My Wife the Empress is Becoming Frightening

3. Dunce

Chapter 3

“Oh, Hariya. The new boss?”

As Hariya addressed the middle aged man sitting astride a barstool crunching on a cigarette, she nodded and replied.

“Yes. This is the new boss. Gather everyone, Gilbert.”

“Ah. But right now other than me there’s only Koirl and Derigan, you know.”

“There are three left? More than I expected, I see.”

Hearing Hariya’s sincere surprise, the man called Gilbert laughed saying there’s no way that could be true. From his tone earlier, it seems he had quite some displeasure towards the man called Koirl as well.

“Derigan just got back this morning from finishing his mission and is sleeping. I’m on duty guarding headquarters. Koirl is…that bastard, looks like he’s seduced a married woman again.”

“Trash.”

I briefly evaluated the man called Koirl with that word in the middle of pressing dusty piano keys to confirm it was decorative not functional.

Gilbert nodded vigorously at my words, seeming pleased. Looks like he also found that Koirl quite unsavory usually.

“Right. Men who lay hands on married women are trash. Should tear off their limbs then feed them to pigs. Hmm. Fortunately our new boss has the basic decency.”

I don’t recall going that far, but I saw no need to deny having that basic sense. Feeling I’d conversed more than necessary with him, I looked around and came back asking the two.

“I heard you each freely spend your time before work comes up. So I can’t meet my subordinates until an incident occurs?”

“Ah, no. If there’s nothing in particular, we always eat dinner together. No compulsion to come if you don’t want to, but if you want to see faces, just come back for dinner.”

Replying, Gilbert stood saying he should clean up a bit. Judging by the state of headquarters, it was hard to say he cleaned often, so he clearly just didn’t want unnecessary conversation with me.

“Then excuse me for now as well. See you at dinner.”

With Gilbert then Hariya also leaving, I likewise had no reason to keep standing there alone. I knew the location now, so I could play around until dinner then come back.

As I was about to head out, Hariya’s voice flew out from behind me.

“No brothels.”

Damn.

After that I played around outside until the sun set, then returned to headquarters where I saw new faces having dinner and conversing.

Though that conversation stopped the moment I entered headquarters, of course. I wasn’t hurt as I’d expected that much.

I leaned back against the bar facing the dining people and opened my mouth.

“I’m Isaac Meyer. Ah, now it’s Isaac Blatare, right. Honorific is Boss, nothing else allowed.”

There was no reply. Not even taunting or provocative words to jab at the pride of the newly appointed boss that would usually be seen.

The emotion I saw in their eyes was something quite familiar to me.

My new subordinates were afraid now. Not of me.

I roughly get it.

“Now, say your names one by one. I have a hard time remembering faces, so I’ll probably need to see you at least three times to recognize you.”

“Gilbert.”

“…………Koirl.”

“…Damus.”

“Derigan.”

“…Boros.”

“…Zina.”

“…Garel.”

“….Selemin.”

“….Hariya.”

At my command to say their names, my subordinates responded by briefly stating just their names. As I listened to their names, I confirmed the number matched.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. And ten including me. Right.”

After checking the number of people, I looked over their faces for a bit. Like I said, it’d be hard to remember right away, but I should try to memorize them as quickly as possible.

“Hmm.”

But I don’t really like those frightened expressions. Should I play a little prank?

“!”

The reaction was immediate. My new subordinates jerked as if about to pounce on me any second.

More of a response than I expected, so the stimulus must have been too strong. Did I go too far?

-Clap!

I lightly clapped once to change the mood, then said.

“That’s enough greeting. I’m leaving now. Eat well, and see you later if a job comes up.”

Any more interruption of their meal would be rude. I’ve greeted them, so we can get to know each other slowly.

That was the idea when I left, but someone followed me out.

“Please wait!”

“? What is it?”

Hariya who’d tailed me asked in an upset tone like she was interrogating me.

“Just now, what exactly was the meaning of that?”

“Of what? The greeting? A greeting is a social act and etiquette where strangers introduce themselves to each other. Bowing heads or handshakes differ by country. I hear some places even hug….”

“That’s not what I’m asking!”

Shouting, Hariya frantically ruffled her own hair as if frustrated. In the first place, Hariya herself probably didn’t know what she wanted to say to me.

It felt like I should ask something, but I had no idea what. Nothing’s more frustrating than that.

In the end, Hariya went with an extremely ordinary question.

“Haa. Where were you headed just now?”

“To see Lilian.”

“…………Who is Lilian?”

“The woman I met while walking this afternoon?”

From noble mtl dot com

I had the upper hand, properly remembering her name. How long I can remember, well even I don’t know.

“I’m going then.”

As I turned to leave, Hariya tailed me.

Whether she thought I wouldn’t notice or she didn’t care if I did, I couldn’t tell. She probably just didn’t think I was really going to see a woman.

The Hounds knew my circumstances precisely. That the newly appointed boss could get his neck sliced at any time.

So logically thinking, right now I had no choice but to struggle to survive. So she must be following thinking I’m scheming something.

“Hi, Lilian.”

“Isaac!”

Sorry, but I really was going to meet a woman.

—

Even in Hariya’s opinion, she had no basis for tailing that man now.

But reasonably speaking, calmly meeting a woman when he could lose his life at any time made no sense.

Unless he’d given up on his life entirely or really was an idiot without any thoughts, that is.

The natural assumption was he’d struggle to live. He’d shown confidence before His Majesty, so he must have some plan.

The first thought was of course using Hound. She absolutely refused to let an outsider, not even His Majesty, use her and the members. She had to find out his plans and prepare countermeasures.

Though tailing him, she was confident she wouldn’t be caught. Discerning her in the darkness wasn’t possible for any monster short of a being on another plane.

As expected, the location was deserted. Observing the two who met in a small smithy, Hariya eavesdropped on their conversation.

– Why are you so late? I was so nervous sneaking out, I thought I’d die…

It seemed the other person being a woman was no lie. But sneaking out meant there was certainly something illicit. Hariya held her breath, focusing on their talk.

– Sorry. I got a bit lost since the road is unfamiliar.

– Really…. Fine. But you have to pay the price for making me uneasy.

– I’ll pay right away.

Hariya’s expression grew somewhat complex as she listened. Though words like price and pay came up, judging by the mood of their conversation, it didn’t refer to money or the like….

-Mm….

When Isaac and the woman named Lilian began intensely kissing, Hariya had no choice but to admit she was mistaken.

He really was an idiot without any thoughts whatsoever, who’d given up on living long ago.

Having no more need or desire to keep watching, Hariya left around when Isaac pushed the woman down onto a stack of straw.

I should tell my colleagues.

That their boss who would soon die after being newly appointed was an utterly hopeless fool beyond saving.

—

“Finally left, huh.”

“Huh? It’s just starting, isn’t it…?”

“Not you. The cat-like thing watching from the roof over there.”

“Wha!? That makes me mad! It definitely left, right?”

“Yeah. It’s gone.”

I did have a sense of responsibility too. Even if they were subordinates forced on me against my will, since I was entrusted with their lives, some degree of mutual trust was necessary.

Well, I can teach that slowly. For now, more important is…

“Ah, Isaac!”

I have to break this flower in front of me.

—

After the new boss finished his greeting and left, the Hounds sank into their own thoughts for a time. But without a single one speaking up, dinner time soon came to an end.

Those who’d finished eating stood from their seats. Some headed upstairs to their rooms in the headquarters building, and some said they had business and went back outside.

Meanwhile, some remained on the first floor. Of the two sitting side by side, seemingly pondering something deeply, the young man with a dynamic feel spoke first.

“….What was that earlier, I wonder?”

“…I guess.”

The one who received the words was a young man with a large build. He also seemed to not really know as he replied, then silence descended again. The one who broke the frustrating silence was Gilbert, who had finished washing dishes.

“Nothing’s more unpleasant than you two guys muttering theories, so knock it off. Especially with you two sitting there, it looks even worse.”

As Gilbert said, the two sitting together contrasted in various ways.

One was a handsome youth who would make women swoon. The other had an impressive muscular build that was evident despite his robes, a roguishly rugged young man.

Despite being complete opposites, or perhaps because they were, the two were quite friendly with each other.

“But Gilbert, you were right about to pounce earlier too.”

At Boros the handsome youth’s words, Gilbert was momentarily at a loss for words. Due to the nature of their work, hot-blooded types from various backgrounds were gathered in Hound.

Naturally, fights happened when people lived together. In the past, battles within Hound resulting in deaths were also common.

Now the number was greatly reduced due to civil war, so things didn’t escalate that far, but Gilbert as the eldest always played mediator when disputes occurred.

Yet earlier, even Gilbert had been unable to control himself. Understandable, given the tremendous pressure like a gigantic iron mass crushing down on them.

“Ah, I’m not blaming you or anything, so don’t get the wrong idea.”

Seeing Gilbert had no reply, Boros apologized for making him feel bad, but Gilbert shook his head.

“No, you’re right. To be honest I was thinking about the new boss too. Even washing dishes, and though I definitely ate, it didn’t feel like I’d eaten at all.”

“Gilbert, did you take the bowl you were eating from earlier and wash it without eating?”

“Damn! No wonder my stomach feels empty!”

Gilbert was the only one in Hound who had a home outside headquarters, having once tried to build a household, but unfortunately he couldn’t return today as he was on duty.

“Well, Hariya followed him, so maybe she’ll dig something up….”

“To betray your expectations, I couldn’t dig up anything.”

Hearing the sudden voice behind them, the three men flinched in surprise and jumped up. Unfazed by their reaction as if she was used to it, Hariya rummaged through the kitchen for something.

“Hey, Hariya! I told you not to sneak around headquarters!”

“Oh.”

Vaguely replying to the yelling Boros, Hariya took a beer bottle off the shelf then pulled out jerky hidden as a snack.

Just as Hariya was about to go back upstairs, bottle and jerky in hand, Gilbert stopped her.

“Wait a minute. You couldn’t dig anything up? You failed at tailing him? The new boss has that little skill? And that jerky is snack I saved for tonight.”

Except non-combat members, Hound combat abilities were naturally high. Among them, Hariya was particularly excellent.

In Hound, only Derigan could find Hariya if she was determined to erase her presence.

So expectation also rose slightly on the faces of Boros and Damus, but Hariya couldn’t satisfy their anticipation.

“No. I wasn’t caught tailing him. I followed thinking there must be something, but he was just going to meet a woman. I didn’t want to interfere with their fun so came straight back. And please give up the jerky. Have a good night.”

Turning away from colleagues whose faces had fallen just like her own crushed expectations, Hariya headed straight upstairs.

“Men laying women is natural, but relaxing and fooling around at a time like this….”

“….Let’s make him a grave later at least.”

“Sure. If we can find the corpse that is.”

The night deepened.