C7: The Dogs of Baskerville (Part 4)
Vikir knew Hugo's personality well.
"...Lizard man."
He was a cold-blooded human with blood so cold that one might think he was a reptile.
Fundamentally, he was a being only interested in the future of his family and his own power.
To him, everyone else was a tool, particularly when it came to weapons.
Weapons exist primarily to harm others, and it is unimaginable for a weapon to have its own independent recognition or hesitation.
It is only natural for a weapon to become better the more poison it carries.
Therefore, it was entirely possible that Hugo's gaze towards Vikir was gradually becoming affectionate.
"Right. Do you think you're innocent?"
"Yes. It's actually my brothers who have done wrong."
"What did they do wrong?"
"They were weak."
"Strong respect the strong. In this world, the weak are sinners."
That's Baskerville, isn't it?
Vikir's words accurately pierced the core creed of Baskerville.
A lion devouring a deer is not a sin.
Claiming that the strong beating the weak should be divided into sin and punishment is nothing more than the antics of the weak.
It was the teaching of Hugo, the mastermind behind the family tutors who were like thorns in his childhood.
"...So, even if I whine and complain that my brothers tormented me first, it's useless."
Vikir before regression explained his innocence and his brothers' sins, just like ordinary children would, but Hugo only showed disdain with a more furrowed expression.
...And that gaze remained the same until the last moment when he kneeled on the executioner's block.
Meanwhile...
Hugo le Baskerville.
He clasped his hands and covered his mouth.
Then he spoke in a low, subdued voice.
"Your brothers came here before you."
"..."
"As the eldest, I generously forgive you."
Vikir didn't bother to respond.
Having spent a long time by Hugo's side, he could sense it.
The triplets probably didn't give the answer Hugo wanted, but instead irritated him.
"They must have been quite intimidated. And as for forgiveness, why bother? They would have pleaded to be isolated after experiencing the depths of despair."
Vikir replied with an emotionless voice.
"Well, age has its privileges."
"..."
Hugo paused for a moment.
Finally, Hugo let out a faint laugh.
"Hehehe. That's a valid point. When I was about to take over as the family boss, I made a lot of effort to become the rightful heir."
It was quite an unfamiliar sight to see Hugo referring to himself as the "father."
"By the way, making an effort to become the rightful heir? Can one achieve that just by making an effort?"
Vikir, who was momentarily puzzled by the unfamiliar sound, quickly understood its meaning.
Through the isolation, or in other words, by killing all his older brothers, Hugo ascended to the position of family boss.
"It seems so. I always heard that it had to be the eldest son to carry on the family line. But even the eldest son can become one later in life."
It was a moment when Baskerville's true colors were revealed once again.
Hugo asked again.
"Anyway, regardless of how it happened, your brothers reached out and offered you forgiveness first. Yet, don't you feel any sense of guilt?"
"..."
Vikir looked at Hugo silently for a moment.
The warm gaze of his father, which he had never received in his previous life.
But his frozen heart, already cold and hardened, could never be melted by such faint warmth.
...It was some time before the regression.
There was a moment when the last female of the family, who had been silenced by Baskerville, personally came to find Hugo.
After a long time had passed, she, now a nun, gave him a mass containing the words "I forgive you."
Upon hearing the content of the mass, Hugo responded like this.
"Isn't forgiveness just an excuse for the weak who lack the power for revenge?"
Apart from the honorifics, it was the exact same dialogue as Hugo from that time.
In an instant, Hugo's eyes widened.
"Hahaha-"
Only then did a laughter resound through the family residence, shaking the windows.
Hugo sat back in his chair with a highly satisfied expression.
"This is how my child should be. It's as if I'm looking at my eldest son."
It was the first time Vikir had witnessed Hugo displaying such emotions towards his child.
The conversation with Hugo ended there.
"Barrymore."
Hugo called the butler, and he returned with an expressionless face.
However, there was still a lingering warmth in his voice.
"Give Vikir the key to the food storage."
Barrymore's eyes widened upon hearing those words.
The Baskerville children always ate the same food until they turned 15.
Water and haggis.
It is a mixture of various animal meat, offal, and a small amount of vegetables, finely ground into a dough, boasting extreme calories and nutritional value, but lacking greatly in taste and being overly salty.
The quantity of food is unlimited and hygienically managed, but the concept of taste is completely absent.
That is why the children of the Baskerville family go crazy for snacks such as biscuits, candies, and chocolates when they achieve excellent grades in their basic education.
It is a system that stimulates the learning motivation of young children at a very low cost, fosters a sense of competition, and ultimately nurtures them into excellent members of the Baskerville family.
Knowing this, Hugo asked Vikir.
"Do you have any snacks you want to eat?"
Upon hearing that, Vikir replied with a mischievous smile characteristic of an eight-year-old child.
"Chocolate!"
Hugo nodded as he watched him.
"He even has the cuteness appropriate for his age," he thought.
Barrymore also smiled with a sense of pride, thinking that children will always be children.
Hugo gestured to Barrymore.
"Go to the food storage and let him scoop out as much chocolate as he wants. Just don't let him get too greedy. Only enough that he can carry."
"Yes, my lord."
Barrymore held Vikir's hand and headed towards the door.
Then, as Hugo turned his back to the door, he spoke.
"Make sure to do well on this mid-term evaluation."
Receiving such encouragement was unusual.
However, what he said next was even more exceptional.
"...Don't rely on the direct line."
Vikir's eyes began to emit a flickering light at those words.
Like two suns.
"Here we are, young master."
Barrymore led Vikir to the kitchen located on the outskirts of the Baskerville estate.
Several chefs politely followed behind them.
The food storage deep underground was always cool.
The cold air that seeped through the gaps in the stones met the warm air that entered when the door opened, creating condensation.
Barrymore raised a lantern to illuminate the interior of the storage room.
It was a task that could be accomplished with mana manipulation, but it was not an embarrassing thing for the steward to go to such lengths.
Vikir entered inside.
He could see the neatly organized food ingredients for the family's guardians, family members over the age of 15, and other servants.
"Candies and jellies are over here. If you have any specific menu you'd like us to prepare separately, I will instruct the chefs to do so."
Vikir nodded in response to Barrymore's kind suggestion.
"Just chocolate will do."
Upon hearing that, Barrymore looked at Vikir with a slightly melancholic gaze.
How much he must have desired chocolate.
"If you're over 15, you can enjoy whatever you'd like."
It was a genuine consolation.
The chefs behind them, sensing the steward's mood, took out the finest chocolates from the shelf.
"These are the finest chocolates, favored by the gourmands of the Morg family. We managed to acquire a few this time as well. They say the flavor becomes even richer when accompanied by nuts from the South and honey from the West."
However, Vikir shook his head.
"I don't need processed ones."
"...Excuse me?"
Facing the puzzled expression of Barrymore and the chefs, Vikir spoke up.
"I need raw cacao beans. The kind with a very intense flavor."
Upon hearing those words, Barrymore raised an eyebrow.
The raw material for chocolate is cacao beans.
However, unprocessed cacao beans are not only bitter but also have a sour taste. And if it's a variety with an intense flavor, it would surely be overwhelmingly bitter.
After a moment, Barrymore, having received a report from the chefs, spoke up.
"Hmm, if it's an intense-flavored variety... there is one. Some time ago, the family boss personally led the senators of the family and subjugated the savages on the western frontiers, converting the vast jungle into farmland. The specialty of that region, 'Bloody Bean' cacao, is said to be able to produce 100 liters of chocolate from a single bean."
"Good. Bring it."
"How much should we bring?"
"As much as you have."
At Vikir's command, the chefs sprang into action.
Eventually, one chef returned with a small leather pouch in his hand.
The pouch was the size of two fists and was filled with bright red cacao beans.
There seemed to be over a hundred beans, roughly estimating.
This is Bloody Bean. A single cacao bean holds a concentration equivalent to 100 liters of chocolate.
Vikir decided to chew one bean as an experiment.
...Bitter!
An immediate reaction filled his mouth.
The taste was so astringent and bitter that his entire tongue felt numb.
Vikir spat out the bean and nodded, seemingly satisfied.
Barrymore nodded as well.
"He really loves chocolate."
Since Hugo had already instructed to provide Vikir with the amount of food he desired within his carrying capacity, there wouldn't be any issue even if they took all these cacao beans.
However, this sack of cacao beans can produce 10,000 liters of chocolate.
Barrymore admired the ambition and wisdom of an eight-year-old. Perhaps Vikir would be able to enjoy his favorite chocolate to his heart's content for his entire life.
"My lord, shall we process this and bring it to your room?"
...However.
Vikir gave an answer that puzzled everyone.
"No need for processing. This is enough as it is."
It seems that it wasn't acquired for his own consumption, after all.
