76 Where did U-ko disappear? (1/2)

Black haired wise man Chiyuki

We are gathered in the General's office conference room.

The reason for this is to report to Krasus, the General.

In addition to Krasus, I have also asked Senators Nakius and Tulia to join us.

It's important for them to know.

I never thought that demons would be lurking around disguised as citizens: ......

Klassus says with his head in his hands.

It's not unreasonable. A general who protects the citizens of this country from demons would not want to think that demons are disguised as people.

After all, the general who is supposed to protect the citizens has to be suspicious of the citizens.

We searched for the ghouls that had survived the words of the moonlight goddess we had met in Cornes' mansion.

Then we found that all the officials connected to Cornes had been replaced by ghouls.

'Yes, General Krasus, sir. All of Senator Cornes' officials had been turned into ghouls. I think we have defeated all of them in the meantime. ...... There may still be some survivors.

Krasus looked sad at Decius' words.

'But we can't make this public, Decius. It would be a disaster if the citizens of the city found out about this kind of thing.'

Nakius, Decius' father, tells him admonishingly.

A demon is lurking around, disguised as a human. If this is made public, the citizens will panic.

So this must be kept a secret. That's what everyone here is thinking.

'I know, father. This is a secret that only those present can know. That's why I want you to make sure that the citizens don't find out about this.

Decius says to his father, Nakius, Krasus, and Tulia.

It's supposed to be a follower of God King Odis to tell the truth without telling lies. But there is an exception to everything.

With the power of the three of them, the three heavyweights of Ariadia, they can cover up to a certain extent.

That's why I told these three people the truth.

''Decius-dono. That's not the only problem, is it? It looks like the underground canals are in trouble. We need to take action as soon as possible.

Turia's always smiling face is grim.

The Republic of Ariadia is located at the mouth of the great river Kish.

The city located at the mouth of such an estuary can be flooded by heavy rainfall.

For this reason, flood control measures are necessary.

In the Republic of Ariadia, there are many underground waterways for drainage.

These underground waterways were built by dwarves, and they seem to be much better than the ones in our world.

And now there is a problem in these channels.

We captured the ghouls and had them spit out what information they knew.

And from that information, we found out that this country's underground waterways have become a den of demons.

The reason why no one noticed such an important matter is because the officials who were in charge of that underground waterway had all been replaced by ghouls.

Thanks to this, the underground waterways of the Republic of Ariadia had been turned into a paradise for demons.

The fact that there are demons under our feet cannot be left unattended, so we need to exterminate them as soon as possible.

I know that, Turia-dono. But when it comes to sending the knights to the underground canal, .......

Krasus seems hard to say.

The knights are the nation's greatest fighting force. So we can't afford not to be moved by the crisis in this country.

But the Knights of the Republic of Ariadia are decimated after failing to defeat the centaurs.

And it has yet to be rebuilt.

Horseback riding is a special skill that requires training, and it is difficult to train if you add the skill of horse combat to the mix.

Krasus would not want to send the surviving knights to the underground canal.

''General Krasus. It is a knight's duty to fight on horseback. It's best not to send knights into the underground canals.

The main job of a knight is to guard the streets.

If someone is being attacked by a demon on the street, they rush in to provide security.

That's why it's a waste to throw them into an underground canal where horses can't enter.

Chiyuki-dono: ......

Krasus looks at me gratefully.

'So I suppose we'd better hire some freedom fighters. Choose a warrior you think you can trust. Please make those arrangements.

I say, looking at the people here.

The knights are on the street and around the perimeter outside the city walls. The soldiers are on the city walls and inside the city walls. And the freedom fighters protect the rest.

The underground canal is inside the ramparts in a manner. So we should be able to move the soldiers.

However, in the Republic of Ariadia, there is not much of a threat from monsters, so the soldiers have little experience fighting them.

In this situation, even if we take on the demons in the underground waterways, we will only increase the number of victims.

Therefore, we should use freedom fighters here.

Krasus is well connected with the Freedom Warrior Association. If he asked for help, he would be able to get a good freedom fighter on the spot.

”Free fighters?　But if you're going to hire a lot of people, you're going to need a lot of money. I can't move the public money right away, but is the money to hire them safe?

Nakius says with concern.

'The financial aspect of it, Lord Turia and ......'

Then I look at the other figure beside Turia.

Is that why you called me here?

Kyouka says, looking at me. Kaya is behind me, of course.

Kyouka is rich because he has a business to run. He should be able to provide the money to pay a good freedom fighter.

'Yes, that's right, Kyouka-san. I'll pay you back the expenses you've paid for at a later date. So for now, I'd like to ask you to donate some funds.

But Kyouka shook her head.

'I don't need it. I'll give you the funds for free. Besides, I can pay for the repair of the underground canal.

Miss!

Kaya is upset.

It's understandable. It's pretty hard to do business in this world.

After all, the literacy rate is less than 50%. And when it comes to those who can do the math, there are even fewer.

In other words, it's hard to find people to do business with.

This is money raised from the hard work of raising money for that talent shortage.

That's probably why he's so reluctant to give away money for free.

Besides, the social status of merchants is low in this world.

There's a saying in this world, ”You can defend yourself with a sword, but you can't defend yourself with money.

This shows the reality of this world where demons abound, and at the same time reveals the social status of warriors and merchants.

In other words, merchants tend to be taken lightly. That also makes it harder to do business.

In addition, perhaps because of the large number of demons in this world, the circulation of money is not advanced. That's why they value human connections more than money.

That's why it seems to be difficult to attract talented people.

That's why Kaya is training people from scratch, although it costs money and time.

And in this world, they have the concept of accounting books, but they don't know how to create balance sheets and other financial documents.

It seems to take even more time and money to teach them that too.

'Kaya, money is what we use for these kinds of things. This is a kind of upfront investment in the Republic of Ariadia. I'm sure it will never be a loss.

Kyoka says with a laugh. Kyouka can be very generous sometimes.

In fact, Kyouka seems to be more popular than the more capable Kaya.

Sometimes I'm surprised when I've been with her for a long time.

''I understand, sweetheart. I'll have the money ready for you soon.

Thank you, Kaya.

Eventually, Kaya snapped.

”Chiyuki-dono, I will provide the funds for you.

Turia also agrees.

Now we have a prospect of arranging the freedom fighters.

''By the way, what are you going to do about the brave men?

Nakius looks at Rage.

'Of course we're going into the underground canal. Isn't that right, Rage-kun?

'Yes, of course. The beautiful women are calling you.

Rage says with a laugh.

Totally, change your attitude when you learn that a beautiful woman is waiting for you.

That beautiful woman could be the one who was manipulating the ghouls.

I press my head down.

''May I join you, Chiyuki-dono?

Decius offers to accompany me.

'And Sir Decius? If possible, I'd like Sir Decius to remain on earth.

Decius is a hard man to get. He should be at the rear of the line rather than out in the front. Besides, I want her to stay on the ground and guide us to evacuate the citizens if the need arises.

'No, I care about her, too.

My head hurts too. Decius, are you like Rage?

Oh, I understand. But please don't push yourself too hard.

We'll have to nail him somehow to keep him from overstepping his bounds.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

'By the way, Chiyuki-san. An underground canal, could it be a sewer?

Suddenly Nao asks anxiously.

'Well, I've heard that you sometimes flush household waste water. What's wrong with that?

When I say that, Reno, Sahoko and Nao look uncomfortable.

”Ehh. I don't want to go there. I don't want to go to a place where pussy is flowing.

I'm a bit of a fan of that too: ......

Reno and Sahoko look uncomfortable.

I see. I make a point.

And Reno. Don't let the girl say a thing or two.

'It's okay. There's uu ...... in the underground canal. There's no human waste down there.

Reno almost makes me say a bunch of nasty things.

I explain.

There are toilets in this world too.

I heard there is no toilet in some countries. I heard that people in such a country litter the toilet after filling it up, so I honestly don't want to go near that country.

And about toilets in this world, there are flushable toilets if you are near a river, but it is more common to use a pot-pumping type if anything.

You sit on a brick or stone shaped like a U to do your business. Underneath it, there is a pot for collecting excrement.

The collected waste is disposed of by a priest who serves Gena, the goddess of earth and fertility.

In other words, they are used as fertilizer.

In this world, vomit is not only an impurity, but also a fertility symbol.

It is also common in the original world for these va*in*s to be used as a symbol of fertility.

It is common to see the holy sign of the goddess Gena displayed in the toilets of this world. In other words, she is the goddess of toilets.

And then there's the Republic of Ariadia, a large city with a population of nearly a million. Naturally, the amount of vomit is also very large.

For that reason, there is a public toilet in each area of this country.

Of course, there are private toilets in the homes of influential citizens.

These public toilets are cleaned and maintained by the local civic body and kept clean.

And the toilets in this country are usually of the pot-pumping type. And the government of Ariadia is paying a lot of money for this process.

It is said that the collectors who believe in the goddess Gena, who have their carts pulled by donkeys in the middle of the night while people are asleep, go around and change the jars.

Afterwards, the collected excrement is carried to the priest of the goddess Gena who has a spell to turn it into ordinary soil before it is thrown away.

It is said that they used to pour their excrement directly into the river. However, the temple of Triden, the god of the sea, complained about it, so they changed it to the way it is now.

And it is a felony to do feces outside of the toilet.

However, I heard there are still people who don't follow it. If someone living near it finds it, he will be killed by half.

Also, it seems that the Republic of Ariadia, like other large countries, does not seem to be able to control the area outside the city walls, so it seems that the area outside the city walls is in trouble.

If this is left unchecked, plagues such as the plague will occur, so measures must be taken.

However, it seems that we have not been able to take measures as well as other countries.

Well, however, we are sure that we are trying not to let human feces flow into the underground canal. When I explained to them, they looked relieved.

However, human feces is not flowing, but garbage and demon feces might be flowing in the underground canal.

So it's not a sanitary place. But let's not tell that to the three of us.

By the way, Chiyuki-san. I've got something on my mind. ......

Cyrone, who has been quiet until now, opens her mouth.

But I know what's bothering Cyrone.

'It's about the Moonlight Goddess, isn't it?'

Silone nodded as I said this.

'But she didn't tell me her name, and when I asked the other ghouls and Mr. Ainoe, no one knew. I can't say for sure if it's the same woman.

We've already restrained Ainoe and gotten the information out of her.

She was a witch who made a pact with a demon. The Lesser Damon who made her a witch is apparently doing something at the altar of Badon.

They plan to take her to the underground canals as well. If we can get it right, we'll be able to lure Lesser Damon away.

But Ainoe didn't know anything about the Moonlight Goddess.

This was definitely because she used Reno's magic to find out.

'Well, fine, we'll find out when we get there. Maybe Kroki will be there.

Sirone says with a fierce smile on her face.

She still can't forgive him for leaving the labyrinth without saying anything to Shirone after she left the labyrinth. I feel a little sorry for my childhood friend.

It's kind of like the play where they go to get the prince back from the wicked witch. I'm sure you'll be interested in playing the lead role in the play.

Reno says teasingly.

'Oh, Reno. I don't want to take the lead role anymore. Besides, I shouldn't have to!

When Sirone said that, Rage and Nao let out a disappointed ”eh”.

The play has been postponed because the incident is just an incident.

And Ainoe is gone. They'll have to find an understudy.

Also, it turns out that the lead, Shenna, is still alive, so she doesn't have to substitute.

That's why Shilone is happy.

It's a shame, to be honest. It looked so interesting.

'Shit!　I knew everyone was amused!

Cyrone shouts angrily.

Tch, you found out. In fact, I was just really enjoying myself.

''But what in the world is the Moonlight Goddess up to?''

Decius says worriedly.

'She told me to come to the altar at Badon. I'm sure that's where she must be waiting for us to come. I wonder what she's really up to?

The Altar of Badon is where they sealed Badon and built a theater over it.

That altar is underground and seems to be connected to an underground canal.

It would have been quicker if we could have gone down from the theater, but the structure is designed to prevent us from going down directly. In addition, there is a strong barrier put up.

If we forced our way down, the theater might collapse.

That's why there is no choice but to walk down from the entrance of the underground canal, which is a little far away.

It seems that the underground canal is full of demons, but we'll leave that to the freedom fighters and we'll deal with the Moonlight Goddess. That's the plan this time.

We'll get into the underground canal tomorrow.

'I'm curious about this woman, this moonlight goddess. Who is she?

Turia ponders.

'I am sorry, Lord Turia. We don't know who she is either. So we can't give you any details. But if the situation arises, please evacuate the citizens.

I didn't tell the three of them about the Moonlight Goddess in detail. Because I also don't know what to make of her. I wasn't sure if I should tell them the uncertain information or not, so I finally stopped telling them.

I also did not tell Nakius and the others that Shenna was safe.

From the look of the moonlight goddess, she doesn't seem to have any intention of killing them. I decided that I shouldn't let them get their hopes up badly.

I don't want to say that I knew it was no good after I told them they were safe.

''Well, you'll find out who they are when you get there.

Rage smiles wryly.

Rage is right. You'll have to go and see.

Everyone nodded at Rage's words.