“Hoh? Hoh-hoh?”
I was listening to Mona’s report after she returned from investigating the Lindor area, and I was about to snap with anger for the first time in a while.
“This is bad. They know it was you, don’t they?”
“Well, there’s no one else in this world who could do something like that except for Maya-san, after all.”
Ivern and Nara-kun were saying such carefree things, but that’s not the problem.
It’s true that I’m pissed that they’ve decided it was my doing even though I didn’t leave any evidence, but since it’s actually true, it’s fine.
But that’s not what I’m most angry about.
The problem is that they announced that the reason I destroyed the Summoning Magic Circle was to prevent Summoners from being called to defeat me.
Well, that was one of the reasons, but the biggest reason I destroyed the Summoning Magic Circle was that when Otherworld Summoning is performed, the magic circle sucks up magic power from the surroundings.
As a result, the area around the ruins had turned into a wasteland where not even grass would grow.
It was clearly an abnormal situation, so I destroyed it to prevent any more Otherworld Summoning…
“…It seems Lindor is determined to repay kindness with malice.”
When I muttered that, Nara-kun and Ivern gasped and looked at me.
“W-Wait, Maya-san? Please don’t lose your temper, okay?”
“Y-Yeah, that’s right? It’s true that Lindor’s response is problematic. But maybe Lindor isn’t aware of that fact?”
I snorted at Ivern’s words.
“There’s no way they wouldn’t notice such an obvious change in the environment. If they didn’t notice that, then their king is truly incompetent.”
I can say with certainty that there’s no way they didn’t notice.
And on top of that, they’ve pinned all sorts of crimes on me.
How do I know that?
It’s because Mona also brought news that King Admos was seriously injured after being caught in the shockwave of the ruins’ explosion.
Hearing that, it clicked.
Lindor wants to make me responsible for King Admos getting injured in their country.
Well, it’s true, but…
But I can’t forgive the reason they pinned the blame on me.
I acted on the spur of the moment because I thought it was a problem that such a wasteland was spreading.
If the wasteland spread and affected crops, Meileen and Leon wouldn’t have any food to eat.
I thought I had to avoid that at all costs…
It seems that the Human Tribe in this world likes to strangle themselves.
“Now, what should I do…”
Honestly, being repaid with malice so many times makes me want to destroy the country of Lindor.
“…That’s right. That might not be a bad idea.”
When I muttered that, Nara-kun and Ivern looked shocked.
They’ve been staring at me too much lately.
“W-Wait a minute. What on earth did you come up with?”
“…This is bad. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Huh? Oh. I was just thinking about destroying Lindor.”
““I KNEW IT!!””
When I told them my thoughts, Nara-kun and Ivern both shouted.
“N-No way! You’re already Wanted, and if you destroy Lindor, they’ll form an army to subjugate Maya-san for sure!!”
“Nara-kun is right. Even if you could win, the world would be in chaos, and it would be hard for Meileen and Leon to live in such a world!”
“Hmm… That’s a good line to stop me.”
Certainly, if it turned into a war that engulfed the world, there would be a global shortage of supplies, including food.
If that happened, supplies might not reach this rural town, and Meileen and Leon might go hungry.
“…Tch. Fine, I get it. I’ll stop destroying Lindor.”
When I said that, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief.
“Haa… It’s really scary to control Maya-san…”
“I agree. He’s a bomb that could explode on the world if we make one wrong move.”
“Seriously.”
“I’ll kill you guys.”
They’re saying whatever they want.
Besides, it wouldn’t be strange if I wanted to destroy Lindor after this incident.
Thanks to them, I’m now being accused of plotting the assassination of the King of Lindor and the King of Admos.
As soon as I act with the slightest consideration for this world, this is what happens.
This world really is crap.
“So? The ruins explosion is fine, but what about the main issue?”
I asked Mona about the results of her on-site investigation, but honestly, I don’t think it matters if I worry about it anymore.
“Yes, I will report. I explored the area around the ruins, and…”
Mona said, her face clouding over.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well… the surrounding area has become a wasteland over a wide area, and some farming villages are in a critical situation where no crops are growing at all.”
“!!”
“?”
“Heeh.”
I knew it.
Ivern stood up with a shocked expression, and Nara-kun, not understanding what was going on, tilted his head, looking at Ivern who had stood up in a hurry.
“W-Wait a minute, Mona-san! No crops are growing at all!? That means… that means!”
Well, that’s how it is.
“Isn’t that a famine!!”
Nara-kun finally realized the gravity of the situation after Ivern’s shout.
“Eh, a famine… that famine? The one we learned about in history?”
“Yeah, that one. This world is different from our original world, and agricultural tools aren’t very developed, so they don’t mass-produce food. That means they don’t have much in the way of reserves. If some farming villages in the country can’t harvest crops, then that alone…”
I grinned at Nara-kun’s face.
“It’s the arrival of a Food Crisis.”
“Why are you smiling!?”
“No, I expected this result. The magic power in the ground was probably sucked up by the Summoning Magic Circle, and the land dried up.”
Magic power dwells everywhere in this world.
Plants and living things are all based on magic power.
If that magic power disappears, that’s what happens.
“I-If you know that, shouldn’t we go help them…”
I shrugged at Nara-kun’s words.
“I was going to at first, you know? I hate the rulers of this world, not the people. But Lindor has labeled me as an enemy by name without any evidence. Is there any reason for me to show mercy to such a country?”
“T-That’s…”
“Besides, even if I offered a helping hand, no one would take it, right? Because I’m the enemy of Lindor… no, the world.”
Well, I was really going to help them.
I never thought they would reject that hand themselves.
“Too bad, too bad. Well, I guess this is what they get for their own actions.”
That’s why I decided not to get involved in this matter.
Meileen and Yulia, who had been listening to the conversation, nodded in agreement.
Mona, who had brought the report back, seemed like she wanted to say something, probably because she had seen the situation firsthand, but she didn’t say anything in the end.
Ivern, Nara-kun, and Eva had complicated expressions.
“…Certainly, Kenta’s argument is valid.”
“Y-Yeah… But offering a helping hand is what saints and protagonists in stories do…”
“…It’s Kenta-sama, after all.”
What’s with that, Eva has become quite the talker.
“That’s right. I am Kenta Maya.”
I cut off my words there and declared to the three who didn’t seem convinced.
“I don’t show mercy to my enemies.”
When I said that, the three of them gasped for a moment, but they immediately nodded and didn’t bring up the topic again.
And so, I decided to stay out of this matter.
By the way, because of this information, I bought as much storable food like wheat as I could in advance.
Thanks to that, this hideout was unaffected by the great famine that occurred in Lindor afterward and the global food shortage that followed.
Well, I knew the cause, so I had a solution, but…
It can’t be helped.
That’s the path Lindor chose.