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Chapter 75

A New Encounter You Look Forward To Isn’t Always A Good One

 

It’s been a few hours since we were rocked by a horse-drawn carriage leaving Seiris.

We sit back in the carriage, taking our eyes off the scenery outside, where the sea is long since visible.

 

It has been a hectic few days. It feels like it was just yesterday that we arrived in Seiris.

……No, we did, in fact, only arrive just the other day.

It’s just that Sybilla steadily conquered difficult dungeons, and we cornered the Demon Lord at breakneck speed.

 

Then it occurred to me, I wonder what would happen to the dungeon after the Demon Lord was defeated.

When there’s something that I don’t know like this, I can just ask the knowledgeable Goddess/partner in front of me.

 

「Say, Sybilla, was it really okay to defeat the Demon Lord just like that? From now on, Eve is going to be taken care of by 『Swift Thunder』, right? Wouldn’t it be a disaster if the monsters were gone?」

 

Sybilla answered my question, while her short silver hair swayed due to the carriage shaking.

 

「Oh, about that, just defeating the Demon Lord won’t make the monsters disappear from the dungeon, you know?」

 

……Is that the case?

I asked back in my mind, and as if she could read it, Sybilla answered.

 

「As long as an existence called the Demon Lord exists, dungeons will continue to expand. And once the magic power inside the dungeon reaches saturation, monsters will begin to appear.」

 

According to Sybilla’s explanation, the primary reason for reducing the number of monsters in the dungeon is to keep the city safe by reducing its naturally spawning monsters.

Dungeons, which will keep spawning monsters on a daily basis, will overflow with them if they’re not hunted regularly.

 

「If it’s like that, then, Sybilla-san, what’s the reason for defeating the Demon Lord?」

 

Right. To put it simply, it will make it more difficult for monsters to overflow out of the dungeon. If the dungeon with a Demon Lord overflows in a month, the one without the Demon Lord won’t overflow even if it’s left alone for several hundred years. Of course, the number won’t decrease to the point that it’ll leave adventurers jobless and die from hunger.

 

Hundreds of years of safety… that’s certainly amazing.

So by defeating the Demon Lord, it guarantees the long-term safety of the surrounding area to such an extent, huh?

Then I guess it’s safe to say the beautiful cityscape of Seiris won’t be disturbed by the monsters for a long while.

 

Here, something curious popped up in my mind, so I asked again.

 

「Why is this information being kept secret?」

 

Upon hearing my question, Sybilla looked outside as if her thoughts were wandering somewhere else.

 

「…What do you think will happen if this information is made public?」

 

「What, you say… wouldn’t a lot of people put their prestige on the line to defeat the Demon Lord?」

 

「I bet. And then there are also those who, driven by a sense of justice, will put their lives on the line to defeat the Demon Lord. But… those people are usually the ones who push themselves too hard and end up dying first.」

 

That answer left us, who listened carefully, convinced and speechless.

She’s right… If people were to find out that there is a clear reason for defeating the Demon Lord, there would surely be some people who would push themselves too hard.

If that’s the case, it’s better to keep it a secret and have them help in some way that wouldn’t cost them their lives… is what she probably meant.

 

It’s probably in line with what the royal family, which issues orders to the guild, is thinking as well.

They want them to fight so that the monsters won’t overflow into the city, but not to the extent of making them throw away their lives recklessly in the name of Demon Lord subjugation.

 

The purpose of defeating the Demon Lord, huh?

I had never thought of 『Demon Lord subjugation』 as anything other than a heroic tale I longed for, but putting it like that gets me fired up.

——As a 【Twilight Sorcerer】, someone who has the power of dark magic.

It’s something that I, powerless as I was until just a while ago, would never have been able to imagine.

 

Now, even the sense of responsibility that comes with this role feels comfortable.

 

「Russell doesn’t seem to be that nervous, which is good in itself, but Emmy, you must not overdo it, okay? The battle between the Demon Lord and humankind is not something that happened yesterday or today.」

 

「Urk, I’ll keep that in mind…」

 

Unlike me, Emmy looked serious and tense, but she scratched her blonde head after a comment from Sybilla.

Yeah, that’s right, it’s no use getting nervous before the fight even begins.

We should just do our best at our own pace, slowly but surely.

 

Because as long as we stay alive, we have a chance.

Isn’t that right, partner?

 

When that topic is finished, Sybilla clapped her hands.

 

「Enough of that. Leaving that kind of thing aside,」

 

Sybilla casually dismissed the talk about the Demon Lord with 『that kind of thing』, turned to Frederica, who had also been listening intently up until now.

Slightly surprised, Frederica pointed at herself as her peach-colored hair tilted gently.

 

The purpose of our journey this time is to accompany Frederica, a very dependable sister from the orphanage.

I only found out yesterday that Frederica is one of the representative management members of the church orphanage, an important person who helps out at various orphanages.

I guess this is what they mean when they say that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

 

「Let’s see. Oh, right, the place where the request came from this time is a town called Madeira.」

 

「Madeira, huh? That’s one troublesome place.」

 

「You know about it, Sybilla?」

 

Sybilla made a troubled look and began to tell us what she knew about the situation surrounding Madeira.

 

「I’ve heard rumors that there’s an increase in people who came from outside the town. I also heard that the town has somehow lost its liveliness.」

 

「That’s one very vague information…」

 

I didn’t think Sybilla, out of all people, would be that wary by the mere fact that there’s an increase in people… but the reality is, the girl in front of me does make quite an uncomfortable face.

 

「Unlike monsters, we can’t just beat up humans and force them to spit out what they’re up to, even if we’re suspicious of them. That can get us in trouble, so we have to be careful. Defeating that Demon Lord was also troublesome for the same reason, wasn’t it?」

 

I see… it does make sense when you put it that way.

No matter how strong someone is, it’s harder to investigate someone hard to suspect than someone who we can just beat up to defeat them.

We have to be careful.

 

Then Frederica asked with interest about the Demon Lord in Seiris, so we all talked about various battles we had up to yesterday.

Even Frederica, who is not a fighter, seemed to find the battle with the Demon King interesting, and she even let out a rare cheer when we told her the part where Eve landed her throwing knife.

For all of us, Eve looked as if she were a literal Goddess in that moment. Both Sybilla and Emmy were praising her performance wholeheartedly.

Pfft, I bet Eve is sneezing right now.

 

The carriage then shook with a clatter.

As soon as the carriage came to a sudden stop, Sybilla shouted.

 

「Emmy-chan, gear up! Russell, we’ll go outside to protect Frecchi!」

 

「Okay!」

 

「Understood.」

 

Knowing Sybilla, I’m sure she’s using search magic outside the dungeon as well.

She must’ve sensed something, as the two quickly jumped out of the carriage, with me following them right after.

 

「A-Are you going to be okay?」

 

「We’re used to this, just leave it to us. 《Wind Barrier》」

 

I respond to Frederica’s worried voice by raising my hand lightly and cast a defense magic around us.

 

「Emmy-chan, don’t use your skill, alright?」

 

「I got it!」

 

A monster——large pig-like humanoid creature——was coming to attack her, but she easily cut through it with her sword.

There’s no sign of any monsters coming this way, so it looks like I don’t have to do anything and just stand by with my sword ready.

 

「《Stone Javelin》! Hey, you, are you alright?!」

 

I turn my head to Sybilla, curious as to whom she said it to.

I don’t think Emmy would be in a pinch, and Sybilla wouldn’t be calling Emmy with 『You』.

 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a group of people dressed in white robes.

The man at the front of the group was holding a cane, desperately protecting the others behind him.

 

But even though they were up against unknown monsters, Sybilla and Emmy were there.

After they quickly defeated all the monsters, they approached the group in white robes.

 

「Thank goodness, it looks like you’re all fine.」

 

Emmy let out a sigh of relief after confirming that the group is safe.

 

One of the robed figures steps forward and removes his head.

Emerging from beneath the hood was a middle-aged man with blonde hair mixed with grey.

 

「What an amazing power! Thank you for protecting our priests.」

 

After hearing a certain word coming out of that man’s mouth, Sybilla glanced at me for a moment.

……I have a bad feeling about this.

 

「Speaking of which, do you——」

 

The man removes the pins that were fastening the front of his robe, revealing the clothes under his robe.

 

At that moment, the two stories we talked about in the carriage connected.

Frederica’s story about the help request and Sybilla’s story about Madeira.

The story about a mysterious group that has been increasing in the city.

 

What he was wearing under that robe, was bright red clothes.

 

「——believe in God?」

 

We ended up having a not-so-happy encounter with some nostalgic bunches.

Good grief, it hasn’t been long since we left the city, but it looks like we’re going to get dragged into trouble right away.

 

These guys are a troublesome religious group known as the 『Church of Crimson Salvation』. This is my second encounter with them, but there’s one big difference from before, and that’s we have Sybilla with us now.

This gives me great reassurance.

 

I really don’t think Sybilla would lose to those guys at all.

I’m curious how she’s going to handle this one.