Chapter 838 - Chapter 5: Infiltration ⑥
The accompaniment for the alcohol was dried meat. The Demon Lord brought out wooden plates, so I sliced it with a knife to make it easier to eat, and we each picked at it.
Once preparations were complete, we toasted with the alcohol the Demon Lord provided. I sat opposite the Demon Lord, with the Priestess to my left and Fiona to my right.
"Gah! This is delicious! What is this?"
"It really is delicious!"
The two ghosts were full of praise after just one sip. This was likely Fiona's first time drinking alcohol that could make one drunk; I wondered if she would be alright.
"Is this your first real alcohol in a long time?"
"It's been a thousand years."
"For me, it's the first time having the real thing!"
"Both of you, watch your pace. You really will get drunk."
"It goes down too easily, it's dangerous."
"Is it bad if we drink like we usually do?"
If you drink like you usually do, you'll end up like that old man with the barrel of sake—your head spinning until you collapse.
"Jeanne, have you not tasted the alcohol made by us Demon Race before?"
Actually, I had, many times. Once during a banquet with the Sub-Demon Lord on the Ice Island, and every time I went to stay at the female Demon's place in Engrio. But I didn't know ghosts could get drunk.
"Yes. Thanks to you, I've had several opportunities. Every drink was smooth and truly delicious. Of course, this one is as well."
Personally, I think the Elves' alcohol was the best I've ever had. Second place, by a very narrow margin, was the alcohol made by the female Demon. The difference was likely because the Elves' was the best selection from their village, while the female Demon's was a personal batch. The ones from the Demon Lord and Sub-Demon Lord were a bit strong for my taste. People from the north might put those at the top. In any case, there was no doubt they were all exceptionally delicious.
"Is that so?"
"Jeanne, that's amazing. You've had it so many times."
"Eh? Yeah. But didn't you drink some on the Ice Island, Priestess?"
"Back then, it was all alcohol brought in by humans."
Now that she mentioned it, that was true. The first time, the Sub-Demon Lord said he missed the strong alcohol of Finis and drank only that. The second time was when I drank what the Sub-Demon Lord himself had made. After the first banquet, every time humans visited, they would bring alcohol and dried meat as a gift for the Sub-Demon Lord. By the second visit, perhaps because Finis alcohol was no longer a novelty, he let us drink his own brew.
"Do you go to the Ice Island often?"
Oh, something like a smile flickered on his lips.
"As I mentioned before, twice. I wanted to go a third time, but things got busy. Ah, I've met the female Demon many times to give her mead and such. I can't see her right now, though."
"I see."
He went back to being a frog again.
"Hey, Jeanne, is the alcohol made by the Sub-Demon Lord or your female Demon friend really as delicious as this?"
She was definitely planning to have me introduce her. Surely she wouldn't suggest buying some, right?
"Well..."
Might as well. Thinking that, I offered my personal opinion.
"The Elves' alcohol is the best... Th-that includes alcohol made by humans, right?"
"Of course. You drank it too, didn't you, Priestess? The stuff the Grand Archbishop brought, and the stuff from the continent."
"T-true."
"Well? Between the super-premium human-made stuff and this alcohol, which is better?"
On the continent, I had attended banquets for the Sertogne Royal Family and the nobility.
"Well... definitely this one."
"Right?"
"Because you can actually get drunk."
I couldn't help but laugh. Everything she had been drinking until now must have been like fruit juice to her.
"I am glad you like it."
"No, no, thank you so much for such delicious alcohol."
"It's true. I think I might be starting to feel a bit tipsy."
Are you okay, Fiona? That's already your second cup. Nibble on some more dried meat.
The banquet continued, and each of us finished our second cup... Fiona was on her third. The pile of dried meat had shrunk a little. We grew lively talking about the time the Priestess and I met the Sub-Demon Lord, and the time the four humans went to stay at the female Demon's place.
"It has been a long time. To share drinks like this before a battle with humans."
A long time? Does that mean they used to drink together frequently?
"Indeed. In the past, we drank before we fought, and we drank after we fought."
They sounded just like the former lords of Finis. Did they treat war like a hobby?
"It is not a hobby. It is a means."
A means...
"Yes. Originally, battle is a means to settle matters when the claims of both sides conflict and neither can compromise. It is not the objective."
"Then, are you saying there was a conflict of claims between the Demon Race and humans that neither side could compromise on?"
"Jeanne, do you not already know without asking?"
Perhaps I did. It was the problem of humans increasing too much, which Serena had mentioned. Egward-sama had also said that monsters attacked because humans kept clearing the forests that were the monsters' domain.
"T-territory... If both sides respected each other's territory and maintained mutual non-aggression..."
"Can that be done?"
"I believe it is being done in some places."
The Northeastern Forest is one. Northern Nakanohara is another. Morandine's Harpy Forest is one. The female Demon's forest is one. The Fire Dragon's place, the Wyvern's place, the Water Dragon's place, the Dullahan's place, and the Dryad's Forest are all like that.
"For now. But what will happen when the current generation dies out and humans increase their numbers even further? They will clear forests, create fields, use various ingenuity to increase harvests, and multiply even more."
"I-I don't know about the future. But if we pass down our current way of thinking to future generations..."
Northern Gram, which was founded even at the cost of splitting the country to protect the Dryad's Forest, still adheres to that policy today.
"For years, decades, centuries? Would it not be faster to reduce the numbers now?"
So it comes down to that in the end? Is there no other way besides reducing the population?
"Th-then, the reason you were resurrected this time is..."
"Yes. It was to seal Jeanne in this land, for she possesses the power to prevent the spread of the plague that could greatly reduce the humans of the White Island."
"............"
I had thought that might be the case. But to have it said so clearly...
"Did you think I would say that?"
"Eh?"
"No. I simply wanted to settle things with a user of Light magic."
He was actually smirking. Was this person always this kind of character? What happened to the frog curse? Should I just become expressionless like a frog myself?
"Then the plague has nothing to do with it?"
The Priestess asked in my stead as I felt the tension drain out of me.
"It has nothing to do with it. If I truly intended to interfere with the spread of the plague, I would have resurrected several years ago. You have made considerable preparations by now, have you not? Even if I had killed Jeanne several years ago, a plague's scale of expansion should decrease over a few years. Many would die during that time, but the humans of the White Island would not go extinct."
Then why now? I'm busy with so many things. It could have been a bit later.
"Why now? You will understand if you defeat me."
So it comes down to a fight after all?
"Hey! Demon Lord! You! Don't say such strange things!"
Thump! Fiona slammed the table and stood up. That was fine, but she was swaying. It was good that she flared up her flames, but the color was strange. They were reddish, like normal fire.
"Fiona, you're quite drunk. Are you okay?"
"Is she drunk?"
"Yeah. See, she's turned red, right?"
I see. Instead of her face turning red, her flames turn red.
"How many cups has that girl had?"
"Four, no, maybe her fifth? I wonder."
Wait, this is bad. I've only just started my third. Her pace is too fast.
"Why do you have to seal Jeanne in a place like this!"
"Eh? Ah, Fiona, that's not what he meant."
Oh no. she's completely wasted.
"Hey! Demon Lord! If you seal Jeanne, I will never forgive you!"
After pointing sharply at the Demon Lord and saying that, she began to float and fly around aimlessly.
"I said it! I told off the Demon Lord!"
Um, what should I do?
Fiona suddenly flew over. Half of her body was buried in the table, with only her upper half sticking out.
"Do you understand, Demon Lord!"
She thrust her right hand with her index finger extended toward the Demon Lord, delivering her finishing line.
Even as she said that, she reached out her left hand to try and take the bottle of alcohol.
"N-no, no more for you."
When I tried to hold her hand back, it passed right through. Oh right, she's making herself untouchable.
"Demon Lord, a duel! Challenge me to a drinking contest! Let's settle it with that!"
Settle it? Girl, you're on the verge of sinking!
"I've had, uh, how many cups was it?"
"Six."
She drank that much! This is no good. I have to stop her.
"Demon Lord! How many for you?"
"This is my third."
"Third means two. Hey, Jeanne, Jeanne, how many did you drink?"
"Eh? I'm on my third, so two."
"Jeanne has two. Priestess?"
"I have two as well."
"Then that means we have, uh, ten. The Demon Lord has only had two. Drink more! At this rate, it's our overwhelming victory!"
Before I knew it, it had become three against one!
"Hmph, do you not mind? I have never lost a drinking contest against a human."
No way, the Demon Lord is actually getting into it.
"Alright! It's a match! A match between us three strongest and the Demon Lord!"
Even the Priestess joined in. I don't want to know anymore!
In the end...
"Let's see, ten, twenty, thirty..."
The next morning, the Priestess was counting the lines carved into the table to represent the number of drinks.
"The Demon Lord is at fifty-one, right?"
"Yes, that is fine."
When the Priestess asked, the pale-faced Demon Lord replied while drinking water he had produced with magic.
"Let's see, over here, Fiona had six, I had eleven. And since Jeanne had thirty-five, the three of us together make fifty-two. Is that right?"
"Yes, that is fine."
We won.
"Jeanne, you're quite the heavy drinker, aren't you?"
"Eh? No, I'm not. If you look at the count per person, the Demon Lord had way more."
I don't deserve to be called a heavy drinker.
"Jeanne is the first human to drink more than thirty cups of the alcohol I made. And yet you seem perfectly fine."
Eh? Is that so?
"See? Even when I was alive, I was quite strong. My opponents were all burly male warriors. And she drank more than three times as much as me."
"Eh? No, look. That's just like a difference in age. Ah, right. Priestess, this was your first time having real alcohol in a thousand years, right? You must have gotten weaker because you hadn't drunk for so long."
That must be it. If you haven't drunk for a thousand years, it's like drinking for the first time in your life.
"For a ghost?"
The Demon Lord and the Priestess both retorted at the same time.
Setting aside my alcohol tolerance, I won the confrontation with the Demon Lord.
"So, it's okay, right?"
"Indeed. It is my loss."
Yes! We won with zero casualties!
I high-fived the Priestess. Fiona had a hangover, so she was sleeping nearby. I'll have to tell her later.
"Then, can we go outside?"
The Priestess asked.
"Yes. The magic circle of Testament that has been activated is now shrouded in mist. That mist is connected to the mist outside this temple. Those who are qualified can pass through from either the inside or the outside."
"Those who are qualified?"
"Yes. Those who activated Testament and defeated me—in other words, you."
"Just the three of us?"
"No. Those who attempt to pass for the first time must do so simultaneously with you, but once they have passed through with you once, they will be able to pass through any number of times. In that case, the others must be connected to you, even if it is only through a single rope."
I see. The mist separates the qualified from the unqualified...
Wait a minute.
"Um. Wasn't the place where Testament was activated when we entered made by humans?"
A mist barrier sounds just like something a spirit would make.
"Who told you such a thing?"
Who was it? Erikson-sama didn't say it... Huh?
"Who made it?"
"Heh heh heh, someone other than a human."
"You won't tell me?"
"If you wish to know, investigate it yourself."
Oh, he's being blunt again. But his expression is calm, not like a frog.
"By the way, I've lost my sense of time. What time is it now?"
"It is now past noon. The time when the sun has begun to move from due south toward the west."
I thought it was morning, but we're half a day off.
"Then, may we stay here until before dawn tomorrow?"
"I do not mind. One of you is sleeping, after all."
He glanced at the adjacent bedroom where Fiona was sleeping.
I wondered what would happen for a moment, but thanks to this, we were able to have a peaceful confrontation. Though she fell asleep immediately after declaring war and is still sleeping now, she was probably the greatest contributor to this confrontation.
"No, shouldn't it be Jeanne, who out-drank him?"
I'm trying to say something nice, so don't nitpick.
We found out we could escape... or rather, pass through freely. What will happen to the Demon Lord?
"I shall remain as I am."
"Remain as you are? You mean..."
"I will simply be here. For I have been sealed."
"Does that mean you can't leave?"
"Correct."
What does that mean? Wasn't he supposed to lose the ability to cross over from that dark world?
"That would be the case if I had fought you and lost."
"Um, what about the drinking contest?"
"It is the same. I have lost the ability to cross—that is, the ability to cross from here to that world. And thus, I have been sealed in this land."
"Then, are all the Demon Lords who have been sealed until now in some cave somewhere?"
If a natural disaster occurred, they might all come out.
"No, they should have been sealed by the activation of Testament on the spot after being struck down. When one is killed in this land, the soul returns to the original world. Since Holy magic directly affects the soul, being bathed in it after being killed weakens one. In any case, what remained were the temporary bodies used to appear in this world, so they likely rotted away. Since the caves could no longer be maintained, they either collapsed due to some trigger or were destroyed and buried by those who struck them down."
Eh? Then, is the Demon Lord in front of me the only one who can't return to his original world?
"That is so."
No way... What should I do... I got the order wrong... I never imagined the Demon Lord wouldn't be able to return to the world he came from.