Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

[Editor's Note: For clarification purposes, you'll see Republic Ariadya mentioned many times by either city or country. It's not a mistake. In this novel, a city is a country, so the terms in this novel are interchangeable. Sometimes they have a satellite city, like a colony.]

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

Republic Ariadya was located on the estuary of a great river that crossed the Minon Plain.

That river also served as the boundary between the western and eastern sides of the continent.

[ED: A partly enclosed coastal body of water in which river water is mixed with seawater is called an estuary.]

The number of citizens that lived in the Republic Ariadya probably numbered over one million. It could be considered the biggest city in the world. It also gathered the wealthiest people on the continent.

The Minon Plain that spread far and wide to the north of Ariadya was a vast plot of land that produced white barley-like grains. Those crops were carried to Ariadya through the Quiche River, which flowed from the Central Mountains to the Center Plains.

South of Ariadya lay the calm Ariad Gulf.

The gulf was too shallow, so it had never been home to the giant monsters that usually inhabited the deep seas.

Various countries around the gulf and the Minon Plain formed the Ariad Alliance. Its main purpose was to grant its members free access to the Republic of Ariadya and its surrounding areas. For that reason, many people gathered in the Republic.

Also, many minerals such as gold and silver and various tools were transported to the Republic through the Quiche River. They were carried over from a certain dwarven country located to the northeast of the Minon Plain.

The Teyukam Coin, the world’s standard currency, was issued by the Republic Ariadya. Perhaps that was the reason its economy was leagues ahead of the other countries.

Even the currency used within the Holy Republic of Lenaria, where we lived, was also based on Teyukam.

[TL: Think of it as USD of Isekai]

Both Reiji and I headed to the central office of the Republic.

Sahoko, Rino, and Nao were busy doing something else. Rino and Nao expected the meeting to be boring, so they quickly found something else to do. Thus, Sahoko was tasked with monitoring those two to prevent things from getting out of hand.

The one who came to greet us was a man in his forties.

「It's nice to meet you, Hero of Light-dono. I'm Clasus, the commander of the Ariadya Republic.」

His position as commander meant that he was the one responsible with maintaining the public order and defending the Republic from invasions. The position of General was quite rare even in other countries.

In most cases, the king was the one who held both the posts of General and Consul. Also, in most countries, the Consul was usually the one responsible for maintaining public order and defending the city.

When it came to a metropolis like Ariadya, with such a vast area to protect, the Consul alone couldn’t handle the two duties at once. Thus, the job of public order was separated from the duties of the Consul.

The majority of countries in this world had troops and military service. However, those forces were not for the sake of fighting other humans. They were for fighting demons.

War among humans did not exist. With so many demons around, humanity did not have time to be waging war amongst themselves.

Since the number of demons that lived around that area was low, the job of a General was mainly to maintain public order.

But the lack of a war between human countries did not mean that civil war did not exist. It was just like in our world. The number of people they had to feed was too overwhelming if compared to other countries.

[TL: Game of Thrones]

Although Clasus was a former knight trained at our academy, it was obvious that he had never fought a demon. He hit his fist on his chest and bowed to Reiji. That was considered a polite greeting in this world.

「Yeah, I'm the Hero of Light, Reiji. Best regards.」

Despite the polite greeting, Reiji replied in an audacious manner. He never changed his attitude, no matter who he met. Even if it was the king of a country.

   Hey, do you even realize how many times your attitude got us in trouble?

I glanced at Clasus. Could it be that he didn't mind Reiji’s attitude towards him?

「Hahaha. I can feel at ease since the Hero of Light has arrived in this country.」

Clasus smiled while he spoke. He truly didn’t seem to care about Reiji’s attitude. Rather, I felt like he was used to facing such types of people. Things would certainly be easier for us if he didn’t mind how Reiji behaved.

「Commander Clasus. I've heard about the general situation from Vice-President Tarabos before. However, I’d like to hear some more detailed information.」

I took the initiative and asked Clasus instead of letting Reiji cause trouble.

Negotiation was my job. From that moment on, it was my battlefield.

「I don't mind… But I think it would be better if we continued the discussion inside. I’ve prepared some beverages for us to enjoy.」

Thus, we followed Clasus to the conference room.

The room was huge and full of ornaments, very fitting of a superpower like the Ariadya Republic. A big table with a few chairs had been prepared, and we took a seat.

After Clasus sat down, someone else entered the room.

「A Goblin?!! 」

I unintentionally raised my voice, surprised.

The one who entered the room wasn't a person, but a Goblin. It pushed a cart filled with beverages and brought it close to us. It then proceeded to deliver the drinks.

「Here you gob.」

The Goblin bowed to us.

We sat there, frozen. We were simply perplexed that the enemy who we always fought was bowing their head to us.

To be honest, we had never seen a Goblin slave until that moment.

The Goblin slave industry was popular in the region. Unlike Orcs, Goblins were much easier to turn into slaves. Even the Magician of Saria had told me something about it.

It seemed that the domination magic eased up the Goblins’ brutal instinct, making them more obedient. I even heard that on the Minon Plain several large-scale farms used Goblins as their laborers. Thanks to such cheap labor, the price of food in the region was much lower than in other areas.

After completing its job, the Goblin bowed again to us and left the room.

I felt slightly uncomfortable after witnessing that.

「Oya? I suppose this was your first time seeing a Goblin slave, eh… Ah! Forgive me for only remembering it this late. Rena-sama’s teachings forbid the enslavement of demons, right? How careless of me.」

Clasus apologized to us.

Rena was a goddess of war, one who protected mankind from the threat of demons. Thus, according to her teachings, all demons had to be annihilated. Therefore, according to Rena’s religion, employing demons was considered a felony. In short, demons were supposed to be killed only.

Maybe the Rena religion’s influence was weaker here because the Ariadya Republic had a relatively low number of demons around. Also, the most popular religion in the area was the faith of the god Oudith, the god of law.

Oudith’s Faith neither allowed nor banned slavery, hence the common sight of Goblin slaves in the region.

The main reason the sight of a Goblin slave caused me such repulsion and discomfort was not because of the demon, but because of the word “Slavery.” It was banned in our original world. That’s why I couldn’t get used to it.

   [TL: It is not!!! ED: Sadly… Also, you have a problem with goblin slaves but not killing them? What’s wrong with you?]

If the one enslaved had been a human and not a demon, I might even have told him to free the person.

「Yeah, I just can't get used to it. Let's drop that topic for now. Allow me to tell you about the reason we need your help.」

Slavery was deeply rooted in that region. If we tried to force them to free the slaves, we might end up clashing with the people of the area. That was something we had to avoid at all costs.

Moreover, the aftermath of meddling with the slavery situation would become an even greater problem. Namely, how the released Goblins should be treated. That would take a lot of time to settle.

Then, it was best to drop that topic for the time being.

Reiji didn't seem all that interested in the topic, either.

「Well, the thing is…」

Clasus began explaining the situation that happened on the same night we fought Shirone's childhood friend.

It was the fifth day of the coliseum battles, three weeks after the founding festival of Ariadya.

Unlike our homeworld, the gladiators in the Ariadya Coliseum weren't only human. Most of them were demons, the coliseum being the main reason so many of them were captured and transported to Ariadya.

The majority of the captured demons were Orcs, but there were also some creatures from the more beastly races, such as Lizardmen, Werewolves, Centaurs, and the half-human-half-fish Merlows. There were even Lamias, snake demons with the upper body of a woman.

The captured demons were all gathered in a training facility on the outskirts of the Republic.

The problem Clasus needed help with was recapturing the demons that escaped the facility. Whether the prison break had been planned by the prisoners themselves or they had external help was up in the air. It was still under investigation.

On top of having some extremely dangerous demons accompanying them, as they left the facility, the escapees had snatched some weapons from the institution's watchmen.

The Republic couldn't leave such a grave matter unattended.

As the General responsible for public order, Clasus reached out to Ariadya’s allies, seeking help. From there, Vice President Tarabos asked us for help.

Being a country that conducted most of the continent's trade, Ariadya's destruction meant the circulation of money in the human territories would come to a halt. It was supporting the demonkind's plan to defeat humanity.

Due to the aforementioned reason, the price of food had practically doubled, heavily affecting the citizens. Worst-case scenario, the food shortage could lead to a rebellion from the populace.

Although Ariadya's food stocks were nowhere near that dangerous level, the matter needed to be resolved as soon as possible. That's where we came in.

I snuck a glance at Reiji.

「I understand. I suppose we should go now.」

Reiji spoke with the same arrogant attitude.

Just like that, our mission in the region was decided.

Clasus smiled at us with gratitude.

「Thank you very much.」

「By the way, General Clasus. Of course, we'll do everything we can to help, but I'm curious. This country should have its own soldiers. Why aren't you using them, instead?」

Since it was an internal problem, they should've been trying to solve it by themselves, and not just relying on outsiders.

Once I pointed it out, Clasus became very uncomfortable.

「As expected of the Black-Haired Sage, nothing escapes you… Truthfully, we've already dispatched out knight order, but…」

He seemed almost embarrassed to continue.

「What happened? 」

「The truth is… Well… The knights we sent after those demons that escaped… They were annihilated.」

I was speechless.

According to Clasus, on the second day after the prison break, every nation in the Ariad Alliance sent their knights to help subjugate the escaped demons.

The escaped Centaurs were found by the knights on the Minon Plain. There were 23 centaurs against 300 knights.

The knights charged ahead without a care, intending to capture them. They acted as if it was just another subjugation effort.

As a result of underestimating their enemy, more than half of the knight contingent perished, while the Centaurs had zero losses.

I was perplexed. How stupid those knights were, picking a fight against Centaurs on a plain, their home ground.

The Centaur race as a whole was a cavalry army composed of archery masters. No normal human would be capable of winning against them while fighting on a plain or a prairie.

They were omnivorous creatures, with bodies many times more powerful than humans. The arrows fired by their powerful vows flew farther and faster than any arrow fired by a human.

Also, a Centaur's arrow pierced through unenchanted shields and armor as if they were made of paper.

Their horse half endowed them with great mobility. They could easily outrun the knights who chased after them with their clunky, heavy metal armor.

Perhaps the knights of the Ariad Alliance were defeated without landing a single hit on the Centaurs.

Originally, there weren't any Centaurs on the Minon Plain. Hence why those knights were unaware of their devastating power on flatlands.

Nevertheless, the knights that managed to survive chased the Centaurs until it became too dark to see. Once night fell, they stopped their chase and started building camping grounds to rest.

Although it would've been impossible, theoretically they should've taken refuge somewhere else.

The whole region seemed quite lax toward the danger demons represented. Almost all of the knights who survived the battle lost their lives in a night raid orchestrated by the Orcs.

Something bugged me about that.

「Did those orcs attack in a group? 」

「Yes… According to the few knights that managed to escape, they were following a chain of command.」

「Then… Are there any superior species among them? Did any superior Orc escape the training facility?」

Common Orcs were unable to establish a village. However, there was a time when a superior species of Orc created a village in collaboration with the lesser species.

Orcs who could command an army were an extremely dangerous existence since such an army would be able to destroy one or two human nations with ease.

Compared to other demons, the superior Orc species was a priority. We had to defeat them as soon as possible.

But, Clasus shook his head.

「I did hear about that from the magician association, but there were no superior Orc species amongst the demons in the facility. Moreover, from what I've heard, escaped demons aren't our only concern.」

「Yeah… Looks like someone is orchestrating it all from the shadows.」

Superior Orcs were, well, superior to their lesser cousins in every way. With their bigger bodies, nothing but an enchanted weapon could pierce their steel-like muscles. A normal human stood no chance against them.

Fortunately, those species only lived in Nargol. They rarely left the Demon Country. Of course, that didn't mean it never happened before.

According to the records, a superior Orc called Grandel once appeared in northern Ariadya. Grandel built its own army and destroyed the surrounding human countries. Every human citizen that survived was turned into a slave.

Humanity was saved by the Hero Beowulf, a Demigod who defeated Grandel and destroyed the superior Orc's empire.

The opponent that humans could not defeat was, at last, felled by a Hero, a Demigod. That was why, as Clasus said, there weren't any superior Orcs amongst the escapees.

「If that's the case, then the night assault might not be a mere coincidence. There's surely a mastermind behind the incident.」

Clasus nodded in agreement.

「Wizard-dono said the same things, too.」

「Quite a troublesome situation we got involved in, huh…」

I sighed, tired.

We had no clue who the mastermind was.

Judging by how they controlled superior species with ease, the mastermind was probably a superior demon species.

Moreover, that person had yet to show themselves. I suppose that we should start looking into the mastermind's identity.

Really. Such a troublesome situation.

「Yeah… It has reached a point where we can't handle it by ourselves anymore…」

From what Clasus was telling us, the Ariadya forces weren't the only ones to suffer losses. The combined forces of the nations had also suffered devastating losses from the escaped demons.

The situation couldn't be handled by only the combined knight forces. Thus, the neighboring countries contacted the Magician Association, the Oudith Faith and, lastly, private armies like the Freedom Fighters.

When the news arrived, I was in Magic City Saris. It seemed that they gave similar offers to other famous warriors, too.

Anyone who was hailed as a Hero — except for Reiji — made their way to Ariadya. Clasus told us that among those new arrivals were the Hero of Wind and the Hero of Fire.

I was a bit surprised at how many people were called ‘Heroes'. To my surprise, anyone who exhibited abilities slightly above the strength of powerful humans could be considered a Hero.

Clasus also let it slip that those people had arrogant attitudes just like Reiji. Perhaps that was why he didn't even bat an eyelash to Reiji's rude attitude.

For some reason, Reiji was displeased to know about other Heroes. Maybe knowing he wasn't the only one just didn't sit well with him.

Clasus bowed his head toward Reiji.

「Please, Reiji-dono. Please save Ariadya! 」

◆ Hero of Fire, Novis

「FUAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!! 」

As soon as I woke up, I stretched my muscles. I quietly got out of bed and left the room, being careful not to wake the woman still lying in bed.

She was a widow who had asked for my favor. Left with a sizable inheritance from her late husband and no children to raise, she had asked me to become her new husband. But I'm sorry, that's impossible.

Why, you ask? Well, because I'm a Hero. I couldn't settle down and be tied to just one place, the world needed my power.

I put on my clothes in silence and left the house. Heading straight toward the entertainment district, I went in search of a bathhouse.

On my way there, I passed by the arena.

It had been a while since I last arrived at the Republic of Ariadya. The region was so peaceful, it practically didn't need my strength.

If there was a place where I could show my power, it was the gigantic coliseum in the city. Although it was normally an arena used for pitting demons against one another, sometimes there were humans pitted against demons.

The arena also served as a space for those who wanted to test their abilities. But the event that attracted me here was unavailable for the moment, hence why the arena was so quiet.

Aside from the arena, the entertainment district also had an amphitheater, a racetrack and a huge public bathhouse, my destination. Even with the arena closed, the country didn't lack entertainment.

To get to the bathhouse I needed to walk for a while until I arrived at the Central Plaza.

I wondered what I should do since my original plans weren't available anymore. There was the Demon extermination, which I received an invitation for but I had no intention of going there unprepared.

It had been a while since I last came to Ariadya, so I was going to take my sweet time while I was in the city.

Suddenly, I heard a girl's voice.

「Please, please let go of me…」

I ran to where I heard the voice coming from and found a girl surrounded by several thugs. One of them held her arm.

「Oioi, didn't you say your friend was lost? We just want to help you find her.」

Despite his harmless sounding words, his face betrayed the impure thoughts he harbored. He definitely didn't have any good intentions towards that girl.

I looked at the girl and immediately got stunned by her beauty.

From where I stood, I could see a bit of her face in between the strands of her slightly curly, yellowish-gray hair. Her skin was porcelain white and the teary look her eyes held tickled the protective instincts of a man.

But the most noticeable parts of her body were her bulging twin peaks. She wore baggy clothes, but they didn't help hide the size of her chest at all.

Her chest was so bountiful.

Although the girl asked the man to release her, he acted as if he didn't hear her. That was just how beautiful she was, to the point that the man refused to let her go.

No one in the area tried to save her. They just stood there and watched, those useless bystanders.

To them, those men must look very strong. Maybe they wouldn't try to save the girl because they were afraid of becoming targets too.

I suppose that was my cue to act.

It was my duty, as the Hero of Fire, to help those in distress. And who knows? I might even get something in return for saving her.

Just imagining how I could be rewarded made me smile, so I stepped forward.

「That's enough, old man! Release her!!」

「Wazzap, you bastard!! Did ya have any business with this Godan, the Hero of Earth?」

「Hero, my ass! Don't act so despicable!! If you really are a hero, let go of that woman!!」

I sneered at the self-proclaimed Hero.

I'll show him the true power of a Hero!

「Ha! What are you talking about? We're just kindly offering this lady some help to find her friend!」

「Huhm, is that so? I bet you were thinking of pretending to help while leading her to a deserted place, right? Your face is revealing your filthy desires.」

「WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU BASTARD!!」

One of the men standing around shouted at me but didn't get any closer. I prayed in silence for a moment and, suddenly, a fire appeared out of thin air.

The man was so startled by the flame that appeared in front of him that he fell on his ass.

「What the heck?!!」

The fire gently coiled around me, wanting to protect me.

「A Battle Mage…」

「Who the hell is he…」

「He told you just now, you idiot. He's the Hero of Fire.」

「I've heard about this guy before. The Hero of Fire, Novis, who can manipulate fire at will.」

The chatter made me look around. The bystanders were all talking about me. Hehehe. I must have become quite famous.

The ability to manipulate fire at will was what gave me the moniker of Hero of Fire. Of course, just being able to create fire wasn't enough to make me a Hero.

Whether swordplay or close quarter combat, I'm a cut above the rest.

I watched as the supposed Hero of Earth charged at me with a war cry. He seemed pretty confident about his brute strength. However, it was meaningless if it didn't touch me.

His attack left a big gap that I slipped through, landing a blow on his flank. Using a bit of my magical power, I created a small shockwave when my attack landed.

「BURST IMPACT!!」

After that attack, he would faint in agony.

But for some reason, once I looked at him, he showed no change in his expression. It was as if my attack hadn't even landed.

Suddenly, I felt a powerful impact hitting my side. The force of it blew me away, and I rolled on the ground.

Godan laughed at me.

「GUHA!!」

「My bad, Hero of Fire. This Godan, the Hero of Earth, is a tough one.」

「F#CK!!」

I tried standing up while holding my injured side.

I was careless.

Turns out he did have the qualifications to call himself a Hero.

The Hero of Earth set his stance again.

「Well? Do you feel like continuing?」

「Yeah!!」

I put up my stance as well but didn't unsheathe my sword. While in the city, using weapons was forbidden.

Above all things, a Hero must uphold the law.

The problem was… I didn't think I could win against that Hero of Earth. I had no other choice but to overwhelm him with numerous Burst Impacts.

I tried raising my magical power for the technique, but the pain on my flank prevented me from attacking.

The reason for the entire situation suddenly released herself from the man's grip and tried to stop Godan.

「Please, stop this! This isn't a match anymore!!」

「Huhm, he's the one who picked a fight with me. You should step back, Missy. Things are just gonna get more dangerous.」

The Hero of Earth swept his hand behind him, trying to push the girl back. Only… His hand grabbed her breast.

My mind supplemented the situation with an imaginary sound.

Boing.

「KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!」

The girl pushed back the man's hand as she let out a loud scream. The Hero, having lost his balance after grabbing the softness of the girl's chest, was pushed back in my direction.

「GUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!」

「Eh, wait a m———GUBWOO!!!」

Unfortunately, I was blown back along with him. We continued moving backward until a wall forcibly stopped us. Then I heard a cracking noise.

… Maybe one of my bones was broken.

As blood spilled from my mouth, both I and the Hero of Earth slid down to the ground pitifully.

I could hear those damned bystanders whispering again.

「… Such power.」

「Woow… She sent both Heroes flying…」

「Such terrifying power with such a cute face…」

「That Godan was blown away so easily.」

The girl approached us in a hurry, crying loudly.

「SOW~YYYYYYY!!! ARE YOU OKA~Y!! 」

Her words were the last I heard before falling unconscious…

「I'm going to use my healing magic right away, don't worry…」

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

After we left the conference with General Clasus, we regrouped with Sahoko and co. According to Rino, while Reiji and I were conversing with the General, she and Sahoko went to the public bathhouse.

Ariadya's giant public bathhouse that was dedicated to the goddess Faeria had become an extremely huge bathing palace.

It had a giant bathtub surrounded by 50 bathtubs of various sizes, a massage center, and a cafe. The building was more like a recreational facility than a bathhouse.

Such a huge bathhouse didn't exist in other countries. The fuel cost to warm up all that water was nothing to scoff at.

The giant bathtub was a masterpiece crafted by dwarven artisans. It was heated by a magically fueled kiln, thus it boiled water without using  fossil fuel, wood or charcoal.

I was even more surprised when I heard the residual heat was channeled to a communal bread workshop.

Such an incredible item like that magic-fueled kiln didn't exist in our original world. With the existence of magic, it was difficult to grasp the level of civilization in that world.

Honestly, I didn't think it was very high. In fact, it felt far lower than the civilization level of our homeworld.

A good example was the magical kiln.

It was a tool created by dwarves. If magical abilities were widely spread, then as long as humans studied it, they would be able to create similar objects.

But humans didn't have that ability. Even if they used the same materials, the magical kiln couldn't be created by a human.

Naturally, it required the dwarven know-how.

People who didn't have magical power couldn't use magic, even if they received lessons on it. The same applied to those crafting magical tools. Without magic, even if they knew how to craft a magical tool, they wouldn't be able to do it.

Hence why comparing how advanced each civilization was ended up so complicated.

We came to a very interesting world.

I had to visit that public bathhouse later. For the moment, I had a more interesting event to focus on that happened before we regrouped.

After all, it had been quite a while since someone tried to woo Sahoko.

No men ever tried to woo any of us anymore, whether in Holy Republic Lenaria or its surrounding countries. Part of the reason was Reiji, whom they were scared of. Another part was their fear of being injured by our resistance.

However, very few people in Ariadya knew about us. Hence why it wasn't so strange to have some men trying to woo us.

Moreover, Sahoko was the kind of beauty that instigated a man's protective instinct. Whenever she was alone, many men were bound to try to woo her. It was the main reason for all that trouble.

「Sahoko-san, you shouldn't act so nice. Stop healing them.」

「That's right, Sahoko-san. You shouldn't treat them so kindly.」

「Hold on, Rino-san, Nao-san. If you had saved me as soon as you found me…」

Sahoko's eyes were full of tears at the injustice. Although both Rino-san and Nao-san found Sahoko right after she lost her way, they maintained their distance from her.

They had wanted to see the continuation of that interesting event.

「Nonono, this is a trial for you.」

「Yeah, she's right.」

Rino and Nao wore equally impish smiles on their faces.

「Good grief, what are you guys doing…」

I held my forehead after hearing their conversation.

Somehow, Sahoko got involved in a brawl. The Hero of Earth touched her chest, and she pushed him away. Somehow, the Hero of Fire was pushed away too and both men were injured.

A headache suddenly appeared just from imagining the situation.

Sahoko needed to learn from Rino how to handle such situations. It would have been better if she had treated those men a bit more carefully…

The day's event ended without casualties. Thankfully, Sahoko couldn't use attack magic like Kyouka. Otherwise, I shudder just from imagining the destruction radius.

「Hmph, how dare they touch my woman with those filthy hands. If I meet them in the future, I'll kill them.」

Reiji was getting angry. He easily lost his composure when it came to Sahoko. He might really kill those two heroes.

Aside from a woman's life, Reiji regarded everything else as below him. He wouldn't hesitate to kill someone he didn't like.

Sahoko profusely apologized to Reiji.

「Don't worry, Rei-kun. It was all my fault… Everything happened because I'm unskilled at controlling my power…」

「Those self-proclaimed heroes were surprisingly weak… Compared to Reiji, can they even be called heroes?」

Among us, Sahoko was the weakest in terms of strength. But that didn't mean defeating her was easy.

「Enough talking about that event, Chiyuki-san. You know Reiji-senpai is special.」

Nao said ‘special' with a strange tone as if making fun of that fact. Nevertheless, she was right. Compared to Reiji, those ‘heroes' left much to be desired.

Even in our homeworld, only a few men could fight against Reiji on equal grounds.

When I looked at Nao, I noticed the rat she held in her hand. According to her, the rat had slipped into our luggage at some point in the journey.

It was my first time seeing that type of rat. Its shiny red fur reflected the lighting inside the room, making it look like it was on fire. The round body resembled a hamster. If it didn't have such a cute face, Nao would have thrown it away the moment she caught it.

But it looked so cute that she wanted to keep it as a pet.

「Nao-san, it's about time for our meal. Can you put the rat beneath the table?」

「Ye~sh.」

Nao swiftly tied the rat with a tough thin cord to prevent it from escaping. At first, the rat seemed to hate the cord but it gradually calmed down.

Maybe I was just imagining things, but I got the feeling that the rat understood human language.

After the rat was secured under the table, a middle-aged plump man entered the room. He was the owner of the mansion, Tormalkis.

「Thank you for waiting, everyone.」

Tormalkis was married to Atlan, the person we saved earlier. After our conference with Clasus, Atlan led him to meet us.

It seemed that he wanted to express his gratitude to us for saving his wife with a feast and a free night at the inn.

「Thank you very much for your invitation today, Tormalkis-dono.」

As the group's spokesperson, I put my hand on my chest and bowed toward Tormalkis in gratitude.

He was quite wealthy, even compared to other Republic citizens. However, he wasn't native to Ariadya.

Being a successful businessman, he gained citizenship in Ariadya by investing in public facilities. He was even chosen as a Diet (parliament) member in response to his philanthropic actions.

「Nonono, I'm the one who needs to express his gratitude for saving my dear wife, O great heroes. Unfortunately, my wife must leave due to a pressing matter. Please forgive her sudden exit. In exchange, allow me to show my gratitude to you, Reiji-sama.」

After he said so, Atlan left her seat.

Reiji made an extremely disappointed face once he discovered that Atlan was leaving. I restrained my urge to tell him not to reach his hand toward someone else's wife. [ED: scumbag]

「We put our everything into cooking today's dishes.」

That seemed to be the keyword for the servants to come in carrying the dishes. Fortunately, there were only young men and women amiss the servants. I felt relieved when I didn't spot any Goblins.

Maybe it was because of his wealth, but Tormalkis preferred using human servants, which had a higher cost than Goblins.

He was just a normal citizen, not even a native. And yet he was wealthier than most influential people in this country. It may be a common situation in other countries, but not in Ariadya.

The young men served the dishes to me, Rino, Nao, and Sahoko while the young women served Reiji. None of them were ugly, they all had very refined appearances.

Maybe they weren't just common servants. The inn might provide sexual entertainment for the clients who asked for such things.

But that kind of service wasn't in our interest. I believe being entertained by an unknown man might irritate Sahoko the most.

Honestly speaking, it would have been better to replace the young men serving Sahoko with more women serving Reiji.

Reiji grinned non-stop while he was entertained by those young women.

How dare you!!

Aaargh, whatever.

「Well, then. Go ahead, everyone.」

Tormalkis's words prompted everyone to look at the dishes prepared for us. There was a mixture of dishes including cheeses, fish roes, and salads.

There was roast beef garnished with foie gras, fragrant mushroom soup, baked vegetables and meat pie wrapped with wheat flour. There was also some kind of fish steamed with herbs. [ED: why u do dis,? I hungry]

For dessert, there was a cake-like dessert with many layers of nuts. Each layer was kneaded with honey. They even added some sugary white ice cubes.

That was not all. More dishes had yet to arrive at the table.

And every dish was made with rare ingredients.

「Quite the luxurious banquet. It's my first time seeing these types of dishes.」

I took a sip of the liquor made of dried fruits. The rich aroma spread through my nose as I brought it to my lips.

「I have to say, only Ariadya can display this kind of sumptuous feast in this world.」

Tormalkis had a delighted expression on his face. His tone was polite, but I could sense the cynicism in his words as if he looked down on the country hick.

The young man assigned to me gave me an in-depth explanation of the dishes. Where that fish came from, what part of which animal that meat was… Long story short, they practically used ingredients from every country.

However, these delicacies all had a point in common: none of them were specialty dishes from Ariadya.

From what stories I've heard, Republic Ariadya's self-sufficiency rate was zero.

We've encountered many self-sufficient countries so far, but it was the first time I learned of a country with zero capabilities of sustaining itself. That might be a factor in why the demon populace was so scarce around this country.

I had long wondered why the territories of the city-states were generally so small. The demons might be the answer.

The expansion of human territories was probably being suppressed by the Demonkind. Humanity was very weak, after all. Even a mere Goblin was a threat to a human at night.

Since demons were always an inhibiting factor in the distribution of goods between countries, a city/country shouldn't depend solely on imported goods.

That was why self-sufficient cities became the norm. Including daily necessities, citizens also needed to protect their city.

After a long time passed, such a flow of events would turn a city into a country.

But the Republic Ariadya was the sole exception.

The Republic formed a trade with its neighbors called the Ariad Union. The Union could be considered a country, with the Republic Ariadya as its capital.

Unfortunately, the recent events placed the Ariad Union in a crisis. Usually, an errant Goblin could be found only once or twice along the Union's highways. Or, in the case of mountain roads, you might find a Harpy.

Since the prison break, there were half-human, half-fish creatures in Ariad’s Bay, Lizardmen attacking merchant ships docked on the Quiche River and Centaurs raiding the highways of the Minon Plain like bandits.

None of those races were natives of the area. At the moment, the damage wasn't that great because their numbers were low.

But that could be remedied because demons could mate with humans. By kidnapping human women and breeding with them, they could bolster their numbers quickly. Soon, the whole area would become hard for humans to live in, just like in other countries.

Clasus assured us no superior Orc species were among the prison escapees, but it was obvious that those Orcs were attacking in flocks. Either there was a superior Orc among them or someone else controlled the Orcs.

Orcs were native of the region around Ariadya, but they rarely approached human settlements. However, the raids along the highways suggested a change in their ways.

Once they started assaulting human women, they would become a threat to the humans living nearby. And the majority of the human cities that lived nearby…

… Had self-sufficiency rates just as low as the Republic Ariadya.

If the circulation of goods kept getting delayed because of demon raids, those countries would fall into ruin. The damage wouldn't be immediate because they probably had emergency rations stored. But how long could they resist in that situation?

Clasus acting so humble in front of us was a sign of how dangerous the situation in Ariadya had become. He was willing to use every method available to get out of that predicament.

「Good grief… Demons are finally running rampant just like in the rest of the world. And yet…」

I commented on a very low voice. In my opinion, Ariadya was a bit too luxurious, considering the situation.

Judging by how those men kept carrying in one dish after another, Ariadya had yet to show us its true wealth. But if the flow of money stopped, they might be unable to afford such a luxurious lifestyle anymore. Or so Tormalkis told us while laughing loudly.

He didn't seem to feel any sort of crisis approach, nor did he seem worried about the situation. He should be a merchant, so the trade route blockade should spell trouble for him.

And yet, he didn't appear the least bit interested in that matter. It was like he had no ability in business.

His current success might be all thanks to his wife, Atlan, who wasn't present.

I wondered where she was… Could it be she had an important meeting with the other merchants regarding the runaway demons?

Many people had already started planning countermeasures against the demons. We were also going to start tomorrow.

It seemed that the other Heros made their move.

I held the liquor on my lips. It was so rich in flavor.

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