"Nice to meet you, Lizardmen. I'm Lasse-Tamer, the owner of Monster's Delivery at my request.

　Lasse is smiling at the lizardmen who were waiting for him at the entrance of the town.
　It's doubtful that the lizardmen with different body structures will be able to recognize that smile, though.

We are of the Jujiki swamp clan.

　The lizardmen would slam their spears into the ground twice.
　Perhaps that's the lizardman's way of saying hello.
　As if to prove it, Lasse also slaps the ground twice with his foot.

I'm surprised someone understands our greeting.

　A lizardman wearing a necklace responds to Lasse's greeting.
　You can't see it in his expression, but it's clear from his voice that he liked Lasse's greeting.

"Isn't that the name of the demon hunter you hear in the sound?

　The lizardman nodded with some kind of understanding.

(I wonder which Rise you know by name.)

　Letty, who has been standing behind Lasse, wonders if the Lizardmen know Lasse as a soldier or as a jack-of-all-trades.
　As the Lasse's bodyguard, Letty needs to quickly understand the Lizardmen's true intentions because she is obligated to protect Lasse when the need arises.

　A lizardman wearing a necklace that looks like the leader steps forward.

"My name is Zeld the Fierce Spear, and we have a need for food.

"Food?

　Lasse is thrown off by the unexpectedly normal request.
　If it's a normal request for food, there's no need to ask Lasse to do a job for you.
　You can buy food in the town of Dexish right in front of you and even if you don't have any money, you can still bring in a replacement item and barter for it.

Then why don't you just go to the store in town and buy something without telling me?

　Just to be sure, Lasse suspects that the Lizardmen don't know about the human store and tells Zeldo about it.

I know that, some of us trade with humans to get things.

　Apparently, Lasse's fears were unfounded.
　However, so Lasse's doubts deepen.

"Then why me?

"It's easy, because we don't want people to trade food, we want people to teach us how to get food.

"Huh?

　This was too much for Lasse to handle.
　The lizardmen said they had no way to hunt and catch their prey.

You're right, this doesn't make any sense. Let's take you through it.

　Then Zeldo sat down and began to explain what had happened.

We are a swamp-dwelling tribe. We were a swamp clan, living off the bounty of nature from the swamps and the surrounding land. But one day a strange demon entered our lands.

　Zeldo's tone was firm, and even Lasse and the others felt a sense of urgency.

It began to eat everything it could around it, as if it wanted to devour every living thing in the swamp. Naturally, we moved to eliminate its dangerous presence, which could upset the balance of the swamp.

(It's getting fishy.)

　It's rare that the balance of the land changes due to demons changing their habitat for some reason.
　It's not uncommon for such demons to change the balance of the land when their habitat changes for some reason.

But we lizardmen were no exception to this demon's prey. In the last battle, our people suffered a lot of damage and were eaten by him.

(You want me to help you take him down?)

"We will gather our friends again and fight the demons. We want to teach those children who cannot hunt how to hunt at some point.

(Oh, I see, they're not going to make it out alive.

　Lasse sensed Zeldo's intentions.
　For there were many sub-humans who had little to do with humans, but who acted with their own logic.

(The lizardmen intend to take on the demon from anyone who can fight, male or female. They must be defeated even if they go that far, and even if they do, they are in danger of being wiped out, which is why they asked me, who understands demons, to do the job.

I don't want to pay you back in that situation. You have to raise them until they can catch their prey consistently, and they have to learn how to fight to defend themselves against the enemy. That takes a lot of time and money. Other clans and tribes will come after us to pay for our food until we can feed ourselves.

　Lasse implores you to stop taking risky bets.

"Of course I know that. Of course I know that. That's why I brought you this.

　When Zeldo raised his hand, the lizardman behind him took out the contents from the bag he was holding.

......?

　Lasse and the others were astonished when they saw the contents of the package that was taken out.

I brought this to make a deal with the humans. We don't need these, but they could keep our children alive until they learn to hunt.

　The lizardman held out a large gem in the rough.
　Even Lasse, who has no interest in gems, could understand the priceless value of a gem in the rough, as it could be as large as a whole.

With these gems, you could feed them for life, let alone learn to hunt!

...... That's all you need to make necklaces, earrings, and rings as much as you want to make ...... No, I'm hesitant to break this lump down. I'd rather offer it to the queen for a better effect: ......

　Unwittingly, Letty leans forward, fascinated by the lump of jewelry.
　Being a noblewoman, she understands the value of this jewel because of her background, and because of that she was completely consumed by the sight.

(Letty is useless. ...... As expected, Lamia is normal.)

　As a demon, Lamia did not lose her mind over the mass of gems, perhaps because she has different values from humans.

"It's a gem that could feed a dragon for two hundred years.

　Although her values were different from those of humans, Lamia's financial sense was closer to that of a human as she became more familiar with human society.

What do you think?　Can't you teach the kids to hunt with this?

　It was an unbeatable request.


　It's a long job, but the rewards are great.
　Moreover, the fight against dangerous demons can be left to adult lizardmen, so all you have to do is order your followers to learn how to hunt in a safe place.
　It's a little different, but if you assign a few demons to teach them to hunt, they'll be able to do the job well.

(As a job, there's no reason not to take it. The problem is ......)

　Lamia overhears a distressed Lasse's voice, "Mr. Lasse, the worst thing that could happen to this town is for it to be bad.

"Lasse-sama, this matter may have a bad effect on this town at worst.

　Because of their longstanding relationship, Lasse could understand what Lamia meant.
　In other words.

"Can't I help you with the Lizardmen?

　It was.

(Lamia was probably talking about the battle with the demons of the Great Demon Forest the other day. From the way the lizardman talked, those demons have a voracious appetite. If they ran out of food in their swamp habitat, I'm sure they would move into human territory. Maybe that's why you want the lizardmen to help you.

　Lasse thought.
　As a simple business, he thought, there was a lot of money to be made by doing exactly what he was asked to do.
　Going along with the demon slayer risked unnecessary injury to his followers, as well as hurting the pride of the Lizardmen and putting their days in each other's hands.

Yes!

　Lasse, who had thought it through as a manager, made a decision.

Okay. I'll take that offer!

　Lasse decides to take the job.

Oh, thank God. Now we can go to war without worrying.

　There was an echo of acceptance in his tone, clearly accepting that he would not be coming home.

"However!

　And then Lasse speaks up.

"I'll get too much for this. So I'll lend you a man from my squire who can carry more men and drive you to your swamp. You wouldn't want all the swamp's prey to be hunted by you, would you?

"Mm, that's nice, but is it good?

　Lasse nodded with a smile as he hesitantly asked Zeldo, "Yes, it's the right price to pay.

"Yes, it's the right price to pay, but not too much.

　It's a smile that's both inside and out, but unfortunately the lizardmen couldn't see through it.

"...... Thank you. Sorry, we'll take care of you.

　With the Lizardmen convinced, Lasse secretly instructs Lamia to "ignore my orders and let the lizardmen play ship.

"Disregard my orders and let the lizardmen play the role of ship,

"...... Yes, sir.

　I didn't need to see his face to know that Lamia's voice was clear.

'The mobile demon is in the Wejus River, Lamia will bring it to you as soon as it is ready.

"Don't worry, I was going to act immediately after I asked for it.

　Zerdo and his men raise their spears with enthusiasm.
　The vigilante soldiers, who had been standing guard at a distance, stiffen and tense at the sight of the excited Lizardmen.

"Now let us proceed.

"Mm, unflappable beautiful blue scales!

"Well, you're good at it.

　As Lamia stepped forward to lead the way, Zeldo spoke a compliment typical of Lizardman's style: "I wonder if that was a beautiful hair color?

I wonder if that's what you'd call a beautiful hair color?

Isn't it?

　Letty shakes her head at their conversation.

"So, we're not going to get into their fights?

　Letty, having come to her senses, finds out what Lasse's intentions are.

"It's not our town's business at the moment. There's no money to be made by acting on things that aren't asked of us.

　It was a businesslike answer.

"So we'll just have to wait for your demon to tell us what's going on?

No way, it's just the beginning.

　◇

Excuse me, is there a guildmaster?　I have information on the defense of the town and I would like to request a meeting with you as soon as possible.

"Oh, I read it.

　Seeing the back of Lasse's cheerful arrival at the Adventurer's Guild, Letty let out a disgusted sigh.