Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 22

Chapter 22:

Bright Blue Skies 

WE WERE ON THE ROAD back to Seifort. I sat facing Lady Roxy, fighting desperately to suppress the throbbing pain of Gluttony’s thirst for souls. A cold sweat bathed my skin. One small slip, and Gluttony might devour my mind. It was exactly as Greed had predicted. 

Lady Roxy and I arrived at the kingdom at sunset. One of the castle’s servants was waiting for her when we reached the manor, so she left immediately. There was never any rest for a holy knight from one of the five esteemed families. 

For myself, I was swept up by the gardeners of Hart Manor. They wanted to know everything about the Hart estate’s grounds, right down to the roots of its plants. It struck me then that the gardeners at the manor and the estate saw each other as rivals. I told them the estate’s gardens were immaculate, particularly the view from Lady Aisha’s room. 

“Those guys are always so meticulous,” the gardeners said, earnestly praising their competitors. 

As it was already past sundown, my gardening duties wouldn’t resume until the following day. Once we debriefed, the gardeners and I ate dinner together and crowded into the bath. 

As we soaked, one of them turned to me. “You know, I think it’s about time we taught you how to prune the trees. What do you think? Want to give it a shot?” 

“Really?!” 

“Fate, my boy, you’re a hard worker. We’re all in agreement that it’s worth teaching you.” 

“Thank you!” 

The gardeners had been thinking of me while I was away at the estate. They’d said before they were getting older and wanted to train a successor. Now, that successor was me. It was such an honor. I was so joyful that when I scrubbed one old gardener’s back, I put a little too much strength into it, and he snapped at me. 

“Ouch! Hey, easy there, Fate! I’m not getting any younger!” 

“Sorry!” 

Because my stats were so high compared to these common folk, I tried to be careful, but the gardeners’ compliment made me accidentally let out too much power. I had to be more vigilant. You could moderate stat effects on the body through willpower. Without rigid mental control, holy knights would kill people regularly on account of their high stats. 

Now that I had consumed the crowned kobold, I was stronger than a rookie holy knight, so I had to start thinking about training to control my stats. Then again, each time I upgraded Greed, it was always going to send me back to square one. In any case, as long as I had Gluttony, I couldn’t avoid sudden fluctuations in my stat levels. Washing the old gardener’s back was a good chance to practice. 

“Ouch! What’re you doing back there?!” 

“Oh, sorry!” 

“I’m just a little old man, Fate. Be more attentive, would you?” 

With each slip in concentration, I lost control of my stats. It was going to be a while before doing so became second nature. 

*** 

In the dead of night, I donned my skull mask and went out as I always did to where the goblins roamed. That night, I headed to Hobgoblin Forest. I had fasted at the Hart estate for two days, and Gluttony craved sustenance. 

Even in the murky darkness of the forest, the hobgoblins were easy to spot with my Night Vision. I spared none on my hunt, not even those sleeping amongst the roots of the trees. 

Gluttony skill activated. Stats increased: Vitality +440, Strength +220, Magic +110, Spirit +110, Agility +110 

I heard that metallic voice countless times, but the hunger remained. I was at the limit for goblins and hobgoblins. Until recently, goblin hunting had been enough to satiate my Gluttony, but I had an idea of what was happening. 

Greed made it clear. “Gluttony knows the taste of a crowned beast now,” he said. “It won’t be satisfied by anything less.” 

“But I won’t get hungrier than this if I keep hunting, right…?” 

“Fate, of course it’s going to get worse. You know this better than anyone.” 

I should never have fed Gluttony something as delicious as a crowned monster. If I’d known this was going to happen, I would have fed it a full course of goblins instead. However, there had been no avoiding the crowned kobold. If I’d done nothing, it would have wrought havoc on the Hart family estate. I was glad to have killed it, but now I was stuck with an entirely new predicament. 

“Ugh…my right eye is burning.” 

It happened just after I killed my tenth hobgoblin. I looked at myself in the blade of the black sword, and saw it in the reflection of the skull mask that stared back at me. 

“It’s just like you said, Greed… It’s getting worse.” 

“I told you. It comes out most clearly in the eyes.” 

In the blade of the black sword, a bright-red eye stared back at me. My left eye was black, but my right had turned so red it was repulsive. This color meant only one thing… 

“Gluttony is starved,” Greed said. “It is only a matter of time.” 

I could feel it, too. It wouldn’t be long before the monsters near the kingdom—goblins—would no longer sustain my Gluttony. And the Gluttony that crawled within me…it would not wait. 

“It’s time to go, Fate. The time you knew would come…it’s here. And you don’t have long.” 

“What time is that?” I knew the answer, but I turned the question back on Greed. 

“The time to decide your future.” 

I said nothing and headed back to the kingdom. I encountered several adventurers along the way, but paid no mind to any of them. 

Nevertheless, they all cried out the same thing as they saw me and ran. “The lich has returned! The Corpse is back! Run, everybody!” 

I walked through the empty plains of the Goblin Grasslands and removed the skull mask. 

“It’s quiet,” I said. 

“And so very, very lonely.” 

“Shut up.” 

I pressed toward the kingdom through the winds that swept over the grasslands. 

The next day, I wrapped a bandage around my red eye to hide it. I told the other servants I had hurt it while half-asleep. I couldn’t tell if the gardeners were worried or angry. “How are you going to prune if you can’t concentrate?” they said, but I was fairly certain they were concerned more than anything. 

“It’s okay. I can do it with my good eye,” I said. 

“Well, do what you can, but don’t push it, okay?” 

As promised, they let me prune the garden’s trees. To begin, the old gardener stayed by my side, teaching me as we went. Eventually, we got through one tree. 

“How’s that?” I asked. 

“You’re getting there,” he said. “Now, do the one over there just like this one. I have work of my own to get to.” 

“Uh…you mean, do it by myself…?” 

“What’s the problem? If you don’t know what to do, you come find me, okay?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

The old gardener was the type who preferred practical experience to explanations. There was nothing for me to do but get to it. 

I took the pruning shears in hand and headed to the tree the old gardener had pointed to when I noticed Lady Roxy equipped in her white light armor. It looked as if she had just come back from the castle. Usually she went straight into the manor upon her return, but today was different. I was curious; where was she going? 

I followed her and was about to raise my voice and call out…but felt suddenly unable to. Lady Roxy knelt before her father’s grave, a heavy look upon her face like none I had ever seen her wear. It was the face of one about to go into battle. After saying something to the grave, Lady Roxy stood, turned toward the manor…and found me watching her. I’d been staring so intently, I didn’t even think to hide. 

“Fay, what are you doing here…? Did something happen to your eye? Are you hurt?” 

I put on an air of calm and showed Lady Roxy my gardening shears. 

“I, uh…I was half-asleep, and I bumped it somehow. But starting today, I’m allowed to prune the garden’s trees. So uh…I guess I’ll prune this tree right here.” 

I put my hand on the tree next to me, even though it was actually entirely different from the one the gardener told me to work on. 

“But…Lady Roxy,” I said. “Is something wrong? You don’t look like yourself today.” 

I asked the question with some apprehension. Had something happened at the castle? As I spoke, however, the expression I had seen at her father’s grave vanished, and the Lady Roxy I knew returned. 

“It’s nothing,” she said. “But if I were you, I’d worry a little more about pruning before someone scolds you.” 

Lady Roxy pointed at the glaring figure of the old gardener, his arms crossed. I knew exactly what that gaze said. Not that tree, numbskull, the one over there! 

Lady Roxy used the opportunity to slip away toward the manor. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but as I watched her walk away, I was left with an ominous feeling. It stood in contrast to the cloudless sky, which was clear and beautiful. 

Once my duties were complete, I was free until my evening hunt, so I went to the local bar. When I got there, I heard the news I had been aching for. The barkeep told me as he brought my meal to the counter. 

At long last, Hado Vlerick was heading to Hobgoblin Forest to hunt and kill the newly returned lich. And he was headed there tonight. 

A holy knight just like Lady Roxy was coming to my hunting ground. My turf . 

Hado had to have information. He had to know something about that odd shop in the Merchant District. If the Vlerick family had done something foul, I would pull it out of him. But this was also personal. I had a score to settle with Hado. A big one. 

I downed the last of the wine in my glass and stood from my seat.