Beastification occurs in three major stages.
1st Stage: Animalistic strength begins to take root in the human body. This is a relatively benign stage where one uses the beast's power as a tool while remaining human.
2nd Stage: Animal instincts start to overtake rational thought. One loses language skills and starts to act half-like a beast. Although a shred of human identity remains, the boundary becomes blurred.
3rd Stage: One becomes a complete beast. Losing all human reason and normal thought, one turns into a monster thirsting for violence.
If you reach the 3rd Stage, you can never return to being human.
And Lucas had come close to the brink of the 2nd Stage this time.
Just half a step further, and he would have been no different from the werewolf legion we had just slain.
If that had happened...
I might have had to kill Lucas with my own hands.
"Do you know how many days it took for Karma Eater to stabilize your beastly tendencies this time?"
His face, flushed red from the slap, was downcast, still chained as he was.
Lucas was swallowing my abuse with a defeated, dog-like attitude.
"A week, a whole week! Do you realize how far gone you were?"
"I'm sorry, my lord."
"Sorry? You think 'sorry' solves everything, you fuck?"
I growled as I rolled up my sleeves.
"What was the order I gave you this time? Tell me."
"..."
"Speak!"
"To defend the southern walls... You transferred command authority to me."
"And what did you do?"
"I left the walls to charge into enemy lines."
"And?"
"I used Beastification."
"And!"
"I lost my reason. By the end of the battle, I had no memory of what happened."
Whack!
I slapped Lucas's opposite cheek. Lucas gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.
"There are three reasons you're getting hit by me right now. First, you ignored my order not to use Beastification."
"I'm sorry, my lord."
"Second, you disregarded your command authority and fought like a mad dog in the middle of enemy lines. Do you know what the third reason is?"
"I don't know."
"It's because you don't value yourself at all, you fucking idiot!"
Whack!
I slapped the same cheek again. This time, blood spurted from his nose, dribbling down.
"Turning into a beast! Charging alone into enemy lines! Both are suicidal acts! All you're doing is chewing away at your own life and making yourself fodder! Why the hell are you doing this?!"
"..."
"Do you have some trivial sense of heroism? Do you feel some kind of catharsis by risking your life and sacrificing yourself each time we win a battle? Huh?"
"..."
"If you understood the weight of the role you hold in this battlefront! You can't be like this! Why the hell don't you listen, you fuck?"
Lucas, who had been silently absorbing my words, finally opened his mouth.
"But, my lord, you also..."
"What?"
"You're the supreme commander, and yet... you're on the front lines too."
"..."
"Even you, my lord, always risk your life in battles. Every time, every single time. Always..."
My words briefly trailed off, and I found myself speaking almost absurdly.
"Hey, I am...!"
I am...
...
Is it really okay for me to...?
I opened my mouth, but the words just wouldn't come out. Stammering, I finally shut my mouth.
Suddenly, I remembered something Evangeline once told me.
- You really don't take care of yourself, Senior.
- I've felt it for a long time, but you have very little instinct for self-preservation. It's entirely unusual for a frontline commander to fight on the front lines himself.
- You're too willing to throw yourself into battle. As if...
- As if your life doesn't matter.
"..."
Maybe she was right.
I might still be treating this battlefield as though it were part of a game. That's why I am risking even my own life like a chess piece.
Perhaps Lucas was just... mimicking me. Who knows?
'Ah.'
I finally realized it.
All the words I had spat out at Lucas could also apply to me.
It was as though I was cursing at a reflection of myself.
"... Sigh..."
I clenched my forehead and let out a long sigh.
Pushing my disheveled hair back, I coldly said,
"Beastification is permanently sealed. Never use it again."
Raising my finger, I warned him by pushing it close to his bleeding nose.
"If I catch you using it one more time, I'll kill you for true insubordination. Got it?"
"Yes, my lord."
"..."
Looking at Lucas, whose lips and nose were covered in blood, a wave of guilt washed over me.
But if I hadn't gone to these lengths, he would never have stopped using beastification. I had to be firm.
'Pot calling the kettle black, huh?'
A sardonic smile crept upon my face as I confronted my own contradictions. I sighed again and gestured to the guards who had come in.
They began to unlock the chains binding Lucas.
Staggering, Lucas was set free, and I nodded for him to leave.
"You've been through a lot. Go get treated at the temple and rest."
"Yes, my lord..."
With a bow, Lucas exited the dungeon, his head lowered as he limped away.
"...Phew."
I looked at the spots of Lucas's blood on the floor before also stepping out of the dungeon. Aider was waiting for me at the entrance.
He handed me a towel, and I hastily wiped off my blood-stained hands.
"I wish people wouldn't risk their lives."
Watching Lucas's receding figure as he was taken to the temple, I mumbled, and Aider smiled gently.
"But the battles we've been in required risking our lives, didn't they?"
"I know. Still, I wish they didn't have to. If someone feels their life is in danger, I'd prefer they retreat."
Staring at the blood stains on the towel, I muttered,
"I wish my comrades wouldn't get hurt. I wish nobody would die."
"..."
"I get it. It's like the whining of a child. Nonsense, really. But still."
I thought about my living party members, and those who were already dead and buried.
Stage 10.
How many people had recklessly thrown their lives away to get us here?
"I don't want to lose anyone else..."
"..."
"Every time someone dies, it hurts. I thought I'd get used to it, but I haven't. Every single time, it feels like my insides are being skewered with a red-hot fork."
"Don't forget that pain, My Lord," Aider calmly whispered to me as I clenched my upset stomach.
"The moment that feeling dulls and numbs, the moment people's deaths become just numbers... you will become something else entirely."
"..."
For now, the pain was still vivid.
Maybe that's why I reacted so strongly.
Because Lucas, the protagonist of this game and my precious comrade, kept fighting recklessly without taking care of himself. I wanted to stop him.
But perhaps...
Perhaps my comrades had been feeling the same way about me for a long time.
I tightly closed my lips and continued to wipe the blood on my hands. But it wouldn't come off cleanly.
'...I'll never resort to corporal punishment again.'
I felt terrible.
Except when casting buffs with my [Maestro] staff, I should never use corporal punishment again...
***
A few more days passed.
Autumn had fully ripened, the mountain trees had completely turned to fall colors, and the distant fields of neighboring cities were tinged in gold.
The sky was high and blue, devoid of clouds. It was a refreshing autumn day.
Life began to return to Crossroad, which had been quiet since the last defensive battle. Buildings were draped in various fabrics, and street vendors set up shop.
It seemed like a festive atmosphere. Was it just because it was fall?
"An autumn festival?"
It turned out there was an upcoming festival.
"Yes! It's time to harvest the year's crops, isn't it? It's a national day of celebration. Though our city is not much into farming... everyone needs to eat and have fun after working hard all year!"
In the Lord's office, Evangeline explained in her bubbly voice. I made a noise of acknowledgement.
So it was like a Harvest Moon Festival or Thanksgiving. Harvest festivals seemed to be a universal culture, no matter the world.
'Come to think of it, there was an autumn festival event in the game every year.'
It was just a brief mention that boosted mercenaries' morale by +5 or so, barely noticeable. But experiencing it firsthand felt like a major event.
"What's the vibe of Crossroad's autumn festival?"
"Oh, what can a rural festival offer? Vendors sell skewers, and every household brings out homemade liquor to share..."
Evangeline shrugged.
"There's usually a simple martial arts tournament."
"...A what now?"
A martial arts tournament?
"And maybe a dance festival?"
"...What kind of festival?"
A dance festival?
At that, Evangeline energetically waved her hands.
"Kid, it's not as grand as you might be thinking. It's really just a tiny, rural area."
"Hmm..."
Even so, upon hearing those words, a flash of inspiration swept through my mind as a city lord.
'Festival... Martial Arts Tournament... Dance Festival...'
...Isn't this a tourist attraction?
If I just slap on 'Festival' or 'Event' tags and promote it well, tourists will flock like hyenas.
The 'Crossroad Tourist City Plan,' which I had put on hold, came to mind.
I'd been itching to build a luxury hotel with a casino.
'Come to think of it, the architect from the Imperial Capital still hasn't arrived.'
The architect to design the hotel. And the distribution of magical stones accumulating in Crossroad.
Both were supposed to be handled by the Merchant Guild of Silver Winter. Still, no word.
Well, it's understandable given the distance; it will take some time. But when will they arrive...
...That's when it happened.
"Lordddd~!"
Aider quickly approached. When I looked to see why, he said,
"A guest has arrived from the Imperial Capital!"
"...!"
Speak of the devil!
I swiftly grabbed my coat and headed outside. Aider and Evangeline followed suit.
Upon arriving at the north gate by carriage, the streets were already buzzing with citizens who had come to gawk.
And through the wide-open north gate,
As if some parade was happening, an endless stream of opulent and sophisticated wagons was entering.
It was the wagons of the Merchant Guild of Silver Winter.
"Wow... What is this? What's going on?"
Evangeline's mouth fell open as she gazed at the procession. I also whistled. Seriously, Silver Winter!
"Your Highness!"
Then, from the front of the parade, a familiar voice rang out.
Looking in that direction, a woman with vivid aqua-colored hair, billowing in the wind and dressed in an elegant suit, came into view.
Under the bright autumn sun, her silver eyes were striking.
She was energetically waving her arm at me. Her slender and pale arm shimmered against the backdrop of the blue sky like a painting.
I warmly smiled and uttered her name.
"...Serenade."
The owner of the Merchant Guild of Silver Winter.
My business & dance partner who had weathered hardships with me in the Imperial Capital.
Serenade Winter had arrived in Crossroad.