The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
“Turning the strongest species into demons? That is…”
I found myself thinking back to Alpha.
We clashed with our kagune…
But in the end, we were able to understand each other.
However, due to Monica and Lin’s schemes, she was turned into a demon.
Fortunately, we were able to save her…
But Alpha’s combat power after becoming a demon was tremendous—
without Iris’s help, we might have been defeated instead.
“So you’re saying there have been cases like Alpha’s since long ago?”
“I can’t say for sure, but probably.”
“Hmm… but what’s their goal? Do they just want to pick a fight with us strongest species?”
“Good grief, Luna really lacks brains. That’s why people call you Horse-sis.”
“What kind of abbreviation is that? Let’s sit down and have a thorough talk about it!”
“Simply put, I imagine the enemy is trying to increase their fighting strength.”
Sora’s assessment was probably correct.
If you could turn the strongest species into demons and make them allies, the benefits would be immeasurable.
In fact, that plan seems to already be in progress all over the place.
In Kagune, they turned Alpha into a demon…
And though she’s not a strongest species, in the northern continent, they turned Lin into a demon.
And that’s not all.
There’s even the case of Mona, a former spirit race, who became a demon.
“Nina’s mom might be right about this…”
“Yeah. It’s the demons we’re talking about, so maybe they just randomly turn people into demons to wreak havoc and hurt humans… but…”
“Even so, that would be too sloppy. If Reez—the demon I know—is behind all this, that doesn’t seem like her style. There must be some goal behind it, I’m sure.”
“So the goal is to secure fighting strength? But why?”
“Yes, that’s the question.”
Finally, Rifa voiced the biggest doubt of all.
Judging by the enemy’s actions, they’re clearly trying to build up their strength.
But why are they doing that? That purpose remains a mystery.
For example…
maybe they’re planning some large-scale invasion of the central continent.
But the demons are loyal subordinates of the Demon King.
Small actions aren’t a problem, but if they act on too large a scale, they might go against the Demon King’s will.
And since the Demon King is dormant right now, they shouldn’t be making such moves on their own.
“The most reasonable guess is that they’re preparing for something down the line?”
“Oh ho, to think Suzu’s daughter would say something sensible… I’m surprised.”
“That’s rude, nya!?”
On either side of Al, Sora and Luna nodded in agreement…
I decided to ignore that and move the discussion along.
“…This is a bad situation.”
The demons probably weren’t planning to act immediately.
But in the future…
at some point, they’re highly likely to cause some large-scale incident.
That being the case, I’d like to take action before it’s too late…
But what to do?
From Alpha and Iris’s information, we learned that a demon named Reez is behind all this.
Arios and his group are working with her…
and Monica is involved too.
But that’s about all we know so far.
We still know nothing about the enemy’s scale, their hideouts, their goals, or their guiding principles.
“I want to do something before it’s too late… but what can I even do…”
I can’t claim to be some great hero who defeats the Demon King and saves the world…
But knowing danger is approaching, I can’t just sit back and do nothing.
If there’s something I can do, I want to give it my all.
Knock knock.
As I was pondering my next move, I heard a knock at the door.
“Yes? …Natalie?”
There was Natalie, looking flustered and out of breath.
Don’t tell me—has something happened?
“What’s wrong?”
“U-um… A letter addressed to you arrived at the guild from the royal capital…”
“For me?”
“Yes. You’re an A-rank adventurer, Mr. Shroud… Do you remember the duty of A-ranks? That when a major incident occurs, you must step forward and help resolve it?”
“Ah, I remember. Did something happen?”
“N-no, we don’t know yet. But…”
Natalie, looking tense, gently handed me the letter.
“This is a letter from the royal capital.”
“Hmm?”
For now, I took the letter and checked the sender…
“…Lady Sarya?”
Along with the royal crest, the name Sarya van Rollreeze was written.
“Why… a letter from Lady Sarya all of a sudden?”
Could this… be some kind of prank?
That thought crossed my mind, but impersonating the royal family’s name—no matter the reason—is considered a serious crime.
No one would pull such a prank.
Which means… this really is a letter from Lady Sarya.
But why?
I couldn’t think of any reason she’d send me a letter.
“Natalie. Did you read what’s inside?”
“Of course not. Do you know what would happen if I just went and opened a letter from royalty…? In any case, I thought I had to deliver it to you as quickly as possible, so here I am.”
“I see… thank you.”
“Not at all. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
Natalie bowed politely and left.
“Rain, what’s wrong?”
“That letter?”
“Uh… well…”
I explained that it was a letter from Lady Sarya.
And for some reason, everyone’s expressions turned grim.
Mainly Kanade, Tania, Sora, and Luna.
“That princess, huh… hmm. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Same here. She looks gentle, but she leaves a calculating impression.”
“She smiles kindly, yet seems like she might just snatch Rain away in a single swoop from the side.”
“We mustn’t let our guard down around her.”
…So that’s why they were wary of her?
I’d kept her earlier confession a secret, thinking it would only confuse everyone…
Maybe I should keep it secret for now.
But if they find out later, won’t that cause even more trouble?
Maybe it’s better to tell them now…?
“Rain, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, no… it’s nothing. Anyway, let’s pause the talk about the demons for now. I’d like to check this letter first.”
I opened the letter…
“It says… someone will be coming in her place soon, so please take care of them… huh.”
That was the gist of it—
and once again, I felt like another incident had just landed in my lap.
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