Chapter 10: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing (1)
== [Don’t Get the Wrong Idea, This Alliance Is Only for Now] ==
[Objective] – Earn Kai’s acknowledgement.
[Reward] – Increase Kai’s Affinity.
[Upon Failure] – Death.
Translucent messages filled my vision.
Both the quest’s objective and its reward—
They were not merely trivial but utterly useless.
However, since the penalty for failure was “death”, I could not simply dismiss it.
Perhaps that was why the quest appeared to have been accepted automatically.
After the Tutorial Quest and the Main Quest, this was the third type of quest to appear—
An “Affinity” quest.
“Affinity?”
The moment I asked, translucent messages poured into my vision.
(Affinity is a measure indicating how a character feels about the [Player].)
(It represents the [Player’s] interpersonal relationships and consists of 「Three Stages」 and [Nine States].)
(The first is the 「Conflict Stage」.)
(Characters within the Conflict Stage dislike the player.)
(The Conflict Stage consists of four states: [Hatred, Disgust, Anger, and Conflict].)
(The next is the 「Neutral Stage」.)
(Characters within the Neutral Stage possess no particular feelings toward the player.)
(This stage consists solely of the [Indifference] state.)
(Finally, there is the 「Interest Stage」.)
(Characters within the Interest Stage possess an active interest in the player.)
(Depending on the degree of interest, this stage consists of four states: [Favor, Friendliness, Trust, and Affection].)
(Listed in order, the states are arranged as follows:
[Hatred < Disgust < Anger < Conflict < Indifference < Favor < Friendliness < Trust < Affection])
The message continued for quite some time.
I calmly read through its contents.
It was not particularly complicated, so I quickly understood it. But that was all.
“Why should I bother?”
There did not appear to be any particular benefit to increasing someone’s Affinity.
It did not grant additional stats.
It did not give me an artifact like the [Inventory].
Nor did it bestow any special abilities.
There was no reason to waste my time obsessing over Affinity.
....Just as I reached that conclusion—
◆You’re wondering what possible use increasing Affinity could have!
As though it had heard my thoughts, another series of translucent messages poured into my vision.
==
(Think again!)
(You can obtain “very special rewards” from characters within the 「Interest Stage」, so we strongly recommend diligently increasing their Affinity!)
(Conversely, characters within the 「Conflict Stage」 may threaten your life, so we recommend increasing their Affinity as well!)
(For your information, please be cautious, as some characters can never reach the two opposite extremes of [Hatred] and [Affection], no matter how hard you try.)
(It is difficult to hate someone enough to want them dead, and even more difficult to love someone more than your own life!)
“Hmm….”
It seemed that Affinity was not entirely useless.
As the message had explained, “very special rewards” existed.
I could not tell whether those rewards would be provided by the quest itself—
Or by the character whose Affinity I increased.
However, I was certain that they were not rewards I could simply disregard. Furthermore, I could not focus solely on the potential rewards.
The message had stated that allowing someone’s Affinity to fall into the 「Conflict Stage」 could place my life in danger.
For several reasons, it appeared necessary to manage Affinity carefully.
In that regard, Kai’s Affinity toward me was [Hatred].
It was the absolute lowest possible Affinity state, indicating that he profoundly despised me—
◆Kai possesses active aggression and will seek to kill and destroy you!
◆If provided with even the slightest opportunity, Kai will undoubtedly kill and eliminate you!
Apparently.
That was how things stood.
As though my understanding had been not merely wrong but catastrophically wrong, the messages made absolutely certain that I understood the [Hatred] state.
It had seemed capable of seeing through my thoughts and feelings for some time now.
In any case—
“So what do you expect me to do about it?”
I waved my hand and scattered the messages floating before me.
Unfortunately for it, I had absolutely no intention of increasing Kai’s Affinity.
Naturally, I had no intention of completing Kai’s Affinity Quest either.
Quests merely pointed me in a particular direction.
The choice of how to accomplish an objective belonged entirely to me.
Moreover, there was no law stating that I could not reject the direction proposed by a quest altogether.
In other words, choosing not to complete a quest was also my right.
Even if the quest was forcibly “accepted”. I was the one who decided whether to “complete” it.
Of course, I alone would also bear responsibility for the consequences.
But what did it expect me to do?
◆Weee-oooh! Weee-oooh!!
The message continued sounding an alarm, warning me that I needed to increase Kai’s Affinity.
It desperately tried to persuade me by insisting that I had misunderstood its purpose.
But I did not listen.
Not a chance in hell.
“I want to kill Kai just as much as he wants to kill me.”
I also possessed active aggression and intended to kill and destroy Kai.
If given the slightest opportunity, I would likewise kill and eliminate him.
In other words, my Affinity toward Kai was also [Hatred].
Even if the penalty for failing the quest was death, I merely needed to kill Kai first and eliminate the Affinity Quest itself.
I had never intended to let Kai live in the first place.
How could I possibly spare the Commander of the Frost Legion?
If Kai’s corruption had been caused by Seraphia, my thoughts might have been different.
There would have been room to spare him. I would only have needed to kill Seraphia.
If Seraphia did not exist, Kai would never become corrupted.
Then I could increase Kai’s Affinity, recruit him into the coalition army, and obtain an extraordinarily powerful combat asset.
However, Seraphia had not transformed Kai into a Death Knight.
Kai had willingly become a “Lich”.
Through his own will, Kai had transcended everything.
Even without Seraphia, he was capable of falling into darkness—or rather, becoming corrupted—entirely on his own.
Therefore, Kai had to die alongside Seraphia.
Most importantly, Ian had only regretted killing Seraphia.
Regarding Kai’s death, Ian had not expressed regret or even mentioned it once.
In other words, there would be no problem with killing Kai immediately.
Personally, I had wanted to kill him during our confrontation earlier.
The reason I had not killed him was extremely simple.
“He really is strong.”
I had been “unable” to kill him. He was far too powerful.
It was fortunate that Kai had focused on restraining me.
If he had drawn his sword with the intention of killing me, I would have died on the spot before I could even react.
To put it bluntly, even the person I had been in my previous life—the Predator of the coalition army—had been unable to handle Kai.
As the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander, I had carried out countless missions.
I had personally eliminated a considerable number of Imperial Legion Commanders.
I had unquestionably possessed combat power surpassing that of an ordinary Legion Commander.
However, Kai, the Commander of the Frost Legion, had been the sole exception.
I encountered Kai once during a mission.
At that time, barely escaping with my life was the best I could do.
If that had been the case in my previous life, I stood even less of a chance against him now that I had returned to the past.
Of course, Kai had also been returned to his younger state.
He was currently merely the Chief Knight of House White Wolf rather than the Commander of the Frost Legion.
Nevertheless, a monster remained a monster.
“The rumors about the Royal Guard trying to recruit him certainly weren’t exaggerated.”
At this point in the past, Kai was only twenty years old.
He was two years older than me, but the difference in our talent and accomplishments could not have been overcome even with twenty additional years.
At least, that would have been the case if I had not acquired Ian’s abilities.
Things were different now.
Through Ian’s ability, [Solo Level Up (EX)], I could grow infinitely stronger.
Through Ian’s ability, [Player’s Will (EX)], I could use [Predation (S+)] without limit.
Therefore, I had no time to stand around doing this.
Forget Affinity.
I was too busy growing stronger.
“First, I should replenish my nutrients.”
Ignoring the messages noisily blaring their warnings, I headed toward the dining hall within the Lord’s Castle.
* * *
Adrian had departed from the Frost Trial Grounds.
An exceedingly heavy silence had settled over the place.
Kai stood motionless at the center of the Training Ground, attempting to suppress the anger surging within his chest.
However, his anger showed no sign of subsiding, causing him to grind his teeth.
It felt as though his reason had been stained crimson by rage.
His rage was directed not only toward Adrian but also toward himself.
He was reprimanding himself for having been “overwhelmed” by Adrian, even if only momentarily.
No matter how much he considered it, he could not understand why he had felt fear toward Adrian.
Kai stood at the center of the Training Ground with his eyes closed for quite some time.
“S-Sir Kai! Sir Kai!”
Then he suddenly regained his senses upon hearing someone call his name.
When he opened his eyes, he found Head Butler Bernard shouting toward him.
Seraphia stood beside Bernard, visibly struggling. Her naturally snow-white skin had become deathly pale. Cold sweat had formed across her smooth, pale forehead.
Her delicate body, as fragile as a thin flower petal, swayed as though caught in the wind.
Had Bernard not supported her from beside, she would have collapsed to the ground long ago.
She could not endure the pressure radiating from Kai as he struggled to contain his rage.
Seraphia was not the only one affected.
Even the soldiers had been unable to withstand Kai’s pressure and were sitting helplessly upon the ground.
Kai immediately realized his mistake and withdrew his presence. Only then did relieved exclamations erupt throughout the Training Ground.
“Ah….!”
Kai bowed deeply toward Seraphia.
“....I behaved disgracefully. My apologies.”
“N-No, it’s all right….”
Seraphia weakly waved her hand, indicating that she was fine.
Naturally, anyone could see that she was not fine.
Even the healthy soldiers of the Count’s Castle had been unable to withstand Kai’s pressure.
Seraphia, who had been born physically frail due to the Frost Curse, could never endure it.
Within Seraphia’s small and delicate body, the absolute cold known as “bitter frost” constantly flowed outward and froze her from within.
Without regular treatment, her body would gradually freeze until even moving became difficult.
If left untreated, breathing would eventually become difficult. Ultimately, her entire body would freeze, resulting in death.
However, the Northern Snowy Mountains possessed very few resources.
Seraphia could not receive treatment whenever she needed it.
Furthermore, the bitter cold swept through the Northern Snowy Mountains throughout the year.
Seraphia lived every day in pain.
“More importantly, Sir Kai….are you all right?”
Despite her condition, Seraphia was worried about Kai.
That was the kind of person Seraphia was.
She cared for and looked after her people more than she cared for herself.
Only until then.
Kai would allow Adrian to live only until that time arrived.
If Adrian remained with the house even after that period passed—
If he invoked his authority as the legitimate eldest son and freely squandered the house’s wealth—
If he exploited the county’s residents—
And if he ultimately attempted to take the position of Lord away from Seraphia—
Creak!
Kai clenched both fists tightly, unmistakable killing intent gathering beneath them.
Seraphia was a woman who would readily remain awake for several nights for the sake of her people.
She was a true Lord who prioritized filling her people’s stomachs over alleviating her own illness.
She was entirely different from the delinquent Adrian.
It was impossible to believe they shared the same blood. In reality, the two siblings were not related by blood at all.
Fortunately, the Former Count had left everything belonging to the house to Seraphia rather than Adrian.
The will had unquestionably expressed the Former Count’s wishes and had not been forged.
By now, an Express Messenger should have delivered the will to the Royal Family.
A minimum of three months would be required for the Royal Family to begin a formal investigation and issue an official decree.
If something happened to Adrian before then, even the Royal Family would become suspicious.
Regardless of his conduct, Adrian was still the legitimate eldest son of House White Wolf.
Three months.
That was how much time remained until Adrian was stripped of his authority as the Young Lord.
* * *
The dining hall within the Lord’s Castle.
“I-I’m terribly sorry! We’ve run out of ingredients….”
The Head Chef approached me, cold sweat streaming down his face.
As he spoke, he anxiously studied my expression.
‘What was his name again?’
Unfortunately, I could not remember.
I had not even remembered Bernard’s name despite his being the Head Butler.
There was no possibility of my remembering the Head Chef’s name.
However, I remembered that the food had tasted excellent when I lived with the house.
I could vaguely recall that he was a highly skilled Head Chef.
“You have no ingredients?”
“Th-That is correct….”
The Head Chef lowered his head like a condemned criminal.
Frankly, it sounded absurd for the household of a high-ranking noble like a Count to run out of food.
But it was entirely possible here.
White Wolf County was located within the Northern Snowy Mountains. It was a harsh environment where brutal cold persisted throughout the year.
Very few varieties of plants grew naturally here.
Consequently, the number of animals inhabiting the region was also remarkably small.
Simply put, food was scarce.
Nor did the county possess mines or valuable local products.
It possessed virtually nothing and was consequently in a miserable financial condition.
It was called a county, but in reality, it was poorer than even a Barony.
“Didn’t you prepare a turkey earlier?”
“Th-That was what remained after we brought it out for the funeral….”
In other words, it had been a precious ingredient they had carefully preserved.
They had intended to serve it to me, only for Kai to spill it across the floor.
That bastard truly was useless in every possible way.
I had also wondered why they were serving something as luxurious as turkey.
‘Did Bernard serve that to me?’
Turkey was an exceptionally valuable ingredient.
It was only brought out for special occasions, such as my father’s funeral.
Bernard certainly had not prepared it because he thought well of me.
Nor did it seem likely that he had done so merely because obeying the Young Lord’s orders was proper procedure.
‘He must have expected me to throw a tantrum.’
That was probably the most likely explanation.
Bernard must have feared that I would create an enormous scene if they served me unappetizing food, so he brought out a precious ingredient.
After all, to the people here, I was still “the count’s delinquent son”.
That much was obvious merely from watching the Head Chef panic before me.
His eyes darted from side to side before he finally squeezed them shut.
Was he not clearly bracing himself for the tantrum he expected me to throw?
“Is there absolutely nothing left to eat?”
“W-Well….”
“Surely you have some discarded entrails.”
“We do, but….”
“Go and bring them.”
A brief silence followed.
“The feces….? No, you mean the entrails?”
The Head Chef’s face went blank with bewilderment.
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