Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Little Swan That Stamped Its Feet in Anger
The two people speaking exchanged glances.
Louis looked a bit bewildered and tentatively asked:
"Olivia, why did you buy so many slimes?"
The tuft of hair on the little swan’s head stood upright.
She couldn’t possibly tell others she could foresee the future, could she?
So she put her hands on her hips and said aggressively:
"Preparing for your princely trial, I discovered this guy (referring to Snow) engaging in collusion, and I felt something bad was going to happen, so I used my pocket money to purchase a batch of slimes in advance, just in case. Any problem with that?"
She spoke with an incredibly proud expression.
Seeing the astonished looks in the gazes of Louis and Marquis York’s group, the little swan couldn’t help but lift her adorable little nose.
"I feel so refreshed, what’s happening?"
In the moment, the little swan lost herself in her pride, and explained her plan with great detail and confidence.
This was a conclusion she reached using her clever brain... without a doubt, it wasn’t.
Now appearing is the little swan’s strongest form—after-the-fact know-it-all.
In other words, reversing cause and effect.
Having known the premise and conclusion, she directly deduced the intermediate process.
But this didn’t stop everyone from holding her in high regard, no one knew she was reborn.
So much so that the looks from everyone changed gradually to one of awe.
Marquis York couldn’t help but praise:
"Truly one who carries the noble bloodline of royalty, your wisdom is no less than that of Lady Beatrice."
After pausing for a moment, Marquis York looked at Louis with a more intricate gaze:
"His Highness Louis, too, must have foreseen the insider’s plot early on, otherwise he wouldn’t have directly exposed the iron curtain."
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Louis once again.
Indeed.
To put it plainly, His Highness Louis acted without hesitation a moment ago, immediately uncovering the iron curtain hidden within the processing plant.
Louis turned to Factory Director Snow and said:
"Let me guess, you probably didn’t tell anyone about wanting to blow up the magic waste pile, right?
After all, if someone left before the explosion, it would be too suspicious.
So your original plan was to leave some people in the factory, and then blow them up along with the processing plant.
At that point, there would be no remains, old equipment gone, and if controlled well, you could leverage other nobles’ power to protect your position and re-procure materials.
And then you could embezzle more money, right?"
Snow’s body shook slightly, suddenly, with his head lowered, he abruptly looked up, breaking free from the Secret Guard, pulled out a dagger from inside his clothes, and threw a magic crystal stone at the old marquis.
A flash of light, the magic from the magic crystal stone was released, the old marquis instinctively paused for a moment, and Snow was already rushing towards the little swan.
He intended to kidnap this frail princess and escape the Imperial Capital.
But, in the next instant, his body flew into the air.
Standing aside, Louis delivered a fierce whip kick at Snow.
Marquis York, who had raised his cane, slowly lowered it, looking with interest at Snow as Louis kicked him five or six meters away, stumbling and hanging onto a nearby wall for half a second.
"Jino’s brute’s breathing technique? He’s only just been entrusted a few days ago, has he learned it so quickly?"
Louis didn’t hesitate for a moment, with his right fist clenched tightly, feeling the blood in his entire body boiling.
Two lives.
He rarely fought.
You could say this was the only time Louis actively engaged in combat.
Snow had a professional level, a level 4 warrior, much higher than Louis.
But perhaps his years of indulgence left him plump, his reaction speed wasn’t up to par with Louis.
Once Louis started, the defensive and countering techniques carved into his mind were unleashed in full force.
Right hook.
Pull down to break defense.
Bent elbow strike.
Feint hook.
Forward step.
...
Completely different from the solo practice feeling from before.
It’s said that possessing a sharp weapon incites the desire to kill, every punch landing on Snow pressed the fat out into fist marks.
"Want to die? I’ll send you on your way!"
Snow, with his front teeth knocked out, his eyes went red.
Louis also noticed his own breaths becoming disordered.
Just within this short time, he felt the thumping of his heart in his chest growing loud.
He licked his dry lips, but a dazzling smile appeared on his face:
"I’m waiting for the poison to take effect, what are you waiting for? Waiting to die?"
Yes, Louis had used the skill [Venom Synthesis] at the first moment of attack.
Me, with succubus bloodline, using some poison seems reasonable, right!
Snow widened his eyes.
In such a brief moment, he felt the paralysis poison already beginning to take effect.
"Ah!"
Realizing he was played, he charged directly at Louis.
But this time, Louis didn’t dodge.
The succubus tail spread open, revealing sharp fangs within, accompanied by the flickering of magic light at the tail tip, a path of slime appeared on the ground instantly.
Pseudo-magic—Greasy Spell.
Snow, rushing forward, fell headfirst, slid with a style like swans landing on mud towards Louis, only to be caught by him, pulling and twisting, followed by a knee strike.
Bang...
Upon landing again, Snow was already thrown to the corner of the wall, unconscious, leaving only his feet twitching.
Everything calmed down again.
The little swan finally reacted, stomped her feet in anger, looking at Louis, then quietly turned her head away:
"He can’t hurt me anyway..."
But after hesitating, she softly added: "But as a lady, thank you for earlier."
Marquis York glanced at Louis and said: "His Highness Louis, that was too much of a risk."
Louis shook his hands, only realizing that with just those short few moves, his body was covered in a light sweat.
It wasn’t until he took several deep breaths that his restless heart gradually calmed down and resumed a steady rhythm:
"Regardless, recklessness is closer to bravery than cowardice."
Marquis York looked at Louis with even softer eyes.
"No wonder Lady Beatrice chose him..."
As for the truth...
"Damn it, making me feel so mixed up honestly has your part."
When it dawned on him, he’d already charged ahead.
Retreating now would seem inappropriate.
Moreover, thinking about how Snow, this despicable person, personally pushed forwards to cause the big explosion that ended his wife’s life, he felt even angrier.
Old and new grudges mixed, how frustrating, what to do?
Then just hit!
Besides...
"Besides, isn’t Marquis York watching over us from the side?
If I don’t dare act when it’s so safe, am I waiting until the enemy truly reaches me before finding courage?"
Offhandedly, he provided a step up for Marquis York.
Marquis York, leaning on his cane, laughed aloud.
This honorary prince, truly intriguing!
...
The Secret Guard quickly took the unconscious Snow away along with several managers who were suspected of collaborating with Snow.
Next, they needed to consider how to handle these magic wastes.
The little swan notified head maid Lumi, Lumira brought the first batch of shipment carts, carrying tens of thousands of slimes.
However, upon trying, everyone’s brows furrowed even deeper.
While ordinary household waste was swiftly processed by the slimes,
when facing highly polluted magic waste, slimes often uncontrollably absorbed too much of the magic waste, leading to direct death.
Occasionally, a few slimes barely managed to digest it, but it took a considerable amount of time to assimilate.
In short, it was inefficient.
Louis, however, had a bit of a pleasant surprise.
His magic pet slime, due to certain impishness, now called the magical creature Limuru, demonstrated an astonishing "appetite" on site.
Ordinary household waste aside.
As for the magic waste, it was one of the few that could directly devour and rapidly absorb magic waste.
The rate of absorption was over a hundred times faster than common slimes.
—This speed even surpassed the speed recorded in diaries about slimes.
It seemed it was due to the unique bonus of [Greedy Minion]?
Olivia looked at Louis curiously.
"Is it the special slime from the previous life? Seems incorrect, that slime was silver-colored, mismatched with this black-and-red patterned slime..."
"Furthermore, its digestion rate seems even more dreadful than that slime in memory, is it a coincidence?"
"Could he possibly..."?
The little swan paused her breath momentarily.
Indeed, she ought to verify it.