chapter 74.2

We were back to hunting monsters when we heard of another rumor .

「Another Demon Lord appeared on the uninhabited island」 They said .

Because of that, I was once again called to the castle and given the same doc.u.ments by the same old man . The princess didn’t come to meet me this time though .

The old man seemed to feel a bit sorry but since venting at him wouldn’t solve anything, I just accepted it with a smile .

「Seems like there’s another Demon Lord on the same island . I really don’t understand what those Demon Lords are thinking . Is there something important there?」

「Who knows . Why don’t you clear out the land to find out?」

「That’s not a good idea . It takes a lot of time and money to develop an uninhabited island you know? Let’s just stick with defeating monsters and Demon Lords」

「Well, we’re at war with the Demonkin at the frontlines after all so you can just think of it as if we’re just getting rid of the stray ones that appeared . Shall we go to the usual place?」

After that, we ate pork shogayaki . They pair it with bread instead of rice in this world though .

◇

「First is a ship . Then we’ll gather information after that」

「Right」

「Well, we don’t have to mess around as much this time . Shall we look for ships that are traveling between the continents like last time?」

「Want to try asking the merchant called Nils who’s been getting a lot of profit lately?」

「Then Mason, you go since you’re the one who suggested it」

「No way . Let’s all go together」

「That’s inefficient」

「It’s decided . Mason will go to that merchant while the rest of us go somewhere else . Let’s meet up at dinnertime in front of the inn」

「Understood」「Alright~」「Ou」

After that, we all went our separate ways then gathered at the bar to report the results .

「I’ll go first okay~? I’ve heard that a doctor from the slums paid off all of his debts then disappeared . Aside from that, he was also seen buying medicine in bulk and handing it off to a bunch of sailors」

「Ahー, I heard a similar story from the onee-san at the clothing store . She said that a shabby doctor came to buy clean clothes . There were also talks about how a nun was taken from the church in the lower cla.s.s district by someone who made a donation . The one who made that donation was apparently a dark-skinned Demonkin . It looks like that guy’s rumored to be from some island」

「Dark skin, and a lot of money… huh?」

「As for me, I heard that there was a Demonkin who turned over a lot of pirates at the guard station . If I remember correctly, the guy also had dark skin . One of the pirates even had a bounty for his capture so the guy received eight gold coins worth of large silvers」

「What happened to the pirates?」

「They were all made into criminal slaves of course」

「Did he sell slaves then? If that guy’s a Demon Lord then I don’t understand what he’s thinking」

「Heh~ it’s my turn then . I heard that a Demonkin with an odd skin color bought a large number of supplies . It looks like that guy also bought some sheep and pigs . He asked for livestock to be delivered so he already paid for half and will pay for the rest when they arrive . I heard that from the captain of the ship that will be delivering the goods you know?」

「It’s scary how accurate Mason’s intuition is from time to time」

「Oi oi, don’t praise him」

「It’s still only about 40% accurate so it’s not that great」

I took a sip of the fruit juice I was drinking then we began to consolidate the information .

「A doctor who paid for his debts bought a lot of medicine, then disappeared . A dark-skinned demonkin who donated to the church and took a nun with him, turned over pirates and received the bounty and profits from selling them as criminal slaves, then bought plenty of livestock and supplies . That settles it then」

「It’s probably safe to say that all of these rumors are related to the same Demonkin . Moreover, we already found the ship that’s going to deliver the livestock . As far as I can tell, that guy is the Demon Lord, but from his actions, I can’t really tell what’s going on in the island」Jackson added .

「That’s true」

「Oi, did you hear about that new job that’s been posted on the guild’s bulletin board? They’re looking for skilled workers for an island that’s located six days away from here . It says they’re recruiting people who want to be independent」2

「I wonder what’s going on over there?」

「We should check with the guild」

「Got it . Let’s go」

「Wait, let’s finish this first . This meatball is really tasty you know?」

After saying that, I took a piece of meatball with thick sweet and sour sauce, tossed it into my mouth, chewed it properly, then swallowed it . We should visit this place again when we come back to this town .

「Client: Dark blue-skinned Caam . Is this it?」

「Yeah, the skin color matches」

「If you just look at this post, he seems like a pretty decent guy to you right? He’s even paying those who have a family in advance」

「There’s the subjugation order though . If that guy’s a Demon Lord, I’m sorry but he has to die」

「Don’t say such dangerous things in the guild . Well then, it seems like we’ll be departing in two days so make sure you’re fully prepared by then」

「You said you already talked to the merchant who’ll be sailing to that island but I’ll just go there again to clarify things」

「Oi oi, stop making me look so useless」

「Mason always brute forces everything after all . That’s why I’ll just go and ask for further details about the trip like our food and stuff」

「O-okay」

Mason’s reply was a bit weak . He really only told the merchant that we’re going with him and nothing else, didn’t he?

◇

「*sqealーーー*」

「*meeeeeeeeeeeh*」

「……so noisy」

「Are we going to last for six days with this?」

「I’m going to the deck to get some air . Ugrh」

「I helped look after the livestock in my village so I’m fine with it」

「The smell’s also horrible . I’m going to throw up」

Jackson said that while running up to the deck .

「I guess even the level-headed Jackson couldn’t handle it huh? The smell is too intense for me so I’m going outside too」

◇

「We’re here again」

「That’s right . It doesn’t look like anything’s changed from the looks of things」

「Hmmー, there are more fields though」

「Captain, Mr . Merchant . Let’s go as planned」

「Y-yes」

「Don’t worry . You’re just delivering the livestock to the island that the Demon Lord is in after all . You said you want to get the rest of the money that the Demon Lord owes right? We’ll get to that, just be patient」

「That’s true . But I think Nils didn’t know about this either you know?」

We managed to convince the merchant so we started loading the livestock into the boat .

While we were making our way to the sh.o.r.e, I saw from afar that a dog-like person who seemed to be the Demon Lord’s subordinate appeared on the beach followed by someone with really dark skin .

After disembarking, the merchant immediately went to talk with them .

「You must be Caam-sama . Here are the sheep and pigs that Nils asked me to deliver . I’ve been told that you’ve already paid half so I will be receiving the rest of the payment here」

「Yes yes . Let me just get the money okay~? Old man, I’ll leave this with you」

He left the doc.u.ments to the dog-like guy then walked away . Just from looking at him, he doesn’t seem to be a bad guy . There were humans harvesting something from the fields and there’s a woman who’s hanging something that looks like leaves by the coast .

Are they making salt? I think I saw a TV program use a similar method . They make it in factories nowadays but they said that it was the traditional way of making it . Is that what they use to make dried meat?

(Oi, Rock . Aren’t there a lot of weird things now? They’re even making dried meat you know?)

(They also look like they’re harvesting something . Are those potatoes?)

(Wasn’t this place supposed to be where the Demon Lord lives and the humans are turned into slaves and exploited?)

(I’m not sure about that . Taking a closer look, they even have a bathing area and it seems like they’re also raising fish . That empty pen is for the livestock we brought with us, right? It looks like they have chicken and ducks as well)

(Hey, does this look like they’re living a pretty decent life here? This place is even better than the village I came from……)

While we were discussing that, the person whom we thought was the Demon Lord came back carrying the money that was in a pouch as well as a crowbar and a shovel .

「I apologize for the delay . Here is the rest of the payment . Please ensure that it’s the correct amount」

He gave the money to the merchant as he said that .

「Uhm . What’s with the shovel?」

「Well, your subordinates look kinda fishy so I brought it just in case」

「I-I see……」

(Did he find out?)

(Wearing this is pretty suspicious as expected)

(We’re wearing armor so we need to do at least this much)

(Geez . I think he already knows . Jackson’s smart but he’s also pretty dumb, isn’t he?)

(Tsk)

□

「I have something I want to talk about with the people behind you . Do you have time to spare?」

「Uhm…… These people are my escorts . You know, there are plenty of pirates nowadays after all」

「That’s true, isn’t it? You do need an escort . However, I would still like to converse with them . I won’t be at ease otherwise」

After I said that, one of the guys wearing cloaks stepped forward so I backed off to maintain the distance between us .

「Iyaー, I apologize if we seem suspicious but we’re just regular escorts」

「Isn’t it hot wearing that?」

「No, it isn’t . The material is breathable so it’s surprisingly cool inside」

「I see . I heard that it’s better to wear breathable clothing when it’s hot so I guess that’s understandable . However…… When you’re talking to someone, isn’t it a proper courtesy to at least show your face?」

I urged him to remove the cloth covering his head with a smile .

□

(Wait . Rock, isn’t this bad?)

(It’s not the time yet . Let’s just talk it out for now)

□

Black hair, and black eyes…… It seems like it’s rare for people of this world to have these Asian features so the guy must be a hero .

「Thank you . Iyaー, it wasn’t that hard, was it? I’ve already turned the tables on two pirate crews that came to the island but are there still more of them? I guess we’ll also have to stay vigilant even at night . The two pirate crews were really helpful though since they decided to attack us in broad daylight」

I spoke in a gentle but provocative tone so I bent my knees to lower my center of gravity and prepared myself to move at any time .

「Mr . Merchant, have you finished counting? If so I would appreciate it if you can hand over the livestock to us soon」

「Ahー . Yes」

「Thank you . Old man, please lead them to the pen」

「Understood」

(Hero might be present . Battle possible . Take everyone to safety)

(Ou)

「Alright, here are the doc.u.ments . Since you went all the way here for this, how about having some wheat tea under that tent first? It’s delicious even when served cold you know?」

I formed a small ice cube using magic on the tip of my fingertip .

「Eh? Well……」

As he said that, he was looking around and seemed to be asking for help from the cloak-wearing people behind him . Because of that, another one of them stepped out and covered for the merchant .

「Master actually hates demonkin so we’ll have to refuse . It seems like he didn’t want to come here but had to because he owed Nils-sama a favor」

「Is that so? Too bad . That must be why he’s been restless ever since you arrived . Ah, please remove your hood as well . Didn’t you hear what I said to that guy with black hair earlier? Do you have bad hearing? If so then I apologize」

□

(Oi, he’s just provoking you . You know that right?)

(He’s been doing that for a while now . Shouldn’t we do something to get back at him?)

(Leave me out of it)

(You’re provoking him instead!? That demonkin is not stupid you know?)

□

「I apologize」

He removed his hood as he said that . So it’s a blondie this time .

「Well then, I don’t want to scare you any more than I already have so I’ll be taking my leave . See you, Yuusha-san」

The moment I said that, I felt a surge of bloodl.u.s.t followed by them removing their cloaks and unsheathing their weapons so I ran with all my strength into the forest .