Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Hausen, Restored

HAUSEN LAY BEFORE US. Once little more than a monster-infested ruin, the former city was transformed with the help of ancient technologies from the kingdom. It looked nothing like the place I had left.

Without thinking, I poured more power into the magic bike. I couldn’t help myself—I wanted to see Hausen as soon as possible. I wanted to return to my home.

“Fay, you’re so restless. You must be glad to be back,” said Roxy, sitting behind me on the bike. 

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. This is my hometown, after all.”

“I want to go, too!” an energetic voice piped up. “Faster! Faster!”

It came from Snow, the little one sitting in front of me. Although she had the body of a young girl, she was not, in fact, a human. She was one of the holy beasts, bearers of great power. The Door to Distant Lands had returned her to life and wiped her memories. Without them, she had developed a personality and voice suited to her new body.

At first, Snow had been awfully shy, only warming up to Memil, but her hardened expression had softened with time, and she’d come to smile more often. She was opening up to those around her, too. Well, everyone except Roxy. Snow still kept her distance from her.

My father had some sort of connection to Snow, some shared experience in the past. I didn’t know the details, but I realized this was obviously the case when Snow went berserk and my father tried to kill her. That was the first time I’d ever seen murderous intent in his eyes. Even from my earliest memories, I’d never before witnessed such a terrifying expression contort my father’s face. It was a side of him that I did not know. I had told Aaron that if I ended up fighting my father one day, I would face him head-on, but some part of me still felt trepidation.

Whether Snow understood my feelings or not, she was insistent on getting to Hausen as quickly as possible. Her naivety seemed to be the core of her being.

“I hear you, Snow,” I said. “Relax; I can’t steer if you don’t settle down!”

“But I want to go now! So! Let’s. Do. This!”

“Huh?!”

Snow placed her hands over mine and gripped the handlebars to instantly pour her magical energy into the bike. The magitech motorcycle peeled out as it converted her energy into raw speed.

“Fay! That’s too fast! Much too fa—whoooaaa!”

“This is bad! So bad!”

“This is fun!” cried Snow.

“It is not!” Roxy and I shouted together.

I pulled Snow’s hands off the handlebars, but it was too late. We were flying by at an extraordinary speed. If I slammed on the brakes, I’d only send the bike hurtling into a crash, but if I didn’t find a way to slow us down, we’d crash right into Hausen. Then we’d be looking at a second restoration project. As the lord of Hausen, I just couldn’t let myself be the cause of the city’s second destruction!

“Roxy, I’m sorry, but I have to—” I started.

“It’s okay. I know.”

Instead of crashing into Hausen, I swerved and drove past it. I already knew that Eris and Memil, who were following on their own bike, were watching us and wondering what the hell we were doing. I also knew that when we did arrive at Hausen, Eris would have a few choice words for me. Then again, she was the queen of the entire kingdom, so I supposed it would be an honor to receive such a verbal thrashing.

Those thoughts flew through my mind as our bike careened past Hausen.

“So long, Hausen…” I muttered.

“There’s no need to sound so dejected, Fay! We can head back as soon as we slow down. No telling what Eris will say, however.”

“What a coincidence. I was thinking the exact same thing.”

“So lighthearted for someone who might have their head on the chopping block!” Roxy gripped my cheeks from behind. Snow looked at my contorted face and burst into laughter. “Your weird face got weirder!”

“What?!”

Was she implying that my face was weird to begin with?

“Roxy, do I… Is my face weird?”

“Anyway,” Roxy cut me off. “Let’s leave it at that for now, shall we? We should slow down and turn back toward Hausen.”

Roxy urged us onward without answering my question. When we finally reached Hausen, I was still thinking about it.

Eris and Memil awaited us at the main gates, standing next to their magic bike when we reached them.

“What is this?!” Memil cried. “Thought you could just go off on a joyride and abandon us again?!”

“No, Memil,” said Eris. “I dare say they were planning to abandon Hausen to find a more private nook.” 

I dismounted the bike. “That doesn’t make any sense! In her excitement, Snow sent us hurtling toward the city. Surely you saw some of that from behind!”

Eris laughed. “You’re so funny when you’re flustered, Fate.”

“He is, isn’t he, Your Majesty?” added Memil.

“Give me a break, you two,” I muttered.

I couldn’t believe the two of them derived so much pleasure from my discomfort. It was a rough life, traveling in the company of girls like this. Then a comforting hand clapped me on the shoulder.

“Long time no see, Fate.”

“Set!”

I turned to find him standing behind me. He’d put on a little weight since I last saw him. 

Next to him, his daughter Anne looked up at me and grinned. “Fate! Welcome back!” 

“I’m home!” I replied.

Anne jumped toward me and wrapped me in a hug. I felt a pair of eyes studying the scene as it unfolded. It was Snow.

“Me too! Me too! Fate! Welcome back!” she cried.

“What are you doing, Snow?! We came here together!”

But Snow was too wrapped up in imitating Anne to listen. “Say it, Fate! Say you’re home!”

“I’m…home…”

Watching me wilt from the girls’ demands with a bemused expression, Set asked, “So this girl… She’s your daughter?”

“Does she look like my daughter? Of course not.”

“You’re right. She looks like she’ll grow up to be a true beauty—absolutely nothing like you.”

“I don’t like what you’re implying there…”

Set looked at me and at Snow, and scratched his head. “So whose child is she, then?”

Roxy smiled at Snow, then turned to Set. “We picked her up at the Desert of Extinction.”

“Oh, Lady Roxy! Why, I’m honored that you would grace us with your presence! Welcome to Hausen!”

“There’s no need for such formalities. Please, be at ease. I’ve given up my rank as head of my family, so please just treat me like any other adventurer.”

“No, no, I could never. Not when the renowned Roxy Hart herself has favored our lands with this visit!”

Completely forgetting about Snow, Set’s face flushed as he fidgeted nervously before Roxy. It was only natural to act this way when speaking to someone so beautiful. Not so long ago, I had been no different.

The somewhat disgruntled queen made her presence known by stepping on Set’s foot. “I’ll have you know, Set, you’ve got guts, ignoring my arrival after all the work I did to get here.”

“Your Majesty! I can assure you it’s not like that at all!”

“Not like what? Have you forgotten who you’re speaking to?”

“Please accept my humblest apology!”

Set prostrated himself before Eris, practically launching himself at her feet. The arrogant Eris seemed to take great joy in the moment. Anne and Snow released me from their hugs and watched. I didn’t like thinking about the lessons they might take from this. It wasn’t good for Anne to watch her father grovel before the queen.

“Let’s set aside the apologies and enter the city,” I said.

“What? But I still haven’t fini—”

“Yes, you have!” I took Eris by the arm and headed through the gates. “Roxy, Memil, let’s go. You too, Set. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

“W-wait a second! Anne, come on! You too, Snow! This way,” said Set.

We left the magic bikes with the soldiers at the gates, who would park them somewhere safe, then walked toward the most stunning site in all of Hausen: Castle Barbatos. Once, it had been a crumbling ruin where Aaron and I faced off against a crowned beast, the lich lord known as the Genesis of Death. Now it was unrecognizable. Its exquisite, limewashed white walls were a landmark in Hausen.

The main street was filled with the bustle of people coming and going. It was hard to believe that not so long ago, only skeletons had wandered these avenues. Even without hearing Set’s reports on the state of our forsaken immigration plans, I could tell things were going smoothly.