The next morning had arrived. Eric was outside the mansion, more precisely at the Ostheno family's stables, which were far from the main mansion. He handed Rudy a pouch containing gold coins.
"As I promised, your triple pay."
Rudy quickly counted the coins. "Thank you very much, Sir Eric. It was a pleasure working with you." Eric folded his arms and looked at Rudy. "I like you guys."
Then he looked toward Emilia, who was lowering her hood. Since she is a half-elf, her ears are less pointed than the usual elf. Eric stared at the two siblings for a few seconds. "Efficient, competent, not asking too much, exactly doing what I told you."
Rudy scratched the back of his head. "Uh... thank you, I guess?" Emilia gave a small nod. Eric continued, "So, here's my proposal. I'll contact you two if I need something, and I expect you to prioritize my requests over the others."
The two siblings looked at each other. "Of course, my requests won't violate or conflict with the law, and you'll also get paid more. Ah, right. I won't restrict you as adventurers. You're still free to work as adventurers, but the bottom line is to prioritize my requests if I contact you."
Rudy thought deeply and decided there was no harm in working with Eric, especially since the two of them would also gain connections with high-ranking nobles. "We'll think it over first, we'll let you know as soon as possible. If anything comes up, you can send a letter to the Zeris City branch of the Adventurer's Guild, that's where we're usually stationed."
Eric nodded firmly. "Good. Also, you can take these horses. Consider them a gift from me." A stable boy came over carrying the two horses they had bought and rode on during their trip here. Then the stable boy left, looking as if he were scared.
Rudy wanted to refuse, feeling it was too much, but seeing the stubborn look on Eric's face made him change his mind.
"Thank you once again, Sir Eric. I'll make the best use of these horses!"
"Thank you, Sir Eric." Emilia said softly. Then the woman asked the question that had been bothering her. "Yesterday's fight… why did you lose to Sir Lucas?"
"Emilia! What are y-" Eric waved his hand dismissively upon hearing Rudy snapped at Emilia. "It's fine. As for your question, shit happens, and I no longer have access to that power from back then."
Rudy and Emilia's eyes widened, then Eric spoke again. "But that doesn't mean I'm weak right now. Just… slightly different."
The shield-bearer flustered and apologized. "Please forgive my sister, Sir Eric. We don't want to take up any more of your time, we'll take our leave."
Seeing Rudy offer a handshake, a dangerous thought suddenly popped into Eric's mind.
It would be hilarious if I turned this guy into Play-Doh
Eric blinked and winced. While Rudy had forgotten that a handshake wasn't the proper way to bid farewell to a noble, Eric nevertheless shook Rudy's hand firmly.
"Take care, you two."
Rudy and Emilia bowed, then each mounted their horses. Eric sighed heavily, holding his head in confusion.
"What was that? It's as if I'm playing with someone's life..."
He opened and closed his hand. He could feel the raw, potent power surging inside his body, much like when he had wielded Kageyama Shigeo's psychokinesis. The difference was that now, within him, lay the power of a mass murderer, a psychopath and a maniac…something entirely different from before.
"I need to test this power... I don't want to accidentally change someone's form when I touch them..."
Eric left the place and headed to his room to change clothes. He had an idea to test out his new power.
***
Riding in a carriage speeding along a snow-covered road, Eric leaned in to look at the scenery outside through the window. Many people were coming and going, not letting the winter weather stop their activities.
Eric hadn't asked permission from either his father or mother, he simply ordered three knights to escort and accompany him. One knight served as the carriage driver, one sat across from him inside the carriage, and another rode a horse behind the carriage.
He didn't speak a single word during the journey, which made the knight inside the carriage squirm uncomfortably, though he remained professional. The carriage stopped, signaling that he had arrived at his destination.
A large multi-story building on the outskirts of Themeus City, one of the city's guardhouses. Serving as both a barracks and a resting place for soldiers and city guards, the building housed many facilities to support the soldiers' and guards' duties, including a prison.
An old male soldier hurried out to greet Eric as he stepped down from the carriage. "G-greetings, Young Master Eric. What brings you here?"
"Do you still have any prisoners?"
The old soldier, who appeared to be the leader, looked confused. "Y-yes, we still do. But they're scheduled for execution tomorrow… what's the matter?"
"Good, take me to them." Eric barged in without permission. The knights escorting him exchanged understanding glances with the old man. "W-wait! Please wa-wait a moment, Young Master!"
Eric entered the building, which contained only a few people. Apparently, the soldiers and city guards were carrying out their duties, so only a few people remained. Those people stood at attention and saluted as Eric entered.
He paid them no mind and kept walking until he reached a staircase leading down to the underground. Two guards on duty were about to shout at him, but they covered their mouths and stammered.
"Step aside, gentlemen." Before Eric could get past the two guards, the old soldier and the three escort knights finally caught up with him. Youn-young Master Eric! You can't just do as you please here! Have you obtained permission from Lord James?"
"I have. I'm here on my father's orders. He wants me to check whether you're working diligently or slacking off… and also to ensure that our prison is truly secure enough to hold the criminals."
Eric bluffed his way through it, and everyone there was stunned. Realizing this was an unscheduled inspection, the old soldier began to sweat.
"Now, you don't want to incur my father's wrath, do you? So you'd better stay here until I'm done with my business! And hand over those keys!" The two guards obeyed Eric's orders and let him enter the prison hall. Everyone waited outside.
The room felt damp and dark, with only torches and candles for light. Eric saw ten iron bars, four of which were already occupied. He immediately approached one of the bars and unlocked it with the key he had.
"What the fuck? I'm askin' for a big-booty whore, not a scrawny kid! Ptooey!" a bald man with his hands and feet chained spat on the ground near Eric's feet. He saw that the bald man's face and eyes were disfigured, with burns and scars from cuts.
"I'll start with you." He crouched down calmly and grabbed the bald man's head. A mysterious power surged within his soul, through his body, and then into both his hands.
"Fuck off, kid-"
"Idle Transfiguration."
The bald man's head, skin, and bones were deforming and trembling as if something were tearing them apart and reshaping them from within. The bald man screamed in pain and tried to pull away, but was held back by the chains on his legs and arms.
"Arrghhhhh! Aghhk...Ghkka..."
Eric released his grip on the bald man's head and stood up. The bald man then gasped for breath and immediately cursed at Eric.
"That fucking hurt, you asshole-" the man froze after touching his entire head and face. Gone were the scars, bumps, and scabs on his face, he could feel the smoothness as he ran his hands over it.
"It's... it's gone? How...?"
Eric didn't bother answering the question and immediately shifted his focus. After properly securing the lock, he stepped toward a thin prisoner missing several fingers.
"Playing the hero, aren't you-"
"Idle Transfiguration." The skinny man screamed just like the bald man before him. The two hands Eric was holding went limp, as if it had lost its bones and become distorted. He tried to get the missing fingers back, but he'd done something on purpose.
"I'll fucking kill- huh!? My fingers are growing back! H-hey! Wh-why are my thumbs so long!?" The skinny man was shocked because his thumbs were so long they could almost touch the ceiling of the iron bars.
"Oops, my bad." Eric stopped messing around and restored the thumbs to their original size. Next, he moved on to another prisoner who was sitting back calmly.
"Torture, heh!? Not gonna work on me!"
Eric slammed his palm into the prisoner's stomach, and in a split second, the stomach swelled so much that the man looked pregnant. "H-h-huh!? Wa-wait-no, no, what is this!?"
The man with the swollen stomach wailed in pain, and Eric finally restored the man's "soul" to its original form. He spent a few minutes in the underground prison hall and walked out calmly. The guards who heard the screams were confused because there were no scars on the prisoners, in fact, the prisoners had completely healed from the previous wounds they had received.
Eric ordered the knights escorting him to return home with him because his business was finished. "We're done, let's go."
Since the guardhouse was on the outskirts of the city, Eric's group had to take a slightly detour route, passing through the slum alleys. Eric was lost in his thoughts. When he reshaped those prisoners' souls, he felt a sense of joy and euphoria. Their lives were entirely in his hands.
Not only that, those souls were so tender and easy to mold. Eric only needed to squeeze them beyond their limits and then...
He clenched his teeth hard. In his previous life, he had already hurt many people, and he had promised "that person" that he would change. Distracting himself, he looked out at the scenery.
Eric sensed something and quickly moved his hand to catch something coming from his left. He caught a speeding arrow with his left hand, startling the knight sitting before him in the carriage.
"Young Master, get down!"
Eric was still staring at the arrow. Before he could duck, another arrow flew from the right, shattering the window and piercing his neck deeply.