Many hours later, when the sun rose over the empty village, the pile of ashes in its center rustled as something moved.
Like a pitiful version of the Phoenix rising from the ashes, a terribly burnt person crawled out.
"...Medea... kill.. I'll kill you... I'll kill y...!"
*bump*
The human charcoal growled in a barely recognizable voice as it opened its barely functioning eyes – until it touched something on its way out.
"...h-huh...?"
The burnt human let out a shocked voice and strained their neck to look up...
If they could see anything besides vague shapes, they would recognize the very black-haired man they were cursing.
"Aww~! Roasted potato man wants revenge~! How cute~!"
"!!!"
Medea fawned over the fire survivor, and the sound and meaning of his words seemed to reach the burnt person as they flinched and trembled.
"...y... you...!"
"Me~!"
They gasped, and Medea cheered back with a wide smile, raising his foot over their head...
*SQUELCH*
...and bringing his heel down, causing his victim's head to break apart and having its content spill out like the yolk of a half-boiled egg.
"Nnnnnngh~! It was worth the wait, don't you think, Cow?"
Medea stretched and asked in a refreshed voice, looking towards the approaching horse with a rather ugly hide.
"Pshh!"
The animal scoffed, clearly displeased with the smell of the area.
"I know, I know. We're getting out of here. Do you think you will be able to catch up to my Zorivia's carriage? I bet that would impress that one mare."
"PSHH!"
Medea waved his hand dismissively and approached the horse, asking it and receiving a confident scoff in response.
"Prove yourself then."
The black-haired man nodded his head and said with a serious expression while patting the horse's neck.
------------------
"...what...?"
Earl Alexander Rotteloss let out a small gasp, staring at the bald snake-like man sitting in a chair across his desk.
The head of the Rotteloss family was in the middle of an important shady business discussion when his guest dropped a name that the middle-aged man had never even considered.
"What's with that expression? It doesn't fit someone in the position of an Earl."
The snake-like man slithered on the chair and snickered at the confused aristocrat.
"There must have been some sort of misunderstanding. There is no way that..."
"Young lady Zorivia is an extremely generous sponsor reaching back to the times of Foul Reaper epidemy. Honestly, there is nothing to be surprised about."
Alexander shook his head and tried to laugh off the snake-like man's words but was interrupted with a cold hiss.
"No. That's what I am talking about! She didn't do a thing! She wasted an opportunity and was tricked into giving out a precious medicine for free!"
The Earl felt a chill running down his spine, and he immediately refuted the snake-like mna's words.
"She got tricked by some mere hoodlums and...!"
"...and you couldn't take any money away from her...?"
Alexander called out but was interrupted yet again by the increasingly mocking voice of his conversation partner.
"...!"
As the realization fell upon the head of the Rotteloss family, his eyes bulged out like that of a crushed frog, and the words got stuck in his mouth.
"I swear, dear Earl, the way you don't want to acknowledge such simple facts makes it all sound as if you didn't treat your daughter with the respect she deserved! Shashasha~! What are you so afraid of? It's not like you hit her in a fit of anger or treated her badly enough to create a grudge... did you...?"
"!!!"
The bald man rolled his eyes and let out a peculiar laughter while keenly observing the worsening expression on the aristocrat's face.
"...I see..."
The snake-like man furrowed his brows and leaned forward only to stand up and stare the Earl down.
"It seems that we shouldn't talk until things are clear. I'll be on my way then, dear Earl."
The bald man nodded his head lightly at the defeated aristocrat and walked himself to the office's door.
"W-wait! Mister Nag!"
Alexander shook off the shock and jumped to his feet, reaching his hand after the leaving man.
"Dear Earl. You are clearly shaken. Why don't you have a talk with your daughter? If you are so doubtful of my words and, therefore, of her, just ask her about the shadow-guard-level bodyguard she keeps by her side at any given moment. You didn't hire them for her, after all."
"?!?!"
Nag sighed with his hand on the door handle and declared, taking a single cold glance over his shoulder, before leaving the wide-eyed head of the Rotteloss family wide-eyed.
As the snake-like man left, the Earl slowly sat down and sunk into his armchair, clenching his trembling fists.
"Master...?"
A few moments later, after hesitantly knocking on the door, the one-armed head butler entered the office and called out.
"...Master, how did the talk with the... representative of the back alley go?
Kenneth's voice was hesitant, seeing the lack of reaction from his employer.
"Were we... refused cooperation...?"
The one-armed servant gulped down his saliva nervously and tried to guess the reason for his master's behavior.
"...just in case... just in case, survey all the servants and find out what they think about my daughter..."
"...your... your daughter, Master...?"
The Earl's shoulders trembled, and he had to take a few deep breaths before voicing a command that took his trusted servant by surprise.
"Yes. Make it seem trivial without raising any suspicion."
Alexander nodded his head without even looking up at the confused Kenneth.
"Master... what does it have to do with anything...?"
The one-armed servant asked, taken aback by the bizarre behavior of the man he served almost his entire life.
"Do I pay you for questioning me? Go. I want you to report back to me before my daughter returns!"
*wham*
But if Kenneth expected a calm reaction, he could not be more wrong as the angry response he was given was followed by the Earl slamming his fist against the desk.
"Y-yes, master! I'll see to it immediately!"
Kenneth flinched in surprise and hurriedly backed off the room as the head of the Rotteloss family turned towards the window and stared into the distance, biting his lips from unease.