CH 30.1

“Young Lady Carol, do you know? I heard that there was an explosion at the mansion of the first court mage. Everyone is talking about a failed magic experiment, but the mage himself seems to be denying it, but it’s scary, isn’t it?”

“…Heeeh.”

The world is a dangerous place, isn’t it? I couldn’t even go out for a walk at night if such a scary thing happened in the city.

But… so that was the mansion of the first court mage, wasn’t it? I wonder why I didn’t notice it? I think the first court mage was the parent of the captured target with a weak constitution. How did I forget about that?

…A child with a weak constitution? No, wait? I shouldn’t think about it too much because it sounds like a frightening thought. I shall live in the future.

Let’s go to the Daemon Tribe for a little life reassessment. I was not trying to escape reality.

I believed that by now, everyone was enjoying life with a bright smile on their faces in a peaceful village surrounded by demons.

***

“Witch-dono, I’ve been looking forward to your arrival as I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“…”

As soon as I went to the village in Witch mode, the elder, who looked exhausted even though it was nighttime, came running up to me and started saying such things.

That was strange…. They had just escaped a raid by human slave hunters and returned to a peaceful land where there were only weak demons who were so afraid of me that they hid their appearance even if I casually went out for a walk.

“It’s not like that; it’s about you! I thought you were the Demon Lord in the legend of the Daemon Tribe after you destroyed the pack of demon wolves that attacked us with a single blow of ranged magic.”

“…”

Well, according to what I read, there was no such thing as a Demon Lord.

I thought that it was the king of the Daemon tribe who was the “Demon Lord”. I thought that the Demon Lord was the person who united the demon tribe when they fought against the human tribe in the past, but apparently no one has been given the honorary title of Demon Lord in the past 100 years.

Two of the three demon kings vanished during the war against humans, and the third king withdrew from the war, but he, too, has not claimed the title Demon Lord.

I wonder what was the Demon Lord of the other continent who appeared in the new VRMMO?

But when they withdrew, did they unleash demons on the lands occupied by the humans out of spite, or were there demons already living in those places?

“Nn? Witch-dono, what are you on about?”

“Nn?”

I think there may be some discrepancy in our perceptions.

Anyway, if I ask what they want from me, the new village that was attacked by humans is only about a day’s journey from here. Because the village’s warriors were reduced after the previous battle, I am worried that they will be attacked again, and with fewer warriors, the demons around here will become a danger as well.

Oh, there should be some old ruins a few days’ walk away, so why don’t I relocate them there? Moving there would be easier. The demons there might be weaker than those here, though I’m not sure.

***

(Events before the move)

“Why didn’t you live there from the beginning?”

“There is a strong demon there who is the master of the forest!”

“…ah, is that so?”

I knew what was coming. And I was not dissatisfied with their expectations.

To tell the truth, the sound of “Lord of the Forest” tugged at my heartstrings, and I also wanted to see how powerful my player character, which I happened to have acquired by reincarnation, was.

After all, there existed a strong sword saint in that country. I would not feel comfortable until I could take on the entire Order of Knights on the same level as the Sword Saint.

A strong opponent would be a chance for me to practice my skills.

After getting the location from the elder, I decided to go to the place to do something about it.

I felt like I was being used for a good cause, but it wasn’t for free. I was told that whatever they discovered at the site would be given to me, even if they discovered it later.

Normally, it would take me a few days to get there on foot, but that distance was nothing for me.

On the way there, I decided that I would only prioritize eliminating the ferocious demons so that they could travel without worry later. But the deeper I went, the less I saw of the powerful demons.

Leaving the less ferocious demons behind, I proceeded deeper into the forest and saw the ruins illuminated by the moonlight.

“…Hoh.”

It’s quite a nice view. As expected, there were no buildings left, only foundations, but it looked reasonably spacious, and if a house could be built, it would soon be habitable.

But there was no water. Should we explore the ruins a little?