TPA 10

Chapter 10

The Gourmet’s Table (5)

Even from a distance, the stench of blood was unmistakable.

And yet, in stark contrast, the lord’s appearance was immaculate—neat, refined, without even the smallest trace of blood on him.

“There’s a disgusting stench of blood pouring off that man.”

“Blood?”

Ul looked at Misa with puzzled eyes.

The smell emanating from the lord was far too faint for a human’s sense of smell to detect.

And they weren’t even close to him—yet she could still sense it?

Is this some physical reaction caused by the pheromones I injected before?

Ul wondered if it might be a side effect of the pheromones he had once given her.

“You were right. That man is definitely a beast-person.”

The body odor drifting from the lord carried a subtle mixture of blood scents from many people.

Judging by how strong the smell of a child’s blood was, it seemed he had finished eating not long ago.

Those who couldn’t smell it had no way of knowing.

The crowd cheered at the lord’s appearance, bowing their heads in reverence.

Watching him smile brightly at them, showing his pristine white teeth, Misa felt nothing but revulsion.

Yes.

He was a monster.

“Don’t shake. Stay calm.”

“I can’t believe this. I just don’t understand—how can they bow down and shower praise on a beast-person like that?”

“Just as you said, it’s a trust built over a long time. He must’ve worked tirelessly to earn their favor. Who would ever imagine he’s a brutal beast-person?”

The people likely had no idea how serious this truly was.

They feared beast-people who roamed the streets killing indiscriminately—but they didn’t fear those who lived among humans, masquerading as one of them.

Because they couldn’t even imagine such a thing.

Though Ul said the history of beast-people was long, humanity had only learned of their existence relatively recently.

Only after beast-person territories expanded and clashed with human lands did people begin to realize they existed at all.

That was how little humans knew.

But beast-people knew much more.

They had been observing humans for a very long time.

“A beast-person ruling as a lord… how horrifying is that? That means there might be more like him.”

“Far more than you think are probably already rooted deep within human society.”

It was a catastrophe.

A disaster so great it could collapse the world itself.

Honestly, it might be better if there were hundreds or thousands of beast-people running wild in the streets, killing out of pure instinct.

At least those could simply be killed.

They were simple.

And limited.

They might cause social unrest, but they couldn’t shake society at its foundation.

But these ones quietly infiltrated society’s roots and eroded it from within.

That was true calamity.

“He looked this way.”

At Ul’s murmur, Misa snapped out of her thoughts and lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

Amid the bustling crowd, the lord was staring directly at Misa and Ul.

A subtle unease flickered in his gaze—curiosity toward unfamiliar outsiders mixed with wariness toward his own kind.

However, his stare didn’t linger. Soon, his gaze moved on, and he resumed his benevolent demeanor toward the crowd.

“Do you think he recognized you?”

“We’re the same kind. Of course he did.”

With a faint chuckle, Ul set Misa down.

“He may look calm, but he’s probably irritated. Our presence bothers him.”

“What if he figures out our goal?”

“He’ll either try to kill us—or slaughter all the children in the castle to erase the evidence.”

They had to extract the children first.

And then, they would take the head of that man pretending to be human while ruling as a lord.

There was no benefit in letting him live.

“That one’s far more dangerous than you think. He’s on a completely different level from anything you’ve encountered before.”

“Even compared to you?”

Ul frowned.

“Don’t compare me to something like that.”

“So you’re saying you’re stronger?”

“….”

“Then that’s fine. Since we’re bound by contract anyway, I plan to make full use of you.”

Why did her rude words—spoken by someone so young—fail to irritate him?

Perhaps because there was no malice behind them.

Ul snorted softly.

“You should be honored you met me.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m expensive.”

“Oh my, how honored I am. Let’s see if you’re worth that price.”

Misa laughed and gestured for them to move.

The sun was beginning to set.

The time to infiltrate the castle was drawing closer.

The event concluded without incident.

Though the people continued to show blind devotion toward him, discomfort lingered on Epicure’s face.

Rashur, who stood beside him, asked quietly,

“You don’t look well.”

“I saw something irritating.”

“Irritating?”

“A wolf—and a human woman.”

Beast-people marked their territory with pheromones.

Epicure was no exception. His pheromones permeated the entire territory, preventing most intruders from even approaching.

“For them to enter my land without issue, they’re no ordinary ones. But I’ve never seen that wolf before.”

All twelve of the so-called Perfect Creations knew each other and gathered regularly.

The Perfect Creations were a select few beast-people—exceptional individuals created by their mother, Rena, chosen through an extremely strict process.

Their numbers were exceedingly small.

Which meant it was impossible for one of them to be unknown.

That pheromone… incredibly dense. Definitely not ordinary. Who is he?

Epicure himself was one of the Twelve.

Most beast-people would either flee in terror or pass out simply from exposure to his pheromones.

Yet that unidentified wolf possessed pheromones so potent they could overwrite those spread throughout the territory.

The density of pheromones reflected strength.

Without question, the wolf was extraordinarily powerful.

“Another beast-person has infiltrated the territory?”

“Yes.”

“…Hmm.”

“It irritates me.”

“If he’s irritating, why not eliminate him?”

Epicure turned sharply toward Rashur, his expression cold.

“He’s not on the same level as the trash lying around.”

“Then—would he be one of the Twelve Apostles?”

“No. I’ve never seen him before.”

That was what made it worse.

Not knowing anything about the enemy.

What is his objective?

A bad feeling crept in.

“Reinforce castle security. Especially the food storage areas. He may be targeting my breeding grounds.”

“Should we station hunters—former ones, at least—since the enemy is a beast-person?”

“Yes. We have plenty of money. Spare no expense.”

This was not a place that could be taken so easily.

If this was about territorial conflict, then killing them was the only answer.

Bang!

Epicure slammed his fist into the table, his hand trembling.

Madness flickered in his eyes—determined to crush the unwelcome intruders at any cost.

As with many places, this territory had a curfew.

By nightfall, the streets were utterly deserted—not even an ant in sight.

Once night fell, Misa climbed onto Ul’s back as he transformed into a wolf, and they scaled the castle wall.

Landing silently atop it, they surveyed the lord’s castle below.

“Security’s tight, even at night.”

“He noticed us earlier. That probably put him on edge.”

“So he is wary. That confirms it.”

“What’s the plan?”

Despite the late hour, there were many guards stationed throughout the castle.

Sneaking in unnoticed and searching for the children seemed nearly impossible.

“Beast-people have good noses, right? Can you track the children by scent?”

“Yes.”

“They’re inside the castle?”

“They are.”

“I see maids and soldiers. Wouldn’t it be easier to move around if we disguised ourselves as them?”

“Good idea.”

They decided to knock out one maid and one soldier and take their clothes.

Ul returned to human form and quietly dropped down the wall.

He struck a patrolling soldier’s weak point, knocking him unconscious, then carried him back up.

He repeated the process with a maid heading toward the rear gardens.

When he placed her down, Misa carefully accepted her, apologetic.

“You didn’t kill them by accident, did you?”

“What do you take me for?”

Misa lifted the maid.

“I’ll go change over there. You change into the soldier’s uniform.”

“Alright.”

She moved far away from Ul—undressing required exposure, after all.

“I’m sorry. I’ll just borrow these for a bit.”

After hurriedly changing, Misa adjusted the maid outfit, sighing stiffly.

“The waist’s so tight, there are frills everywhere, and it clings way too much. One kick and this skirt would tear straight up.”

Why were maid uniforms designed like this?

Weren’t maids supposed to work?

Comfortable clothing should’ve been the priority.

“And they’re not sex toys. Forcing them into outfits like this is just—ugh.”

Judging helpers by appearance and figure instead of ability was wrong from the start.

Misa sighed and approached Ul.

He was fully armored now, wearing a steel helmet.

“That helmet’s perfect. Your hair color stands out too much otherwise.”

“You look uncomfortable.”

“Extremely. It’s tight, suffocating, and hard to move.”

“That’s why your walk looked so ridiculous.”

“…It shows?”

“Very much.”

“I tried to walk naturally.”

“It looks completely awkward.”

“Ugh. I’ll try harder. Let’s go—we need to finish this before dawn.”

Ul wrapped an arm around her and jumped down the wall.

After landing safely, they slipped into the castle.

Inside, there were fewer people than expected.

Most of the guards were stationed along the walls.

Ul led the way by scent, Misa following closely while keeping watch.

The castle interior was maze-like, filled with twisting corridors and countless rooms.

Without Ul, navigating it would’ve been impossible.

She felt his presence all the more keenly.

“It’s so dark and oppressive… and barely anyone’s around.”

“Yet the stench of blood is overwhelming.”

“I heard he’s ruled here for a long time. That means there’ve been countless victims.”

“He likely became lord to secure a steady food supply.”

As lord, he held absolute authority—and access to people.

Ordering subordinates to bring him prey would’ve been effortless.

Who would ever suspect him?

That the kind, benevolent lord was actually a serial killer who devoured humans.

“Wait.”

Ul grabbed Misa’s hand, pulling her back.

He wrapped her into his arms and hid behind a wall.

A man passed by, holding blood-stained butcher knives in both hands.

His body was covered in blood, his clothes ragged—like something out of a slaughterhouse.

“Looks like he’s going to fetch meat.”

“…You mean—”

“Yes. To kill someone.”

“Let’s follow him. We can’t let more people die.”

Did they actually slaughter humans?

Not just kill—butcher them?

That lunatic…

The meticulous cruelty made her teeth grind.

This entire territory was a massive breeding ground built for the lord alone.

“…That man’s human, right?”

“Yes.”

“So a human siding with beast-people and slaughtering other humans? That disgusting bastard!”

“I told you before—humans and beast-people aren’t that different.”

The line between human and beast was thinner than paper.

Misa bit her lip hard, suppressing her fury.

She had always believed killing beast-people was justified because they weren’t human—because they were monsters threatening humanity.

But now that belief was cracking.

Soldiers who took bribes to ignore human trafficking.

Butchers who slaughtered humans under beast-people’s orders.

What made them any different from beasts?

“Calm down. Focus.”

“….”

“Saving the captives comes first. That’s why we came.”

Ul’s firm grip steadied her.

Slowly, she regained her composure and nodded.

After wandering through winding corridors, the man stopped at a steel door.

He glanced around, unlocked it, and opened it.

A staircase descended into darkness.

The man went down.

Keeping their distance, Ul and Misa followed.

With every step, the sticky stench of blood thickened.

The silence was suffocating.

Clang—

The sound of metal echoed.

When they arrived, the man was just reaching into a cage to pull out a child.

The bloodstained knife in his hand.

The small body being dragged out by the collar, kicking desperately—

Misa snapped.

She sprinted forward and kicked the man square in the back.

“You piece of trash!”

The man groaned, collapsing forward.

Misa screamed at him, eyes blazing.

“You’re dead. You bastard.”