<Chapter 154>
#17. The Beast God’s Arrangement (6)
Angel kept his mouth tightly shut as he trotted along behind Calix. The moment he set foot in the office, Calix finished the work in a flash with a face that clearly said, “Can’t you even do this?” It was only natural for Angel’s resentment to follow such a display, thinking, “If you could finish it so quickly!!”
After swiftly taking care of the backlog of work, Calix escorted Johaim to another family. During this process, some commotion arose when Johaim somehow ingested poison from who knows where, but Calix handled the situation calmly and efficiently. It was somewhat amusing that someone would attempt suicide in Padrian of all places—the continent’s largest producer of poisonous and medicinal herbs.
“Lord Calix. Will there be any more issues with Johaim Kun Sarvie?”
“What ‘Kun’ are you talking about? The guy has no position to inherit anymore.”
Calix asked with a frown before letting out a short sigh. What Johaim had taken was poison in pill form. Naturally, it would take time to be absorbed by the body, and creating an antidote before that happened wasn’t particularly difficult for Calix.
“There’s always someone who wants to cause trouble somewhere.”
Calix frowned deeply and brushed his hair back. There were certainly people who were wary of Padrian’s growing influence. Quite naturally, this incident had become an opportunity to weed out all suspicious elements. Owen seemed to collapse like a man who’d lost everything when he heard the news that Johaim had attempted suicide after receiving a letter, but their circumstances were none of Calix’s concern.
“The entire Sarvie family will now devote themselves to medical service to pay for their crimes.”
While the word ‘service’ sounded nice, it was ultimately punishment for criminals. They would no longer be able to gain any wealth, power, or even honor. It was the spectacular downfall of the Sarvie family, who had once been the object of admiration due to their medical skills. Angel nodded vaguely at Calix’s words, then narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“…Did you really not know about the poison being brought in?”
Calix turned to look at Angel in response to his question, then smirked and shrugged. This seemed to suggest he definitely did know, making Angel chuckle in understanding. The Sarvie family, who had been protesting that Calix’s measures were too harsh while saving the suicide attempter, had finally quieted down.
“So you knew and let him eat it anyway?”
“Do I need to concern myself with such things? Those Sarvie idiots… As if someone’s death would solve anything. Well, now that there won’t be any more noise, it’s worked out well for me.”
Angel quietly closed his mouth at Calix’s words. Calix had essentially cleaned up the mess created by the Sarvie family, effectively preventing unnecessary rumors. Moreover, although Johaim’s life was saved, his organs were damaged by the poison, so he probably wouldn’t be able to live comfortably as before. Angel decided to stop thinking about it and shook his head lightly from side to side.
“…This is all fine, but what on earth is this?”
Angel narrowed his eyes as he looked at Calix, who appeared to have no intention of discussing the aftermath further. Angel had followed him out because Calix seemed to have urgent business, but in the current situation, his mind was filled with thoughts of “Why did I even come along?”
Calix wasn’t normally fond of shopping. However, Angel’s hands were now completely full, with shopping bag straps densely hanging from them.
“Bribes for the in-laws.”
“Huh…?”
Despite Angel’s deflated response, Calix continued to walk quickly. In his mind were details about “things the family likes” that Melty had openly hinted at. Calix’s lips curled up into a deep smile as he recalled Melty mumbling to himself and even giving him a wink. Calix had quickly realized that Melty’s excuse was just that when he said he wanted to eat cake without specifying which kind.
Of course, that didn’t stop Calix from selecting one of each type of cake from the store Melty had mentioned. Angel clicked his tongue at the extraordinary quantity as he watched what Calix was doing.
“Have you gotten on better terms with the Crosel family?”
In the world, there was such a thing as timing, and from Angel’s objective perspective, the timing of Calix’s meeting with the Crosel family members had been the worst possible. Thanks to Calix’s swift handling, the areas surrounding Padrian remained relatively calm. However, other regions where epidemics had occurred around the same time as in Padrian were experiencing great chaos, including quarantine measures.
The Crosel family members, who had hurriedly headed to Padrian after hearing that their youngest sibling who had moved out to gain worldly experience had set up a household rather than a store, found themselves caught up in unexpected turmoil. If it had been a criminal-like problem, it could have been resolved by simply eliminating the perpetrator, but they too had to be cautious about the epidemic. Especially when they were on their way to see their frail youngest member, they needed to be extremely careful.
By the time they safely arrived at Padrian, they encountered Calix who had just rescued Melty. When they heard that Melty’s condition was serious, Calix lost his reason, and naturally, the Crosel family lost theirs too. For Angel, who had to handle the aftermath on both sides, it was truly a time of utter chaos.
“I’m trying to improve things.”
Calix replied with a sullen face and stacked up the items Melty had specified. Angel, who had passed off the items he could no longer carry to another employee standing behind them, tapped his aching arms with his rolled-up hand.
Looking around, Angel secretly picked up an item he wanted and slipped it in among the pile of things Calix had stacked up for payment. After all his hard work, this much was fair compensation. Nodding his head vigorously in self-satisfaction, Angel looked at Calix’s back as he continued examining items, seemingly intent on emptying the entire store.
Completely unaware of Angel’s little scheme, Calix was carefully selecting items with the utmost attention.
“And who is that for?”
“Melty.”
“…Wouldn’t a ring be better for Melty-ssi?”
“I already have a ring.”
At Calix’s curt response, Angel searched his memory. The first thing that came to mind was Melty’s smooth hand. There was a ring that had been specially ordered when they were in Botenta’s territory. Although he wanted to slip it onto Melty’s finger immediately, he didn’t want to make what was supposedly the most important proposal of his life in someone else’s territory.
As he recalled the image of the alluring hamster aggressively pouncing on him, the corners of his mouth naturally turned upward. He had planned to make a splendid and impressive proposal when Melty came to the mansion, but due to the chaos caused by drought and epidemic, his plans had inevitably been pushed back.
“I haven’t given it yet.”
“…The ring?”
Just from Calix’s words, Angel instinctively sensed that the “ring” he mentioned was different from ordinary ones. Calix glanced at Angel, who was narrowing his eyes and deliberating whether to continue the conversation, and smiled with a refreshed expression.
“Are you… planning to propose?”
“Yes.”
Angel wore a serious expression as he watched Calix boldly reply and complete the payment. The Crosel family had arrived after the series of urgent incidents had been resolved. But Angel had clearly observed how quickly and promptly follow-up measures were completed because of them.
There had been much criticism directed at Calix for not producing a cure and instead shutting himself up in the same room where Melty lay unconscious. And among them, there were certainly extremists who tried to make the situation worse through aggressive actions.
‘But the Crosel family cut them all down…’
Unlike their usual behind-the-scenes operations, this time they moved swiftly and boldly in the open. Thanks to this, even people who hadn’t known much about the Crosel family before were now perfectly aware of them. During the few days Melty was unconscious, there was no disturbance in Padrian, largely due to the Crosel family’s influence. And Angel had been able to witness firsthand just how fearsome they were.
“…Won’t you be… murdered?”
Calix couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Angel’s serious and grave remark. Angel had frozen in place with such a serious expression that Calix thought he might have missed something.
“It’ll be fine.”
“It won’t be fine for me if my source of income disappears.”
Angel retorted with a serious and grave face. Calix raised his right eyebrow in disbelief at his words.
“So you weren’t worried about my life, but about not getting paid?”
“Lord Calix. Why make a fuss over something like this between us? Isn’t honesty better than pretense! It seems more truthful!”
Belatedly realizing what he’d said, Angel hurriedly continued speaking to smooth things over. However, none of the words pouring from his mouth could satisfy Calix. Calix responded with emotionless interjections like “Oh?” while crossing his arms, making Angel realize that none of his words were getting through, and his shoulders drooped.
“Since Lord Calix treats me rather roughly… Actually, I’m a very capable person. I’ve received many offers from other places.”
“And you’re going?”
“…No. Where would I go when no other place could pay me as much as here?”
Angel fidgeted with his fingers and forced a smile while watching Calix’s reaction. Calix let out a hollow laugh at Angel’s awkward smile and left the store, passing by him. The shop owner’s voice boomed behind him, “Please come again!” after having met such a big spender, but Calix didn’t turn around.
“What are you planning to do with all that money you’re saving up?”
“Money is always better the more you have.”
Calix muttered, “That’s true,” in response to Angel’s words. Having never lived in want, it wasn’t something he’d considered, but now he had a reason to care. Calix hummed a tune and then spoke as a thought occurred to him.
“Has the deal with McNeil gone through properly?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, we’re quickly proceeding with the supply of medicine. Other families are helping as well. But since herbs are scarce, it will take some time for the situation to be completely resolved.”
Although Lila McNeil, who had become Melty’s friend during the exchange meeting, didn’t seem particularly trustworthy when Calix thought about her, not many could match the firepower of the McNeil family.
Calix nodded vaguely at Angel’s explanation. When the wedding would be held would depend on Melty’s wishes, but it would be better to have it after the situation had settled somewhat to avoid becoming the subject of gossip. Above all, recalling how happy Melty had been about becoming friends with Lila, he thought it would be good to have many people attend the wedding. Naturally, for that to happen, the continent’s noisy affairs needed to be somewhat resolved.
“Once the epidemic situation calms down, I’m going to start raking in money in earnest, just so you know.”
“Even more than here…?”
Instead of answering Angel’s question, Calix just smirked and raised the corners of his mouth.
“I now have a reason to diligently save money.”
Since Melty’s wish was to earn a lot of money, Calix planned to scrape together as much as possible. A smile formed on Calix’s lips as he imagined Melty’s round eyes widening. He couldn’t fully understand what Melty wanted to do with all that money, but that particular wish was something Calix could fulfill.
Calix urged his horse forward and hastened his steps. Angel scratched his cheek with a puzzled expression as he stared at Calix’s back. He couldn’t even guess what Calix was thinking.
“Oh, and don’t worry about being murdered.”
Angel’s face filled with questions at this seemingly confident reassurance. Calix quietly laughed at Angel’s gaze, mixed with distrust and concern. An image of a person standing proudly with hands on hips and chest thrust forward came to his mind. Just imagining that lovable sight improved Calix’s mood, and he stroked the corner of his upturned mouth with his thumb as he spoke.
“The strongest hamster in the world will protect me.”
