The Butler in Action (3)

Anastasia and her two aides watched with bated breath as they witnessed the enigmatic butler high in the sky... felling every wyvern—even the Alpha Wyvern itself—single-handedly.

The vast green wilderness that the butler had cleared before... was now littered with the lifeless bodies of the wyverns.

"... He is the real deal," the knight, Martha, broke the silence, her voice quiet but tinged with disbelief.

"So strong..." the maid, Bella, whispered, her tone filled with awe and trembling admiration.

On the other hand, Anastasia did not utter a single word. She could only gaze at the figure of the butler in the sky, her thoughts spiraling as she tried to comprehend what she had just witnessed.

Like her two aides, Anastasia shared the same sentiment—disbelief over the very sight of him slaying those wyverns... all by himself, and effortlessly.

She had once harbored doubts about the butler's supposed feats of slaying monsters. But now... those lingering doubts were swept away by the display of sheer prowess she had just seen.

Her doubt was replaced with amazement.

He truly was, as Martha had said, 'the real deal.'

More than that, Anastasia began to truly believe...

This man... this butler... he might be the person who could help her reclaim this hellish frontier on Florentia—the Garden of Hell—and transform it into something she could confidently call... her land.

The dread that had been consuming her heart for so long began to wane, slowly replaced by something she had thought was lost forever...

Hope.

The butler Sebas, who was still in the air, floating with his magic, looked down at his handiwork scattered on the ground... and let out a sigh.

"More work," he complained, his tone slightly exasperated at the thought that he would have to clean up this place once more, "... but I guess that's just what a butler's job description entails."

He then slowly "jumped" down from the air, step by step, toward the three ladies who were still awestruck from witnessing his actions.

Eventually, he landed in front of them with the light thud of his formal dress shoes. The green mana that had been enveloping his feet dissipated.

"Lady Ana, I've returned," Sebas announced courteously, bowing his head to the red-haired noble lady.

Lady Ana was still speechless—still couldn't voice her disbelief nor even her amazement. But eventually...

"... Good work... Sebas," she said, her tone formal... but tinged with gratitude that slipped through her composed demeanor.

"Thank you, my lady," he replied, lifting his head and showing his usual confident grin. However, his smile turned into a sheepish one, "but still... I want to apologize for my blunder, your grace..."

"Apologize...?"

"Yes... because," he turned around, a sheepish smile on his face as he gestured toward the very wilderness... now littered with the wyverns' remains, "I just made an even bigger mess."

"I-I see..." she murmured, a bit unsettled by the sight of the bloody mess.

But then, her expression turned thoughtful as she remembered something. She turned toward her knight, who was still struck with disbelief at the smiling butler.

"Martha, about the thing that you said before, would you kindly repeat it once more?"

"H-huh? O-oh yes, my lady!" Martha stammered, then cleared her throat. "Uhm... I've questioned whether we could even consume all of these... monsters before they would go bad."

"Yes... that was a valid concern. Thus... Sir Sebas?" Anastasia asked, directing her attention back to the butler.

"Yes, my lady?"

"You suggested that we should... consume all of these monsters, but..." She hesitated, "I believe that would be quite the challenging feat, especially when they would go beyond their optimal freshness."

"Sigh, yeah, you've got a point there, Lady Ana," he agreed, his shoulders slumping from being reminded once again of his miscalculation.

Anastasia, seeing his slightly dejected demeanor... couldn't help but find him slightly... endearing. However, she quickly shook her head, trying to clear such a thought.

She realized that it was a bit improper for a noblewoman such as herself to think such things about her servant. Even so, a slight tint of blush could be seen on her cheeks.

"... W-well, either way, we will have to properly dispose of most of them, lest we attract more monsters encroaching into our land," Anastasia concluded.

"Dispose them, huh..." Sebas mused, pondering the option... before his face suddenly lit up—a sudden idea crossed his mind! "Lady Ana!"

"Y-yes, Sebas?" Lady Ana stammered, startled by his sudden outburst.

"How about we try to sell these monsters' remains?"

"S-sell?!" She gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. Not just her, but even her two aides were equally taken aback by the butler's unexpected suggestion.

"That's right, my lady~," he said with his trademark confident grin, "we could try selling them to the local adventurers' guild for a good profit~."

"I-I see..." The redheaded noblewoman murmured, her expression shifting as she began to consider his idea.

Anastasia did need some form of capital, as what she currently had would not suffice to establish her would-be government.

Monsters were highly sought after for their materials, which were essential for many aspects of their society. These materials, especially the rarer ones, were also crucial for crafting powerful equipment or serving as ingredients for alchemical purposes.

And now, these supposedly high-ranking dead monsters would definitely provide the capital she desperately needed—

"U-uhm... excuse me for interrupting your discussion, my lady..." the maid Bella interjected, breaking her mistress's train of thought.

"Ah, yes, Bella... What is it?"

"T-thank you for your patience, your grace," Bella said, bowing slightly. "I just wanted to ask... how are we supposed to transport all these dead monsters to Florentia?"

"..."

The question caught Anastasia off guard. She blinked, her gaze shifting from the massive pile of monster carcasses to the meadow littered with wyvern corpses.

"Yes... That is indeed a problem..."

Her eyes naturally shifted to Sebas, who had been silently standing nearby... his confident grin ever-present, as if he had already foreseen this very question.

"Hehe, not to worry, my lady~!" the butler declared with a slight bow, his voice brimming with confidence. "I've got just the thing we can use for this occasion~!"

He then gestured toward the far distance, beyond the campsite...

A giant wooden cart.