The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
Fortress City Kriegland.
The city located on the westernmost edge of the central continent was known by that name.
Because it was the closest to the Demon Territory, it was more of a fortress than a city.
There were zero tourist attractions.
Instead, military facilities lined the area, and most visitors were connected to the military.
That was the kind of place we had just arrived in.
Normally, civilians wouldn’t be allowed in, but…
Thanks to Yuki, we got in without issue.
Once again, I was reminded that he really is royalty.
"Well then, shall we go?"
When you talk to him like this, he's very friendly and casual—you wouldn't think he was royalty at all, in a good way.
"Rain, something wrong?"
"No, it’s nothing. More importantly, where are we going?"
I knew Kriegland was our destination, but I hadn’t heard what we were doing afterward.
"Ah, right. Sorry, sorry."
"Geez, stop acting like a careless cat already."
"Careless cat…?"
"Don’t mind it, okay?"
"So, where to?"
"To explain again, we’re acting as a small, separate unit. We want to take advantage of our mobility to investigate the demons' movements independently from the large-scale force the king has deployed."
"To see if they plan to attack the city, or if they have some other goal..."
"It's a difficult matter to judge. But if I had to say, I’d lean toward the latter," said Iris.
"And what makes you say that?"
When asked, Iris paused briefly, then began speaking slowly, as if confirming her thoughts.
"Rain-sama, you might already know this, but the demon race is ruled under an absolute monarchy. The Demon King decides everything, and no matter what it is, demons obey without question. They never defy the Demon King, and always uphold his decisions as law."
It was similar to how ants behave.
The Demon King was like the queen ant.
The rest were the workers—just demons.
They worked for the queen, and at times, didn’t hesitate to sacrifice themselves.
Orders were absolute.
"The Demon King's goal is the complete extermination of humans… and he’d likely want to carry that out with his own hands. In fact, the previous Demon King acted that way."
"The previous…? You speak like you saw it happen."
"That’s... a secret," she said with a sly wink, placing her finger to her lips.
Iris brushed off Yuki’s suspicion playfully.
Gray, however, looked unconvinced.
Still, as long as she wasn’t seen as an enemy, it was fine for now.
"But right now, the Demon King is dormant. With the leader unable to act, the subordinates shouldn’t be able to act independently either…"
"Hmm? I get the point, but isn’t that a bit strange?"
"Right. If they can’t act on their own, then things like the incidents with Krios and the Northern Continent wouldn’t make sense."
"There are oddballs among the demons too. Some act on their own, and… very rarely, there are demons who don’t obey the Demon King," Iris explained.
That was news to me.
I had thought all demons were blindly loyal servants of the Demon King.
"Well, such cases are extremely rare, so you can mostly ignore that. Back to the point—those incidents in Krios and the Northern Continent were caused by some demons, specifically by Reez. Her goal was to collect the souls needed to awaken the Demon King. That’s probably why she stole my soul too. So in that sense, it's not like she was acting against the Demon King’s will."
"I see."
"So, while there is a chance they might attack this city to gather more souls…"
"Wouldn’t that be too risky?" Gray interjected.
He probably had the same thought as I did, so I let him continue.
"As you can see, this place is practically a fortress. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to attack a less-defended city instead?"
"I find that strange too. That’s why I think there might be another reason."
"And what would that be?"
"I have no idea."
"After all that buildup, and that’s all you've got..." Gray let out a sigh of exasperation.
I felt bad for Iris, but his reaction was understandable.
"Still, I think it’s important to confirm the current situation. Based on that, we can figure out what to do next. So I’d like to start gathering some necessary information—how about that?"
"Considering we can’t move too openly… an informant, maybe?"
"Rain, bingo."
Yuki looked somewhat delighted.
Maybe it was because, as royalty, he didn’t often get to enjoy casual conversations like this.
Perhaps that was why he seemed to be enjoying himself now.
"I want to speak with the country's intelligence agents and also check in with some local informants. There are things only locals would know, after all."
"Yeah, I agree with that. But I don’t want to waste too much time, so maybe we should split up? It’s hard to imagine we’ll get attacked right after arriving… so I think splitting up should be fine for now."
"T-Tania just said something totally reasonable…"
"Rain, it seems a heavy rain is coming. Let’s get an umbrella."
"You guys…"
As Tania clenched her fist, Sora and Luna let out a shriek and ran away.
Tania then chased after them, shouting, “Wait right there!”
There wasn’t a hint of tension in the air, but that was okay.
Better than being overly tense.
Maybe we were drawing attention…
But when multiple members of the strongest species are gathered in one place, you’re going to stand out regardless.
So at this point, may as well accept it and enjoy ourselves a bit.
"Alright then, young master. I’ll go talk to the intelligence folks, so I’m leaving the informants to you."
"Okay, got it. I don’t think anything will happen, but be careful just in case."
"Aye."
After parting ways with Gray, we first headed to the Adventurers' Guild of Kriegland.
Though it was basically a fortress, there were still people living here, so of course the guild existed too.
If we were looking for informants, the Adventurers' Guild was the place to start.
"Wel… come… to the Kriegland Adventurers' Guild…"
As we entered the building, we were greeted by an unusually gloomy receptionist.
She looked pale enough to be mistaken for a ghost—kind of worrying, honestly.
"How… can I help… you…?"
"Uh… we’re looking for information. Do you happen to know any informants?"
"An informant, hmm… ufufufufu…"
She suddenly gave a faint, eerie smile.
This woman is kind of scary.
Sora and Luna were already tearing up a little.
"If it’s information you seek… you can leave that to meee… ehe."
"R-Right… so, you’re saying you’re also an informant?"
"That’s right. The best informant in all of Kriegland… that would be me, Marily-chan… fufu."
I know it’s rude to think this, but…
Her cute name really doesn’t match her personality.
Then again—
Maybe she’s actually cheerful once you get to know her?
I decided not to dwell on her personality and continued the conversation.
"So… what kind of information are you looking forrr…?"
"Information about demons. Big or small, anything is fine. If you know something, please tell me."
"Demons, is it… fufu."
"Could she be a demon herself…?" Luna muttered fearfully.
I pretended not to hear it and focused on what Marily was saying.
"If it’s demons… I just so happen to have a good scoop for you… ehe."
"And that would be…?"
"One of the Four Heavenly Kings… and a demon of comparable power… fufu… have both been sighted."
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