10. Eleonora’s Wrath
Lydian had a great time while studying abroad.
Prince Yurin, who was around the same age, was the exact opposite of Lydian. A blunt, muscle-brained prince who was honest and likable.
Lydian also traveled to the Eastern Continent of Urabezua, established diplomatic relations with the great nation of Fire Forest Kingdom, and concluded business negotiations necessary for trade.
—Which King Xanagan didn’t sound too happy about.
“…The agreement proceeded amicably, right? You didn’t threaten them or anything, right?”
“Of course not, Father. I’m a gentleman. Besides, the emperor of the Fire Forest Kingdom was a wonderful person. I’m the type of person who values those I admire.”
Lydian wrote in stunning calligraphy, but the truth remained in the darkness.
While Lydian was enjoying his time abroad, Eleonora was still looking for some people on top of receiving queen education.
Those on her lists were none other than that shitty brat from [Dragon Shrine], and Tigras.
By saving those in need, Tigras had besmirched Eleonora’s name. As a result, she ended up with such a disgraceful nickname, ‘Saint Eleonora.’
“Clean and holy-sounding words have always been my pet peeves! I break out in hives simply from hearing them! Argh, my hands and feet are itchy!!”
Eleonora, who received a memento from the villagers of the Balathea Mountains, along with a letter of appreciation, was writhing in discomfort.
“This vengeance of mine… I’ll make them pay! But I’m hesitant to use the knights… Oh, right, the bulletin of [Friend of Evil] has someone specializing in violence.”
She took the magazine [Friend of Evil] from the chest and flipped through the pages.
“—For violence-related matters, leave it to the speedy and low-cost mafia, Bordeville! 100% resolution rate!”
Although it was an advertisement section rather than a featured article, Eleonora’s eyes lit-up.
“This is exactly what I’m looking for!”
Eleonora immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the listed address.
She wasn’t without a doubt, but since [Dragon Shrine] would act as an intermediary, there shouldn’t be a problem.
In the meantime, the mafia who received Eleonora’s request was in full-on panic mode.
“Boss, this is bad! [Lady Eleonora] had sent us a request!”
The subordinate sprung in; panic written all over his face.
A muscular, skinhead man who was referred to as ‘Boss’ sat on a chair while petting his dear cat. When he heard of the report, he tensed up. Even so, the hand that was caressing the cat didn’t stop. But that was simply because of love.
“…At last, the time has come… The Big Boss especially told us to fulfill any orders from Lady Eleonora.”
The Big Boss was, of course, Lydian.
Bordeville’s luck ran out when he went to the [Dragon Shrine] to extract some cash. Both Bordeville and his executives were beaten to pulp, and now he’d been reduced to an obedient dog.
“So, what’s the request? Assassination? Kidnapping? Given that she’s related to the Big Boss, it’s probably an outrageous request…”
At Bordeville, who was about to cry, his subordinate laughed bitterly.
“You’re observant, Boss. The request is to eliminate the Tigras Mercenaries. In her letter, she emphasized that, in particular, the leader must be crushed.”
The atmosphere became heavy all of the sudden, and everyone became pale.
After all, not only did Tigras Mercenaries boasted overwhelming strength, but they were also formerly members of the Orders of Knights. If they were to fight each other, it’d be an all-out war.
Bordeville screeched as he held his skinhead (the cat ran away).
“—Impossible, absolutely impossible! There’s just no way!”
Bordeville was sweating bullets, while his subordinates seemed about to faint.
If it were a few stingy bandits, he’d have no problem getting rid of them, but the Tigras Mercenaries were seasoned warriors!
“We can’t! We lack firepower! As things stand, we’ll be crushed!!!”
“Right!?!? I don’t want to do it, either! If you order me to go, I’ll quit this whole mafia business!”
“Ah, you sneaky bastard! I’ll quit too!”
“That’s enough!! As if I’ll let you off the hook easily!! I’d sooner just beat you guys to pulp than forgive you!!”
Bordeville screamed, threatening them with his brass knuckle.
—But his men didn’t even flinch.
“I’ll take that over fighting against Tigras any day!”
“Same!”
His subordinates stared straight at Bordeville, their expressions unyielding. All for the sake of running away.
“The Big Boss will hear of this.”
That single line from Bordeville was enough to make his subordinates prostrate themselves.
“We were joking!! It was just an icebreaker! Right, guys!?”
“We’re the boss’ hands and feet!! We’re all in this together!!”
…Or so they said, but that, along with their glimmering eyes, were also out of self-preservation.
Villains might be fools, but they must be clever to survive.
“…Don’t you guys get guts? Oh, well, I’ll leave the punishment for later, but who among us has the highest chance of succeeding?”
Usually, when hearing that, Bordeville’s subordinates would compete for the job, saying that ‘My men are the strongest!’ But now, it was the other way around.
“Lendl’s men are the best! He’s proud of his swordsman army!”
“No, no, no, by that, don’t you mean Berzas’ men!?”
They boasted of each other, emphasizing the splendor of the other team. It was a very pathetic fight, but they were desperate.
…At some point, the compliments competition turned into self-deprecating competition.
“While we have the latest heavy artillery, they’re useless! They’re machines, what do you expect!? If you think I’m lying, take a look at our warehouse! It’s as clean as new!”
“We’re way worse! My men are skilled, but our teamwork is zero! They won’t listen to what I say at all! They’re useless as an army!”
As his subordinates began to give a speech about how unsuited their men were to fighting, Bordeville grew impatient.
“Who cares!? Don’t you feel ashamed as a mafia!?”
“B-but this is Tigras, y’know!? It’d be a different story if we’re just rounding up his men, but that man is bad news! Fighting with him is like courting death!”
One of his subordinates insisted.
It was natural because his life was at stake.
“Don’t think you’re in the clear, Boss! If they find out that we’re after them, they’ll definitely come for us!”
Bordeville’s expression turned a deeper shade of blue when he heard that.
Facing threats from multiple directions, Bordeville racked his brain while sweating coldly.
After exhausting every ounce of his intelligence, the solution he came up with was…
“…Since she hadn’t set any deadline, we can extend it as much as we like!!! For now, just accept the request, then pretend that it didn’t exist!!!”
Bordeville declared while staring into the horizon. He was definitely escaping from reality. Not like he cared, because his life took precedence over his pride.
Eleonora, who was oblivious to what was happening behind the scenes, received feedback.
[We’ve received your request. We shall go after the Tigras Mercenaries as soon as possible.]
“Ohohoho! With this, I can finally sleep in peace! Tigras will surely regret it after being pursued by the mafia!”
After all, she was just a ten-years-old child.
Without any progress reports or confirmation, Eleonora slept soundly.
In truth, there was no mafia activity, and Tigras had a feast with his subordinates today as well.
Translator’s Note:
…That Lydian has 100% progression. In that entire kingdom, there’s no place that his authority doesn’t reach.
Please also consider donating to my ko-fi! It’ll greatly support me in action, no matter the amount!
https://ko-fi.com/antoinettevanessa
Have a Japanese story or the like (Drama CD, etc.) you’d like to read? Want it to be translated? I’m open for commissions!
Leave a Reply