“A demon? What are you talking about?”
At the voice that rang out loudly, the knights who had been organizing their luggage began gathering one by one. The Red Sun Mercenary Company, who had been with them from the start, was also watching the situation from a distance.
“We’re leaving now! This is a problem because you didn’t explain properly, so it’s not a breach of contract!”
“It’s only a three-day journey. Wouldn’t it be safer to move together? Calm down and let’s just go to Banayl together.”
At the sudden situation, Dwyne was sweating profusely as he repeatedly tried to soothe Maro, the captain of the Frost Mercenary Company. However, Maro was adamant.
“When it’s obvious what the demon is after, what safety!”
“A demon? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dwyne let out a sigh in frustration.
“Anyway, please understand that. We’re leaving now.”
“Whoa, whoa, wait, wait, calm down and explain so we can understand, man.”
Eventually, Kyle, who couldn’t stand watching the situation, intervened.
“You need to explain the situation well so we can understand. What’s the use of just yelling like that?”
Hm? Our young master is here too. You can’t act like this. Saying that, Kyle’s hand kneading Maro’s shoulder had a strange amount of force in it.
“A demon? There are so many scary things in the world besides demons. Hm?”
Maro, who had been excitedly shouting at the thought of being involved with a demon, finally remembered that these people were the Flame Knights of the Irad Duchy.
“…….”
As if he had never raised his voice, Maro, who had become polite in an instant, began explaining.
“W-well, the Imperial knights might not know well, but many demons live in the Penter Mountains. It’s been quiet since the great subjugation a few years ago, but….”
“So you’re saying this is the work of a demon?”
“I’m certain.”
A demon? There are still demons in this day and age? Kyle and Dwyne looked at each other with absurd expressions.
* * *
At the unexpected situation caused by the Frost Mercenary Company, everyone gathered—the Flame Knights, Rona, the captain of the Red Sun Mercenary Company, and even Van and Rowy. While everyone was watching each other without speaking first, Edner, the person in charge of this group, remained lost in thought.
“A demon.”
Tap tap, Edner, who had been tapping the table with his fingertips for a while, finally opened his mouth.
“Your name is Maro, right? How are you so certain it’s a demon’s doing?”
“…Anyone who lives in this region knows. Demons control monsters and forcibly cause monster rampages.”
Maro eventually stuttered. Having already been cowed once by Kyle, Maro was completely intimidated after meeting Edner’s cold eyes. At that unconfident voice, Dwyne raised doubts.
“A demon? Are there demons with that kind of power even nowadays? Wouldn’t it make more sense to say someone used magic?”
“That’s right. A demon with that much power seems like something that would only appear in myths.”
Kyle also supported Dwyne. At those words, Maro tried to protest with an aggrieved expression, but soon closed his mouth. He had no confidence in persuading the Imperial knights with words. It seemed clear that they had hardly ever seen demons. Because in the Empire….
“I heard the Empire is protected by a barrier created during the Holy War era. Thanks to that barrier, you probably haven’t seen demons in the Empire.”
At the suddenly heard voice, everyone’s gaze turned to Van. Van had a serious expression, but he kept patting the back of Rowy, who was dozing off nestled in his embrace, so he didn’t look very dignified. However, Van continued speaking without caring about his own dignity.
“However, the south was a region that suffered great damage from demons until recently. The Penter Mountains in particular were where the lair of the great demon Mammon once existed.”
“Finally, a knight who makes sense! Are you from this area?”
Having found an ally, Maro immediately regained his energy. Van nodded to Maro.
“I’m from the Elysion Temple.”
“You were a Holy Knight!”
Maro immediately knelt on one knee right there and paid his respects. Velstra, adjacent to the Penter Mountains, was land that had long suffered from demons. It was not at all strange that a mercenary from there knew of the Elysion Temple that opposed demons. However… Maro knew far more about the Elysion Temple than Van had thought.
“If there’s a Holy Knight, then I can feel at ease! Look at this! I went to the temple recently and bought this too.”
Maro, whose face had brightened completely, pulled out a small piece of paper from his bosom and showed it.
‘Demon Exorcism, Great Fortune Prayer.’
It was the Elysion Temple’s most popular charm.
“…….”
Van deliberately pretended not to notice it and turned his head.
“Anyway, there’s a high probability this incident is a demon’s doing. I believe I already mentioned this before. If it’s not magic, then it’s probably because of a demon’s curse.”
With those words, Van and Edner’s gazes clashed intensely. The air became heavy in an instant.
“A demon….”
Along with someone’s sigh, silence flowed through the space for a moment. Van, who let out a sigh at the subdued atmosphere, opened his mouth again.
“Since this story seems like it will be long, I’ll lay my master down in the bedroom first….”
“Mmm, I’m not sleeping. I want to stay here….”
Rowy, who had been dozing off nestled in his embrace for a while, finally sat up, rubbing his eyes full of sleepiness.
“Yawn, so who won?”
“…Lord Rowy. I think it would be better if you just went in and slept.”
Won what? At the out-of-the-blue comment, Dwyne spoke to Rowy with a reproachful tone. However, Rowy, still drowsy, wasn’t properly listening to Dwyne’s words. Of course, even if he had heard, he would have ignored them.
“Yaaawn… So, what about the demon?”
“A demon in this day and age… No matter how I think about it, it’s more realistic to see this as something caused by a mage rather than a demon.”
Dwyne raised his voice again.
“Are you certain it’s not magic? If Velstra confirmed whether magic was used, couldn’t they have lied?”
“No, for what reason would Velstra hide that? In the first place, a mage who commands this many monsters—isn’t that rarer than a demon? They’d have to be at least an archmage.”
Maro, who had been arguing for the demon theory, refuted. At those words, Dwyne looked at Van again. More precisely… at Rowy, who was nestled in Van’s embrace.
“Well… isn’t that great mage right here?”
With those words… everyone’s gaze turned to Rowy.
“Mmm… me?”
At the suddenly focused attention, Rowy blinked.
“Lord Rowy. Is it possible for you to move monsters like that with magic?”
“With magic? Hmm….”
At Dwyne’s question, Rowy considered various spells. If he tried… there seemed to be several methods.
“Hmm, it’s not impossible. But I can’t do it right now.”
Rowy, called a genius mage, shook his head. It wasn’t because Rowy’s magical ability was lacking. However.
“I can count on my fingers the times I’ve even encountered monsters.”
Magic isn’t like divine power where you just pray saying ‘please do this’ and it comes true.
“If you want, I can create a formula right away… just give me exactly a hundred monsters.”
Rowy spoke with anticipation. For a moment, everyone in the room simultaneously avoided Rowy’s gaze.
“Anyway… then doesn’t that mean this monster rampage could also be someone else deliberately using magic?”
“This isn’t magic. If it were magic, there’s no way I wouldn’t recognize it.”
“Couldn’t you fail to recognize it?”
“That’s impossible.”
“…….”
“Absolutely.”
The genius mage shook his head firmly. However, Dwyne was still looking at Rowy with suspicious eyes.
‘How can I trust that this isn’t something he did himself in the first place?’
Dwyne’s distrust of Rowy ran deep. It was unavoidable. During their Academy days, Dwyne had been called in countless times to clean up the extraordinary magical accidents Rowy had caused. Thinking back to those times, it was a fully justified suspicion. No matter how he thought about it, it was suspicious…. As Dwyne kept looking at Rowy, Van finally stepped forward.
“…Certainly, there are no demons left with this kind of power now.”
Probably. Van swallowed the rest of his words.
“This… seems to be something involving relics.”
“Relics?”
“They’re similar to the temple’s Holy Relics. If Holy Relics contain the power of God… relics contain the power of the great demon Mammon. Recently, I heard news that traces of a relic were discovered in the Penter Mountains.”
“Are you saying it’s affecting the monsters?”
At those words, Van nodded.
“There’s a high probability.”
“Relics? I’ve never heard of them. What do they look like?”
At Kyle’s question, Van began explaining again. He didn’t forget to watch their expressions, as someone among them might already possess a relic.
“Relics just have ordinary appearances. For example, things like dolls, coins, or bowls. If anyone remembers seeing a suspicious object, please let me know immediately.”
“Really? This is my first time hearing about this. …Wait, did you say coins?”
Coins—didn’t someone pick one up recently? Dwyne and Kyle’s gazes turned to Edner.
