episode_0041

No wonder everyone stayed silent until everyone had gathered.

They must’ve had to repeat the same explanation twice. Just explaining why I’m on casual terms with Cecilia alone would’ve taken quite a bit of effort.

“Ah, sorry.”

Still, the fact remained that I had sworn, so I hurriedly bowed my head. But Cecilia merely smiled as if she understood.

“That…was a bit crude, but I can somewhat understand Grave Honor’s line of thinking.”

“Same here… A demon nest? Does he want to commit suicide or something?”

Dave and Cheryl spoke with awkward expressions.

“Don’t worry. Not all demon nests are teeming with high-ranking demons and monsters as you might imagine. The place we’re going is officially under the Church’s management.”

“Huh?”

“The Church…runs a demon nest?”

Both were stunned—and rightfully so. A demon nest is practically a breeding ground for monsters.

When you get down to it, the reason the Demon King’s army stays entrenched in their strongholds is simply because demon nests frequently spawn there. There’s no deeper reason.

Yet, despite that, very little is actually known about demon nests.

They appear unpredictably in terms of time and location, treated like horrific natural disasters.

Places protected by strong magic, like the Academy or the royal palace, don’t experience them, but if a demon nest spawns in a small border nation or a remote imperial territory without such defenses, it immediately becomes a top-priority containment target.

If even one person living there survives, they’d consider themselves lucky—because demon nests can reduce everything to ruins in an instant.

The idea that such a terrifying place still exists within the Empire, and worse, that the Church manages it? It’s hard to believe.

And the fact that students are exploring it? That’s not something to say lightly.

“It’s true. You might not know this yet, but there’s even a demon nest at the Academy.”

“What?”

“Cecilia’s right.”

“Wait, you knew?”

“Well… I might not look it, but I am the Grave family’s heir. As a first-year, whether I liked it or not, I heard all sorts of things. The Academy manages demon nests for student training and materials.”

Given that the Academy’s purpose is to eradicate threats to the Empire—including the Demon King—a demon nest, which continually produces monsters, is undoubtedly an attractive training option.

While students usually learn about this in their third year when they’re more mature, as members of the hero party and the student council president, we’d heard about it one way or another long before then.

“But… the Church controlling a demon nest?”

“Sacrilege.”

“Exactly, Cheryl!”

“Huh?”

“Even if it’s a demon nest, if it’s as safe as the Academy’s and serves the public good, it’s fine. The Academy’s demon nest is officially recognized by the Empire, after all. But the Church’s demon nest is different!”

Cecilia slammed her fist on the table in frustration.

“Outwardly, they claim it’s safe and for the greater good, spouting pretty words. But even that isn’t something they tell everyone.”

“They don’t tell everyone…?”

“It means the information’s only disclosed to certain people. For the depraved, shadowy entertainment of some nobles, the fewer who know, the better.”

“Um, Saintess. Question.”

“Yes, what is it, Cheryl?”

“Are we investigating the Church’s demon nest?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And it’s the Church’s dirty secret?”

“A shameful truth they’d rather not admit.”

“Then… is it okay to tell us this?”

“Ah!”

Dave, who had been listening beside them, let out a sigh.

“It’s fine. I trust you all. Despite appearances, I pride myself on being a good judge of character.”

Smooth talker.

As if she hadn’t personally assigned these two as her subordinates in the previous world.

“That’s not the issue.”

“Huh?”

“If we know this much, won’t we get ‘silenced’ somewhere along the way?”

Cheryl’s concern was completely valid.

Unprepared, a demon nest is a disaster—but with sufficient preparation, it’s an endless treasure trove.

The magic stones and rare artifacts dropped by the monsters that emerge, even the elixirs obtained by hunting the occasional demon…

If you don’t kill the nest’s ruler and just keep supplying it with magic, you can keep harvesting these resources indefinitely.

“That…”

“I’ll take responsibility for that.”

“Grave Honor will?”

“The whole Empire already knows I’m a troublemaker. I can just say I dragged you all along because I wanted to see monsters! No one outside the Academy knows I’m sane yet anyway.”

“Self-sacrifice?”

“Hardly. If things stay like this, we’ll get nothing done for the group assignment. I’m just doing my part.”

I hated freeloaders regardless of the world.

At the Academy, they’d probably omit my name from the announcement outright—and that’s no joke.

“Eric!”

“Relax, relax. From the moment I agreed to work with you, I was prepared for this much.”

If not for me, who else could rein in this runaway Saintess?

“Still, it’s hard to believe. Not just that the Church is running a demon nest, but that you, the Saintess, would expose it…”

“If we launch a full investigation, they’ll just cover their tracks. We must appear to have stumbled upon it by pure chance.”

“Complicated.”

“These are the same people who take donations from devout Church followers and still commit such filthy acts. Did you think it’d be simple?”

“Let me add one more thing.”

I decided to reinforce Cecilia’s argument.

“Students from the Academy brilliantly exposing the corruption of the Church—the very institution everyone trusts. And on top of that, you’ve got a Saintess candidate and the Grave family’s heir backing you. No need to be afraid.”

“I know I’m asking a lot of both of you. But as the Saintess, I must expose this crime to the world. Please lend me your strength!”

“Don’t worry, Saintess!”

Clap clap clap—

With Cheryl’s half-hearted applause, the day’s meeting came to an end.

“Well, I should get going—”

“Wait, Eric.”

“What?”

“You have to come with me. Those two will manage, but you’ll definitely get lost otherwise.”

“Lost…?”

“You know absolutely nothing about demon nest equipment, right?”

“Uh… That’s…”

I did know. Though I wasn’t much help in the hero’s party, the equipment and experiences from that time were still fresh in my mind.

But I couldn’t exactly say that, so I reluctantly nodded.

“Then there you go. Learning about demon nest supplies and strategies is a first-year thing now. Of course you wouldn’t remember.”

It was annoying to be dismissed, but from her perspective, it was simply fact.

I had zero demon nest gear and depended entirely on Cecilia’s help.

“Come on—let’s go, hurry!”

For some reason, though, I already had a feeling this was going to be extremely tedious.

——

“How about this?”

“Looks good on you.”

“And this one?”

“Seems comfy and nice.”

“Ugh! Take this seriously! It’s not even for me.”

Not like I’m wearing it either.

I fiddled with the sleeve of the robe, embedded with all sorts of magic protection and even an auto-cleaning spell, and wondered:

Just how much does this cost?

Not that I have room to talk, but the hero party’s spending habits could use some work.

With this much, how many bowls of soup could I buy?

Cecilia and I were currently at a high-end clothing store in the Empire.

As she’d said, the items she was picking weren’t for her—they were for me.

But what did it matter? Even if I was the one shopping, it was still boring.

Of course, if I told Cecilia I didn’t want to, she’d stop—but I couldn’t bring myself to do that.

Jangle—

The pouch of coins Cecilia had given me as payment for humoring her clinked in my pocket.

Just like I’d bribed Jim, Cecilia had bribed me.

I was the Grave family heir, so it wasn’t like I had no money.

But if I spent recklessly, someone would notice—namely, Chris, who was already way too interested in my every move.

So I’d been trying to minimize my spending when Cecilia made her offer.

Still…

“At this rate, we’ll definitely be late.”

“Aww, just a little longer.”

“You’re fine with making the others wait? If we’re any later, the Church might catch on—and you were the one who said that’d be bad.”

“Sigh… Fine. If we must.”

Cecilia walked to the counter and plopped down a pouch identical to the one I’d given Jim.

“Everything he’s holding. All of it.”

“Y-Yes! Right away!”

Though her face was hidden, the clerk must’ve guessed she wasn’t ordinary—hence the hasty pocketing of the pouch.

Then why make me pick in the first place?