The next day, we went grape harvesting from early in the morning with the residents of the Heart Family . Roxy-sama quickly finished her breakfast and returned to her room . As I did not need to change or prepare anything, I simply waited for her at the front door .
After a while, Roxy-sama appeared with her golden hair tied up behind . Her outfit was different from the ones she wore in the mansion and seemed to focus more on being functional . Her appearance was that of a beautiful village girl .
Roxy-sama had previously disguised herself as a town girl when she secretly snuck out to the Commercial District . Compared to that, she was currently wearing a mature and modest outfit . Regardless, it seemed that these plain clothes only enhanced her beauty .
“Thank you for waiting . Then, let’s go . Everyone is waiting . ”
“Yes . ”
Having left Greed to watch over my room, I accompanied a highly spirited Roxy-sama . Since his primary purpose was for monster hunting, he would be cumbersome while I picked grapes . Besides, the Heart Family’s territory maintained great public peace and order so there were no worries about being attacked by bandits .
The weather today was nice and sunny . Walking through the vineyards, I saw the residents had already begun harvesting . Roxy-sama called out to the most elderly person .
“Thank you for always working hard . It seems like we will have a fine grape harvest this year too . ”
“Ahh, if it isn’t Roxy-sama…”
The elder bowed his head deeply in respect . Then, the others all gathered around at the appearance of our master . Their hands were full of plump grapes that they had just picked . Everyone wanted to show off the grapes that they had proudly grown with great care .
“Well, they turned out great this year too . I could see this even from the grapes that had previously been sent to the residence at the Royal Capital . ”
“Thank you for your praise . ”
Having become the representative, the elder happily presented the freshly picked grapes to Roxy-sama .
“Then, I’ll have one… It’s very sweet and delicious . ”
The residents were delighted when they heard this, so much so that they jumped up and down with joy . It was clear just how much these people adored Roxy-sama .
When they finished welcoming Roxy-sama, the elder told the people who had gathered to return to work . At that moment, they saw me standing next to Roxy-sama and grinned .
Advertisement“You must be Fate . I’ve heard about you . Anyway, it seems like you’ve already worked hard harvesting grapes yesterday . As expected of Roxy-sama’s servant . ”
“It’s not… that much . ”
I just blurted that out since I was still unused to being complimented . On the other hand, Roxy-sama had a satisfied expression .
“It’s because Fate is a servant of my choosing . ”
“That’s Roxy-sama for you . Well then, shall we get started?”
“Yes . Let’s do our best Fate!”
“Yes, Roxy-sama . ”
I worked enthusiastically . It was not like I wanted to show Roxy-sama my good points… Well, even though that was partly true . Being a Holy Knight, Roxy-sama’s status spoke for itself and she was able to carry several large jars filled with grapes by herself . Each time she did so, a round of cheers would sound off around the territory .
It was such a pleasant environment, yet I was unexpectedly unsettled . Until when would I be able to stay… I was afraid of whether I could stay or not . With my Gluttony skill, I had to continue fighting from this point forward . Was it alright to for someone like me to be in such a peaceful place? Was there any need for someone who might invite a battle? Thinking about it like this, I felt a premonition that the time I would have to leave Roxy-sama’s side (haven) would come one day .
The rest of the grape harvesting went by uneventfully and when we finished, I walked home with Roxy-sama . I asked her something that I had been curious about ever since arriving at the territory .
“Even though it’s a vineyard, why is it all concentrated on the south side? It’s very sparse up north . ”
“Ahh… That’s because the northern vineyards were all ruined from the damage done by Kobolts a long time ago . I think it was around my great grandfather’s time?”
It was so long ago that there should have been enough time to rebuild the vineyards . Yet, why was it not possible to do so?
Roxy-sama continued .
“During that time, it was said that a dangerous Kobolt with a silver coat invaded the territory from the northern valley . Unfortunately, it appeared when my great grandfather was away which lead to the vast amount of damage done . A lot of blood from the residents was spilled in the northern lands . ”
Roxy-sama simply looked towards the northern lands . Following her gaze, I observed closely and saw many colourful flowers planted there . Ahh, I see… It was no longer farmland, but more of a mass graveyard . There was no way such a place like that could be turned into a vineyard again . Roxy-sama said she did not want to make the same mistake…
At night, I again slipped out of the darkened mansion . It would be a lie to say that I did not feel guilty . However, this was absolutely necessary for me to live on . If I failed to defeat monsters and eat their souls, I would fall into the state of starvation in less than a week . Should that happen, the worst case was that I would attack people randomly . In order to not become a monster like that, it was inevitable that I hunted monsters .
Despite the clouds obscuring the moon and dimming the light, my
“What’s wrong, Fate? Your mind is distracted today . ”
“How do you know that? Even though Greed doesn’t have a Mind-reading skill . ”
“I can feel it from the pulse in your hand that’s holding me . So, what happened?”
I did not want to say it, that one day I would have to leave Roxy-sama because of my Gluttony skill . I could not erase this thought from my mind . It felt like if I voiced it out loud, then it really would happen .
“If you don’t want to say it, it’s fine . More importantly, that Holy Knight will start driving away the Kobolts tomorrow . So, you have to eat as much as you can today . ”
“That was my intention from the beginning . ”
There had only been two yesterday . If I did not eat my fill today, there would be no souls to consume after Roxy-sama chases them all away . Besides, even after the Kobolts had been fended off, we would continue to observe the situation in the territory for another two days during which I would be fasting .
Well, even if I managed to endure it, I would need to hunt Goblins and satisfy my hunger once we returned to the capital so it would still be quite a risk .
“I bet Fate won’t be able to withstand the hunger and will turn mad on the way back to the capital . ”
“Don’t say unlucky things like that!”
While complaining to the ill-mouthed Greed, I arrived at the same place as yesterday . Here, I could look over the north valley and because it was downwind, the Kobolts would not sense anything .
A long time passed . Perhaps they were still wary since I had defeated the scouts yesterday . In spite of myself, I almost yawned .
“They’re here . ”
At Greed’s words, I turned my eyes to the valley . Then, two Kobolts with blue fur appeared and descended, vigilantly watching their surroundings . They were scouts . If I killed these two like I had done yesterday, the rest of them would not appear .
I held my breath and waited . It seemed like the two Kobolts confirmed that it was safe and climbed back up the valley .
“Will their main forces come?”
“Yeah, without a doubt . ”
Just as Greed had predicted, the Kobolts swarmed down the valley like a river of blue fur . There were around 50 of them . Mostly Kobolt Juniors, although there were five with distinctly larger physiques . Among those, there was one who was the largest with a silver coat, not blue .
Instantly, Greed recognised the gravity of the situation .
“A dangerous one came . That one is a Crown . ”
“Crown?”
“A monster with his own special identification . For that kind of thing to be born, a considerable amount of hate must have accumulated over the years . It would be faster for you see this through the Appraisal skill . ”
As Greed prompted, I used the
[Harbinger of Grief]
Assault Kobolt Lv 50
HP: 200 000
Strength: 200 000
MP: 125 000
Spirit: 135 000
Agility: 125 000
Skill: Grappling
With its prominently high status and unique [Harbinger of Grief] title, this Assault Kobolt stood out from the others . This was the Crown that Greed mentioned .
“Fate, it’ll be bad if this guy invades the territory . Moreover, he brought along four more Assault Kobolts . This will be too much for the one young Holy Knight . ”
“So then, you mean?”
“If you don’t control the situation here, they will lay the territory to waste . ”
I checked my current status and gulped .
Fate Graphite Lv1
HP: 50201
Strength: 50051
MP: 23501
Spirit: 23501
Agility: 35901
Skills: Gluttony, Appraisal, Mind-reading, Concealment, Night Vision, One-handed Sword Technique, Two-handed Sword Technique, HP enhancement (small), HP enhancement (medium), Strength enhancement (small), Strength enhancement (medium), Auto-recovery
I tightened my grip on Greed… and prepared myself for the worst . The residents of the Heart Family were all people who I must protect . I will devour them, leaving nothing behind .
Chapter end
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