Chapter 621 - Tenth Story: The Demon Realm in Northern Medioland ⑤
On the fifth day, the backup group was on standby, or rather, we were reworking the plan. This was because we had achieved the goal of subjugating the Queens of each sector as a countermeasure against the ants on the third floor. Unfortunately, we still haven't been able to lure out the Demon Race, but the heroes are continuing with that. Since we know there are eight ant hills in total, they plan to crush as many as they can during the remaining three days. At this point, the backup group has conquered four holes... meaning a total of five for now, and the heroes have crumbled two ant hills and defeated the Queens. There's only one left, but since there are three days left, they should be able to manage somehow.
Maybe the Queens have escaped by digging side holes, but originally the purpose over there was to lure out the Demon Race. It might end up being a wasted effort, but that was also fully anticipated.
Now, for the remaining three days. We decided to discuss what the backup group would do.
After eating breakfast, we saw off the heroes and gathered in the meeting room.
The participants in the meeting were the fortress defense commander and three executive soldiers, Henry-sama who is the leader of the Henry Party, the regular and non-regular members of the party Harold-sama, Price-sama who is in the somewhat unclear position of unofficial non-regular member of the Henry Party as the Vice-Churchwarden of the Medioland Capital Great Church—seven people in total—plus Beatrix, Mary, and me, making fourteen. The priests from the monster extermination squad were asked to join the heroes' backup.
A map of the entire White Island and a map of the Demon Realm were spread out on the table. Looking at the overall map of the island, the Demon Realm we are currently involved with is truly vast.
"Do you have any leads?"
Beatrix was asking.
"I have one, for now."
There was no change in the expression of the Medioland scout who heard the words from Eleanor-sama. In other words, it's within expectations.
"Terrain similar to the ant hill group we were involved in conquering this time actually exists in five locations throughout this Demon Realm."
Five locations... I couldn't help but exchange glances with Beatrix. What Beatrix said half-jokingly was true.
Looking at the currently active ant hill group on the map, it's roughly the southwestern part of the entire Demon Realm, with its apex pointing towards the western sea. Eleanor-sama pointed out the remaining four locations with her finger: here, there, this, and that.
"Is it five locations because it's a pentagon?"
"Yes. It seems the number five is important to the creatures of this island."
If there are eight ant hills in one location, there would be forty hills in total. Since we're short on Magic Stones, it'll be a game of cat and mouse.
"Where are the remaining four hills of the ant hill group we're currently conquering connected to?"
I'll ask just in case. Maybe it's the Demon Realm that King Seldic is conquering. I was involved in that place too, and I definitely want it conquered.
"It seems the two that James-dono and the others crumbled so far weren't connected to anywhere. I heard all the side holes were blocked. Maybe they're backups for the holes we conquered."
Backups, huh. I don't know who does the connecting, but since it's not a door connection, it's at least an Earth Dragon or higher. It might be the Demon Lord.
"Um, are the other four locations also connected to the cave where the Demon Lord will be resurrected?"
"I haven't confirmed it, but I believe so."
If that's the case, there would be five locations where the Demon Lord could be resurrected.
"How many caves are there where the Demon Lord is resurrected?"
"Within the range of recorded history, there are five."
I thought so. They correspond one-to-one.
Wait? Hold on a second.
"Um, excuse me, may I?"
"Did you think of something? Jeanne."
"It's not that I thought of something, but if we assume that one ant hill group is connected to one Demon Lord's cave. In that case, wouldn't the place the Demon Race wants to protect most be the place where the Demon Lord will be resurrected next? If the place where the Demon Lord will be resurrected next isn't Sertoria, it's fine to postpone protecting the place we're currently working on, right?"
Everyone seemed to stop for a moment. Did I get it wrong?
"Hmm. Interesting. Sertoria is the only one doing a complete conquest of the Demon Lord's cave. Regardless of where the next resurrection will be, if we consider the possibility that they'll withdraw once we've conquered this place, there's certainly no reason they must fight to the death here. The ants will probably repair the holes on their own anyway."
It was Harold-sama. It's a subtle feeling, but well, he agreed with me. I think?
"Eleanor, which countries currently hold the forests where the Demon Lord's caves are located?"
It was Henry-sama. He was asking with a serious face. He doesn't usually ask this kind of question.
"If I list them from the north, the northernmost is near the border of Finis and Northern Gram. Next is here, Medioland. The third is Medioland, the fourth is our country, and the fifth is Engrio."
As expected. It comes out smoothly.
"Price, of the countries Eleanor just mentioned, do you know which country has had the largest population increase between the previous Demon Lord subjugation and now? Or a country whose population didn't decrease significantly in the previous war."
Henry-sama asked Price-sama this time.
"The countries with few war dead would be Finis or Northern Gram. However, if we take into account the countries whose population increased, it might be Medioland. Although the number of war dead must have been higher than Finis or Northern Gram since they annexed part of the defeated Engrio and Former Septanaquila, their population itself has increased more than before the war because they gained so much territory."
This is also as expected. Although the Church has records of everyone, they really keep track of the population changes of each country. Especially Engrio and Medioland have heathens too. It should be difficult to keep track. I heard they go out of their way to ask the heathen churches, but even so, a Medioland Archbishop knows a lot.
By the way, the most war dead were in Engrio, followed by Medioland. Engrio has lost territory and also sent troops to the continent. Since they lost many knights in the wars on the White Island and the continent, the population itself has decreased. The one with almost no war dead is Primordia, which practically didn't fight, but the Demon Lord doesn't resurrect in that country to begin with.
"I have long thought that the Demon Lord might be resurrected for the purpose of slaughtering humans. If that thought is correct, I believe the next resurrection will be in the country with the largest population or the country that has increased the most. That's why I strongly agree with Jeanne's idea. No, rather, I should say that Jeanne's statement just now has deepened my confidence in my own thought."
Is this a situation where I get praised?
"Then, assuming Jeanne's idea is correct, the next place the Demon Lord will be resurrected will be the border of Finis and Northern Gram, or Medioland."
Even Eleanor-sama affirmed it. But if he's resurrected at the border of Finis and Northern Gram, what will happen to the Dullahan?
"Eleanor, assuming that's the case, can't another possibility be considered?"
It was Price-sama.
"What is the other possibility?"
"A plague spread on the continent and many people died. However, thanks to Jeanne's magic, almost no infected people appeared on the White Island. In the previous war on the continent, many Engrio troops crossed the sea. Regardless of the course of the war, there's a possibility that many infected people returned to the island."
Well, if you put it that way, it makes sense. I heard the Engrio army had infected people at their deployment destination, and the treatment centers treated them with magic water.
"In that case, the possibility that the plague also spread on the White Island cannot be denied. Among the victorious nations, the damage to Engrio and Medioland, which newly came to share a border in the plains, might have been particularly large."
Northern Gram has Medioland in between. Finis is even further away. The territory Sertoria gained in the south is only forest. As for Regnentes and Primordia, their border lines haven't moved.
"In other words, were there supposed to be more deaths?"
That's... quite a scary story. Eleanor-sama also seems aware of it, as her expression is stiff.
"Yes. But it didn't turn out that way. If so, the next place the Demon Lord will be resurrected is..."
Medioland... the largest Demon Realm on the White Island...
"Price, regarding what you just said, was Medioland already aware of that? Is that why James-dono participated in this operation?"
After a slight pause, Eleanor-sama asked.
"Yes. Of course, it's only a story of possibility."
Even after hearing Price-sama's statement, the expressions of the fortress people, including the commander, didn't change. In other words, they know there's a high possibility that this fortress will become the front line against the resurrected Demon Lord's army.
"Besides, we don't know when the Demon Lord will be resurrected."
That's also true. Even if it's not a hundred years from now, even if it's fifty or thirty years from now, the commander probably won't have to face the Demon Lord's army.
"Another thing, if events where many people die at once, such as war, plague, or famine, occur in Medioland in the future population trends, it might be avoided. Of course, Medioland will do its best to ensure such events don't happen."
The Demon Lord won't be resurrected in a country where many people died. The Demon Lord will be resurrected in a country where the population has increased. How are we supposed to take countermeasures against that?
"Then, why won't the Demon Lord be resurrected in Engrio? That country has the largest population, right?"
In terms of total numbers, it's as Beatrix says.
"The reason Engrio's population increased is because they won the war of aggression on the east coast and their territory increased, but since there are many war dead, the rate of population increase for the region as a whole is not that high."
Apparently, the same can be said for the north. After all, Finis was launching wars against Northern Gram almost every year. Septanaquila got involved there and they fought a three-way battle. Furthermore, since they had the support of Gram, Gram was also involved. I heard large-scale wars didn't occur, but there's no doubt that war dead appeared every year.
Price-sama said that the Demon Lord being resurrected in Engrio would probably be after Medioland.
"Did you tell King Seldic about that?"
Eleanor-sama asked.
"I haven't. But that gentleman might have noticed."
King Seldic unexpectedly gets along with Henry-sama and Eleanor-sama. It's because they're of the same kind. Maybe Henry-sama developed his theory when they drank together a few times.
"Why was the Demon Lord resurrected in Sertoria for two consecutive generations? If we consider the reason Henry always says the Demon Lord is resurrected, couldn't we say it's because Sertoria's population increased most stably?"
When the war that started when we were children began, the current heroes hadn't reached adulthood, or those who had were just after reaching adulthood. Even James-sama, who is now the Crown Prince of Medioland and the leader of the Northwest Coast Treaty, was only a unit commander at the time and wasn't a war leader. The King of Medioland is by no means a dull person, but he apparently struggled quite a bit against the allied forces of the battle-hardened Engrio and Medioland. However, Engrio suffered severe damage on the fronts with Primordia, Regnentes, and Sertoria. The Primordia front stagnated, and in Regnentes, they initially advanced but were overturned. In Sertoria as well, they were forced to retreat after being unable to withstand the war of attrition. The war of attrition in Sertoria especially seems to have had corresponding damage. Count Mortimer, who was in charge of the front line, was apparently told various things for creating the trigger for the defeat. Still, the fact that they eventually settled and didn't lose a single piece of territory must be due to King Seldic's skill.
The losses in the war that involved the entire island were large for every country, but the smallest was apparently in Sertoria. Primordia also had few, but as the King at the time—the current King's older brother—passed away, a plague spread in the western part of the island. It's said that if you add the deaths from the plague, which is also said to be one of the reasons Engrio struggled to attack, to the war dead, quite a few people died in Primordia as well.
In other words, was Sertoria judged by the Demon Lord as a place where more people should have died?
"Sertoria doesn't have social status, so to speak, and there are many middle-class people. As a result, deaths from famine and plague were significantly fewer compared to other countries. This shows that the political skill of successive Sertoria Kings was correct, but on the other hand, it might have been a point that the Demon Lord, who wants to slaughter many humans, didn't like."
That's why the Demon Lord was resurrected in Sertoria for two consecutive generations...
Anri-sama said that an ideal ruler is one who protects the citizens from causes that generate mass deaths, such as war, plague, and famine. However, a country that can have such a good ruler will be targeted by the Demon Lord.
I'm stunned.
What on earth should the humans living on the White Island do?
And if the same thing happens even if I protect people from the plague with Anti-Sepsis, what should I do...
"There are words that the King of our country occasionally utters."
It was Henry-sama who broke the silence brought by Price-sama's words.
"Humans cannot escape from various calamities. If so, what a King of a country should do is decided. Deal with the current calamity and prepare for the next one. That's all. He says so."
Eleanor-sama nodded deeply and placed her hand on my shoulder.
"How about it, he's excellent despite being my son, right? I intend to believe my son's words. Jeanne, and everyone else too. Let's join hands. Humans are weak. That's for sure. However, as humans living in this world, let's resist as much as we can against calamities that are beyond human control."
Beatrix snuggled up to me. Before I knew it, Will, Bonnie, and Mary had come to my side.
"I don't understand difficult things well, but in short, we just have to do as we've done until now, right?"
"Yes. We just have to brace ourselves after understanding, and do even more than before."
Price-sama replied with a smile to the words Harold-sama used to forcibly summarize.
I feel somewhat unsatisfied, but according to Price-sama, thinking about the future is a continuation of such things, and in the end, we have no choice but to keep doing what we can while knowing that. In short, helping the injured or sick in front of us is a necessary thing, and we don't even have to think about what will happen as a result.
"It's the fate of a holy recovery mage. Suppose I help a young petty crook who is seriously injured and save his life. But that crook might eventually become a great villain and kill many people in the future. Then, considering such a possibility, will you stop helping him? The answer is simple: no. As a priest, I must save those who can be saved. And just because I saved him doesn't mean I have to take responsibility for his life. It's the same. We priests must not stand by with our hands folded just because various events are anticipated in the future."
"Sorry, but I'm not a priest, so I don't really get it."
Harold-sama was bursting out laughing at Beatrix's words.
"I apologize. Then, the words Harold, who has the profession of 'unemployed' that anyone can take, said earlier will do. It's fine even if you don't understand difficult things. In short, please continue as usual."
"Shut up!"
Harold-sama was chuckling, but I guess that's what it boils down to.
In the end, the Demon Race didn't appear despite the heroes' invitation. It seems the Queen had also escaped. As for the nests where we couldn't install Magic Stones, we shaved the ant hills and dug quite deep, then burned them with Megiddo Fire, so repairing the nest holes should be prioritized. The remaining four Demon Realms will be shaved by gathering heroes or hero-class people if there's an opportunity while watching King Seldic's movements. Since two bowl units were deployed to the fortress defense squad, the fortress defense squad will probably continue monitoring the four locations for the time being.
In addition, Eleanor-sama told me that since they'll also share information with King Seldic about the Demon Realm countermeasures, he might say something.
The ant countermeasures for the third floor of the Demon Lord's cave in Sertoria saw a certain amount of results. Apparently, they'll proceed with large-scale logging from now on. However, for the sake of the frogs who cooperated, they'll leave most of the southwestern sector where there's a large marsh, except for the areas near the walls and mountains.
In this battle, we defeated three ant Queens. As a result, Beatrix learned two mid-level status change magics, Magic Barrier and Loud, and Mary learned the high-level Camouflage. Beatrix learning various elemental magics exhaustively and Mary heading straight for her goal is the same as always. I couldn't learn any magic. Instead, I learned the mid-level holy sealing barrier Occlusion. Maybe the Goddess evaluated my hard work in the ant containment task.
Chapter 25 has ended. Thank you very much for reading this far.
Man, it was unpopular. At the beginning, every time I posted, one or two bookmarks would peel off. Although it rallied in the second half, this might be the first time it's been this unpopular. Of course, this is by my standards.
I have nothing but gratitude for those who stayed despite that unpopularity. Thank you very much.
However, in the end, it settled within a range of "well, I guess it's something like this." Thank you very much for the new bookmark registrations, evaluations, and likes.
And despite the unpopularity, for some reason, PV and unique users grew. Did a corresponding number of people come from the Net Novel Award HP? In any case, thank you.
Regarding that NetCon, I ended up not getting any feedback. Hmm. I guess it's a work not worth giving feedback on. It's a shame.
Now, as for this chapter, it's the first half of the ant extermination. Although it's a spoiler, the next Chapter 26 will be the second half. Why am I so obsessed with ants? There's a reason for it, and I'd be happy if you could read into it. If you can't... it's due to my lack of expressive power or vocabulary. I don't plan to state the reason for the obsession, so in case you don't understand, I'll apologize in advance. I'm sorry.
Regarding the posting schedule for Chapter 26, I should be able to maintain the posting pace. I'll post one side story on Friday, and the first episode on Monday, New Year's Day. I hope to see you early next year. And if you like it, please give me bookmarks, evaluations, likes, and feedback.