Chapter 805 - Chapter 4: Countermeasures in the North (2)
When I explained to Poppy and asked if she could cooperate, she showed reluctance. Her current life seems to be unexpectedly comfortable, and she says she doesn't want to go far from the safe shrine.
"Could you ask other demons? I like it here."
Saying that, she possessed the black cat, and while meowing "Nyaon," she went to the Queen's feet and rubbed her head against them.
"Oh, is that so, is that so? Poppy says she likes it here."
The Queen crouched down, picked up Poppy, and stroked her head. Poppy narrowed her eyes with a "Nyaun" and looked comfortable.
"Oh, good girl, good girl. It is so, isn't it? Because it is dangerous outside."
The Queen is rejoicing as if she's dealing with a grandchild, perhaps because she's happy that Poppy came to rely on her. Other royalty are looking on enviously. They might start sucking their fingers.
Normally in this kind of case, she would head toward the shrine's Priestess, but she's good at picking her target by heading toward the Queen.
"She says she dislikes it."
The Queen, who had easily defected, said to me. The Queen is positioned to my front right, but she's holding Poppy on the right side of her body as if to protect her. It's like I'm the bad guy.
Well, but I can't force her. If the cat herself—I mean, the person herself—dislikes it, it can't be helped. If we're to look for others, it would be Keira or Difodor. However, both of them will be needed by the countries they currently live in. We have no choice but to look for other demons, but...
"I see, I thought I could have Poppy live in the palace, but it was impossible."
With these words from the King, her eyes suddenly changed color.
"Mother-in-law!"
"U-Umu. I want to do something about it."
"Mother. How about making a place with a barrier of the same rank as here in my castle?"
"T-That is true. But can it be done?"
Suddenly the Queen is being pressed. No one goes to Poppy.
"Nyaun!"
Poppy jumped to the floor. When the apprentice Priestess of the shrine immediately put Poppy's clothes on the black cat, she slowly swelled up and returned to the humanoid Poppy.
"Hey, wouldn't it be fine if my substitute went?"
She says it as if it's nothing, but can one be found so easily?
"Do you have a connection? An acquaintance or something."
The Queen asks, but she probably doesn't have any. After all, I heard the territorial disputes are terrible except during the mating season. Come to think of it, when is the mating season? Judging by Keira, there's no sign of it at all. She should have been in the cave for five thousand years, but she shouldn't have any children. Though, since the lifespan of a demon is until they die, the interval between mating seasons might be extremely long...
"I don't have a connection, but I might have an idea of a place where one might be."
"Is it true?"
"I think you'll know if you go. If it's a male, I can talk to him, but if it's a female, it's impossible. But it's probably a male."
"Where is it? Is it in our country?"
"It's Finis. But I don't know the place. Gwyn-sama should know."
"M-Me?"
Everyone looks at Gwyn-sama at once.
"N-No, Poppy. I have no memory of that."
He's waving both hands in a panic.
Is it about Difodor? Gwyn-sama and Difodor have met at the time of the Behemoth extermination.
"Gwyn-sama, you defeated the Behemoth... the boar monster before, didn't you?"
"Ah, I remember that."
Is it Difodor after all? She's in Northern Gram.
"I'm sure when you told the children the story of the Behemoth extermination, didn't you say you became friends with a boar?"
"It wasn't so much that we became friends, but that it approached from its side."
It's Mukou-kizu (Opposite Scar). The secret of the Behemoth's birth was understood thanks to that boar. Gwyn-sama was communicating with gestures.
"That's it, that's it. No matter how much its family was killed by the Behemoth, do you think a magic beast would rely on a human?"
"That is, well, true. But it really happened."
"I'm not saying it's a lie. That boar is the one possessed by a demon. That's why it utilized humans to have the Behemoth defeated."
Does the story go like that? It's a surprise. Moreover, it's a wild boar, not a pig. Can a low-level demon possess it?
"It can. Even if it's low-level, it's probably a male. And a quite strong one."
"Is that so?"
"Because Gwyn-sama was apparently able to communicate with that boar. It's impossible for a normal boar."
Indeed, what Gwyn-sama said... including gestures... was mostly understood. Gwyn-sama was also able to interact with the Fire Dragon, and I thought he had that kind of special skill.
"Fire Dragons are quite smart. They use powerful magic, don't they? Probably, they're smarter than the humans around there. That's why their intuition works."
That would be true. A muscle-brained Fire Dragon might be impossible, but the Earth Dragon can normally become humanoid and can speak human language.
"S-So, should we just find that boar?"
"I'll go with you. I'll at least talk to him. If it goes well, you can make even a low-level demon of the strongest class into an ally. Why don't you have him live in the palace? Have him possess a wolf or something. Wouldn't it be cool?"
"A wolf! That's good. Father, Mother, what do you think? A wolf."
"Umu. That is good. Poppy, you must definitely go too."
Gwyn-sama and the Queen's eyes are sparkling. Hasn't the purpose changed somehow?
Even if they say they're going, the active royalty cannot all go together. Time is also needed to find Mukou-kizu. At the stage where it was decided to stay one night and depart early the next morning, the King and Queen, who have government affairs, and the Crown Princess, who has to look after the princes, returned to the palace, and Gwyn-sama became the only guide.
Incidentally, Beatrix returned to the palace because she needs to have a meeting about jumping magic water with [Transport]. Beatrix coming to the north is also reported to Regnentes. Depending on the case, she might give a lecture if there are candidates for the [Transport] she learned directly from Gnome.
That night we had a banquet calling the Water Dragon too, and departed early the next morning.
Mukou-kizu should be in the boar sanctuary that Finis established after the Behemoth extermination. I know the place. Finis apparently still jumps leftovers from the Royal Capital toward the sanctuary using magic circles, so the boars must have increased quite a bit.
I asked Gwyn-sama about that area.
"Regarding those villages, boar hunting has become popular since then. Of course, hunting is prohibited in the sanctuary, but perhaps because the boars have increased, they are apparently often found outside the sanctuary too. They gather them with leftovers and hunt them. Thanks to that, they no longer have trouble with food in winter."
It's an unexpected effect. At first, I thought they might have trouble hunting as a result of making the sanctuary. There should have been talk that the country would provide a guarantee. Now, far from a guarantee, the villages have become dried meat processing plants, and the lives of the villages are apparently becoming wealthy. Incidentally, Mary has been contacted, and they have apparently launched a Behemoth-branded brand limited to the regions that used to suffer from Behemoths.
"Since it's not good for them to increase too much, we reduce the amount of leftovers we jump in summer and autumn when there's plenty of food, but it seems they've started going all over the place looking for food for that amount. They're hunting those in the villages."
They've been exporting to the continent since around last year.
"Since the Henry Party and Jeanne are coming, I thought I'd have them accompany the boar investigation. You'll be greatly welcomed, so be prepared; the banquet will be quite lively."
I'm happy to be welcomed like that. I was also indebted to the village Priestess. Shall we talk slowly?
We go to the village that was used as a base for the Behemoth extermination. The participants are the Henry Party with the non-regular Gwyn-sama added, and myself. Of course, Poppy is with us, and Poppy's guardian, the old lady, also participated.
After circling the Water Dragon, who put his head out of the water to see us off, three times in the medium-sized bowl to greet him, we rose and flew toward the boars' sanctuary.
Even though it's already March, the snow hasn't melted at all. It's pure white everywhere, just like the severe winter. We use [Warm], and the bowl has a lid. The cold is nothing, but I have no idea where we are flying. Since we're not following the coastline, the mountains must be the landmarks, but it's gloomy and cloudy and it's snowing in places. Eleanor-sama and Wilson-san also don't seem to know where and how to fly, and they're flying as Gwyn-sama guides them. Conversely, Gwyn-sama, who knows, is amazing. Even so, it was good to stay one night at the Water Dragon's shrine. If the sun sets, it'll be pitch black. We'd have to go above the clouds to see the stars, and if we went above the clouds, we wouldn't know the path... I mean, the terrain—at all, so we probably wouldn't have been able to reach it. If we had flight magic, it was fine, but if we were moving on the ground, we would have frozen to death on the way.
We arrived at the village at noon, but as Gwyn-sama said, we were treated with the utmost hospitality. I heard that because there are few plains, grain production is poor, and especially in winter when the snow piles up and the highways are completely closed, they were in distress. In addition, they have been plagued by Behemoth attacks every few years, taking the lives of young warriors who were the mainstay of hunting. They should have been prepared for it once again. That, however, resulted in no human loss, and they hit the source of the Behemoth's birth, and as a result, the boar hunt became a big catch almost every year. If they make dried meat, it's not just an improvement in food shortage, but it becomes cash income by selling it. Of course, it's the hard work of the Finis royal family, but as someone who participated in the support, I feel bad being thanked. I received greetings from the villagers one after another. Furthermore, as if to show the abundance of food, boar meat dishes were lined up all over the place, and we all gathered and had a grand toast. Incidentally, the wine is a gift from the Finis royal family.
"Since Henry-sama and the others have come, I thought I'd have them accompany the investigation of the boars."
Finis apparently actually conducts investigations once every one or two months. In that way, they apparently adjust the amount of leftovers jumped from the Royal Capital. Basically, they jump a large amount in winter to keep the boars from starving. The villagers also seem to understand and bowed to us, saying "Please look after us." For now, it seems the talk of the Black Rot hasn't been told to the villagers, and they're talking with Gwyn-sama about how the production this winter was or how the shipment in spring will be. When I see this kind of situation, I can understand why there are voices opposing entry restrictions on trading ships with the continent.