We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
A journey fraught with danger.
“Golbado, the necromancer, was the foremost demon in this region,”
Meduria, the former lord of a provincial city, told us this.
Speaking of which, the Necropolis ruled by Golbado was indeed on the outskirts, near the foothills of Dragon Peak, wasn’t it?
Golbado, the necromancer, who controlled phantoms, the departed, and spirits, making them live in his domain as if they were the living.
When I mentioned that Golbado was defeated during last year’s conflict with the demons, not only Meduria but her vassal demons were all surprised.
Even though they didn’t know my name or appearance, they deeply understood that Demon Lord Kusharilla’s advance east over Dragon Peak had ended in defeat.
“A mere human,” some demons muttered, restraining their words.
Indeed, from the demons’ perspective, I was just another human. However, everyone realized that I was different from the surrounding slaves.
First, Ruilala is always by my side.
I, who are on friendly terms with Ruilala, who is undeniably a high-ranking demon. Furthermore, Meduria speaks to me familiarly, and her retainers treat me courteously.
After all, I protected them with Dragon Arts when they escaped the lord’s mansion. Meduria and her retainers knew my abilities.
So, while we’ve been heading east without any particular problems with the other demons who joined us when we fled the city…
It would be a lie to say there were no problems.
The biggest issue is the slaves, who outnumber the demons several times over.
Excluding Meduria and her retainers, there are only about twenty demons left. The majority of the group, which numbers over a hundred, consists of slaves kept by those few demons.
The slaves are forced into harsh labor every day. However, the daily hardship of their work is a different matter from the grueling nature of walking all day.
Among them are small children and the elderly, who are relatives of the slaves, and these individuals were causing delays in the march.
“Tch. Still can’t walk?”
“Ah. P-please forgive me.”
The demon master of a woman who had stumbled, her ankle swollen, and was crouching on the ground, showed a distinctly displeased expression.
“Now, now. If you can’t walk, then it can’t be helped. Let’s put this person in the carriage.”
“B-but, Lady Meduria. Any more in the carriage…”
“Let the slaves choose. To be packed like cattle in a small space, or to be abandoned here.”
Those who couldn’t walk were allowed to ride on a cart thanks to Meduria’s kindness. However, it was already full. If more people became unable to walk, they would have to be accommodated.
If they didn’t want to be crammed into a cart where they could barely move, they would have to be left behind on the spot.
And if they were left behind, all those who couldn’t walk would be abandoned.
Rather than leaving behind only those who were dissatisfied with their treatment and continuing to feed the slave hunters who were surely pursuing them from behind, the demons’ thinking seemed to be to decisively cut off all burdens and proceed lightly.
In the first place, the kindness of not abandoning the slaves was Meduria’s goodwill, and the slaves were well aware of this. They also understood the fate that awaited them if they were abandoned. Therefore, no one complained and obediently followed, regardless of the treatment.
Well, some demons, who wanted to escape quickly, were dissatisfied. However, lacking the confidence and courage to break away from the group and flee, they followed Meduria’s policy.
Thus, we proceeded east for about two days.
Then, the next problem became food.
Because most people, including Meduria, fled in their nightclothes during the sudden attack, they had not secured enough food and water.
Water would have to be conserved. We would replenish it from streams encountered during travel and use it sparingly until the next water source.
As for food…
What a surprise.
Even I and Ruilala were facing food shortages.
After all, Ares-chan was storing our luggage. And Ares-chan hasn’t been back for several days.
In other words, the preserved food we had managed to secure in large quantities in the Forbidden Territory was unavailable to us!
Ares-chan, please come back soon!
As food began to run scarce, we inevitably decided to hunt along the journey.
“Take these. They might be of some use,”
It was Grandpa Ganjario, whom we had met at the inn, who offered this helpful suggestion.
Grandpa Ganjario, being a former high-ranking demon himself, apparently regarded such disturbances as mere noise from children. Nevertheless, considering what lay ahead, he had left the city.
He had apparently joined the fleeing lord without knowing that we were sheltering.
Grandpa Ganjario brought with him a thin man whom I recognized. There were also two thin youths, whom I vaguely recalled. I felt like I had seen them among the slaves who had rushed out of the barn after a thin woman had run into it during the commotion.
“Haha, they’re just burdens,”
“Hey, Ruilala!”
I reprimanded Ruilala for her heartless remark in response to Grandpa Ganjario’s kindness.
The thin man and the two youths wore complex expressions but did not voice their dissatisfaction.
If they had protested, they might have faced harsh treatment from their master, Ruilala, or even from other demons if the others overlooked it. They knew that, so they couldn’t resist anything they were told or subjected to. That was the reality for slaves serving demons.
As if to dispel the slightly soured atmosphere, I extended my hand with a smile and said, “Please.” They hesitantly returned the handshake.
“Well then, I’m off to hunt.”
“I want to eat beef.”
“You’re not a dragon, are you… I’ll try my best to find some.”
I no longer used polite language with Ruilala.
The sight of me talking familiarly with Ruilala had been witnessed by the surrounding demons when we fled the city. Therefore, it was best to just be casual and act as usual.
I took Grandpa Ganjario’s three slaves and headed towards a nearby forest.
And immediately turned back.
“Hey, can I borrow a dagger for butchering?”
W-what on earth!
My equipment, that is, the White Sword and the Spirit Tree Wooden Sword, had also been entrusted to Ares-chan, so I had no weapons on hand.
I could hunt prey with my bare hands, or rather, with Dragon Arts, but I couldn’t butcher it.
With a sigh, Ruilala lent me a dagger from her pocket.
As expected of a sword-worshiping boy.
Although it wasn’t as good as the mineral dagger Ayura-san had lent me, it was a fine weapon and seemed sharp.
After thanking her, I rejoined the three waiting ahead and entered the forest once more.
“My, my, you’re impressive, Elnea-kun. With this, we won’t have to worry about food for two or three days.”
“But, about how long will it take us to reach the Necropolis?”
“At our current speed, about ten more days.”
Meduria answered my question. She looked somewhat surprised at the large amount of meat I had harvested.
“Wasn’t it heavy?”
“Uh, I have stamina.”
I said, blushing slightly. This was because the amount of meat I harvested today – two sheep and one boar – was an amount that a single person could not possibly carry.
I had processed the unnecessary parts at the hunting ground and put the meat into the bags I had prepared beforehand to bring it back. However, the three I brought along were not very helpful as porters.
It seemed they had exhausted their strength just from the travel. They did help me butcher the prey I caught, but they didn’t have enough strength left to carry bags of meat.
When I asked, they had been fleeing for about two days. They hadn’t eaten much due to the food shortage.
It’s a secret that I secretly ate a little of the meat on the spot.
By the way, I didn’t use Spatial Jump when I was with the three of them.
I only used it to take down prey, but I had the three of them wait in the middle of the forest.
So, I hunted the prey alone, brought it to where the three were waiting, and we butchered it. While they were butchering, I went out hunting again. Thanks to our division of labor, we were able to secure this much meat in a short time.
Not only us, but the other demons had also ordered the slaves to secure food.
However, our group had the biggest haul.
Hee hee hee.
I am someone who has competed in hunting on Dragon Peak against the Dragon Race people.
There’s no way I would lose.
And the collected food was to be shared among everyone during our escape.
Not only our harvest. We gathered wild vegetables and fruits collected by others and then distributed them equally among the demons. This included the portions for the slaves held by the demons, a truly equal distribution.
The work of distribution was overseen by Meduria’s subordinates. Thanks to them, the food was distributed without any conflict.
Well, since I, who was being sheltered by Meduria, had secured the largest amount of food, there was no way those receiving it would complain.
If they complained, I wouldn’t share with them next time!
Whether the demons who received their rations would properly distribute them to the slaves was their own responsibility. It was beyond my scope to interfere.
Just in case, I asked the demons in charge of distribution to ensure that the slaves were also given enough food for their long journey.
All I could do was pray that the demons had some conscience.
I ate dinner with Meduria and her group.
Then, I went to bed early.
The night watch duty was handled by others.
I lay down next to Ruilala. Nearby, Meduria and other demons were also lying down.
There were no blankets or anything.
It was good that it was after spring; if it were winter, many might have succumbed to the cold.
Lying down, I gazed at the wilderness we had walked through.
I could no longer see the night sky dyed completely red. Only a beautiful, unending starry sky stretched before me.
The starry sky is beautiful even in the Demon Race’s Country.
However, even under this beautiful sky, cruel acts were still taking place.
The bandits who had occupied the provincial city were probably acting with impunity right now. The thought of what had happened to those who couldn’t escape made me feel sick.
As I vaguely gazed at the starry sky spreading to the west, sleep gradually overcame me.
I quietly closed my eyes and fell asleep.
*Jari*, I woke up past midnight, alerted by the stealthy footsteps of someone.
Who could it be?
Is it one of the guards?
Perhaps someone who can’t sleep is walking around?
Keeping my eyes closed, I instinctively scanned for their presence. The footsteps quietly approached.
If it were only that…
There was a faint killing intent emanating from the approaching figure.
Was it perhaps directed at me?
Everyone around me, including Ruilala, was asleep.
Someone with hidden killing intent approached, weaving between the sleeping figures.
Nearby, Meduria, who was leading the refugees, was also asleep.
I decided it would be better to apprehend them without causing trouble to those around me, and started to move.
However, it seemed the assassin was an amateur and couldn’t bear the tension of their own resolve.
“Waaahhh!”
For some reason, the assassin, with a cry resembling a scream, lunged directly at me.
“Guh!”
And the assassin was easily subdued.
From my lying posture, I used Spatial Jump to appear behind the assassin. Then, I twisted the arm holding the blade backward and pushed them to the ground.
With one knee pressed against his back, I pinned the assassin to the ground so they couldn’t move, and looked at their face, falling speechless.
“Well now, this is troublesome. To think I’d be targeted by someone of my own kind.”
Ruilala sat up with a start. Similarly, the other demons who had been sleeping around me woke up and glared at the assassin I had subdued with angry eyes.
It seemed they had all been feigning sleep.
“So, what will you do, Elnea? They directed killing intent at you. Shall we kill them?”
Ruilala’s nonchalant words could only make me frown. Then, I looked at the person I had subdued with a complex expression.
“Why, me…”
The man groaned under my knee. It was the thin man, one of Grandpa Ganjario’s slaves.
