This is a shady tavern on the edge of the royal city.
　In a further corner of the tavern a man was drinking cheap liquor.

Good to see you, Bernie.

　The man's body quivered.
　There should be no one in King's Landing who knew that nickname.
　The man was startled and looked up to see a familiar face.

"La Lasse?

　This man, the one who spoke to Bernie, was Lasse.
　Without asking Bernie's permission, Lasse takes a seat across from him and orders a drink from the waiter.
　It's not a good idea to drink alcohol in the morning, but you can't expect clean water or tea in a place like this.
　Cheap, watered-down liquor is the only way to drink.

You look good.

"You say?　It's like we've been rampaging with dragons again.

　Lasse's flippant remark is answered by Bernie's flippant response.

"I just got in a little trouble, that's all. It's nothing to get worked up about.

Did you have something to do with that roadblock the other day?

I'm not in the Order anymore. So that's out of my wheelhouse.

　You're lying, Bernie felt.
　There's never been a roadblock of that magnitude in King's Landing.
　And with the dragon fiasco that followed, it's only natural for a child to think that Lasse had something to do with it.

　That's why Bernie has decided not to pursue it further.
　To get more involved could lead to his downfall.
　Ordinary witch-casters are different from substandard witch-casters like Lasse-Tamer.
　We are something lesser.
　We're not like this one.
　That was the common understanding of the demon wizards who knew Lasse.

So what brings you here again?

　However, Bernie understood the purpose of Lasse.
　There was only one piece of information he wanted to ask himself.

"Do you have any additional information about the Blue Scaled Lamia?

　I knew it, Bernie chuckles.
　The blue-scaled lamia, or lamia, Lasse's squire.
　And he's looking for the location of the pack where the lamia originally lived.
　He's looking for Lamia's home.

　Lamia was kidnapped as a child by the humans.
　Its purpose is as a pet.
　Many wealthy humans keep demons as pets.
　Especially if they are beautiful monsters.
　Lasse's lamia are different from ordinary lamia in that they have sapphire-colored scales.
　A coveted treasure for collectors.
　And so the lamia was bought by a collector.
　But not as a slave.

　In the kingdom of Tendo, where Lasse lives, keeping communicative demons was forbidden.
　This was to avoid future problems when the line between demons and sub-humans was still blurred and the tribe was recognized as sub-humans.
　And the irony is that the law will bring poachers a lot of money.
　We want it because we can't have it, because others don't have it.
　Collectors who wanted forbidden demons would pay huge sums of money to buy valuable subhuman demons from poachers.
　And they enjoy them in secret among like-minded people.

　But the country is not incompetent.
　It has taken various steps to expose such collectors.
　But it was not out of chivalry or good will.
　It was not out of chivalry or good intentions, but because we believe that such vicious people would surely be doing other illegal activities.
　If they are doing illegal activities, they won't feel any guilt in taking your property.
　Furthermore, catching the crooks would be an appeal to the people.
　When people hear that a villain has been caught, they will understand that the country is doing its job, and they will be happy to hear that a rogue merchant or a nobleman has been caught.
　The country is enriched and the people are happy, killing two birds with one stone.

　Lasse and the other demon handlers were also involved in such an act of detection.
　The reason for this is to gather information, care for captured demons and sometimes even help with the rough work.
　The guards are experts in catching rogues, but they are not experts in dealing with demons.
　So leave the demon hunter in charge of the demons. Let the demon hunter take care of the demons until they return to the herd.

　But trouble will always be there.
　The demon Lasse was assigned to the case was a young lamia.
　Apparently, he was brought there shortly after he was born and didn't know where his home was.
　Furthermore, the poacher who kidnapped Lamia is now missing, and we don't even know where he kidnapped Lamia from.

　In fact, such cases are not uncommon.
　Poachers are in the business of kidnapping and selling, not breeding.
　They may be based in a particular town, but they often travel from town to town.
　They are always on the move because they are doing something illegal and are harder to catch.
　Even more so if they are fleeing to another country.
　For that reason, no information about Lamia's homeland was available.

　One thought was to leave her in the care of another Lamia settlement known to the country, but for some reason it was stubbornly refused.
　We can't let ourselves take care of this child.
　At first it was thought to be the son of an abomination or a condemned man, but after seeing the reaction of the lamia, Lasse felt rather the opposite, feeling distressed by the frustration of not being able to protect him.
　As a result, the country has given up on returning the lamia to its homeland, leaving it to Lasse, who discovered the lamia in a protective mission, to take care of it.
　In other words, it was imposed on him.
　Leave the matter of the monsters to the wizard. The demon hunter will have more power and kill two birds with one stone, which is the easiest reason to do so. 　


　In fact, it's not that simple, but that's why Lamia was too young to drop it.

　This is why Lasse has been seeking information about Lamia's homeland.
　And if you want to know about demons, you'll have to ask a traveler or a fellow wizard.
　That's why Bernie is one of the demon hunter who was asked to gather information.

There's a village of lamia in Garsatan's country too. There's a large forest there and a lot of water in the back. You should go there. Your dragons will be a rush.

"Thank you ......

　Lasse takes the bag out of his purse and puts it on the table.
　You can hear a slurping sound from the bag and it's clear that there's a coin inside.

Bye.

　With the information he had received, Lasse did not want to linger, and left.
　Then, as he was leaving, the waiter came in with his order of drinks.

"Huh?　Where's that guy from before?

Yeah, he's gone. I'll have a drink.

　Bernie takes the drink from the waiter, tucking the bag in his pocket.

...... I remember that he left without paying for the sake.

　Oh well, the man gulped down his drink while enjoying the feel of the bag's contents.