Volume 7 - CH 7.2

The next thing I saw was the figure of a large man who had flanked —- me so close that I could see him, drawing his hand sword.

It was a short time, not even a blink of an eye.

If it was an ordinary human opponent, he would have been killed before he even reacted.

However,—-, the sword was never released.

Nozuro glances sideways for a moment, stops moving, and immediately crosses his arms above his head. Then he caught Mabel’s battle-axe blow as if a huge stone had fallen.

A roar echoed through the forest.

“You ……!”

“……”

Nozuro blocked Mabel’s blow that cut Living Mail in half.

He appeared to be wearing nothing but simple gauntlets, but judging from the hard sound he was making, his arms must have been made of steel. Even so, the fact that he was able to parry Mabel’s blow shows that he is quite capable as a martial artist.

Even Mabel’s expressionless face had a slight hint of turmoil.

“Nozuro! …Nozuro!”

Rurumu shouted, standing up and taking the bow from her back.

Mabel sees this and quickly moves away from Nozuro.

Rurumu picks up an arrow. The arrowheads and the nock of the arrow show the flow of power.

Mabel, on the other hand, quickly reaches for the throwing sword on her thigh.

And just as the two are about to be released, —-

“Calm down.”

A huge white bone palm descends and interrupts the space between them.

Rurumu and Mabel stop moving, their eyes wide open.

The white-boned hand grew out of the distortion of space created by my hitogata.

Behind it, the faint light of a human soul and the eye socket of a giant skull are visible.

I look away from the two shinigami and tell Mabel

“Mabel, I’ll be fine.”

“But, but…”

“Don’t worry, just put down the axe.”

Mabel still had a tense look on her face, but she eventually put down her battle-axe.

I smiled and said.

“Even so, you react quickly. You won’t expect that from a heavy warrior who uses a war axe”

“… Then, let’s say  that I’m an assassin.”

“Don’t get hung up on that.”

I laugh.

At that time, Amiyu said in confusion.

“What do you mean by ……?　Is it true that they’re demons?”

“Yes.”

I nod and explain while looking at the two demons.

“It’s safe to say that their reaction just now is evidence. Of course, it’s natural that though they have comrades who are being held as slaves. It’s hard because they can’t let their  identity be exposed.”

Although they have human-like appearances, divine demons are one of the races that are particularly hostile to humans.

I don’t think anything will go well if their identity is exposed.

Rurumu and Nozuro just stood there.

I snort and continue.

“I’m shocked to hear the reasoning. Humans and demons are hostile, but there is unofficial trade through merchants. However, even so, there are no humans who can enter the demon territory and kidnap the demons. In other words, the kidnapping that these two people are talking about is unmistakably from the same demon side.”

“Is that so…?”

Even though Amiyu glanced at the two, Rurumu and Nozuro remained silent with grim expressions.

I add.

“Well, I don’t know about human merchants who do business with that kind of thing. But at least, it’s not a problem that only this side is responsible for.”

Then, I look at the two of them and tell them.

“Don’t force the work of demons on humans. If it were true, I would have tied them up and handed them over to the knights of the patrol… but I try to help my acquaintances as much as possible. But at this time, I won’t even ask you why you came to the Empire in the first place..”

If I want to take all precautions, I should probably take care of them.

If they are of the demon tribe counterintelligence, there is a high possibility that she is searching for information on the heroes. Even though they have not shown any real ability, if we let the demons who have seen Amiyu live, it may cause trouble later on.

However, it would not be right to take a hold of the person who i had saved from a crisis after all this time.

So this was the maximum concession I could make.

Silence filled the room.

It was Nozuro who broke it.

“Let’s go, Rurumu.”

He picked up his luggage and glared at me reproachfully.

“It was a mistake to try to rely on humans.” 

“Yes, it was,”

I replied sarcastically.

“I should not have helped you, either, as a member of human society. We were out of line from the start.”

“…..Hmm”

“Wait, ……!”

Nozuro turned on his heel, but Rurumu held him back.

Then she turns to me.

“ I’m sorry we attacked you earlier, and I …… would like you to listen to me a little longer.”

“You’re persistent. You’re not going to stop, are you?”

”I’m looking for someone!”

Rurumu said loudly, interrupting me.

“I’m looking for a divine-demon and …… her child.”

”Rurumu!”

“Shut up, Nozuro!　She was …… one of my closest friends. But sixteen years ago, she disappeared along with her newborn child. All we know is that she went to the land of humans. We are on a journey to find her.”

“……”

“The other day I happened to overhear a slaver in Keltz say that he had purchased many slaves of the divine demon clan. Maybe one of them is the one we are looking for. If she is  there, I would like to …… rescue her. And if he is  still with her, her child  as well.”

There was desperation in Rurumu’s voice.

”Now that there is no war, demon slaves can be sold at a higher price. Instead of this outlying city, the companions will be transported to the imperial capital and sold there. As long as they are not on the market, our companions are locked up out of sight, and we don’t even know who is being held captive. If we follow them to the imperial capital, they may be sold before we can be sure. If that happens, we will no longer be able to …… follow their whereabouts.”

“……”

“Please. We can give up on our other brothers and sisters at worst. At the very least, we want to make sure that the person we are looking for is there. If there are one or two, we can buy them back, …… please. Help us.”

Rurumu says, her voice strained.

“You understand, don’t you?　Even you. …….”

Rurumu finally says something, but the end of her words are inaudible.

Silence filled the room again.

In the midst of this silence, I was alone in my thoughts.

I don’t know if what she said is true or not. However, the way she spoke seemed to be very serious.

If it were true, …… these two people would have come to the Empire simply to search for someone. If they are not counterintelligence, they may not be in much danger.

But we cannot be sure.

There is a good chance that all of this is false.

Is there any reason for me to cooperate with these two?

“Hey, Seika-kun,…. can’t you help them?”

At that moment, it was Ifa who broke the silence with a small voice.

The blonde girl continued reservedly.

“If you just check to see if that person is there, it won’t cause trouble for anyone, right…? If you promise not to do anything violent…Is that okay?”

Everyone’s attention was focused on Ifa, who seemed a little lost, but she still spoke out her thoughts clearly.

I suddenly remember.

Now that I think about it, this kid… at first… she knew that they might be demons, but she tried to help them.

After pondering for a while… I turn around to face the two demons.

“Fine. I’ll make contact with that slave trader.”

Rurumu and Nozuro opened their eyes wide in surprise.

They let out a small sigh.

It can’t be helped if we have a reason to cooperate.

At Lakana, i listened to Amiyu’s selfishness and calmed down the stampede.

It would be unfair if I didn’t listen to Ifa’s request here.

I added to the two demons who were at a loss for words.

“But you must be quiet. And when you’re done, you’d better thank her at least once.”