Chapter 70

"You want to nominate me for the Eight Swordsmen of Shiga?"

"I do. It wouldn't be immediate, but I can introduce you to their leader, Sir Juleburg."

Several days had gone by since the demon Ludaman's destructive rampage. Once again, General Erthal was holding a drinking party in his office. As I allowed the unconscious Sara to rest her head on my lap, the general extended a proposal to Satou.

"Your level isn't high enough yet, but you fought an intermediate demon. Even that hard-headed Sir Juleburg won't take that lightly. If you can't join the Eight Swordsmen right away, surely you'll at least be admitted to the Order of Holy Knights."

I was aware that his intentions were entirely honourable. Still, I knew that it was not something that Satou would appreciate.

"I don't know if you could say I 'fought' an intermediate demon. I didn't really land any hits-I basically ran away from him."

"That's only because your level is still low. Nothing a little training can't fix." General Erthal was as thickheaded as ever. "Besides, you've survived encounters with no less than three intermediate demons now, haven't you?"

"I'm just quick to run away, that's all."

"Sir Pendragon, being skilled at evasion is something to be proud of. It's only by surviving battles that you can build up experience and fight again."

I fully concurred with General Erthal's viewpoint, particularly in a world where levels exist, and strength can be gained through accumulating experience, like in an RPG. Regardless, it appeared that none of Satou's justifications would sway the general. I'm curious about what Satou will propose to solve this situation.

"I'm terribly sorry, Your Excellency. I truly appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I must decline any such promotion. The only lord I serve is Baron Muno. Truth be told, I only came to Labyrinth City to train with my companions-in-arms so that we might better assist with the barony's revival."

So Satou's going with the direct approach. Although it was not entirely accurate, Satou presumably used it as a plausible justification for declining, and I can understand why.

"I see... He must be a truly remarkable lord to be worthy of such loyalty from you."

"Yes, quite so."

Satou smiled and nodded. Baron Muno really was a good guy, especially since he didn't discriminate against demi-humans and the like.

"Very well. Then, I shall not press you any further. But if you change your mind, come back anytime. I'll gladly promote you."

"Thank you very much. I'll be sure to do so."

General Erthal finally accepted Satou's rebuff of his offer.

"Hey, Excellencyyy! I made some fairy wine as a gift for Sir Pendragon!"

Just as the tension in the room began to dissipate, the foxfolk officer made his entrance, rolling in a wagon. To everyone's surprise, sweet melon whiskey turned out to be whiskey that had been poured into the halves of a small melon.

"These are high-quality melons. Are they from the Eluette Marquisate?"

"I don't know about the quality, but yes, you're exactly right about where they're from."

During my attendance at the tea party, a nobleman presented me with a bundle of lemons, which he mentioned were sent by his wife's family. With the intention of expressing our gratitude, we were considering preparing melon sorbet or another lemon-based dessert for him.

"Come on, dig in, Sir Pendragon. The tastiest way to eat it is to mush up the melon inside so the juice mixes with the whiskey..." The foxfolk officer handed Satou a bowl and spoon. "You should try some too, miss…"

"Mm… Kura…"

"Sara, wait a moment,"

Just as he was about to hand me a bowl, Sara suddenly shifted, wrapping her arms around my neck and nearly knocking me from the sofa. Once again everyone just laughs instead of helping me.

"Damn, that's good."

"Riiight?"

They even found the sweet melon whiskey more important than helping me peel Sara off of me.

"I bet this would work well with brandy, too."

"We've got Shigan sake, too..."

<0 >

"Looks like we can't get in with a carriage here, young master. Shall we go to the parking area?"

After the drinking party at the Labyrinth army barracks came to an end in the early morning, I travelled to the west guild in a carriage driven by our new maid, Annie, with Satou alongside me. We had already sobered up by this point, and I made sure to use 'Everyday Magic' to eliminate the smell of alcohol. I did this because I didn't want my employees, including Annie, to see me in a state of intoxication at such an early hour. Sara, on the other hand, was slumped against the carriage's side, still passed out.

"No, we'll just get out here. I want to look around a bit."

"All right. I'll take Lady Sara back home, then wait for you in the guild's parking area."

Once we said our goodbyes to Annie, we inspected the ongoing repairs at the guild plaza as we strolled towards the guild building. We had not one but two important appointments today left on today's agender, as both the guildmaster and the viceroy's wife had requested our presence.

"Ah, hey, guys!" The two women of the Lovely Wings party waved us over.

"Are you two heading into the labyrinth?"

"Yep, you got it!"

"There's not enough carriers with all this construction work going on, so we're joining the garnet-badge expedition party."

"We'll be able to pay off a lot of our debt after this gig!"

From the looks of it, it seemed like they were yet to finish paying the penalty for the 'chain rampage' they had been accused of causing, during the time we were introduced to each other. Before we parted ways, Satou gave them each several diluted healing potions as a farewell present.

"Whoa, you sure, mister?"

"Thanks a bunch!"

After bidding farewell to the jubilant couple, we turned our attention to the workers in the plaza. The captain's voice echoed across the area, issuing orders to the Labyrinth army's golems as they transported materials. Among the workers, there were a few young children. However, they were assigned age-appropriate tasks and not engaged in heavy labour. I had learned from the soup kitchen that all construction workers were provided with breakfast and lunch.

This incentive likely attracted not only the local residents but also migrant workers from nearby towns and villages. Taking advantage of the increased population, I arranged for the women residing at the Ivy Manor, who I had been safeguarding, to move into the tenements that the explorer group had leased.

"Don't just stand there spacing out, young master. It's dangerous."

"Scuse me! Comin' through!"

A group of young women who appeared familiar hurried past, carrying a box. It seemed likely that they were headed towards the vicinity of the guild hall, where food carts were congregating. Soon, the air was saturated with the tantalizing scent of sizzling fare.

"The croquette line starts heeere!"

"This is the end of the deep-fried-skewer line."

"Fried potatoes here, piping hot and crunchy!"

Each of the three lines had a child standing at the back with a sign illustrating the corresponding dish. The master artist behind these 'DANCING CROQUETTES', 'WINNING SKEWERS', and 'FLYING FRIED POTATOES' signs was Tama. The last masterpiece she'd produced at the time, 'SUNLIT HAMBURG', was framed and hanging in the orphanage cafeteria. Apparently, some of the kids had taken to praying to it.

"Ah, it's Mr Viscount and Miss Hero!"

One of the young girls standing near the individuals holding signs gestured towards us and exclaimed loudly. I patted her head before distributing candies to the sign-holding children at the orphanage, asking them to keep it between us.

"Oh, hey, mister! Lulu, your master's here."

Neru, the redhead who was employed as a hawker while wearing a maid outfit, was busy frying croquettes at her stall and called out to Lulu. The story of Neru and Lulu working together is an interesting one.

Several girls who had been previously detained in the labyrinth were so traumatized that they refused to enter it again. As most of them lacked viable employment opportunities other than resorting to prostitution, Satou generously provided them with food carts and recipes for dishes such as croquettes as a token of his appreciation for their assistance in resolving 'Kuro's' predicament. Lulu was working with them to demonstrate the cooking techniques.

"Welcome, master!"

Satou was greeted with a bright and endearing smile from Lulu. If this were a scene in a shojo manga, the flowers surrounding her would likely overflow into the following panel due to its overwhelming cuteness.

Tifaleeza was here, too, taking the money and making change in place of a cash register. Miss Elder Sister and the blond noble didn't seem to be on food cart duty today.

"Sorry to interrupt. I was just passing through, so I thought I'd see how things were going."

"Here, mister, miss, for you!"

"Thank you,"

"Thanks, Miss Neru."

"You can just call me Neru!"

We accepted the small parcel of food she handed us, then headed into the guild.

<0 >

"Smells good. Got some skewers?"

"Yes, help yourself."

On the guildmaster's desk, we placed the bag of fried treats that Neru and Lulu had given us.

"Fried potatoes, too."

Sebelkeya glanced inside and inclined her head contently. In contrast to Mia, she typically consumed meat, but she appeared to have a particular fondness for fried potatoes. These potatoes were fried in canola oil Mr Dozon had mentioned in the rookie explorers' class, making them a relatively healthy option.

"Ushana, let's get some ale. It's the perfect pairing for meat skewers."

"No drinking until your work is finished, Guildmaster." Secretary Ushana smiled politely as she denied the guildmaster's request.

"So, what did you need to speak with me about?"

"Oh, fine. But fried food loses its flavour when it cools down. Let's eat and talk." The guildmaster bit into the skewers as she spoke. "Firstly, about that cultivation business. We've learned that you need a special magic circle to do it properly."

"Does that mean the gag order has been lifted?"

"No, you can still technically cultivate them without one, but it's not as effective. The gag order still stands."

Therefore, the leading plunderers who had escaped the recent incident were scheduled to undergo public execution; the rest would be demoted to the status of criminal slaves, have their speaking abilities restricted, and be assigned to assist in the recovery efforts of the Azure Lands, a region infamous for its high rate of lost slaves. Although this may appear harsh, I did not feel pity towards them, as their actions deserved such consequences.

"As for the main topic..." The guildmaster's face grew serious, and she hesitated a moment. "It's about that demon incident. Have you ever seen one of these, Satou?"

The guildmaster pulled a cloth bundle from her pocket, unwrapping it to reveal a short horn and a long horn.

"This one is a short horn. So...is that perhaps a different variety of the short horn?"

Satou made up some lie while I just nodded my head.

"Pretend you never saw it, then."

We nodded, and she put the two horns away.

"Do you know where those horns came from?"

"Yes." The guildmaster answered me immediately. "Poputema."

"...Did he confess to that himself?"

"Yeah, he spilled everything. If you have any questions for him yourself, go to the viceroy's place." The guildmaster nodded before turning to me. "Oh, and I got permission from the capital to protect those girls."

The night after the incident, I'd visited the guildmaster's room. I asked her to protect Elder Sister Sumina and the others. Subsequent to that, Secretary Ushana inquired if we could provide any aid for the guild's property reconstruction. In response, we gave a sufficient amount of money to prevent any envy or mistrust from other nobles.

<0 >

"…Hero Kura,"

When the viceroy's wife and I visited, we were greeted by the now-legless Poputema resting in a casket of white light while Satou was being doted on by a pretty group of maids. The reason for his transformation likely stemmed from his cropped, green-dyed hair and the absence of his typical makeup and manicure. The once vibrant and flamboyant noble I knew now resembled a frail, elderly man.

However, it was his expressionless, ashen face that truly unnerved me, as it gave the impression that he was lifeless and devoid of any emotion. I heard from Satou that Poputema was in rough shape after he rescued him from the stomach of that purple slime. Still, it was shocking to see how bad he truly was.

"Is he...alive?"

"Yes, the viceroy is using his power to forcibly keep him alive."

"So that he can be questioned?"

The viceroy's wife shook her head quietly.

"No. Once the temples of the six gods used their Holy Magic to cleanse him of the demon's brainwashing, he confessed everything of his own accord."

I had always assumed that he possessed a demon aura. Still, I never considered the possibility that he was being mentally manipulated by a demon. It seemed that even in the Muno Barony, my 'Analyze' skill could not detect the demon consul's Psychic Magic brainwashing. This explains why Psychic Magic was met with such strong prejudice.

It was only later that I discovered it was the elderly Head Priestess of Heraluon Temple who was able to detect his brainwashing, not through any skill or Holy Magic but perhaps with a similar level of expertise as a seasoned artisan who can spot even the tiniest of flaws.

"Would you mind, my dear?"

"Of course." The viceroy nodded gravely at his wife.

"O great spirit of Celivera City, I, the viceroy, implore you: Grant the diadem of power to your humble servant... Equipment Souchaku."

Upon the viceroy's forehead, a circular band of light materialized, only to be replaced by a hoop of blue-green crystal once it vanished. It was likely that he had invoked an item to harness the power of the City Core.

"I will now release the suspension. Lady Kura, please keep it brief."

He provided a limited explanation, yet I managed to grasp the general idea. The power of the City Core is likely maintaining Poputema in a state of suspended animation.

"Suspended state, release."

The viceroy invoked one of the City Core's keywords. The white light around Poputema disappeared, and his lips and fingers began to twitch.

"Nnnguuuuuohhhh!" A scream squeezed itself from Poputema's mouth.

"Darling, the anaesthesia."

"O-of course. Remove Pain Mutsuu."

The viceroy once again utilized the City Core, resulting in Poputema's cessation of screams. Although his breaths were still laboured, he appeared to be capable of speech.

"Hero… Kura…" The viceroy's wife nudged me towards him, and as his gaze met mine, he summoned me with a faint, hoarse whisper. I moved closer to his side, bending my ear towards his mouth to better hear his words. "It seems... I've caused you...a great deal...of trouble… I...owe you an apology and my thanks."

The viceroy's spell, intended to alleviate his pain, appeared to have little effect as the man continued to wince and utter low whispers, frequently interrupting his words with pauses. After being liberated from the brainwashing, it was unusual to hear him converse without repeatedly using the word 'indeed.'

"Your kindness… delayed… the demons' plans…. That is… a… great achievement…"

Taking the homeless kids into the orphanage and operating a soup kitchen… now that I think about it, I have done more than I normally do when I visit a new place. I don't think I have helped so many people since I left the Muno Barony.

"Without your… good deeds, Celivera City… would have… fallen to ruin and… been used to revive the… demon lord… before anyone realized what was… happening…" From the sound of things, the demons really were trying to revive a demon lord in Celivera City. "Thanks to your… delay, the demons… panicked and resorted… to hasty methods to… try to… revive the demon lord… in Labyrinth City more… quickly."

Did that mean there were still demons left? I'll have to ask Satou to do a search right away. I hope they aren't up to anything bad.

"No… need to worry…. Now that their… forceful plan has failed… there will be no… demon… lord revived in Celivera… for the foreseeable future…" Poputema spoke as if he'd read my mind. "…The crafty demons will… likely… use that as a distraction and plot… to revive the… demon lord elsewhere…. History makes that all… too clear."

So Labyrinth City was safe, but there might be a demon lord revival somewhere else? While the dragon god did say that multiple demon lords would appear.

"Therefore..." Poputema coughed violently. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips.

"That will have to do," The viceroy's wife wiped the blood with a handkerchief.

"What Poputema is trying to say is that your actions saved Celivera City. I shall award you the Celivera Holy Order Medal in the near future," The viceroy spoke in the coughing Poputema's place.

I didn't know what the medal was worth, but I think I have been getting too many recently. I am not looking forward to being on stage and giving another speech again.

"One… more… thing..." Poputema's voice wavered as if he were speaking his last words. "I want you… to tell the innocent… people… I hurt that I deeply… apologize. I will entrust all my… personal assets in Labyrinth City to… you…. Please… distribute them to everyone… who was hurt by my folly…."

With that, Poputema's eyes fluttered closed.

"Darling!"

"R-right. Suspended State Kashika."

The viceroy's City Core stopped Poputema as he teetered on the verge of death.

"Looks like we made it just in time."

"Good work, darling. Poputema still has one thing left to do."

The only potential scenarios I could consider for the close-to-death Poputema were bidding farewell to his nearest and dearest or being unveiled to the kingdom as the criminal mastermind behind the event. However, based on the demeanour of the viceroy's wife, I surmised that the former was more likely.

After establishing the medal-awarding ceremony schedule, I departed from the viceroy's castle. I don't know what Satou did with his time with the maids, but they seemed reluctant to let me take him away.

<0 >

"Thanks to those reborn demons and the pink sphere, there should be plenty of miasma in Labyrinth City, indeed."

Perched on a mountain ridge, gazing down upon Labyrinth City, a man clad in green attire stirred with suspicion. His voice mirrored Poputema's, yet his physicality differed significantly – a muscular, rugged build replaced the noble's slender frame. Accompanying him was a wyvern, its wings neatly folded against its body.

It didn't take Satou long to find him the moment I mentioned there might be more demons still in the city. Equipped with our stealth skills and having covertly approached the man and wyvern using consecutive 'Warp' skills, we had managed to go unnoticed thus far.

"As long as nothing gets in the way, soon the miasma will eat away at the people, and their negative feelings will permeate into the labyrinth, allowing the second coming of His Majesty, indeed."

With a flourish, he tossed back the sleeves of his dark green cloak, striking a dramatic pose reminiscent of a thespian on stage. Unsurprisingly, activating my 'Miasma Vision' revealed that Labyrinth City was enveloped in a dense fog of miasma. It was clear that the demons' schemes had not been entirely foiled yet. I would simply have to purge the miasma after taking care of this demon.

"Enjoy your brief springtime while it lasts, indeed. Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho..." An eerie, high-pitched laughter, incongruous with the man's harsh facial features, echoed through the mountains. "Next, I must help the pink one, indeed. So troublesome, but I must repay for the loan of the pink sphere, indeed."

With an expression reminiscent of a sinister mastermind, he spun around before abruptly stopping in his tracks upon noticing Satou perched on a boulder disguised as Nanashi. And for some reason, Satou is waving at him.

"Wh-who are you, indeed?!"

"...Nanashi the Hero."

Upon Satou's cool response to the man dressed in green, the wyvern became aware of his presence. It extended its wings in an ominous display of threat. But I swiftly cut off the beast's head, making my entrance.

"What exactly are you planning in Labyrinth City?" I ask, pointing Claidheamh Soluis at him.

"Oh-ho-ho..." The man laughed loudly. "If you can catch me, perhaps I will tell you, indeed."

From his breast pocket, the man retrieved two rounded objects, which turned out to be white spheres. These spheres gave rise to magical circles, and from them emerged two green lesser demons. As this happened, the man began to disappear into the shadows beneath him, seemingly attempting to use the demons as a distraction while he made his escape. However, I was not about to let that happen.

I ignored the lesser demons, leaving them for Satou, closed in on the green-clad man with "Warp," and kicked him out of the shadows.

"Guuuh! Wh-what did you do, indeed?!" The man groaned in pain. "How can an attack on my avatar reach my real body, indeed?!"

I guess using a fusion of Sacredblade and Magic Armor on my foot when I kicked him must have worked. I even gained a new skill called 'Holy Light Armor'. It's a shame I don't have any skill points to put into that skill right now, but what I am doing seems to be working, so I probably can wait to try out that skill once I levelled up.

"E-enough, indeed. Stop that at once, indeeeeed!!"

I kicked him repeatedly, and that last kick, for some reason, my foot was glowing with a blue light. Checking my stats, I learned why. My 'Holy Light Armor' had reached level one. The lesser demons had charged at me from behind to try to protect the man, but Satou swiftly dealt with those guys.

"To think you could damage me through my avatar... No wonder you were able to defeat the red, blue, and yellow senior demons, indeed. You are a completely freakish monster, indeed."

The green macho dude staggered while speaking to me in a discourteous manner. Once again, I activated my new 'Holy Light Armor', enveloping my fist in a blue light. A trail of blue light marked the path of my punch as it connected with the face of the man dressed in green. He spun around and was sent soaring through the ground, his head scraping against the dirt.

"And now I will kill you too,"

"I-indeeeeed!"

The man shrieked like a peculiar monster, turned into green smoke, and disappeared with a poof. Satou, meanwhile, had picked up the lesser demons' cores from the ground and put the wyvern's corpse away. The vanished green man didn't seem to have dropped a core. There was another demon like the man in green in the northernmost city of the royal territory, but Satou had already put some kind of tracking skill to work on momotoring its movements.

<0 >

"...Is that a magic circle?"

I was distracted by something and decided to soar above Labyrinth City with the help of 'Skyrunning.' Upon activating 'Miasma Vision,' I noticed that the miasma had taken the form of an ominous black magic circle.

"If my memory was correct, it lined up perfectly with the green-clad noble's nighttime walking route," Satou muttered as he joined me.

"So he'd chosen that strange path to trace a magic circle, not just to mess with you,"

Specifically, the areas attracting our attention the most were our house's location and downtown sectors, which were left free of miasma, thus disrupting and rendering the magic circle ineffective. Still, Satou and I wasted no time. We returned home with the 'Return' spell. We strolled around with our spirit lights fully activated to erase the magic circle. I took one side and Satou the other, and in no time at all, the circle would be completely erased.

"Caught you, Pochi!"

"Awww, I got caught again, sir."

On my stroll I noticed the power-limiting items Satou given Tama and Pochi seemed to work well. Waving at the kids as they played in the empty lot, I continued my walk.

"Mia, dear, your music is always lovely."

"It makes me feel stronger by the day!"

"Mrrr. Flattery."

Mia presented a lively performance for a gathering of seniors by the reservoir. Every individual in the audience exhibited bright smiles, appearing full of vigour.

"See yooou?"

"Thankee, dearie."

As I strolled near the ranch, I observed Tama gracefully leap over a fence while an elderly woman bowed politely behind her.

"Granny?"

"Here, drink this. The little cat-eared girl gave us some herbs."

I had forgotten about the remarkable skill of Tama, who is adept at identifying and collecting medicinal herbs until I saw the elderly woman boiling them to give to her ailing grandchild.

As I strolled along a country road lined with farmhouses, I found myself approaching the north entrance situated near a row of private residences.

"Bwa-ha-ha, what a haul!"

"Good work, Arisa!"

"Now we'll get extra food for dinner!"

"Larvae, praise me as well, I request."

"Ah-ha-ha, you're so funny, Nana."

Arisa and Nana strolled along, each carrying a large package, with a group of children tagging along behind them. Earlier in the day, they had been busy laying traps near the area where veria plants flourished, successfully capturing several veria mice and sand moles.

"It reminds me of hunting for stag beetles over summer vacations." Arisa gave me a sunny smile.

I guess her childhood had been pretty wild. Once I had said my goodbyes, I strolled through the noble residential area, where I came across a nature park that was home to the picturesque Ivy Manor.

"Master,"

"Master Kura,"

After completing a loop around the city and returning to the western entrance, I found Liza and Pearl there. They had been practising by running along the perimeter of Labyrinth City, following a suggestion from Arisa. Most likely, Arisa thought this activity would lift their spirits. Liza expressed that she wished she could have contributed more to the fight against the demons. At the same time, Pearl felt useless against the enormous pink Slim Demon.

"Did you two enjoy your run?"

"…Very much so, Master Kura,"

"It was a good run, Master,"

Those two didn't seem to like running very much. Or maybe they want another form of training.

"It won't be long before we start exploring the labyrinth again,"

""Yes, master!""

Upon my casual remark, Pearl and Liza both beamed with broad smiles. It had been some time since the group had explored the labyrinth, aside from their occasional tasks of harvesting hopping potatoes and walking beans.

"I shall inform the others at once!"

Liza dashed away quickly followed by Pearl, leaving me behind. As the sounds of children's laughter and construction workers' activity filled the air, I observed Liza and Pearl receding into the distance. Liza's tail swayed in a steady rhythm, while Pearl's ears flapped in the wind. Smiling to myself, I looked up at the cloudless sky. They must really want to return to the labyrinth.

Exploring the city with my activated spirit energy appeared to have positive effects, as the miasma blanket hanging over Labyrinth City had now vanished. I returned home just in time to help with dinner, but when Sara saw me, she ran off red in the face. I guess someone told her what happened at the barracks.