'Oh, thank God!　I really don't know how to thank you!

　The village head man bowed his head repeatedly and thanked him for his service.
　I'm not sure if it's a good idea to have the same thing happen to you, but I'm sure you'll find that you're quite young for a village chief.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.
　It's not only because of the feelings of the chief for saving the village, but also because the chief's personal gratitude is great.
　The woman who was attacked by a foreign holy man and was saved by Ardis in the nick of time is the village chief's wife. It is because she is the wife of the village chief.

　In the end, Ardis's efforts resulted in not a single casualty for the villagers and only some damage to their homes. This is a blessing in disguise.
　If Kirill and the others had arrived just a few minutes later, the consequences would have been irreversible.
　It is because they know this that the chief and the villagers are so grateful to Ardis.

''Magician!　I hope you get some rest tonight!　We'll have a small but welcome reception for you!

　The faces of the villagers, freed from the pressure of a dangerous demon, were bright and the tension was odd.
　The two of them had originally planned to be allowed to stay overnight after the completion of the defeat. There was no reason to refuse their offer.

　The well in the center of the village was surrounded by tables and chairs brought from each house.
　Since this is a remote village, and since they live a life crippled by the threat of demons, the food that is laid out for the feast is by no means extravagant.

　However, the fact that they have been able to return to normal life without a single sacrifice has made the villagers smile and make a lot of noise from the bottom of their hearts.
　Here and there, I saw them discussing a cup and drinking it all down.

Really, thank you! Thank you!

You're pretty good for a young guy, man.

You know, you can just build a house that's broken down. But the best thing is that no one died.

Come on, eat up!

　Villagers come to Ardis one by one, praising him for his strength and thanking him with a smile.
　Perhaps this is a peculiar accent to the region, where people talk in a delayed manner. Except for the village headman, everyone else had a distinctive ending to their speech.

But was it Ardis-san?　You don't look as strong as you think you are. We didn't think that we had a mating pair of demons living here, of all places! If I had known, I would have had to flee the whole village at once...

　A middle-aged man with a beard said as he poured out his drink into Aldis' cup.
　Kirill couldn't help but interrupt him sideways with a question.

'Is it really that bad when it's a mating?'

'Hmm?　Oh, you're my cousin's boy.

　The man reacted as if he noticed the presence of Kirill for the first time when he was approached by him. He seemed to be quite drunk.

''That's right. I don't know about the other demons, but the fearfulness of the 'other saint' as a pair is incomparable to the time when they are alone!

　The reason for this is because of the larvae of the different saints.

"False saints usually don't form groups, but only during the mating season do they mate. Didn't you see that, little boy?　"A child of the Most Holy.

　Kirill nodded silently.
　Even though they were young, the countless demons that appeared in the air were a horrifying sight that could have appeared in a dream.

I've been told that the foreign saints are supposed to lay more than half a dozen eggs. Well, if you look at that number, it's understandable, isn't it?

　Saying this, the man turns his head in the direction where the corpse of the young body was scattered a while ago.

The problem is that these young bodies are eating up all the creatures around them. The reason why a heteros*xual mating pair began to breed near here is because there is a watering hole and of course, there is plenty of food to eat.

　He knows that the bait includes the villagers themselves.
　He shows a complicated expression while stirring his drink.

''But I can't believe that such a large number of demons can be born ....... It's scary to think of all those things growing up.''

Oh, that's not true. I heard they start to eat each other when they grow up to a certain extent.

Cannibalism?

That's right. I heard that siblings start eating each other when they're young, and the five or so that survive become adults.

　That made sense to Kirill.

　So they would eventually settle down to a reasonable number.
　However, it would be nothing more than a nuisance to the predators, such as eating up all the prey around them in the preliminary stages.

''You know it well.''

Oh, you're a city boy who grew up in the city.

'Oh, yes. I'm from Leytin, in the City-State Alliance.

I see. People in the city probably don't care about the life of demons. But in a village like this one, where people live side by side with the threat of demons, it's a matter of life and death. It's taught to you since you're a child.

　In a remote village, such threats are real and close at hand.
　You can't just say "I didn't know" by messing with dangerous beasts and demons. If it is done poorly, it could bring danger to the village.
　So at least you can be taught common sense about the beasts and demons in your area, the drunk man said.

'And I'm a hunter, too, you know. It's only natural that I know more about them than the rest of them...''

　I heard that this man was the first to discover the Heretic Sage.
　I was not in the mood for it when I found the foreign saint," he said.

It's a good thing that this sorcerer's brother defeated all of them. It's a good thing.　Was it the wizard?　Oh well.

　After the battle, Ardis told the village chief that they had defeated all of them, including the young ones.

　If we let even one of them escape, they would be a threat to the village.
　If the adult body was defeated first, there was no way to predict what the young body would do.
　That's why they were striking the adult body later and giving priority to the juvenile body.

　Aldis was standing around in that state of being surrounded by demons, thinking that much.
　He's an amazing person after all, Kirill again turned his gaze towards where Aldis was sitting.

　There was the figure of a sword mage who was fed up with being constantly plied with alcohol by the villagers.




　The next morning after spending the night at the chief's house, Kirill and his friends went to an open space on the outskirts of the village to dispose of the remains of the foreign holy man.

　The villagers insisted on burning the remains as soon as possible, but Aldis was waiting for them. But Aldis was waiting for them.
　Although it was not widely known, Aldis explained that the suckers on the different holy tentacles were effective in suppressing the magic power.

　It's not that you can sell them for a particularly high price. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.
　Since there is no particular use for the tentacles of the different holy, the general perception was that they were an unappreciated material.

　However, if we find some way to use it in the future, it will surely be purchased for a high price.
　The sorcerer who asked me to collect it is said to be immersed in researching how to make effective use of 'impractical materials' as a hobby while doing business.

　Incidentally, the blue ore-like spheres that look like useful materials at first glance are really of no use to him.

　Yesterday, as night had already begun to spread, the work of collecting the suckers was postponed until the next day.
　However, leaving the wreckage of the demon as it is could cause unnecessary danger.
　This is why Ardis has magically buried it in a vacant lot on the outskirts of the village.

　It's no wonder that the surrounding villagers are astonished at the sight of the strange holy wreckage disappearing into the ground as if it were sinking into the mud.

　Ardis has brought the holy corpse that he had hidden underground back to the ground.
　A large number of corpses of the two xenophobes and their young bodies appeared in the empty space.

''Well then, I'll collect the suckers, can Kirill gather the young bodies in one place and burn them?''

Yes, sir.

　Kirill hesitates for a moment as he replies and almost reaches for one of the juvenile bodies.

'...... You can grab these with your hand, right?'

　No matter how young he is, and even though he is dead, he is still a dangerous demon in origin.
　Kirill, who has never had any experience with demons, let alone fighting them, could not help but feel uneasy.

Haha, it's okay. Even if you grab it with your bare hands, there's no problem.

　Aldis assures me, with a look on his face that I can't decide if it's a bitter smile or a smirk.

'If you're worried about it, do you want to use gloves?'

'Eh, uh. ...... I'll do my best.

　Even if it's only a matter of time, I'm leaving it up to Ardis to repel the deformity called in by that sword.
　You can't bother Ardis with something as simple as this.

　Kirill willfully grabbed the child's body with his hand.
　A strange, limpid sensation was felt in both hands and Kirill frowned as hard as he could.