

At that, the alchemist recognized her as the witch’s apprentice from the west, Franka Aglaia.

Franka smirked, “Help? I figured that was just a casual greeting. Maybe it came too soon for a country bumpkin from the east.”

“Not particularly. So I’m here to return the favor, right?”

“Hah.”

It was a blatant scoff. A manifestation of Franka’s displeasure.

“So? You thought with all my kids relocated to different places, I could be taken care of just fine? That an alchemist without a homunculus is powerless? –Don’t kid yourself.”

Beside Franka, a large wheeled bag opened on its own without being touched.

Golden blocks began to creep out from inside, rolling across the floor.

If the Tin Knight had been present, he would have made a commotion about how they resembled some silly toy called “Le something”.

The golden blocks began to assemble themselves into various shapes of their own accord.

A massive trebuchet instead of a stone holder, a crazy wheel laden with saw blades, even a gigantic ballista that had attacked the Tin Knight.

All of these were more than enough weapons to claim a human life.

As if demonstrating their power, Franka announced, “The tricks a necromancer can wield are predictable—using pathetic curses or evoking illusions with evil spirits. It might work against an ordinary person, but do you really think those tricks will work on a fellow mage?”

The alchemist, Dorothea, remained unfazed by the insulting remarks.

She simply shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, that’s true. Necromancy or a witch’s magic isn’t particularly useful in direct combat.”

However, Dorothea added, “But it’s a different story if there are corpses involved. Surely, you didn’t come all this way without preparing one, did you?”

“What are you talking about? Where would I—”

Franka’s words were abruptly silenced.

Her wide-open red eyes were fixed on the cloth bundle that Dorothea held.

Seeing her reaction, Dorothea chuckled with pleasure.

What she revealed was indeed befitting of a witch.

But those eyes showed no laughter whatsoever.

“-If you’re targeting someone’s life, you should have been prepared for the consequences.”

With that, Dorothea tossed what she held into the air.

The cloth bundle unraveled to reveal its contents.

It was a severed, shimmering golden arm of a monkey.

Dorothea clenched her hand towards the void.

With a *squish*, the monkey’s arm exploded, sending splatters of blood into the air.

《AHAHAHAH!!》

《HEHEHEHE!!》

《GARURURURURR!!》

Rushing toward the blood, evil spirits that erupted from somewhere rushed in.

As if trying to supplement their lack of bodies, the blood seeping from the monkey’s arm greedily devoured the spirits and Dorothea’s magic.

Strong limbs, thick fur, bird-like wings, and the monkey’s shape—all manifested as a dark crimson mass.

“I hear you alchemists treat your homunculi like your own children?”

Dorothea’s blue eyes shimmered, forming a crescent shape.

“Enjoy your heartfelt reunion with the child you murdered, alchemist.”

With a snap, something broke inside Franka’s head.

In response to her howling fury, the assembly blocks transformed into golden weapons, launching themselves at Dorothea.

An undead with the form of a winged monkey countered, swinging its arms like a whip.

Matchup 3.

Dorothea Aschengard vs. Franka Aglaia.

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