「Master, it is done」

Hearing my acknowledgment, the harpy flew away.

The sun is dazzling in the summer. Looking into the distance, the horizon is distorted because of hot air.

The were 10 people in adventurer’s outfits in the stables. I silently stood before them.

It happened during my day-off when it was time for me to relax and enjoy my meal. About 10 red dots appeared on my map. I warned everyone and went on high alert. They split up in three groups in the process. Two groups of four and one group of two.

The group of two headed straight for the mansion, while the other groups headed for the stables and the backyard. Apparently, they planned a pincer attack.

Without any orders, a harpy reported about the intruders. I ordered her to gather everyone and be ready to act.

While we prepared, the intruders assumed their position and the duo stood before my gate.

「So this is the mansion of the barrier master, Rinos-dono!」

I came outside to greet the suspicious people.

「Rinos, the barrier master, do you need something?」

「Princess Ricolette is calling for you. We will escort you」

「Princess Ricolette? What does she want from me? 」

Pyiii!! A shrill harpy cry resounded. I heard the screams of people from the stables. The surprised duo went outside to look. A closely followed behind them.

「Na! Harpy! Why is there a harpy in this place? 」

「Oi, everyone. Don’t kill them yet. I want them alive」

「What the hell…..」

「Are you a demon!?」

One of the adventurers swung his sword at me. I lightly dodged to the side and struck him to make him faint. Meanwhile, the other man was suppressed by the harpies. The group from the backyard rushed here hearing the commotion. In the end, they were defeated by the harpies without being able to put up a decent fight.

「So, what does Princess Ricolette want from me?」

The men didn’t answer.

「It seems that you want to become food for the harpies」

「W-Wait. I will speak! 」

The man who spoke to me at the entrance opened his mouth. I positioned myself before him.

「……..You, the Guremont’s dog, are in the way」

「What is the point of dealing with me? Nothing will change once I’m not around」

「I heard that once you die, the barrier around Guremont will be dispelled. That’s why! 」

Apparently, they want to assassinate His Excellency. A dangerous intention.

「While not being a royalty, he is amassing his influence and aiming for the throne. He cannot be left alive! 」

The man delivered his fervent speech as he was suppressed by the harpies, he seems pretty young. When I asked about his age, he said it was 20.

「The throne huh, the empire should still have the crown prince. It will be difficult to usurp the throne」

「By giving the throne to his grandson, Prince Viras, he will be able to control everything!」

This man is telling some serious b̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲. For caution’s sake, let’s peek into his past.

「Oi oi, isn’t Princess Ricolette completely uninvolved?~ Stop lying to me」

The man’s body shuddered.

「Ha? Did the emperor die? Use the chaos to assassinate the prime minister and make the princess into a guardian of the new emperor? What did you smoke? You plan is incoherent」

「S-Shut up! Don’t spout nonsense! The current empire can’t fully utilize its numerous talents! The empire will collapse because of Guremont! 」

「And you will seat on the top. Morons. Do you think you can replace the prime minister with your current ability? 」

「Guremont’s dog!」

For now, I tied up the intruders. This was troublesome in a lot of ways, so I put a barrier on them, erased their memories about the harpies, and replaced them with memories where I defeated them myself. After that, I brought them out and proceeded towards the teleportation point. It’s a nice opportunity. I can use them as lab rats to check whether I can transport 10 people at the same time. I activated the teleportation. My store in the imperial capital was my destination. [¹]

Everyone was successfully teleported. I left them here as I teleported once again to the point near the prime minister’s mansion. Following that, I entered the mansion.

The prime minister wasn’t around. When I described the situation to the butler, I was told to wait while he went to the imperial palace to relay the news to the prime minister. The prime minister’s people also headed for my store to fetch the assailants.

Soon enough, they were delivered to the mansion. Maybe because they resisted, they were beaten up rather nicely.

I waited quite a bit, but I was said that the prime minister would arrive at night. I pretended to go to the restroom, created another teleportation point, and returned to my mansion. For now, I told Peris that I might spend the night elsewhere, enhanced the barrier around the mansion and returned to the prime minister’s mansion. I removed the teleportation point and came back into the reception room.

The prime minister came back at midnight. He seemed pretty tired.

「You seem tired」

「Kind of. Many problems surfaced recently. I almost want to have the head of the Versam family by my side」

「It seems that the emperor has died」

「! How did you!?…..I see, they told you. A bunch of idiots. Even though nothing will change with my death」

「What is going to happen to them? Will they be executed? 」

「They are the third sons of nobility. Their chances to succeed the title are extremely low. Either they will become the adventurers or merchants….otherwise, they would have no choice but to live on by relying on their brother’s money. I don’t think that it was their house’s will. Well, it the worst case they will be executed, otherwise, they will be exiled」

「Serves them right」

「First, I need them to tell me the name of the mastermind. Also, I need to know how far their plans have progressed」

「From my interrogation, it seems that they did it on their own」

「Still, I was surprised that they even tried to attack you. They should have someone behind them. They might be planning a grand rebellion」

「Will they speak?」

「…….I will make them」

「Can I meet them once again, Your Excellency? I have something to ask from them too」

「………All right. Follow me」

The prime minister slowly walked down the stairs to the basement. The stairs were quite long. After descending, we walked through the corridor and arrived at the door.

Once inside, I saw them being conveniently interrogated. They were bound and bruised everywhere. It seems that the interrogation was on the harsh side.

「How is it?」

「Nothing substantial to report. They keep insisting that it was their own plan」

「Use any method at your disposal to make them talk. In the worst case, I don’t mind if you kill them」

「Please wait a minute」

I walked towards one of the captives. It was a different one from the guy that I interrogated in my mansion. But unlike the others, he aligned his eyes with me for a moment.

「……..Kurumfar? 」

The man’s body twitched.

「Who is he?」

「D-Don’t know. I don’t know anything about Kurumfar-sama! 」

「Are you attaching「-sama」to every unknown name?」

「Kurumfar…….the private tutor of Ricolette-sama. I see, he also tutored the bunch of you. So the mastermind was the count Kurumfar! 」

The prime minister’s eyes glowed.

「Rinos-dono, good job! With this information, we can cleanse our empire! 」

「I’m glad for you…..It seems that Ricolette-sama is in the dark about it」

「No, we can’t let it slide」

Un? Isn’t she unrelated?

「We will have Ricolette-sama take the responsibility. She will be executed」

「Welcome Back! The dinner is ready! Today it is a dragon meat steak! 」

Peris happily greeted us. The steak was accompanied by fried potatoes, soup, and salad. There was also garlic rice. Peris’ skills are master-class.

「Thanks, Peris! Come, everyone, let’s eat! 」

「「「Itadakimasu」」」

「I-Itadakimasu…….」

Merias, who was nearly forced to take a seat, was rather nervous.

「Merias should try it too. Peris’ cooking is a marvel」

I separated her salad and put some a piece of the steak on it. She was still hesitant at first, but gradually relaxed. I didn’t fall behind and put the steak in my mouth. Delicious! Its flavor is exquisite. Everyone ate with a gusto.

When I looked at Merias, she was trembling while looking downwards.

「What’s wrong? You don’t have to eat it if you don’t want to」

「Gusu. For a slave like me to receive such delicious food…….Somehow, I’m sorry」

「You are now one of us. You just happened to be a slave. You don’t need to mind it」

「It was Master, who came up with all of these dishes. Today they were made by me, but Master can make them even better」

While saying「Don’t raise the hurdle, Peris」, I switched my attention back to Merias. She gobbled every single dish while constantly apologizing.

We were satisfied with strawberries as a dessert and spent some time relaxing. Meanwhile, I thought about letting Peris guide Merias to her room, but the latter refused.

「I’m Master’s slave. I can’t just borrow Peris-sama’s room」

「Then where will you sleep?」

「I do not mind sleeping in the hallway」

「The hallway….Peris is fine with it, you don’t have to mind」

Merias just silently stared at the floor.

「Since that’s the case, you can just let her sleep in her Master’s room」

Gon opened his mouth.

「Un, wait for a moment. There will be times when Merias has to do some kind of work. So can you stay in Peris’ room for a while? I will call you when I need something from you」

「Merias-san, Master already said this much. Are you against sleeping in the same room as a belial? 」

There is no way it is like this! Merias fiercely swung her head. It seems she was finally convinced. If Merias ever sleeps in my room, I will attack her at night. To assault Merias right here and right now………Don’t call me a lecher.

After that, Peris showed her around the mansion, her perpetually surprised appearance was amusing. As expected, having a bath in your house is rare, I won’t tell her about「Ueeeeee」she unintentionally leaked in a girly voice.

On the next day, I woke up early and went to buy clothes for Merias. I bought the clothes, which were recommended by the employee, but it seems that they were quite good so they cost rather high. Well, I don’t need to worry about my finances and the clothes look nice. Since they are on the cute side, I’m fine with this.

Regarding Merias, I’m thinking about letting her continue her research. I decided to buy the tools and materials, but the amount ended up being a bit too large. Peris’ room is big, but it won’t be able to store everything. I had no other choice but to give up on buying some tools. It seems that it’s about time to think about expanding the mansion.

Regarding the Holy Sword, Merias is pouring her effort into making a sheath so the job of purchasing special materials in a specialized shop (although I was the one who ordered her to make one) fell onto me. It seems she is going to create a fitting holy sheath for it. I’m looking forward to its completion.

Merias was reserved at first, but due to Peris’ character, she quickly became friends with her. They were both Liberal Arts LV3 and stimulated each other’s intellectual curiosity.

Gon and I came to Ohi-sama’s mansion again. Because I asked about the title Gon answered「Ohi-sama is knowledgeable about this topic」. As long as I’m with Gon, I could come there anytime, and I did just that. As expected, I couldn’t visit with as it is so I filled my hands with as much food as I could and stood in front of the shrine. When I appeared before the door to the mansion, it quietly opened. It might unexpectedly be an automatic door.

We were greeted by the supervisors under Ohi-sama, Chieda-san and Sae-san, and then guided to her chambers. Today, besides those two, a fox in a ceremonial dress came along with us.

「Today, before Ohi-sama……」

「Let’s skip the formalities. Take it easy, take it easy」

「I’m overjoyed to receive your considerations. Today I brought presents with me. Please receive them if it all right with you」

After I said that, I presented ohagi, aburaage, zenzai, inari-zushi, and university potatoes.

「I’m ashamed of presenting the same things over and over again……」

「No need to worry. Hohou~. So this is zenzai. Let’s see……delicious! This sweetness! This crunchiness! It is indeed better when it’s crunchy」

「Ohi-sama!」

Her reaction was excessive, but it seems she liked it.

「This one is Sandill. Thank you for your continuous offerings. Our ladies like the sweet taste. I’m looking forward to the future」

「Thank you very much. In this case, should I substitute aburaage with zenzai from now on? 」

「Hm. Makes sense. Every…..」

「No! It is fine with aburaage. It goes well with the right drink! 」

Sandill objected. Don’t glare, Ohi-sama, don’t glare.

「Understood. The crispy aburaage is delicious. Also, please try inari-zushi, if it is all right with you」

「Mm. This is…..quite good…..good, good. This is also……..well, the offering」

「Understood」

Apparently, my presents achieved the desired effect. The supervisors liked the university potatoes. Offering all at once would be slightly difficult, so let’s establish a rotation of sorts.

「I came here for a purpose. I have something I would like to inquire」

「You are free to ask」

「First, about the barrier skill. I heard that it is possible to use it to teleport. How could one……」

「Oh, this is a special case and can’t be used normally. It has to be combined with other arts」

「Combine with an art?」

「This is a kind of a spell. Sandill knows the details. You are allowed to tell him」

「Ohi-sama, did you casually leave everything to this one to enjoy the offering in the meantime?」

「T-There is no-no-no-no way it is true! H-H-H-H-How rude! 」

Haaa, acknowledged Sandill. Ohi-sama, you are stuttering.

「I have something else to ask too. One of my comrades has「Self-loathing」title. I want to remove it, but….」 [¹]

「Self-loathing? What kind of title is this? 」

「Ahem, Ohi-sama. That thing that you failed to remove about 500 years ago」

「….Ah, that one. That was a failure…..No, it wasn’t a f-f-f-failure! There are no failures for this Mistress! That was a success!!」

「……Just when I tried to save you, you dug a hole for yourself」

「Sandill, you are rude!! Ei, stand up! Sandill will tell you about this matter! This wasn’t a failure! You can leave!!」

We were driven out of the room. They guided us to Sandill’s room.

「All right then, first I will speak about the barrier combination, it isn’t that difficult. You need to pour mana towards the place from where you want to teleport while chanting『Ohi-sama Ohi-sama, coming forth』and saying the name of a place you want to teleport. This would create a teleportation point, once you step inside, you would be able to teleport」

Let’s try at the first opportunity.

「Next is「Self-loathing」. This is quite a rather advanced curse. The person in question suppressed his own growth by wishing to seal his own abilities. Because it is a self-curse, it is difficult to remove. You can try, but it may result in the subject’s brain death. The best method would be to utilize divine protection skill when the person himself wholeheartedly wishes to remove it」

「And Ohi-sama failed because」

「…..She tried to force it. It almost reached the point of no return. I intervened」

I didn’t hear until the end. When we were talking, the supervisor, Chieda, entered the room.

「Rinos-dono. An order from Ohi-sama. From now on, it will be enough if you only offer bean-shaped ohagi and a sweet kind of aburaage」

「Nah! I was deprived of my pleasure! Are you holding a grudge against me!?」

Trying to pacify Sandill, I ended up with his personal shrine in my mansion.

The matter of her title depends completely on her own will…….Well then, how should I proceed? I thought about that as I left the mansion.

「Let me suffer? An interesting joke. Fine, I will let you know your place」

The black rabbit released a pink aura and took out a rapier.

「Ufufu, the hellfire will burn you to ashes. If you do not start running, you will be roasted, you know? 」

I kept staring at pohasei without moving a single bit.

「Ahhahaha, are you too frightened to move?」

「Master, please escape!」

Merias clung to my back.

「I will kill you both」

「You have been noisy on you own since a while ago. In this some kind of a play? 」

「What?」

「You are still in one piece, Merias. Look」

「…..The fire has gone」

「Gazing at illusions can be pretty exciting, but these ones aren’t that great」

「Yeah, it is painful to look at. Is this everything you’ve got? You seem pretty amusing, there is a merit in bullying you」

The posehai was already trapped inside a 10-meter wide barrier. Then, I created a lot of cockroaches inside of the barrier.

「Uwa! What is this!? No!!」

The posehai immediately flew into the air. I exploded her black wings and took away her ability to fly. She raised a painful scream, landed on the ground and started to desperate run away from the cockroaches. I exploded both of her legs and took away her ability to move. The flood of cockroaches enveloped her body in no time.

「Nooooo! Gyaaaaa! Stooooop!! Stooooop!!」

This was rather unsightly, so I concealed the cockroaches from Gon and Merias. From their standpoint, it looked like the posehai was writhing in confusion.

While appreciating the sight before me, I confirmed her skills once again.

Lyona (Pohasei, 37 years old) LV29
HP: 183
MP: 116
Illusion Arts LV3
Seduction Arts LV3
Human Transformation Art LV3
Mind Magic LV3
Teleportation Art LV2
Flight LV2

She is specialized in manipulating people. She can’t be a decent opponent is she fights directly, but I have some interest in this「Teleportation Art 」of hers.

「Hey, Gon, what is this「Teleportation Art 」?」

「It is a kind of space magic, but it is very restricted. She can only transfer herself and it takes a lot of MP to cast. It is mainly used as a last escape method」

Can’t you freely move around with this thing?

「In that case, you might want to make use of your barrier skill. Multiple people can be teleported if they are inside of a barrier. Ohi-sama’s shrine also works this way」

You should have said it sooner. I need to get a detailed explanation on this skill from Gon later on. I feel like I’m missing on a treasure.

While I was thinking that, the space around posehai started to distort. Looking closely, it seems that her posehai comrades are about to teleport here. Among them, a posehai with a big build screamed in a loud voice.

「I noticed an emergency signal and came here, Lyona! What is happening?!!」

I cleared the insides of the barrier from the cockroaches. She was twitching on the ground with her whole body covered in sweat.

8 posehai, who were called her by Lyona, gathered around her. I see, that’s what he meant when he said that they act in groups.

「Are you comrades of this one? If you are willing to retreat, I don’t mind if you take her with you」

「Who are you!? Was it you who wounded Lyona to this extent……? Impossible! For you to be able to corner Lyona to this extent!!」

「Whether it is impossible or not is not important. I want to have dinner soon. Today, I will let you off with just this much, hurry up and scram」 [¹]

While I was still talking, a single posehai came slashing at me. Just before he succeeded, I enclosed him in a barrier and quickly increased the temperature inside. I a blink of an eye, he was devoured by the flames and disappeared.

「Mihiji!…….I won’t forgive you! Kill!!」

The giant posehai ordered in a loud voice. The rest of them started chanting. Taking this into an account, I released a scorching bullet mid-chant. New holes appeared in their bodies only for flames to burst out from them. Without knowing what happened, the six lost their lives.

「Oi, hulk. I have some questions to you」

「Kuh! Nuaaaaa! 」

At the same time as I deployed a barrier, the giant posehai initiated a teleport. His figure disappeared accompanied by his fierce screams.

「Did he……teleport? 」

「It is the first time I saw a posehai abandoning his comrade」

「Can’t help it. Let’s question this one」

I approached the fainted wounded woman. Gon and Merias followed me from behind. She was twitching before, but upon my approach, she slowly opened her eyes.

「Was that hulk your comrade? It seems he abandoned you」

The woman looked at me and grinned. At this moment, something flashed and an explosion occurred.

「Dangerous!」

I hugged Merias on a reflex. Her fluffy hair was extremely comfortable.

When I turned back, I saw nothing. It was the usual grassland.

「So she suicided. It is the first time I saw them doing that」

Gon was strangely impressed. Looking close, I noticed a katana lying on the grassland. Once I picked it up and appraised it,

Laser Sword: A sword that can cut through any material.

Ho, its sharpness is superb. The blade is incredibly beautiful.

「This sword was made by me」

When I picked it up, Merias quietly muttered this to herself.

「It looks very sharp. Isn’t it a good sword? 」

「I was told to make a sword that can cut through space. However, you need a lot of MP to achieve this effect. I thought of developing a technique to somehow preserve the MP, but it didn’t go that well」

MP? I have a lot of those. Let’s try pouring it in. When I imagined putting my MP into the sword……my MP was gradually sucked. I can put even more. As I poured more and more………the blade shone blue. Merias looked at this spectacle with round eyes.

When I poured about 10000 MP, I felt that it was filled to the brim. Before I noticed, the sword became like a polished mirror. Merias unconsciously leaked「Beautiful……」from her mouth. When I appraised it again, this is what I saw.

Holy Sword: A sword that can cut through any material and space. Its sharpness is further increased against the evil beings.

…….It seems that a sacred sword was produced. Is this all right? Is this really all right?

I silently passed the sword to Merias. Merias looked at it fervently, as if wanting to devour it whole.

「H-How did……….? Alloy composition? No, by changing the incorporated enchantment…..No, is this…….a formula? Overheating the gamul grass? Is it? Is it?」

The appearance of a beautiful girl staring at a sword with her eyes wide open while muttering something incomprehensible is quite scary.

「Merias, can you make something like a sheath for it? It stands out. It is all right you do it later. The materials…..let’s buy them tomorrow too. I’m hungry. Let’s have dinner! 」

Together with Merias, who refused to let go of the sword, and the yawning Gon, I returned to the mansion.

When we arrived home together with Merias, Gon greeted us.

「Oh? This person…….has some considerable skills. Un? 「Self-concealment」? It is the first time I saw such a title」

Well, we couldn’t just stay before the mansion forever so we went inside. While being nervous, Merias sat down as I ordered.

「As I said earlier, you are a slave, but I intend to release you. It seems to take quite some time so you will be staying here until that moment. Feel free to use this house as your own. Your room will be the same as Peris’」

「Um……..You said you will release me, but why did you buy me in the first place? 」

「Un, if I’m to voice it out, It was a whim. There is no particular reason. It’s just, the status of a slave is insecure, right? I was also a slave in the past, I can relate to these feelings. Although, I still want to hear why you became a crime slave. If it is not that big of a deal, I intend to release you」

「I……killed a lot of people. For the sake of the dead, I need to die too」 [¹]

She looked at me with strong determination. It doesn’t seem likely for me to hear the whole story. Without any other choice, I peeked into her past myself.

Merias was born between her sheep beastwoman mother and her dwarf father. Her mother was a good pharmacist and her father was an excellent blacksmith. The stubborn father and the gentle mother raised her with love. She was interested in her parents’ trades since her young days and spent her days learning from them.

She had the talent in the first place so she was able to master both of the skills. She dreamed about inheriting their job and making their life easier.

The turning point in her life happened when she was 10 years old. A plague rapidly spread throughout the country, it started with sudden a high fever and led to the death in a few days. The death toll was exceptionally high amongst the children. The King ordered to start development of the cure to every competent person. Of course, this order reached her household too. The family poured all their effort into the development of the cure. And they successfully completed it. The King was overjoyed, and while promising a reward to them, distributed the cure for free amongst the populace.

Then, a tragedy occurred.

The children, who used the cure, died in large numbers. The distribution of the cure was stopped and the cause was investigated. The report stated that the cause was in the magic grass. A grass that acts like the poison in high concentrations. They concluded that the proportions of ingredients were flawed. [²]

Merias’ parents were executed to atone for their mistake. The father, who was harvesting the grass, and the mother, who made the cure, were charged with serious crimes.

Originally, they planned to execute Merias too. However, with her young age as a reason, she was taken care of by the court magician. There, she was ordered to develop and produce magic tools. Such work was very taxing on MP. The work that continued every day until she fainted put a serious burden on her body. However, this work, which was said to improve the lives of the citizens, was a form of atonement for her. She ignored the condition of her body and continued her work.

When she turned 16, she wasn’t able to complete the ordered work anymore. She wasn’t able to create much. While being aware of her own limits, she nevertheless tried harder than anyone else did. However, in the end, she was abandoned by him and sold off as a crime slave.

「It seems you did all kinds of work, but I can’t understand the details very well. Can you explain it to me in layman terms? 」

「!? How did you!?」

「Ah, I can somehow understand some things about people」

「…….It was mostly three things. Creating an edged tool with maximum sharpness and hardness, a material that can negate magic, and a medicine of immortality」

「Quite the ambitious projects you had there. Did any of those succeed? 」

「I achieved some minor things, but it didn’t come into reality in the end」

「Then what did you create?」

「A medicine that can unleash the whole power of a person. He won’t feel any pain or fatigue and will be able to act with his full power」

「Are there any side effects?」

「When it runs out, you won’t be able to move for several days. In the worst case, you will die」

……..Sounds like a failed product. I see, she was magnificently used. The death of her parents also seems suspicious. Merias herself doesn’t seem particularly evil.

「All right, for the time being, it is better to deal with your curse. Gon, can I ask you? 」

「You can do it yourself, though」

「Is that so?」

As if being inspired by Gon, I decided to remove it myself. A concentrated on Merias and imagined myself removing the curse. Curse LV3 was displayed inside my head. I poured my MP in it. After a while, it was reduced to LV2 and gradually disappeared.

「Fuu. The curse was removed. The status is still that of a crime slave. It seems we still need to visit a priest」

However, the title「Self-concealment」was still there.

「How do you erase this title?」

「I never tried this before so I don’t know. Ohi-sama is knowledgeable about this topic」

「I will ask when I have an opportunity」

While I was discussing these things, my map showed a reaction. It is moving in this direction at considerable speed. The color is red. It is definitely hostile.

I gathered everyone and went outside to meet it. And at the same time, it showed its appearance.

「Geez, you just had to complicate everything. Thanks to you, I need to cut the loose ends」

The one who appeared was a black rabbit beastwoman surrounded by the evil aura.

「Pohasei? How bothersome」

Gon muttered unintentionally.

「Pohasei is a tribe skilled in illusions. They often move and attack in groups. Very hard to deal with 」

「Ara, today I’m alone, you can relax. I’m here for the sheep girl. Her being alive is rather inconvenient for us. Don’t think bad of me」

「Are you the ones, who conspired against Merias and her parents?」

「Ara, she told you to this extent? Loose-lipped women are no good. Sorry, but is seems that you need to die too. But you are so young and cute. Should we play before I kill you? 」

「Before that, let me confirm something. Her skills are quite high, did you raise it with some kind of medicine? 」

「Such a perceptive boy. No, I forced her to commit crimes」

「Crime?」

「By killing her family, although she closed herself from everyone, her learning speed has increased. She deprived the lives of many people with her own medicine」

「Do you want to obtain the world? Or are you just enjoying the slaughter? 」

「Both. I tried to force her to create an impenetrable material of a medicine of immortality, but it seems that I aimed too high. Well, she did create the semi-immortal soldiers so it’s not as if she was completely useless. But I can’t expect any further growth from her, there is no reason to let her live any longer. I thought she would die once she became a crime slave, but I never expected from her to immediately tell you everything」

「One more thing. What’s up with this self-concealment? 」

「Self-concealment? What’s that? 」

「I see, an idiot. Yeah, right, the last question. Are you a woman or just crossdressing? 」

「……..I thought about playing with you, but it seems I will discard this notion」

「Understood. Oi, Peris」

Peris, who was by my side, silently gazed at me.

「Sorry, but go ahead of me and prepare dinner. Let’s have dinner right after I finish here. I’m expecting a lot of you」

Peris affirmed and went inside the mansion. I turned towards Merias.

「Sorry, Merias. I forgot to buy the clothes for you. Let’s buy some in the capital tomorrow. Today, you have to do with my clothes」

「What’s up with this demonstration of composure? Are you trying to make me relax my guard? Fufufufufu」

The pohasei released bloodlust and evil aura from her body. I faced her with a demonic smile.

「I hate women like you. The moment you were hated by me, death became your only destiny. I will let you taste the suffering, which will make you wish for an easy death. All right then, where should I start from~? 」

「Nothing good ever comes from these guys! These guys are soldiers of Princess Ricolette. What are they even thinking!?」[¹]

The owner of Miraya, Akima, was fuming with anger. The soldiers quickly occupied the stage and started talking about something with the slave traders. There were a few customers left, but the auction was completely disrupted. Akima showed her intention to return home. I decided to accompany her and headed outside together with Peris.

「Master, what was this event all about?」

「Ah, Peris might not know it. It is a place for buying and selling of slaves」

「Slaves?」

「It is about buying people with money. The slaves have to listen to their buyers no matter what」

「Are they treated as goods? I thought that those, who were bought, were going to be released 」

「Ho, an interesting opinion. I want this girl to teach some things to my girls! 」

Akima teased Peris and laughed. Once we went outside, a man from the slave trader’s side approached me.

「I’m sorry for the inconvenience. Dear guest, I will hand over your slave immediately」

Apparently, the slave traders will be penalized for opening the slave market, it ended up without anyone being harmed. I bid farewell to Akima and followed the man. We arrived in a room in the hotel.

After a while, a nice looking man came into the room.

「Thank you for coming. It might be too hasty, but let’s finalize the purchase right away. The money…….yes, that is enough. Let’s proceed to the slave contract. Oi, bring her over here! 」
The sheep beastwoman was brought inside. Unlike the previous time, she was wearing a one-piece clothing. Previously, they wanted to display her bodyline to the audience. However, her appearance before my eyes was truly mesmerizing.

「I apologize, but can I receive a drop of your blood?」
Un? Blood? I do not remember anything like that when Elsa-sama bought me.

「Isn’t the slave contract done through a spell?」

「In the case of a crime slave, there is a need to bind it using blood. If you complete the blood contract, the slave won’t be able to resist you in any way. After all, the crime slaves couldn’t be given any freedom. It is enforced by the law so I ask you for your understanding」

The handling of the crime slaves is a difficult matter.

「When it comes to the blood, you can use this magic tool. Put your finger on it, and it will suck out your blood by itself. It won’t be painful and won’t leave any wounds」

I put my fingertip on the glass rod. The rod quickly sucked out my blood. The slave trader received my blood and dropped it on the palm of her hand while casting some kind of spell. Her hand glowed.

「With this, the slave contract is complete」

「How do you cancel the contract? What will happen to her if I die? 」

「Because it is a blood contract, the slave will die together with the owner. If you don’t like it, you should be able to cancel it in the slave store nearby. Please, do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything」

「Understood. There should also be a method to release a slave. How is it done? 」

「We do not hear about releasing the crime slaves too often, but if you want to, you need to get the permission from a priest.」

「Priest?」

「Correct. To release a crime slave, you need to prove to the priest that he atoned for his crimes. However, you need a lot of money, and it is not guaranteed that the priest will be convinced of his atonement」

In others words, once you become a crime slave, it is almost impossible to regain your freedom. What did this beastwoman do?

「I heard that she poisoned a village. If you look at her casual attitude, you should understand what kind of person she is. Please, be careful with her」

Saying his piece, the slave trader left the room. The sheep girl, who was left behind, approached me and kneeled.

「Thank you for purchasing me. I will be serving you with my utmost effort from now on. Feel free to order whatever you want」

「U~n, for now, how about leaving this place? My name is Rinos. What it your name? 」

「……I don’t have one. I would be happy if Master could give me a name」

「No, you should have a name, which you used before. What was your name before? 」

「……Merias」

「Then, I will call you Merias, are you fine with this?」

「Thank you」

「All right, Merias. I know that it is sudden, but we are hungry. We didn’t have the chance to eat lunch yet. Ah, her name is Peris. Our chef. Did Merias eat her lunch? 」

「…….No, not yet」

「Then it is decided, let’s eat lunch. Is beef stew all right with you? 」

「I’ll be glad to!」

「Let’s go!」

Merias followed after me and Peris. When we went outside, the soldiers were still running around. While I was silently praising their diligence, I heard an unexpected voice directed at me.

「Rinos-dono, so you wanted a slave too」

Princess Ricolette showed her face from the carriage’s window.

「The soldiers stormed the slave market some time ago. Was this your order? 」

「Yes, people shouldn’t sell each other in the open」

「I agree. It would have been nice if people stopped trying to buy each other with money」

「Are you really saying this? Didn’t you buy the beastwoman behind you? Don’t you think that you aren’t qualified to say these things? 」

「Maybe I am. In truth, I thought about releasing her from the crime slavery. But it seems that the procedures are too difficult」

「Release a crime slave? How ridiculous…….」

「I agree with Ricolette-sama. The life of a slave is full of uncertainties. The kids shouldn’t taste this feeling. I may not be qualified to say this, but I do think so」

「You’re just…….」

「I’m a former slave myself」

Princess Ricolette frowned for a moment. Perhaps, I shouldn’t have said it. Well, I will solve the problems when they actually appear. I took the two with me, as I distanced myself from this place. Soon enough, we arrived at the hotel with delicious beef stew and entered the restaurant.

「Isn’t it Rinos-sama? I’m glad to see you here again」

「Today, I brought my chef and a newcomer with me」

「Isn’t it Peris-sama, welcome. The newcomer is…..! Rinos-sama, this person……..」

「A new addition to our household」

「U-Understood. Please, this way……」

The always-polite boy became agitated. Ah, Merias’ curse is affecting him. Let’s cast a barrier to isolate this influence for now.

We were guided to our seats. However, Merias didn’t sit down and stood behind me.

「How about sitting down? Feel free to order whatever you like. Beef stew in this place is wonderful! 」

「To-To dine on the same table as Master is inappropriate!」

「I don’t mind. I can’t calm down with you standing here. For now, just sit. This is an order. Also, do you have anything you want to eat? The things you dislike? Nothing? Are you fine having the same as me? Then, three beef stews with salad, and three omelets please」

Very soon, the dished were delivered to our table.

「All right, let’s eat. Peris, you are free to steal the taste」

「Leave it to me!」

Peris started eating while muttering the names of ingredients from time to time. Merias too unintentionally muttered「Ah, delicious」. It seems that she liked it.

「All right then, Merias. Actually, I intended to release you from slavery, but it seems rather difficult so you will be staying with us for quite a while. I will look after you, but I want you to promise me one thing first」

Yes! She stopped eating and stood up as if she was a rocket.

「No, you can sit. Listen to me while eating. It’s not that big of a matter. First, do not ever lie to me. If something is too difficult, I want you to tell me. If you don’t like something, I want you to tell me. Second, my secrets should remain as secrets. The slave contract took care of it, I guess. However, I want you to keep it even after you obtain your freedom. Third, the last one, take care of yourself more. Your sad face makes me sad a well. I want you to be as happy as possible. Of course, there is no need to force yourself」

Yes…….she nodded like a pigeon pecking its food.

Having finished the beef stew, we left the hotel and headed to my store. There, we were joined by Irimo, who was already waiting for us.

「Irimo, she is our new companion starting from today, Merias. This horse is Irimo. Take care of each other in the future」

B-Best regards. Nervously greeted Merias. We left the city, and after confirming everyone’s presence

「Merias, I’m going to reveal you some of our secrets. You should never talk about it」

I said that and revealed Peris’ and Irimo’s appearance.

「Be-Belial!? Unicorn pegasus!?」

「Peris can fly by herself. Merias should mount Irimo. Hold on tight」

I forced Merias, whose eyes were spinning, to sit behind me on Irimo, and she flew into the sky. The feeling of her breasts against my back made my heart race, but let’s keep it a secret.

The cold winds went away and the warm winds arrived.

Today, I came to the imperial capital together with Peris. Over the past few months, I often strolled around the capital with Peris when I had time. It was done for the sake of shopping and memorizing the food. I guided her to the places, where I considered the food to be good and had her remember the taste.

Peris looked human thanks to my barrier, but it didn’t go well at first. After all, she couldn’t say anything except for「gumomo」. I had no problems with that, but others did. I performed as her interpreter until she finally learned the language.

Gon professionally taught her the language, and coupled with her thirst for knowledge, she grasped it in no time. Right now, she is asking the cook behind the counter about the recipes, knife handling, and seasoning, trying to raise her cooking skills. A lot of stall owners think of her of as a glutton, even recently, in one of the street stalls

「Girl, it is all right to be gluttonous, but you should lose some weight」[¹]

she was told that with a bitter smile. According to Gon, Peris is one of a kind beauty, but that doesn’t change the fact that she looks like a small plump dragon. If she is as beautiful as Gon claims, I think about asking him to teach her human transformation.

I finished this round of shopping in the capital and stuffed everything in the infinite storage. We usually buy enough food to feed lots of mouths, so the shop owners often give us discounts. Also, it seems that Gon and Peris established some kind of a deep bond with all of the stall owners. I couldn’t even understand what they were talking about.

The shopping trip was prolonged and the most of the day already passed. Coincidentally, there was a high-class-looking hotel nearby, so we decided to visit the restaurant there. As we closed in on the restaurant, we found out that, regretfully, it was closed today. However, it was noisy inside. Just when I thought that it was some kind of private party, I discovered an unexpected person. The owner of 「Miraya」in the red light district, Akima.

「Ara, Rinos-chan, it’s been a while! What are you doing here? 」

「It’s been a while. I thought of eating here, but it is closed. What brings you here? 」

「Isn’t it obvious? The slave market! 」

The place that usually acts as a restaurant was turned into the slave market. Apparently, she often shows her face in such gatherings to fish for new workers for her establishment. This time, she acquired quite a few gems and went outside to complete the procedures.

「The normal slaves are already sold. It is about time for crime slaves to went on stage」

Crime slaves……people who sinned and fell into slavery. Usually, small crimes do not lead to slavery. They are the people, who committed serious crimes and have no choice but to spend the rest of their lives in slavery. Most of the times, men are bought as miners or fighting force, while women as prostitutes. However, their living environment is harsh and unbearable most of the times, which leads to 90% of them dying in the first 10 years. You can say that their execution is just being extended.

「There are almost no decent people there! But sometimes, there are some girls who were enslaved due to their parent’s crimes. You might as well participate since you are here! You might find an unexpected bargain! 」

Akima grabbed my hand and dragged me inside.

The room was dim, while the stage was bright. After a while, a man appeared on the stage.

「I kept you waiting, everyone. Let’s open the sale of the crime slaves. This is your last chance to purchase a slave」

「Rinos-chan, if you see someone good, do not hesitate to buy! Raise this white token and say the price. Keep in mind your budget when bidding」

Apparently, it was based on the auction system. While I was talking with Akima, a group of strong men lined up on stage.

「Human male, 25 years old; cat beastman, male, 19 years old; human male, 18 years old; same as before, human male, 18 years old! We are starting from 5000G」

The host raised his voice and introduced the goods. The white tokens were raised and voices saying「6000G！」, 「7000G！」resounded in the room. The slaves for sale are sometimes grouped together, or sometimes presented one by one. If no one is interested, the host will gradually lower the price. The lowest possible price seems to be 1000G. If there are no white tokens raised even in this situation, the slaves will be dragged out from the stage. Bad memories surfaced inside my head.

「What will happen to the unsold slaves?」

「Un. Sometimes they try in a different city, but most of the times, the merchants get rid of them」

As I thought. If not for Elsa-sama, I would have been dead by now. It might not be the best time, but I silently expressed my gratitude.

「The last item. Sheep beastman, female, 16 years old! We are starting from 3000G」 [²]

She had two curved horns on her head. Her hair was silver-colored and gave a natural warm feeling. Looking closely, her face was shaped rather nicely, she is definitely a beauty. Only her chest and hips were covered by cloth so I could easily see her body. She had some sheep hair on her legs and arms, but her breasts were relatively big and her body was well proportioned. She was beautiful enough to become a model.

However, no one was willing to bid for her. I thought that she will fare well in Akima’s establishment, but Akima only wrinkled her brows and had no intentions to raise the token. The slave on the stage, couldn’t bear the stares of the audience and lowered her head. However, a man affiliated with the slave traders forcibly lifted her head back.

「Is she not to your liking? She is a genuine pure girl. How is she? What about 2500G? 」

Her price kept falling down. I asked Akima why she didn’t bid for her.

「She is a beauty, but no. My intuition tells me this. You shouldn’t buy her! 」

While I was at it, I decided to appraise the sheep girl.

Merias (Slave Sage, 16 years old) LV36
HP: 91
MP: 145
Alchemy LV 3
Blacksmith LV 3
Pharmacist LV 3
MP Recovery LV2
Liberal Arts LV3
Curse LV3

Self-concealment [³]

Curse LV3……is impossible to get for common people. With this, she will attract the animosity on herself. Self-concealment…….overall skill decrease.

Skills are high! What’s up with this sheep woman?! A sage……Her unexpected skill composition left me speechless for a brief moment.

「By the wish of the seller, we can’t go lower that 500G! How about it? Is there someone? 」

I spontaneously raised my token.

As if waiting for that moment, a group of soldiers appeared from the back.

「Immediately close down this slave market! From now on, it is forbidden to host the slave auctions in the imperial capital! Close down immediately!!」[⁴]

…….What the hell is happening?

There is a mansion on a certain remote mountain. It is so remote that, forget about humans, not many monsters are aware of its existence.

This mansion is the residence of the 10000-year-old fox god, Ohi-sama. And by her side, there served an old fox, Sandill. A talented manager acknowledged by everyone.

Recently, Sandill became increasingly worried about Ohi-sama’s diet.

For a whole year, the fox mansion continued to receive certain offerings. A boy, Rinos, brought by the white fox from the Juka Kingdom, ended up offering the so-called「ohagi」and「karaage」on a regular basis.

At first, Sandill didn’t pay any attention, but he heard the supervisor girls singing praises to it. Sometimes, the supervisors nearly fought each other.

Sandill reluctantly tasted it too and was captivated in a second. He especially liked「karaage」.

「Karaage」delivered by Rinos came in two flavors, a sweet one, and a normal one. Ohi-sama preferred the sweet one, while Sandill – the normal one. This normal karaage was extremely compatible with sake. He brought it back home and enjoyed it together with drinks.

A month ago, there was a change in「ohagi」. Different from before, it became much mellower. In short, Peris, the new chef of Rinos’ household, received a hint from Rinos and made something akin to「red mochi」, this「new ohagi」suited Sandill’s tastes rather well.

However, Ohi-sama didn’t like「new ohagi」very much and always discarded it after selectively eating some of its parts. It was the best possible outcome for Sandill.

Of course, he used an excuse of wanting to follow the manners and do not casually throw away the offerings. This「new ohagi」exquisite and showed him the incredible harmony between the ingredients. He deeply enjoyed the feeling of it slowly sliding down his throat. [¹]

One day, Rinos delivered another batch of「ohagi」and「karaage」as per usual. Unlike before, there were three of「new ohagi」delivered. Normally, it was just two. And each time, Ohi-sama would nibble on one and let him take the whole one. This time too, was the same pattern.

However, that day Sandill was exceptionally hungry. And at that time, 「new ohagi」was delivered. For starters, he put one in his mouth. Delicious. How can you make something so delicious? The humans couldn’t be underestimated. While thinking that, he unconsciously extended his hand towards the second one. And put it in his mouth. This time, he made sure to properly chew and enjoy the taste. It is indeed delicious. He swallowed it while thinking of the best drink to complement it with.

Once he came to himself, he noticed a single ohagi left. Oh, I did it….was, of course, present in his mind, but it wasn’t going to be a problem. Thinking that she won’t eat more than a half anyway, he carried ohagi and aburaage to her chambers. [²]

As usual, she enjoyed the taste of aburaage before switching her focus to ohagi. This time it was「new ohagi」. Hearing him, she disinterestedly took a bite on her favorite part as usual and tasted it.

「Sandill, one more」

Usually, it was the time for to say「you can take away the rest」, but this time, he couldn’t just produce another one from nothing. After all, there were no more. They were resting in Sandill’s stomach. Given some time, he could have requested more from Rinos, but he didn’t have any.

「One more」

「I have a thing to report to Ohi-sama」

「What is it?」

「Can you see the garden? I took care of it recently. The trees became very tidy and beautiful」

「Garden?……It is indeed beautiful. It seems you planted a tree by the side of the pond, but what about it? 」

While she was distracted, he quickly flipped ohagi in a way where the tasty side was above.

「One more ohagi, Ohi-sama」

She opened her mouth again and tasted this ohagi.

「It really is great, Sandill, another one」

That was troublesome. Turning it around once again won’t bring any good results.

「Uuu…….」

「Sandill, one more!………Or should I look at the garden once more? 」[³]

After that, Sandill disappeared for a while, and she enjoyed her peaceful everyday life.

Inside the cell, Serias seemed to be asleep.

The magicians probably forcibly keep him asleep. They stand around him and cast extra heal one after another.

「What did that prisoner do?」

I asked the guard.

「Ah, that is a certain person of high standing. He was subjected to confusion since a long time ago, and there are always magicians casting healing spells around him」

Extra heal takes a lot of mana to cast, but it seems that extra heal can at least keep a person alive after「Onigiri」.

「Are you applying recovery magic to him? Oi, Shera」

「If it is recovery magic, even I can do it. Be grateful」

The guards prevented the idiotic cat princess from approaching Serias.

「Why!? I was going to help! Why do you need to stop me!?」

「That’s right! We are being merciful to you! Why can’t you gratefully accept it?! I’m surrounded by idiots」

The two complained to the guards. While I was thinking of punching them, Serias stood up

「Nuaaaaaa!!!!」

He suddenly grabbed the neck of a magician and snapped it with little effort.

「Your Highness! Please calm down! 」

The guard approached Serias’ cell in a fluster.

「Gaaaaaaaaa!!」

Maybe because magicians didn’t lock the cell, Serias was able to rush out of the cell. He swiftly stole a sword from the guard and stabbed it into his chest.

「!!!!!」

Releasing a voiceless scream, he fell on the ground. I released a wind spell at Serias. At that moment, he cut my wind spell apart and dodged to the side.

「Hyahha! Your Highness! Kill! Kill them all! 」

Looking closely, I noticed Visto Zai in a cell next to Serias’. He pressed the place, where his hand was, on the prison bars and screamed with all his might. His eyes were completely insane.

「Kill! Kih, gaha」

Without any trace of hesitation, Serias pierced his throat through the gap between the iron bars. Zai’s body collapsed like a puppet with its string cut. A group of soldiers rushed in after hearing the commotion, but Serias cut them down in a matter of moments.

「Stop it, b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲! I won’t forgive you for showing such violent behavior before the hero! 」

The idiotic prince shouted towards Serias. Serias’ eyes flashed with a strange color when he looked at the idiotic prince. They turned dark. In that moment, Serias moved. With a speed completely incomparable to before, he dashed in our direction. I let my guard down.

In a blink of an eye, Serias approach the idiotic prince and cut with his sword.

「Willis-sama!」

The female cat, Amalia, covered him and was struck instead.

「Ah, aaaaaaaaa」

The idiotic royalty became weak in their knees. A part of our surrounding turned into a sea of blood. I released a fireball at this slaughterer. However, it was split apart by Serias’s sword. He managed to resist LV3 magic.

「Gaaaaaaaa, waaaaaaa, di-e……di-e………」

He spoke as if vomiting something. Serias was strange since a while ago. I used appraisal to look at his skills.

Hideta Shua Serias (Demon, 19 years old) LV26
HP: 101/208
MP: 47/58
Sword Arts LV3
Body Strengthening LV3
Evasion LV2
Etiquette LV1
Curse LV3

His 「Curse」 leveled up. Because of that, he became a demon. His skill also became higher overall.

It was a bit narrow, but I still released a wind blade. Yet Serias deflected it with his sword again. He turned away from us and escaped.

「Hey, stupid cats! Don’t move from this place! 」

I chased after Serias.

After leaving the basement, I found Serias surrounded by soldiers while he was wildly swinging his sword around. I immediately trapped him inside a barrier and deprived him of his freedom. The soldiers pounced at him and successfully captured him.

Serias was escorted away by soldiers. He will probably die very soon from the mental breakdown.

I returned to the basement to secure the idiotic cats. It wasn’t possible to keep them in the prison anymore, so they were transferred to the royal palace. Amalia, who covered for the idiotic prince, wasn’t breathing. I attempted to bring her back with ultimate heal, but her brain was seriously damaged by that slash, which in turn caused me to fail. The others were pierced in their hearts, and I wasn’t able to revive them either.

I embraced Amalia and carried her into the room allocated for the idiotic cats.

As expected, the idiotic cats were depressed. When I entered the room with Amalia in my hands, the idiotic princess approached her.

「Amalia! Amalia! Open your eyes!! I beg you, wake up!!」

「Is there someone who can revive her!? This is the Hideta Empire, right? You should have someone who can resurrect a person. Hey! Hurry up and call a magician! 」

The idiotic princess was desperate.

「Amalia’s brain was damaged. When the damage to the brain is excessive, it is impossible to resurrect a person anymore」

「What do you know!? Look! She doesn’t have any wounds! Don’t lie to me! 」

「I closed her wounds with magic. Otherwise, she was too sorry to look at 」

「Someone……someone……Amalia……..Amalia…….」

I heard the idiotic prince’s crying voice. At that time, the prime minister and Princess Ricolette entered the room.

「So one of your servants died. It is great that you, the royalty, weren’t hurt」

「Hmpf, it would have been better for you to be cut. Your selfish decisions can easily harm other people around you. You just use your position as a royalty to satisfy your desires. As a result, you lost a servant. Whom are you tears dedicated to exactly? Are they truly for your servant? Aren’t you crying because she won’t be able to accompany you in your stupid game anymore? 」

Princess Ricolette didn’t have any mercy. The prime minister looked like he swallowed a bug. The idiotic prince and the idiotic princess glared at Ricolette without wiping their tears.

「Now, get out of here. You do not deserve to live, but cutting you down here will create a stain on our reputation. You are nothing but pests. Leave the Hideta Empire as soon as possible. We will hold a funeral for your servant. You aren’t qualified to mourn that person. Rinos fellow, throw them away from our country」

As ordered, I dragged the idiotic cats out of the royal palace.

The carriage was rather small. There was barely enough food stuffed inside. I took a position of the coach, and together with Irimo departed towards the border.

The three inside the carriage didn’t say a single word. Well, there was also the fact of Irimo running at incredible speed. Before I noticed, it was already evening. A very beautiful setting sun was slowly sinking beyond the horizon. When I looked at the sky, the stars appeared one after another. It was a little more to the border.

I stopped the carriage near the river, which was close to the border. For the time being, I cast a barrier that should last for several days on the three.

「If you follow this river for half a day, you can reach a village. Go there first」

「What should we do?」

The idiotic prince opened his mouth.

「Meet all kinds of people and talk with them. There are plenty of ways to live. You should learn them. Notice that you aren’t able to survive by yourself. Before, you were provided with everything by your country. You didn’t even do anything. However, the reality is different. If you won’t do something for others, they won’t bother with you either. You need to comprehend it. That’s how people live」

The idiotic cats were silently depressed.

「You are probably hungry. Take this」

I handed them ohagi from the infinite storage.

「Be sure to remember this taste」

Having said my piece, I mounted Irimo and headed home. [¹]

「Good morning. Today’s breakfast is bread, cheese, scrambled eggs, smoked meat, and salad. There is also jam for those who wish to put it on their bread」

Our chef’s prided breakfast.

Peris’ desire for knowledge is surprising. Her cooking skills have already exceeded me. I am thinking of bringing her to the capital to further broaden her horizons.

I cast an appearance-changing barrier on her, but due to her build, she looked like a fat human. She is still a princess though……it seems that my barrier skill still has some room for improvement.

By the way, I made Jeneha look like a horse. She lives in the stables, so it happened naturally.

「Have a nice day」

Peris sent me off and I headed for my store. The business flowed as smoothly as ever. Recently, Peris often asks me to buy some things, but the quantity is rather impressive. It takes me until night to finish buying everything. However, thanks to that, I can have the beef stew like in that hotel.

I arrived at my store and manned the counter. A few merchants and adventurers were already there as if they were waiting for me to arrive. While I was dealing with customers, a messenger from the prime minister arrived. He told me to head for the royal castle right away.

Closing the store for now, I went to the royal palace. As if waiting for my arrival, the prime minister came immediately. He had dark circles under his eyes.

「I apologize for suddenly summoning you. I have a favor to ask of you」

「Guarding the royalty again?」

「Something like that. I want you to escort a certain royalty to the empire’s border」

「You mean, the border with Ashiria? Or Belganda? 」

「Any one works. I just want you to escort the royalty out of the capital and towards the border」

Quite the request you have here.

「Well, about half a month ago we discovered the royalty of the cat tribe in the Chill village. He declared himself as a hero who will defeat the Great Demon King. He had some nice gear, so I decided to contact the Piao Kingdom first. They said that he did it on his own volition. Moreover, his gear was stolen from the national treasury. The Piao King was enraged and decided to exile him」

……Those retarded cats again? They even received a shelter from the empire. I don’t want to involve myself with them.

「A messenger came from the Piao Kingdom to report his exile and take away the treasured gear, but that guy went on a rampage. He wounded the messenger and several attendants」

That is the worst. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

「He was restrained and deprived of his gear, but regretfully, he bumped into the first princess Ricolette. Everything would have been fine as long as he restrained himself a bit, but he insulted Ricolette-sama」

Everything became even more complicated. Just what did he say to her?

「…..He said「Idiotic princess, who is absolutely useless without her father’s authority」」

Yeah, death penalty confirmed.

「Now, he is in prison. Can’t help it, he did insult the princess. Ricolette-sama is very angry too. She is saying「behead him」since a while ago. I have a hard time calming her down. For now, we decided to exile them from our empire, but we can’t let them create a mess in the capital. That’s why we need someone to guide them out of our territory」

Can’t you put them in a carriage and let a soldier drive it?

「……He insulted Ricolette-sama. Of course, he also did that to the maids, attendants, and ministers. Do you think we can leave this mission to a simple soldier? In the worst case, the very same soldier will cut him down」

Isn’t if fine to cut him down?

「In that case, it will affect out empire’s reputation. We can’t predict the movements of the neighboring countries if that ever happens.」

「If they are this troublesome, can’t we just quietly dispose of them?」

「Such things should be done before the commotion. Everyone already knows the fact that he proclaimed himself a hero, who will defeat the Great Demon King. Anyway, we just need to escort him out of our country. Therefore, I ask you, with your experience of protecting the royalty. I don’t care where, just throw them out of the empire」

…….Your real intentions surfaced in the end. I see. I prefer to hide most of my skills on purpose. As a barrier master, I can successfully deliver them to the border. The possibility of them killing me and me killing them is also low. It’s hard to be me.

I can’t produce any motivation at all. However, it is a request from the prime minister. I can’t just say no. For now, it seems that he will lend me a carriage, so let’s use a barrier to confine them inside until we reach the border. As expected, he couldn’t just ditch them outside the border, so he stuffed the carriage with food and water. He said that he didn’t mind sacrificing every single carriage as long as they successfully leave.

「That being said, such an idiotic royalty」

「No, that happens rather often」

Rather often?! Is every royalty in this world an idiot? Come to think about it, the king of the Juka Kingdom was an idiot too.

「They are well-mannered and educated, but no one informs them of the common sense of the general public. Rather than take an initiative to learn that, they become prideful」

Waha. That’s where people like those idiotic cats come from.

For now, I went to the place where those cats were. As I left the room, I saw a young lady walking in my direction. Just when I thought that she would pass by me, she stopped and looked at me.

「Is there something?」

「This, Rinos-dono, is the First Princess Ricolette」

The prime minister said to me in a hurry. Hoh, is this person the rumored princess? She looks intelligent. I hurriedly knelt.

「I unintentionally offended Your Highness」

「Are you the rumored barrier master? My name is Ricolette. This kind of attitude isn’t required」

Even though she said that there was no need, I didn’t budge.

「You are neither my nor the emperor’s vassal. You are the retainer of the prime minister Guremont, am I right? I don’t have the right to directly command you, so there is no need for you to be so formal. I don’t know about the others, but you don’t need to do it before me」

She said her piece and left just like that.

「Well, she’s such a person. Her thinking pattern is fundamentally different from ours」

I parted with the prime minister and followed a soldier to the underground prison to see the cats.

Ricolette’s ideas aren’t wrong from a certain standpoint. However, it goes against the established traditions. It might work in the turbulent times, but in the already established empire, such thinking might even be treated as a heresy. She seemed like an intelligent woman, but she was born too early.

While I was thinking about such things, we reached the basement.

Idiot prince and idiot princess were assigned to the separate cells. Each had their own servant accompanying him/her. Therefore, the people, who take care of their needs, were placed in the same cells as them. They are treated rather nicely, for a jail. Can’t say the same for their servants though.

「Yo, long time no see. Are you doing well? 」

「Ah, you are that offender! You were from this castle all this time. Hurry up and get me out of here. The Great Demon King won’t wait for anyone! I’m surrounded by idiots! 」

「…..As noisy as always. Anyway, you have been banished from the empire. I’m going to throw you out once we reach the border. Let’s not waste any time! 」

「Banished? Why is it always me and my brother!?」

「Your plight was caused by your own actions. Your words, your actions have created this situation」

I took out the four cats out of the prison. He was equipped with fancy gear before, but now he is unarmed and wearing dirty clothes. There was no trace of royalty left.

A man in a hood passed behind us. When I spared some attention on him, he stood before a certain cell, asked a guard to open it and entered inside. I had a memory about the person inside that cell.

Third prince of the Hideta Empire, Hideta Shua Serias.

「Hero? What is that? 」

The cat named Willis introduced himself as a hero. It seems they aren’t a cosplay group.

「Yes, I am the hero who will save the world! The world is doomed without me! 」

「Ha? Save the world? 」

「The Great Demon King has revived! No one can defeat him but me! Isn’t it natural to help the hero, who will save the world? 」

The Great Demon King is me, or so I didn’t say. It seems that I attracted the troublesome bunch again. However, those guys are the hero’s party. I wonder what skills they have.

Willis (Cat Tribe’s Royalty, 14 years old) LV6
HP: 8/49
MP: 14/14
Sword Arts LV1

Shera (Cat Tribe’s Royalty, 13 years old) LV5
HP: 30/38
MP: 10/16
Recovery Magic LV1

Amalia (Cat Tribe, 14 years old) LV6
HP: 24/35
MP: 4/17
Recovery Magic LV1

Yuriel (Cat Tribe, 15 years old) LV7
HP: 20/51
MP: 13/13
Liberal Arts LV1

……..Low! Far from being a threat, it is a miracle that they survived in the forest. Calling himself a hero with these skills……Are they naive or just idiots? Since they are the royalty, is it the former? Or neither?

「You managed to survive here. There are plenty of monsters in this forest」

「…..When I entered the teleportation magic circle, I ended up here」 [¹]

The cat named Amalia answered me. Teleportation magic circle? Is there such a thing? Where?

「…….It transferred us here and immediately disappeared」

The hell is that?

「Where is your house? Please guide us there for now. If there are villages or towns nearby, you can lead us there. I won’t ask for anything extravagant at this point. I’m counting on you」

The male cat named Yuriel said while approaching me. You think that you aren’t asking for anything extravagant, but you do.

「My house? Denied. If we are to talk about the villages, there is one in a day of walking from here. Of course, on adult legs. Do your best walking」

The hero’s and the princess’ faces froze.

「The great Demon King has revived! Everything will be destroyed if he isn’t defeated! No one can defeat him without me! 」

「Shut up」

I held back and released a LV4 fire spell. The snow melted and a part of the forest turned into scorched earth.

「If you can’t do at least this much, forget about the Great Demon King, you won’t be able to even leave this forest. Can you cast such spells? If you can’t you should have made a backup plan」

「Amazing! Rejoice, I will add you to my party! Come on! Protect our rear and let’s head for the Great Demon King! 」

…….As I thought, he is retarded. What kind of thinking pattern should one have to turn the conversation in this direction? Idiots are scary.

「I’m not interested in you, the Great Demon King or the destruction of the world. Even if the world is going to be destroyed, you won’t be able to protect it in any way. You guys, who requested you to slay the great Demon King? 」

Everyone became silent.

「You are just a self-proclaimed hero, right? The hero is something that should be recognized by others. Even 3-year-old kids can proclaim themselves as heroes. Picking a fight with the Great Demon King without being aware of your own ability, I’m getting exasperated just by listening to it. If you like playing hero so much, do it at home. Don’t involve the other people」

「Offender, I won’t forgive you!」

The self-proclaimed hero took out the sword.

「I told you that I will protect you! I told that I will save the world and this is your gratitude!?」

「I didn’t ask for your protection. All you do is just trying to 「forcing the good」. To be honest, it is a bother. Rather than that, you should thank me for accompanying you until now with this stupid conversation」

「You!」

The sword was swung towards me. I folded it. However, it didn’t break. Seems like it is a pretty durable sword.

「Fu, fufufufu. This is the orichalcum sword. A national treasure of our country. I won’t forgive a puny servant going against me, with this you will be split……gufuh! 」

Without listening until the end, I struck him in the stomach. Then, I punched that annoying face.

Willis flew away with blood streaming out of his nose, crashed into the tree and fell on the ground.

「Uh, uu」

「As I said, you are weak. You will die without a doubt in this forest」

「We apologize if we offended you. Please help us. At least, save Prince Willis and Princess Shera, please help them」

The cat girl named Amalia desperately begged for my help. Apparently, the conversation is possible with this girl.

After that, I asked Amalia about their circumstances. I could see a lot of things with my skills, but decided to ask myself before I came to know more than I should. [²]

It seems these cats came from the Piao Kingdom situated behind the sea, north of the Niza Duchy. Apparently, it is a country created by the evolved cats. It is not unusual for monsters to gather together and create a kingdom, but they adopted the human culture.

The self-proclaimed hero Willis is the fifth son of the King. Shera is his younger sister.

The evil aura that appeared several years ago reached all the way to the Piao Kingdom and they concluded that it was a sign of the resurrection of the Great Demon King. They decided to postpone any action until the Great Demon King revealed himself, but this idiot of a prince decided to subjugate him.

The prince, who didn’t pay any attention to his studies and martial arts, started to work hard towards his goal of subjugating the Great Demon King. Everyone was glad at first, but as this prince kept improving, he grew overconfident. Then, he stole the treasured sword and armor, took his sister and his subordinates and snuck out. Of course, the King wasn’t aware of this. He thought that as long as he slew the Great Demon King, everyone would forgive him. A nice picture that was drawn by an idiot.

「We have no food to return back and no place to stay. We will all die at this rate」

Desperately begged Amalia. I silently put the barriers on the four. It can retain the heat and protect them from danger.

「I cast the barriers on you. It should last until the night of the day after tomorrow. Do you best to reach the village until then. It is west from here. There is a river close by. Follow the river westwards and you will find the village. I bet you are hungry. I will leave some food for you. Bread and smoked meat. If you split it well, it should be enough to reach the village」

I took out the food from the infinite storage followed by a wooden water bottle. I poured the water produced by water magic inside and warmed it with a small fireball.

「Your body should be pretty cold. I will give you some hot water too」

Yuriel and Amalia stared wide-eyed at my actions. Amalia was afraid and timidly accepted the bottle with her head lowered.

I and Irimo took our distance from them.

「I’m tired. I’m really tired, Irimo~」

「It was such a surprise. I never expected them to behave like that. I became disgusted for first time in a long while」

「I can relate to that. Let’s go back and sleep」

Irimo spread her wings and flew away. The sky was full of stars. I hurried home while healing my heart by this scenery.

The purple belial keeps screaming. Indeed, its body is small compared to the others. As Gon and Jeneha said, it seems to be still young.

Even though it is a monster, I was not pleased from seeing it in agony. For now, I enclosed the belial in a barrier, taking away its ability to resist, before healing it. If it has ill intent against us, I will kill it right away.

「All right, let’s get to the healing. Ultimate Heal! 」

It was enveloped in the blueish light and its spirit was restored. When the light disappeared, the belial was motionless.

「Hey, are you all right?」

「…….」

The purple belial didn’t answer. I tried giving it some water, but it didn’t stretch its hand. Looking closely, it seems to cry. I appraised this belial with my appraisal skill.

Peris (Belial Princess, 11 years old) LV12
HP: 154
MP: 119
Fire Magic LV2
Water Magic LV1
Wind Magic LV1
Lightning Magic LV1
Recovery Magic LV1
MP Recovery LV1
Presence Detection LV1
Mana Detection LV1
Body Strengthening LV2
Spear Arts LV2
Evasion LV1
Etiquette LV1
Liberal Arts LV3
Flight LV2

I unconsciously leaked a surprised voice. She is 11 years old and has Liberal Arts at LV3. She is quite smart. Her skills are rather high for her age. It seems that her standing amongst the monsters was quite high due to her being a princess.

「For now, I saved your life but left a barrier on you. Your actions would be severely restricted. If you attempt anything weird, you will lose your life in a moment. Still, what the hell was wrong with you guys? You suddenly came and attacked me」

「……」

Silent as always. I used the appraisal again and peeked into her past. [¹]

「Oh, the daughter of the belial king? So you were sent to defeat the Great Demon King to inherit the throne. Ho, those three……are unfortunate fellows…..Yeah, your attack was stupid, it really was~」

「H-how did you!? Do you understand it? Are you the Great Demon King…..?」

「Yeah, kind of. I was one for a moment. Although, I didn’t want to! 」

「Uuu……..」

The purple belial shrank its already small body and started crying. For now, it doesn’t seem to be the problem to undo the barrier.

「Well, if you don’t intend to harm us, I will just let you be. Return to your forest」

「……I don’t want to return」

「Un?」

「I do not want to return to the tribe……」

「Ha? You are the belial princess. You would become the Queen upon your return, right? 」

「….I don’t want to be a queen. And my father…..wanted me to run away when the three fail to eradicate the Great Demon King. They were my escorts」

「Then what are you going to do from now on?」

「I want to know a lot of things…..Why do the stars come out? Why do the plants grow? I want to know the unknown. The queen can’t leave the castle. I don’t want it」

……I see Liberal Arts LV3 aren’t just for show.

「If that’s the case then I don’t mind it. But with your appearance…..You absolutely look like a small dragon. If you are going to live by yourself, then it is fine, but……..」

「As expected it would be impossible for her to live in this world alone」 [²]

「Master, if you aren’t against it, how about letting her stay in this mansion? If found, she would be immediately subjugated, even monsters would treat her as a primary target. This girl doesn’t have much stamina」

「Un, well, I don’t mind, but it’s up to this belial. What do you think? Will you stay in this mansion until you determine your future plans? 」

The purple belial thought for a while and gave a small nod.

「As for the name……are you fine with Peris? The belials won’t launch an offensive if you do not return, right? 」

「……Before his death, father picked a representative to act on his behalf, so it should be fine」

Like that, Peris became a freeloader in my mansion.

I thought she would remain unapproachable for quite a while, but my expectations were immediately overturned. After being impressed by my food, she approached me for its recipe with overwhelming vigor. After that, she gradually started cooking herself and absorbed my recipes one by one.

Originally curious, she started experimenting with various ingredients. In no time, she became much better and assumed a role of the chef in our house.

I could often see her debating with Gon about the intricacies of farming. Gon also considered Peris, who absorbed knowledge like a sponge, as an excellent student of his.

Recently, she created a flower garden with a lot of colorful flowers in the backyard. The appearance of the little dragon cheerfully tending to the flowers gave me a contradicting feeling.

She also wanted to learn how to write and I could often see her staying late to study letters. As a result, one of the rooms on the second floor became hers as if it was a natural thing, before I noticed, she became a new member of our family.

While doing all of those, the winter came and the surroundings transformed into the world of silver. I turned 16 years old, and maybe because I was in my growing period, my height rose considerably. And along with that, I grew a beard. Before I went to sleep, one of the harpies even said that it might be about time to consider shaving.

「Master, we spotted 4 kids stranded in the forest. How should we act? 」

The forest located between me and the Niza Duchy is quite deep. I rarely even see the adventures going there during the winter. This time, they were discovered by a harpy, so I decided to help them if I can. However, 4 kids in the wood is a rare occasion.

「Understood. I will head there right away」

I mounted Irimo and entered the forest.

When I looked at the map, the children moved. Are they about 15 years old? Still young. Although it was a hard work for her, Irimo decided to use her wings and fly all the way there. [³]

When I reached the kind, I called out to them.

「Hey, are you all right?」

They were sitting shoulder to shoulder under a large tree, but the moment they heard my voice, they slowly looked up.

「……A cat? 」

The cats wearing the armor and robes like the humans do. Unlike the beastmen, they looked like giant cats posing as humans. Who on earth are they? [⁴]

One cat discovered me and stood up. Apparently, it was a woman. She quickly approached me.

「Slow! Too slow!! What were you even doing!? Why didn’t you came to pick me up sooner?!! Cold! It’s cold! 」

I unintentionally stumbled. Did her brain freeze in this cold?

While I was wondering about these speaking bipedal cats, an armored cat approached me from behind. Apparently, this one was a man.

「Just where were you all this time? Hurry up and bring us to a warm place. We are hungry. I will leave the meal preparations to you. Un? Did you come alone? What are you even doing? We won’t be able to ride on a single horse. Shouldn’t you bring more horses in such situations? You are useless. Whatever, I and Shera will ride on this horse. You will go walk together with Amalia. Yuriel has no choice but to walk. Don’t you lose the light of Yuriel」

I couldn’t make heads or tails out of this situation. What is going on? I? Came to help you? How did it come to that?

When I tried to assemble the puzzle in my mind, I hear the armored cat’s voice.

「Hurry up and dismount! We can’t get up with you being there! Do you understand!?」

「…….Thank you for your hard work」

「M? What? 」

「…You worked hard getting here. Well, good luck」

「Oi, what are you saying?」

「I’m not your servant and I’m not your slave. I coincidentally discovered you in the forest and thought of lending you a hand. But I’m not in the mood anymore, I don’t want to involve myself with you」

「What Are you saying?! Don’t you know about me? It’s me! Isn’t helping me a matter of course? 」

「Unfortunately, I don’t have any cats as my acquaintances. I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but where you receive a person’s good intentions, you should respond accordingly. I have no intention to help people, who aren’t aware of such a simple thing. Work hard and try to reach your destination. Best wishes」

I and Irimo turned around and headed back. The armored cat ran in desperation and stood in front of us.

「Please help me! I’m the hero! Hero Willis! 」

A nameless continent is located in the northeast from the Hideta Empire. An unexplored continent covered by the forests and volcanoes. This continent became a home for all kinds of monsters. In addition, the powerful monsters lived in the surrounding sea. No one can step on this continent and return alive.

There are three big forces on this continent. The rulers of the volcanoes, the purgatory demon birds, the harpies led by a general harpy, who control about the half of the forest and the belial tribe, which controls the rest.

The purgatory tribe can only live on the volcanoes, while the rest can live only in the forest. That’s why there was no conflict between the purgatory tribe and the rest.

The problem lied in the belials and the harpies. The two were always at odds. This was mostly attributed to the belials’ pride as the high-ranking demons. They held ambitions to someday rule the continent.

The belials, who had the appearance of the mini-dragons, had great mobility and hard bodies, were able to dominate every single species they came across. However, they weren’t able to force the harpies to submit no matter what. Although it wouldn’t have been a problem if they fought one on one, the harpies specialized in group attacks, which caused some serious casualties in their ranks.

There, the general harpy and the belial king agreed on the ceasefire 120 years ago, which lasted up until now.

However, at that point in time, an abnormality occurred. A tremendous evil aura appeared in the direction of the Juka Kingdom.

The general harpy reacted to it. She gathered her tribe and ventured to slay the self-proclaimed Great Demon King. The belial tribe became impatient. Harpies’ group attacks posed a great danger to them. What if…..They were worried about different possibilities. If the harpies manage to slay the Great Demon King, the equilibrium will immediately collapse. There was a high possibility of harpies bringing new subordinates with them.

The being said, you need to cross the Juka Mountain Range to reach the Juka Kingdom. There are dragons living there. Even harpies won’t be able to escape from the dragon unscathed. However, if they were willing to sacrifice some of their members, it wasn’t impossible. The belials panicked.

Adding to their misfortunes, the 300-year-old belial king was one foot in the grave. Together with the matter of the Great Demon Kind, they also needed to pick a new king.

In the belial tribe, the strongest is the king. The candidates fight each other and the winner becomes the king.

Originally, that would have been fine, but they needed to come up with a countermeasure against the great Demon King. They wanted to avoid losing their tribe’s strength. There, the belials decided to give the crown to the one who manages to slay the Great Demon King.

The almost dead king had a single daughter. Her name was Peris. In human terms, she was about 10 years old, but she inherited the king’s intelligence.

Peris was the daughter of the king, thus she received the best education. She easily grasped the basics of fighting skills and magic. However, the princess was more interested in the world. For what reason do stars appear? Why is this plant can grow here and not there? You could say that she had a disposition of a scholar.

The king’s last wish was to let her become a queen. The three belials were entrusted with this. The strongest Belialk, the best magician Seshius, the wisest Satorius. [¹]

Peris didn’t like those three too much. She wanted to avoid becoming the Queen and living a restricted life. However, she couldn’t go against her father’s will. On the contrary, the king ordered the three to guard her on her journey to defeat the Great Demon King.

The intelligent Peris immediately understood her father’s intentions. Those three probably won’t be able to defeat the Great Demon King. So when they get wiped out, run away and live a free life.

On the day of their departure, her father, the belial king had died. To distract themselves from sadness, the four proceeded to hunt for the Great Demon King.

The trip was going well. They were attacked by monsters, but it didn’t trouble them at all. Even Peris was able to easily defeat them. While the three were hyped up, Peris calmly analyzed the situation.

She didn’t hear about the dragons trying to slay the Great Demon King. The dragons, who were famous for their intelligence, didn’t move at all. There should be a reason for this. She ended up thinking that the opponent was too strong for the dragons to handle.

An abnormality happened when they were in the Juka Mountain Range. They felt the presences of the harpies together with the general harpy.

When they tried to approach the presences, they were blocked by a barrier. The didn’t manage to break it no matter how many times they slammed into it. This was completely unexpected. The pride of the strongest species on the earth was hurt deeply.

The three decided to break the barrier apart. The three position themselves with Peris in the middle and launched their assault. The power greatly increased, that much was true. However, Peris had a bad premonition.

「Gumomomomo! All right, charge!!」

「Oh! The barrier has cracked! Once again! 」

「How is that, Peris? This is our power! Gumo! 」

「Stop it! I understand, so please stop it! 」

The barrier was finally breached. There was the general harpy with her tribe and a single youth. Peris was surprised after listening. They said there was no Great Demon King. Forget about that, the harpies actually lost to the youth. She said they served him in exchange for their lives.

Why did they even come here? The belials were greatly disappointed. But if they were to defeat the man, who defeated the harpies, then the story would be different. They would be able to rule the continent, they naively thought. Their hearts danced.

However, their thinking was too naive. The youth dispatched the belials in a matter of moments. The wisest Satorius was melted completely.

Peris judged that she won’t be able to win and attempted to escape. However, in the opposite direction, there was the general harpy and her comrades. Peris desperately tried to escape but was caught up in their attack. When she tried to open the bloody path using her strongest magic, she received a tremendous impact on her head. When she looked back, she saw the youth with black katana in his hand. When she thought that she died, a chill run through her soul.

She fell on the ground before she noticed. Then, accompanied by the tremendous pain, her limbs were torn away one by one. When she looked at her wounds, she saw a myriad of tiny rats gnawing at her. [²]

「Stop it!! I beg you, stop it!! Mommy!! Mommy!! Mommy!!!」

Peris unconsciously called for her late mother.

I, together with Gon, came back from Ohi-sama’s mansion.

It looked like some kind of space magic, I do not think that too much time passed. While I was mulling over that magic, I saw a big shrine with the fox statues on its sides standing next to the small one. Most likely, this shrine is connected directly to Ohi-sama. Let’s prepare the offering tomorrow.

While I was thinking that, I saw a few harpies flying into the stables where Jeneha was. I guess, they came to deliver the food for the chicks. Let’s check on them.

「Jeneha-sama, the food for today was delivered」

「The meat of the great mouse once again. You can’t feed the children with only meat. You need to add some fruits and something sweet as well」

「Yes. Roger」

Oh, I understand what they are saying! I can only hear them saying「pipyi」, but I can subconsciously understand the meaning. Liberal Arts LV5 is amazing.

「I will make ohagi very soon, I will bring you some then. Or would you prefer zenzai? 」

Jeneha and the harpy made weird faces. Oh, did my words get through?

「M-master, how come you can speak in our tongue?」

「Well, I kind of received a skill from the god, who was Gon’s superior. You can properly understand me, right? 」

「Yes, I understand. I’m happy to have a direct conversation with Master! 」

「Master, it is Irimo. Do you understand my words? 」

「Oh! Irimo! I do understand you! You have a beautiful voice」

「Ehehe, it’s embarrassing」

While enjoying the conversation with the monsters, I unintentionally learned about their past. While prying further, I understood why the harpies came into this forest in the first place.

「Ho, so you came to visit the Great Demon King?」

「Yes, it is embarrassing to admit it, but we came here with the intention to defeat the Great Demon King. We sensed a tremendous evil aura and followed it. We thought that as long as we are together we could beat any opponent. We were confident in our strength」

When she sensed my aura, she was like「Ah? The world’s strongest? Who said that? Say that after you defeat us! 」and became strangely motivated. Come to think of it, it was said that Curse LV5 could attract the animosity of others. No wonder.

「However, Juka Mountain Range was filled with the dragons. Just when we were about to locate him, his presence vanished. Without any other choice, we settled here and met Master」

I see, and then they aimed for my beef stew and got smacked.

「Honestly, we didn’t think much of a single human’s power before. However, the whole family was cornered and almost died. I can’t forget that horror even now. But I’m grateful to master. You told us that there is always a higher mountain and even healed our wounds. Not just that, Master gave us a place to stay, gave the tasty food from time to time and protected our children. I can only be grateful」

Sure. It was just a whim of mine though.

Jeneha also mentioned the possibility of other monsters coming here, so I had the harpies be vigilant against any strange entities. As a reward, I ended up making some sweets for them.

As soon as the weather became warm, the little harpies started to practice flying. They still weren’t able to, but they tried their hardest. It was really cute. Watching them healed my soul. [¹]

At that time, my map displayed the monsters trespassing into my territory. Their color was yellow, they carefully approached the mansion. The harpies gathered and were prepared for the attack. The map displayed them as「Belial」. There were 4 of them.

「Belial」….its appearance resembled that of a mix between a dragon and a demon. It’s a quite high-ranking demon. I erected the barrier and the harpies took their positions. I also went outside to keep track of everything.

The 4 Belials decided to attack the barrier. However, my barrier wasn’t that brittle. It repelled them as if it was natural for it to happen. Then, the Belials steeled themselves, clad themselves in lightning-like magic and pounced at the barrier at extremely high speed. After assaulting the barrier for 10 times, they finally broke it apart.

Belials came inside, the harpies weren’t able to cope with their speed. With a loud sound, they appeared before me. Two of them were yellow, one was red and one was purple. Is color somehow related to their abilities? While I was thinking about that, the harpies descended around me and made a defensive formation.

「Gumomomomo, why are the harpies standing beside a human? No, is he the Great Demon King? 」

「No, I don’t feel any kind of evil aura around him」

「Hey, harpies! Where is the Great Demon King?! It would be better for you to obediently answer gumo」

「This human is our Master. There is no Great Demon King here. Go and cross that mountain range if you want to find him. The being said, that mountain range is the dragon’s den, even we can’t easily pass it」

「What?! No Great Demon King here!? This human is your Master?! B̲u̲l̲l̲s̲h̲i̲t̲! Are you saying that you lost to a puny human!?」

「That’s right. We lost to our Master. Therefore, in exchange for our lives, we are serving him」

「Gumomomomo. You, a general harpy, have descended into idiocy! Fine! If we can’t find the Great Demon King, we will increase our fame by slaying your Master! We will remind everyone about the Belials, the strongest species! 」

…..Don’t just decide that on your own. Increase your fame by slaying the Great Demon King? Are you retarded? Your lack of knowledge is extreme. Besides, I’m not in the mood to fight. While I was thinking that, one of the Belials released a high-speed fire magic. Fast! I tried to evade, but due to my negligence, it hit me anyway.

「Harpies are to protect Irimo and the children!」

I shouted as I ran in the opposite direction of the mansion. The Belials chased after me and very soon I was surrounded.

「Gumomo. Die for our sake. I’m hungry and you can make a nice snack. Gumomomomo」

「I understood that you are the Belials, but do you have a name? I wish to hear it」

「Our name? Fine, let’s make it our parting gift. I’m the top of the Belial family, Belialk…..gueee! 」

I put the noisiest one inside the barrier and started shrinking it. Its bones and body were crushed in a matter of moments and it completely and utterly died. You were too god damn loud!

「Y-you!!!!」

The remaining Belials released the high-speed fireballs at the same time. I resisted with the ice barrier. As soon as they released the fireballs, they moved in the air. I aimed at one of them and released the wind cutter. Transparent wind blades with exceptionally sharp edges tore the Belial apart.

At that moment, I was embraced by another Belial. Then, he released the explosive bullet from his mouth at the hair’s distance away. A grand explosion happened, but I was completely unscathed. While still being embraced, I increased the temperature of my surroundings with fire magic. In a blink of an eye, Belial’s body lit in flames. Since I instantly raised the temperature by a several thousand degrees, its body turned completely red. Its originally red body became even redder as it melted away.

Only the purple Belial was left. Or so I thought, but couldn’t see his figure. I heard the harpies’ screams from the stables. When I rushed back, I saw the scene of harpies struggling against the purple Belial with their sharp claws as their weapons. Fortunately, not even one was dead as of yet. To deal with the harpies, the Belial started chanting fire magic. I took out「Onigiri」from the infinite storage and slashed at it.

「Gumooooooooo!!! Gugyaaaaaaaa!!!」

The purple Belial raised a scream of agony and staggered.

「Is everyone fine? Ah, you over there, are your wings got hurt? Extra Heal! 」

I healed the wounded harpy. They are already something like my family. Fortunately, not even one was fatally injured and everyone was fine, children included.

I was relieved. Then, the purple Belial, who was screaming in agony, entered my sight. After he got tired of screaming, he spoke in a crying voice.

「Stop it!! I beg you, stop it!! Mommy!! Mommy!! Mommy!!!」

「This Belial is still a kid. It is even female. She is not an adult yet…..how pitiful」

Jeneha said in an exasperated voice.

「Un, my heart hurts to leave her to die in agony. After all, she tried to escape instead of joining the battle. Perhaps we should listen to her circumstances first」

Gon appeared by my side before I knew it. Eh? How bothersome. What am I going to do about it~

「All right. Let’s go! 」

「Uu, I don’t want to go」

While forcibly dragging Gon, I arrived at the shrine. The three-year gathering of the white fox, if he didn’t go, his abilities will disappear. I must avoid it at all costs.

I am going to do my utmost to help Gon. I don’t know about the attitude of this Ohi-sama, but in the worst case, I’m prepared to exchange a few moves with her.

That being said, I’m not going there to pick a fight. I want to resolve this peacefully and prepared a certain countermeasure. It is said that she has her aides by her side. We can try the「Gift Strategy」. In my previous life, I was used to dealing with superiors.

That’s why I spent some time to make ohagi and fried tofu. Ohagi and fried tofu that I left in the shrine a while ago had miraculously disappeared. Believing that they liked it, I made a lot of both of them. If they didn’t, I will just give it to the harpies.

We stood in front of the shrine. For a moment, my surroundings became pure white. Before I noticed, we appeared in front of the large mansion.

The gate quietly opened. Once inside, I saw a Japanese style house. There was a fox in a peculiar outfit sitting in front of the entrance. When we approached,

「I was waiting for you」

She slightly lowered her head and led us inside. Gon was completely nervous, but she didn’t care and proficiently guided us inside. Surprisingly, my map doesn’t work here, is there some kind of a barrier?

Soon, we arrived at the hall. In the far end of the room, two foxes were sitting. We entered inside and sat in front of them.

「Oh, the one, who was dispatched to the Juka Kingdom, finally came back」

「It is good that you came back. Did you wash your neck? 」

Hohoho, laughed his superiors. A sudden preemptive strike was fired. Gon was completely defeated by it. He seems to have a trauma.

「You even brought a friend with you. You probably don’t know any manners, but I will allow you to tell me your name. Go ahead, state your name」

I breathed out and prepared my speech. I used a certain performance as a reference.

「I apologize for sullying your mood. I’m one of your faithful believers from the Hideta Empire named as Rinos. On this occasion, I presumptuously accompanied a white fox here. Although I overstepped my bounds, I hope you can forgive me. I’m aware of the intricacies of your relationships, but I still hope to have a fruitful conversation」 [¹]

「……Ho, quite courteous of you. It seems that you at least have etiquette in your skills」

All right, the first objective clear! Let’s go to the next step.

「Today, we are here to offer you our humble food. It might not suit your palate, but I still wish to present you with it」

I took out a lot of ohagi and fried tofu from the infinite storage. They immediately showed a reaction.

「This is something we found amongst the offerings a while ago. That thing was superb. It is even so much…..You are such a lovely boy. Umumu, leave it to us. I will bring Ohi-sama right away」

The superiors were surprisingly easy to deal with. They called Ohi-sama and waited in front of the bamboo curtain. After a while, the bamboo curtain was lifted

……and I saw a giant fox there. She truly had nine tails and was rather silver than white. She gave me a radiant feeling. Gon was desperately prostrating on the floor, and I followed him in his prostration.

「Umu. The one from the Juka Kingdom…….This one is willing to listen to you. You brought a mysterious person in our abode……But on behalf of your offering, this one will allow it. You can raise your head」

Gon became even more scared. While being relieved with her permission, I saw her aides nodding at her.

「This place isn’t suitable for a conversation. You two can follow this mistress inside」

The bamboo curtain was lifted aside. It seems, she called us in a different room. A different fox appeared and guided us inside, once we passed through the corridor

「I can only guide you up to here. The inner chambers are just ahead. Please proceed inside」

she said so and disappeared. We quietly pass through the corridor and headed towards the room.

「I’m glad that those girls didn’t lash on me this time」

「Somehow we managed to pass. The gift strategy was successful」

「I’m saved. But still, Ohi-sama is beautiful no matter how many times I look at her. I want to have such a princess as my wife. That would be nice. At least for three days……..」

「What the hell are you saying? You are her follower. Forget about Ohi-sama. Just go and buy a prostitute when we are home! 」

While having a silly conversation, we arrived at our destination. When we opened the sliding door, we saw two cushions. Once we sat down, we waited for Ohi-sama to start a conversation.

「This mistress summoned you here to ask for a favor」

I smell something troublesome.

「Ohagi and fried tofu from the last offering. This mistress won’t ask for it…….every day. Can you offer it once a week? Of course, it won’t be for free. This mistress will bestow a worthy reward upon you」

「That would be easy for me. But is it safe to assume that you forgave this Gon? 」

「Umu. This mistress took a liberty to look through your memory up until now. Including you killing thousands of people and becoming a Great Demon King. Even though you are of the same race, you can still accumulate the experience from killing. The experience gathered from such a number of people is tremendous, that’s what boosted your skill to such an extent」

Hou, I see.

「The fact that you gave up on being the Great Demon King is not because of that fox, but because of your own heart. More than that, this mistress is deeply pleased with you dealing with that demon fox, Paoran. That s̲h̲i̲t̲t̲y b̲i̲t̲c̲h̲ was leading our people astray. She even killed some our us」

I see. Mm? Did I just hear something outrageous?

「Therefore, this mistress forgives that fox. Forget about that, ohagi! Fried tofu! Even this mistress, didn’t eat something so exquisite in 10000 years. It is a waste to leave it all to the officials. You are to bring it directly to this mistress」

Such a spoiled princess. I’m totally fine with this arrangement, you know?

「Oh! So you accept. To repay you, this mistress will bestow the「Divine Protection」upon you. This one will also raise your liberal arts, while at it. Un? You have a lot of imposing titles. This might be a little difficult….this is…..」

Ohi-sama’s body shone. Like that, I obtained「Divine Protection LV5」and「Liberal Arts LV5」.

「With Divine Protection you can bestow and deprive people of their skills. Normally, you can only take or give skill below your own LV. But starting from LV4, you can manipulate the skill of the same LV as your own. When「Liberal Arts LV5」increase in level, you can freely interact with other species. You have a lot of different species around you, right? It should be rather convenient to you」 [²]

Oh! I’m going to dance in joy!

「A lot of your skill have reached the god-class and you obtained a multitude of titles as a result. Thanks to that, this mistress was quite hard pressed to grant you these skills. Most likely, this mistress won’t be able to alter your skills any more」

Didn’t know that the titles have such a characteristic. Un? Gon doesn’t have any titles, but……

「He is under me and acts on my behalf」

I see. So that is the reason.

「Thanks to granting you the skills, this mistress’ MP decreased quite a bit. Yes, granting and depriving the skills consumes a lot of MP, so be careful. It’s been a while seen this mistress used so much and this mistress became tired. Let’s give up increasing you skills any further on this occasion. Chieda, Saeda, if someone comes to see this one, you are to send them away」

Acknowledged, said the aides. Is it all right?

「Come to think of it, when you were about to enter this room, you voiced a strange word. 「buyaprostitute」, what does it mean?」

This….I’m troubled how to answer.

「W-we, common people, when we want to come home and relax, say「buyaprostitute」」[³]

「Oh, so that’s how it was」

I somehow succeeded. After that, we returned to our mansion. I still need to make more of fried tofu and ohagi.

….One day, we had a visitor from Ohi-sama. An old fox named Sandill.

Sandill is the second oldest fox after Ohi-sama with an age of 6000 years. His intimate attitude creeped out the females on the first glance.

Ohi-sama didn’t like Sandill very much. Be it his actions or his attitude. She always thought of sending him away.

「The one who worships the princess’ beautiful face, Sandill, at your service」

「You must be tired as of late. This one allows you to take a break and buy a prostitute」

After that, Sandill went away for a week, while Ohi-sama enjoyed her free time.

Ohi-sama (Fox God, 10112 years old) LV97
HP: 13579
MP: 18745
Appraisal Magic LV5
Presence Detection LV5
Mana Detection LV5
Liberal Arts LV5
Divine Protection LV5
Barrier Magic LV3
Space Magic LV4
Evasion LV5
Recovery Magic LV4

Erudite, Sage, Life and Death, Renowned Scout

Erudite: Liberal Arts LV5
Sage: Appraisal Magic LV5
Life and Death: Divine Protection LV5
Renowned Scout: Presence Detection LV5, Mana Detection LV5, Evasion LV5

Rinos (Barrier Master, 15 years old) LV∞
HP: 49859
MP: 62874
Barrier Magic LV5
Fire Magic LV5
Water Magic LV5
Wind Magic LV5
Lightning Magic LV5
Earth Magic LV4
Recovery Magic LV5
Life Magic LV2
Chanting LV5
Appraisal Magic LV5
Sword Arts LV5
MP Recovery LV5
Presence Detection LV5
Mana Detection LV5
Mana Absorption LV5
Body Strengthening LV5
Evasion LV5
Etiquette LV3 (UP)
Liberal Arts LV5 (UP)
Paralysis Resistance LV5
Poison Resistance LV5
Mental Resistance LV5
Black Magic LV5
Divine Protection LV5 (NEW!)

God of War, God of Knowledge, Greater Demon, Iron Man, Iron Fist, God of Barriers, Ace, Skilled Warrior, Renowned Scout, Life and Death, Erudite

God of War: Sword Arts LV5, Lightning Magic LV5, Wind Magic LV5
God of Knowledge: Appraisal Magic LV5, Recovery Magic LV5
Greater Demon: Black Magic LV5
Iron Man: Mental Resistance LV5, Poison Resistance LV5, Paralysis Resistance LV5
Iron Fist: Body Strengthening LV5
God of Barriers: Barrier Magic LV5
Ace: Fire Magic LV5, Water Magic LV5
Skilled Warrior: Chanting LV5, MP Recovery LV5, Mana Absorption LV5
Renowned Scout: Presence Detection LV5, Mana Detection LV5, Evasion LV5
Life and Death: Divine Protection LV5
Erudite: Liberal Arts LV5

The snow finally melted and spring arrived.

My surroundings were wrapped in cheers, that being said, those were monster’s cheers.

Should I call them as subordinates? The harpies brought me already hatched eggs. 84 harpies below the general harpy have gathered in the stables, big things are happening here. [¹] Harpies hatching period is long. It takes about 1 month. After the end of the year, I was asked by a general harpy (I named her Jeneha) for a permission to increase her family and I accepted. The four mother harpies lived in the stables during that period.

They will take care of the baby harpies until they would be able to join the flock. Their meals were taken care of by the rest of the flock. It is said that they increased their camaraderie spirit this way.

Every chick was healthy and they would stay here until they can fly.

Harpies, of course, weren’t slacking with their work. They hunt monsters in the forest every day. They bring a lot of tasty monsters, but they also bring fruits back. Thanks to them, we have an abundance of food in our mansion. I bring the surplus meat to the hotel that has that beef stew.

From time to time, I make food for the harpies. Zenzai, tempura, karaage were present, all of them were popular. When I make their meals, they always take it with great delight.

「All right, as a gratitude for increasing your comrades, I will make ohagi!」

「Pyiiii!」

I spent a whole day to make a ridiculously big hundred-portion ohagi. It goes without saying that everyone was delighted by the taste.

While everyone enjoyed their meal, I discovered a shrine in the back of the kitchen. Shrine? Was there such a thing……..? I wondered and tried to appraise

「The shrine of the Fox God. Has the power to communicate with the Fox God. Has a divine blessing」

and this appeared. Since it is under the divine protection, it shouldn’t be something evil. Since it is in the name of the Fox God, I’m pretty sure that it is Gon’s handiwork. I left the leftover ohagi as an offering and left. [¹]

During the night, he used it to communicate, undid his human form and started trembling.

「This time has finally come. They won’t let me be after all」

Gon started crying. This is something unusual. When I asked him,

「We, apostles of the Fox God, Ohi-sama, are checked on every three years. She investigates your life in these three years and as a result, your position in the family may rise or fall」

Oh, so you had such a system.

「I converted a Great Demon King and participated in Paoran’s subjugation, but after that, I ditched my duties and peacefully lived without contacting anyone, they will surely blame me. I’m scared. The supervisors under Ohi-sama are all mean people. When I think about what they would say to me, I feel my soul wilting」

Aah, the so called「deadline」. However, Gon achieved a lot as a farmer in this mansion. He also succeeded in making the sweet tomatoes. Moreover, he served an excellent interpreter and mediator between various monsters. You can say that a lot of what I have right now is because of Gon.

「I’m happy to hear it, but lies won’t work against Ohi-sama. Since we have the power to look through the memory, they will definitely be angry」

Hey, Gon. What did you do while I wasn’t looking? No no, just say it, I won’t be angry. Maybe we can work out a countermeasure against it. How about it? Since I won’t be angry, you can just say it.

「….Actually~」

I heard him out and became exasperated. This idiot fox took out my free card, sneaked out while I wasn’t around, and went in「Miraya」to play around with a prostitute. The person in question tried to brush it off as a human transformation practice, but such excuses aren’t going to work on a male, which is I. You climbed the stairs of adulthood ahead of me. Nuuuu…..How was it?

「Girls in Miraya have all kinds of skill, you know. I can’t count how many times I was sent on a cloud nine. When they gently traced my back with their hands……How about going together to Miraya for a change of pace? Guhehehe」

This ero-fox. How many times did you go?! Miraya’s girls are dreadful existences. For them to be able to satisfy a transformed white fox……I silently confiscated the card.

With thing as they are, Gon is in for a divine punishment. Originally, he should spread his blessings around, but he was enjoying life all on his own. Extreme disregard of his duty.

However, if he receives such a punishment, all his abilities will vanish. That would be troubling for me. Until now, Gon told me a lot of other monster’s common sense and traits, while also being an interpreter, a walking encyclopedia. Suddenly becoming a normal fox would be pretty devastating.

「Do you need to go to this Ohi-sama’s place alone? If not, I can accompany you to try to make some follow-ups……」

「There were such cases in the past, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but….」

「But what?」

「Ohi-sama’s aides will pick on you since you would be there for the first time. They said a lot of harsh things about me, I don’t want another person to experience it」

「Well, aren’t superiors always like that? How much did they tell you? 」

「The told that I can’t even greet people properly. Even like that, I lived for 200 years in human society, I was pretty confident in my etiquette. They laughed at me while calling me a bad-mannered fox. I didn’t forget that frustration even until now」

「How horrible. Just what kind of greeting did you make? Show it to me for a reference」

Gon agreed and straightened his posture with a light cough.

「On this bright day, I present you my sincerest congratulations. From the old days, there were three kinds of bags you should never forget: a bag for money……」

……Isn’t it a greeting for the wedding ceremony? No wonder you superiors couldn’t help but retort.