Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Fate’s Room

MY WORST FEARS came to pass. As soon as I entered the castle, I searched for Eris in all the places she should have been, but she wasn’t in any of them. I couldn’t find Roxy or Memil either. 

“Be serious. There’s nowhere else they could be,” said Greed, sensing my growing worry. “Did you at least make sure to clean your room?”

“I was in such a hurry to get to the kingdom. I didn’t have time.”

Surely the maids of the castle would have cleaned my room for me? When I got to the door to my room, I heard voices coming from inside—the voices of girls I knew all too well.

“Aha, so this is Fate’s room?”

“We mustn’t! Eris, please! We must leave immediately!”

“But we just got here, Roxy! This is where the real search begins, no? Wouldn’t you say so, Memil?”

“Yes. As a maid at this very castle, it’s a top priority.”

“You heard her, Roxy. Perhaps you’d prefer to wait outside?”

“What? Why should I have to do that?”

Their voices grew louder, more animated. 

I have to get inside! I have to stop them! I reached out to grasp the doorknob, but before I could open it, the voices continued.

“Besides, Roxy, aren’t you curious about what Fate has hiding in his room?”

“Why, I would never pry…”

“Hmm… So why are you scrutinizing every detail of the room?”

“Well, I—?!”

The ever-courageous Roxy had tried to deter Eris from her evil ways, but there she was, flustered and faltering! Not only that, her reaction unleashed a flood of questions from Eris and Memil about Roxy and me. 

Why do you guys have to have this conversation in my room? I bemoaned silently. “I feel like it’d be awkward if I went in at this point…” 

“You’re pathetic,” said Greed. “You should’ve kicked the door in the moment we arrived. I can’t believe you. You call yourself the wielder of the mighty Greed?!”

“Sh-shut up!”

I couldn’t enter now! The timing was all wrong. I was stranded outside my own room; anyone who saw me would’ve been perplexed. As if in confirmation, the maids shot me curious glances as they passed by. I was their lord, returning after a long absence, and yet I looked so nervous and troubled that none of them said a word to me. They probably felt it was best to do it later.

“That’s enough dawdling. How about we just barge in already?” said Greed.

“Okay, okay.”

I pushed the door open. The girls inside turned to me in unison, their rowdy conversation suddenly interrupted.

“Well, well, speak of the devil,” said Eris.

“Fate, what’s wrong?” asked Memil.

“What’s wrong? This is my room.”

“Oh, is it? I had no idea.”

“Don’t play dumb with me.”

Eris and Memil stood shameless before me. They had essentially broken into my room to root through my belongings, and they didn’t care a bit. In contrast, Roxy’s face was turning deeper shades of red.

“Fay, I don’t suppose you overheard anything, did you?”

“I did…”

“Oh, my…”

Roxy couldn’t look me in the eyes, and she fled from the room before I had a chance to stop her. I looked at the open door as Eris clapped her hand on my shoulder. She looked at me like she had absolutely nothing to do with what had just transpired.

“It’s not nice to eavesdrop,” she said.

“You’re the last person I want to hear that from.”

“Whatever could you mean?”

“You went into my room without even asking for permission!’

“I don’t see the problem.”

Where’s the logic to your actions?! This is my room!

Eris didn’t show a shred of remorse as she sat down on my bed like it belonged to her. “Oh, this is quite nice, isn’t it? I’m going to sleep like a baby tonight.”

“Eris, you don’t mean…”

Eris laughed. “Oh, but I do! For someone so slow, you can sometimes be quite quick on the uptake, Fate. Don’t you think so, Memil?”

Memil nodded. “You said it.”

It looked like Memil had grown closer to the queen on the way to Hausen. She was practically in Eris’s pocket now.

“Oh, give me a break,” I said.

Roxy had said she’d keep me secure through the night, but at this rate I could easily see Eris and Roxy arguing while on top of my bed. I was beginning to think I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.

“What’s wrong, Fate? You’ve gone pale.”

“Oh dear, this is very bad,” said Memil. “I’ll have to stay here all night to nurse you back to health.”

“Get out of my room! If I look pale or tired, it’s because of you two!”

“What?!”

Eris and Memil both gave me a flat look, but if anything, I was the one who should have looked like that! I turned the girls around and pushed them to the door in an attempt to get rid of them. 

At that moment, an energetic voice boomed through the air, accompanied by a destructive din. “Fate! I found you! I wanna play too!”

“My room!”

Snow burst in, using her overwhelming excess of stats to blow the door off its hinges. It grazed my cheek before it crashed through the window opposite and vanished into the distance.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It hadn’t even been a day and I couldn’t sleep in my own room anymore. I was nonplussed. Eris and Memil looked at me sympathetically. 

Then Eris laughed. “Well, at least you can enjoy the pleasant breeze. Anyway, I’d better head to the guest rooms.”

“I will bring a broom and dustpan,” added Memil.

The two of them hurried out, leaving me alone with Snow. Finally, I had some peace and quiet, though it had come at a great cost.

“Snow,” I said, “you shouldn’t break doors down like that. I told you that before when you busted through the walls in the bath.”

“Oh! I forgot… Sorry.”

She was so absentminded! We’d spent so much time restoring the castle, and her thoughtlessness threatened to destroy it. All the same, I couldn’t stay angry looking at her dejected face. Whenever Snow got wrapped up in something, it was like she completely forgot everything else. At first, I wondered if it was related to her lost memories, but as I came to know her better, I realized it was just a part of her personality. If I got mad and told her not to break the door again, she’d just forget. Even though she was just a kid, she was in the Domain of E. I had to keep a really close eye on her.

“Fate! Fate! I wanna explore the castle!”

“I have to talk with Set. Can we explore the castle afterward?”

“I wanna do it now! Now! Right now!”

At this rate, any conversation I tried to have with Set would be interrupted by Snow’s temper tantrums. My best course of action would be to give Snow a tour until she tired herself out, then have her take a nap.

“Okay, let’s explore the castle,” I said.

“Yay! Hurry! Come on, let’s go!”

We left through the gap that was once the door to my room. As we did, I noticed a lock of golden-blonde hair disappear around the corner of the hallway. I motioned for Snow to be quiet, then snuck over. When the owner of the hair popped her head out to check on Snow and me, I surprised her.

“Boo,” I said. 

Roxy was trying to hide, only to find that I was standing almost beside her. Her reaction was stronger than I expected.

“Ahhhh!” she screamed. “Don’t scare me like that, Fay!”

“What are you doing, hiding in the hall like this?” I asked.

Roxy wouldn’t look me in the eyes as she stammered, “W-well, about that… I was just worried because of Eris and Memil and what they might do. And then there was that terrible sound of the door breaking… Naturally, that made me even more worried.”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

A group of servants had also gathered nearby, drawn by the commotion, so I hastily explained the situation and asked them to arrange for someone to repair my door and window. Repairs looked like they would take a couple of days, based on the damage.

“I guess until my room is repaired, I’m sleeping in the guest rooms,” I said.

“That’s perfect. There just so happens to be a spare bed in my room, Fay.”

“Is it really okay for me to sleep in the same room as you?”

“Of course! If we leave Eris and Memil to their own devices, why, you’ll be in a world of trouble! You haven’t forgotten our agreement, right?”

“Hm? Agreement?”

“Your lessons, Fay. Your studies. I did tell you I was going to tutor you. Of course, a lot has happened since then and they fell by the wayside, but I’m certain we can make up for all that lost time!”

Lessons?! Studies?! I had completely forgotten. All of a sudden, I felt like I had no right to chastise Snow for her forgetfulness. My shoulders slumped at the thought of it all, and Snow began tugging on my sleeve.

“Castle! Exploring! Let’s! Go!”

“Okay, okay, I’m going, I’m going. Roxy, you want to come along?”

“Very well. But this evening we’re diving right into your studies, so you’d best be prepared.”

“Yes, Ms. Hart.”

“That’s the spirit! Who’s a good boy?!”

First, I had to show Roxy and Snow around the castle, then I had to meet with Set, and then I had to sit down with Roxy for a night of learning and studying. It was going to be a busy day.