CHAPTER 52 – FLUTE OF GRUDGES“I wonder, has something happened in there?”
“Who knows? But, I think there’s no doubt it’s nothing good.”
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For the sake of rampaging, Kurt, who obtained some magic tool from Finance Minister Rückner’s little brother, appeared on purpose at the site of our inspection in the Savage Lands.
The inspection itself was more or less necessary.
I plan to split the current Baumeister territory into three Earldoms with me having the majority and Paul-nii-san getting an independent a.s.sociate Baron territory.
Its border was at the moment nothing more but a plain, however for the sake of avoiding disputes of the territorial borders, which might happen in the future, it was indispensable to properly define it.
Just, it wasn’t particularly necessary to do that today.
Inducing Kurt became the most important goal after all.
『There’s no problem. He seems to be lurking around.』 (Burkhart)
Kurt, the blacksmith Eckhart and the few remaining supporters went out armed to the location we intended to inspect as potential territory during darkness.
Of course, such action was exposed, once they entered Burkhart-san’s detection range.
Even after arriving at the location, we intended to inspect, we were entirely aware of the five people hiding in a thicket slightly further away and looking this way.
Well, what kind of magic tool will they use, I’m concerned by that in my mind.
Kurt, who suddenly showed his figure in front of us, begins to blow into something similar to an old ocarina.
Thereupon something like cl.u.s.ters of some black smoke gush out from the ground in the vicinity. Those cl.u.s.ters change into a tornado and envelop Kurt.
『Self-destruction all of a sudden?』
『No, I expect him to be likely safe within the tornado. Even as a joke, he is still the user of the magic tool.』
Somehow or other, it looks like the effect of the black smoke doesn’t reach the centre similar to the eye of a typhoon.
However, apparently the black smoke has received a note telling it that it only applies to Kurt.
The effect of the black smoke?
Before long screams considered to belong to Eckhart’s group can be heard.
『Only himself being safe and the others are doomed? How evil.』
『They have splendidly been used and thrown away. As expected, he is a small man.』 (Burkhart)
Burkhart-san’s evaluation of Kurt was harsh.
But, apparently those types of parties weren’t rare in his adventurer time either. It looks like he doesn’t want to particularly recall that point.
Besides, it’s not like Kurt will be safe for eternity either.
We hear those screams of death agony right away.
『Somehow he wasn’t able to comprehend what kind of magic tool it is. As expected, someone like Kurt was a disposable tool.』
It looks like that black smoke is something dangerous to touch.
We should defend ourselves as that body of black smoke began to gush forth in large quant.i.ties even from far away. I deployed a magic barrier together with Burkhart-san.
Everyone, who joined us on the inspection, enters the magic barrier in a hurry.
“Those are bugs?” (Erwin)
“No, that’s the materialization of grudges.” (Elise)
Elise, who is well-informed in this field, answered Erw’s question.
“Eh? The materialization of grudges?” (Ina)
“That’s nothing more than the power of that flute.” (Elise)
Elise replied to Ina’s question slightly vaguely.
That’s to be expected of her as well. She didn’t have that much knowledge in magic tools.
“Nee, do you know about it, dous.h.i.+-sama?”
“That’s probably the 『Flute of Grudges』.” (Armstrong)
“Flute of Grudges?”
Unexpectedly dous.h.i.+ seems to have a clue about the magic tool Kurt has been blowing into.
Apparently the Flute of Grudges is a magic tool that had been produced in ancient times for vengeance.
With the hatred of the person himself, the grudges gathered from the surroundings by the flute are used to change oneself into a powerful undead, which kills the target.
As magic tool with the goal of certainly killing the target, the user wants to kill so badly that they even sacrifice their own body, it isn’t at the level of the 『Flute of a Dragon Tamer』 either, but it is a an item requiring authorisation by the kingdom due to its danger.
“That means, it’s from the black market too?”
“It’s easier to obtain the Flute of Grudges than the Flute of a Dragon Tamer. Therefore, it’s only a controversy of comparison in the end…” (Burkhart)
If you use the Flute of a Dragon Tamer, this territory will be destroyed in the worst case.
However, if it’s the Flute of Grudges, there are also many situations where it ends with killing the individual target, involving several people at worst.
This is why either are obviously regarded as dangerous by the kingdom.
“Anyway, the target is me, right?” (Wendelin)
“Ahaha, isn’t it the materialization of a frightful grudge! It looks to be a befitting resentment for Baron Baumeister.” (Armstrong)
“Umm… It’s not a laughing matter though…” (Wendelin)
The black smoke, which is still gathering from the vicinity and approaching, has a diameter of 50 meters with Kurt in the centre. It took the form of a huge tornado with a height of around 100 meters.
Its dreadfulness is excessive to a degree that we have to retreat in a hurry.
“Uncle-sama. I’m recalling from the books I read in the past that tornadoes are a lot smaller, but…” (Elise)
“I can think of several reasons, however…” (Armstrong)
First was the fact of these Savage Lands being a vastly empty plot of land.
That seems to be something making it relatively easy for grudges to spring forth.
Plants and bugs get crushed under the hooves of running deer.
Rabbits are hunted by wolves.
Bears drown in rivers and their children end up dying as they haven’t been brought up.
Even in human society, there’s stuff like getting scolded by superiors.
In daily life, there were things like not being pleased with friends.
Though it’s only tiny amounts, it creates grudges. Those seem to have soaked into the circ.u.mference of this region.
“However, if time pa.s.ses, those will vanish similar to water evaporating.” (Elise)
This is normal to equal locations, but these places are called 『Bad plots of land』.
The grudges, which acc.u.mulated, bring harm to people utilizing these plots of land.
Similar to the capital’s flawed properties, if things like strong evil spirits, which kill out of resentment, are created, the grudges being at those places will serve as energy source for the evil spirits, amplifying their powers.
“In other words, the grudge of that man is more powerful than expected. With that as origin, large quant.i.ties of grudges are gathering from the Savage Lands’ underground.”
There are no slaughtered people, who bear regrets, in the Savage Lands either.
There’s no more than a small amount of something like grudges gathering from one place, but since the Savage Lands are vast, it’s a matter of dust becoming a mound if you pile it up.
“That means, the situation is hopeless unless Wend’s elder brother stops blowing into the flute?” (Erwin)
“Rather than stopping, there’s no other choice but to destroy either the magic tool or its user!” (Armstrong)
“Eh, what do you mean by that?” (Erwin)
Erw remembers a sense of discomfort due to dous.h.i.+’s remark of destroying Kurt and not killing him.
“Erw-boy, why you do you think Baron Baumeister and Burkhart-dono immediately deployed a magic barrier? If the the body of a normal human suffers this amount of thick and dense grudges, they won’t escape dying.” (Armstrong)
While dous.h.i.+ was answering Erw’s question, he also explained that Kurt shouldn’t be alive anymore.
Grudges being a minus element, there will be no significant effects, if it’s only a small dose, but if it’s a large dose, it will cause sickness and in the worst case be fatal.
“If it’s an ordinary person, they would go insane instantly. Also, their body’s function would cease within a short time, however…” (Elise)
While looking at me, Elise gives an explanation which doesn’t seem to be an excuse.
To put it simply, it’s very likely that Kurt and his followers have already died.
“It’s not something you have to worry about, Elise. Though it might be bad taste, but they reap what they sowed.” (Wendelin)
I wish for their death from the bottom of my heart.
Until now I have thoroughly received their hatred.
In the end they even tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate a person.
Besides, they shouldn’t have expected an easy conclusion, even if they had survived here anyway.
Margrave Breithilde and the n.o.bles of the central government shouldn’t have done something like using Kurt in order to suppress my anxiety of the future.
“However, if that’s the case, why is the tune of the flute still continuing to resound, I wonder?” (Ina)
“That’s simple. It’s because it is a magic tool!” (Armstrong)
Dous.h.i.+ quickly replied to Ina’s doubt.
It had the shape of an ocarina, but it is a magic tool after all.
Once you get it working by blowing into it one time, the flute’s tune won’t stop until killing the person, who had been defined as target by the person operating it.
Actually, it isn’t a piece of music I feel like having heard somewhere before either, but the tune of the ocarina continued to flow into the surroundings.
“Huh? Until killing the person that has been marked by the person using it? However, that onii-san has already died, right?” (Luise)
I felt the same doubts as Luise.
Although Kurt has already pa.s.sed away, why are the flute and the gathering grudges recognising me as their target?
“The answer is that the person, who is using the flute as existence manipulating the a.s.sembly of grudges, has transformed into an undead. It will be a reasonable labour to purify that, boy.” (Burkhart)
A report, that a change occurred in the aforementioned huge tornado of black smoke, is given by Burkhart-san, who was concentrating on deploying the magic barrier.
Once I turned my view, I saw a giant, completely composed by the black smoke, with a height of around 50 meters standing there.
“The a.s.sembly of grudges…” (Wendelin)
“Also, look at the chest part, everyone.” (Burkhart)
As I turned my sight upon Burkhart-san’s instruction, I saw Kurt, who had changed into a zombie, buried there with his skin having changed into a darkish brown colour.
Holding that flute in his mouth just as before, Kurt is continuing to play the melody from there.
If you furthermore observe well, parts of his limbs and neck are missing as if having been bit off. Those wounds changed their colour into a murky black.
“Those followers changed into zombies before him. It looks like he died by being eaten. And after his death he transformed into the core of that black giant after changing into a zombie. What a nasty magic tool.”
Certainly, it was a magic tool I wouldn’t want to use no matter how much I was driven to a wall.
And, although they were his followers, they had changed into zombies after all and were buried into the limbs and torso of the black giant as if being nothing more than decorations.
“What does that mean? It’s the first time I’ve seen an undead like that!”
It seems the zombie Kurt is the core, but the other zombies have been embedded into the whole body as well. The majority of the parts of the mysterious giant were composed by the grudges in a state of black smoke.
Sure enough, I wonder, how do you cla.s.sify this kind of undead?
“It’s disgusting. Even bringing it down won’t yield any meat. We should defeat it quickly.” (Wilma)
Then again, that’s the kind of thing you can expect Wilma to say.
She has fun in defeating wild animals and monster if she can eat them, but if it’s this kind of undead, she can’t eat, we should defeat it quickly.
While pulling the cuff of my robe, she requested for it to be defeated quickly.
“But, doesn’t it seem to be powerful?”
Since it is a magic tool given by the likes of Rückner’s younger brother, it shouldn’t be a big deal either.
“It’s good, if it finishes with Kurt’s rampaging as it is just the right opportunity.”
Unexpectedly saying something like that, Burkhart-san became speechless due to the sinisterness of the giant of black smoke with zombies embedded in its body.
“Burkhart-san!” (Wendelin)
“Ah… ! You had been resented by Kurt to a very great extent, boy.” (Burkhart)
“Talking about that at this late hour.” (Wendelin)
I was completely under the wrong impression of the other side, but even so it apparently resulted in a terribly, gloomy grudge.
Considering the other party, they likely hated me for being born in the first place.
Moreover, it would have been fine, if I had lived an obedient, modest life, but something like becoming a n.o.ble after defeating a dragon…
That’s something intolerable from Kurt’s point of view.
At any rate, it’s because he is the heir as eldest son.
And, in case I gave him the money I’m possessing, he would work me like his slave.
All of it being only for Kurt’s convenience, it would be better to kill me since I was an existence that obstructed him going by his circ.u.mstances.
People, taking things into consideration to that extent, are able to approve just because he is my elder brother connected by blood.
I wasn’t such a saint.