Chapter 59 Party Hosted By The Lord (Part Three)
Baronet Marqifasso guided me and Alice to a room at the back of the third floor. Various paintings, sculptures, and various types of arms and armor were displayed there.
"These are just a part of my collection, but I have gathered representative items. I would like you to appreciate them carefully."
"It's amazing. With so many here, where should I start looking from?"
Alice said, seemingly impressed. Even from my perspective, I could infer that the artworks here were quite valuable.
"Shall we start from here? You can understand the history of the battle between humanity and monsters (mamono)."
Baronet Marqifasso pointed to a painting. It depicted humans living in primitive dwellings being attacked by ferocious monsters.
"Since our birth, humanity has been exposed to the threat of monsters. Without developed weapons, we humans must have been easy prey for monsters."
Alice gazed at the painting and said, with a deep, mysterious tone,
"I wonder how difficult it must have been for people living in this era. How did they manage to survive?"
"It must have been a series of hardships that we can't even imagine. Yet, humanity continued to thrive and multiply. In a way, the balance of nature was maintained, including the existence of monsters."
He said, pointing to a nearby relief.
The relief depicted a goddess raising her left hand, emitting light to repel the monsters, while people offered prayers.
"But then, a witch appeared. She used her powerful magic to protect humans by repelling the monsters."
I looked up at the relief. It was the first time I heard that the witch was once the savior of the human world. While the witch is revered and feared in various regions, she is considered more as the "core of an evil cult" by the entire country.
Now, Baronet Marqifasso pointed to the next painting. It was a painting of armed soldiers attacking orcs, goblins, and other monsters.
"With the protection of witches, humanity developed civilization and weapons, and now they are attacking the monsters in return. The monsters hold the magic stones at their core, which are used as a source of energy and for material transformation. And thus, the long history of the thousand-year battle between humans and monsters began."
As he explained, he opened the lid of a glass jar on the nearby table and poured the liquid inside into three glasses. The liquid in the glasses had a slightly yellowish tint and a sweet fragrance wafted from it.
He took two of the glasses and handed one to Alice and the other to me. However, before I could take the glass, I picked up the other glass left on the table. Baronet Marqifasso chuckled and said, "You're cautious, aren't you?"
"Just listening to the conversation is not interesting. This is mead made from honey harvested within the territory. It's sweet and has a pleasant taste. Please, do try it."
With these words, Baronet Marqifasso himself took a glass in hand and began to drink. Alice also took a sip of the mead from her glass.
"It's sweet and delicious!"
She exclaimed.
"If you like it, just let me know. I can offer as much as you want."
Baronet Marqifasso said with a smile. It seemed that Alice liked the mead, as she was drinking it with enjoyment. I also brought the glass to my lips. The liquid in the glass decreased by a sip. Since Baronet Marqifasso drank it, the mead itself should be harmless. I didn't take the glass from his hand and deliberately chose one from the table.
Baronet Marqifasso enjoyed the taste of the mead for a while, but soon returned to explaining the art pieces, this time pointing to a marble bust.
"Human beings have built cities by surrounding their living spaces with walls to protect themselves. However, this has led to conflicts between cities. At the center of this power is the king."
At that moment, Alice holds her forehead.
"Um, I feel... kind of dizzy."
I also feel that my hand holding the glass is somewhat numb.
"The witch tried to stop the conflict between humans and the intelligent humanoid monsters. It is said that even though they are monsters, they can understand if we talk to them. However, humans began to show hostility towards the witch who had protected them until then."
My fingers start to tremble. When I thought that, the glass slipped from my hand.
"Among them, the Rotengard Empire, with the most formidable power, formed an alliance with surrounding countries and launched an attack on the witch. In anger, the founding witch gathered monsters and humans who opposed the regime, creating a major sphere of influence. And the conclusion to this conflict has yet to be reached."
I knelt on the floor. Baronet Marqifasso looked down on me as if enjoying it.
"It seems you have a special resistance to the medicine. I thought it would work faster..."
I put my hands on the floor and looked up at him.
"What... did you give me to drink?"
"It's just a little medicine. It has an interesting effect, you know."
I looked to the side and saw Alice also crouched on the floor. But her symptoms were different. She had a red face and her eyes seemed glazed.
"M-my body... feels hot..."
She said, clutching her chest. And she squirmed as if enduring something. Baronet watched her with enjoyment.
"This medicine, you see, paralyzes the whole body in the case of men as a numbing agent, and becomes a powerful aphrodisiac in the case of women."
"Why... are you unaffected?"
"Can't you figure it out? I have an antidote prepared, of course."
Baronet Marqifasso laughed with contempt.
Alice, finally exhausted, sat down on the floor with a thud. Still, she pressed her chest as if enduring, and twisted her body into a small shape. That posture and movement seemed even more provocative. Baronet Marqifasso slowly approached Alice and grabbed her chin, lifting her face.
"She'll soon be desperate for a man. Once that happens, she'll be at my mercy."
"Don't touch Alice..."
A tangled voice came out of my mouth.
"Oh, so you can still speak?"
Baronet Marqifasso looked at me with surprise and admiration in his eyes.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt her. After all, she's a valuable commodity."
"So... you're involved in human trafficking..."
"You know that much?"
This time, he looked at me with astonishment in his eyes.
"Well, yes. But there are various types of human trafficking. There are cases where humans are sold as slaves to other humans, and there are cases where humans are sold to monsters."
"Why... monsters..."
"It's simple. Monsters pay more. And I'm deeply in love with the Witch Queen's ideas."
Baronet Marqifasso picked up the sword that was displayed on the wall and approached me. He held his sword in an airy pose and pointed the tip at me.
"I thought I'd leave you immobile and use you as bait for the orcs, but... I don't want you to talk too much. I'll finish you off here. I don't want the room to be stained with blood, but I can't help it."
Baronet Marqifasso said that and thrust his sword towards me.
Hello, we have a NEW project about mc whose heroines want to become his mother instead of his lover. You can read it on here => Link
Hello, we have other project about someone who has returned from an isekai. The main character is a hero who has defeated the Demon Lord. However, for some reason, the human-demon war has resumed and will take place in the MC's original world. The MC, unaware of this, meets a Saint from that world and asks them to join the war. But what does the MC say? They refuse. Is it because their love was rejected by the princess when they adventured together in the past or are they simply fed up? And are the MC will join later? You can find out by clicking on the following => [Link]
We have a new work with genre second life. The story is about a former s*x worker who didn't want to be a loner again, and fulfilling his second life. It has a life conflict and the protagonist will solve it one by one. You can find out in => [Link]
We also have a similar genre returned from isekai but has different MC's characteristic. The story is punishing someone who troll in SNS, someone who cheat and many more. You can find out in => [Link]
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)