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Chapter 98 – Day 43 of Exploration
I use a vine covered with dried meat as a fishing line in the swamp. The hook is made from the bone of a monster.
Both Chel and Jennifer said they were too tired from yesterday’s exploration to move. Hel and Sylvia were also lying down near the fire when I woke up.
“You’re right, we haven’t had a day off.”
Life in this demonic land is all about survival, so there’s not much of a sense of vacation. That’s because if you don’t move, you can’t survive.
But now we have enough dried meat to sell, and we’ve found some wild plants to eat. We can survive.
“So we can rest?”
“I think it’s okay to do what we can.”
It seems that Lipa has also gotten used to the rules of the demon land.
The women were resting anyway, so I decided that it was a holiday for Lipa and me as well.
Since it’s a holiday, I go fishing in the swamp but don’t catch any fish. If I just laze around like this, the forest monsters will wonder what’s wrong with me. The imp shouted, “Gyoeeee?” and the haze turtle appeared from the swamp and chased away the fish that came near, making it even harder to catch any.
“Isn’t that unusual?”
I used magic to disrupt the water flow and caught the big fish that jumped out of the water by hitting it. This is my own way of fishing.
“I don’t even need a fishing line or bait…”
“If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, you have to learn how to fish,” the old woman in the village said, but it looks like I still can’t learn.
When I went to the cave with the big fish, Lipa was reading a book by the fire. It was the beginner’s magic textbook I used before.
“Why are you reading a book?”
“No, I’m studying a bit to learn Makyo-san’s magic.”
“You won’t understand it even if you read it. I haven’t read that book much either.”
“But it’s good for learning characters. Until now, I could only understand the words I needed.”
According to Lipa, in Cliff Garuda, he could only understand the signs in the town, such as the entrance and exit and the blacksmith’s shop. Hel, who couldn’t bear to see him like that, taught him a little writing in the early morning.
“It’s okay to laze around on your day off, you know.”
“If I laze around, monsters will gather around me. Even if I’m in my room, I just feel depressed when I’m sleeping, so I do things that I can do without going outside as much as possible.”
“So you study. Not bad. Shall we cook and eat a big fish?”
“Yes!”
We filleted the big fish, put it on the fire, and waited until it was cooked.
“What will you do when you find the capital of the demonic land, Makyo-san?”
While we were waiting, Lipa asked a question to break the silence. I guess he was worried about Midgard.
“What do you mean? Well, I think we’ll excavate it and report it to the royal family. After that, we’ll turn it into a tourist spot and make a lot of money by attracting customers.”
We can’t make a slow living by farming, so we have no choice but to turn it into a tourist spot.
“If we attract customers to the demonic land, won’t they all die?”
“To make sure they don’t die, I’ll have them all become tourist guides. They’ll be strong by then. Since Lipa can fly, you can transport customers, and the potions that Hel made and the weapons that Sylvia made will sell like hot cakes, right? If that happens, we’ll make money even without saying a word. It’ll be great.”
“I see, you thought that far ahead, didn’t you?”
“It’s a wish. It’s okay to dream, right? That is, if everyone doesn’t leave the demonic land.”
There are a lot of people in the demonic land who have been banished from their hometowns. Maybe that’s why I’ve been thinking lately that I want to send them back as much as possible. If they live in the demonic land, they will have to change whether they like it or not. I wonder what the people back home will think when they see how they’ve changed.
In my case, I don’t think they would trust me. Warren said in the capital, “There’s no point in thinking about the past.”
But maybe other people are different.
“So that’s how it was!”
As we ate the grilled fish and talked about everyone’s future, Lipa was surprised.
“What is it?”
“So the demonic land is a place where you can start your life again, right?”
“It’s not that big a deal. But there are all kinds of different values, right? Some things only work in certain times and places. But this demonic land is also left behind by time, a place where the common sense of the past doesn’t apply at all. Titles don’t apply either. Maybe you’ll be able to see your own value and role here?”
“Yes, and what is my role?”
“You will find out as you go along. I don’t even know what my role in life is. Maybe it doesn’t matter.”
“Eh?!”
While I was trying to distract Lipa with smoke, Chel, who was suffering from aching muscles all over, woke up and said, “It smells good.” Chel then casually took half of Lipa’s grilled fish and ate it, and while still half asleep, said, “It’s delicious.”
“What’s your role, Chel-san?”
“Buhoh, huh?”
Lipa’s sudden question made Chel spill out.
Lipa explained his conversation with me, and Chel listened while she crunched on the bones of the big fish.
“How can you have such a meaningless conversation? I don’t know if Makyo is going to turn this place into a tourist attraction or a training ground, but he’s just talking on a whim, so you should take what he says with a grain of salt.”
“Oh, a training ground. That’s a good idea. If we gather weak adventurers and let them fight monsters in the demonic land, they’ll become stronger. Maybe we should start such a business.”
“See?”
Lipa was surprised and said things like, “You lied to me?” His face was so funny that both Chel and I ended up laughing.
“That’s right. Makyo, that cube…”
“The Desert Golem Cube?”
“Can’t the military study it?”
“Even Hel couldn’t solve it, right? And if you put the magic stone in it, it will start moving, so it’s dangerous.”
“That’s why you should ask the military. I don’t think the golem is that strong, right?”
“Well, if you put it that way, I guess I could ask them, but what’s going on?”
“The giant rock in the forest moved.”
“Like a golem?”
“No, it’s more like a spider. Even if we can deal with that, we still have to deal with those big monsters… hah.”
Chel seemed very tired. She sighed and stared at the fire.
“Anyway, it’s a cube. I don’t want the things from the demonic land to be taken out, but I’ll ask.”
“Yeah, Hel said it wasn’t the time to talk about leaking technology either.”
Chel stared at the fire for a while, then said, “Not good. I’m going to sleep,” and went back to her room in the cave. After that, Sylvia also came out of the cave, ate some meat and grilled fish, and then went back to sleep. It seems that even sleeping requires nourishment.
“Should I make something for everyone to eat?”
“Yes, maybe you should.”
Lipa suggested making wild grass soup and grilled fish for the women and then going to the swamp to fish.
“After all, it didn’t become a holiday. I’m going to work, too.”
They say rest is work, but maybe we’re not very good at resting.
I wrapped the cube in a cloth and put it in my bag before heading to the entrance of the demonic land.
As usual, the slime from the stream clung to me, but I brushed it off with my backhand and sent it flying.
In the hut just beyond the stream, two elves were tending to their tools. I had ordered them to make a path to the training facility, but it looked like they were also cultivating a field around the hut. I could see the ridges.
“Are you neglecting your work and cultivating a field?”
I asked in a low voice as I approached the elf.
“No, this is…”
“We need to eat…”
“No, that’s okay. You can’t eat if the trade goods don’t come. Basically, the demonic land is a survival game, so if you can grow vegetables, you should grow vegetables. But please make your way to the training ground, even if it takes a long time.”
“Yes…”
“When we made the road, it also became a path for monsters, so we couldn’t work as fast as we had hoped… I’m sorry.”
The elves who work in the remote areas near the demonic land also have their own circumstances.
“I see. Well, you can hunt monsters while you work.”
“Thank you. We don’t have many trade goods, but can I ask you to order something for us?”
“No, that’s not why I came today. I just stopped by because I had some business with the military. If there are any monsters around, I’ll take care of them, so just get ready to start dismantling.”
“Understood!”
I was relieved to see that the elves seemed to be alive and well without any serious injuries.
“Oh, the pretty soldier lady said she needed you to come as soon as possible.”
“Sasha? When was that?”
“About a week ago.”
“Understood.”
I raised my hand and parted ways with the elves.
I followed the path that had been prepared, killing field boars and wild bears. I’ll pick them up on the way back and give them to the elves.
There are soldiers watering the fields at the military facility. I called out to them and asked where the captain was, and they said he was in a meeting inside the facility.
“Then can I wait in the hut for a while?”
“Oh no, I’ll get him right away!”
“Margrave, please wait here for a moment!”
The soldiers left their work in the fields and rushed into the building.
The other soldiers also stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
“I’m sorry. It’s no big deal, so please continue with your work.”
“Y-yes. Then excuse me.”
The soldiers around me seemed nervous, spilling water and clumsily getting their faces stuck in the mud.
I decided to walk around the fields, trying not to look at the soldiers working.
There seemed to be bitter gourds and taro growing in the fields.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
A small bird flies in from the forest and chirps. It’s a peaceful scene.
“Hey, Makyo-kun. What’s the matter? Did you hear the message from the elf caretaker?”
The captain came over to the fields with a smile on his face.
“No, I haven’t heard anything. I have a few things I’d like the military to look into.”
“It’s about the demonic land, isn’t it? I’d like to hear about it. Would you like to talk in the hut? Sasha is at the facility as well, but if you’d rather see her, that’s fine too.”
“The hut is fine.”
We decided to talk in the hut we always used for trading.
Sitting across from each other at the table, it felt a little nostalgic.
“It feels like we haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“Yes, I should have brought some alcohol, but there was someone who got carried away with it, so the demonic land is currently a no-alcohol zone.”
The captain laughed and said, “I see. It’s not easy being a Margrave, is it?” and comforted me.
“Now, let’s hear what you want first.”
“Actually, I met a golem in the desert…”
I took out the cube and explained briefly.
“There is a researcher in the demonic land, but she says that even if the elves spend a thousand years, they won’t be able to decipher it.”
“I see. It seems to be a dangerous thing. The military also has a unit that knows about magical tools, so I’ll ask them. They also have an experimental facility, so they might be able to decipher it somehow.”
The captain carefully wrapped the cube in a cloth and accepted it.
“I’m counting on you. So, what is your story?”
I asked the captain.
“Do you know a country called the Kingdom of Meiju?”
“Yes, it’s a demon country to the east of the demonic land, right?”
“A letter was sent from there, through the Elf Kingdom. It’s an enemy country, so we could just ignore it, but it says that the princess is being hidden in the demonic land. It sounds like she’s a pretty important person. Do you know anyone who fits that description?”
I think he means Chel. Is it a serious crime for demons to live in your territory? But there’s nothing I can do about it now that they have me, and it’s not like anything will change if they take me away.
“Well, actually, there is, but what am I supposed to do with the princess? She’s the one who ran away from the Meiju Kingdom.”
“I knew you had one. They’re asking us to return her peacefully. What do you think we should do?”
“The other day, I sent a letter through the Cliff Garuda, asking them to stay out of it.”
“It said that they were also asking for help from the Elf Kingdom and the Cliff Garuda. Why don’t you let them go home for a while?”
It seemed that the Meiju Kingdom had already made diplomatic overtures.
“That’s what you say, but to begin with, it seems like she doesn’t want to go home, and if she were to be executed upon her return, it would be my fault. It would be terrible if she came back as a ghost.”
“That’s right. It looks like they don’t intend to fight, but they won’t choose their methods, so it looks like they’re in a pretty tough situation. Besides, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The other side is a demon country separated by the sea. The only thing we can do is to let the demonic land deal with it.
“I understand. I’ll take this with me for now. I’ll do my best to prevent a war from breaking out.”
“Thank you, Margrave.”
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