The Strongest in Our Neighborhood - Chapter 48

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Our Neighborhood’s Strongest (48)
“……After moving all the corpses of the Demon Beasts and Demon Creatures, Layla and Cain are destroying the Gate Magic Circle.”
Cain—who had healed himself, chased the high-ranking Demon Race that had opened the gate all the way to the Demonic Realm, killed it, and as a bonus slaughtered hundreds of Demon Beasts and Demon Creatures.
Having heard the messenger’s full report, Count Johanson felt his curiosity about this Cain surge.
“Once the Gate Magic Circle is destroyed, we won’t need to worry about Demon Creatures and Demon Beasts anymore.”
The one who answered the messenger’s report was Johanson’s eldest son, Jaslan.
“Yes, Layla said that I should assure you that you can now rest easy, my lord.”
“Father, I think I should go to the site myself and commend Cain and all those who worked to close the gate.”
“I’ll commend them myself. Come with me.”
“Pardon? You, Father? Your body still seems to trouble you……Will you be all right?”
“I’ve recovered quite well thanks to Pamila’s healing. I’ll be fine.”
“Then I’ll have the Chamberlain prepare a carriage.”
“From here to the Family Burial Ground is but ten minutes’ ride. Have a horse prepared instead—there’s no need for fuss.”
“You can ride safely?”
“Are you treating your father like a worn-out relic? Though I fell under the Demon Race’s treacherous schemes and lost myself for a time, I am still the Border Count who has protected this kingdom from the monsters of the Crerarion Mountain Range.”
As the old vigor radiated from his father’s frame, Jaslan started in surprise.
“My apologies, Father. I’ll have the Chamberlain prepare your horse at once.”
Soon after preparations were made, the Count, his two sons, the High Priestess, and his attendants set out toward the family’s burial ground.
“Not long ago, a dark cloud smothered the sky, and yet now—the moon and stars shine through!”
“Now that the gate is destroyed, the heavens have returned to their proper state.”
“Had we not killed that treacherous Demon Race swiftly, we would not have seen such a sky for some time, would we?”
“Indeed, that would seem to be the case.”
“Jaslan, have you heard? Throughout not just our own kingdom but many others and empires, gates have opened several times—yet never has there been a case where the Demon Race was killed and the gate closed so swiftly as this.”
“I have heard. And that is all thanks to the virtue you’ve accumulated by governing Greywan well……”
“Tsk, spare me the flattery—it’s embarrassing to listen to. Even a three-year-old child would know all of this is due to that Cain fellow’s merit.”
As his father clicked his tongue, Jaslan fell silent with an awkward expression.
Shortly after arriving at the family’s burial ground, they saw knights and soldiers busy clearing the area.
Upon seeing the Count’s arrival, they ceased their work and hastily paid their respects. The Vice-Captain of Knights, mages, Spirit Servants, and priests all rushed forward to greet the Count.
As they bowed and exchanged pleasantries with him, the Count searched for Cain.
“I hear this Cain not only awakened me from the Demon Race’s curse but also killed the very Demon Race that opened the gate. Where is he?”
* * *
‘Giant Saber-Tooth Tiger!’
With his throat severed and his larynx blocked by a stone pebble, rendering him unable to speak, Jakpuri could do nothing but roll his eyes to observe the unfolding situation.
And it was then that he spotted the Giant Saber-Tooth Tiger, a variant of the Saber-Tooth Tiger.
His eyes snapped open in an instant.
As Adrammelech’s subordinate, he possessed the power to enchant monsters and Demon Beasts.
‘I thought I had no path left but to become an experimental subject for some human mage—yet Adrammelech grants me a way to live!’
Jakpuri waited for an opportunity to control the Saber-Tooth Tiger.
As he waited, he saw the human who had severed his throat and the mage were occupied with destroying the gate.
Though a few soldiers stood nearby, they too were distracted by the gate’s destruction and paid no attention to him or the Saber-Tooth Tiger.
Jakpuri seized his chance, wringing out every last scrap of power remaining to him, and called to the Saber-Tooth Tiger.
—Come here.
The Saber-Tooth Tiger cocked its head at the sight of his eyes, then drew near. Jakpuri gave his next command.
—Move me to where my body lies, remove the cloth, and join the severed edges of my neck.
The Saber-Tooth Tiger cocked its head once more, then opened its jaws and seized his head between its fangs.
Crunch.
—Good, well done. Argh! No, you stupid beast! Bite gently! You’re biting too hard!
As sharp fangs pierced his scalp and pressed against his skull, he urgently sent a mental cry.
Crunch-crunch-crunch……
Yet somehow the Saber-Tooth Tiger’s bite did not soften; instead it grew rapidly fiercer. And with that, holes were bored through his skull and fangs drove deep into his brain.
—You mindless fool! I said bite gently……
Stop.
Jakpuri’s desperate mental command simply ceased mid-thought.
Crackle.
The fangs sank ever deeper into his brain, and his skull began to splinter until finally it split clean in two.
Slurp, smack……
Having split the Demon Race’s head with its fangs, the Saber-Tooth Tiger began to ravenously consume the soft brain within.
“Nooooo! You gluttonous pig of a tiger! There’s a mountain of Demon Beast and Demon Creature corpses over there to eat—why would you devour the head of a Demon Race worth a thousand gold!”
Cain, having just finished destroying the Gate Magic Circle, gasped in horror at the sight of the split skull and the Demon Race’s fractured cranium.
The marrow inside the skull had been cleaned out as if by deliberate effort, and the Demon Race’s scalp and facial skin had likewise vanished as though carefully peeled away.
Everything that had vanished had gone into the Saber-Tooth Tiger’s belly.
Kee-eee-ing…….
As the Saber-Tooth Tiger startled and folded its ears flat, crouching down and wagging its tail, a long sigh escaped from Cain’s tightly clenched jaw.
“Layla.”
“Yes, Cain.”
“Saber ate everything except the horns and bones of the Demon Race. We won’t be getting a thousand gold for this, will we?”
“A Demon Race’s body naturally repairs itself over time, but with only the skeleton remaining like this…… it may not be able to recover.”
“So the conclusion is we don’t get the thousand gold?”
“Five hundred gold for the torso, one hundred gold for the skull and horns. That seems to be the standard price.”
“Damn! So this pig just ate four hundred gold worth?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“You pig! This won’t do. I need to beat out that Demonic Energy clogging your belly too. You’re getting a thrashing.”
Kee-eee-ing…….
Sensing danger, the Saber-Tooth Tiger rolled onto its back, exposing its belly, but Cain’s anger showed no sign of abating.
Grab.
Cain seized the Saber-Tooth Tiger by the scruff of its neck and walked, the building-sized creature thrashing and being dragged along.
* * *
“……And so Cain took the Saber-Tooth Tiger to the forest behind the burial ground to discipline it.”
Count Johanson couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Layla’s words.
“So those horns and that cracked skull belong to the Demon Race’s head?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s a Giant Saber-Tooth Tiger, it must be a mutant corrupted by Demonic Energy. What happens when such a mutant consumes a Demon Race, which could be called a lump of Demonic Energy?”
“I also can’t guess what changes might occur. Once Cain brings the Saber-Tooth Tiger back, I’ll examine it.”
“Ah, here it comes now.”
Count Johanson, who had been watching the forest, widened his eyes as the massive Saber-Tooth Tiger emerged from the darkness.
“A Giant Saber-Tooth Tiger! Just seeing it makes my skin prickle…… truly overwhelming in its presence!”
“I’ll go fetch Cain.”
“Do so.”
As the Count nodded, Layla approached Cain quickly and summarized the conversation she’d had with the Count.
Hearing Layla’s words, Cain shrugged and opened his mouth.
“I figured this creature would be affected by the Demon Race it consumed, so I dragged it to the forest and beat out all the Demonic Energy writhing in its belly on the way back.”
“Did you say you beat out the Demonic Energy? How?”
“I packed Spirit Power into my fists and pummeled it until all the Demonic Energy was gone.”
“S-so that Demonic Energy just comes out from being pummeled?”
“Spirit Power purifies Demonic Energy, so of course it comes out.”
“I see. But Cain, you ride the wind and purify Demonic Energy, yet you still haven’t made a contract with a Spirit—why is that?”
“It’s a matter of how I use Spirit Power. In time, I’ll make a contract with a Spirit through hard work. But anyway, why is the Count looking for me?”
“Surely the Count wants to reward you since you accomplished the greatest deed today.”
“Is that so? Well, since the Count’s in his right mind now, he shouldn’t be talking nonsense.”
Cain stopped the Saber-Tooth Tiger at a distance behind him, then approached the Count.
“Count, I’ve brought Cain.”
As Layla reported to the Count, Cain bowed slightly toward him.
“You summoned me? What business do you have with me?”
“You scoundrel! What sort of disrespectful attitude is that toward the Count!”
Before the Count could even open his mouth in response to Cain’s question, the Chamberlain barked out a rebuke.
The guards and other retainers, having already experienced Cain’s martial prowess, said nothing, but the Chamberlain, who knew little of him, stepped forward.
Cain looked at the Chamberlain with a puzzled expression, then opened his mouth.
“I’m not even a citizen of this nation. Why should I show respect to your Count?”
“Even if you’re from another land, once you’ve come to our country, you must show proper respect to the Count.”
“I don’t know what kind of forced logic that is, but since I don’t know whether your Count will become my enemy or ally, I’ll conduct myself properly once that direction is decided.”
“What! Such arrogance…….”
Cain shifted his gaze from the Chamberlain to the Count and cut him short.
“Count, how long will you let your subordinate press this nonsense on me?”
“Did you just say you don’t know whether I’ll become your enemy or ally?”
When the Count spoke, the Chamberlain, who had been reddening with indignation, fell silent.
Cain continued.
“I captured the high-ranking Demon Race that opened the Gate and removed the Demonic Energy from your body, but I didn’t do it because I favored you. Truth be told, because of Sentron Mine, you and I are on uncomfortable terms, and we may yet have to fight for our lives.”
“Sentron Mine! Ah, now I remember. Baron Daparon of Diaran did approach me asking for help, saying he was robbed of his stake in Sentron Mine by you. So you’re the Master-Class powerhouse who defeated both Layla and Leodson.”
“That’s right—I beat them both.”
“While Sentron Mine is indeed tempting, the favor you’ve done me is far greater, so I shall yield all my shares in Sentron Mine to you.”
When the Count yielded his stake in Sentron Mine without hesitation, Cain was taken aback.
With such a generous concession, there was no need to continue treating him as an adversary or remain antagonistic.
“I must say, Count, your generosity in relinquishing your share of the mine has put my mind considerably at ease. However, what I seek from you extends beyond Sentron Mine alone.”
“What else do you want?”
“Many mercenaries and hunters prey upon the minority tribes and slash-and-burn farmers living in the Crerarion Mountain Range, capturing them and selling them to slave traders. I ask that you issue a decree forbidding such practices within your territory.”
“Forbidding such acts would contradict kingdom law, and even if I were to issue such a decree, I doubt the mercenaries and hunters would obey it.”
Cain noticed the Count’s response resembled what the two barons had said in their earlier conversation, and he furrowed his brow as he attempted to persuade him using the same arguments he’d made then.
The Count fell silent for a long while before finally speaking.
“What if I recognize the Crerarion Mountain Range as your domain instead? You would become the lord of that territory.”
“A, a lord?”
Cain’s face went blank at the Count’s wholly unexpected proposal.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————