Chapter 17: The Visitor
“Did you hear? The Demon Tribe seems to have retreated from the borders of Weimar.”
“…You’re starting to look more and more like a traveling merchant.”
“Why’s that!?”
Because, you know?
Every time I bring supplies, I also provide information from the streets.
“You’re a merchant, right?”
“No, no, no! Just the other day, I was in the friend zone, right!? Huh!? Wasn’t I!?”
Ivern looked confused.
“So? Why did the Demon Tribe retreat?”
“Is that it for that topic? Are we still on the friend zone thing?”
“Yeah, yeah, friend, friend. So? What’s the deal?”
“You’re so careless… Ah, about the Demon Tribe. According to the military announcement, they retreated out of fear of the Weimar army.”
“…That’s a vague and suspicious announcement.”
“I think so too. Well, making such abstract announcements means they probably don’t know the clear reason, right?”
“Yeah, probably. They’re just interpreting it in a way that suits them.”
As I said this, Ivern looked at me with interest.
“Oh? So you have a rough guess, huh?”
This guy is surprisingly sharp.
“Yeah.”
“What kind of guess did you come up with? Share it for reference.”
“Sure, but remember, it’s just a guess.”
“That’s fine.”
Having received Ivern’s approval, I shared my speculation.
“The Demon Tribe has welcomed a new king for just over a year. Their system should be settling down by now. So, they probably wanted to test the waters with the Human Tribe.”
“Interesting.”
“It started as the usual conflict, but the Weimar side gathered volunteer soldiers and launched a full-scale attack. The Demon Tribe realized the Human Tribe’s willingness to retaliate was higher than expected, so they retreated. That’s about it, right?”
As I finished my speculation, Ivern let out a small “oh.”
“Impressive. How did you figure that out?”
“Just a guess, so don’t go spreading it around, okay?”
“Oh, right. It was just a guess.”
“…Did you forget?”
“It felt so realistic that I started to think you were telling the truth halfway through.”
“Well, I’ve been fighting the Demon Tribe alone for about a year and a half. I know their movements pretty well.”
No matter how much the leadership changes, the Demon Tribe sees the Human Tribe as enemies.
Historically oppressed, the Human Tribe’s nations seem desperate to conquer the Demon Tribe, having waged multiple wars of invasion.
With each conflict, the Demon Tribe’s hatred for the Human Tribe has only grown, and now they are driven by the desire to conquer the Human nations.
If their system is stabilizing, it’s only natural for the Demon Tribe to consider resuming their invasions.
However, after the last war… well, I was the opponent, but since some time has passed, they probably wanted to gauge the Human Tribe’s reactions.
As I explained this to Ivern, he initially looked convinced, but after a moment, he tilted his head and said, “Hmm?”
“Hey.”
“What?”
“The Human Tribe wants to conquer the Demon Nation, right?”
“Yeah. That’s why I was summoned like this.”
“Then why didn’t the Human Tribe launch a war of conquest while the Demon Nation was in chaos with the leadership change?”
Well, that’s a valid question.
“That’s because the Human Tribe had other priorities.”
“…What happened?”
“Securing the runaway Summoner.”
“Oh…”
When I shared the Human Tribe’s circumstances, Ivern looked at me with pity.
“They keep showing up wherever I go. I’ve been repelling them every time, so the Human nations were probably too busy trying to track me down to bother with the Demon Tribe.”
“I see…”
After I thoroughly repelled them, eventually, no nation pursued me anymore.
My dramatic reunion with Meileen happened around that time.
What a dramatic timing it was.
“However, considering they haven’t lifted your Wanted status, it seems no nation has given up on you yet.”
“They’re really persistent. Seriously, I might just go and destroy the Royal Castle.”
“Don’t do that.”
“I know.”
Given all that, I really hate the Human nations in this world.
In fact, I felt a bit of sympathy for the Demon Nation, which was tricked into overthrowing their king.
That was until I heard the story from Meileen.
Now, there’s no room for sympathy for the current Demon Nation.
If anything happens, I’ll retaliate without hesitation.
While we were discussing this, I suddenly noticed something.
“…Hmm?”
“What is it?”
“I sensed a reaction from the Barrier.”
When I said that, Ivern’s eyes widened.
“Wait, seriously? There are still guards at the entrance of the forest, right?”
“Yeah, either they’ve been taken out, or someone entered the forest through another route.”
The forest I’m in is quite dense, making it difficult to traverse without using the well-maintained mountain paths.
If someone has gone through the trouble of defeating the guards or entering through an unmaintained route to reach the Barrier…
“…It might be a troublesome opponent.”
Troublesome, but it can’t be helped.
I stood up from my chair and knocked on the door to the bedroom where Meileen and Yulia were.
“Coming!”
After receiving a response, I opened the door to find Meileen and Yulia making clothes for the Baby.
“Oh, those look cute.”
“Hehe, right? By the way, what’s up? Kenta?”
“Ah, I sensed a reaction from the Barrier.”
When I said that, Meileen’s eyes widened.
“In this situation?”
“Yeah. So I’m going to check it out.”
“Got it. Be careful, okay?”
Meileen said this and kissed my cheek, slipping something into my chest pocket.
“What’s this?”
“A handkerchief I just embroidered. Take it as a good luck charm.”
Touched by Meileen’s thoughtfulness, I hugged her tightly before pulling away.
“Alright, I’m going to take a look.”
“Take care!”
Waved off by Meileen, who fluttered her hand, I headed towards the location where I sensed the Barrier’s reaction.
Given that this person made it this far in this situation, I needed to be on high alert.
Still, I’m really glad I listened to Ivern’s advice and left the Barrier as it was.
That guy is useful for more than just transporting supplies and information.
Thinking about that, I cast a Barrier on myself.
It would conceal my magic power and presence, making it difficult for anyone to spot me at first glance.
With this, I could approach without being detected.
As I got closer, I saw…
“A Demon?”
There stood a voluptuous Demon woman with small black wings protruding from her back.