So what did you find out?
Yeah. The cultural level is not much different from ours. It's just that the sphere of life is incredibly small. There are giant beasts all over the place, so it's only natural. That's why the city has only developed within a limited boundary. The rest of it is really just sparse settlements.

　I answered Else's questions while eating the ramen noodles Claire made for me in the cafeteria. I showed her the pictures, ingredients, and how to make it in detail online, and she did a great job recreating it. It may seem a little thin, but it's tasty enough. I'm amazed that you could even recreate Naruto.
　I heard that they are going to try gyoza next time. I wonder if it's possible to make a chain restaurant.
　There is only me, the Elserinze sisters and Yae in the cafeteria. Yumina has gone to see her brother Yamato, Hilda has gone to see her brother, the Knight King of Restia, and Sue is not here today. Lou is helping Claire make apricots for after dinner. Sakura is helping her mother, Fiana-san, at school, and Leanne is still asleep, even though it's past noon. It looks like she was searching for something in the library until late at night.

"If you live on an island like that, you can use the wards, but...

　Huffing and puffing, Linse also ate her ramen. She wasn't very good with chopsticks, so she was using a fork.

''Apparently, that large scale ward only has the entire island, the capitals of the north, south, east and west, and the temple in the center. Perhaps, though, it's a legacy of the Wise Men of Time in itself.

　That means it's an artifact. That's why we can't give it a new treatment. It's tough to have a limited safe zone to live in. Well, we shouldn't be attacked by giant beasts just because we're outside the wards.
　At that size, a human being wouldn't get hungry even if they ate. They'll probably go after other large monsters or something else that would be more likely to add to their bellies.
　Even if you build a city outside of the warding, all it takes is one giant beast walking by to destroy it. At best, they'll build a few houses and create something like a village.

"Aren't you going to get rid of the giant beasts? If you're willing to make a certain amount of sacrifices in the fight, it's not impossible to win, is it?
Yes, they are fighting, it seems. They have a catapult or something like that in the capital. When the giant beasts are approaching, I think they go outside the warding and use it to drive them away.

　Otherwise, we wouldn't have survived 5,000 years in any amount of time. I think they have more advanced methods for dealing with giant beasts than we do on the continent. Still, they're probably relying on the protective barrier of the warding system.

"I think we're the only humans of our kind, don't you?

　This is Yae, unlike Linze, who skillfully uses chopsticks to sip her ramen noodles. Yisheng also has Soba and Udon noodles, so I'm familiar with them. By the way, this is the third bowl she's eating right now.
　It's really strange that she doesn't get fat in spite of eating so much. Well, I am sure she is exercising as much as she eats.

It's true that there are a lot of humans, but there also seem to be some sub-humans and demons in the mix. Unlike this one, they don't seem to have any prejudices and live together in one city.

　I hope this side of the world can learn from that. Maybe we have to get along with each other in our small sphere of life, though. We need to cooperate with each other if we are to survive the harsh environment.

Also, the population is surprisingly small for such a small area. This may have something to do with the difficulty of farming and fishing, though.

　Even if you have a large area of land, it's just awful to have your fields destroyed as soon as you plant them. The crops that we have worked hard to grow for a year could all be destroyed before the harvest. It makes me want to cry, doesn't it?
　Depending on how you look at it, it would be better to build a field within the boundary. Build a house around the ward, and when the giant beasts attack, run to the fields within the ward.
　The house might be destroyed, but the food would remain. I think we have a better chance of surviving as a species this way........

"But still, this island of giant beasts..... How did it evolve like that?
He said it might be related to the magnesium concentration. That's what he said.
Magical concentration?

　Else and Yae nodded their heads at an unfamiliar word.
　There are quite a few species of demonic beasts that evolved by taking in atmospheric magic elements from ordinary animals. Therefore, many of them have abilities similar to magic. It's like the thunder bear that releases lightning.
　Among them, it was said that the ones that continued to take in a particularly dense concentration of magical elements would become giant beasts.
　Normally, the magic element was diffused and its concentration wouldn't be that high. However, in the depths of large forests, the deep sea, and the sacred peaks of the Heavenly Steeplechase, there were rare places where there were so-called 'magic element pools'.
　It was said that this 'magical element pool' might be the reason why giant beasts were created.
　The reason for the existence of these "magical element pools" is that the number of beings that can absorb the magical elements (not only animals and monsters, but humans as well) is extremely small, and the air and water flow is easily trapped in these pools.
　The island of no return, however, is surrounded by a boundary. In other words, there was nowhere for the magic element to escape. Even if the magic element was dispersed by the boundary, it would be useless if the island was the only place for it to go. Diffusion doesn't mean annihilation.
　As a result, it's easy for something like a magical element pool to form. That's what's giving birth to giant beasts.

''But that 'magical element pool'? Aren't humans ever affected by that?
''Humans don't take in more magic elements than their own magical capacity, so it's okay, sister. I'm sure you'll feel bad, though.

　Linze answered her sister's question. Demonic beasts don't suddenly turn into giant beasts if they live in their elemental pools. They would have to breed over and over again, resulting in a giant beast that is almost a mutation.
　Of course, as long as it is a mutation, it would never become a mate, so it would only take one generation to die. Well, I've heard that giant beasts have a much longer lifespan than their bodily counterparts.
　The problem is that these mutations are being born out of thin air...
　It's possible that some of them are close enough to each other to create a second generation. In that case, it wouldn't be a mutation, it would be a new species.
　It seems there are also battles between giant beasts, so this is truly a monster island. I wonder if they'll send in some silver warriors from outer space, they can't use it if they can only fight for 3 minutes.

Does that mean that if we can break that warding, the magical element pool will disappear and the possibility of a giant beast being born will be reduced?
'Well, that's what it comes down to. I'm keeping the wards up, whether you know it or not.... It's a tough call.

　Or maybe they can't disarm it themselves. If you think about it, the inhabitants of that island might be trapped people.

'Either way, we'll try to make contact, but we'll also have to explain to the neighboring countries. Elfrau and Hannock are willing to attend the meeting, but I haven't heard back from Paloof yet. I'm hoping King Linier will be able to woo them well, but I can't even explain the island to them at this point...

　At worst, though, I'll have to proceed without Paloof. I think it'll be easier to get materials for giant beasts and such if I end up trading with that island. However, the island's currency is a unique coin, so it's likely that we'll have to barter for it. I've heard that there are gold, silver and copper coins, so I think they're worth their own weight in gold.

It will take a while longer to make contact with them........ Well, there's no rush to talk about it, but after all,
Oh my God!

　Bang! And the head maid, Lapidus-san, opened the door of the dining room and jumped in. Whoa, I was surprised! Linze is sweltering as if she has a leek in her trachea.

''I just received a letter from Pam-sama of the Great Sea of Trees in the Gate Mirror, saying that the tribe of the Great Sea of Trees has been attacked by Sandra's Demonic Beast Warriors!
What did you say?

　Are you saying that Sandra has invaded the Great Tree Sea? Why again.......... The tribes of the Great Sea of Trees and Sandra's kingdom were implicitly inviolable to each other, I thought....

I heard that the Sandra army that attacked them captured the tribesmen one by one and are sending them to the royal capital, Kuray. It seems that they attacked the village in order to enslave it. I heard that Pam-sama and the rest of the 'Tree King's Tribe' are having a hard time holding back the other tribes that are trying to head to Sandra to get their stolen brethren back...

　They attacked us to enslave us. Oh, come on, a bandit, but when a country's troops are on the move, it means they're going to have to deal with the tribes of the Great Tree Sea. That place is made up of different tribes, but they have created a community that could be called one nation. If they really fought, there would be a war........

''After all, were the rumors of the 'Enslavement Collar' succeeding in further mass production true?
Ummm....

　I was going to send the three girls to Sandra to see if that rumor was true.
　The more 'Enslavement Collars' we have, the more troops we'll have in the Demonic Beast Warriors. No matter how brave the tribes of the Great Tree Sea were, it would be hard to take on the legions of demonic beasts.
　Are they going to invade the Great Tree Sea with that army?
　It might have something to do with the fact that the capital of Astal has disappeared........

''At any rate, it's a bad idea for the tribes of the Great Tree Sea to invade Sandra. If that were to happen, it would be a complete war.''
What are you doing?

　Else asks with a frown.

'Fortunately, Brunhild has established friendly relations with the Lauri tribe, the 'Tree King's Tribe'. Let us stand between the tribes of the Great Tree King and Sandra and demand the return of the captured tribes to Sandra.
Can I have it back, please?
'If you give it back to me and compensate me for all sorts of damages, I'll be able to.... The relationship would be terrible, though. Still, we might be able to avoid a war. And maybe it could be that some of us are out of control.

　I don't think they would have been slaughtered if the goal was to enslave them. If they had been killed they might not be able to back down.
　Many of the people of the Tree Sea are warriors who value their people and their pride above all else. Neither of them would ever forgive Sandra for hurting them.

'Well in a way this might be a good opportunity to get to know Sandra. I will get in touch with Pam and formally send Brunhild's messenger to Sandra. Then we can ask the king and his chief ministers what they think.
You're going to send a messenger, aren't you? Who are you going to send a messenger for? You can't possibly send a knight commander, can you, Nicola-san, the deputy commander, or Tsubaki-san?

　I grin at Linse's words.

'I'll go.'
What?
We just need to change our appearance. A letter of protest from the tribes of the Great Sea of Trees, Brünnhild's emissary.

　Besides, I can't afford to send our people to a country as dangerous as that. It's the kind of country where all you hear is bad news. They even call it the Kidnapping Kingdom.
　You could send my sister and Itoko and the others who are unlikely to die as emissaries, but they're not really good at negotiating.... Only Uncle Kosuke is the only one.
　Well, I'm going to explore Sandra's thoughts on the matter, so it's better that I go.
　The magic I found in the library and the secret weapon I asked Tika and Dr. Tika to build for you in the research labs were completed, so there are plenty of ways to deal with it when the time comes.
　If I gave them a letter of protest and the worst answer came back, the Sandra Kingdom would never be called the 'slave kingdom' again.
　Sandra also has a grudge against the new adventurers who came to our dungeon and messed with us. That was the work of the slavers alone, but I'm sure that behind the scenes, the Kingdom of Sandra itself was buying slaves.
　Moreover, it seems that they even went out of their way to tell you information about our company. I guess they thought they could get their hands on some slaves without getting their hands dirty.
　The other kings also confirmed that the bandits who attacked the villages and gathered enslaved people and sub-humans were also led by Sandra's slave traders.
　In other words, that country's slave trade association itself is a national hanger-on. The whole nation is kidnapping people. It's a criminal kingdom, if you will.
　The question is whether the king knows about it and is doing it, or whether he is dancing around without knowing it at all. Either way, it's a very bad feeling.
　I'll let us determine that part. Depending on the outcome, I won't show any mercy.