They say they found a two-horned demon in the woods of Titis.

　Such rumors began to circulate in Ishka's town a little after I was made known as a dragon knight.

　As I mentioned sometime ago, the demon race is a hostile race of humans, and the horn sprouting from their forehead is a rare (rare) item that is super rare. I'm sure there were more than a hundred or two hundred people who changed their eyes at the news of the discovery of a demon man with two of them.

　I'm one of them.

　But the reason for the change in color of my eyes was the exact opposite of the others.




"She's the one, isn't she...


　I remember the face of the girl with two horns who was held by the Lord of the Flies.

　After that, I stepped into the forest many times, but I never once saw her.

　Even the forest is vast. The fact that there was no information about the demoness until today suggests that the girl's residence must have been warded off from the public eye.

　It was a miracle that they had met that day in the Lord of the Flies' nest.

　I thought that I would never see him again - I didn't expect to hear anything about him.


Well, what to do?


　There's no obligation to help them. Besides, if he fought other humans by helping the demon man, it would bring down the credibility of the clan that he had been building up so diligently.　

　With that in mind, the act of helping that kid is beyond futile and harmful.



　However.

　Yes, but.

　It's kind of neat to see the person you've saved become unhappy, like this.


　The girl I rescued from the goblin's lair was later attacked and killed by bandits in the village - who's going to be happy about that story?

　I guess it's not strange to think that since you saved her, you want her to be happy. At the very least, I don't want to hear the end result that I'm unhappy.

　At the end of the day--


I'm talking about one of the few good things I've done that hasn't been tainted.


　Remembering the satisfaction I felt when I saved the girl, I decide on the path I should take.

　As for the Clan's reputation - yes, that's right, let's just say that they didn't save the girl, but that they were hostile to each other for the sake of stealing the 'demon man' (e-monos).

　It's not unusual for adventurers to talk about monsters dropping valuable items and fighting each other, sometimes leading to a battle.

　........Well, this will probably ruin your reputation, but if it falls, you can raise it. In the first place, it's a clan I created to return the favor to the guild, I'm not that particular about it.



　As I was thinking about this, the door to my room was knocked on three times with a bang.

　When I opened the door, the innkeeper was standing there and announced in a blunt voice that we had a visitor.

　When I heard the visitor's name, I couldn't help but furrow my brow.

　It was a name I hadn't expected to hear at all.



◆ ◆ ◆　　



'Long time no see, is it not, Lady Sora? I am truly sorry for this unannounced visit.


　That said, the one who gave an exaggerated bow was Fyodor, a threadbare and overweight slaver.

　He is a member of the 'union' that witnessed the duel between me and Lars the other day.

　After winning against Lars and enslaving Lunamaria, there was no particular contact between us, but a slaver from the thousands of seas and mountains wouldn't go there on his own without any need for help. There is no doubt that it is a trivial matter.

　--The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have the right information. Perhaps he smiled.


''Actually, I have a request that I would like you, Sora-dono - no, I have a request that I would like Clan 'Sword of Blood Smoke' to accept.

A 'union' that's crying out to be silenced by a new clan that was formed just yesterday?


　I'm sure there are plenty of clans to hold onto, etc. When I questioned him about that, Fyodor laughed back with a strange "here" sounding laugh.


It's true that the Bloodstain Sword has only been around for a short time, but its name is already roaring throughout Ishqa.　A black swordsman who controlled dragons, elves and beastmen under his command. He defeated a griffon for an old woman who wished to avenge her son and grandson, exorcised a banshee who cried nightly in a communal cemetery for a poor orphanage, and in Lake Toya he revealed the identity of Scylla, who had been disguised as a human, and rescued a young man who had been captured for an innocent crime. At the Atendo Pass, he cut down a crazed warwolf, long feared by the inhabitants, under a single sword.

...you know a lot about this.

Information is a weapon. I'm not negligent in collecting information. And what can I do without collecting information from someone who is a level one adventurer and can overwhelm a sixth level adventurer?


　Then Fyodor laughs here and there.

　But the slaver quickly stopped laughing and stared at me as if he abhorred the waste of time.


'I'm sure Lord Sola has heard of this. A demon man has been found in the forest of Titis.'

''It would seem so. From what I've heard, the demon man was found 'apparently'.......

It's true. The fact is, if the 'union' has already caught sight of us three times.

Already?　So that means--

As you may have guessed, we began to move before the rumors. It was just the day that the duel between Lord Sora and Lord Lars took place. On that day, an adventurer who was lost in the forest happened to find the demoness's daughter and came to sell the information to the 'union'.


　That reminds me.

　Come to think of it, Fyodor, who came to the guild to be a witness, said something about how he had problems going out with his breath.

　Was that because he got information about the demon man?

　If he had been chasing the demon man since then, he must have already obtained quite a bit of information. The location of the residence may be roughly known as well.

　Then, as if he read my inner thoughts, Fyodor continued to speak.


I already have the approximate location of the demon's dwelling place based on his three discoveries and the escape routes he took at the time. However, it is located in a deep area. As you know, the deep region of Titis is a den of demonic beasts. More than once, the people who were sent there to capture the demons have become the bait for the monsters. That's where we would like to borrow the power of Lord Sora, who controls the dragon.

Hmm. If we come from the sky, we can ignore the troublesome demonic beasts and go straight to the place where the demon man's home is likely to be.

As you say. Of course, I'll pay you handsomely. I'm sure you'll be able to take care of a new slave if you want. To tell you the truth, I recently acquired a very interesting slave.

'I'd love to hear about that, but first, one thing. Is it correct that this one is mission accomplished when you deliver the 'union' handout?


　Is he a mere mover, or is he also expected to be a force to be reckoned with?

　Fyodor's request was the former.


''Capturing the demon man will be done by an expert hunter (hunter). If the demon man is not captured alive, the value of his horn will be halved, so there is no need for Lord Sora's help.

What do you mean, if they don't take him alive?　Oh, excuse me. If this was a useless question, I withdraw it.

I don't mind. As you know, the horn of a demon man is a rare magic item, but the value of the horn taken from a living demon man and the horn taken from a dead demon man are very different. If the former contains a hundred magical powers, the latter is at most thirty. It's still worth enough, though.

Oh, I see.

'Yes. Therefore, the standard practice is to take the demon man alive and take his horn. Normally, demons die when their horns are broken, but it is possible to prolong their lives with magic and advanced (high) potions. That way, the broken horn will come back to life over time.

Well that's a money tree if you get it right.

Yes, sir. But after the second one, it won't be of much value. In the previous example, it is not even ten out of a hundred, but at most four or five. The demon's horn that is circulating in the world is usually this one. Even so, the nobles still fight and pile up money. The only thing they can do is to catch the demon alive. Do you understand?

''Yes sir. If that's the case, then those who aren't used to fighting demon men are nothing more than a hindrance. I'll just be a mover and shaker.

Since you're so sure, I'm wondering if it's a good idea to take this offer.

'Of course. I'm not so daredevil as to refuse a request from the 'union' in the first place.


　We're just about to fight with the guild. We can't make enemies here, even the 'union'.

　There was no reason to oppose them, especially if their role was just to move.

　The place is in the depths of Titis. The Garden of Demonic Beasts, where there was no wonder what happened.

　I prayed inwardly that the hunters who specialize in demon beasts wouldn't have an accident.