Chapter 558 - Episode 4: Regnentes Mine Exploration ⑥
「It is highly likely that a High-level Demon was involved, then.」
「Probably. Though I do not know if they are still involved now.」
The Prince answered Price-sama's question while looking at the Wolf Man. The Wolf Man, who had been acting reserved, began his explanation after the Prince gave him a chin flick.
「They shouldn't be able to get out without Teleport. Dwarves use Teleport freely too, but they wouldn't do something so clumsy. I can only think a Demon did it.」
The "clumsy" thing the Wolf Man referred to was the forged altar. If a Dwarf were to make it, they would have properly replicated the mechanism to move it as well.
「Jeanne. You have seen the altar in other places. What did you think?」
Price-sama asked me, but...
Um, because of the Vow of Silence, I cannot speak about the details...
In my stead, Harold-sama explained two points: that the altar was simply placed there without being fixed and rolled easily(?), and that there was no mechanism at all to move it.
「It was wise not to go inside. There was a possibility that a trap had been set.」
That was Price-sama. Harold-sama nodded slightly, while in contrast, the Prince tilted his chin up.
A trap inside... If it were a Demon's trap, I wonder if we could have countered it...
At that time, the Prince made the immediate decision to go outside without entering. He had noticed the possibility of a trap. Most likely, Harold-sama and Godwynn-sama had as well.
「Also, there is one more thing that bothers me. The altar was resting on the stone floor and its entrance, but there were two very slight scratches on the altar.」
This time it was Harold-sama.
The scratches were positioned to align with the seams of the stone floor. One on the long side, and one on the short side on what could be called the diagonal. If it had been moved even slightly, one would know instantly by checking the scratches.
「In other words, there is a watcher not only for the internal traps but also on the outside.」
「There is no doubt. And I believe the scratches were made relatively recently. Judging by the state of the scratches, it was a silver knife or a blade with equivalent sharpness... like a sword held by a Demon, for instance.」
It's confirmed. The Demon Race is involved.
Now, what to do?
Basically, it's the Church's—meaning Price-sama's—decision. In past battles with the Demon Race, there were always warriors. However, currently, among the famous human warriors, none seem able to leave their territories except for Gwyn-sama. Furthermore, Regnentes is refusing intervention from other nations, especially royalty. The exception is Sianya, a Church Priestess.
「If the opponent is a High-level Demon, we will need skilled warriors. Please request cooperation from everyone in the Beastman Village.」
Price-sama's decision was to proceed as planned.
However, a problem arose. The Beastman side showed reluctance. Since fighting the Demon Race wasn't in the original contract, they demanded additional rewards. As Beastmen, they likely desire neutrality. If they oppose the Demon Race here, there's a fear that the Village will be attacked if the Demon Lord's army is revived. Demons... monsters, hit back if they are hit.
The Prince requested a three-way meeting with the Elder and Price-sama, and then Price-sama, Harold-sama, and Godwynn-sama took two scouts and went to the Beastman Village. All the other Beastmen also returned home.
It was the next day when Price-sama and the others returned. However, the Prince and Harold-sama were not with them. Apparently, they went to the Royal Capital.
What on earth happened? The conclusion was that the Beastmen would cooperate with the humans.
「Looking forward to working with you~!」
The Wildcat Sister came jumping at me.
「Did you receive something?」
「Eh—, you're asking that?」
She was smirking. She definitely received something.
「You see. If there are Demons this time and we fight alongside Jeanne and the others, it'll affect things in the future too, right?」
If the Demon Lord is revived, the Village might be raided by the Demon Lord's army.
「We might sign a military pact with the Regnentes Royal Family, and they might give us various kinds of aid.」
「Aid?」
「Look, you received one of these, right?」
Saying that, she showed me a Magic Defense Ring.
「If everyone in the Village can wear these, and we receive enough weapons and Holy magic scrolls, we can fight the Demon Race.」
It's true that being able to use [Magic Reflection] is a big deal. Since the Beastmen themselves are strong enough to begin with, as long as they aren't completely overwhelmed by numbers, they won't lose so easily.
「And you know, in preparation for when the Demon Lord's army attacks, Church priests will come to support us.」
That's amazing. I reflexively looked at Price-sama.
「Thanks to Jeanne's various efforts, our cooperation with the Beastman Village is strengthening. As the Church, we felt we had to take some measures. For the time being, we intend to dispatch priests for a fixed term to their Village to arrange for ceremonies related to coming-of-age, weddings, and funerals. Of course, I have already spoken to the King of Regnentes and the Great Church in the Royal Capital.」
It seems he heard from Harris-san that despite the Beastmen of Regnentes believing in the Goddess, they were unable to even perform funeral prayers. Price-sama moved quickly, spoke with the Grand Archbishop to finalize a plan, and had already done the groundwork with the Regnentes side via letter. His coming here personally was also to discuss those matters with the Beastman side.
「In the event that the Demon Lord's army attacks, the priests dispatched by the Church have a duty to protect the people at the local church. This is because churches are protected by barriers that prevent the intrusion of monsters. Of course, we will not build a church protected by a barrier inside the Beastman Village. Instead, we have promised to send in a monster extermination squad.」
By "send in," does he mean connecting them via Teleport?
「No, they will be stationed there. Normally, they will hunt magic beasts and farm alongside the Beastmen, and in times of need, they will fight together. It will be on a term basis, but since they are people who normally perform monster extermination, I believe they will be a sufficient military force.」
It seems the selection of people has already been completed, and their informal consent has been obtained. Everyone reportedly accepted gladly.
「The catalyst was you, Jeanne.」
「Eh?」
「Those who actively engage in monster extermination are romantics, you see. While exterminating monsters, they truly wish to achieve co-existence and co-prosperity with various races, including monsters. Therefore, when an existence like you, who is achieving their ideals in various places, actually exists, everyone becomes earnest, saying 'me too, me too.'」
Even if you say that...
「Heh, Jeanne is amazing, isn't she? She's the ideal person.」
The Wildcat Sister clung to me, but to be honest, I'm just doing things as they come to mind, so being told I'm a catalyst or an ideal doesn't really feel real.
The reason the Prince returned to the Royal Capital was to get the King of Regnentes' permission to sign the military pact with the Beastman Village. Though, they are already hunting together to the point of paying hunting and fishing taxes. Mining has also successfully begun at the Silver Mine, and the Beastmen are in charge of security and concealment in exchange for management fees. Even though it's within the Prince's managed territory, the King must know. Besides, Price-sama has already done the groundwork with the noisy elders. Permission will surely be granted easily.
Just as I thought that, the King himself actually arrived. This seemed to surprise even the Elder, who almost went down on all fours for a moment.
「Elder, it has been a long time. Are you well?」
「I never thought that you would come.」
It seems they are acquaintances.
「Price-sama, I cannot express enough my gratitude for your various efforts and for acting as a bridge to form the pact with the Beastman Village.」
He knelt and pressed the Archbishop's ring offered by Price-sama to his forehead. This part is different from the Prince.
「King of Regnentes, then what of the pact with the Beastman Village that our Church proposed?」
「Yes. I intend to accept it entirely.」
Hearing the King's words, the Wildcat Sister put her arm around my shoulder. She had a full smile.
「That's great.」
「Yeah. Thank you!」
The Sister stroked the Magic Defense Ring she was wearing on her hand.
Once the round of greetings was over, everyone entered the fortress for a strategy meeting. The conclusion was, of course, a re-exploration. The King would not participate but would take command at the fortress. If support from the scout unit was needed, they would do their best.
A Boar Man joined as a warrior. Like the Bear Man, he had a Magic Defense Ring and a silver spear. And there was also an Otter man and woman. They would be the crab extermination personnel. As a result of this negotiation, it seems the Otters can now catch crabs freely. In other words, it's a buffer zone where both sides can come and go freely. So humans can also catch them if they want. However, the condition is apparently to run a crab farm jointly with the Royal Family. To make it a regular income, they have to figure out how many are needed, but once the farm is on track, the management will be by the Otters, and the processing, transport, and sales will be by the humans, with the profits split fifty-fifty. They looked happy receiving Magic Defense Rings and silver harpoons, as well as silver one-handed swords and matching silver knives.
The rest were the same: the Wolf Man, Fox Man, Horse Man, Deer Man, and the Wildcat Sister.
On the human side, it was Price-sama, the Prince, Harold-sama, Godwynn-sama, Harris-san, Harrison-san, Sianya, and me. The humans completed the Vow of Silence. Seen off by the King and the Elder, we finally set out.
The destination we jumped to with the Simple Teleportation Magic Circle was under a rock in a bit of brush, a short distance from the open-pit mine site where the cave entrance was. The Prince and Harold-sama had set it up. I was told to crouch, and was transported while still crouching. When I tried to stand up because we had arrived, I bumped my head on the ceiling rock.
「Hurry up. There's a backup behind you.」
The Prince was acting bossy.
The exit was so narrow we had to crawl. If he was in such a hurry, he should have dug a little deeper and made some stairs.
After finally crawling out, Godwynn-sama, who was in the first group, took my hand and pulled me up.
When I checked the direction we were heading by the position of the sun, I could see the cliff of the open-pit mine site through the leaves.
There were many people, and some were large. In the end, it took until the sixth group for everyone to finally gather.
We split into three bowls and went as far as the waterfall once.
「It's behind this waterfall.」
It was the Otter boy. He didn't look particularly surprised, so it must be fine.
He explained this and that about the structure behind the waterfall basin.
「They weren't in the waterway, but there are many in the wide hole behind the waterfall. They're about the size of extra-large house centipedes. There was one really big one, but Harold-sama and Godwynn-sama cut off its claws, so we all ate it.」
「Was it delicious?」
「It was, truly. It was incredibly tasty.」
The Otter swallowed his saliva with a gulp.
「I-If it was just the claws, that means the other legs and the body are still there, right?」
It was the Otter girl.
「Yes. I think it's still alive.」
A crab monster, huh... the two of them were smirking. Drool was about to leak from their mouths. They must really like crabs. It seems they had never seen or eaten one that had turned into a monster. Usually, those that have turned into monsters taste better.
「Th-Then, we shall perform the crab extermination here...」
They immediately checked their weapons and slung coiled ropes over their shoulders, their eyes gleaming. They usually have a relaxed, absent-minded feel, but in this regard, they are Beastmen. I suppose their combat power is high after all.
「Don't catch them all. Just like with fish, we're going to farm them.」
「We know. Today, it's just that big one Jeanne mentioned. If we can catch it well, tonight will be a feast.」
Answering the Wolf Man, the Otter man and woman ran toward the waterfall basin and vanished into the water with a splash. If things go well, tonight will be a banquet with crab.
The Bear Man and Boar Man were too big and kept getting stuck, requiring some civil engineering work, but we reached the altar safely. In the meantime, the Otters, who had caught the crab easily, caught up.
「This is the fake altar, then.」
Price-sama began to examine it.
「I see. It is indeed a fake.」
「Eh?」
He could tell just from the surface?
「These patterns are all inaccurate.」
Inaccurate? I hadn't really thought about what was accurate until now.
To be honest, I didn't really understand Price-sama's explanation, but apparently, it wasn't right. According to Price-sama, the age and atmosphere of the patterns were different from the one he saw at the mountain.
「I don't remember the placement of all the patterns, so I can't say for sure on that front.」
If you remembered all of those, that would be weirder. I don't even remember the patterns to move it very well. Just the general positions.
「In any case, it is quite elaborate and sophisticated. Most likely, the person who made this fake must have taken the real one somewhere. And they must have made this fake using that as a model.」
「Humph. Then shall we investigate?」
The Prince reacted to Price-sama's words.
「Godwynn. Have your direct subordinates investigate. It's domestic. Four or five of the most skilled craftsmen in our country will suffice. For the time being, find out who made the request. If they demand money, pay them whatever they ask. I will pay you back later.」
「Understood.」
Godwynn-sama ran off in an instant.
「Archbishop Price. Is it necessary to contact the Church?」
「Yes. If the Demon Race, the Ruined Town, or Demon Lord worshippers appear, please inform me about them. The Church needs to take action.」
「Are the others fine?」
「Yes. I believe those are matters that should be decided at the discretion of His Majesty the King of Regnentes and Sawelyn-sama.」
「Understood.」
Once the exchange was over, the Prince ordered the altar to be moved.