Episode 82: Humans and Demons Are the Same (Nobility Arc)
Several months have passed since Nara-kun developed rice that was as close as possible to Japanese rice.
This hidden village continued to experience peaceful, albeit boisterous, days without any particular changes. “Hey! Aira, Leon! Wait for me!” “Kyahahaha!”
Over these past few months, Leon and Aira’s range of activity had visibly expanded. They roamed around the house, keeping Meileen and Yulia on their toes as they tried to prevent them from going to dangerous places.
Today, Yulia was on duty.
She carried Leon and Aira under each arm.
Meileen couldn’t imitate that.
It was a capture method unique to Yulia, a former explorer with plenty of stamina.
Well, if there was a flaw in that capture method, it was that Leon and Aira didn’t think they were being captured; they thought they were being played with.
Even now, they were both laughing and having a great time.
Eva, who had been looking after the two of them, was now quite pregnant, and her morning sickness had subsided. However, she was still taking a break from childcare because the two of them had so much energy.
It was during these perfectly ordinary, mundane days that it happened.
“Hmm?”
“Oh?”
Meileen and I noticed it at the same time.
“Is that a member of the Demon Tribe? Ivern, have you heard anything from Princess-sama about contact from the Demon Tribe?”
“No? If something happened, the guards would be contacted this time. I haven’t heard anything like that.”
“I see. Then…”
These guys were unofficial guests.
Why were they doing this all of a sudden?
Unable to decipher the Demon Tribe Nation’s intentions, I turned my gaze to Ivern and Meileen.
Ivern shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know, but Meileen had a strange look on her face.
“What’s wrong? Meileen.”
“Well, I recognize this Magic Power. Could it be someone from the Demon Tribe Nation’s nobility?”
“The Demon Tribe Nation’s nobility?”
Why would someone like that be here?
It hadn’t even been half a year since Ivern promised that the Demon Tribe Nation would withdraw this time.
In that situation, why would a noble from the Demon Tribe Nation be here?
When I looked at Ivern with that thought, he also had a puzzled expression on his face.
“What’s going on? The Demon King said he would withdraw this time. Isn’t it too soon to come for negotiations again?”
“That’s true. Besides, it’s concerning that they haven’t gone through Princess-sama here.”
“What should we do? Should I go and hear what they have to say again?”
Ivern proposed that, but…
“No, I’ll go this time.”
“Huh? Why?”
“This is an unofficial visit that hasn’t gone through this country. They might be planning to resort to drastic measures. Even Ivern would die if surrounded by too many members of the Demon Tribe.”
When I said that, Yulia grabbed Ivern’s arm, looking frustrated.
“Hey, let’s leave this to Kenta. It’s dangerous.”
“B-but, if that’s the case, then Kenta is also in danger… That’s why I went out there before.”
“To that king, I’m like a sworn enemy. You went because he didn’t want to provoke him, not because you were worried about me, right?”
“Come to think of it, that’s right… I thought you were going to make me do everything since you said you wanted to entrust negotiations to me.”
Ivern said that, sounding a little relieved.
“No, that’s the plan. I’m only going this time because it’s unofficial and I can’t read their intentions. I’m thinking of leaving official talks to you in the future.”
“…Seriously?”
“Well, I’ll go for now. They seem frustrated that they can’t get inside the Barrier.”
They weren’t hiding their Magic Power, letting it leak out, so it was easy to detect the fluctuations.
They were doing whatever they wanted because the guards in the Forest were Human Tribe and couldn’t sense Magic Power.
It seemed like they were looking down on us.
“Well, I’m off.”
“Yes, please be careful.”
Meileen saw me off, and I headed towards the entrance of the Barrier.
I minimized my Magic Power to the extreme, cut off my presence, and approached. As Meileen had said, there was a member of the Demon Tribe wearing clothes that were obviously high quality.
His long, golden hair was smooth, and he was relatively young.
Probably in his mid-twenties?
However, his frustration was evident on his face, making his expression look very ugly.
Was that a noble from the Demon Tribe Nation?
As I observed the noble, his frustration reached its peak, and he began yelling at his subordinates.
“Good grief! How long is it going to take to disable the Barrier?! Don’t keep me waiting!”
Ah, people of high status are the same whether they’re Human Tribe or Demon Tribe.
They think of those below them as tools.
The subordinate who received the order flashed an expression of obvious anger for a moment, making sure the noble didn’t see it, but quickly composed himself and spoke to the noble.
“This Barrier is extremely sophisticated. It will likely take a considerable amount of time to disable it…”
“Huh?! There’s no way a Summoner like that could create such a Barrier!”
“B-but, this Barrier is actually in place… And this Barrier is designed to notify the creator if it’s carelessly touched.”
“What?! Then, has the notification already been sent?!”
“N-no. We’re still analyzing it and haven’t touched the Barrier itself, so I don’t think a notification has been sent. However, to disable it, we’ll still need to touch the Barrier…”
“Good grief, annoying! A Summoner dares to bother me!”
A Summoner, huh?
Your king was defeated by that Summoner.
I didn’t know what they wanted, but I’ll go and listen to what they have to say for now.
“What’s with all of you loitering around here? What do you want?”
When I appeared from the shadows of the trees, the Demon Tribe group looked extremely surprised and then braced themselves.
“W-who are you?!”
Who am I? You’re here, so you should know who I am.
“We haven’t even touched the Barrier yet… How did you know?”
“Seriously, anyone would know if you’re leaking that much Magic Power.”
When I said that to the noble’s subordinate, he looked at the noble with a resentful expression.
I followed his gaze and looked at the noble, who had been glaring at me the whole time. He looked startled and began to speak.
“Hahaha, I see. You must be a servant of the Summoner.”
…Huh?
“With that small amount of Magic Power, there’s no doubt you’re a servant. To think he would send a servant to me, is he underestimating me?!”
No, I’m the person himself?
Come to think of it, I didn’t see this guy during the war with the Demon Tribe.
He’s a noble, so he must have been sitting back and relaxing in the rear, not going to the battlefield.
As proof of that, the surrounding members of the Demon Tribe seemed to have noticed the quality of my Magic Power, not the quantity, and were looking back and forth between me and the noble with pale faces.
“Hmph, whatever. Go back and tell Kenta Maya. We will soon demand Mekido-heika’s abdication. We will have Princess Meileen take the vacant Throne. We have come to welcome her for that purpose!”
…Huh?
“And tell him that I will become Princess Meileen’s husband and Prince Consort.”
I stared intently at the noble’s face as he said that with a smirk.
“…Is that your own decision? Or is it the consensus of the anti-king faction?”
When I said that, the noble, who thought of me as a servant, openly distorted his face.
“Don’t you dare speak to me, you servant! If I can become Princess Meileen’s husband, I can become the king of the Demon Tribe Nation. There’s no way I would consult with anyone!”
“…I see. I’m relieved to hear that.”
“Huh? What are you… Gyaaaah!”
The noble, who had said something ridiculous to me, was burned by flames and screamed horribly.
“Y-you bastard!”
“This is your own decision, right? Then, no one will complain if I dispose of you.”
“W-what… are you…”
The noble said that and then collapsed, burned to ashes, unable to speak any further.
After confirming that the noble of the Demon Tribe had burned to ashes, I turned my gaze to the members of the Demon Tribe who were turning pale beside him.
“It seems like you guys noticed.”
“Y-yes. You’re the Summoner, Kenta Maya, right?”
“That’s right. So, what’s with this ridiculous guy?”
When I asked that, the members of the Demon Tribe looked at each other, and then one of them spoke on behalf of the group.
“…Recently, we heard rumors that Princess Meileen is here.”
“I thought so. What’s going on with the Demon Tribe Nation’s information management?”
As expected, it was leaking like a sieve.
“Currently, dissatisfaction with Mekido-heika is growing among the nobles of the Demon Tribe Nation. If Princess Meileen is alive, there’s a growing voice that wants her to take the Throne instead.”
“…”
What a ridiculous story.
“Could you also ask her? Princess Meileen, who is royalty, shouldn’t be relegated to this Forest. The Princess deserves a more suitable place.”
“…”
These guys are nobles too.
They don’t consider people’s feelings or opinions at all.
“…Why don’t you say something?”
“Huh? What?”
“!?!”
I was so angry at them for saying such selfish things that my Magic Power leaked out.
The members of the Demon Tribe were bathed in that Magic Power, turning pale and trembling.
Well, I have no obligation to be considerate of these guys.
Just keep trembling.
“In the first place, I haven’t even said whether Meileen is here or not, have I? What are you presuming?”
“W-Well, that’s…”
“Assuming Meileen is here, why are you talking as if she’s going to become queen?”
“P-Presuming…?”
“Isn’t it? Did Meileen say she wanted to be queen?”
“N-No… but! Princess Meileen is royalty. It’s only natural she’d want to return to the life of royalty.”
“Who decided that?”
“W-Who, you say…?”
“That’s just what you guys are assuming, not Meileen’s opinion. Don’t go pushing your own ideas on her.”
“…”
“If you understand, get lost.”
The Demon Tribe Nation, both the King and the anti-King faction, are all selfish bastards.
As I was thinking that, perhaps my magic power of anger leaked out even more, the Demon Tribe members paled, nodded repeatedly, and quickly left.
Even so, the King comes to kill Meileen, and the anti-King faction comes to make her queen. The Demon Tribe Nation is in conflict over Meileen, huh?
I have a feeling this is going to be a pain in the ass.