Black haired wise man Chiyuki

　The Republic of Ariadia is located just on the border between the eastern and western borders of the continent and is located at the mouth of the Kish River, a large river that flows through the heart of the Minon Plain.
　The number of citizens may exceed a million. It is probably the largest country in the world.
　The reason why so many people gather here is because the country is rich.
　The plain of Minon, which stretches to the north of Ariadia, is a very rich land, and it produces a lot of crops such as white wheat. The crops are carried to Ariadia via the Kish River, which has its source in the central mountain range that runs through the center of the plain.
　And to the south is the quiet Gulf of Ariad. This bay is shallow, and the great sea monsters of the open sea cannot enter it.
　The nations of this gulf and the nations of the Minon Plain have formed an Ariadic alliance around the Republic of Ariadia, and people are free to come and go as they please.
　For this reason, many people gather in the Republic of Ariadia.
　Also, to the northeast of the plain of Minon is the land of the dwarves, from which tools and minerals such as gold and silver are brought to Ariadia via the River Kish.
　Such is the Republic of Ariadia, which issues Tikam money, the standard for world currency. Perhaps this is why its monetary economy is more advanced than that of any other country.
　After all, the currency of the Republic of St. Renaria, where we are based, is also issued on the basis of Tükam money.
　A country where wealth is gathered. That is the Republic of Ariadia.
　And now, Rage and I are here in the general's office of this Republic of Ariadia.
　Sahoko, Reno, and Nao have been separated from us.
　I'm worried that we'll be left alone, so I have Sahoko to go with us.

You have come well. The brave Lord of Light. My name is Krasus and I am a general in the Republic of Ariadia.

　A man of about 40 years of age comes out as you are shown into the room.
　His name is Krasus, and he is the general of this Ariadia Republic.
　The general is the chief of defense and security of this Republic of Ariadia.
　The position of general is quite unique in the world.
　In most cases, the king of the country is both regent and general. In other republics, too, the consul general is usually the chief administrator of security and defense.
　This is because of the large population of Ariadia and the large area to be protected, it was necessary to separate security from the work of the steward.
　In this world, most countries have military service, and there are armies of all sizes.
　But it is not for fighting humans. There are not many wars between human countries in this world.
　The opponent is a demon. It can be said that in this world where there are many demons, there is no room for human nations to fight each other.
　However, since there are not many monsters in this area, the general's job is solely to maintain security.
　There are no conflicts between countries, but civilian conflicts are the same as in the original world we were in. Rather, because of the large population, it is far more common than in other countries.
　The general in front of me, Krasus, was also said to have been a knight of this country in the past, but he hasn't fought many demons.
　Krasus puts his hand on his chest and gives a bow to Rage. This is the polite way of greeting in this world.

The actuality of this is that it is a very good thing. It's a pleasure to meet you.

　While Krasz is polite, Rage is unassuming.
　Rage doesn't change his attitude in front of the king of any country.
　How many times have we gotten into fights because of this attitude?
　I glance at Klassus. I wonder if he wasn't offended?

''Ha-ha. If the brave Lord of Light has come, then this country will be safe now.

　He laughs at that. I don't feel like I'm worried about Rage's attitude.
　Instead, I feel like I'm used to people like Rage.
　However, if you don't care about Rage's attitude, it's easy to talk to him.

''General Krasus-dono. I've heard some of this from Vice President Talabos, but could you tell me more about it?

　I'll ask Krasz on behalf of Rage.
　Negotiation is my role. It's my job from here on out.

'No, no, we're not going to stand around, so why don't we talk in the conference room? I'll have someone get you something to drink.

　We were led by Krasus to the reception room.
　The conference room is large and decorated quite nicely, as it is the general's office of the great Republic of Ariadia.
　There are seats for several people at a large table.
　We each take a seat.
　Krasus claps his hands, and the door opens and someone enters.

'Goblins?!!!'

　I let out a gasp.
　It is a goblin that has come in. There is a cart in front of the goblin and a drink is placed on the cart.
　The goblin pushes the cart in front of us and hands us a cup of drink.

'Here you go, Gob.

　Goblins bow.
　We are embarrassed to see our opponents bowing to us, as they are always fighting us.
　I've seen goblin slaves before, but this is the first time I've been treated like one.
　There is a thriving goblin slave industry in the region. Unlike orcs, goblins are an easy species to enslave.
　I've heard that it was the sorcerers of Saria who came up with the idea of turning these goblins into slaves.
　It is said that by applying domination magic and the like, they are able to suppress the cruelty of the goblins and make them obedient.
　I've heard of several large farms using goblins here in the Minon Plain.
　Thanks to this cheap labor, food seems to be cheap in this region.
　When the goblins finish handing out the cup, they bow again and leave.
　I look at it with a subtle expression.

'Oh?' This is the first time I've seen a goblin slave: ...... Ah!　No, I've been remiss in this. Master Raina's teachings forbid goblin slaves. I've been remiss in this.

　Krasus apologizes.
　Raina is the god of battle and the protector of humans from the threat of demons. And demons are targets that must be destroyed.
　Therefore, the use of demons is critical in the Raina cult. The bottom line is that you should kill them without making them slaves.
　However, perhaps because there is little threat of demons in this Ariadia Republic, the power of the Raina cult is weak.
　The most revered person in this country is the God-king Odis, the god of law. The Odis cult does not endorse slavery, but it does not prohibit it either.
　Therefore, slavery exists openly.
　The reason I was more subtle about it is because of my disgust for the profession of slavery. Of course, in the original world we were in, slavery was banned. As such, I don't feel very good about it.
　If this were a human being and not a demon, I would have told them to stop slavery.

''I certainly don't feel very good about it. But I'm not going to talk about it now. So let us hear why you want us to help you.

　Slavery is ingrained in this region. If we tried to stop it by force, we would have to fight with the people of this region. I didn't want to do that.
　Besides, even if we wanted to end slavery, it would have to be done in stages, and the question of what to do with the freed goblins would come up. That would be quite a bit of work.
　So I'll stop talking about this for now.
　Rage doesn't seem to be too interested in it either, so let's move on with the conversation.

'Yes, the incident was met at .......

　Krasus begins to explain.
　'The incident took place on the night of the day we fought with Syrone's childhood friend.
　In Ariadia, one of the spectacles of the Founding Festival in three weeks' time, a match was scheduled to take place in the amphitheater for five days.
　Unlike the gladiators we know and love, these matches are not pitting humans against each other.
　Most of them pits demons against demons.
　Because of this, many demons were captured and brought to Ariadia.
　Most of the demons are Orcs, but there are some vicious monsters, such as centaurs, werewolves, lizardmen, half-fishermen Marlow, and even lamia, which is a snake with only its lower body and a female upper body.
　Those captured demons were gathered in a training facility outside the Ariadia school.
　The problem was that those demons had escaped.
　Whether or not it was an accident or a man-made event is under investigation.
　However, there are some pretty vicious demons among the escaped demons, and it seems that the demons also took away the weapons belonging to the guard of the facility. If left unchecked, they are in great danger.
　For this reason, Krasus, the general in charge of maintaining the security of Ariadia, informed his allies of the situation and they decided to deal with it jointly.
　Ariadia is a country that is built on trade. If the distribution is stopped by the demons, Ariadia is doomed.
　They say that the price of food has already risen more than twice as much. Because of this, there is dissatisfaction among the citizens.
　If they run out of food, there will be a riot.
　It won't be an immediate problem because we have a stockpile, but we need to do something about it as soon as possible. So I need your help, Krasz says.
　I glance at Rage.

'Okay, leave it to me.'

　Rage says in a huff. 'Now we have a policy.

'Thank you,'

　Krasz thanked him.

'By the way, General Krasus. We will help you too, ......, but won't you send out knights or soldiers in the Republic of Ariadia?

　They should be the first to move on because it's their problem, not ours alone to work,
　Krasus looks troubled when I say this.

''As I recall, it was the black-haired Sage Lord ....... As a matter of fact, we've already put out the Knights .......

　Krasz looks hard to say.

'What's going on, sir?'
''Actually, ....... The knights who went out to defeat the demon have been destroyed. ......

　I'm immensely disappointed in that statement.
　Krasus explains.
　It was the day after the demon escaped. Each country in the Ariad Alliance sent out a defeating force made up of knights, he says.
　And on that day, the Ariadia knights are said to have found the escaped centaurs in the Minon plain.
　The number of centaurs is only 23, while the number of Ariadia knights is 300.
　The knights who are outnumbered naturally charged at the centaurs to capture the centaurs. And I heard that more than half of them were struck down without defeating a single centaur.
　I hold my head up. Fighting centaurs on the plains is just too stupid.
　The centaurs are all excellent archers and horsemen. If they fought on the plains and plains, ordinary humans would have no chance of winning at first.
　They are omnivores and hunt with their bows.
　Centaurs have a body that is much stronger than that of humans. The arrows from their strong arms fly farther than human arrows and easily penetrate armor and shields that have no magical powers of their own.
　And the lower half of a centaur's body is a horse, highly mobile. A horse carrying a heavily armed knight would not be able to catch up with it at first.
　Perhaps the knights of the Republic of Ariadia were defeated without even being able to touch the centaur. Originally, there were no centaurs in the Minon Plain. That's probably why they didn't understand the power of the centaurs and ended up like this.
　Still, the surviving knights of Ariadia pursued the centaurs.
　However, they couldn't catch up with it and lost sight of it, and soon it was nighttime and they had to make camp.
　In hindsight, Krasus says they should have taken refuge in some country, even if they were forced to do so.
　The number of demons in the area was low, so he was probably caught off guard. It seems that most of the remaining knights were killed in a night attack by the orcs.
　Then I suddenly wonder.

'Have the orcs attacked us in groups?'

　I ask Krasus.

'Yes, according to the surviving knights, it was a controlled move: ......
Then you have the same senior orcs. Are there any such orcs that have escaped?

　Orcs don't swarm, but when there's an advanced species of orc, they do.
　And orcs that have formed an army are vicious. They can easily destroy a human country or two.
　Aside from the other demons, that senior orc would have to be defeated at all costs.
　However, when I ask, Krasus shakes his head.

''The sorcerers of the Magician's Association also asked me about it. But it seems that there were no senior orcs in the area. Besides, from what I've heard, it doesn't seem to be a demon we can handle: ......
That's certainly true too: ......

　Senior Orcs are larger than ordinary Orcs. They have a body of steel and can only be hurt by magical weapons.
　Ordinary humans are no match for them.
　Fortunately, the only high level Orcs are found in Nargol, and they can only appear in the human world. They rarely come out to the human world.
　However, that doesn't mean that there are no advanced species of Orcs appearing in the human world.
　According to records, an advanced species of Orc called Grendale appeared in the northern lands of the Republic of Ariadia, where he formed an army and destroyed human lands all over the world, enslaving humans to create an orc empire.
　However, Grendale was defeated by the demigod, the brave Beolf, and his empire is no longer in existence.
　There was no way an ordinary human could handle an opponent who could finally win with a brave man who was the son of a god.
　So maybe Krasus was right and there were no advanced species orcs among the demons that escaped.

''If that's the case, it's probably not an accident, but an external culprit. Someone must have deliberately let the demon escape.''

　Krasus nodded as I said this.

'The sorcerer-dono said the same thing.

　Well, if you think about it, you would normally come to that conclusion.

'It's a tricky situation: ......

　I sigh.
　I don't know what the culprit is. But since he can make orcs follow him, he must be a very advanced demon.
　And it doesn't show itself. We have to start by finding out who it is. It's quite a tricky situation.

Yes ....... It seems that we can no longer deal with this on our own. ......

　According to Krasus, not only the Knights of Ariadia, but also the knights of each country seem to have been decimated by the demons.
　It's no longer possible for the knights of each country to deal with the situation alone.
　It seems that each country judged so and decided to contact civilian freedom fighters, the Order of Odis, which has branches all over the world, and the Society of Magicians to ask for help.
　And it seems that they spoke to me who happened to be in Saria, the headquarters of the Sorcerers' Association.
　It seems that they've made individual offers to other famous warriors as well.
　It seems that besides Rage, someone else who is called a brave man has already come to Ariadia.
　I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect from them.
　I am a little surprised to hear that there are many people who are called brave.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.
　Also, Krasus said that all the brave people had an attitude like Rage.
　That's why the rude attitude of Rage may not bother you.
　But hearing that, Rage becomes unhappy. I'm sure he doesn't mind the fact that there are brave men other than himself.

I'm not going to be able to say that I'm going to be able to do that. Please save this Ariadia!

　Saying that, Krasus bowed deeply to Rage.



◆Novis the Fire Brave.

'Whew!

　Get up and move around.
　Move so as not to wake the woman next to you.
　The woman is a woman who was my client. She is a widow and has no children.
　She's quite rich because she has an inheritance from her husband who was a wealthy man.
　She asked me to be her husband, but I can't do that.
　I'm a brave man, after all, and I'm a brave man. There are people in this world who need my help, and I can't stay in one place.
　I'm going to sneak out of the house and get dressed.

Maybe I'll go to the public baths.

　With that, we start walking.
　I walk through the entertainment district of the Republic of Ariadia.
　It's been a long time since I've been in this country.
　In this area where there are few demons, my power is not needed much.
　The only place I can exercise my power is in the huge amphitheater in front of me right now.
　The arena basically pits demons against demons, but occasionally there are matches between humans and demons.
　I'm tempted to go out to test my skills.
　But the arena is closed now because of the incident. So you can't do it now.
　By the way, although the arena is closed, we have a huge public bathhouse, an amphitheater, and a horse racing track in this country.
　As such, the country has no shortage of entertainment.
　The public bathrooms are located in the central square and you have to walk a bit.

We'll see what we can do: ......

　I've been called in to defeat the demon, but I don't intend to move in a hurry.
　Since we've come all the way to this Ariadia, let's take it slow for today.

''Please, let go of me. ......

　It's small, but it's a female voice.
　You run to the direction of the voice.
　You see a woman surrounded by several men.
　A man's hand is grabbing the woman's arm.

"Hey, hey, we're going to find your lost buddy," he says. Kindness comes in handy.

　The man says that, but the look on his face tells me he's being kind and not saying it.
　I look at the woman's face. Then he takes a breath.
　The woman is a ridiculously beautiful woman. Her face is white and well-groomed, peeking out of her flaxen hair, which has a slight habit. A little teary-eyed eyes will look like a man's desire for protection.
　And the most striking thing about the woman's appearance is the bulge of the chest which is visible even from the top of the clothes.
　It is quite large.
　The woman begs the man who holds her arm to let go, but he does not let go.
　That's because she's that beautiful, she won't let go.
　The people around her just watch and do not move.
　The man who surrounds the woman seems to be very strong. He's afraid that by helping the woman, they will do him violence.
　I will have to help him here.
　That's my role as the "fire hero".
　If I help him, he might thank me in some way.
　I chuckle at the thought.

'Leave it at that!　Old man!

　I step out in front of the men.

'What are you!　You know I'm Gaudin the Earth's hero?
You're a brave man. You don't want to be a hero!　Why don't you let him go!

　You make me laugh, my friend. I'll show you the power of true bravery.

What are you talking about?　We just thought we'd be kind enough to help you find this lady's companion!
Hm!　I don't know. You were going to pretend to help him anyway, and bring him into the dark to do something nasty, right? That's the side of you that seems to be thinking about that.
Jesus Christ!

　One of the men who had surrounded us is coming towards us.
　But I'm not going to let him get any closer. As I remind myself, a flame is created from the empty space.

'What?!!!'

　Suddenly, flames appear in front of me and the man who was coming towards me is surprised and falls on his ass.
　The flames cling to my body as if to protect it.

"Magic Warrior ......
Who are you ......
I know that guy. He's a fire hero.
I've heard of him. This is Novice the Fire Brave. I've heard he's got a flair for fire.

　The people watching around me were talking about me.
　Heh, I've become famous too.
　This ability to manipulate fire at will is what makes me a brave man.
　Of course, the power of fire is not the only thing that makes you brave.
　I'm confident that I'm better than other men in swordplay and physical skills as well.
　The brave men of the earth raise their spirits and attack. He seems to be confident in his arm strength, but if he doesn't hit it, it's meaningless.
　You'll be able to dodge the attack of the earth hero and place your palm against its belly.

''Shock bomb!

　I activated my magic and sent a small shockwave into my opponent.
　Now this guy will be in agony and unable to move.
　I look at Gordan.
　There is no change in his expression.
　Suddenly, he receives a strong shock from the side.

''Guhaha!

　I'm blown up and rolling.

"I'm sorry, Fire Hero. "Master Gaudin, the brave man of the earth, is a hard man.

　Gordan laughs.

'd*mn it!'

　I hold my side and stand up.
　I was caught off guard. It's enough to call myself a brave man.

'Whoa!　You're still going to do it!

　The brave men of the earth are poised.

'Of course!

　This one is ready too. Swords cannot be drawn. It is illegal to draw a sword in the city.
　I'm a brave man, so I have to obey the law.
　But I didn't feel like I could beat a brave man of the earth with my bare hands.
　I have no choice but to repeatedly hit them with shock bombs.
　I try to increase my magic power, but my armpits hurt and I can't get my strength up.

''Please don't!　You've already won the game!

　The woman who had been caught wrestled away from the man and tried to stop the brave man of the earth.

'Hmm, that's the one who put up a fight first, young lady, stand back.

　The brave man of the earth says this and lowers his arm to lower the woman.
　His arm touches the woman's large chest.
　Mu-nyun.
　I thought I heard such a sound.

"Kyaaaaaah!

　With a shout, a woman blows the brave men of the earth away.

'Gwaaaaahhhh!'

　A brave man from the land that was pushed out of the way comes over here.

''Wait a minute ...... guhaha!

　He is blown away with the brave men of the earth.
　And then you'll be blown away and hit the wall.
　I'm not going to be able to get out. I think I heard such a sound.
　It's probably the sound of my bones breaking.
　Blood spurts out of my mouth.
　And then me and the brave man of the earth fall to the ground.

"What power!
'Awesome, man, you've thrown the heroes of fire and the brave men of the earth ......
"It's amazing what you can do with your pretty face ......
I can't believe Gaudin is down.

　I can hear the people around me.

'I'm sorry!　Are you okay!

　I hear a woman approaching, screaming.

'I'm going to cast a healing spell now. ......

　My consciousness sinks as I listen to that gentle voice.



◆Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man.

　After the meeting with Krasus, I joined Sahoko and the others.
　Reno told me that the girls had gone to the country's great public baths while Rage and I were meeting with General Krasus.
　According to the story, the public baths dedicated to the goddess Feria looked like a large, huge palace turned into a bathhouse.
　According to the investigation, there are various baths of 50 large and small around a huge bathtub.
　And there are not only the bathtub, but also a massage room, a cafe, and play equipment, etc., and it looks like a leisure facility rather than a bathhouse.
　There is no other bathhouse as large as this one in the world. Anyway, the fuel cost is not ridiculous.
　However, this large bath can heat water almost without fuel thanks to the power of a magic furnace made by dwarves.
　Moreover, there is even a public bakery using this residual heat.
　I was really surprised when I heard about that magic furnace. Such things did not exist in the original world we came from.
　Because of the magic in this world, it is difficult to understand the level of civilization.
　But to be clear, I don't think the technology in this world is high.
　In fact, it seems to be far lower than the technological power of our world.
　For example, the magic furnace, this was not created by dwarven technology. This is a tool made by the dwarves' abilities.
　If it's a technology, even a human can make a magic furnace if he learns it.
　But that's not possible with an ability. Even if you prepare the same materials, a magic furnace cannot be made by a human.
　Of course, it's a technical thing. But just as a person without magic can't use magic even if he learns magic, even if he learns the technology, he can't make a magic tool without the ability.
　That's why it's difficult to compare it to the world we were in.
　Once again, it's an interesting world.
　I'm going to go to that public bathhouse later.
　Then Reno tells me about an interesting incident I met before we met up.

'Something like that happened,'

　I look at Sahoko.
　Apparently, Sahoko hasn't been picked up in a long time.
　There are no men in the Republic of St. Renaria and the surrounding countries who talk to us anymore. It's partly because they're afraid of rage, and partly because we might resist and injure them.
　But here in Ariadia, there are still few who know us. So it's not surprising that there are men who come to talk to us.
　And Sahoko is beautiful and somewhat protective; if you leave her alone, she gets approached by many people. That's why there was trouble.

'Sahoko-san, you have to handle it better than that.
That's right, Sahoko. You have to do better than that.
'Hey Reno, Nao. If you've been watching, help me out. ......

　Sahoko is teary-eyed.
　They noticed Sahoko straying and quickly turned back to find her, but it looked interesting, so they hid and just watched her.

'No, no, this will be an ordeal,'
Yeah, yeah.

　Reno and Nao chuckle.

'Totally, what are you doing? You guys are .......

　I press my forehead.
　It seems that the brave men of fire and the brave men of earth fought over Sahoko, and Sahoko pushed the brave men of earth who touched Sahoko's chest.
　I wonder what they are really doing. My head hurts.
　Surely Sahoko should learn how to handle men a little better. She should take a lesson from Reno and practice being able to handle them appropriately.
　You can't use attack magic like Kyoka, so the damage is small. However, if you had the ability to use attack magic, you would have caused as much damage to the people around you as Kyouka did.

The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that it is a very good idea to have a good idea of what to do with it. Next time I see you, I'll kill you.

　Rage is angry. Rage is not cool when it comes to Sahoko.
　So with Rage, he could really do it.
　Besides, anything but a girl's life is light to Rage. He wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

'It's okay, Rei. It's my fault ....... I didn't do a good job with .......

　Sahoko apologizes.

'And yet, ....... Being a brave man is surprisingly pathetic ....... And yet you're still a brave man like Rage.
Ra?

　Sahoko is the lesser of the two of us.
　You can't talk to Sahoko if you lose to her easily.

You can't say that, Chiyuki-san. Reigi-senpai is special.

　Nao says teasingly.
　You certainly shouldn't compare him to Rage. Even in the original world, there are few men who can be compared to Rage.
　I agree with you that Rage is special.
　Then I look at Nao. Nao is holding a rat with one hand.
　It had been hiding in our luggage and Nao had found it and caught it.
　It's the first kind of rat I've ever seen. It had reddish fur that reflected the light in the room, making it look like it was on fire. Its body shape was round and reminded me of a hamster. If it were a normal rat, I would throw it away. But since it had a pretty cute face, I kept it intact.

Nao-san, it's almost time to eat, so why don't you put the mouse under the table?
Yes, sir.

　Nao replies and puts the mouse down. Naturally, she tied him up with a thin, strong cord to prevent him from escaping.
　At first the rat didn't like being tied up, but now it has become more docile.
　And it looks like it understands human language, but I wonder if it's just my imagination.
　When Nao puts the mouse down, the door is opened and someone comes in.

'Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience.

　A fat, middle-aged man of about fifty years of age entered the room.
　This is Tormarkis, the owner of the house.
　He was Atrana's husband, whom I had rescued at noon today.
　He is also acquainted with Krasus and after the meeting he approached us with Atrana.
　He wants to treat us to a place to stay for the night and a meal to thank us for rescuing his wife.
　So now we are in the house of Tormulkis.

'Thank you for inviting us here today, Lord Trumarkis.

　I place my hands on my chest and bow my head on behalf of everyone.
　This Trumarkis is one of the richest men in the country. It seems that he wasn't originally from this country.
　However, he became a prominent figure in business and became a citizen of this country by paying for public works and other projects, and is now a member of the senate.

"No, no, no," he said, "it is for you to thank me for saving my wife, gentlemen. I made my wife join us.
I have some important business to attend to, but I'm sorry, I'm not at home. Please forgive me. Mr. Raige, on behalf of my wife, I would like to thank you.

　I thank him and take a seat.
　Rage looks disappointed when he finds out that Atrana isn't there.
　I'd say don't mess with married women.

I've got my cook on hand today.

　Tormulkis gives the signal and the door opens and a human comes in with food.
　All of them are young human men and women.
　I'm a little relieved to see that they aren't goblin servants.
　Tormarkis may be richer than Krasus, the general, from the fact that he uses expensive humans, not cheap goblin slaves.
　A mere ordinary citizen, not born in this country, is richer than the powers that be in this country. That's probably what this country called Ariadia is all about.
　And the young men will come to me and Sahoko and Reno and Nao, and all the young women will go to Rage.
　The young men and women who brought the food to us are quite good looking. None of them are ugly.
　Perhaps they are not just servants. Maybe they would entertain us s*xually if they were ordered to do so.
　But it's unnecessary entertainment for us. In fact, we can say that it is a negative for Sahoko. We are hardened to being entertained by a man we don't know.
　Honestly, it would be better to change the woman who is entertaining Rage and the man who is entertaining Sahoko.
　Rage is laughing and being entertained by a woman. How can you not be bored?

'Come on, ladies and gentlemen,'

　We see the food brought to us in the words of Tormarkis.
　A dish of salad, fish roe and cheese mixed together. Roasted beef with the liver of a force-fed bird. A fragrant mushroom soup. A pie made of vegetables and pork wrapped in a flour crust and baked. Fish steamed with herbs.
　And then there were the sweets, a thin cake made of honey batter and layers of fruit. They were served with white, sweet ice cream.
　Various other dishes are also on display. They were all made with hard-to-find ingredients.

It's a lavish meal. It's the most extravagant meal I've ever seen in my life.

　I say as I pick up the liqueur, which is made from dried fruit. As I put the cup to my mouth, I can smell its rich aroma.

'Yes, of course, but only in Ariadia, in the whole world, is it this rich.

　Tormarkis says happily. His tone is polite, but I sense a place in his words where he makes fun of the countrymen.
　He explains the food brought by the male attendant. It was meat from a certain region, fish from a certain region, and so on. The ingredients of various countries were used in the dishes.
　However, all these dishes had one thing in common.
　That is, none of the dishes we are eating nowadays are made in Ariadia.
　According to some, the Republic of Ariadia is not self-sufficient in food production.
　I've been to many countries in my life, but this is the first one with zero food self-sufficiency. That's probably why there are so few demons in this region.
　I have wondered why this world is generally a city-state and not a territorial state.
　It's because of the existence of demons. Demons prevent the creation of a realm state.
　Humans are never strong in this world. Even a single relatively weak goblin can be a threat to humans at night.
　In a world where there are always obstacles to distribution, there is no way we can be dependent on other cities for food.
　For this reason, cities are basically self-sufficient. A city has to provide its own food, clothing, shelter, and of course defense.
　If that were to happen, it would be a natural progression for one city to become one country.
　Among them, the Republic of Ariadia is an exception.
　This Republic of Ariadia has a trade alliance called the Alliance of Ariad with the surrounding countries.
　If nothing happens, there is a possibility that a territorial state called Ariadia may be created with this Ariadia City as its capital.
　However, due to this incident, the Ariad Alliance is now on the verge of a crisis.
　Up until now, in the realm of the Ariad Alliance, goblins would only occasionally appear on the streets, or the occasional harpy would fly in from the central mountains.
　But now there are half-fishermen in the Gulf of Ariad, and lizardmen in the River Kish, attacking merchant ships.
　And in the plain of Minon, centaurs are wild thieves, attacking people on the road.
　These three tribes were not originally from the realm of the Ariad League. They are still few in number, so the damage is not great.
　However, they are capable of interbreeding with humans. If they kidnapped human daughters and multiplied their own race, this region would eventually become as inhospitable to humans as the rest of the world.
　Also, Krasus said that there is no higher species of Orcs, yet Orcs are now attacking people in packs. There is no doubt that there is a higher species of orc, or someone who can control them.
　There are orcs in this region as well, but they rarely come out of the villages. However, if they start to form a clique, they will go out on the streets and attack people.
　And, after all, if they attack human daughters and increase in number, they will become a threat to humans.
　And there are many countries in the Alliance that are not as self-sufficient in food as the Republic of Ariadia.
　If the distribution of food is disrupted by demons, the country could be destroyed. As expected, they would have stockpiles of food, so they wouldn't be destroyed immediately, but how long would they last?
　The reason why Krasus has played us poorly is probably because that's how dangerous the situation is in the Republic of Ariadia. He wants to do something about the current situation by any means necessary.

''Not at all ....... It's finally the same as the rest of the region after the escaped demons rampage .......

　I mutter softly so that no one can hear me. I think Ariadia is a little too extravagant.
　The men carry the food from one dish to the next. As far as I can see, it can be said that Ariadia is still rich.
　But if the distribution stops, this kind of luxury won't be possible.
　Tormarkis speaks to me with a laugh. He doesn't seem to be in much of a crisis. He is supposed to be a trader. If the trade routes are blocked, he could be his own undoing.
　He doesn't seem to be very interesting to talk to. He doesn't seem to have much business acumen.
　Maybe he has been able to succeed because of his wife, Atrana, who is not here at the moment.
　Where is she now?
　Maybe the important thing is to discuss with other merchants about the demons.
　A lot of people are already working on this countermeasure against demons.
　We'll start working tomorrow.
　It seems that other brave men are already moving as well.
　I take the liqueur to my mouth. It was rich in flavor.