Black haired wise man Chiyuki

　The Republic of Ariadia has countless underground canals stretching underneath the country.
　There are countless places where one can descend into the underground canals for their maintenance.
　We will descend from one of them to the aqueducts.
　Underground canals are very wide, perhaps because they were designed with people in mind.
　There seems to be no need to bend down to go through it.
　There is also a walkway at the end of the canal for people to walk through. However, the water is shallow due to the lack of rain recently.
　This would make it possible to walk through the channel.

'Light.'

　I activate my magic to produce light.
　There is no light in the underground canal, so I need to use my lighting magic.
　A ball of light about 30cm in diameter floats in the air and illuminates the surroundings.

You're right, Chiyuki-sama. With this, there's no need for torches.''

　Sisyphe, who is with me, praises me.
　Sisyphe and the others are the members of our raiding team.
　General Krasz has divided the freedom fighters into several groups and raided them through different entrances.
　By now the other freedom fighters will be in the underground canal.
　Our squad consists of the usual members of me, Rage, Shirone, Sahoko, Reno, and Nao.
　And Sizfe and the others, Novis the Fire Brave, and Decius. And then there's Ainoe, who is being held captive.

'Why do I even have to go in there!

　Ainoe shouted as she was forcibly brought in.

'Lord Ainoe!　Signing up with Damon is a cardinal sin!　Don't you feel sorry for God!　And we know that the Lesser Damon who made the deal with you is lurking in this underground canal. I will ask you to come quietly.

　Decius says, and Ainoe looks frustrated.

'What a god!　You didn't help me when I was in trouble!　Damon is far better than that god!
Lord Ainoe!　How dare you! You will be punished by heaven.

　The two men argue with each other.

'Sir Decius, please calm down. And Mr. Ainoe, you too must shut up or I will cast a spell of silence on you.

　I'll stop them.
　But they're not saying enough.
　I let out a sigh.

'Mr. Siszfe, if you do, you'll have to take Sir Decius and Mr. Ainoe with you to escape.
I understand, Mr. Chiyuki.

　Siszfe bows his head.
　The reason why I made Sizfe and the others a member of the same group as us is to curb Decius' behavior.
　He is responsible and serious.
　But the people in the depths of this underground canal are not his to deal with.
　He will die if he gets caught in the middle of our fight.
　But Decius is too lazy to die, so he has decided to have Sisyphe as his minder.
　As expected of Decius, I don't think he would be overwhelmed with a woman.

''Well then, let's go, guys.

　Rage's voice sends everyone through the underground canal.
　Nao and Rage are in the lead. Then me and Reno follow. Syrone and Sahoko. Behind them, Decius, Sisyphe and the others follow.

''Something smells bad~''

　Reno whines.

'Yes, it's a very bad smell. It smells like food waste.

　Sahoko's disgusted voice beside me.
　We proceed to the back of the underground canal.
　Then Nao, who is leading the way, suddenly stops.

'Everyone stops!

　Suddenly Nao speaks up.

'What's wrong Nao?'
There's something up ahead.

　Nao uses water walking to move from the sidewalk to the middle of the channel. Probably because it was easier for him to move.
　Then, Rage does the same thing as Nao, using the water walk to move to the center of the channel.
　Nao takes a boomerang. Rage draws his sword.

What do you need?　I can't see a thing!　More light!

　Novis, who is following from the back, says.
　He'd better learn to be a little more reserved.

'Hey Novis!

　Sisyphe makes a panicked sound.
　She looks like she's having a hard time because of Novice. For some reason, it feels familiar.

'I'll lighten up now,'
'I'm sorry, Chiyuki-sama!

　Hearing Sizfe's apology, I stand on the water and use my light stripe magic.
　The light extends and illuminates the depths of the waterway.
　And a huge object that emerges.

''Noaaaaaaaaaah!
'What is that?

　Sahoko and Reno shout out.

'The Giant Slug: ......'

　The one in front of me was a giant slug that was 2 meters high alone, and I don't know how many meters long it was.
　It is the so-called giant slug. There were not one, but several of these giant slugs, and outside of them, slugs of all sizes stuck to the walls and ceiling of the underground canal!
　The Giant Slug hasn't noticed us yet, and it's moving, crawling its slimy body on the floor of the underground canal.
　It's extremely disgusting.

'I got goose bumps down my spine: ......

　Even that relatively uncomfortable Shirone, who is not afraid of being relatively uncomfortable, is hugging her shoulder and shaking herself.

''What do we do now, Chiyuki?''

　Rage says, watching us with amusement. 'Utterly nasty.

'God!　Stop laughing!　Get on with it and do something about it!
"Haha, I'll take care of it, Chiyuki! Light!

　Rage laughs and shoots multiple light bullets.
　The light bullets burn up the giant slug.

''Ugh. ....... I can't believe there's a demon like that. I want to go home.''

　Sahoko cries to me.
　I know the feeling. Giant Slug was ridiculously uncomfortable. I'd like to leave too if I could.

'Please wait!　There's still something out there!

　Nao points to the back.
　I quickly illuminate the back of the room with the magic of a light ray.
　And I could see multiple black figures there.

''Intruder ni see!
She got it!
Fleeing vomit!

　The black shadows flee at once as soon as the light shines on them.

''What's that? Rats?

　Shirone, who was watching from the side, makes a disgusted sound.

'It was indeed a rat. But it was as big as a human being. And he was standing on two legs, and he had a weapon, too.

　Rage was right, the rat stood on two legs and carried a weapon.

'I think it's called Ratman.
"Ratman, huh? I think I'm going to say "ratman" or should I say "mascot of Chiba prefecture's dreamland"? Or should I say Chiba Prefecture's Dreamland mascot?

　Nao says something dangerous. Still, it's a disgusting theme park.

'Ahhhh ......'
What's up, Lino?

　Sahoko is concerned for Reno, who suddenly sounds strange.

'Now that's a mouse ....... That one was once a human.

　At those words we all look at Reno.

'Reno-san, is that true?'

　I ask, and Reno shakes his head.

'Maybe. That's how I saw it in Reno's eyes.

　Reno says in a disarming manner.
　Reno's breakthrough power is the strongest among us.
　If you look hard enough, you can see the truth in any opponent.

That's a tough one to pull off, isn't it?

　Nao says in disgust.

'Sahoko. If the curse is disfiguring you, wouldn't it be possible to break the curse?

　Sahoko shakes her head as Rage asks.

'I don't know, Ray-kun. I'll have to try. ......'

　Sahoko says unsurely.

'Then let's catch one and give it a try.

　I said and Sahoko nodded.

'It's settled, let's move on for now.

　At Rage's words we decide to go further back.

'What are you doing, Kroki: ......'

　We were walking onward. I heard Cyrone muttering.




◆Damon King Urvald.

　I am at the altar of Badon, at the end of the underground canal.
　The rats are buzzing in front of me.
　Their entourage looks disgusted by this.
　The rats are former humans who were turned into servants by Zand.
　Because they are human, they can have children with humans and also possess a germ that can turn humans into human rats.
　For this reason, if the conditions are right, the rats will multiply like rats.
　Right now there are many rats here and they are making a lot of noise.
　Their entourage is watching them and they seem to be making a lot of noise.
　I feel bad because the rats are noisy too.

'Tara Boss, you seem to be making a lot of noise earlier, what's going on?
'I'm sorry, Mr. Urvald. It appears that we have an intruder in our midst.

　Talabos replies with a bow.

'Intruders?　It's only people, right?　Why don't you go ahead and kick it off?

　It is ridiculous to make a fuss over a human being. So I reply.

''That's why it seems that among the intruders are the brave men of light.

　I hear those words and my mind goes blank for a moment.
　Then you realize what it means and stand up.

'What do you mean?!'

　I yell at him and Tarabos falls flat.

'I'm sorry!　I don't know why the brave men are here either!

　I hold my tongue.
　There's nothing I can do about it by saying to this human style.

'If the brave men are here, we will let them leave.

　I say, and I cast a transference spell.
　But it doesn't activate.

'Master Urvald!　The wards have been put in place to inhibit metastasis!　We're trapped here!

　The entourage makes a panicked sound.
　What do you mean?
　I think.
　And then I realize.

'You betrayed me! Xand!

　I should have known better. He's a fool for bumping off a hero and Sir Dehardt.
　It was actually a lie meant to destroy me.
　But I'm sure I'm cornered.
　I am no match for a hero.
　I'm only a Damon Lord to His Majesty the Great Demon Lord's entourage.
　I can't lose if I'm only a weak little god with little strength.
　But the brave men of light will be among the strongest of the gods.
　It reminds me of the times I fought the brave men.
　I fought a magical battle with a woman called the black-haired Sage.
　And I was defeated. Up until then, I was confident that I could lose to the gods in a magical battle.
　But that confidence was shattered in an instant.
　Their strength is out of the ordinary.
　Even that most powerful man, Llanfeld, was no match for the brave men.
　We'll be killed if we don't. We'll have to flee.

It's Talavos!

　I call Talavos.

'Yes!　What is this?!
"Hurry up and bring back Badon!　Now!

　But Tarabos shook his head.

'But then my schedule is ......
You have to listen to me!　That's an order!

　I will use my magic to control Talavos.
　Then the eyes of Talavos will become hollow.
　The reign is complete. This will bring Badon back to life.

"And where did Zeal go?

　We need him to stop the brave men.

"Dear Mr. Ulvald. If you're Zeal, just now. He has left. It appears that his woman is among the intruders, and we think he went to help her.

　The entourage replies.

'What's going on? Where is he?

　My head hurts.
　But there's no time to bring him back.
　I'm going to break the wards that Xand seems to have put up now.
　That's why we're running out of time.

'Don't lick it, Xand!　I am Damon Lord in the service of the Demon King!　I'll break through a mere Ogami's wards!




Dark Knight Kroki

　He flies with Kuna on Glorious, the dragon, over the Minon Plain.
　The plain of Minon is vast, perhaps as wide as northern India.
　However, Glorious' wings allow him to move easily.
　If you look at the ground from above, you can see several human countries.
　However, compared to the vastness of the Minon Plain, their number seems to be small.
　Perhaps it's the influence of demons.
　The number of demons is small in the Minon Plain. However, that's only if you compare it with other areas.
　Even in the Minon Plain, there are demons.
　Basically, demons tend to dislike the light of the sun.
　That's why the plain of Minon, which is an open land, does not have many demons appearing during the daytime.
　That's why there is less damage from demons compared to other areas.
　But of course at night, on cloudy or rainy days, demons such as goblins are active.
　Therefore, in this region as well, when there is no sunshine, humans stay inside the walls of the city and do not go outside.
　They move northward along the river that runs through the plain of Minon.
　Eventually, they will come to the Luhak Mountains, which extend to the north of the Minon Plain.
　North of this Ruhach Mountains is not the territory of the Ariad Alliance.
　And the land north of this mountain range is inhabited by many orcs.
　In the past, the northern lands were once ruled by the Orcs, who established an empire over the human race.
　This was the "Northern Empire of the Orcs".
　That empire was overthrown by the desperate resistance of the humans, but the remnants of that empire have survived and continue to plague the people to this day.
　It is also said that the orcs of the northern lands sometimes cross the mountains and come to the plain of Minon, so the northern nations of the Ariad Alliance must always be on the lookout for them.
　We descended into the forest at the foot of the Ruhach Mountains.
　The Minon Plain is a land of open spaces, but in the north, near the Ruhach Mountains, there is a forest.
　It would be no problem to drop Glorious off here.
　If we dropped Glorious on the plains, the humans would find us and make a big deal out of it. That's why I've been flying until now.
　There is a beautiful spring near where we landed. It would be good to take a little rest.

'Hmm. I'm not so sure I can find it.

　I let out a sigh to myself.
　Where did Ulvald go?
　It seems that Atranaqua had made branches all over the Minon Plain, so I flew over them for now, but I didn't feel any sign of them.
　Urbald and his close associates, the Damon tribe, aren't that good at hiding. So I thought I would be able to find them right away, but I may be wrong.

I'm sure it's a good idea, Kroki, to leave Urvald alone. Kuna wants to stay in the air with Kuroki.

　Coona says something nice to me. I've never had a pretty girl say this to me before.
　I feel like I'm going to cry.
　I can't help but hug Kuna.
　But I can't stop looking for her.

Thank you, Kuna, but let's look some more. But let's look some more.

　I say to myself as I hug Kuna.

'But Kroki, do you have a plan?

　Kuna says, tilting his head.
　Surely Kuna is right, there is no guessing.
　Could it be that they are in the Republic of Ariadia?
　But I didn't feel a thing. That's why I think she's somewhere else. But I can't find him.
　In this case, it might be faster to find Zeal first.
　It would have been nice to hear from Ainoe, who knows about Zeal's whereabouts, but Rage and the others have detained me. I can't listen to him in this way.
　Ainoe seems to have gone into the underground canal with Rage and the others.
　Maybe Zeal is in the underground canal. But I don't want to go near it because Rage and his friends are with me.
　I'm not sure what to do.

I don't have ....... What should we do?

　I say, lowering my voice.

'Then how do you feel about resting here for a while, Kroki? Maybe you'll have a better idea when you get some rest.

　Coona says with a huff and a laugh. That smile is glossy.
　It's a little throbbing.
　It's true that Kuna might be right. Resting could give me a good idea.

'Yes. Let's get some rest.

　I decide to take a break.
　I unfolded the sheet I had brought with me and prepared the tea.
　Glorious is large enough to carry the tea set. I also brought a basket of snacks with me.
　In the basket is a sandwich made of white barley bread with vegetables and other things in between. For sweets, there are cookies mixed with dried fruit and honey.
　For drinks, I brought tea made from flowers native to this region.
　I made these with myself, Kuna, Regina and Sienna before we left.
　I left some of the leftover food for Regina and Shenna to eat.
　But still, I wonder how Shenna is doing right now?
　As I recall, she said she was going to the underground canal to help her brother. That's why I've left my own sword with her.
　I've only known her for a short time, but I have a little compassion for her. I hope she's safe.
　We take a seat ourselves and take a break. The fountain reflects the sunlight and glistens. The breeze that blows through the forest again is pleasant.

It's quite nice, Kroki.

　Coona eats a sandwich and a few snacks and then falls asleep with her head in her lap.
　Then she falls asleep fast asleep.
　Honestly, isn't this the opposite? Normally, I'd expect a man to sleep on a girl's lap pillow.
　But looking at Kuna's innocent sleeping face, I think it's okay.
　I stroked Kuna's silvery white hair.
　This cute girl is sleeping on my lap. That's happy enough for me.

"Guhehehehehe.

　I can't help but smile a sickening smile when I see Coona's sleeping face.
　Let's calm down a bit.
　I drink myself a cup of tea. There is a good smell in the air as I drink it.
　As I'm drinking my tea, Glorious comes to me with his head.

'You're a spoiled brat too, aren't you, Glorious?

　He strokes Glorious' nose. Then Glorious looks happy.
　Glorious, too, lies down, pulling his huge body closer to you.

'I think I could use a little rest myself.

　With that thought, I rest my body on Glorious' neck.
　Then I turn my gaze to the depths of the forest.
　It was from when I was having tea. Someone is looking at me from behind a tree.
　It's a small presence. At first I thought it was a goblin, but this area is bright with sunlight.
　Goblins are not supposed to come near us. So it's something else.
　Perhaps Kuna had noticed it too, but he didn't seem to mind.
　It doesn't feel much power from those watching. He decided that it wouldn't be a problem to leave it alone.
　Coona lay on her lap with an innocent look on her face.
　I think I'm going to talk to someone who's watching for a bit.

'Hey, why don't you come out and stop looking?'

　I say to those who are watching. I don't feel any hostility. So I tell them to come to me.
　Who are they? If you're going to leave, of course I won't pursue you.
　But if you want to do something, I'll ask.
　A little girl and her pony appear from behind a tree in response to your call.
　I look at the ones who appear and wonder.
　The little girl looks human.
　Humans in this world usually live in groups.
　And there is no human country around here. Why is this little girl in this place?
　If a little girl like this was alone, she would have to fall prey to the demons.
　At least there must be a guardian nearby.
　Would it be the last one who hadn't been seen?
　As the little girl and her pony approach us, a small figure appears from behind them.
　It's a dwarf. Judging by his fine white beard, he doesn't look like a young man, but what do you think?
　Dwarves are born and take on the appearance of a human uncle in the first eight years of life. And after that, they live a long life with little or no change in appearance.
　Therefore, the age of a dwarf is hard to tell.
　The girl and her pony approach us at a short run.
　The girl's gaze is not on Glorious, the giant dragon, nor on the beautiful Kuna, but on the sweets she was eating.
　If you could see this Gotashi from a distance, you have pretty good eyesight.

''Does this bother you?''

　The girl nods without answering.
　I take the sweets and offer them to the girl. I made quite a lot of them, so there's no problem if you raise a little bit.

Here you are. It's a gift.

　But the girls won't take it.

Give me some of my sister's at .......

　The girl looks at the pony and says.
　She wonders about calling the pony her sister, but she gives her another piece of candy.
　The girl takes two pieces of candy and puts one in the pony's mouth and hurriedly starts to eat it.
　As the girl eats, the dwarf finally comes to us.

Thank you, great dragonslayer. Thank you, great dragonslayer, for sending us sweets. Efa, Pona. Thank this gentleman for his kindness.

　The dwarf bows his head and thanks you. I can feel the fear in his words.
　No wonder. No one normally wants to get close to a dragon.
　I'm sure that if the girls hadn't come out, this dwarf would not have approached him.

'Thank you, Uncle.
Hee-hin!

　The girl, Efa, and her pony, Pona, bow to her.
　She's shocked to be called an uncle, but she doesn't care. I'm more surprised that the horse has thanked them.

'Do you live here?'

　I ask the dwarf myself.
　I'm a little curious about the relationship between this girl, the horse and the dwarf.

Yes, my name is Urim. As you can see, I am a dwarf. I live in this forest.

　Unlike humans, dwarves are not easily attacked by demons. For this reason, they are able to live in the forest where demons abound.
　There is a famous story about seven dwarves living in the forest and sheltering a princess who escaped from her stepmother, the queen.
　Perhaps this Urim is a lumberjack or hunter. When I look at him, I see a large axe on his back. In his hand he has a crossbow called a gastrafetes.
　The crossbows of this world were invented by the Orcs living in Nargol.
　Dwarves, like Orcs, have short limbs compared to their bodies and a protruding belly, so they cannot use an ordinary bow.
　For this reason, dwarves also use a crossbow.
　It's not possible to shoot a crossbow in succession compared to an ordinary bow, but it's easier to handle than a bow, and even the weakest of them can shoot high-powered arrows.

It's a great pleasure to meet you, Urim. Is this your child?

　Urim shook his head when he asked himself.

'No, he's a stray. I picked him up where he was with his pony, Pona.

　Urim says, looking at Efa. He's remembering that.
　Urim tells me about the time he met Efa and Pona.
　He says it was two years ago when they met. One day, Urim was hunting for mushrooms in the mountains when he met an emaciated girl and her pony. There was no one nearby who looked like a parent. If they don't, they might be attacked by a demon.
　He had no choice, so he took her back to his own home, where she lived alone.
　Since then, she's been living with two people and one animal.

'Have you looked for your parents?'

　Urim shook his head again at the question.

'He had a centaur's bow with blood on it when I found him. Perhaps his father was a centaur. There are no centaurs around here. And I asked if there was anyone in the nearby country who looked like his mother, but I don't know of anyone.
I see. ......

　A centaur's bow is a synthetic bow (composite bow).
　The loose, M-shaped bow is made of multiple materials such as wood and animal bone.
　It is smaller but more powerful than the longbow, which is called an elven bow. However, it is difficult to use, so there are few humans who use it.
　However, centaurs like to use this composite bow.
　From that, Urim must have determined that Effa was a centaur's son.
　And considering that it was a centaur's child, it's no wonder he called the foal his sister. Centaurs have children with humans, but they can also have children with horses.
　Therefore, if the mother is a human and a girl, a human is born, and if the horse is born as a mother and a female, it becomes a horse.
　As a result, a human and a horse sister are born. And they can also communicate with each other, probably because of their blood ties.
　However, I've heard that centaurs prefer humans.
　There is a story about a centaur who tried to kidnap the wife of a human couple in trouble for not being able to cross a river. The centaur was killed by the poisoned arrows of her heroic husband.
　Perhaps the centaur, who was probably Efa's parent, was also killed by a human.
　That's probably why Urim protected Efa.
　Efa and Pona are happily eating gochisakes.
　They seem to be having some kind of conversation. Perhaps they must be communicating with each other.

I would like to thank you again. I'm not able to make the sweets.

　Urim thanked him again.
　The dwarves make excellent tools, but they are not good at cooking.
　This is probably why Efa and the others were not allowed to eat sweets until now.
　The smell of sweets must have drawn them closer to you.

No problem. I am looking for a certain Damon, by the way, do you know where he is?

　I ask without expectation.

'Is it Damon? Ummm ....... I do not understand. But there's an old witch living alone near where we live.
The witch is in the vicinity?

　Urim nodded.
　A witch is a woman who has made a pact with a demon race or an evil god and gained magical power, or a daughter born to that woman.
　There are some males who make a pact with the demon race or evil gods, but in general, women are more common.
　The reason for this is probably because many of the demons who make a contract with them are males like Zeal, the Lesser Demon.
　By the way, in this world, if a child is created between different races, the probability of the child of the race with lower magic power is high.
　For example, if an elf and a human have a child, a human is more likely to be born.
　Most of the demon races have higher magic power than humans, so I've heard that if a witch has a child, a human is often born.
　And making a contract with the demon race is a mortal sin in the Goddess Feria's doctrine. The influence of the Feria cult is so strong that witches are the target of persecution in many countries.
　For this reason, witches either hide their true identity or live away from humanity.
　It seems that the witch is in the neighborhood.

Yes, I do. Yes, that old woman may know Damon.
'I see, I guess it's worth a listen.

　I answer by stroking Kuna's hair.
　I don't have a guess anyway. It would be a good idea to stop by for a bit.



Urim, the dwarven forest guard.

　I honestly didn't feel alive.
　Sweat broke out down my spine as I left the young man with the dragon.
　It was while we were hunting for mushrooms.
　Suddenly Efa and Pona were gone.
　I looked for them and found them hiding in a tree near the spring and looking at something.
　When I checked to see what they were looking at, I felt like I was going to lose my seat.
　There was a huge dragon sleeping in the tree.
　I tried to get away from it with Efa, but it wouldn't move.
　I looked around and saw a man drinking tea near the dragon.
　The young man drinking tea called out to Effa.

'Efa, weren't you afraid? I was terrified to death.

　I ask Efa, who walks beside me.

'No Grandpa Urim, I wasn't afraid of anything. Because Pona said she wasn't afraid.

　Effa says, petting her pony, Pona.
　Pona and I cannot talk to each other. But Efa can understand what Pona is saying.

'I see ....... 'So that's what Pona said.'

　Pona, the pony, is able to sense danger to some extent. The fact that Effa was safe until she met me is probably because of Pona.
　And there wasn't any real danger.

"That's a very nice person, Pona.

　Effa laughs.

'Are you a good person ......'

　I remember the boy. Can I call that boy a person?
　It had the appearance of a man, but it probably wasn't a man.
　Besides, that young man was somehow more frightening than the giant dragon that was nearby.
　Dragons are usually gentle. However, if it's in the wrong hands, it will turn into a more fearsome entity than anything else.
　Isn't that young man the same as that?
　I'm not sure I'd want to get close to the young man, although Effa is laughing.