"What do you mean by that, Brother? Father is awake for less than an hour a day, isn't he?"
"Then we can meet him during that time, can't we? He'll be meeting his newly gained younger brother anyway, so you can greet him together."
"Brother!"
"What? Why?"
Sparks seemed to fly between the two brothers as they stared at each other.
Then Kamara shrugged his shoulders and spoke to Eugene.
"Sir Knight, I must apologize for this. I wanted to introduce you to the lord personally to make up for not recognizing you right away earlier, but it seems that won't be possible. Because of someone."
Kamara shot Bertel a look as if to say, 'It's this guy's fault!', and continued.
"Anyway, get some good rest today. If anyone changes their mind, I'll let you know right away. Farewell."
With that, Kamara swiftly disappeared along with the servants.
So he never intended to let me meet him in the first place. He only used me to provoke his younger brother.
Seeing it as nothing but a clear attempt to shirk responsibility, Eugene abandoned the idea of meeting the lord through the Tiwyn brothers.
Do I have to use Felid after all?
It was then
"Hey! Second son of Tiwyn! Busy?"
A booming voice rang out from one side of the stairs built along the castle wall.
When Eugene saw the man who was as large as Partek, he was inwardly surprised.
A knight.
A longsword, the type commonly used by knights, hung from the belt of the man wearing only leather armor.
On his other hip, he also carried a Randall dagger a large awl-like blade known as a knight's dagger.
"No. I'll come at once, Sir Galfredic."
Bertel replied to the large knight and then turned his face toward Eugene.
"A servant will show you and your companions to your rooms. You may eat in the annex dining hall, or ask any servant to bring the food to you."
With those words, Bertel walked over to the large knight with two soldiers. After exchanging a brief conversation while glancing this way, the two of them entered the main building together.
Meanwhile, Partek and the mercenaries, who had finished unloading the carriage, approached Eugene.
"Sir Galfredic placed third in the tournament held by Count Evergrow last year."
"Is that so? He certainly looks impressive, with that build."
"They say his strength is extraordinary. It's only because Sir Lugaits, who took first place, was overwhelmingly superior, but I've heard that wherever he goes, he's the kind of knight who secures a top position."
Feeling glad that he had become acquainted with the knowledgeable Partek, Eugene said,
"I see. But why would such an accomplished knight come here?"
"It's probably true that the Tiwyn family will be opening a dungeon soon. If the knight leading the first successful subjugation after its opening succeeds, he'll gain tremendous fame."
"Then does that mean Sir Galfredic will become a knight of the Tiwyn family?"
Raban, the youngest, cautiously asked while glancing at Eugene. Partek shook his head.
"Probably not. I heard Sir Galfredic is an ambitious knight. He wouldn't be satisfied with a small fief like Tiwyn's. He'll likely take his share, gain the reputation of a knight who succeeded in the first dungeon subjugation, and then leave. With that fame, he could be recruited into a noble house with a title under much better terms."
"I'm jealous."
"Jealous, my foot. Opening a newly discovered dungeon means risking your life. No one's ever been inside. You don't know the paths, and you don't know what kind of monsters might jump out."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You have to kill at least forty or fifty monsters to come out. On top of that, you must take down at least one or two mid-tier monsters like trolls or giant dungeon spiders. If you come out after barely killing a few low-tier ones? You'll be branded a coward. For a knight, that's absolutely unacceptable. Isn't that right, Sir Eugene?"
"Well… I suppose so."
It was a life-and-death matter that had nothing to do with him, and Eugene thought wealth and fame would be meaningless in such a situation, but he went along with them for now.
"But no matter how great Sir Galfredic is, can one knight really be enough? I heard that to enter a dungeon or labyrinth, you need at least twenty people including laborers."
"That's for places that have already been opened and cleared a few times. Since this one is just being opened, they'll need at least two or three times that number. And you can't use just any riffraff—they'll only select people whose skills have been proven. For that, you need money… Bilmor, how much would it take?"
"If you hire two or three knights and about thirty mercenaries, you'd need around eight hundred silver coins upfront. The success bonus based on the amount of magic stones extracted from the monsters would be calculated separately."
"Whew…"
At the unimaginable sum, Raban's mouth fell wide open.
"And if it fails, those eight hundred silver coins are simply gone. That's why the Tiwyn family has no choice but to be cautious. Unless they're a wealthy house, a single failure here would mean bankruptcy. Well, that's assuming they even manage to gather the necessary forces in the first place."
As he said that, Partek glanced at Eugene. The other mercenaries' gazes naturally followed.
Knowing that Partek and the others thought he was a knight planning to enter the Tiwyn dungeon and make a big score, Eugene said nothing.
In Eugene's mind, there was still only one thought: How can I meet Lord Tiwyn?
At that moment, the castle servant who had been nervously watching from behind Eugene and the mercenaries spoke cautiously.
"Um, Sir Knight. I sincerely apologize for interrupting your conversation, but perhaps I should guide you to your room first so you may continue your discussion there?"
"Do so."
"This way, please."
Expecting to be scolded or struck, the servant was surprised by the unexpectedly easy response, but he quickly walked ahead.
"That was suffocating!"
Finally freed from the leather pouch, Mirian flew around Eugene with a buzzing sound.
"Huh? This is the room they gave you?"
It was a small room with only one window, an old bed and desk, and just a few coat hangers. They said this was originally the chamberlain's room in the castle.
"I asked for the room with the least sunlight, and they gave me this. At least there are no fleas or lice. This is sufficient."
Of course, even if there were such insects, they wouldn't have any effect on a vampire.
"Tsk! You still have a long way to go. You should hurry up and rise in the world and live in luxury already. In that sense—how about you enter the dungeon too?"
"I'm not interested."
"Why? You can gain both money and fame!"
"Securing proper status comes first."
As he said that, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
"Sir Knight, the bathwater is ready."
"Thank you."
At Eugene's reply, the servant bowed deeply and filled the large wooden tub in the attached small bathroom with steaming hot water.
After placing clean cloths on the bathroom table, he bowed again.
"Please let me know when you're finished. I'll clean up right away. Oh, how will you be taking your dinner?"
After thinking for a moment, Eugene replied,
"I'd like to eat together with the companions I came with. Would that be possible?"
"Yes. The mercenaries' room is spacious, so as soon as the food is ready, I will have it placed on the table there."
After the servant left, Eugene quickly undressed and stepped into the tub.
"Aaah! So good!"
Mirian swiftly followed in and began splashing water, floating on the surface while making the kind of sound an old man would make in a bath.
Surprisingly, wherever the little spirit floated, the grime on the water vanished. Seeing that, it truly lived up to being a water spirit.
"Oh, no matter how I think about it, that dungeon seems like such a waste to pass up."
"As I said before, status comes first."
"That bear of a man said that the fame of the very first knight to subjugate a dungeon becomes enormous. In that case, wouldn't you no longer need the approval of this lord?"
"..."
Eugene, who had been washing himself, paused.
It wasn't entirely wrong.
According to what Partek had said earlier, the first person to explore a dungeon and return after killing monsters would gain both wealth and fame.
The fact that the fairly famous knight Galfredic had come all the way here was also a deliberate choice aimed at that very opportunity.
Too many variables if I enter the dungeon. Those brothers might not even accept me. And above all, I can't reveal a vampire's abilities in front of other knights and mercenaries. But…
A dungeon is a dark place where sunlight does not reach. A space where a vampire like him is far more advantaged than a human.
So if he were to secretly use his abilities little by little depending on the situation?
"Not a bad idea. So you're useful for more than just making water, huh?"
"Mwahaha! Of course! If you're talking about the great Lady Mirian, then!"
Just as Mirian was about to launch into an excited rant, she suddenly began bouncing around.
"Are you ignoring me right now? Don't ignore me! Kiiieek!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Replying absentmindedly, Eugene поднялся from the tub.
As he quickly finished bathing and wiped his body dry, his reflection in the bronze mirror caught his eye.
Gazing at his well-balanced, muscular physique, Eugene suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"Huh?"
There were tattoos all over his body marks he didn't know when, how, or by whom they had been carved.
But one of them, the tattoo that was supposed to be on his right chest, had vanished without a trace.
Why is it gone? How?
As Eugene stood there in confusion at the sudden situation, Mirian's voice reached his ears.
"Oh, come to think of it, there are some upper-tier monsters in the dungeon too like that crocodile brat… Well, that one wasn't fully grown yet, so it was kind of scrawny, but—Kkieek!?"
While lazily floating on the bathwater and chatting, Mirian suddenly flinched in surprise.
Eugene pinched the little spirit between his fingers and asked in a low voice,
"There are monsters like the swamp creature in the dungeon too?"
"I'm telling you! That little crocodile is upper-tier even if it doesn't look like it. You killed it and ate its magic stone, remember? The red one."
"Upper-tier monsters have red magic stones?"
"Not all of them only some special ones? I don't know why either. But could you let go of me now?"
After releasing his grip, Eugene furrowed his brow.
I ate the red magic stone of the swamp monster and obtained black scales. The pain definitely started from my right chest then, didn't it? If I kill another upper-tier monster and consume its magic stone…
Whatever the result, he might obtain the abilities of a powerful monster.
More importantly, those tattoos that could neither be erased nor removed might disappear.
What happens if all the tattoos vanish?
For now, he had no way of knowing.
But to find that clue, there was only one choice to make.
"I'm going into the dungeon."
"An excellent choice! Lord Eugene, the Blood Count! Kkieeek!"
"Oh, you've arrived, Sir Eugene."
Partek, still wearing his leather armor even inside the lord's castle, greeted Eugene.
A table large enough for five or six people was set with all kinds of dishes.
Bread, several roasted ducks, a huge pot of stew filled with thick cuts of meat and various vegetables.
They had even sent over a barrel each of beer and wine.
"The Tiwyn family's hospitality is not bad at all. It's all thanks to you, Sir Eugene."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. When they heard you would be dining with us, the kitchen put in this much effort. If it were just us, they'd have told us to dip bread in stew and be done with it."
"They wouldn't even give us a chunk of meat might've tossed in a pig's tail at best!"
"Forget about alcohol. We'd be lucky if they didn't make us drink dishwater the maids used!"
"Wouldn't that be a reward for you, you bastard?"
Laughter burst out all around.
After only a few days of traveling together, they had grown a little more relaxed around Eugene.
Of course, knowing that he was a knight from a noble family who could even read, they never crossed the line.
Still, unlike other knights, Eugene had a mild temperament and never treated them roughly. Once they realized that, an unspoken sense of camaraderie began to form.
And now that he had even made such a fine dinner possible, their gratitude toward Eugene naturally deepened.
"Everyone, eat up."
"Yes!"
The mercenaries began eating and drinking noisily.
Being young, big-built men, the food was gone in no time. As Eugene set down his wooden cup of wine, he said to Partek,
"By the way, is your contract finished now?"
"For now, we'll have to escort Bilmor back to Mirian."
"And after that?"
"If the Pailin Merchant Association gives us another job, we'll take it. If not, we'll head to the guild. Unless it's a territorial war or an actual battlefield, getting work through the guild is usually the best option. But why do you ask?"
"It's nothing specific, but if you don't have another commission after this, I was wondering if you'd be interested in going on a dungeon expedition or subjugation with me."
"…!"
Partek and the mercenaries froze at the same time.
(To be continued in the next episode)