“Here, there’s dust that hasn’t been wiped properly. And what are those subtle stains on the floor?”
“A mansion is like the face of its owner. Surely, you wouldn’t want to smear mud on the faces of the Count and Countess, would you?”
“No, sir!”
“Then, see to it that you move quickly.”
Gordon, who always pursued perfection, was finding even more fault with the servants than usual, starting from the crack of dawn.
“Hoo… he’s being extra picky today.”
“Still, what can we do? Today’s the day so many nobles are coming.”
The servants, intimidated by Gordon’s sharp gaze, sighed, but they couldn’t say they didn’t understand his actions.
Today was the day the pre-order customers were visiting to view the magical beasts they intended to purchase.
It wasn’t just some young masters or ladies from noble families coming for a tea party; the heads of entire families were visiting, so they had to pay even more attention to appearances.
Normally, he would have delegated such tasks to his subordinates, but those looking to buy magical beasts wanted to see them with their own eyes.
And so, the servants had to sweep and scrub the entire mansion countless times before the heads of noble families and wealthy tycoons arrived.
“Welcome, everyone!”
“Welcome, everyone~”
The time was noon.
Dariann showed himself to the nobles who were beginning to gather one by one at the appointed time, raising his glass to welcome them.
“It feels truly wonderful to have those who share the same purpose gathered here before the New Year’s party!”
In reality, it was a visit to purchase magical beasts, but since they couldn’t say that outright, it was mentioned as a kind of social gathering.
“Come now, food is prepared, so let’s drink and enjoy ourselves!”
Following this very simple opening, Dariann downed the liquor in his glass in one gulp, and the social gathering (disguised as a purchasing wait) began.
“Then, where to begin…”
“Darling?”
Freya stared intently at Dariann, who was about to refill his glass.
“…Why? If I don’t drink and participate here, wouldn’t they find it suspicious?”
“…Drink in moderation.”
“Of course! Hahaha! Freedom!”
“Sigh…”
However, if Dariann, the host, didn’t appear to be enjoying himself, it might raise suspicion, so Freya eventually lifted her restrictions on him.
“Madam, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a conversation with these people?”
“Welcome, Countess.”
“Oh my~ Countess, you are as beautiful as the rumors say?”
Just then, Bjor, who had been whispering to the visiting nobles, brought over several ladies who had accompanied the heads of their families and spoke to her.
“Oh… welcome! But… uh… um…”
“…Ahem, these are Baroness Leverett and Baroness Gilbert.”
“Ah~! Is that so? Welcome~!”
“Ah… haha, yes. Welcome, Countess.”
“I’m not very good at remembering names… let’s get to know each other in the future!”
‘Even though I already know everything.’
Freya had immediately memorized their families and family crests as soon as she saw the list given to her by Baron Bjor, but she pretended not to recognize them, playing the part of the foolish Freya that was known throughout society.
“By the way! It’s quite amazing, isn’t it? Your son, I mean!”
“Yes, yes! He’s already a professor at the academy and saved the academy students from the attack of the monsters, right?”
“And I heard the new Elixir he created is so amazing that the rumors are already spreading in the capital~”
Their faces slightly hardened at Freya’s tone, which suggested she didn’t recognize them, but they quickly changed the subject and brought up Felix’s name.
“But I know he’s already of age… but I don’t see any fiancee being mentioned?”
“Really? Oh my~! A handsome face, knowledgeable, and the fiancee of the next Count… If I were only 20 years younger, I would have sent a pile of letters!”
“I’m so envious of you as a mother for having such a son~’
Felix was already a huge celebrity in the noble world.
His outstanding achievements, rare appearance, and the fact that he was an academy professor and the eldest son of the Count’s family meant that he was the next Count.
The most surprising thing was that such an outstanding person had no fiancee.
In fact, Felix did have a fiancee.
However, before they possessed this body, the Count’s family was a complete mess, and it was obvious to anyone that it was going to fail.
When the previous head of the family was alive, the Count’s family was still somewhat prestigious, so Felix received a marriage proposal, and the engagement was made….
But after Dariann became the head of the family and was practically destroying the Count’s family, and Felix’s reputation was at its worst, the other side unilaterally broke off the engagement.
Of course, the same was true for Rosaria.
In that situation, Felix had literally become a jackpot, so many young ladies of marriageable age were constantly eyeing Felix.
They just weren’t saying it, but there were more than a truckload of young ladies lurking in the corners inside the academy, hoping for a chance encounter with Felix.
Ironically, Rosaria didn’t have many such men, because of the prevailing idea at the time that a woman stronger than a man was not desirable.
“That’s right, Countess.”
“Oh my, isn’t that Baron Gramlin?”
“I apologize for eavesdropping. By the way… your son is truly outstanding… If you don’t mind, how about my daughter—”
“Oh, Baron. We are in the middle of a conversation between the ladies.”
“Countess! How about my daughter? She’s a charming sixteen-year-old this year—”
As soon as Felix’s story came out, the nobles who had been pricking up their ears from the beginning quickly gathered and began to appeal for their daughters.
It was a very ugly situation, with the blatant thought of ‘If we marry our daughter to him, that Elixir will be ours!’
A battle of nerves began over whose daughter was prettier, whose daughter was not as good, and so on.
“That’s right~!? He’s so smart, just like who he takes after! You know, the president of the academy gave him a plaque of appreciation himself?”
“Oh, is that so? That’s wonderful.”
“Not only that, but he’s so kind and reliable, I really raised a good son!”
“Ah… is that so…?”
“And then there was this incident the other day—”
“Ah… yes… ahem… that’s… ah… yes… before that… ah, is that so…? Aha…”
In that situation, Freya, as if a flower had bloomed, began to boast about Felix at length with a beaming smile.
Her words were so fast and the tempo never stopped, that even when the heads of families and ladies tried to interrupt the conversation and appeal for their daughters,
she completely buried them, and they ended up just repeating the same answers as if their souls had left their bodies, and had to listen to Felix’s bragging all day long.
“Now, there are stairs here, so be careful… we’ve arrived!”
After the social gathering ended, and the dark darkness covered the territory.
Baron Bjor led many heads of families and ladies to the basement where the magical beasts were kept.
“Hoo… is that a magical beast?”
“Oh my, it’s not as scary as I thought?”
“Since they are still young, they look similar to other beasts… but even these young individuals can easily threaten the life of an average adult male.”
“Indeed… so that’s a magical beast? It’ll be interesting to see when they grow up?”
The magical beasts, lying soundly under the influence of drugs, were not as scary as they had imagined.
Most of them looked like young deer, wolves, or bears, except for a small protrusion on their foreheads, and were no different from ordinary animal cubs.
But even so, they were very dangerous, so Baron Bjor firmly reminded them of the dangers of magical beasts.
“Then… we will begin the reservation and down payment process in earnest. Please take a look around and choose the magical beasts you like, and let my subordinates know.”
“Let’s see… oh my, is this magical beast a wolf?”
“Wouldn’t a bear be the strongest?”
“The rabbit is so cute, but for such a creature to be so barbaric and violent… magical beasts are truly amazing…”
Following Baron Bjor’s brief introduction, the buyers began to leisurely appraise and chat about the magical beasts trapped in their cages, as if they were buying luxury goods at a department store.
Then, one by one, they began to finalize their purchases and hand over the down payments.
“By the way, these beasts… aren’t they being too still?”
One noble, who had been carefully observing the inside of the cages, pointed to the magical beasts inside and said.
The nobles, who had heard about the dangers and ferocity of magical beasts before coming here, were disappointed to see the magical beasts lying powerlessly on the floor of the cages like sick chickens.
“How should I put it… I want to see them move around with some activity, but they’re just lying still like corpses, so it’s a bit… yeah?”
“Indeed. We’re spending this much money to buy them, but isn’t this a bit lacking in sincerity?”
“I heard magical beasts are so violent? Where does this look violent?”
“You’re not just throwing in any animals and pretending they’re magical beasts, are you?!”
And as if they had all been harboring such complaints, as soon as one person spoke up, the other nobles also nodded and began to express their dissatisfaction.
“Now, now, everyone, calm down. Magical beasts are not easily tamed just because they are tamed… In order to prioritize safety in any way possible, they must be under the influence of drugs.”
“That’s why they seem a little weak… but when the effects of the drugs wear off, they are more violent than angry bulls, so please calm down.”
As the voices grew louder, Baron Bjor raised his voice to gather the attention of the nobles, and once again explained the state of the magical beasts.
“It’s not that I don’t trust Baron Bjor… it’s just that…”
“I understand, Madam. But please understand that this is a measure taken to ensure your safety and confidentiality.”
“…Well, there’s nothing we can do. Okay.”
“Well, if it’s because of the drugs… I guess we’ll see that side of them when the effects wear off.”
Whether it was because Bjor’s earnest appeal worked, or not, the nobles who had some complaints eventually agreed with his
words, and the atmosphere gradually calmed down.
‘Anyway… these nobles…! They don’t know how dangerous magical beasts really are, so they easily say such things.’
However, Bjor, who had lowered his head, muttered in his heart, belittling the nobles, who were his main customers.
Unlike the nobles who had only seen magical beasts under the influence of drugs, Bjor had gone to the north himself and felt the danger of magical beasts, so his perception of them was completely different from theirs.
‘Did I give them too much medicine? No, once they confirm the purchase here, they’ll definitely buy them anyway… there’s no need to reduce the amount of medicine.’
‘If things go wrong, it’s over…’
‘The drug is definitely effective, those ferocious guys are as quiet as if they were dead.’
Even so, Baron Bjor was impressed by the excellent effects of the drug, as the magical beasts were very stable under the influence of the drug to suppress their ferocity.
That’s why the magical beasts were lying on the floor without any concern, blinking their eyes, even though so many people were crowded around and looking at them.
Therefore, the magic circle laid out under the shapes of the magical beasts was not visible to others at all.