Chapter 495: The Demons’ Circumstances (1/2)

“Well, what should I start with…?”

Shion slightly tilted her head to the side as she began to think. Eventually, she seemed to have collected her thoughts, and started talking again.

“The Gondoa continent where we live is much colder than this region. As a result, we aren’t able to harvest as many crops.”

“Yeah, I see.”

“Our population is… Well… I’m sorry, but I can’t say. It’s a secret of our tribe.”

“Ah, I can understand that. Don’t worry about it.”

Information such as the population of the race to which you belong is one of the things that should be kept secret in case a war breaks out, even if you don’t know the exact number.

“However… Since the population has dropped sharply as a result of the anti-human military campaign, the amount of farmland has increased relative to the population, so it seemed that there wouldn’t be any problems with that for a while…”

The demons also seem to have been greatly affected by a drastic decline in their population.

“For the last 10 years or so, the temperature has dropped considerably and we haven’t been able to harvest sufficient crops to feed our people.”

“So, cold damage?”

“Cold damage? … Ah, I see, that’s what you call it here. Yes, it was cold damage. That’s why we started to run out of food in general.”

Jin remembered the tales he had heard from Vivian, where she had spoken of demons hailing from the north, seemingly wanting to get their hands into the humans’ agricultural produce.

If someone were to ask him, he’d say that such a reason was a rather disappointing one, but at the same time, it was also easy to understand.

“The heads of the clans got together and debated about what our options were. And we were divided into two different opinions.”

“I can somehow see where this is going.”

“Um, yeah… One faction thought about trading with the humans for food. The other one, however, spoke of threatening humans into giving us their food.”

“…I understand.”

Jin prompted her to continue.

“Of course, Lucas and I are part of a moderate faction. But the radicals are different. They might not be thinking about a full-scale war, but they seem to be planning to conquer and colonize human villages.”

Shion seemed terribly vexed.

“As a means to prepare themselves, the radicals have people scattered in various countries gathering all sorts of information on the humans’ current situation. The five demons you mentioned are probably some of them. I have also heard about Alciel before.”

Jin now had a rough idea about the demons’ background. It was time to get to the point.

“So, what exactly is it that you need me to help you with?”

“The first thing we need is a steady supply of food. I believe we can provide for a good amount of materials from magical beasts, and I was thinking those would make for a fair trade.”

The thought that such trades could have been made in the olden days crossed Jin’s mind.

“I see. And what else? You said ‘the first thing’, so there must be at least something else you need help with, right?”

“Yes. Please, stop the radicals!”

“Huh?”

Was that something to be asked to a single individual? Though, Shion had been like that about her trade offer. The request had simply been too abrupt, and Jin couldn’t help but be surprised by it.

“B-But you, you are the Magi Craft Meister, are you not? Legend has it that a Magi Craft Meister created a certain magic tool, something unlike anything we have ever dreamed of, and it changed our lives!”

“What did you say?”

There were no records of the previous Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Balbora Ceci, having done such a thing.

Even Reiko had no recollection of that… or rather, she probably didn’t even know about it to begin with.

“Mother was already quite old when she made me.”

Realizing the meaning behind Jin’s gaze at her, Reiko replied to his unspoken question.

However, it was certainly possible that his predecessor had done such a thing.

“…I see. Okay. Please tell me more about that request later. Depending on what you tell me, I may offer to do as much as I can to help you. But please tell me one more thing before that.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Is there anything among your legends that explains why the demons ended up living in such a cold region?”

At that moment, Shion’s face stiffened for a second. Her reaction made Jin regret his question, wondering if it had been rude of him to ask such a thing.

“…I’ve been told that it was the humans who chased us off.”

Shion’s voice was deeper than ever.

“…There is a legend that says that our ancestors moved to the north after being chased off by humans more than 3000 years ago.”

Rather than her usual soft, tender voice, she was speaking in a much gloomier and disheartened tone of voice.

“…I’m sorry. Looks like it was a bad thing to ask you about.”

Jin quickly apologized. Shion sighed deeply and returned to her usual aura.

“No, don’t worry. It’s just a legend… Though it has given us demons a reason to despise humans.”

“…Okay. Thank you for answering my questions. Your bodies haven’t recovered yet, so maybe you should rest for a while. Would you like me to bring you some of that juice again? Or perhaps you’d like something to eat?”

“Ah, well… Um, we’d like some food…”

Feeling as if she was demanding to be served something to eat, Shion’s cheeks turned deeply red. Jin nodded heartily.

“Got it. I’ll get something ready for you right away. Please wait a moment.”

After saying that, Jin left the room, followed by Reiko. Shion and Lucas were the only ones to remain in the room.

＊　　　＊　　　＊

“…Was that really okay, young lady?”

“Yes, it’s alright. That person named Jin is, without a shade of a doubt, the Magi Craft Meister.”