Chapter 353
Chapter 353: A Rich Ecosystem
—
Now then, let’s talk about the events leading up to our arrival in this city-state.
After bidding farewell to Edgar, we departed from the capital, Todomarl, and headed straight east, infiltrating the rural town of Tsukamaal before escaping the Tritus Principality.
This was to verify if Officia had told the truth about her information network.
To cut to the chase, her intel was apparently correct… I didn’t even have to lift a finger as a Night Elf agent was already captured by the local Holy Church.
At this point, I deemed Officia’s information reliable to some extent, and that night, I decided to “liberate” her.
To ensure she wouldn’t suffer unnecessarily, I clouded her consciousness, then released my human transformation and shattered her soul with the full power of a Demon Lord’s Prince.
…It was over in an instant. The poor Night Elf’s soul was torn apart by the jaws of dark magic and vanished.
“How boring.”
Ante seemed dissatisfied though.
“Guhyahaha! Now that you’ve told the truth, you are of no more use to me! I’ll purify you with the light of the sun! …I could have at least done something like that.”
Hey, come on… Sure, I hate Night Elves, but I don’t get a kick out of watching them suffer and despair.
…No, wait, I might be lying. It could be a little fun to see a Night Elf in despair, but still, I wouldn’t have the inclination to actively bring about their despair. I’m not a Night Elf after all.
Since they provided honest and trustworthy information, it’s only right to respond in kind. Right?
Well, whether this can truly be called “post-mortem peace,” I have no way of knowing.
However, it’s definitely better than being exploited by Enma or roasted by the sun… probably.
“……….”
I tossed aside Officia’s remnants. With the forcibly stuffed hair gone, it was just the remains of Virosa left in the somewhat hollow hunting area rocket pendant.
Virosa is still—unawakened. There’s nothing to ask.
With a snap, I sealed the lid and stowed the pendant against my chest.
The bone fragments clinked sadly inside.
— So, despite that little interlude, I escaped the Tritus Principality on Leila’s wings. To be safe, I circumnavigated the vast Elf Forest—and from a distance, the radiant Holy Great Tree was visible, making Leila quite curious—heading for the eastern part of the continent.
I passed through the Forest Elf’s dominion and skipped over the surrounding nations. It became clear that the Night Elf agent was captured in Tsukamaal thanks to intel provided by the Holy Great Tree Alliance’s network.
…Hearing that, my heart swelled with warmth.
“Liliana… you made it back home safely, didn’t you?”
“That’s great!”
Leila teared up, and Barbara nodded solemnly. Ante didn’t say anything, but I figured he was probably relieved.
It seems the Holy Great Tree Alliance began sending envoys to each nation, so the necessity for me to engage with the regions surrounding the Elf Forest was practically nonexistent.
Thus, as initially planned, I decided to hop over to the rear of the alliance territory, where news would take a while to spread, and dive headfirst into Night Elf hunting.
Further east—likely, an envoy from the imperial powerhouse known as the “Kaizaan Empire” had already arrived, and since they seemed adept at rooting out potential troublemakers, I skipped that too. I also skipped the “Hamilton Principality,” which was a de facto satellite state of the Kaizaan Empire.
Thus, we arrived at Lake Auritos, a massive body of water that could easily be mistaken for the ocean, and the collective city-states known as the “Nosh-Ugo Alliance.”
The large freshwater lake Auritos, dotted with various islands and peninsulas, served as a bustling center for fishing and trade, making it one of the liveliest areas in the eastern part of the alliance.
As a result, the movement of people was intense, and even if they formed groups, the city-states didn’t coordinate, providing ample opportunities for Night Elves to infiltrate.
For us, it became a region ripe for cleaning up—
†††
“Guard squad! Halt! You there, man, drop your weapon and raise your hands!”
—And thus, we arrive at the present.
Having just exited the tavern, I was quickly surrounded by guards.
Given that this was a port city filled with roughnecks, it seemed they rushed over at the news of a knife fight. When I appeared dragging a bloodied corpse, they were on edge and ready to attack.
“I’m a hero. I subdued a Night Elf who had disguised itself as a human. Please call the personnel from the Holy Church here.”
Thankfully, my display of the holy silver spell and the corpse’s red eyes prevented any further complications. The guards dropped their weapons, bewildered, and immediately sent a messenger to the local Holy Church. A crowd quickly gathered, and it seemed rumors would spread throughout the city in no time…
“A Night Elf!? Ridiculous! This sunscreen smells completely unfamiliar!”
Amid the uproar, a dog-beastman guard sniffed the corpse in shock.
“It appears they’ve started using a new reagent. Be sure to remember this well.”
“Yeah, I don’t need you to tell me that…”
At my words, the beastman guard bared his fangs in annoyance and began to examine the belongings of the corpse. I wondered if he was searching for a bottle of sunscreen.
“Um, this… belongs to the Night Elf… there might be something inside.”
Leila presented a backpack she had acquired. It looked like she had secured it before someone could swipe it amid the chaotic scene. Talk about being super thoughtful!
“Thank you! …Found it, is this it!?”
Sure enough, inside were bottles of potion and spare corncob shells.
“There may be more Night Elves lurking around. Be sure to memorize the scent with your companions and hunt them down!”
When I made that request, the beastman guard nodded but wore a complicated expression.
“Yeah… but we don’t have many beastmen in our city. I hope we can catch them before they escape…”
…Indeed, as he said, there were few beastmen in the Nosh-Ugo Alliance. While the shores of the freshwater lake had some, the islands didn’t appear to host many of them. Since muscular, hairy beastmen aren’t great swimmers… Well, it is a mystery whether humans are good at swimming either, especially compared to Forest Elves.
This city might be small, but there likely aren’t many beastman residents either.
“If there’s this much commotion, if they had any companions, they probably would have already fled.”
I needed to extract information from the soul quickly.
—While I was conversing with the guards, personnel from the local Holy Church arrived.
After explaining the situation and handing over the corpse…
“Thank you for your hard work coming from the front lines…”
“Thank you so much!”
However, the “personnel” consisted of a feeble, stick-like old priest leaning on a staff and a boy who barely looked like he had completed his coming-of-age ceremony. It seems he was a priest apprentice.
“What!? Not only spreading rumors in the tavern but also defaming the honor of the frontline warriors…!? Nnnuhh! You! I won’t forgive this!!!”
After hearing the details, the old priest erupted with fury, like a volcano coming to life, while the apprentice looked a bit queasy, likely because it was his first time seeing a corpse.
Yeah… in a way, it’s wonderful that this boy has grown up in a peaceful environment—
Apparently, aside from the old priest (who is supposedly a bishop), the Holy Church’s personnel in this city consisted of a handful of priests and heroes. However, it seems that the younger folks were all out on monster hunting expeditions, leaving only the bare minimum of users of the holy silver spell.
“I get the feeling there are… not enough hands, for a city of this size?”
…There are indeed too few.
Honestly, it feels way too sparse.
I became uneasy. This situation was—
An undeniable proof that the personnel of the Holy Church were running thin.
…But then again, it makes sense. With so many resources allocated to the front lines and suffering continuous catastrophic losses…
Those who remain in a region this far from the front lines are surely old soldiers training the next generation, newbies, healers handling local treatments, and the bare minimum of active forces…
“And those few forces are busy dealing with monster threats, huh…”
The citizen militia of the city-states are likely active as well, of course.
Additionally, there’s the lack of beastman residents. Damn it, the Night Elves must be feeling at home here. It’s like a food pantry with no cat or pest control.
“They’re probably swarming like rats or pests…”
It can’t be helped. Honestly, I had somewhat anticipated this situation.
That’s precisely why I have to do my best. Even if an envoy from the Forest Elves arrives, they wouldn’t be able to mobilize and organize a hunt.
I am the one—the one who must take action!
Leave the hunting of dark entities to me! I’ll handle it with gusto! Gusto!
—
Night Elves: “Stop it!”
Forest Elves: “Kill it!”
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