After the demon incident, I spoke to Iscar about the group known as the “Black Mourning Brigade.”
I mentioned that they might be involved in this situation as well. I also speculated that the “merchant” spreading the dragon’s poison might be one of them. Additionally, I warned him that the Seven Supreme Human Forces might be targeted.
In response, Iscar said, “Leave it to me. I will send letters far and wide to raise awareness about this ‘Black Mourning Brigade.'”
“That helps. It’s hard to get in contact with the Seven Supreme, so it’s better if you spread the word.”
“Hmm. But, Sarah, judging by the way you’re talking, it seems like you’ve known about this organization for a while. Why didn’t you consult me earlier?”
Whoa, Iscar’s not acting like himself…! In the past, he would’ve been furious, shouting, “Don’t bring me such troublesome matters!”
“Have you grown a bit more tolerant?”
“I was always tolerant!”
“No, you weren’t.”
“What did you say, Osugaaaaah!?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of Iscar getting angry. Yeah, this is more like him.
“Jokes aside, I wanted to resolve this on my own, if possible.”
“Why?”
“Because that organization, the ‘Black Mourning Brigade,’ is said to be made up of monsters disguised as humans.”
When I said that, Iscar made a disgusted face but nodded in understanding. “I see. You wanted to avoid throwing people into a state of paranoia.”
“Exactly.”
Iscal is sharp. He gets it.
We don’t want a society where neighbors start suspecting each other of being monsters. That’s not something we need.
“But the situation has reached a point where they’ve been turning humans into demons. It’s no longer something I can handle on my own.”
“I understand completely. I’ll keep the fact that they’re a group of monsters disguised as humans under wraps for now. Just spreading their name will make it harder for them to move.”
“I’m counting on you.”
When it comes to work, Iscar is reliable. I feel a bit relieved.
“Well, I guess I’ll take a nap. I can use your fluffy bed for a while.”
“How carefree of you. Meanwhile, I have to verify the demon damage and redo meetings with the merchants.”
A meeting? Oh, right.
“You were talking about distributing the rights to the newly discovered ‘Great Lakeshore,’ weren’t you?”
“Yes, but Albert messed everything up. Today is truly an unlucky day.”
That’s true. But…
“Things will go more smoothly from now on, Iscar. After all, you’re the ‘Demon Slayer.’ No matter what decisions you make, the merchants will be trembling in fear.”
“Heh, you’re right about that!”
The merchants were definitely terrified of Iscar after everything was settled. They had initially been emboldened by the senior merchant Albert, but that’s no longer the case. They now think Iscar has the strength to kill demons. And after he massacred Albert’s close aides, they fully understood the terror of ‘Noble Iscar.’
“Alright, I’ll leave the Great Lakeshore matter to you. Make sure the adventurers can start moving quickly. Otherwise, it’ll be a problem.”
“Hmm? Sarah, what’s your connection to the adventurers?”
“That’s a secret.”
That my real job is as a third-class adventurer, that is.
◆ ◇ ◆
A few days later, after Iscar had completely dominated the meetings and quickly resolved the rights issues…
“YEEEAAAAHHHHHH! Everyone, charge!”
“Alright!”
I casually responded to the guys shouting.
We adventurers had begun the full-scale development of the area around the Great Lakeshore (of course, I participated in the form of Jade).
By the way…
“WOOOOOOOAHHHHH!”
“Hey, you guys are staring at the female adventurers!”
This time, we were wearing swimsuits.
Yes, because the area around the Great Lakeshore is a marshland, heavy armor sinks into the mud, metal rusts in the water, and even cloth armor absorbs moisture, making it difficult to move.
So, the consensus was, “Let’s just wear swimsuits.” However…
“Y-Your Majesty! Everyone’s staring, and it’s terrifying!”
“Well, that’s Baziko for you.”
“WOOAAAHHH, LOOK AT THOSE DRAGON-SIZED BOOBS!”
The male adventurers had completely lost their focus.
Baziko, in particular, was wreaking havoc. With her tearful, puppy-like eyes, her beautiful face, and her outrageous L-cup chest, combined with a scar reminiscent of a C-section scar from her time as an evil dragon (courtesy of me), her body was beyond seductive.
And she was flaunting it in a black bikini, turning the place into absolute chaos. The guys were paying more attention to her than the monsters, getting smacked by the ‘Jumbo Frogs’ around the lakeshore or swallowed whole. Rest in peace.
“Ugh! You guys are so sloppy!”
“Yeah, seriously. Men are idiots, except for a few.”
The ones shaking their heads in disbelief were the genius silver-haired sisters, Niesha and Kuesha.
Their fair skin looked adorable in their pink and light blue swimsuits. I’m glad to see them looking healthy now, considering how skinny they were when I first found them… sniff.
“Heh, Niesha and Kuesha are so cute too. And they’re starting to grow… Hey, is Jade crying?”
“He looks more like a dad at a wedding than someone checking out girls in swimsuits.”
“Yeah, definitely a wedding dad.”
Shut up, you dumb adventurers! And stop looking at Niesha and Kuesha like that! As for Baziko… well, her existence is already vulgar, so I give up.
“Hey, you two, make sure you keep an eye on the monsters. They told you that too, didn’t they?”
“Mmm~! Big brother, you should be looking over here!”
“Why?”
…Ah, I guess to these two geniuses, I’m just a third-rate adventurer stuck at level three. They must mean I should be watching and learning from the movements of more skilled adventurers.
“And for now, big brother, you shouldn’t get too close to the female adventurers, okay?”
“Got it (Do they really think I’d look at them inappropriately?)”
“Promise me, okay!?”
Niesha says this with such intensity that her eyes are practically bloodshot. Well, it would be tough if their former guardian were to do something inappropriate.
Then, Kuesha adds with a predatory gleam in her eyes.
“Honestly, big brother, what are you hiding under that slender frame? As soon as you take off a layer, what is that body?”
“Huh? Sorry… (Wait, do I have a flabby body?)”
“Ugh, I can’t bear to look!”
These two are as prickly as ever, but that’s what makes them cute, too.
“Still, I’m glad to see you two are doing better.”
There was a time when they collapsed twice in a row. I heard they had a crush on someone, but apparently, they had a nightmare where that person was stolen by someone like Baziko, an alluring beauty.
Because of that, every time they saw Baziko, it triggered that nightmare, and they almost died of rage.
“You’ve overcome that trauma, huh? You seem fine even with Baziko around.”
“Baziko? Who’s that?”
Wait, what?
“The only one in front of us is big brother, right?”
“What… Oh.”
They’re dead serious. Their eyes, void of any light, are actually serious…!
“No way… You mean you’ve erased the existence of Baziko from your brain just to protect your hearts…!?”
What an innocent and pure display of love…!
Do they love this crush of theirs that much? Would losing them hurt that much?
“Niesha, Kuesha…! (Damn it, who on earth is this person they’re in love with!?)”
Whoever is loved by these two so deeply must be quite something! I won’t allow them to date anyone who’s not at least as strong as a dragon!
“Who… who is it that you…?”
I was about to ask who they were in love with when the twins suddenly averted their eyes, saying, “Oops, that’s not good…!”
Huh? What?
“There’s a rule in our party, ‘Fairy Mischief.’”
“Today, big brother can only be approached for three minutes per person.”
“Any longer, and it could get dangerous…!♡”
With that, the two waved and left, saying, “See you later~!”
“Huh? What does that even mean…?”
Could it be… Is it because I seem so weak that they’re all taking turns to watch over me while they’re busy? That’s depressing.
“Have I been acting that incompetent…?”
Just as I was wondering if I should change my attitude, someone quietly called out to me, “Mr. Jade.”
Wait—
“There’s only one person who calls me that, Mistica at reception, and…”
“Long time no see. I’m Helmantina, from ‘Fairy Mischief.’”
A girl who’s almost a beauty, adjusting her glasses, lightly bows.
“It’s been a while, Helmantina.”
I raise my hand slightly to greet the intellectual, cool glasses girl.
She’s another one I took care of in the past, along with her sister.
“How’s your sister doing…? Oh, never mind, I just saw her recently.”
“Yes, Mistica’s as unfriendly as ever, working hard.”
That’s right, she’s Mistica’s little sister. Although she calls her sister unfriendly, she’s pretty expressionless herself…
“You’re not in a swimsuit, Helmantina?”
“No, today I’m in charge of clearing monsters at the outer edge of the Great Lakeshore.”
She thrusts the large axe she’s holding into the swamp. Despite looking like an intellectual with glasses, she’s actually a power fighter.
“And…”
As she adjusts her glasses, she glances at me.
“There are too many people today. I don’t want to expose my skin to anyone other than the one I care about.”
Ho…hoho~!
So, she’s got someone special too. Someone managed to win over this cool beauty!
“Though I’ve been in a bit of a dilemma. If I act all uptight like my sister, I can’t make any kind of sexual appeal to the one I care about. I don’t want to end up a perpetual virgin like her.”
“Mistica is… well, never mind.”
Not a conversation to have with her sister. Also, seems like she’s still got a rivalry with her. When did that start? Ten years ago when I met them, she used to cling to Mistica, but she was only seven back then, so…
“Honestly, my sister is hopeless. The only reason she’s even working at reception is thanks to Mr. Jade sending her to technical training. She should be treating you with special consideration for that, but instead, she’s giving you the same cold treatment as every other adventurer. No wonder she’s been stuck like this for ten years, not using her advantage as someone of the same generation.”
Helmantina complains as she adjusts her glasses. For someone who badmouths her sister, she sure talks about her a lot.
I bet if she hears Mistica’s slept with someone, her brain would explode… Just as I was thinking that, she suddenly says, “Ah, my time’s up.”
“Excuse me for today. Mr. Jade, please take care while clearing the area around the lake.”
“Yeah, I’ll take it slow and steady like a third-rate adventurer.”
By the way, she’s also a second-tier adventurer, just like the twin princesses. The growth of young people is amazing.
“Be careful not to get hurt, okay?”
“Thank you for your concern. Though I’ll be pushing myself a bit. My dream is to support a certain man and let him live a life of luxury.”
Wait, she wants to make him her sugar baby!? She’s way too in love with this guy!
“Well then, Mr. Jade. Please be careful and don’t wander off on your own.”
Huh? Alone? But right next to me is Baziko, muttering something incomprehensible like “As expected of His Majesty… His stock of females is infinite…!”
Wait, could it be she also had a dream of her crush being stolen by a Baziko lookalike? Everyone’s doing their best to protect their sanity…
“I’m glad we got to talk. See you.”
And with that, Helmantina walks off.
…I think she’s seventeen this year. In a year, I’ll have to tell her, “Your sister, when she decides to, gets things done.”
