Chapter 40 (1/2)
The Fomenting
The sunlight was bright.
In a port city on the southern edge of the Dragon Bone Continent, there were lots of goods and people moving about.
On a pier of the port, there was a youth gazing at the flow of people in envy.
He wore short sleeved clothing and thin-fabric trousers. Even so, around here, that was dressing warmly.
Just a sword hung at his waist, and although he gave a slight martial impression, he was a man that gave a generally calm feeling.
Someone approached him.
Dressed in a hooded mantle, the person completely attracted everyone’s attention. From the thin figure he could easily make out, he thought it was probably a woman.
“I’ve arrived.”
Her voice as well, it was definitely a young woman.
“Yeah, good work. Going so far must have been unfortunate. From here on is the most interesting part of our task…”
“No, responding to His Majesty’s summons is a matter of course for this retainer. Rather, having His Majesty trouble his own hands, we realize the shortage of our ability—”
“No, no, it couldn’t be helped.”
The youth waved his hand dismissively.
“There’s no choice but for a person who can do it to do it. If that is true, I want you to be in the country too.”
“Your kind words are more than this one deserves…”
The youth smiled wryly. Even though he was accustomed to it, their behavior had become exaggerated after being separated for a short while. These beloved retainers.
“And so, since you’ve come, I want to investigate a few relevant things.”
Just a little, the youth’s atmosphere became serious.
“Here I go. There appears to be a human who defeated the Ogre King.”
“The Ogre King—!? No way, the hero?”
“No, no, he should still be in the imperial capital, it’s a different human. Moreover, although I say he was defeated, it’s not that he was killed. For that reason, he wasn’t caught in my magic.”
If it were the hero, there was a high possibility of the Ogre King being killed due to stereotypes.
Moreover, the magic applied to the Ogre King was one to let them know if he died. If they didn’t periodically check, they probably wouldn’t have known even now.
“After that, the party left and conquered Labyrinth’s labyrinth.”
That fact alone was enough to shake the woman.
Conquering the labyrinth, even for the Ogre King alone that was unreasonable. Moreover, time is time.
The millennium is near, this time.
“The location is closer. Is it the same person?”
“I don’t know the details well. However, since it’s spread to this town, it’s a story of a month ago already.”
Labyrinth City was one of the nonaggression areas for the youth. For that reason, he had no choice but to rely on hearsay.
“Having been conquered, Labyrinth’s power is sure to have fallen as well. If you go now, you should be able to conquer it as well. Then when you meet Labyrinth, I want you to hear the full story. If you can receive even a little power from her and she is able to, it should be easier to progress from here on.”
Though reincarnators were capricious, he didn’t believe they would obediently give away their power.
“Then what about the person who defeated the Ogre King and those that conquered the labyrinth?”
The youth shook his head at the question.
“Do not contact them. However, do ask what kind of human it is. Use someone, be beyond careful, make sure they don’t find out our ident.i.ties.”
“Should we deal with them now, before they are unmanageable?”
The youth smiled wryly with the va.s.sal’s dangerous tone.
“First, the question is whether or not we could deal with them. They are someone at least stronger than the Ogre King. It would be too dangerous to fight them head on. Moreover, the person did not kill someone of the Ogre race… well, it might not be a person, but maybe we could win them over.”
If they’re not a person, they might be a demi-human. That possibility was taken into account.
However, he didn’t consider it being a woman.
“To be our comrade?”
“Is that strange?”
The woman didn’t think it was normal. She didn’t say it though.
What she said was quite the opposite.
“Certainly, that possibility exists.”
Saying that, it appeared that she agreed. At any rate, she held the words of her lord with respect.
“Then, Your Majesty, I will immediately head to Shashmeer.”
“Yep, I’ll entrust it to you. Even so—”
The youth poked the woman’s forehead.
“It’s not ‘Your Majesty’ out of the royal palace, haven’t I told you to call me by my name?”
“S-sorry, Ars-sama!”
The moment she vigorously bowed her head, the sea breeze blew and exposed her face.
Silver hair. Dark brown skin. Long ears extended from her head.
A dark elf. Amongst demons, it was the race most proficient in magic.
Since Ars quickly fixed the hood, none of the humans noticed.
“Be careful. Also make sure to properly use transformation magic. You’re a scatterbrain sometimes aren’t you?”
Though she was treated like a child, she wasn’t displeased.
Living for hundreds of years, she couldn’t match up to her lord that knew her from childhood.
“T-then I’m off.”
Her form disappeared. Then, she rode the winds toward the distant northwest part of the continent.
Seeing her off, the youth sighed slightly dejectedly and headed toward land from the pier.
His work in this country had completed its first stage. Since he moved quietly from the shadows, he wasn’t found by dangerous adversaries.
However, the following task would be different. Not only adversaries, but all strong people on the continent would find out.
Still, it was necessary to carry out. The millennium. In order to avoid tragedy at its conclusion.
In the busy port city, he quietly entered a back street. Careful to not be seen, he used magic to teleport.