Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~

「Those self-proclaimed heroes were surprisingly weak… Compared to Reiji, can they even be called heroes?」

Among us, Sahoko was the weakest in terms of strength . But that didn’t mean defeating her was easy .

「Enough talking about that event, Chiyuki-san . You know Reiji-senpai is special . 」

Nao said ‘special’ with a strange tone as if making fun of that fact . Nevertheless, she was right . Compared to Reiji, those ‘heroes’ left much to be desired .

Even in our homeworld, only a few men could fight against Reiji on equal grounds .

When I looked at Nao, I noticed the rat she held in her hand . According to her, the rat had slipped into our luggage at some point in the journey .

It was my first time seeing that type of rat . Its shiny red fur reflected the lighting inside the room, making it look like it was on fire . The round body resembled a hamster . If it didn’t have such a cute face, Nao would have thrown it away the moment she caught it .

But it looked so cute that she wanted to keep it as a pet .

「Nao-san, it’s about time for our meal . Can you put the rat beneath the table?」

「Ye~sh . 」

Nao swiftly tied the rat with a tough thin cord to prevent it from escaping . At first, the rat seemed to hate the cord but it gradually calmed down .

Maybe I was just imagining things, but I got the feeling that the rat understood human language .

After the rat was secured under the table, a middle-aged plump man entered the room . He was the owner of the mansion, Tormalkis .

「Thank you for waiting, everyone . 」

Tormalkis was married to Atlan, the person we saved earlier . After our conference with Clasus, Atlan led him to meet us .

It seemed that he wanted to express his gratitude to us for saving his wife with a feast and a free night at the inn .

「Thank you very much for your invitation today, Tormalkis-dono . 」

As the group’s spokesperson, I put my hand on my chest and bowed toward Tormalkis in gratitude .

He was quite wealthy, even compared to other Republic citizens . However, he wasn’t native to Ariadya .

Being a successful businessman, he gained citizenship in Ariadya by investing in public facilities . He was even chosen as a Diet (parliament) member in response to his philanthropic actions .

「Nonono, I’m the one who needs to express his gratitude for saving my dear wife, O great heroes . Unfortunately, my wife must leave due to a pressing matter . Please forgive her sudden exit . In exchange, allow me to show my gratitude to you, Reiji-sama . 」

After he said so, Atlan left her seat .

Reiji made an extremely disappointed face once he discovered that Atlan was leaving . I restrained my urge to tell him not to reach his hand toward someone else’s wife . [ED: scumbag][TL:Agree]

「We put our everything into cooking today’s dishes . 」

That seemed to be the keyword for the servants to come in carrying the dishes . Fortunately, there were only young men and women amiss the servants . I felt relieved when I didn’t spot any Goblins .

Maybe it was because of his wealth, but Tormalkis preferred using human servants, which had a higher cost than Goblins .

He was just a normal citizen, not even a native . And yet he was wealthier than most influential people in this country . It may be a common situation in other countries, but not in Ariadya .

The young men served the dishes to me, Rino, Nao, and Sahoko while the young women served Reiji . None of them were ugly, they all had very refined appearances .

Maybe they weren’t just common servants . The inn might provide sexual entertainment for the clients who asked for such things .

But that kind of service wasn’t in our interest . I believe being entertained by an unknown man might irritate Sahoko the most .

Honestly speaking, it would have been better to replace the young men serving Sahoko with more women serving Reiji .

Reiji grinned non-stop while he was entertained by those young women .

How dare you!!

Aaargh, whatever .

「Well, then . Go ahead, everyone . 」

Tormalkis’s words prompted everyone to look at the dishes prepared for us . There was a mixture of dishes including cheeses, fish roes, and salads .

There was roast beef garnished with foie gras, fragrant mushroom soup, baked vegetables and meat pie wrapped with wheat flour . There was also some kind of fish steamed with herbs . [ED: why u do dis,? I hungry]

For dessert, there was a cake-like dessert with many layers of nuts . Each layer was kneaded with honey . They even added some sugary white ice cubes .

That was not all . More dishes had yet to arrive at the table .

And every dish was made with rare ingredients .

「Quite the luxurious banquet . It’s my first time seeing these types of dishes . 」

I took a sip of the liquor made of dried fruits . The rich aroma spread through my nose as I brought it to my lips .

「I have to say, only Ariadya can display this kind of sumptuous feast in this world . 」

Tormalkis had a delighted expression on his face . His tone was polite, but I could sense the cynicism in his words as if he looked down on the country hick .

The young man assigned to me gave me an in-depth explanation of the dishes . Where that fish came from, what part of which animal that meat was… Long story short, they practically used ingredients from every country .

However, these delicacies all had a point in common: none of them were specialty dishes from Ariadya .

From what stories I’ve heard, Republic Ariadya’s self-sufficiency rate was zero .

We’ve encountered many self-sufficient countries so far, but it was the first time I learned of a country with zero capabilities of sustaining itself . That might be a factor in why the demon populace was so scarce around this country .

I had long wondered why the territories of the city-states were generally so small . The demons might be the answer .

The expansion of human territories was probably being suppressed by the Demonkind . Humanity was very weak, after all . Even a mere Goblin was a threat to a human at night .

Since demons were always an inhibiting factor in the distribution of goods between countries, a city/country shouldn’t depend solely on imported goods .

That was why self-sufficient cities became the norm . Including daily necessities, citizens also needed to protect their city .

After a long time passed, such a flow of events would turn a city into a country .

But the Republic Ariadya was the sole exception .

The Republic formed a trade with its neighbors called the Ariad Union . The Union could be considered a country, with the Republic Ariadya as its capital .

Unfortunately, the recent events placed the Ariad Union in a crisis . Usually, an errant Goblin could be found only once or twice along the Union’s highways . Or, in the case of mountain roads, you might find a Harpy .

Since the prison break, there were half-human, half-fish creatures in Ariad’s Bay, Lizardmen attacking merchant ships docked on the Quiche River and Centaurs raiding the highways of the Minon Plain like bandits .

None of those races were natives of the area . At the moment, the damage wasn’t that great because their numbers were low .

But that could be remedied because demons could mate with humans . By kidnapping human women and breeding with them, they could bolster their numbers quickly . Soon, the whole area would become hard for humans to live in, just like in other countries .

Clasus assured us no superior Orc species were among the prison escapees, but it was obvious that those Orcs were attacking in flocks . Either there was a superior Orc among them or someone else controlled the Orcs .

Orcs were native of the region around Ariadya, but they rarely approached human settlements . However, the raids along the highways suggested a change in their ways .

Once they started assaulting human women, they would become a threat to the humans living nearby . And the majority of the human cities that lived nearby…

… Had self-sufficiency rates just as low as the Republic Ariadya .

If the circulation of goods kept getting delayed because of demon raids, those countries would fall into ruin . The damage wouldn’t be immediate because they probably had emergency rations stored . But how long could they resist in that situation?

Clasus acting so humble in front of us was a sign of how dangerous the situation in Ariadya had become . He was willing to use every method available to get out of that predicament .

「Good grief… Demons are finally running rampant just like in the rest of the world . And yet…」

I commented on a very low voice . In my opinion, Ariadya was a bit too luxurious, considering the situation .

Judging by how those men kept carrying in one dish after another, Ariadya had yet to show us its true wealth . But if the flow of money stopped, they might be unable to afford such a luxurious lifestyle anymore . Or so Tormalkis told us while laughing loudly .

He didn’t seem to feel any sort of crisis approach, nor did he seem worried about the situation . He should be a merchant, so the trade route blockade should spell trouble for him .

And yet, he didn’t appear the least bit interested in that matter . It was like he had no ability in business .

His current success might be all thanks to his wife, Atlan, who wasn’t present .

I wondered where she was… Could it be she had an important meeting with the other merchants regarding the runaway demons?

Many people had already started planning countermeasures against the demons . We were also going to start tomorrow .

It seemed that the other Heros made their move .

I held the liquor on my lips . It was so rich in flavor .