"A snake quenching ceremony?


　A chalk-white mansion owned by the 'union' made up of slavers.

　In one of the rooms, facing my client Fyodor, I was explaining to him what happened in the forest of Titis, including what I heard from the girl of the demon race - the sparrow.

　Fyodor's eyes, which had always been thin, were now narrowed even more, and his gaze would occasionally turn to my side.

　There was a sparrow sitting uneasily, revealing her two horns.

　To a sparrow, it's like jumping into a den of hunters who are after him. Whenever Fyodor's eyes came to rest on me, the sparrow would tremble and grab the hem of my clothes.

　While observing the sparrow in detail, Fyodor continued to speak.


I'm not sure if this is the reason why the basilisk appeared, because the ritual could not be performed?

I think it's a reasonable assumption, given the circumstances.




　Fyodor put his hand on his slack jaw and growled.

　As a result of the hunters taking advantage of the sparrows, the sparrows had difficulty getting out of the village, and thus were unable to gather the food needed for the ritual.

　Fyodor was right, it would be the 'union' that should bear the greatest responsibility for the appearance of the basilisk this time - I reported it to him, as if it sounded like that.

　Fyodor looks at me intently.


''Aside from that, was the Snake King indeed defeated?

''I've confirmed that the demonic beast was swallowed by the flames along with the Sea of Decay. Lord Pelly from the Scythe of Death took away three of his legs in exchange for his life, and I cut off two of his legs as well, so the demonic beast's movements were slowed down considerably. Therefore, it's hard to believe that they were able to escape from that fire's hands.


　However, I didn't check the body, so I can't say for sure that I could take it down. I added.


'Because I wasn't ready for that either.

What do you mean?

The Serpent King's poison got to me while I was fighting. He was in a tight spot, and Lord Sparrow saved him.

Oh. Oh, so a demon rescued a human. I've heard that the Serpent King's venom is so powerful it can destroy the earth.

Here it is.


　Saying that, he showed Fyodor a Jiriah Oax fruit.

　Fyodor looked at the yellow berries and looked directly at the sparrow. When the sparrow noticed his gaze, it was again spooked and shook its body.


''Do you mean to say that these berries were a strange remedy to get rid of the Snake King's poison?

It's said to be a secret that's been passed down for generations to the demon tribe. Thanks to this, I'm alive now. I owe my life to Lord Sparrow. It was not only about the poison. She knew that her village would be lost, but she set fire to it and drowned the demonic beast in the fire.


　As I said this, I looked back into the slaver's eyes from the front.


''In other words, Lord Sparrow is not only a benefactor to me, but also to the city of Ishka. If it is my creed to repay resentment with resentment and repay sincerity with sincerity, then I am willing to protect Lord Sparrow with my life from now on. Therefore, I am determined to protect Mr. Fyodor with my own life, and I hope that Mr. Fyodor will cooperate with me.

And you want us to help protect the demons?　Isn't it possible, though, that he or she may be lying about it?　Maybe he's conning his way into the Ishka and planning something.


　When he said this, Fyodor stared at the sparrow. The sparrow's body trembled three times.


The sparrow's body trembled three times. "I'm not sure if the Serpent King's appearance was really caused by the lack of a ceremony. I've never heard of any way to contain a magical beast with only offerings and dances. It would still be more convincing to think that the demon beast was invited from the deepest part of the forest by the demon man's magic tricks.

"Hmm. If you are so inclined, then you are not wrong. If it were possible, I would have preferred not to make an enemy of Master Fyodor, but I am sorry.


　As I said that, I urged the sparrow to stand up.

　The guard behind Fyodor puts his hand on the sword at his waist with a sharp look.

　The people in the room right now are me, Sparrow, Fyodor, and the two people who are Fyodor's guards. The two guards are the only ones in the room who are armed. My weapons are deposited in the reception area of the residence hall.

　To add to that, the slavers in front of me have more than ten men lurking in the ceiling and behind the walls.

　If you're in the mood, it's easy to get rid of me and capture the sparrows - it's obvious that you think like that.



　Naturally, we won't tell them kindly that we have a heart outfit.

　I'm sure they weren't lying when they said they didn't want to antagonize the union, but if they were to antagonize us, that was a different story.

　Once the guards drew their swords and let go, the battle began. With this in mind, I watched the movements of the guards in front of me.

　Then--.


Wait.


　Fyodor raised one hand to control the guard's movement.

　The guard removed his hand from the hilt of his sword as if in a panic.


''I beg your pardon, Lord Sora. But please don't be so quick to make up your mind. That was just a statement that there is such a way of thinking. A merchant is a small-minded person. You can't help but think about the time when your decision will backfire.

Oh, I see. I beg your pardon. However, I think it would be unwise to do Fyodor and the Guild any harm by protecting you, Master Sparrow.

How. What would be the reason for that?

The credit for finding and defeating the Serpent King goes to Lord Pelly and the other 'Scythe of Death'. And it was Fyodor-dono who dispatched them to the forest. This and the fact that he was the first to detect the outbreak of the Sea of Corruption, should be praised as a great achievement by the country. In addition, it is possible that in the future the forests and water sources will be contaminated by the effects of the basilisk and the rotten sea, and Fyodor-dono has found a solution to this problem as well.

Oh, I see. That's that nut you mentioned earlier.

''Yes. Some may accuse you of defending the demon tribe, but when you get a valuable poison remover instead, your voice will be muted. In addition, the curing of the poison can be used not only for this time, but also for years to come. If it could neutralize the venom of the Snake King, then it would be able to nullify most of the venom. Once such an antidote was born, not only adventurers, but also princes and nobles from all over the world who were afraid of being poisoned would rush to buy it. The Union is as good as having a golden tree in its possession.

"Ho ho!

I do not blame you for interfering with the snake-quenching ceremony and causing the appearance of the Serpent King, but you are the only ones here who know about the snake-quenching ceremony in the first place. For my part, I have no intention of unnecessarily spreading information that would be detrimental to my collaborator, Lord Fyodor. If I myself had cooperated in this, I would have taken the secret to my grave.


　Conversely, when Fyodor and the Union are no longer collaborators, they will blow the whistle as much as they can.

　If this information were to spread, even the Union would not be allowed to get away with it.

　The emergence of the Snake King was a major event that threatened the very existence of Ishka. I'm sure Fyodor knew that it was not something that could be resolved by simply not knowing about it.

　Of course I would be blamed for my cooperation, but compared to the damage done to Fyodor and the Union, it was like being bitten by a mosquito.




　And although I'm repeating these and other words, in the end, the only thing I want to say is this.

　--I'd like to say one thing: Get away from the sparrow.

　If that is the case, I'll give up the credit for defeating the Serpent King and help cover up any inconvenient facts. If you don't back off, then I'll turn completely against the Union.


　The other side is the slavers of the sea and mountains. They must be able to read every word I have to say.

　I'm sure that my words have been able to move the balance of interests in the slavers.

　I waited for Fyodor's answer.