We continued onward, past the hills lined with strange stone statues, past the mossy bones of dragons, and past the ruins sinking into the forest.
The further we went, the stronger the monsters became, and the wider variety of monsters there were.
We met people a couple of times and we exchanged a few words with them.
Their stories were very interesting, they kept us entertained.
I heard about a great country with twelve heroes, an evil spirit that travels from place to place, a huge library of ancient knowledge lying deep underground, a holy woman who spends that much money that even the Demon King fears, and a story of mountains that have ruins under the sea.
The world is so big.
It’s full of mysteries.
“Is that a town…?”
I looked ahead from the top of a golem. Far ahead in the wilderness, there was a large city.
Yikes.
I jumped and landed.
“Here’s some water.”
“Thank you.”
I took the water bottle from Kaede to hydrate my throat. It was dry and hot around here.
The sunlight was beating down on us from above.
“Aah~!”
“Gyu~!”
Frau and Panda were so sore that they were about to collapse.
They were wearing hooded cloaks to protect them from the sun. I’m getting tired of this heat.
“Kaede, cool us down please!”
“It can’t be helped.”
Kaede’s magic cools us down.
“Aaah, I’m coming back to life!”
“Well, let’s keep going.”
“How can you be so calm? Kaede too. You are the only two cooling off in the relic, aren’t you?”
“Shall we go into the cloak then?”
“Yey!”
“Kyuh!”
When I made room for them, Frau and Panda jumped in.
“Ahh~!”
“Kyuuh~!”
But they immediately jumped out with tearful expressions.
We don’t have such a comfortable thing to be in. Kaede and I are just trying to endure the heat.
Well, better get going.
“Don’t leave me here~!”
“Kyuh!”
Kaede and I continued on our way.
“I’m melting.”
“Kyu~”
This is such a pain in the ass…
I went back and picked up Frau. Panta went back to the stamp.
“There’s a town~~!”
Flau, who regained his spirits, screamed from far away.
This is a remote town in the Knox Hood territory called Beeps. This is the area where the old Demon King Bertina rules.
It sounds like a very powerful name.
He must be a strong and omnipotent demon.
The town was much nicer than I expected, and I couldn’t believe it was in the middle of the wilderness. There were waterways everywhere, with clean water flowing through them, probably from the underground.
The inhabitants were mainly beasts.
I also saw some dwarves and lizardmen.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see any demons or evil monsters.
“Ugh, they’re selling roasted lizards. ”
��It looks delicious.”
“Master!?”
I approached the old man at the stall and asked for a roasted lizard.
The meat was cooked so well.
I took a bite.
Yes, it’s good as I expected. The fat on the meat was just right, and it was delicious.
“How is it?”
“I-I’ll eat too…”
Kaede also took a bite.
“Hmm! It ‘s delicious!”
Right? It’s surprisingly good.
Frau rejected it with an “Iyah”.
I’ll never do this if I’m in the same situation!
“I’m coming back to lifee~”
“Kyuh!”
Frau’s face turned into a big smile as she drank a cold drink.
We went to a café that seemed to be a good place. The terrace seats had a nice view and the cold coffee was slightly sweet and really tasty.
The best thing about it is that it has a roof.
“Ahhh… I’m all sticky with sweat.”
—!?
Kaede is wiping her chest with a wet towel.
Two soft and comfortable looking hills and a deep valley between them. The water was dripping down through that valley.
Oohh… this is…!
Damn it! Stop, Toru! Don’t look!
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the “Dragon of Desire”, so, as a formal warrior, I rub my fingers under my nose.
‘Long time no see, Instinct.’
‘I’ll win this time. It’s your defeat, Reason!’
‘You idiot! Is not your turn!’
‘Hmph! You piece of wood.’
The battle begins.
A fierce battle between Instinct and Reason. Reason’s arm is broken, but Instinct also gets one of its eyes cut off. Either side could win in this long, long battle.
At the end, the Reason emerged victorious.
‘I’m not giving up…!’
‘Damn… Breasts…’
Kaede looked at me.
Then, she blushed and hid it with her arms.
“I-If possible… don’t look…”
“S-Sorry!!”
I turned my face away.
In my mind, the Dragon of Instinct was in the back, with a big smile. ‘I’m satisfied with that for now.’
“So what do we do from here?”
“We’re going to stay for a couple of days, then we’ll move on.”
Our main purpose in this city is to gather information. We need to learn more about the Fake Manyu Brigade.
That and sightseeing and resupplying.
We’re going to have a lot of wilderness ahead of us, so we’ll want to make sure we have plenty of food and water.
I’m walking around the market with a bag. Kaede is in such a good mood that she’s wagging her tail.
“Master, I’ve never seen these vegetables before.”
“It sure has an interesting shape.”
She asked the shopkeeper how to prepare them, then she picked up a few and bought them.
My pack grew bigger again.
“Let me have it. Sorry to make you do this as a slave.”
“It ‘s fine.”
“But…”
“I don’t know anything about food, also, I want to watch you enjoy shopping.”
When I said that, Kaede got teary eyed and said “Master…”
Don’t cry for that. You are the cutest slave.
“Huh!? Manyu Brigade!? You guys!?”
That voice… Frau?
The commotion seems to be happening at the end of the market. Kaede and I hurried over to it.
In the middle of the street, Frau and several men and women were staring at each other.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, you’re from the Manyu Brigade!?”
“What’s with you? Trying to mess with us…!”
“I caught you! We are the real ones!”
“You, real? Hahaha!! Don’t mess with us.”
Frau said, “huh?” while the man cut a mince.
I had left Frau to gather information but…
“Kyuh!”
“Ah, Panta-san.”
Panta flew towards Kaede and me, as if he finally found us.
He made a sound like an explanation in front of Kaede, but I couldn’t understand him at all.
Well, I can tell what’s going on just by looking.
“What’s your name?”
“Toru. Toru from the Brigade.”
“Fuhh! What are you pretending to be with that language and appearance? Then, where are Kaede and Frau? They have to be here.”
“What? Who is that? That one has to be Tohru from the Brigade. I don’t know the rest.”
“How dare you say you’re from the Manyu?”
Gradually, it became a fight between the man and Frau. The quarrel heated up and people around him stopped to watch.
Stopping it is not a good idea.
He ‘s going to die.
“Yes yes, I understand. Then, let’s see who is the real one!”
“I’ll take that fight, you cheeky fairy.”
Frau pulls out her hammer and the man pulls out his sword. The moment the fight began, I quickly stepped in between them.
“You stopped it too, Kaede.”
“I knew that Master would do it.”
I caught Frau’s hammer with my hands, and Kaede caught the man’s sword with her iron fan.
“Hii!? Master!?”
“What the hell is wrong with you, guys?”
Frau shivered, her face pale and wobbly.
You don’t have to tell me, do you?
Hmph.