The Talentless Inheritor

"..."

Sebastian looked at Hound's outstretched hand holding the knife in silence.

It wasn't just Hound who was looking at him, the viscount, his wife, and their daughter was looking at him as well.

"Answer. Will you do it, or will I?"

Hound prompted him to answer but he couldn't do anything but stay still.

'Is it possible for me?'

Just remembering that day he killed a person for the first time made him sick to his stomach. If possible, he never wanted to do it again. However, he knew that so long as he was a 『Inheritor』 and he wanted to protect Amy from the dangers of the world, it was inevitable.

Sebastian clenched his teeth and was just about to raise his hand before he heard a plea.

"P-please!"

He could see the viscount staring at him with fear in his eyes.

"Please spare me! I still have a wife and a child to take care of!"

Sebastian's arm twitched.

Perhaps mistaking that as anger, the viscount's wife began to plead with tears in her eyes.

"I beg you! Put my husband behind bars if you want to, just please spare his life! Our daughter can't grow up without having a father!"

At that point, Sebastian's will was already broken. He couldn't raise his arm and he stood in silence.

Seeing as how he had no intention of taking the knife, Hound retracted her hand and stabbed the knife into the viscount's shoulder.

"AGH!"

"Dear!"

"Papa!"

Sebastian heard their cries and walked forward to try and stop Hound but before he could even get two steps closer to her, she turned around and stared at him.

"You're too soft."

Without being able to offer any words of rebuttal, he bit his lips and left the room. He paused a few times because of the mother and child's begging but he still managed to walk out with unsteady steps.

...

Just a few hours after, Sebastian sought comfort in Amy's presence. He invited her out to have some fun in the city, something that they've done several times before.

They walked to places they hadn't been before and ate at a restaurant that neither of them had tried before under Sebastian's suggestion. They bought weird presents for each other and laughed until their bellies hurt.

The sun was just about to set when the two of them rested on a bench in one of the parks. There were barely any people in the park so it felt like they had it to themselves.

"Here."

Amy gestured at her l.a.p.

"What? Are you asking me to lay down on your lap?"

"Nn."

Amy tapped her l.a.p a few more times. Sebastian looked around a few times to see if anyone was watching them before resting his head. Today, she was wearing pants, unlike her usual skirt. But, those pants couldn't cover the softness of her t.h.i.g.hs.

When he rested his head on them, it felt like he had a luxurious pillow.

"So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Amy brushed his hair with her hands gently. The way she saw through him and the way she softly stroke his head made Sebastian comment.

"You'd make a great mother."

"I'd hope so. Otherwise, you'd have to take care of our child all by yourself."

"..."

Sebastian coughed to erase the embarrassment he was feeling.

"Amy, do you think I'm too soft?"

"Isn't that a good thing? For instance, I can say that although you have the ability to kill a person, you'd do everything in your power to avoid it. And, in the case that you do kill someone, you'd wallow in self-hatred for a good long while."

"Just admit it, you can read minds."

"I wish I could. Then, I'd know if you ever have any intentions of cheating on me."

Just Sebastian's words confirmed it. He had indeed killed someone before. Amy wasn't dense as to not notice such a simple action. But, she had already sworn to herself. Even if the entire world would turn against Sebastian, she wouldn't.

"But, that also means that when I do need to kill someone, I won't be able to do it. I'll hesitate to deliver the finishing blow, and that could also cost me my life."

Sebastian turned his body to face upwards. He raised his arm and made a grasping motion at the sun.

Amy chuckled and then leaned over to plant a kiss on his forehead.

"Then, I'll do it for you. Everything that you don't like, everything that you can't do, everything that you don't want to do, I'll do it all for you."

"Amy, you..."

Sebastian raised his body and then grabbed Amy by the shoulders.

"I don't want to hear those words again. You're not just some tool, you're my fiancée. Your happiness, your pain, your tears, those are all mine to share."

"...You better not be saying that to other girls too."

Amy muttered in embarrassment.

"We were having a serious conversation..."

"I want you to list out all of the girls you know on a personal level in your head," she continued to try and steer their conversation away. At first, she had just planned to tease Sebastian by saying those words and have a light banter but it was still too much for her.

"In my head?"

'Let's see... There's Balanos, Linet, Kathrina, the alchemist, Hound, Wisteria...'

"About six."

"How many have I met?"

"...Two."

"I see."

Amy turned her head away and gestured for Sebastian to lay down on her l.a.p once more.

"Can I meet the other girls?" She asked once Sebastian rested his head,

Sebastian awkwardly scratched his cheek, "that might be a little difficult." He had only met the alchemist while he was wearing a mask, Wisteria and Hound were both part of Blue Rose so he couldn't disclose their identities, and Balanos... was self-explanatory.

"You know, I'm not exactly against you taking mistresses. All I want is you to be happy."

"..."

Those were words that came out of the blue. Sebastian had no intention of taking a mistress, Amy was the only one in his heart. But, he could understand why she said that.

"You're saying that you don't mind that I'm soft. And, you're willing to listen to any of my whims, is that it?"

"Nn."

Amy nodded and began stroking his head again. Sebastian sighed and covered his eyes with his forearm, "that just makes me want to get even stronger now."

"Do what you want to do."

Once again, his troubled heart was cleared. And, he was pampered until night.

...

For the first time in quite a while, Sebastian had gone back to the forest to hunt for beasts. He took a quest for goblin hunting. With his current strength, it was a simple feat. But, the reason he had accepted this task is because he wanted to remove his hesitation when killing humanoid enemies.

Sebastian used his trained skills and senses to maneuver through the forest at a frightening pace. Each time he saw an enemy, he evaded. And, if he couldn't evade them, he let loose a torrent of arrows and killed them.

He wasn't the same as when he last stepped in here. Now, he had confidence in facing the hawk that had left him severely wounded with just a single attack before.

He had found traces of goblins about ten minutes from where he started and half an hour later, he found a goblin nest. Unlike before, there wasn't a goblin lord to accompany them.

"Ugya..."

"You're all as ugly as ever."

Sebastian muttered and dashed forward. The goblin⁠—caught unprepared⁠—tried to attack but before he could swing his arm, Sebastian wrapped the bow around the goblin's head and fired an arrow.

With that, the first goblin was killed.

Another goblin tried to hit him from behind but Sebastian could see it all. In his eyes, they were far, far too slow.

Sebastian crouched and then tripped the goblin using his bow.

"Gah!"

He fired an arrow into the goblin's head before moving on to the next.

If Sebastian wanted to, he could've killed them before they even noticed his presence. But, his goal today was to get used to killing humanoids. He also planned to hunt ogres, if there were any in the forest and kobolds.

A trio of goblins saw the situation and rushed over but Sebastian dealt with them before they could deal any damage to him.

Seeing his comrades dying one after another, one of the goblins ran away. It knew because of his instinct, that they were no match for Sebastian.

"I..." Sebastian released an arrow and pierced the fleeing goblin's head, "don't feel anything."

The biggest difference goblins and humans have is the facial features and skin color. Goblins had very long noses and green skin. And... they were quite⁠—no, horrendously hideous.

Looking past that, they looked like humans.

After burning down the goblin nest and collecting the ears, Sebastian left in search of ogres. Though it was quite frightening for ogres to be in the forest, seeing as how ogres also traveled in groups and were all Adept-class beasts.

Though they weren't as individually strong as the hawk, they were still quite a force to be reckoned with. A single one of their hits could unroot a tree. Sebastian was hunting those fearsome creatures down.