Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆ Death God, Zarxis

「How's the development of the situation, Atlankua?」

The woman stood on the other side of the darkness. By appearance only, she seemed just like any other human. Although one couldn't call her a peerless beauty, she would be able to charm a man or two.

「Reporting, our servant is currently accompanying the Hero of Light. He might be intoxicated by liquor and women by now.」

「I see… I presume they have yet to discover your true identity.」

「Despite having seen my face, he doesn't seem to realize my true identity. Rather, it's more like he is charmed by my beauty.」

「Kukuku… Great! That's great. Once he sees what you truly look like, he'll die from shock.」

「You jest, Zarxis. This figure is also my true figure. Even that girl called Nao hasn't realized my other form.」

I felt a slight wave of anger in Atlankua's words. After all, her other figure wasn't pleasing to the eye at all.

Atlankua was similar to a werewolf, having two forms. One was human and the other… Many men turned their backs to it with a disgusted face when they saw it.

Even Atlankua herself hated that appearance.

She was my subordinate goddess and her main ability was to hide within shadows. Whether it was a person with a keen perception or a divine being, none could perceive her.

「You're right… My bad, Atlankua.」

「It's okay, I don't mind it at all. I'm going to snatch that bitch Rena's most important person. So I won't mind such trivial matters.」

But I knew she was really worried about that "trivial matter". That was just how much Atlankua hated her other figure.

And she also hates the goddess Rena. She might just be jealous of her beauty.

「I see… Then it's time to begin the next phase of our plan.」

「Fufufu, I succeeded in luring Rena's Heroes to this region. Now I just need to lure him into the labyrinth.」

I nodded at her words.

The first phase of the plan was already complete. They had successfully created a disturbance that was large enough to lure the Hero of Light to where they wanted.

The next phase was to make him enter Labrys's Labyrinth.

「You found the way to lure him already, didn't you, Atlankua?」

「Yes, Zarxis. We only need a woman's tears to lure that Hero. And I've made arrangements for that to happen.」

「I see… As prepared as always, huh.」

「Yes, Zarxis. Let's wait and see how she'll bait him into the labyrinth.」

Atlankua smiled evilly as she spoke, and I couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

「Kukuku, Hero of Rena. Now… Bite the bait and come to us.」

◆ Hero of Water, Nefim.

It was early in the morning and the ship headed to Ariadya was sailing smoothly when the captain of the ship approached me with a worried face.

「Uhm… How is the situation, Hero of Water-sama?」

「No worries, captain. We do not need to fear the Merfolk or anything like it.」

「You… Really, aah. Can't you even have a bit of faith in Nefim-sama!?」

「Yeah.」

My traveling comrades were angry at the captain of the ship who appeared to doubt my skill.

「Calm down, ladies. I understand the captain's concern. I mean, he did have reason to worry after several ships got attacked by Merlows.」

The Merlow race supposedly inhabited the western bays of Sead.

The difference between the males and females of the race was quite striking.

The females had their upper half resembling beautiful women while their lower half was that of beautiful fish. They were commonly known as Mermaids.

Compared to them, the males of the Merlow race were quite ugly. Although their upper half also looked human, they had fish heads, fins on their limbs and scales covering their entire bodies.

Despite having visited Sead Inlet so many times before, I still felt nauseous whenever I spotted their ugly appearance.

Both were part of the Merlow Race but apparently, Mermaids and Mermen were on bad terms.

The Mermaids hated the Mermen because they were ugly and the Mermen hated the Mermaids because the females disdained their appearances.

And both of them were hostile to humans.

Many human ships around Sead Inlet were ambushed and sunk by Mermen pirates. Two ships had already been done in by the Merlows within Ariad Inlet.

That was why the captain was so worried.

「As expected of Nefim-sama.」

「Such a generous person.」

My comrades rushed to praise me.

There used to be three of them, but I got one of them pregnant, so she took a break from adventuring.

   [TL: F$CK, I thought he is a SHE!!]

「Captain, don't worry. The Hero of Water, Nefim, is with you. I've fought against Mermen so many times before that there is no need to fear them. Moreover, there are also a few Freedom Fighters who came along with us. What are you worried about?」

「Ahaha, true enough.」

The captain laughed, but inside he was still nervous. It must be quite painful for him to tread through dangerous waters, but he had to sail to trade.

The ship advanced along the river with the power of the Goblin slaves' constant rowing. Their pace matched the rhythm of the drums.

I saw a similar ship once at the Saird Inlet. They used rowers too, but it was my first time seeing so many together.

Maybe the large number of rowers made the ship sail so fast. With such speed, we could arrive at our destination without encountering any Mermen at all.

But then I'd be the one in trouble if that happened. I came to fight Mermen, after all.

I pitied the captain but if nothing attacked the ship, the one who would be in trouble would be me. And I truly didn't wish for that.

「Captain!!」

「What's the matter, Hero of Water-dono?」

「They came!! ALL COMBATANTS, PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!」

I alerted the captain and took out my trident.

The Freedom Fighters, the sailors and the captain all hunched forward, trying to see the sea below us.

「Eh, from where?」

「YOU FOOLS!! DON'T HUNCH YOURSELVES TO SEE THE SEA!! 」

I tried warning them, but I was too late.

The ship had already shaken too much and some people fell into the sea.

「UWAAA! 」

「AAAAH! 」

「THEY'RE FALLING!!! 」

「INCOMING!! ALL REMAINING PEOPLE KEEP YOUR VIGILANCE!! 」

After I shouted the warning, creatures sprung from the sea and landed on the deck of the ship. They were Mermen, seven in total.

There were eleven people on our side.

Although we surpassed them in number, the ship shook so much that the Freedom Fighters couldn't brace themselves properly.

On the other side, the Mermen had a steady position even though the ship shook.

The battle had barely begun, and the Freedom Fighters had already suffered some losses. Although they fiercely fought back, they were being killed one by one.

Their skills were hindered by the location since they were unused to fighting on unstable grounds.

「KUH! Only this level of shaking!! This is why the people of the land aren't reliable at all!!」

As I moved along the deck, 3 Mermen came at me with their swords raised. I blocked their attacks with the handle of my spear and immediately stabbed it on a place that would destroy their stance.

Suddenly I heard a call.

「Nefim-sama!! 」

The girls were under attack. I had to save them!

I stabbed my spear on the deck and used it to launch myself across the ship, reaching the girls in an instant.

It took only one attack to spear through all 3 Mermen attacking them.

「Are you okay?! 」

「Yes, Nefim-sama.」

「We're safe.」

Thankfully, it seemed that I wasn't late. Judging by how lively they sounded, all three of them were fine.

A scream from behind me broke the moment.

「YOU BASTARDZZZZ. THE HELLZ YOU'RE DOINGZZZ.」

「Fuh. I won't lose to some Merman.」

I taunted the Merman as I swept my eyes over him.

Compared to the others, that Merman had a better physique. His scaly hide was covered in scars from previous battles and still-healing injuries.

The Merman stopped for a moment and stared at the spear in my hand.

「Oi, ladies man. That spearzz. Could it be, that it waz stigma of Triton? 」

「Yes, I'm from the Triton race. I'm a bit different from the people of the land.」

A Triton was a man born from the union between the Queen of the Mermaids and the King of the Sea, Trident.

Our appearances weren't very different from humans, but we could freely move in the sea.

Tritons were the sweethearts who were hailed as the Mermaid Knights. The Mermen were our enemies. They attacked us to steal and rape the Mermaids.

Even at Saird Inlet, I fought against a Merman who rode on a sea lion.

「I see, then I havez to defeatz you!! 」

The Merman drew his dual-curved sword and took a stance. I could feel he was strong.

Honestly, I could use water magic, but it would be useless against the Merman. I'd rather not attack so carelessly.

I set my spear in a stance. The three-pronged spear was the same kind of weapon wielded by the King of the Sea, a Trident.

I, born as a Triton, received instruction from my father in the way of the spear. It seemed that I was more powerful than any other Triton.

Filled with curiosity about the land above the waters, I left the sea. My proficiency with the spear and water magic transformed me into a Hero.

I've fought against many enemies and became more and more proficient in the way of the spear along with the accumulation of experience from training and battles.

What reason did I have to fear a mere Merman?

「Fuh, I won't be defeated by a savage like you.」

「DO NOT CALL UZ SAVAGE!!! 」

The Merman let out an angry roar.

「Really? In that case, how about learning how to wear your underwear first? You're in front of ladies. At least hide that ugly thing of yours!! 」

Since Mermen never wore underwear, its ugly parts dangled from between their legs, exposed for all to see. And that bastard's "Little Merman" was more splendid than mine!

My determination to exterminate the Merman race was renewed.

The Merman lunged toward me with his spear but I was able to block in time with my sword. He matched the timing of when he pulled back his spear to close the distance between us.

As if I'd let him. The moment he stepped forward I aimed my spear at his feet and forced him back.

「Yer not bad. Aren'ts ya quite stroonk.」

「Even if I look like this, I've fought against various demons on the land. I won't lose against you.」

「Ye might be rights. But yer can't defeat me.」

The Merman grabbed a curved dual blade and hunched forward in a stance. I wonder if he planned to lunge at me. If he did, then I'd skewer him.

I set my stance in response to his stance. The Merman then threw his curved blade at me. The blade spun as it headed in my direction.

「KUH!! 」

I looked at my opponent.

The merman made a beeline towards me as he ran in a low posture, so low that his chest almost touched the deck of the ship. He made his move at the same time he threw his curved blade.

I immediately fixed my stance and threw out my spear.

「HAAA!! 」

With a twist of his body, the Merman avoided my attack. My spear pierced through the deck of the ship. I tried pulling it out, but it was stuck quite deep.

Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my foot.

「GUWAAA!!」

It felt as if something very hot was burning my foot. I knew what happened to my right foot without even looking: it was cut. It was followed by a stabbing pain running through my arms.

That was when I collapsed.

「「NEFIM-SAMA!! 」」

The women were wailing in sorrow.

The Merman approached me and stepped on my face.

「I won this fight, playboy.」

「Guuh…」

I couldn't speak with his foot on my face.

The Merman showed a disgusting smile before pointing at the girls.

「I'm gonna stealz yer femalez. Ye look from therez.」

When I looked at the two women, I saw their frightened expressions.

「You guys… Run…」

Even though I knew it was futile, I still urged them to escape. But it was foolish. We were in the middle of the sea. There was nowhere to go.

I couldn't do anything but grind my teeth in frustration.

◆ Lolicon Merman 

[TL: WTF IS THIS, AUTHOR-SAN!!!!]

I jumped into the sea with the two femalez of the Hero of Water. He wasn't even worthz as my opponentz.

He said that he foughtz against those demonz of the land. And yet he was so weak, not even enoughz for warming up exercise.

He couldn't beatz me who always foughtz with my life on the line inside the arena.

That arena was hellish.

I was caughtz by thoze humanz when I waz looking for a bride, and then they zend me to the arena. I couldn't live unlezz I killed my opponentz.

I fought dezperately, and somehow survived through the whole ordealz. That'z why I felt that fighting againtz the Hero of Water waz juzt a walk in the park compared to the fighting in the arena.

And not juzt that Hero. All human malez were too weak. It zeemz that I waz the strongest in thiz Ariad Gulf.

Thank you very much for thiz blezzing, Draugon-sama.

「Kuku. Let'z make my own kingdom in thiz zeaaaa.」

I'll make my own kingdom, have my revenge on thoze humanz and kidnap their femalez. I laughed az I imagined my roze-colored future.

I zmile as I look at the femalez inside the bubble. Thoze two femalez were exhauzted, but they were ztill alive. Theze women were perfect.

Zoon enough, I can zee my own nezt.

It waz right at the center of the Ariad Gulf, enveloped by a giant bubble.

Human femalez couldn't breathe underwater. Thuz, I made a giant bubble in the center of my nezt and kept them floating in there. And then, made them give birth to my childz.

Zoon, this sea will be filled with my childz.

Although I lozt zome of my comradez to the Hero of Water, it wazn't a problem. My comradez were going to increaze zoon.

「Now now, it'z yer new home, female human.」

Az zoon az I entered the nezt bubble, I noticed zomething unuzual. The femalez were gone and in their place ztood an unknown female human.

The female human approached az zhe zmiled at me.

From her face, one could zee that zhe waz juzt a little girl. But, that zmile waz too fascinating.

I'm charmed by that zmile. Even if those females over there gathered together, they couldn't beat her beauty.

「Sorry, uncle. Everyone who was captured over there was set free by Rino. But don't worry, Rino is going to become your playmate.」

The girl let out an impish smile.

「Ye will become my playmate? 」

I looked at the girl with lustful eyes. Her chezt wasn't bumpy enough but her mesmerizing limbz were enough to fascinate me.

「You're looking at me with such a gross look on your face, uncle. Even your little uncle is rising upward. Chiyuki-san seems to hate seeing that little thingy, but Rino doesn't like to be seen around someone with that kind of look on his face. Cause Rino is such a charming little girl.」

[TL : PedoMerman Appeared!]

I can feel my blood ruzhing down to my lower body as I zee her fazcinating zmile. Thiz girl waz definitely a charming opponent. I might not need any other women az long az I have thiz girl.

「Yeah, you really are a charming girl. I don't need any othen women az long az I have you.」

「Yup, that's why Rino will look after these women.」

When zhe zaid so, the females of the Hero of Water were pulled toward her. Zhe waz ztrong. I couldn't hold on to them and ended up letting go of those femalez…

After confirming those femalez' conditionz, the girl laughed. It waz zuch an innocent zmile but, for some reason, I waz terrified of that zmile.

「Well. Shall we begin, uncle?」

The ocean water suddenly moved, deztroying the bubble dome of my nezt.

「Yer going to fight me? 」

「Didn't I said so before, uncle?」

「A little wizp of a human won't be able to defeat me. At thiz rate, you're going to die.」

It would be bad if such a rare girl died.

I made a beeline toward the girl.

But the rapid current wouldn't let me get clozer to her.

「Don't worry, uncle. Rino can breath underwater. Rather, you should start worrying about your own safety.」

My body wouldn't move as I wanted to due to the strong current.

「NO WAY! ! I am being swallowed by the current!! 」

Thiz iz impozzible. Such an absurdly impozzible moment. And then, I saw a gigantic figure hidden behind the rapid current.

「No WAY, THAT'S!!? 」

「Allow me to introduce my friend. This is the high ranking spirit of the sea, Charybdis. Now it's time for a pop quiz, can you survive her Maelstorm? 」

The girl laughed, and I was very frightened by that laugh. It zeemz the girl waz an extremely powerful witch. I needed to escape immediately.

The current started forming a whirlpool.

「NO!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! 」

I tried to zcream but my voice didn't zeemz to reach her. My body creaked. I could feel my bonez breaking one by one.

It waz a terrifying power that cruzhed me whole.

Amongzt the zearing pain, I felt my conzciousnezz dezcending into the dark ocean.

◆ Hero of Wind, Zefa.

It was quite early in the morning when the merchant who led the caravan I was protecting approached me with a worried look on his face.

「Will we really be fine, Hero of Wind-sama?」

「Yer worry too much, merchant owner. Don't worry, ye have me on your caravan.」

The caravan was leaving Republic Ariadya and heading toward another country. I and my female comrades were responsible for protecting it.

They quickly got angry at the merchant who doubted my skills.

「You! Really, ah! Can't you believe in Zefa-sama's power!? 」

[TL: Seriously?! THIS FLAG AGAIN!?]

「Yeah.」

「There, there, you two. I can understand the owner's concerns. After all, every merchant caravan that passed before us was attacked by Centaurs.」

Normally, there were no Centaurs on the Minon Plain.

I have never met any so far, but their fame as master archers preceded them.

I heard they wiped out the Knight Army sent to subjugate them. They defeated the knights of various allied countries without a single casualty among the Centaurs. And, according to the reports, they numbered only a few.

But this Zefa, hailed as the Hero of Wind, also had confidence in his archery skill. I was prepared to kill whoever dared to attack us.

「As expected of Zefa-sama.」

 [TL : STOP, PLEASE STOP THIS LOSING FLAG!!!]

「Such a generous person!」

My female companions sung my praises.

They were my battle comrades. There were actually three, but one of them was pregnant with my child. Thus, she was on break from adventuring.

[TL : … Can I retort here?] 

「Be at ease, owner. You have the Hero of Wind with you. Those Centaurs may be masters of archery, but I am far more skilled than them. Not to mention we had several skilled Freedom Fighters with us. What's there to be afraid of?」

「Hahaha, you're definitely right about that.」

The merchant owner laughed it off, but he didn't let go of his worries. I could understand how he felt, given the sudden increase in monster activity around the region.

Then, suddenly, the wind changed.

It seemed that we were being welcomed.

「Owner!! 」

「What's the matter, Hero of Wind-dono? 」

「THE CENTAURS CAME!! THEY'RE HEADING IN OUR DIRECTION!! FREEDOM FIGHTERS TAKE YOUR WEAPONS!! 」

Despite my warnings, the merchant and the Freedom Fighters were bewildered. They weren't aware of the incoming danger like me, who had the power of the wind.

Even though they weren't visible yet, I knew the Centaurs were headed in our direction.

「What are ya talking about? I can't see them.」

One of the Freedom Fighters got on top of the carriage and looked around.

… Good grief. He was looking in the wrong direction!

How can I leave my back to these guys?

「Hawk Eye!! 」

I climbed on the carriage behind the Fighter and used my ability. As I thought, a group of Centaurs was headed our way from the northwest. It seemed like someone in their group had the same ability as me.

If that was the case, then our side was in a pinch.

I nocked an arrow and aimed it at him.

「O Wind, Drive My Arrow To Pierce Mine Enemy!!」

I used my magic and fired an arrow toward the sky. It flew straight into the mass of Centaurs rushing toward us.

I assumed I had killed one with it… Until I used my Hawk Eye and saw a Centaur hit my arrow with his own.

「WHAT!! My arrow… Was shot down?!」

That guy probably didn't use any special magic, only pure archery skill to shoot down my arrow.

I prepared myself to shoot a second arrow, but I knew from the exchange between us that the Centaur was more powerful than me.

「THIS IS BAD, EVERYONE!! RUN!! 」

「GUHA!! 」

A Freedom Fighter standing beside me was felled by an arrow.

「Holy f^ck^ng sh*t…」

I nocked my arrow and invoked my magic. My mana pool wasn't infinite, so I couldn't snipe several arrows in succession in little time.

The Freedom Fighters around me were falling flat on the ground. The Centaurs were closing in on our direction, and they were too fast.

It was too late.

「F*ck…」

I gritted my teeth in frustration, unable to do anything.

◆ MILF Lover Centaur

[ED: now that’s a villain motivation I can get behind]

「Hm, those humans were unworthy of becoming our enemies.」

That human from the last raid was too weak. Only the one called ‘Hero of Wind' put up some noteworthy resistance, but even he was no match for me, the Hero of the Centaurs.

Centaurs were blessed by Sagittarius-sama, the God of Archery. A human was no match for us.

If not for that accursed wall, too tall for us Centaurs to cross, those humans wouldn't be able to defeat us. However, we had the absolute advantage when fighting on the prairies.

We defeated all the males in the human caravan and took their food and females.

「Hm!! Really now, patriarch!! 」

My clans were laughing too.

We once lived on the Kisonia Plain located beyond the Central Mountain. Unfortunately, we were defeated by a rival clan and then sold to humans.

Despite being Centaurs just like us, the other clan was in good terms with the humans. That's why they sold us.

Even though those humans were nothing more than our prey.

I got very angry whenever I thought about that clan. But I would have my revenge.

To do that, we needed to increase our numbers. Hence why we kidnapped women. We needed them to give birth to our children and bolster the numbers of our clan. Then, we would return to the Kisonia Plain.

And we would have our revenge on those bastards.

Everything went off without a hitch. No one could defeat us on the Minon Plain.

Until I sensed something approaching us from the sky. The feeling was similar to what I felt back when the clan was in Kisonia Plain.

「Patriarch!! This sign!! 」

「I know!! Abandon the women and the luggage, we run until we reach the forest!! 」

If my hunch was correct, our natural enemy would come from the sky, so we ran for our lives.

Suddenly, one of us fell.

「GUWAAA!! 」

I looked at the fallen Centaur.

There was a deep wound on his body. That wasn't the kind of gash one got from falling.

I looked at the sky.

「Griffon! EVERYONE TAKE YOUR BOWS!! 」

They were still quite far from us but my eyes weren't mistaken. That was definitely a Griffon. But why in the world were they at the Minon Plain of all places? There shouldn't be any Griffons around the area, or so I've heard.

And yet, there was one chasing us. It didn't take more than a moment for it to catch up.

My clansmen fired arrows one after another, but none of them could reach the Griffon since it flew so far away. I had no choice but to wait until it closed in on us.

The Griffon headed toward me and my clansmen and I took the shot. Unfortunately, I missed. My arrow was flicked due to the wind pressure the bastard was generating.

「DAMN IT!! 」

「GUWAAA!! 」

After that, the griffon passed by another one of my clansmen at an extremely high speed. The same thing had happened back in Kisonia.

Only for a moment, I caught a glimpse of someone riding on the back of the griffon.

「We can't win this fight, patriarch!! Let's retreat!!」

That sorrowful cry came from my clanmates.

The Griffon was too powerful and too fast for us. It left us with no other choice but to run for our dear lives.

We ran as fast as we could because the Griffon shouldn't be able to catch us after we entered the forest.

「GYAAA!! 」

「GEH!! 」

The scream coming from behind me announced each time one of my comrades fell. But I couldn't slow down.

I kept running at maximum speed until I couldn't hear them anymore. When I turned around…

… There was no one left.

「You're the only one left, onii-chan.」

At the same time as I heard that voice, someone descended from above, riding on my back. When I turned around, I saw a girl standing upright on my back.

「A cat… Person? 」

She was an extremely adorable girl, but there was a tail growing from her butt and a pair of cat ears sprouting from her head. She wasn't human.

I knew that on the southern side of the continent there was a race of a mix of human and lion (?) called sphinx.

Was that girl one of them?

「Wrong answer, this Nao-san is a human. I became like this because I entered my Beast Mode. Nao-san is a wild girl when she is in this mode.」

The girl was smiling heartily.

「Could it be… Were you the one who was riding that Griffon? 」

「Yup! 」

The moment she confirmed who she was I immediately nocked my arrow and fired it. But the girl was faster than I expected. She caught the arrow in a movement too fast for me to see.

「Oops!! 」

「Impossible… How can it be?」

「Sowwieee, but onii-san's weak arrow won't be able to kill this Nao.」

The girl then crushed the arrow.

With her bare hands.

What a monster.

「Why did you get off that Griffon to face me? 」

「Cause Nao wanted to ask something. Who released onii-san from that facility? 」

「I don't know… When we realized it, our shackles had been released and the gate was unlocked. That's how we managed to escape from that place.」

The girl stared at me silently. She seemed to be considering if I was speaking the truth or not. After a while, she sighed.

「It seems that you are telling the truth… You didn't see the culprit, huh…」

「What are you going to do to me?」

「Deliver you to Ariadya, of course.」

「Let's make a deal. Let me become your subordinate. At least spare me from being delivered back to those people.」

The girl shook her head.

「I can't do that. Onii-san, we caught you after cross-examining you. We know the cruel things you did to the female humans back in Kisonia Plain. That was overkill. That's why onii-san needs to be punished.」

「Punished. Why in the world do I have to be punished? It's just natural for the strong to eat the weak.」

The survival of the fittest was the providence of the world. Why in the hell was what I did so bad?

The girl's eyes dulled for a moment once she heard that.

「Yup, there's no evil in that law… The strong could do anything to the weak～♪! Including toying around with their lives, ri～ght♪?」

She was smiling brilliantly but, for some reason, that smile terrified me.

「Guess what this Nao, who is far stronger than onii-san, will do to you♪?」

The girl stepped on my face, slowly putting more power in her leg.

Her beastly toenails dug into the skin of my face.

「WAIT!! Sto—-」

I heard the sound of something breaking.

Then, my consciousness descended into darkness.

◆ The Knight of the Pashipea Kingdom Who Had A Princess Fetish

We departed from the Pashipea Kingdom in the morning. Our destination was the Republic of Ariadya. I turned to the Hero of Light, who walked beside me with his Pegasus.

「Um, is this really okay? 」

「Your worries are unnecessary, captain. You have me going along with you.」

The two attendants of the Pashipea Kingdom's Princess took it upon themselves to rebuke me.

「Knight Captain-dono. Can't you at least believe in Reiji-sama's power? 」

「Yeah.」

「Yeah, we won't be in any danger as long as we have Reiji-sama.」

[ED: Oh PLEASE let him get his ass kicked]

「Don't be so hard on him, Euria. I can understand the Knight Captain's worry. There was also the case with those orcs.」

The Hero of Light spoke to the princess of the Pashipea Kingdom. I endured the surge of anger I felt by seeing him speak to Her Highness so casually.

If not for that man's timely help, our princess would have been raped by Orcs by now.

We were ambushed on the road as we traveled toward the Republic of Ariadya.

A notice had arrived at the Pashipea Kingdom about the rampaging fugitive demons raiding the highway. I was selected to escort Her Highness as her bodyguard, but…

… My powerlessness frustrated me.

To be honest, I underestimated those arena monsters. We were completely unprepared for the ambush we suffered, and we couldn't chase after them. The Orcs attacked and almost kidnapped our princess.

Things would have become much worse if the Hero of Light hadn't been flying so close to our location.

He quickly exterminated the Orcs and rescued Her Highness. It took him almost no time and a single swing of his sword to dispatch the demons.

After their return, the princess and her chambermaids looked quite unkempt with their disordered clothes. But what worried me was the amorous look those women had when looking at the Hero of Light.

「As expected of Reiji-sama.」

「Such a generous person.」

The chambermaids sang his praises.

It was strange how they acted like that despite having only encountered him once. Did it have something to do with our princess?

I couldn't help but worry about it.

「Um, are we really okay this way? 」

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

I expressed my gratitude to everyone who came back.

「Thanks for your hard work, everyone.」

「Easy peas~y. That weak Merman ojii-san wasn't even enough to warm me up.」

「Same here. That Centaur onii-san was just too fragile.」

「Same here, it was an easy victory.」

Rino and Nao received extermination requests at the Ariad Gulf and Minon Plain, respectively. Reiji, on the other hand, received another extermination request.

I can imagine what became of the demons that faced against Reiji. It felt stupid to even worry about him.

Meanwhile, Sahoko healed the people who got injured by those demons.

I was charged with examining the captured demons. It was meaningless since none of them knew what happened.

「We really have no clues in this matter. According to Nao, none of those demons knew who released them.」

Our group alone probably defeated half of those runaway demons. The other half was full of rather troublesome demons.

First on the list were the Lizardmen. They were rather troublesome to find due to their ability to mimic and blend with their surroundings.

We needed Nao's power to find them. We'll have to look for them later.

Then, the ever troublesome Werewolves and Lamia.

Those two demons can assume a human shape. Looking for them was like looking for a needle in a haystack. We also needed Nao's help to find them.

There's also the fact that we have yet to find the mastermind behind the prison break case. Nao's power was also necessary for this one.

Nao's share of the burden was overwhelming. But we didn't have any other method available.

It might take us a while to solve those cases. It might be a better choice to contact Shirone and co.

I wonder how the situation on their side is…

「It can't be helped. We're in a hurry, Chiyuki. Let's just take our time.」

Reiji said so with a carefree expression.

「There were some victims, Reiji-kun. 」

「Yeah, no doubt about it. But this is all I can do. We can't dump more work on Nao. Let's take a bre~ak♪!」

Reiji started laughing loudly. I guess he was worried about Nao.

The burden on her was probably heavier than that on the victimized girls. All the searching fell on Nao's shoulders. But there was no other way because we couldn't do what she could.

For me, Nao was more important than those people. Reiji also had our safety as his number one priority. If it wasn't, I wouldn't remain by his side.

「Agreed~♪! There's a place that Rino wants to visi~t♪! 」

「Ka~y, it's a deal, then. And the sun is already going down, too. Let's go play with everyone.」

Nao was on board with Rino's proposal to visit the amphitheater.

To be honest, I'm also curious about it.

I REALLY WANTED TO GO THERE.

There was a gigantic amphitheater which played a drama every day as part of the country's tourist attraction.

A circus group was performing there until tomorrow. After them, it'll be a popular opera for the female audience. I also wanted to see that opera, but it was impossible at the moment.

「… It can't be helped. We've got no other clues even after searching to that extent. I guess everyone has to take a break.」

In the end, I lost against my own desire.

「Well then, shall we go to the theater to see some plays?」

Reiji's words made us cheer loudly.

◆ Postman of Pigmayoi Store

「Dear. Are you still awake?」

「Yeah, I've yet to finish sorting this letter.」

My dear wife caught me still sorting through letters.

Various countries of the Ariad Alliance were in a dire situation. As the highway became more dangerous, the situation only worsened.

Thus we, the Pigmayoi race, became even busier with the job of exchanging information.

Although traveling by land had become hazardous, traveling by air was relatively safe. We were buried in letters, and they all needed to be delivered in the most efficient way.

However, as my wife said, it was already late. I should hit the bed and stop wasting our precious candles.

Suddenly I heard a scream.

「UWAAAAAAAAAAA!! 」

I looked at my wife's face.

It was followed by several screams.

「IT CAME FROM THE RAMPART!! I WILL GO THERE AND TAKE A LOOK!! 」

「… Please be careful, dear.」

「I know! 」

My wife stared at me worriedly while I changed my clothes and made my way towards the birdhouse. I released the rope around the bird and mounted it.

The bird jumped from the tower of the rampart with me riding on it's back.

Then, I saw it.

「This… This is a swarm of demons.」

I, born as a Pigmayoi, had a better night vision than an ordinary human. I could see them clearly. Numerous demons surrounded the ramparts of my country, the Horon Kingdom.

Those screams I heard came from the garrison stationed at the rampart.

「This is bad…」

At this rate, the Horon Kingdom was doomed. I couldn't do anything but stare dumbfoundedly at the seemingly endless numbers of demons swarming the land.