After leaving the coastal city of Seafeet, Anya took us on a short trip.

　When it was getting dark, we arrived at the village where Anya lived.

　It was a small village on the beach.
　With about thirty simple wooden houses standing side by side, the population of the village would normally be a little more than a hundred.

　But now, the village was deserted and there was no sign of people.

　Not only were there no people outside the houses, but there were no living lights leaking from the houses or smoke from the chimneys where people were preparing dinner.

　When Anya saw this, she gave a slight look of impatience, but immediately shook her head as if to shake off her bad imagination and told us.

There is a cave a short distance away that the villagers use for emergency evacuations. Maybe he ran there to hide from the fishermen and hasn't come back yet.

　The brown-skinned girl, acting stoutly, turned on her heel and walked quickly.
　We followed her.

　We followed Anya through the forest for a while.
　Eventually, we came to a cave with a gaping hole in the cliff.

　As they carefully approached the cave, a man emerged from the depths of the cave.
　The man called out to Anya.

Anya!　I'm glad you're okay.

"Mr. Sergei!　These people helped me. What about the village and the master?

Let's talk inside. Come on, guests, into the cave.

　The man who appeared must have been a villager from Anya's village.
　He led Anya and us into the cave.

　As we walked deeper into the cave, we eventually came to a large hall lit by torches.
　At the back of the hall, there were several tunnels leading further into the cave.

　There were about thirty people in the hall, and they all shouted with joy when they saw Anya.

　Among them was a large, muscular, one-armed man.
　His arm looked as if it had been covered with healing magic from a recent cut.

　When Anya saw him, her eyes filled with tears and she ran to him and hugged him.

"Master, ......!　I'm glad ...... you're okay, I thought you were dead.

I'm so glad you're okay, Anya. I've been worried about you.

The fishermen were chasing me, but they saved me. They're all heroes.

All of them are brave. ......?　All six of them, including the children?

　The one-armed man Anya calls her "master" looks at us in disbelief.

　Then he looked into our eyes, stared at us, and looked even more surprised.

　I guess he has the "eyes" to see the power of the brave.
　It's not surprising that he would be surprised if he could roughly see the abilities of me, Cecilia, Rio, Iris, and Maifa.

　Incidentally, although it is not so obvious because of the unusual comparison, Arma is as good as or better than a skilled Demon Lord Hunter.

　I walked up to the surprised one-armed man and held out my hand.

I'm Brett. I'm a teacher at the Academy for the Brave, and I've been a Demon Lord Hunter in the past. I've been a Demon Lord hunter in the past. I was just in the coastal city of Seafeet for a swim when I ran into Anya, who had collapsed after being chased by the Sahagins.

"It's Eduardo. Brave Brett, how can I thank you? You saved Anya's life. Thank you so much. I wish I could thank you in some way, but the village is in crisis right now. ...... I'm sorry.

　The one-armed man, who called himself Eduardo, shook my hand with his remaining left hand and then bowed his head.

　You can almost guess the excellent character of this brave man just by looking at the fact that a skilled brave man who has probably lived twice as long as I have, bows to a young man like me without hesitation.

　When I said no to Eduardo, Anya interjected from the side, "Don't worry about it.

But Master, your right arm is ......?　Did the fishermen get it?

"Yeah. Yes. I was surrounded by three four-armed fishermen, and I was tricked and killed. But I should be happy that I escaped with my life. Some of the young girls in the village were taken by them. As the protector of the village, I could not protect the people of the village.

　Eduardo said with a somber expression on his face.
　When Anya heard that some of her daughters had been taken away, she murmured sadly, "No ......," and turned her head away.

　But then Cecilia, who had heard the story from another villager, walked up and approached Eduardo.

I'm Cecilia, the Demon Lord Hunter. Eduardo, I respect you. From what I've heard, it seems that the enemy forces were more than you could handle on your own. Still, you bought time for the majority of the villagers to evacuate, and even though you lost an arm, you did not give up your own life. You have done an exceptional job as the village's protector. Isn't that right?

　With that, Cecilia held out her hand with a smile as sparkling as that of an actor.

　I'm sure you'll agree that it's a great idea to have a little bit of fun. In the event that you have any kind of questions regarding where and how to use the internet, you can contact us at our own web site.

　On the other hand, Eduardo took Cecilia's hand and shook it firmly as well.

"Thank you, Cecilia the Brave. You're right. You're right. This is no time to be down on yourself.

"Yes. You should look forward now and focus on what needs to be done. By the way, Eduardo, do you have the right arm you lost?

Do you have the arm you lost ......?　No, unfortunately, they took it from me. The cruel fishermen thrust my arm with a spear and raised it to the heavens as if it were a trophy. I was too busy escaping when they saw an opening to try and get it back, but... why would I do that?



No, .......

　Cecilia was slurring her words, but I knew what she meant.

　If his lost right arm was in hand, Cecilia or Iris could have used the highest level of healing magic (Ultimate Heal) to join the severed right arm.

　However, without the actual item in hand, that is also impossible.
　Even the Ultimate Heal can do some things and some things it can't, due to its nature.

　But on the contrary, if you can get your hands on his lost arm, you may be able to heal his arm with [Ultimate Heal].

　Besides, there was something that bothered me in the conversation.
　I'll mention it.

"By the way, Eduardo, you said earlier that some of the village girls were taken away. Are you saying that Sahagin and his men did not 'kill' the girls, but captured them alive and took them away?

"Yes, that's what I heard from the villagers. I don't know what they're after.

No, that would probably mean...

　I look at the other brave academy teacher, Alma.
　The red-haired female teacher who caught my gaze nodded her head.

　The textbook on monsterology used at the Academy of Brave Men also describes some of the characteristics of the Sahagin race.

　One of the descriptions is a method for taming sharks as service animals...

　I explain to Eduardo what comes to mind.

"It is common for large groups of Sahagin to have a superior species called the 'Dark Priest'. Sahagin's dark priests perform a seven-day ritual with young human girls, and then kill them. The flesh and blood of the young human girls killed after the seven-day ritual is said to be the 'food' needed to tame and serve the sharks.

　When Eduardo heard my words, his eyes widened, and Anya moaned and put her hand over her mouth.

　I then glanced at my students.
　Rio has anger in his eyes, Iris also has her hand over her mouth, and Maifa is averting her gaze in displeasure.

　The culture and habits of evil monsters are not something you want your children to hear about.

　But as a hero, it's something you can't avoid, and it's a problem you'll have to face eventually.

　There are good monsters that can coexist with humans, such as the Copper Dragon we met in the outskirts of the artisan city of Ravilton, but there are also evil monsters that are inexplicably incompatible with humans.
　We need to make sure that our children understand this.

　But on the other hand...

But on the other hand, those captured by Sahagin will not be killed for seven days. Anya told me that it's only been about half a day since the village was attacked. In other words... there is still room to save those kidnapped girls.

　When I said that, the people in the hall groaned.
　They must have thought that the kidnapped girls would not be saved.

　Eduardo, on the other hand, was a little more cautious.

It's a great hope for those of us in the village, Britt," he said. ......, but I've already lost one arm and Anya is only half a man. The enemy is powerful, and the heroes of this village - me and Anya - are not enough to stand against them. In order to grab that sliver of hope, I'll need the help of the brave men and women in front of me right now. Can you lend me a hand?

　I replied with a small smile.

"Yes, of course. But if you have some money and goods to spare, it would be great if you could submit it as a quest request to the heroes' guild in Seafoam. If it passes the guild's inspection as a quest, the government will subsidize us 70%.

　I'm not going to tell you that my children are begging me to install air conditioning equipment.

"All right. I'm sure there are some treasures in the village that can be exchanged for money. If you gather them from all over the village, you should be able to get enough to order a quest from the heroes guild. If you're willing to do that, I'd be happy.

　Eduardo held out his hand, and I shook it again.

　But on the other hand, Rio protested to me in a tearful voice.

"Hey, bro!　If you say that now, it's like we're trying to make money off of people in need and make ourselves feel good!

　But I smiled and replied.

"That's fine. You know, there was a time when brave men would kill monsters and demon lords for free to help people, but it didn't work out so well. The heroes risked their lives to save the people, but the people took it for granted and did not appreciate it. On the contrary, they only blame those who are beyond the power of the brave, and there are many cases where the brave who were saving people with good intentions became sick.

"What the hell is that?　I'm not sure what to say.

　Rio took a turn and began to get angry, as if it was his own problem.
　I look at him with a smile, and add, "But we humans are not like that.

But that's just the way we are, you know. It's not easy to be grateful all the time. That's why it's better to settle it with a monetary reward. It's not a good idea to take money from people who are really in need of it, but if you're not, it's better to get paid for your hard work and it will turn out well.

"...... Hmm.

　I'm not sure if I'm convinced or not.

　By the way, Iris seemed to be euphoric as she said, "As expected of a teacher, you have a profound idea ......," and I thought it was time to do something about her.