I'm sorry. ...... Sorry. Lighting, send ...... magic to, means ......, but I was curious about .......
It's not my area of expertise, but my academic interest is: ......

　After calming down the two embarrassed-looking people for the time being, the nine of us decided to discuss the course of action from now on.

　I declared that I would accept the three conditions that Administrator Fraxinus presented, and I stepped into the neutral city of the demon tribe, or Asropolis, but this is not even half of what I need to do.

　I wanted to at least meet with the administrator in person to work out the details of the terms and conditions, but the interference from Fraxinus has been completely cut off.

''If we haven't heard anything from there, does that mean we'll have to find an administrator ourselves?
Wait.

　Dustin interrupted briefly and threw his gaze to the path that led to the back of the island.

　He could see a demon tribe walking straight ahead of him.

　It was a young tree man (dryad).
　He has long green hair with a plant-like texture, dressed with flower petals and branches and leaves that are part of his body as if they were trinkets, and walks leisurely, waving his limbs with ivy tangled at the ends.

　His face is like a doll.
　However, the expression is not only meant to be well-formed, but also awkward and unnatural in its expression.

　In this case, the Night Ripper -- a doll-shaped golem that imitates a human -- that we encountered before is far more expressive and human-like than the one we encountered before.

　Come to think of it, I've heard somewhere before that the many human-like parts of a tree man's (dryad) body are a sign of youthfulness.

　If so, that was quite young.
　It might be like a sprout in plants.

'We've been expecting you, Master Luke White Wolf. I am Mr. Flaxinus's emissary, Mr. Populus. I have been asked to escort you to Fraxinus.

　I looked at Garnett, who was nearby, and I looked at him after the statement of the jujin (dryad), who had a strange name in the human sense.

　Thinking back, the administrator, Fraxinus, also knew my full name.

　Perhaps he had heard it when he was introduced to me by the adventurer, but since the only person they had met face to face was the administrator's alter ego, this young arbiter (dryad) would have been able to pass on that information later.

　Considering this, I have a certain amount of confidence in the administrator's claim to be an errand boy.

''I should just follow (later), right?''
'Yes, sir. However, the residents are not accustomed to your presence, so please do not leave my back.

　Rather than wandering around an unknown city without a direction, it seems better to be guided by this guidance.

　With the guidance of Populus, whose gender is hard to tell, as is the case with tree people (dryads), we walked slowly down the main street of Athropolis.

　Between large trees and mixed residential buildings.
　Under the lights stretched across the branches and leaves.

　While I was looking at the townscape where the demons spend their time as ordinary inhabitants, my attention shifted to the inhabitants instead of the construction of the town.

　The dark elves and dwarves, which I have somehow become accustomed to seeing, are engaged in a financial dispute across the counter of a stall.

　In the Demon King's Castle Realm, the relationship between the two races is so close that you want to cover your eyes with invasion, domination and slaughter, but here they treat each other in an extremely mundane way.

　Across the street, a stinging, scaled lizard man sits on a bench in the eaves of a store set up on the ground underneath a residential tree and exhales smoke.

　Of course, the lizard man is not a smoke-breathing demon race.

　They smoke poisonous herbs inside a container that resembles a long, narrow pot, and then inhale the pungent smoke through a long, narrow tube while the water inside the container cools it down.

　Although it was a favorite of some demon races, it was just unpleasant for most races whose constitution didn't match theirs.

　In fact, a dog-shaped beastman who happened to be passing by - an inhuman head type with a muzzle - got angry at the pungent odor and threatened to rip his teeth out, while a lizard-man reluctantly held the container and said I pulled back into the shop.

　When I looked back to the front, I saw a merchant-looking fisherman running from the other side with a box full of fish on his back, and I almost bumped into him.

'Oops, my bad.'
■■■■--■■!

　The fishermen mouthed words in a language that only they could understand, but as soon as they caught sight of the person they were about to bump into, they ran off in a hurry, spreading their fins in a panic.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

　If it's a village or even a city of this size, it will surely function as a perfect base of operations for pursuing the Demon King's Army as they continue their search for the deeper regions.

　When thinking about the future, I would definitely want to succeed in negotiations, but at the same time, I had a gut feeling that this uncomfortable feeling must be resolved.

...... Mr. Populus, can I ask you one question?
Come in.

　Populus replied without looking back.

'The inhabitants here seem to be strangely uptight. Arguing, threatening, shouting and ...... I wonder if the kind of strife they can't withstand when different races get together, after all.
'No, sir. It is only very recently that your minds have begun to wreak havoc. Yes, ...... since the day the light was lost in this hierarchy. It will be difficult to maintain your composure in the darkness with no telling when it will be restored.

　That statement, which was released casually, was not something I could very well listen to.

''Wait. Is it still an unusual situation that this hierarchy has not dawned?''
Isn't it obvious?　Without light, there is no greenery. The dryads cannot survive for long under such a ceiling. The exception to this is Athropolis, where we have the blessing of Fraxinus.

　Populus replied with a puzzled face as he turned around, moving only his head.

　I knew it.
　The reason there are green trees in the nightless hierarchy is not because they are special, but because they haven't been around long enough to lose their luminous function.

　If the current situation continues, the plants will eventually stop growing and the magical beasts that have lost their food will die one by one.

　Those who can't adapt to the eternal darkness will either move to another level or wait for death - if we assume that this town is a refuge (asylum) as the name implies, it's not surprising that those who couldn't choose the former would have fled.

　In the first place, the hierarchy above is controlled by the Demon King's army, so it is impossible for them to escape to the top, at least.

''Do you know why the night has stopped dawning?''

　I piled on the questions, feeling Noir's eyes on my back.

　Noir had so many questions he wanted to ask me, but it was obvious that he was too shy to come into the conversation.

'There is nothing I can tell you. If there is a need, Master Fraxinus will tell you later on.'

　While we were talking about this, we arrived at the central square of the Athropolis and entered the inner part of the largest tree on the island, which towered there.

　This large tree, too, was in the form of a half-integrated structure.

　However, it was clearly different in scale from a residence, boasting the majesty of a mansion or castle.

　At the end of the dark corridor, the space that stretched out beyond was a space that looked like the Great Capitol building, illuminated by the dazzling magical lighting.

''Fraxinus-sama. I have brought a delegation of the White Wolf Knights.
Thank you. You will stand back.
Yes, excuse me.

　The person to whom Populus bowed his head reverently was neither a man nor a creature.

　It was the back wall of the Great Capitol, a huge mass of magical power that leaked a pale light from within it.

''I apologize if I made you feel unseemly. As you can see, I am now a body that cannot move from here - do you understand why I rudely greeted you with a minute body earlier?''