Our village is at peace today.

　Some time has passed since I, Dariel here, was fired from the Demon King's army and started a second life in the village of the human race.

''Annihilation!　Hooray!
Okay, take it easy.

　It should be noted that Gacita has grown quite fond of me.

　Ever since the battle with the giant snake, he had been barking at me like a rabid dog, but he's now curled up his tail and I'm confused as to whether he's someone else.

''Anikii!　I've come up with a new special move!　Look at that!
But first, a job.

　The quest to pick medicinal herbs that I used to refuse so much before has been accepted with an open mind, and now I'm able to split up and cover a large area.
　Thanks to this, we never ran out of medicine and the health of the village has been maintained.

　Furthermore, Marika's also........

''Dariel-san!　I made my own lunch.　Please eat the rest of it!　And then what do I do?　A hug?　A spell of hugs to bring you home safely?　That's a good one!　By all means, let's do it!

　I come up with a giggle.

　Is she going to be like this all the time?　I even shuddered, but if you accept that, the village was generally peaceful.

　The never-ending war between the brave and the Demon King does not extend to this rural village.

　One day in such an idyllic time....

◆

Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor.

　It was a mellow time after dinner.

　At the village chief's house, where I'm becoming a nuisance, the village chief and I were lounging around unattended.

'There's something that's been bothering me a bit...'
What is it?

　I was curious about it, but I didn't need to ask again.
　It was such a leisurely time that I dared to ask about such an unimportant question.

　Malika and her mother are in a separate room washing dishes for dinner.
　Really, what is this leisurely time?

I feel like there are a lot of empty houses in this village, don't you...?

　A rustic, backwater village........that's what we've been told from the beginning.
　When you actually live there, you know firsthand that the introduction is true.

　The number of residents is small, and the average age is high.
　If this is the case, it will have to disappear naturally within a few decades. It's an undeniably marginalized community.

　So the question I mentioned.
The fact that there are a lot of vacant houses seems to be perfectly legitimate.
　The number of inhabitants is decreasing every year.

　But the number of vacant houses in the village of Laxx is extraordinary, even if you discount the fact that the number of people living in the village is decreasing.
　When I casually counted them before, there were at least seventy houses in the village.
　Plus the mansions that are still inhabited today.

　It was the size of a small town.

　This is a cold village on the verge of collapse, which makes it seem even more unnatural.

　Wasn't there a time in the past when this village was unimaginable to me?

"Hohohohoho..... Dariel-kun, you are indeed observing well.

　I don't know what it is, but they say I've always had a high opinion of me.
　Thank you, sir.

This is a good opportunity. It would be good for Dariel-kun to know about it as a resident of the village. About the bustle that Rax Village once experienced...
Lively?

　To make a long story short, the village chief called to the kitchen, "Bring me some tea!
'Make your own tea!' came back Marika's voice, 'Make your own tea!

'Dariel-kun, please!'
Malika, I need a cup of tea too!

　Marika instantly comes running in with a tray.
　Even with tea cakes.

　As we sipped our tea, we began to talk.

There was a time when our village was very busy. There was a time when our village was very busy.
"Law.
'Thirty...or is it forty years ago now?　There was an important center, just beyond this village.
What's the key location?
Mine.

　According to the village chief, there is the only mithril mine in the world.

　In view of the territory of the human race, the village of Lax, where we are, and beyond.

　Mithril is a metal with mysterious properties that is neither iron nor copper.
　Weapons made from this material are said to have extremely high performance.

　Mithril is in high demand as a weapon material, and the mines are very busy.
　The village of Rakus was also busy as a stopover point for transporting the mined mined steel to various places.

"The many empty houses are the remnants of that time...
That's what I mean. In those days, you'd think it was a big city.

　Horse-drawn carriages carrying mithril steel came and went.
　Horse-drawn carts carrying mithril steel would come and go, and miners would stop at the village of LUX to take a break from their work.

　It is said that the village flourished as an inn town.

But that prosperity wasn't for ever.
What's going on?　Did the veins run dry?
'No, I'm sure they're still digging out the cancer mithril from the mine.

　So why did Lax Village lose its function as an inn town?

That's because he took the mine.
To whom?
To the demons.

　The village chief says that the Mithril Mine, which will never wither away, is an important place for both the human and demon tribes.
　For hundreds of years, the ownership of the mine had gone back and forth between the demon tribe and the human tribe, and now the owner of the mine was the demon tribe.

　And the current owner of the mine was the demon tribe.

　.........
　.........hmm?

When I was ten years old... or was it?　The demons invaded the mine that had previously been occupied by the humans. They just took it away.
Whaaaaah...?
Of course, the flow of people to and from the village came to a standstill. It's all but deserted. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get it back, but it didn't work. Now they're in a resigned mood.
Hahahahahaha...?

　Well.
　You've noticed my reaction has been weird, right?

　Why?

　I had an idea.

　Demons and humans are competing for the mithril-producing mines.
　There used to be an important stronghold.

　I heard about it when I was still working for the Demon King's Army.
　No, in fact, I was even in the mine.

　I was in charge of the Demon King's Army's mines.
　That's the kind of job the Four Heavenly Kings Assistant has.

　Going directly to the mine, transporting the minerals produced, and working the workers there.
　That's what they did.

In the beginning, a lot of adventurers came to the mine to try to retake it," he said. But no matter how many times we attacked them, they were too good at it and we couldn't get it back...

　Eventually, the humans gave up and changed their policy.
'As long as we defeat the Demon King, we can get everything back! And he focused on defeating the Demon King by brave men.

By the time I was old enough to work, the place was completely deserted. I had to become an adventurer to earn a living. That's where I met my wife.

　Such a past...?

For me, too, the bustling village of LUX village is a distant memory from my childhood. I'll be the last of my generation to know the sights and sounds of that time. When I'm gone, that will be a thing of the past entirely...

　The village mayor's desolation is not an exaggeration.

　In fact, the population of LUX village has been decreasing.
　The day when the population will be completely reduced to zero is not far in the future.

　This village is doomed to die a slow death as the road to the Mithril mine is closed.

'...................

　So I thought.
　It's been a while since I've been there.

　I used to be the Assistant to the Four Heavenly Kings, the officer in charge.
　I was the Assistant to the Four Heavenly Kings, and now I'm in charge of the demon tribe's Mithril Mine.