This is a town known for its famous heroes. I am a hero who stands against a demon claiming to be the Demon King. The White Deneb—that’s me! Well, there’s a hero here. I’m not sure if the first-person narrative should be “me,” but let’s go with it.
By the way, the Demon King is called the Black Sirius. They’re supposedly the two most famous figures, but of course, I have no idea who they are.
I feel like avoiding the hero’s town for some reason, so I planned to leave the town first thing in the morning, but I got delayed in the room with the magic circle. I had a hard time getting permission to leave the town.
“I’m not suspicious! I’m just a regular Demon King!”
“It seems really busy here.”
“There was a recent battle between Hero Asahi and Demon King Yuuhi, so everyone’s been scrambling around. This time, Hero Asahi had the upper hand, but the aftermath has been taking up everyone’s time.”
That’s what I was told.
Apparently, battles often happen somewhere between the demon’s domain and the town. They’re originally twin brothers who never back down from each other, leading to frequent clashes. While other heroes and demon kings tend to have periods of building their strength, with smaller skirmishes between their minions, these two often have direct duels, or so I’ve heard.
Both of them apparently awakened 200 years ago and have been fighting for the past 200 years. I don’t know their species, but they seem to be the long-lived type.
Of course, there are skirmishes between their minions, but the demons here tend to act alone, and their monsters don’t seem to be well-coordinated. In a way, it’s peaceful? I’m not really sure.
The previous town and the one with the item shop had a mixture of Japanese and Western architecture, reminiscent of Ginza or Kobe from the early Showa period, but this place is entirely Western in style. Tall walls surround it—what you’d call a fortress city?
In the end, I decide to stay here for the night. I had planned to temporarily use a collar to turn a random monster into a mount, but the magic tool—the collar for taming monsters—will probably only last two days at best, so I want to explore as much as I can before nightfall. I do want to sleep well tonight.
After securing an inn, I stroll around the town.
Since it’s a fortress city with high walls, it doesn’t seem that spacious. But it’s not so small that you can walk from one end to the other quickly either. It’s big enough that I wish I had a streetcar or a car.
For now, I’m using a horse to get around. I thought it might be something the hero here was into, but it seems like they’ve banned the use of magic tools that disrupt or weaken the barriers protecting the town from monsters.
Is the atmosphere a little tense? Most of the people living here seem to be those who admire the hero and their families. And since the magical energy here is dense, the residents seem to be the kind who are keen on training themselves.
Aren’t they a bit too energetic? Or is it just me?
This town was built by a hero and several enchanters, and it strongly reflects the hero’s ideas. Because Deneb is associated with the constellation Cygnus, swan emblems are everywhere, and the town layout feels a bit too meticulous for my liking. It doesn’t seem like a place where I could laze around.
Though there’s some distance from the demons’ base, making it hard to feel the threat, this is one of the frontlines between humans and demons. One reason for this lack of tension might be that injuries can be healed with healing potions.
Of course, if there had been greater damage, the whole town would probably be in a somber mood, but for now, there’s no heavy atmosphere. They said the hero had the upper hand this time, after all.
There’s a square in front of the gate with a fountain, and while there are no spires, there’s a castle. The streets are clean, but the square is a little dirty. It seems like the people who were on standby to fight here last night haven’t cleaned up yet.
I hear that the square is usually bustling with street stalls. Damn…
Might as well check out the Adventurers’ Guild. I don’t have anything else to do, so I’ll take a look to see what it’s like.
Most towns have an organization called the Adventurers’ Guild, where those with the “Stigma” gather. It’s essentially a jack-of-all-trades for those involved in combat. In the town with the item shop, requests usually come from residents, and the main jobs involve gathering materials or exterminating monsters near farms.
Occasionally, there are requests for enchanters, but producing goods isn’t that common. People usually place orders with companies or stores. Only when it comes to highly specialized, one-of-a-kind items is it different.
Originally, the government was involved in the Adventurers’ Guild, but it’s now independent. Local authorities have gained more power than the central government because the magic energy varies too much across regions, making it difficult to implement uniform policies.
“If you’re strong enough, you could work alongside Hero Asahi near the White Deneb! Recruiting personnel for castle work!”
It seems that this Adventurers’ Guild is influenced by the hero, or rather, the town’s leader. I wouldn’t be surprised if they plaster the place with posters of Hero Asahi soon.
Most of the requests come from the castle. Since there are many battles with monsters, people earn by joining the fights or coming to buy materials, so the place seems busy.
Let’s take a look at the materials myself.
… I thought the Adventurers’ Guild dealt with materials, but apparently not.
Since they’re fighting demons and monsters, I expected better materials than the ones in the town with the item shop, but most of the materials seem to be brought to the castle first and bought up there.
“They secure the items needed for battles against the Demon King and monsters. What remains gets sold. The materials rich in magic energy are processed and made ready for use at the castle,” the guild receptionist explains.
“I’m an enchanter, so I’d like to use the materials myself.”
“In that case, you’ll need to submit a request when the materials arrive. I believe they’re working on that right now. However, as a non-resident, it may be difficult to obtain the stronger materials.”
I’m allowed to take a look, though, so I head toward the eastern gate of the castle, as instructed.
There’s a wide road leading to the castle gates, with defeated monsters lined up on either side. The number isn’t too high. I don’t know if these are all the monsters they’ve slain or if the important materials have already been brought to the castle.
The monsters seem decently strong, but where’s the high magic content material? — Nowhere to be found. It must have already been sent to the castle.
Processing an entire monster is impossible for a traveler like me who’s leaving tomorrow. Using space magic in the town would also cause various issues—like people absorbing magic energy or getting curious because it’s a rare form of magic. Especially if I attracted the attention of the “heroes,” that would be the worst, so I’ll refrain.
I thought I could carry some high-magic-content parts with me, but it seems not. Feeling a bit disappointed, I just browse around and then head back to the inn.
