"The Talented Dragon Hides Its Claws" ~ The Eldest Son of the Baron Family, Called Useless, is Actually One of the World's Strongest ~ - Episode 15

The vice-captain of the Arden Knights raised a bl00d-soaked cloth bag with an indescribable expression.

“Um, Lord Ryu, what should we do with Baron Mantesa’s head? Since we have it, should we display it at the gate?”

“Stop it. What do you think will happen if my sister sees this?”

“Then what should I do?”

“Just throw that filth anywhere around here.”

“Filth…”

Although an irregularity known as the “Feast of Bl00d” occurred, Arden successfully achieved victory without any issues. Since the public was whispering that the victory of the Manster was certain, this fact sent a positive shockwave throughout the empire. Additionally, all those who conspired to wage war, including the bl00d relatives of Baron Manster, were all defeated by Silva.

Currently, we are investigating the Mantesa Baron’s mansion, and valuables and books are being transported to the Arden mansion, while weapons and armor are being taken to the knight order’s warehouse. As for the mansion and land, since they are of no use to us, we plan to sell them to the merchant guild.

And the biggest problem is…

“What should we do with these slaves, I wonder?”

“Indeed”

The carriage in front of me was carrying the slaves owned by Baron Mantesa.

「「「「「……」」」」」

Everyone is peering at Ryu and Sebas with worried expressions, trembling.

“From the looks of it, it seems you weren’t treated very well. How unfortunate.”

“Ah. But accepting everyone into our group is too risky.”

“I can’t absolutely say that there isn’t anyone here who is under the influence of Baron Mantesa.”

“That’s right. But even so, selling them off to the slave trader again pains my conscience.”

“Even you, Ryu-sama, have a conscience.”

“Shut up!”

As they continued their discussion for a while, the mansion’s window opened.

“Oh my, are you perhaps troubled by the treatment of the slaves?”

“Oh, Mom”

“As you say, Lady Iris…”

“Well then, I can help you choose the people, okay? I just finished a meeting.”

“That’s a very grateful story, but… are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah. I’m doing better than usual today, so there’s no need to worry.”

“I see. Then, Sebas, please help your mother.”

Understood.

Mom’s judgment is top-notch, so it shouldn’t be a problem to leave everything to her. More importantly, we need to wrap up the post-war cleanup and settlement quickly and get the elixir.

Ryu glanced at the slaves and headed towards the forest.

In the depths of the forest.

“Sorry, I’m late.”

“Since I was able to take a short break, it’s actually okay. Ryu-kun.”

A mediocre middle-aged man was sitting on a branch of a large tree.

“Right away, but what happened to the Manster army that attacked from the forest side after that?”

“Every single one of them was beautifully wiped out. As expected, Ryu-kun is really good at making traps with a nasty twist.”

“The monsters in this forest are just crazy, right?”

“Haha, that’s true too.”

The middle-aged man jumped down from the branch and handed the map to Ryu.

“Just to be safe, check it with your own eyes. I’ve marked the points for you.”

“Thanks. Always appreciate it, ‘Mayor.'”

“You’re welcome. We’ve known each other for a long time, after all. I’ll be counting on you from now on too.”

“Likewise”

“Wow, but yesterday’s thunder was something else, wasn’t it? It was like a bolt from the blue. Could it be that Ryu-kun did that?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm. You’re still as outrageous as ever.”

“Thanks to you.”

The village chief turned around once as he was leaving.

“Oh, by the way, thanks for fixing the canyon bridge. The villagers are really happy with it too.”

“Thank Mom for arranging so many craftsmen. After all, I was the one who broke that in the first place.”

“Indeed! Ahahaha!”

After parting ways with the village chief, Ryu ran through the forest with a map in hand.

At each mark’s position, numerous pieces of armor lay scattered, and around them, human bones were strewn about.

Hmm. It’s slightly fewer than the number reported, but the rest were probably taken by monsters or devoured whole anyway.

“Alright. Now that I’ve finished checking, I guess it’s time for me to head back.”

Before heading home, Ryu visited the merchant guild and gathered information about the elixir. As a result, through the guild, he successfully placed an order with a renowned apothecary based in the capital. By the way, since he had not yet settled the accounts within the territory, the payment was postponed to a later date.

So far, so good, but one troublesome issue has arisen.

“Come and get it yourself? You can’t be serious; do I really have to go get it myself?”

“Yes. Well… he’s quite a difficult person…”

“Could it be that they also ask about the patient’s condition in great detail?”

“Yes… probably…”

The professions of apothecary and alchemist are famous for having many eccentric individuals, but Ryu never expected that the person he was dealing with this time would be one of them. Rather, considering that they had the skill to create an elixir, he had anticipated that they would be a somewhat serious person, but it might be more accurate to say that he never expected them to be this difficult to deal with.

In short, I ended up encountering a weirdo beyond my imagination.

“Sigh… I’m not exactly free either, you know.”

“Also, I am very sorry.”

“Well, since I haven’t been to the capital yet, if I think of this as a good experience, it’s not such a bad story after all.”

“I would be grateful if you could say that.”

“Then please tell me the date, time, and place for the pickup.”

“Yes. The date and time for pickup is…”

Ryu took notes on the receptionist’s explanation and left the guild.

So far, things have been just barely going smoothly. I hope things will go a bit more smoothly from here on out…

Thinking that, I finally set off on my way home.

The capital of the Astoria Empire, the Imperial Castle. In the Audience Chamber.

“Is the Arden Baron family the complete victor… just as His Majesty Iris predicted?”

“Hehehe. So, he really was the ‘real deal,’ Ryu Arden.”

“What is the real thing?”

“If you took up arms yourself this time, then in terms of military strength. If you used cunning to trap the enemy, then in terms of intellect, you are a person of exceptional talent.”

“I see. However, what if both apply…?”

The empress made a difficult expression.

“That can’t be true. But if by any chance it is, I will definitely seize it. To fulfill my lifelong ambition of ‘unifying the continent’…”

“Having as many excellent pawns as possible is always good, you know.”

1. The wise Emperor Iris, with his cunning and extraordinary strategies, constantly manipulates other countries in diplomacy.

Second, the wise Emperor Iris is well-versed in numerous fields of study, a giant of knowledge that even researchers admire.

Third, the wise Emperor Iris is a remarkable figure who, due to his exceptional popularity, has unified all the monsters across the empire.

These are the evaluations of the Empress from the perspective of other countries, but in terms of aggression, she is not considered very harmful. However, as she just mentioned herself, that is a significant mistake.

“By the way, what will you do about the surveillance on Arden? We can withdraw it if necessary.”

“Of course, we continue. Increase the number of spies as well.”

“Understood. Immediately.”

At the same time, somewhere in this world.

“At last, the ‘Vessel of the King’ has appeared.”

“How have you been hiding until now?”

？？？: “It’s been a thousand… no, ten thousand years since a vessel has grown to this point.”

？？？ “Last time, I died before the king awoke. I wonder how it will turn out this time.”

？？？ “Coincidentally, that attribute is the same as our king’s.”