Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~
Chapter 48: Hero and Demon

◆ Death God, Zarxis

「How’s the development of the situation, Atlankua?」

The woman stood on the other side of the darkness . By appearance only, she seemed just like any other human . Although one couldn’t call her a peerless beauty, she would be able to charm a man or two .

「Reporting, our servant is currently accompanying the Hero of Light . He might be intoxicated by liquor and women by now . 」

「I see… I presume they have yet to discover your true identity . 」

「Despite having seen my face, he doesn’t seem to realize my true identity . Rather, it’s more like he is charmed by my beauty . 」

「Kukuku… Great! That’s great . Once he sees what you truly look like, he’ll die from shock . 」

「You jest, Zarxis . This figure is also my true figure . Even that girl called Nao hasn’t realized my other form . 」

I felt a slight wave of anger in Atlankua’s words . After all, her other figure wasn’t pleasing to the eye at all .

Atlankua was similar to a werewolf, having two forms . One was human and the other… Many men turned their backs to it with a disgusted face when they saw it .

Even Atlankua herself hated that appearance .

She was my subordinate goddess and her main ability was to hide within shadows . Whether it was a person with a keen perception or a divine being, none could perceive her .

「You’re right… My bad, Atlankua . 」

「It’s okay, I don’t mind it at all . I’m going to snatch that bitch Rena’s most important person . So I won’t mind such trivial matters . 」

But I knew she was really worried about that “trivial matter” . That was just how much Atlankua hated her other figure .

And she also hates the goddess Rena . She might just be jealous of her beauty .

「I see… Then it’s time to begin the next phase of our plan . 」

「Fufufu, I succeeded in luring Rena’s Heroes to this region . Now I just need to lure him into the labyrinth . 」

I nodded at her words .

The first phase of the plan was already complete . They had successfully created a disturbance that was large enough to lure the Hero of Light to where they wanted .

The next phase was to make him enter Labrys’s Labyrinth .

「You found the way to lure him already, didn’t you, Atlankua?」

「Yes, Zarxis . We only need a woman’s tears to lure that Hero . And I’ve made arrangements for that to happen . 」

「I see… As prepared as always, huh . 」

「Yes, Zarxis . Let’s wait and see how she’ll bait him into the labyrinth . 」

Atlankua smiled evilly as she spoke, and I couldn’t help but chuckle along with her .

「Kukuku, Hero of Rena . Now… Bite the bait and come to us . 」

◆ Hero of Water, Nefim .

It was early in the morning and the ship headed to Ariadya was sailing smoothly when the captain of the ship approached me with a worried face .

「Uhm… How is the situation, Hero of Water-sama?」

「No worries, captain . We do not need to fear the Merfolk or anything like it . 」

「You… Really, aah . Can’t you even have a bit of faith in Nefim-sama!?」

「Yeah . 」

My traveling comrades were angry at the captain of the ship who appeared to doubt my skill .

「Calm down, ladies . I understand the captain’s concern . I mean, he did have reason to worry after several ships got attacked by Merlows . 」

The Merlow race supposedly inhabited the western bays of Sead .

The difference between the males and females of the race was quite striking .

The females had their upper half resembling beautiful women while their lower half was that of beautiful fish . They were commonly known as Mermaids .

Compared to them, the males of the Merlow race were quite ugly . Although their upper half also looked human, they had fish heads, fins on their limbs and scales covering their entire bodies .

Despite having visited Sead Inlet so many times before, I still felt nauseous whenever I spotted their ugly appearance .

Both were part of the Merlow Race but apparently, Mermaids and Mermen were on bad terms .

The Mermaids hated the Mermen because they were ugly and the Mermen hated the Mermaids because the females disdained their appearances .

And both of them were hostile to humans .

Many human ships around Sead Inlet were ambushed and sunk by Mermen pirates . Two ships had already been done in by the Merlows within Ariad Inlet .

That was why the captain was so worried .

「As expected of Nefim-sama . 」

「Such a generous person . 」

My comrades rushed to praise me .

There used to be three of them, but I got one of them pregnant, so she took a break from adventuring .

[TL: F$CK, I thought he is a SHE!!]

「Captain, don’t worry . The Hero of Water, Nefim, is with you . I’ve fought against Mermen so many times before that there is no need to fear them . Moreover, there are also a few Freedom Fighters who came along with us . What are you worried about?」

「Ahaha, true enough . 」

The captain laughed, but inside he was still nervous . It must be quite painful for him to tread through dangerous waters, but he had to sail to trade .

The ship advanced along the river with the power of the Goblin slaves’ constant rowing . Their pace matched the rhythm of the drums .

I saw a similar ship once at the Saird Inlet . They used rowers too, but it was my first time seeing so many together .

Maybe the large number of rowers made the ship sail so fast . With such speed, we could arrive at our destination without encountering any Mermen at all .

But then I’d be the one in trouble if that happened . I came to fight Mermen, after all .

I pitied the captain but if nothing attacked the ship, the one who would be in trouble would be me . And I truly didn’t wish for that .

「Captain!!」

「What’s the matter, Hero of Water-dono?」

「They came!! ALL COMBATANTS, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!」

I alerted the captain and took out my trident .

The Freedom Fighters, the sailors and the captain all hunched forward, trying to see the sea below us .

「Eh, from where?」

「YOU FOOLS!! DON’T HUNCH YOURSELVES TO SEE THE SEA!! 」

I tried warning them, but I was too late .

The ship had already shaken too much and some people fell into the sea .

「UWAAA! 」

「AAAAH! 」

「THEY’RE FALLING!!! 」

「INCOMING!! ALL REMAINING PEOPLE KEEP YOUR VIGILANCE!! 」

After I shouted the warning, creatures sprung from the sea and landed on the deck of the ship . They were Mermen, seven in total .

There were eleven people on our side .

Although we surpassed them in number, the ship shook so much that the Freedom Fighters couldn’t brace themselves properly .

On the other side, the Mermen had a steady position even though the ship shook .

The battle had barely begun, and the Freedom Fighters had already suffered some losses . Although they fiercely fought back, they were being killed one by one .

Their skills were hindered by the location since they were unused to fighting on unstable grounds .

「KUH! Only this level of shaking!! This is why the people of the land aren’t reliable at all!!」

As I moved along the deck, 3 Mermen came at me with their swords raised . I blocked their attacks with the handle of my spear and immediately stabbed it on a place that would destroy their stance .

Suddenly I heard a call .

「Nefim-sama!! 」

The girls were under attack . I had to save them!

I stabbed my spear on the deck and used it to launch myself across the ship, reaching the girls in an instant .

It took only one attack to spear through all 3 Mermen attacking them .

「Are you okay?! 」

「Yes, Nefim-sama . 」

「We’re safe . 」

Thankfully, it seemed that I wasn’t late . Judging by how lively they sounded, all three of them were fine .

A scream from behind me broke the moment .

「YOU BASTARDZZZZ . THE HELLZ YOU’RE DOINGZZZ . 」

「Fuh . I won’t lose to some Merman . 」

I taunted the Merman as I swept my eyes over him .

Compared to the others, that Merman had a better physique . His scaly hide was covered in scars from previous battles and still-healing injuries .

The Merman stopped for a moment and stared at the spear in my hand .

「Oi, ladies man . That spearzz . Could it be, that it waz stigma of Triton? 」

「Yes, I’m from the Triton race . I’m a bit different from the people of the land . 」

A Triton was a man born from the union between the Queen of the Mermaids and the King of the Sea, Trident .

Our appearances weren’t very different from humans, but we could freely move in the sea .

Tritons were the sweethearts who were hailed as the Mermaid Knights . The Mermen were our enemies . They attacked us to steal and rape the Mermaids .

Even at Saird Inlet, I fought against a Merman who rode on a sea lion .

「I see, then I havez to defeatz you!! 」

The Merman drew his dual-curved sword and took a stance . I could feel he was strong .

Honestly, I could use water magic, but it would be useless against the Merman . I’d rather not attack so carelessly .

I set my spear in a stance . The three-pronged spear was the same kind of weapon wielded by the King of the Sea, a Trident .

I, born as a Triton, received instruction from my father in the way of the spear . It seemed that I was more powerful than any other Triton .

Filled with curiosity about the land above the waters, I left the sea . My proficiency with the spear and water magic transformed me into a Hero .

I’ve fought against many enemies and became more and more proficient in the way of the spear along with the accumulation of experience from training and battles .

What reason did I have to fear a mere Merman?

「Fuh, I won’t be defeated by a savage like you . 」

「DO NOT CALL UZ SAVAGE!!! 」

The Merman let out an angry roar .

「Really? In that case, how about learning how to wear your underwear first? You’re in front of ladies . At least hide that ugly thing of yours!! 」

Since Mermen never wore underwear, its ugly parts dangled from between their legs, exposed for all to see . And that bastard’s “Little Merman” was more splendid than mine!

My determination to exterminate the Merman race was renewed .

The Merman lunged toward me with his spear but I was able to block in time with my sword . He matched the timing of when he pulled back his spear to close the distance between us .

As if I’d let him . The moment he stepped forward I aimed my spear at his feet and forced him back .

「Yer not bad . Aren’ts ya quite stroonk . 」

「Even if I look like this, I’ve fought against various demons on the land . I won’t lose against you . 」

「Ye might be rights . But yer can’t defeat me . 」

The Merman grabbed a curved dual blade and hunched forward in a stance . I wonder if he planned to lunge at me . If he did, then I’d skewer him .

I set my stance in response to his stance . The Merman then threw his curved blade at me . The blade spun as it headed in my direction .

「KUH!! 」

I looked at my opponent .

The merman made a beeline towards me as he ran in a low posture, so low that his chest almost touched the deck of the ship . He made his move at the same time he threw his curved blade .

I immediately fixed my stance and threw out my spear .

「HAAA!! 」

With a twist of his body, the Merman avoided my attack . My spear pierced through the deck of the ship . I tried pulling it out, but it was stuck quite deep .

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my foot .

「GUWAAA!!」

It felt as if something very hot was burning my foot . I knew what happened to my right foot without even looking: it was cut . It was followed by a stabbing pain running through my arms .

That was when I collapsed .

「「NEFIM-SAMA!! 」」

The women were wailing in sorrow .

The Merman approached me and stepped on my face .

「I won this fight, playboy . 」

「Guuh…」

I couldn’t speak with his foot on my face .

The Merman showed a disgusting smile before pointing at the girls .

「I’m gonna stealz yer femalez . Ye look from therez . 」

When I looked at the two women, I saw their frightened expressions .

「You guys… Run…」

Even though I knew it was futile, I still urged them to escape . But it was foolish . We were in the middle of the sea . There was nowhere to go .

I couldn’t do anything but grind my teeth in frustration .

◆ Lolicon Merman

[TL: WTF IS THIS, AUTHOR-SAN!!!!]

I jumped into the sea with the two femalez of the Hero of Water . He wasn’t even worthz as my opponentz .

He said that he foughtz against those demonz of the land . And yet he was so weak, not even enoughz for warming up exercise .

He couldn’t beatz me who always foughtz with my life on the line inside the arena .

That arena was hellish .

I was caughtz by thoze humanz when I waz looking for a bride, and then they zend me to the arena . I couldn’t live unlezz I killed my opponentz .

I fought dezperately, and somehow survived through the whole ordealz . That’z why I felt that fighting againtz the Hero of Water waz juzt a walk in the park compared to the fighting in the arena .

And not juzt that Hero . All human malez were too weak . It zeemz that I waz the strongest in thiz Ariad Gulf .

Thank you very much for thiz blezzing, Draugon-sama .

「Kuku . Let’z make my own kingdom in thiz zeaaaa . 」

I’ll make my own kingdom, have my revenge on thoze humanz and kidnap their femalez . I laughed az I imagined my roze-colored future .

I zmile as I look at the femalez inside the bubble . Thoze two femalez were exhauzted, but they were ztill alive . Theze women were perfect .

Zoon enough, I can zee my own nezt .

It waz right at the center of the Ariad Gulf, enveloped by a giant bubble .

Human femalez couldn’t breathe underwater . Thuz, I made a giant bubble in the center of my nezt and kept them floating in there . And then, made them give birth to my childz .

Zoon, this sea will be filled with my childz .

Although I lozt zome of my comradez to the Hero of Water, it wazn’t a problem . My comradez were going to increaze zoon .

「Now now, it’z yer new home, female human . 」

Az zoon az I entered the nezt bubble, I noticed zomething unuzual . The femalez were gone and in their place ztood an unknown female human .

The female human approached az zhe zmiled at me .

From her face, one could zee that zhe waz juzt a little girl . But, that zmile waz too fascinating .

I’m charmed by that zmile . Even if those females over there gathered together, they couldn’t beat her beauty .

「Sorry, uncle . Everyone who was captured over there was set free by Rino . But don’t worry, Rino is going to become your playmate . 」

The girl let out an impish smile .

「Ye will become my playmate? 」

I looked at the girl with lustful eyes . Her chezt wasn’t bumpy enough but her mesmerizing limbz were enough to fascinate me .

「You’re looking at me with such a gross look on your face, uncle . Even your little uncle is rising upward . Chiyuki-san seems to hate seeing that little thingy, but Rino doesn’t like to be seen around someone with that kind of look on his face . Cause Rino is such a charming little girl . 」

[TL : PedoMerman Appeared!]

I can feel my blood ruzhing down to my lower body as I zee her fazcinating zmile . Thiz girl waz definitely a charming opponent . I might not need any other women az long az I have thiz girl .

「Yeah, you really are a charming girl . I don’t need any othen women az long az I have you . 」

「Yup, that’s why Rino will look after these women . 」

When zhe zaid so, the females of the Hero of Water were pulled toward her . Zhe waz ztrong . I couldn’t hold on to them and ended up letting go of those femalez…

After confirming those femalez’ conditionz, the girl laughed . It waz zuch an innocent zmile but, for some reason, I waz terrified of that zmile .

「Well . Shall we begin, uncle?」

The ocean water suddenly moved, deztroying the bubble dome of my nezt .

「Yer going to fight me? 」

「Didn’t I said so before, uncle?」

「A little wizp of a human won’t be able to defeat me . At thiz rate, you’re going to die . 」

It would be bad if such a rare girl died .

I made a beeline toward the girl .

But the rapid current wouldn’t let me get clozer to her .

「Don’t worry, uncle . Rino can breath underwater . Rather, you should start worrying about your own safety . 」

My body wouldn’t move as I wanted to due to the strong current .

「NO WAY! ! I am being swallowed by the current!! 」

Thiz iz impozzible . Such an absurdly impozzible moment . And then, I saw a gigantic figure hidden behind the rapid current .

「No WAY, THAT’S!!? 」

「Allow me to introduce my friend . This is the high ranking spirit of the sea, Charybdis . Now it’s time for a pop quiz, can you survive her Maelstorm? 」

The girl laughed, and I was very frightened by that laugh . It zeemz the girl waz an extremely powerful witch . I needed to escape immediately .

The current started forming a whirlpool .

「NO!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! 」

I tried to zcream but my voice didn’t zeemz to reach her . My body creaked . I could feel my bonez breaking one by one .

It waz a terrifying power that cruzhed me whole .

Amongzt the zearing pain, I felt my conzciousnezz dezcending into the dark ocean .

◆ Hero of Wind, Zefa .

It was quite early in the morning when the merchant who led the caravan I was protecting approached me with a worried look on his face .

「Will we really be fine, Hero of Wind-sama?」

「Yer worry too much, merchant owner . Don’t worry, ye have me on your caravan . 」

The caravan was leaving Republic Ariadya and heading toward another country . I and my female comrades were responsible for protecting it .

They quickly got angry at the merchant who doubted my skills .

「You! Really, ah! Can’t you believe in Zefa-sama’s power!? 」

[TL: Seriously?! THIS FLAG AGAIN!?]

「Yeah . 」

「There, there, you two . I can understand the owner’s concerns . After all, every merchant caravan that passed before us was attacked by Centaurs . 」

Normally, there were no Centaurs on the Minon Plain .

I have never met any so far, but their fame as master archers preceded them .

I heard they wiped out the Knight Army sent to subjugate them . They defeated the knights of various allied countries without a single casualty among the Centaurs . And, according to the reports, they numbered only a few .

But this Zefa, hailed as the Hero of Wind, also had confidence in his archery skill . I was prepared to kill whoever dared to attack us .

「As expected of Zefa-sama . 」

[TL : STOP, PLEASE STOP THIS LOSING FLAG!!!]

「Such a generous person!」

My female companions sung my praises .

They were my battle comrades . There were actually three, but one of them was pregnant with my child . Thus, she was on break from adventuring .

[TL : … Can I retort here?]

「Be at ease, owner . You have the Hero of Wind with you . Those Centaurs may be masters of archery, but I am far more skilled than them . Not to mention we had several skilled Freedom Fighters with us . What’s there to be afraid of?」

「Hahaha, you’re definitely right about that . 」

The merchant owner laughed it off, but he didn’t let go of his worries . I could understand how he felt, given the sudden increase in monster activity around the region .

Then, suddenly, the wind changed .

It seemed that we were being welcomed .

「Owner!! 」

「What’s the matter, Hero of Wind-dono? 」

「THE CENTAURS CAME!! THEY’RE HEADING IN OUR DIRECTION!! FREEDOM FIGHTERS TAKE YOUR WEAPONS!! 」

Despite my warnings, the merchant and the Freedom Fighters were bewildered . They weren’t aware of the incoming danger like me, who had the power of the wind .

Even though they weren’t visible yet, I knew the Centaurs were headed in our direction .

「What are ya talking about? I can’t see them . 」

One of the Freedom Fighters got on top of the carriage and looked around .

… Good grief . He was looking in the wrong direction!

How can I leave my back to these guys?

「Hawk Eye!! 」

I climbed on the carriage behind the Fighter and used my ability . As I thought, a group of Centaurs was headed our way from the northwest . It seemed like someone in their group had the same ability as me .

If that was the case, then our side was in a pinch .

I nocked an arrow and aimed it at him .

「O Wind, Drive My Arrow To Pierce Mine Enemy!!」

I used my magic and fired an arrow toward the sky . It flew straight into the mass of Centaurs rushing toward us .

I assumed I had killed one with it… Until I used my Hawk Eye and saw a Centaur hit my arrow with his own .

「WHAT!! My arrow… Was shot down?!」

That guy probably didn’t use any special magic, only pure archery skill to shoot down my arrow .

I prepared myself to shoot a second arrow, but I knew from the exchange between us that the Centaur was more powerful than me .

「THIS IS BAD, EVERYONE!! RUN!! 」

「GUHA!! 」

A Freedom Fighter standing beside me was felled by an arrow .

「Holy f^ck^ng sh*t…」

I nocked my arrow and invoked my magic . My mana pool wasn’t infinite, so I couldn’t snipe several arrows in succession in little time .

The Freedom Fighters around me were falling flat on the ground . The Centaurs were closing in on our direction, and they were too fast .

It was too late .

「F*ck…」

I gritted my teeth in frustration, unable to do anything .

◆ MILF Lover Centaur

[ED: now that’s a villain motivation I can get behind]

「Hm, those humans were unworthy of becoming our enemies . 」

That human from the last raid was too weak . Only the one called ‘Hero of Wind’ put up some noteworthy resistance, but even he was no match for me, the Hero of the Centaurs .

Centaurs were blessed by Sagittarius-sama, the God of Archery . A human was no match for us .

If not for that accursed wall, too tall for us Centaurs to cross, those humans wouldn’t be able to defeat us . However, we had the absolute advantage when fighting on the prairies .

We defeated all the males in the human caravan and took their food and females .

「Hm!! Really now, patriarch!! 」

My clans were laughing too .

We once lived on the Kisonia Plain located beyond the Central Mountain . Unfortunately, we were defeated by a rival clan and then sold to humans .

Despite being Centaurs just like us, the other clan was in good terms with the humans . That’s why they sold us .

Even though those humans were nothing more than our prey .

I got very angry whenever I thought about that clan . But I would have my revenge .

To do that, we needed to increase our numbers . Hence why we kidnapped women . We needed them to give birth to our children and bolster the numbers of our clan . Then, we would return to the Kisonia Plain .

And we would have our revenge on those bastards .

Everything went off without a hitch . No one could defeat us on the Minon Plain .

Until I sensed something approaching us from the sky . The feeling was similar to what I felt back when the clan was in Kisonia Plain .

「Patriarch!! This sign!! 」

「I know!! Abandon the women and the luggage, we run until we reach the forest!! 」

If my hunch was correct, our natural enemy would come from the sky, so we ran for our lives .

Suddenly, one of us fell .

「GUWAAA!! 」

I looked at the fallen Centaur .

There was a deep wound on his body . That wasn’t the kind of gash one got from falling .

I looked at the sky .

「Griffon! EVERYONE TAKE YOUR BOWS!! 」

They were still quite far from us but my eyes weren’t mistaken . That was definitely a Griffon . But why in the world were they at the Minon Plain of all places? There shouldn’t be any Griffons around the area, or so I’ve heard .

And yet, there was one chasing us . It didn’t take more than a moment for it to catch up .

My clansmen fired arrows one after another, but none of them could reach the Griffon since it flew so far away . I had no choice but to wait until it closed in on us .

The Griffon headed toward me and my clansmen and I took the shot . Unfortunately, I missed . My arrow was flicked due to the wind pressure the bastard was generating .

「DAMN IT!! 」

「GUWAAA!! 」

After that, the griffon passed by another one of my clansmen at an extremely high speed . The same thing had happened back in Kisonia .

Only for a moment, I caught a glimpse of someone riding on the back of the griffon .

「We can’t win this fight, patriarch!! Let’s retreat!!」

That sorrowful cry came from my clanmates .

The Griffon was too powerful and too fast for us . It left us with no other choice but to run for our dear lives .

We ran as fast as we could because the Griffon shouldn’t be able to catch us after we entered the forest .

「GYAAA!! 」

「GEH!! 」

The scream coming from behind me announced each time one of my comrades fell . But I couldn’t slow down .

I kept running at maximum speed until I couldn’t hear them anymore . When I turned around…

… There was no one left .

「You’re the only one left, onii-chan . 」

At the same time as I heard that voice, someone descended from above, riding on my back . When I turned around, I saw a girl standing upright on my back .

「A cat… Person? 」

She was an extremely adorable girl, but there was a tail growing from her butt and a pair of cat ears sprouting from her head . She wasn’t human .

I knew that on the southern side of the continent there was a race of a mix of human and lion (?) called sphinx .

Was that girl one of them?

「Wrong answer, this Nao-san is a human . I became like this because I entered my Beast Mode . Nao-san is a wild girl when she is in this mode . 」

The girl was smiling heartily .

「Could it be… Were you the one who was riding that Griffon? 」

「Yup! 」

The moment she confirmed who she was I immediately nocked my arrow and fired it . But the girl was faster than I expected . She caught the arrow in a movement too fast for me to see .

「Oops!! 」

「Impossible… How can it be?」

「Sowwieee, but onii-san’s weak arrow won’t be able to kill this Nao . 」

The girl then crushed the arrow .

With her bare hands .

What a monster .

「Why did you get off that Griffon to face me? 」

「Cause Nao wanted to ask something . Who released onii-san from that facility? 」

「I don’t know… When we realized it, our shackles had been released and the gate was unlocked . That’s how we managed to escape from that place . 」

The girl stared at me silently . She seemed to be considering if I was speaking the truth or not . After a while, she sighed .

「It seems that you are telling the truth… You didn’t see the culprit, huh…」

「What are you going to do to me?」

「Deliver you to Ariadya, of course . 」

「Let’s make a deal . Let me become your subordinate . At least spare me from being delivered back to those people . 」

The girl shook her head .

「I can’t do that . Onii-san, we caught you after cross-examining you . We know the cruel things you did to the female humans back in Kisonia Plain . That was overkill . That’s why onii-san needs to be punished . 」

「Punished . Why in the world do I have to be punished? It’s just natural for the strong to eat the weak . 」

The survival of the fittest was the providence of the world . Why in the hell was what I did so bad?

The girl’s eyes dulled for a moment once she heard that .

「Yup, there’s no evil in that law… The strong could do anything to the weak～♪! Including toying around with their lives, ri～ght♪?」

She was smiling brilliantly but, for some reason, that smile terrified me .

「Guess what this Nao, who is far stronger than onii-san, will do to you♪?」

The girl stepped on my face, slowly putting more power in her leg .

Her beastly toenails dug into the skin of my face .

「WAIT!! Sto—-」

I heard the sound of something breaking .

Then, my consciousness descended into darkness .

◆ The Knight of the Pashipea Kingdom With Princess Fetish

We departed from the Pashipea Kingdom in the morning . Our destination was the Republic of Ariadya . I turned to the Hero of Light, who walked beside me with his Pegasus .

「Um, is this really okay? 」

「Your worries are unnecessary, captain . You have me going along with you . 」

The two attendants of the Pashipea Kingdom’s Princess took it upon themselves to rebuke me .

「Knight Captain-dono . Can’t you at least believe in Reiji-sama’s power? 」

「Yeah . 」

「Yeah, we won’t be in any danger as long as we have Reiji-sama . 」[ED: Oh PLEASE let him get his ass kicked]

「Don’t be so hard on him, Euria . I can understand the Knight Captain’s worry . There was also the case with those orcs . 」

The Hero of Light spoke to the princess of the Pashipea Kingdom . I endured the surge of anger I felt by seeing him speak to Her Highness so casually .

If not for that man’s timely help, our princess would have been raped by Orcs by now .

We were ambushed on the road as we traveled toward the Republic of Ariadya .

A notice had arrived at the Pashipea Kingdom about the rampaging fugitive demons raiding the highway . I was selected to escort Her Highness as her bodyguard, but…

… My powerlessness frustrated me .

To be honest, I underestimated those arena monsters . We were completely unprepared for the ambush we suffered, and we couldn’t chase after them . The Orcs attacked and almost kidnapped our princess .

Things would have become much worse if the Hero of Light hadn’t been flying so close to our location .

He quickly exterminated the Orcs and rescued Her Highness . It took him almost no time and a single swing of his sword to dispatch the demons .

After their return, the princess and her chambermaids looked quite unkempt with their disordered clothes . But what worried me was the amorous look those women had when looking at the Hero of Light .

「As expected of Reiji-sama . 」

「Such a generous person . 」

The chambermaids sang his praises .

It was strange how they acted like that despite having only encountered him once . Did it have something to do with our princess?

I couldn’t help but worry about it .

「Um, are we really okay this way? 」

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

I expressed my gratitude to everyone who came back .

「Thanks for your hard work, everyone . 」

「Easy peas~y . That weak Merman ojii-san wasn’t even enough to warm me up . 」

「Same here . That Centaur onii-san was just too fragile . 」

「Same here, it was an easy victory . 」

Rino and Nao received extermination requests at the Ariad Gulf and Minon Plain, respectively . Reiji, on the other hand, received another extermination request .

I can imagine what became of the demons that faced against Reiji . It felt stupid to even worry about him .

Meanwhile, Sahoko healed the people who got injured by those demons .

I was charged with examining the captured demons . It was meaningless since none of them knew what happened .

「We really have no clues in this matter . According to Nao, none of those demons knew who released them . 」

Our group alone probably defeated half of those runaway demons . The other half was full of rather troublesome demons .

First on the list were the Lizardmen . They were rather troublesome to find due to their ability to mimic and blend with their surroundings .

We needed Nao’s power to find them . We’ll have to look for them later .

Then, the ever troublesome Werewolves and Lamia .

Those two demons can assume a human shape . Looking for them was like looking for a needle in a haystack . We also needed Nao’s help to find them .

There’s also the fact that we have yet to find the mastermind behind the prison break case . Nao’s power was also necessary for this one .

Nao’s share of the burden was overwhelming . But we didn’t have any other method available .

It might take us a while to solve those cases . It might be a better choice to contact Shirone and co .

I wonder how the situation on their side is…

「It can’t be helped . We’re in a hurry, Chiyuki . Let’s just take our time . 」

Reiji said so with a carefree expression .

「There were some victims, Reiji-kun . 」

「Yeah, no doubt about it . But this is all I can do . We can’t dump more work on Nao . Let’s take a bre~ak♪!」

Reiji started laughing loudly . I guess he was worried about Nao .

The burden on her was probably heavier than that on the victimized girls . All the searching fell on Nao’s shoulders . But there was no other way because we couldn’t do what she could .

For me, Nao was more important than those people . Reiji also had our safety as his number one priority . If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t remain by his side .

「Agreed~♪! There’s a place that Rino wants to visi~t♪! 」

「Ka~y, it’s a deal, then . And the sun is already going down, too . Let’s go play with everyone . 」

Nao was on board with Rino’s proposal to visit the amphitheater .

To be honest, I’m also curious about it .

I REALLY WANTED TO GO THERE .

There was a gigantic amphitheater which played a drama every day as part of the country’s tourist attraction .

A circus group was performing there until tomorrow . After them, it’ll be a popular opera for the female audience . I also wanted to see that opera, but it was impossible at the moment .

「… It can’t be helped . We’ve got no other clues even after searching to that extent . I guess everyone has to take a break . 」

In the end, I lost against my own desire .

「Well then, shall we go to the theater to see some plays?」

Reiji’s words made us cheer loudly .

◆ Postman of Pigmayoi Store

「Dear . Are you still awake?」

「Yeah, I’ve yet to finish sorting this letter . 」

My dear wife caught me still sorting through letters .

Various countries of the Ariad Alliance were in a dire situation . As the highway became more dangerous, the situation only worsened .

Thus we, the Pigmayoi race, became even busier with the job of exchanging information .

Although traveling by land had become hazardous, traveling by air was relatively safe . We were buried in letters, and they all needed to be delivered in the most efficient way .

However, as my wife said, it was already late . I should hit the bed and stop wasting our precious candles .

Suddenly I heard a scream .

「UWAAAAAAAAAAA!! 」

I looked at my wife’s face .

It was followed by several screams .

「IT CAME FROM THE RAMPART!! I WILL GO THERE AND TAKE A LOOK!! 」

「… Please be careful, dear . 」

「I know! 」

My wife stared at me worriedly while I changed my clothes and made my way towards the birdhouse . I released the rope around the bird and mounted it .

The bird jumped from the tower of the rampart with me riding on it’s back .

Then, I saw it .

「This… This is a swarm of demons . 」

I, born as a Pigmayoi, had a better night vision than an ordinary human . I could see them clearly . Numerous demons surrounded the ramparts of my country, the Horon Kingdom .

Those screams I heard came from the garrison stationed at the rampart .

「This is bad…」

At this rate, the Horon Kingdom was doomed . I couldn’t do anything but stare dumbfoundedly at the seemingly endless numbers of demons swarming the land .