CH 49

Chapter 49.1 : The Town of Freedom Fighter

Disclaimer: To avoid our translations from being shut down, DO NOT repost our works on ANY social media, otherwise we will be forced to shut down.

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

「Did you just say the Pashipea Kingdom is under attack? 」

Reiji asked Clasus.

Reiji and I came to meet General Clasus again after receiving an emergency summons. He then proceeded to tell us about the member of the Ariad Union that was ransacked by a demon raid the previous night.

The Pashipea Kingdom was located in the northern area of the Minon Plain. Half its citizens had been taken away by the demons during the raid.

Clasus had received the news that morning and had immediately sent a messenger to inform us.

「Yes… This is an emergency.」

「By the way, why did you only call our group? There should be other heroes here, too.」

I asked Clasus after I noticed that there were only me, Reiji, Clasus, the Pashipea Princess Euria and five kids in the room.

Those kids and the princess were the only survivors of last night’s incident and only because they were out of the country.

The other heroes should be here as well.

Why were we the only ones called?

「It’s because Princess Euria herself recommended the Hero of Light.」

Clasus looked at Euria.

She was a buxom babe, with breasts probably as big as Sahoko’s. She had a calm and gentle face. I suspected she might be plumper than Sahoko, just a few kilos from what one would call “chubby”.

It seemed that she was related to Clasus. A member of a renowned house from the Ariadya Republic received similar treatment as the royalty of another country.

It was by pure chance that Euria came to visit Ariadya and thus was able to escape unscathed from last night’s incident.

She was also the one Reiji had saved yesterday.

She probably looked gloomy because her kingdom got raided last night.

「Truthfully… I felt that your party was more reliable than the other heroes. I heard that Saint-sama knocked down the Hero of Earth. I also heard that your group was the one that defeated the Mermen and the Centaurs that even the Heroes of Water and Wind couldn’t defeat.」

Come to think of it, I did hear that Sahoko pushed away from the Hero of Earth and somehow knocked him out.

「Yes, that’s why I recommended Reiji-sama.」

Clasus flashed a humble smile toward Reiji.

Interestingly enough, we were never informed about the activities of other Heroes. Although I knew a Freedom Fighter and a Hero-of-something were escorting the caravan, I never checked if they were helpful or not.

「Chiyuki. Let’s hear the story first. It seems like Euria’s country is in peril right now.」

As he spoke, Reiji looked at Euria.

Since her cleavage was quite exposed, I could tell that Reiji’s eyes were focused on that area.

Good grief, he really is a…  [TL: Leecher]

「Ha~h…….. Well, let me hear the detailed account of this incident.」

I sighed and resigned myself to listen to the explanation.

Clasus promptly directed the conversation toward the small person sitting on top of the desk.

「Well then, Porom-dono. Please explain to us what happened last night.」

Porom was a member of the diminutive race known as the Pigmayoi.

Pigmayois were short and stocky by nature. Even the adults would only grow up to at most 35cm tall, hence why Porom was sitting on the desk.

They had the unique custom of raising a crane-like bird and later turning that bird into a mount.

Mostly, they lived nomadic lives, migrating from place to place according to the seasons.

But there were exceptions.

Some Pigmayois had a good relationship with humans. Those settled in human cities and lived on the top tower of the ramparts, and they opened a postal service as their business.

Some Pigmayoi also lived on the top towers of the rampart, back in the Holy Republic of Lenaria. They took custody of the letters from the humans and sent them all over the neighboring kingdoms.

Porom used to live in the rampart tower of the Pashipea Kingdom.

「It all happened while I was preparing to sleep. I suddenly heard screams coming from the garrison. When I took a looked, I saw the rampart completely surrounded by a large number of Goblins and Orcs. I took my wife and we escaped that place by riding our fowl.」

Despite reliving a terrible memory, Porom explained what happened in a very calm tone.

So the Demon Army was big enough to surround the kingdom. Their numbers must be great to achieve such a feat.

「Armies of Goblins and Orcs, huh… From where in the world did such a huge army come from? 」

The Minon Plain should be a region with little demon activity.

Where did the huge army come from?

「Sage-dono. I cannot say anything about the Orcs but I have an inkling as to where the Goblins came from. According to our investigation, all the Goblin slaves from the agricultural areas of the Pashipea Kingdom have escaped. They are now probably part of that army.」

Clasus gave his input on the situation and I didn’t feel like adding anything to his words.

The Pashipea Kingdom, located in northern Ariadya, boasted large scale farming by utilizing a slavery system. The Goblin slaves did their jobs at night since they were pretty much useless during the day.

Truthfully, Goblins weren’t suited for farm work. However, they could do simple farming tasks. As long as they used the Goblin slaves, the price of agricultural products could be suppressed to a minimum.

And there were a lot of Goblins in the region.

But the agricultural management through slavery didn’t sit well with me.

Not to mention how troublesome it would be if we stopped such a system by force, the ones who would suffer the most were the people who earned low wages.

Which should I protect, the living conditions of the humans or the Goblins’ rights?

… Good grief. Why did I have to worry about such things? I disgusted myself.

Reiji would never worry about such things. The lives of cute girls were much more important to him, after all.

As if he’d bother considering the rights of Goblins.

His protection is restricted to the female part of humanity, after all.

「I see… Now I understand. Did you notice any other race among the raiding demons last night? I mean… It’s common knowledge that Orcs don’t live in flocks, so someone must have been leading them. Did you notice someone suspicious? 」

I asked Porom about any superior races that might have mingled with the raiding demons.

The strangest part was that there was no one commanding those demons last night and yet those Goblins and Orcs were incredibly organized. In fact, we had faced that kind of army back in Nargol, but they were led by superior demons then.

So, even if there were no superior Orcs species in the Pashipea attack, someone must have been leading them.

「Yes… I saw Minotaurs among the demons. They seemed to be leading them.」

「Minotaurs?!」

Porom nodded.

「Yeah…」

I’ve heard that Pigmayois had excellent night vision, so I didn’t doubt Porom’s words.

We had yet to meet any Minotaurs since we arrived in this world. We had little to no information about that race.

「Sometimes Minotaurs come out of the labyrinth and attack any surrounding countries, but… This is the first time they attacked at such a scale.」

「Yeah.」

What Clasus was trying to say was: Minotaurs attacking the surrounding countries weren’t a huge problem when considering the scale of the Ariad Union, because the number of Minotaurs was small.

But it’s a different story if they almost destroyed a country.

That might involve the survival of the Ariad Union.

Clasus turned to Porom.

「Well, then. Porom-dono, please explain that matter to Chiyuki-dono.」

「Ah, come to think of it… 」

「Is there something you’re worried about? 」

「Yes, well… After the monsters destroyed the rampart, they left and took the citizens with them.」

「So you’re wondering where they’re taking those citizens to? 」

「Yes. I observed the situation while my wife went to call for help from another country. They appeared to be taken into the labyrinth.」

「The labyrinth?」

「Yes, the labyrinth.」

There should be only a small number of demons in the region but, somewhere, they were gathering in large numbers. And that place was a certain labyrinth in the middle of the Minon Plain.

Numerous Minotaurs lived inside the labyrinth, with only one or two occasionally coming out to lead an attack on human settlements.

The attacks were usually so small in scale that it never caused any considerable damage. It must be why they couldn’t believe the news of a large scale attack happening.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

「Could it be that the Minotaurs weren’t the masterminds behind this attack? 」

Clasus nodded in agreement.

「The possibility of that is high. However, I cannot fathom why they decided now, of all times, to employ such a large attack. Well, it can’t be helped since it was done by those mindless demons. But… Shouldn’t we save the citizens?」

There were Ariadya citizens among the Pashipeans, after all. Naturally, Clasus would try his best to save those citizens.

Thus, he asks for Reiji’s help.

Even Euria, who had been silent so far, kneeled in front of Reiji to plead to him.

「Please, Reiji-sama!! Please save the citizens of my kingdom! 」

「Don’t worry, Euria. I will save them.」

「Re… Reiji-sama.」

Reiji stood and held Euria’s hands with his own.

Euria started to cry.

「It’s decided, Chiyuki. Let’s go to the Minotaur labyrinth.」

Reiji proclaimed as he looked at me.

What a pain. Is it okay for you to promise to save those people even when we don’t know anything about that labyrinth?

The same thing happened with Rena.

As long as the request came from a cute girl, he’d rush to do it regardless of the consequences. [TL: So Reiji is the one at fault huh, sorry Chiyuki, I used to be so harsh on you]

Well, since he decided to go, then the other girls will surely go with him. Thus, I had no choice but to follow them.

「Understood, Clasus-dono. But we don’t know much about that labyrinth, so please introduce us to someone who’s knowledgeable about it.」

「Yes, of course. Let me call the city of Teseshia and get you a letter of introduction. With it, you’ll be able to contact someone who knows about that place.」

「The city of Teseshia? 」

「Yes, the city of Teseshia. It’s the city of Freedom Fighters created by our Republic Ariadya for dealing with labyrinth monsters.」

「Of course, I’ll call for the other Heroes and the Freedom Fighters to assist Reiji-dono. What do you think, Reiji-dono? Please, save Pashipea… No. Please save the Ariad Union!!」

Clasus bowed again to Reiji and I silently looked at him with a somewhat indescribable feeling in my heart.

Chapter 49.2 : The Town of Freedom Fighter

Disclaimer: To avoid our translations from being shut down, DO NOT repost our works on ANY social media, otherwise we will be forced to shut down.

◆ Freedom Fighter Girl, Shizufae

After we had escorted Atlan-san to the Ariadya Republic, I went back to Teseshia with Big Sis Keina. Once there, we reunited with our comrades at the designated restaurant.

「So that’s what happened, huh.」

「Yeah, that’s what happened, Leylia-san. The Hero of Light is soooo COOOOOOL!! 」

I gave my report to Leylia-san, our comrade.

She was a priestess of Rena around her mid-twenties. Leylia had the appearance of a gentle woman, but she could fight a demon by herself.

Leylia-san in her battle mode was extremely terrifying.

As expected of a priestess of the Goddess of War.

When she was 20 years old, she heard the voice of an angel. Thus, she became an apostle and awakened her talent in healing magic.

The story of the Hero of Light loved by Goddess Rena was something she had to hear at all costs. While she heard the tales of the Hero Leylia-san couldn’t stop grinning.

Meanwhile, Madia sulked.

「Good job, Shizu-chan. If only I could go along with you…」

「It can’t be helped, Madia. You need to make regular appearances at the Magician association afterall.」

One of my childhood friends, Madia, loved those kinds of stories because we were all girls.

Madia was a magician. She was part of the Magician Association, and they ordered her to investigate the case of the runaway demons of the arena.

That was why she was unable to take the escort commission.

Since there was almost no reward in it, she wanted to refuse the Association’s request. Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough power to go against the Association’s wishes.

She kept grumbling nonsense since, even after an entire investigation, they found nothing.

「Yeah, he was really amazing! Both his face and his power! He is the type of man whose seed you want to have if you want to give birth to a child.」

「Wait right there, Big Sis Keyna!! That’s something you do only after you get married!! Remember, you’re Faeria-sama’s follower! 」

I reprimanded Big Sis Keyna. We were the followers of the Goddess of marriage Faeria-sama, the wife of the God Oudith.

According to her teachings, the act of making children was sacred. It wasn’t something that should be said so easily like a passing remark.

Big Sis Keyna was an abandoned child who was picked up by my father. Then, he entrusted her to Faeria Temple where my mother was working at.

Back then my mother and father had yet to marry, so I hadn’t been born yet.

I never knew who Big Sis Kenya’s parents were, but her father seemed to be a Centaur. Maybe that was why she was so broadminded.

I still remember the wrath of the priests whenever she said vulgar things.

Maybe the Centaur blood was the reason she was bigger than a normal human. Big Sis Kenya became a Freedom Fighter because it seemed the most natural path for her.

We all grew up in the same country. But that country was no more.

The survivors of that country were scattered around when the demon raid destroyed half of the rampart. Both my parents and I came to this country as refugees.

Both of Madia’s parents were magicians at that time. Even Big Sis Keyna, who I adored and who had been working at the same temple as my mother, also came to this country.

Thus, we were together again.

「Faeria followers must have it hard. In the case of the Elves, they’ll make a child with any man they’re pleased with.」

Nora, an Elf, said so as if to tease us.

「Nora-san. That might be the case for the Elves, but things aren’t that simple for humans.」

The tomboyish Nora-san was an Elf who had been banished from the forest. She committed a sin, so the other Elves sealed her power to commune with the spirits and sent her away.

She never told us what kind of crime she committed, but I couldn’t see her as a bad person. Her personality was too frank for it.

Not to mention, it was rude to be prying into someone’s past.

Despite being unable to commune with spirits, Nora-san was a bow master with senses that far surpassed that of a human. There was almost no ranger who could compete with her in Teseshia.

She and Leylia-san met in Teseshia and became close. While I and Big Sis Kenya were the warriors, Madia was the magician. Leylia-san was the priest, and Nora-san was the ranger.

There were others in our warrior group, but they were away for various reasons.

「By the way, Shizu-chan. Did you get the usual thing? 」

「Naturally.」

I took five wooden tags from my bosom pocket.

「I’ve properly booked the token of the theater.」

Everyone clapped their hands as they cheered in unison.

Atlan-san’s husband was the most famous merchant in the country, so his name was quite useful. And since he was acquainted with the opera troupe, I was given a discount when I bought the token.

Then, maybe because she was a woman like us, Atlan-san sent us around to do various jobs. I want to keep a long relationship with her.

This token was for the 「Alfaeria」 drama, which would be exhibited 5 days later. It was a story about a princess who set out on a journey. Her goal was to save the prince who was kidnapped by a witch.

The protagonist, Alfaeria, was a knight and a swordmaster on top of being a princess.

Actress Shenna, who played the princess knight, was the topic of our discussion. Her gallant act charmed even those of the same sex.

The drama was rated very highly among the young female audience. That must be why the token sold out immediately. So many people wanted to watch this drama.

We got the opportunity thanks to Atlan-sama.

「Now that we’ve got this token, what shall we do?」

「How about we go to the public bathhouse? I think it would be great for everyone to wash away their sweat together.」

Nora-san was an ardent lover of public bathhouses.

The Elves didn’t have the habit of bathing since they could clean their bodies with water spirits.

According to Nora-san, the only thing in which humans were vastly superior to Elves was bathing.

But I believed Nora-san loved public bathhouses so much for a completely different reason.

Nora-san was a lesbian. Thus, her love for public bathhouses was most likely because she could ogle other women’s bodies to her heart’s content.

And yet we agreed to go to the public bathhouse with her.

Although it was not as big as the one in Ariadya, Teseshia had its own public bathhouse. Perhaps it was built because a dirty body was a major problem for a female Freedom Fighter.

Once you left the rampart even dousing your body with cold water was a high hurdle. Some women didn’t concern themselves with such things, but the majority of them did.

Yesterday, when we arrived in Teseshia, we washed our bodies in our own rooms. I’d rather wash my body with hot water if the option was available.

Just as we were about to leave someone called out to us.

「Wait!! 」

A tall man walked towards us.

I knew him. His name was Godan, and he was the Hero of Earth. He was also the strongest man in Teseshia and the one in charge of maintaining the public order of the Freedom Fighter organization.

But, despite being called a Hero, many people didn’t want to get close to that violent man.

「Uhm… What’s the matter? 」

「You’re Shizufaeria, correct? 」

Godan asked as he looked at me.

「Yes, I am…」

「The Chairman called you. Come with me.」

I had a questioning look on my face.

The one Godan was talking about was Sneferu, the Chairman of the Freedom Fighter Association.

「Uhm… What kind of business could the Chairman have with me? 」

「An important commission. And he requested you.」

Gordon’s tone sounded threatening.

I couldn’t go against the Chairman’s orders. Doing so could end with us being chased from Teseshia and left to wander around on our own. It couldn’t be helped.

「… I guess I have to leave for a while, everyone.」

My comrades were looking at me with worried looks on their faces.

I followed behind Godan.

Why did the Chairman call for me?

Female warriors were few in number. Some of the commissions Freedom Fighters received were incompatible with male warriors. Like escorting a lady, for example.

It could be that kind of request. But then, why didn’t the Chairman dispatch the Hero of Earth, the strongest man in Teseshia? I was at the bottom rank of the organization.

I became even more anxious as to what commission I had been requested to complete.

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

Freedom Fighter City, Teseshia.

It was a satellite city of the Republic Ariadya created to deal with the Evil God that resided in the labyrinth at the center of the Minon Plain. Fiendish demons came out if the labyrinth frequently, thus Freedom Fighters were gathered to subjugate the labyrinth.

The government of the Ariadya Republic deemed it a more feasible method than dispatching their knights and soldiers.

Because of it, almost all men in the city were Freedom Fighters, which was quite unusual. Not to mention, almost all of the residents of Teseshia didn’t have citizenship of the Republic Ariadya, something that didn’t happen to the other satellite cities.

To become a Freedom Fighter in Teseshia, one didn’t need to have citizenship of the Republic Ariadya. They could freely enter, leave or stay in the city.

Normally, one would call such a city as independent, or a city of freedom.

[TL: America?]

Unfortunately, perhaps because of that freedom in transiting, the public order in Teseshia was incredibly bad.

Despite being called ‘Freedom Fighters’, most of the people who lived in the city behaved more like Yakuza.

I believe the main reason Republic Ariadya created Teseshia wasn’t to deal with the labyrinth but to accommodate the refugees of another country from the Ariad Union.

It was the most consistent conclusion I could arrive at after pondering about the available evidence.

The one who governed Teseshia? The Freedom Fighter Association.

The one who maintained the public order in Teseshia? Also the Freedom Fighter Association.

After all, there was no reason to dispatch knights from Ariadya.

Despite being a satellite city, the government of the Republic Ariadya didn’t even maintain the public order. They didn’t even bother hiding how they had no concerns about Teseshia.

To begin with, the Freedom Fighter Association wasn’t created based on mutual aid like the Magician Association. It was probably created by the Ariadya government to keep control over the Freedom Fighters.

They just needed to take out some money from their budget and let the Freedom Fighter Association govern the place. They didn’t pay any attention to the city afterward.