Chapter 221: Pioneer Village

With Glinda’s condition, the biggest problem, resolved, we had no reason to linger any longer and passed through the Vulcan Mountains at breakneck speed.

We spent days worrying sick that the elves, having suffered a devastating blow, might send pursuers after us, but seeing as not even a shadow of them appeared until we crossed the border, it seemed their chain of command had collapsed, leaving them no time for such things.

“Well, a meteor did fall right on their heads.”

Considering the horrific devastation wrought by the meteor impact, it would likely take quite some time to restore the front-line outpost.

“Huh? What did you just say?”

“No, just talking to myself.”

Brushing off Dorothea’s question, who had been following behind, I left the Vulcan Mountains, which I’d already relied on twice, behind and set off on the long journey home towards the Demon King’s Castle.

---

After a day and a half of forced marching, we barely set foot in the pioneer village formed at the foot of the Vulcan Mountains. Asking a passerby for directions, we headed towards the only pub-and-inn combination the village had.

“Why does it feel like they’re looking at us unfavorably?”

As Hilde muttered, looking back with a puzzled expression, it was Glinda who cleared up her confusion.

“It’s because we came down from the direction of the Vulcan Mountains. Besides, there are humans and elves here, who aren’t usually seen around this area.”

“I see.”

Hilde nodded as if she understood, and Glinda said, “We should be careful with our words and actions in this village,” cautioning Margaret and her mother beside her.

As we entered the inn with the rest of the party, all the Demons inside instantly turned their gazes towards us.

“…….”

Strange glances.

Perhaps because it was such a remote village, where everyone knew everyone else within a degree of separation, there was an atmosphere of exclusion towards outsiders.

Just then, Dorothea, whose personality didn’t involve worrying about such things, confidently took the lead. Lamia, who was drinking while leaning on a table, muttered.

“My, what a cheeky little brat.”

Dorothea glanced towards Lamia and said nonchalantly.

“Whatever, lady.”

“Grrr!”

Perhaps thanks to the exchange of sharp words, wrinkles formed on her forehead.

Anyway, we couldn’t just stand at the entrance forever, so we followed Dorothea inside the inn.

Maybe it was because there were a whopping nine of us, but it felt like the narrow inn entrance was completely packed just by our party entering.

As the representative of the group, I went to the counter and placed an order.

“Prepare three rooms where we can rest comfortably, and dinner according to the number of people.”

The Orc who appeared to be the owner put down the plate he was wiping and said.

“…10 silver.”

“Whoa, that’s a killer price for such a run-down inn.”

“If you don’t like it, you’re free to leave.”

“Who said I didn’t like it?”

Saying that, I opened my wallet and paid.

10 silver was normally enough to stay at a pretty decent inn in the royal capital, but considering our large group size and the fact that this was a remote area, I decided to let it slide.

Clink-

“Go upstairs and use the three rooms at the end of the hallway.”

“Okay.”

After receiving the keys, I suddenly remembered something and asked a question.

“Innkeeper, how long does it take to get to Dragon Mountain from here?”

“Dragon Mountain? Where’s that?”

“Ah, Dragon Mountain.”

“…It’s a day’s walk. But if you value your life, don’t enter the territory of the Dragons.”

“Thanks for the information.”

I grinned and said that, then headed upstairs to the second floor with the others.

---

As I had already expected, the condition of the rooms wasn’t great.

Creaky doors, comforters with stuffing spilling out, beds with straw poking through.

Honestly, our barn felt more sophisticated.

Still, it was much better than sleeping on blankets in an igloo, so I dragged my exhausted body onto the bed.

Flump!

“Ahhhh-“

“Is this the first proper bed I’ve had in ages?”

As I stomped my feet and reveled in the bed with my whole body, Camilla, standing beside me, said.

“It’s a shared bed, so please don’t mess it up too much.”

“Ah, right.”

I jumped up and apologized to Camilla and Sophia, who were sharing the room with me today, then started unpacking my luggage.

Just then, Sophia, standing quietly by the door, asked.

“By the way, Kaldraash-nim, what are your plans now?”

“My plans for what?”

“I mean, after we return to the Demon King’s Castle.”

“That…”

I was momentarily speechless.

Going as a delegation for a peace treaty, getting betrayed, and escaping from Elvenwood – that part was fine.

But what do I do now?

The elite soldiers of the Demon King’s Army who went with me are now unaccounted for, and I didn’t achieve any significant diplomatic results from my one-on-one talks with the Five Archons.

Although it felt like the Demon King had sent me to Elvenwood with the attitude of ‘might as well try even if it’s impossible’ from the start, looking purely at the results, I had completely failed the mission the Demon King gave me.

‘…I won’t be attacked for this, will I?’

Within the Demon King’s Army, there are still factions that look upon me unfavorably.

It’s probably because someone who only joined the Demon King’s Army about two years ago has risen through the ranks so quickly.

Up until now, I’d performed all my assigned missions perfectly, giving them no grounds to attack me, but this time, even I could see there were grounds for blame, so I figured I’d have to keep a low profile for a while.

Lost in my own world, making future plans in real-time, I snapped back to reality when someone knocked on the door.

Bang bang!

“Hey! Let’s go eat!”

It was unmistakably Dorothea’s voice.

“That girl’s got quite the nerve either.”

With a wry smile, I got up from the bed and told the two Maids, who were resting in their own ways, to come down with me.

---

After unpacking and coming down to the first floor, perhaps because it doubled as a pub, the inn was more crowded than when we had just checked in.

“Two more beers here!”

“Coming right up~”

“Bring more steak and sausages!”

“Yes~ Coming right up~”

Demon waitresses, answering in loud voices, darted back and forth.

Orcs and Kobolds shoveling meat and drinks into their huge mouths, even Imps and Birdkin engrossed in board games.

Maybe it’s because people are people everywhere, but outwardly, it looked no different from a pub run by humans.

We sat at the largest table on the first floor.

It was because, with our large number of people, it would be inconvenient to eat unless the table was big enough.

Curious glances naturally poured down on us.

Among them were glances mixed with lust directed at the beauties, who were rarely seen in such a rural backwater village.

However, I didn’t bother getting involved.

After all, everyone here was capable of taking care of themselves.

“Can the food be placed here?”

“Yes.”

Soon, various dishes began pouring out from the kitchen.

Perhaps thanks to paying the accommodation fee generously, the quality of the food served on the table was quite decent.

“Let’s eat.”

As the saying goes, ‘food comes first,’ and unable to wait any longer, I cut a large piece of the steak in front of me with my fork and knife and took a bite.

Chomp chomp!

The outside was brown and the inside was bright red, seeming to be cooked medium rare.

It was quite juicy, and although I didn’t know what kind of animal it was, it had a decent flavor.

As I ate, I observed the other members of the party; they all seemed to be eating with satisfied expressions.

Well, considering we hadn’t had proper meals in the mountains, anything would taste good.

While everyone was engrossed in their meal, forgetting even to talk.

“Oops!”

With a sound that seemed deliberate, yellow beer spilled over my head.

“…….”

Is this what they call a bolt from the blue?

No, actually, I didn’t care.

I was enjoying a delicious meal for the first time in a while, and I was just pissed off that insignificant bastards had interrupted my meal.

As I fiddled with my beer-soaked hair, having stopped eating, the black-skinned Demon who had just spilled the beer smirked and waved his hand.

“Sorry! Sorry! I accidentally spilled the beer. As a token of apology, I’ll buy you a beer, so please forgive me.”

That bastard, he’s smiling so annoyingly.

Scrape!

I put down the tableware in my hand and stood up.

“What? You wanna fight? You’ll get hurt.”

The Demon then clenched his fists as if he’d been waiting for this.

Behind him, other Demons who seemed to be his friends watched me with apparent interest.

It was such a picture-perfect situation that I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

The other members sitting at the same table stopped eating and watched my actions.

Normally, I would tell you to hold back in a situation like this, but-

“What are you doing, Kaldraash? Aren’t you gonna kick those shit-ass weaklings messing around right in front of you?”

Dorothea, known for her fiery temperament, raised her fork, saying, ‘If you won’t do it, I will?’

Of course, not wanting to be beaten to the punch by my beloved, I immediately landed a double punch straight to the face of the bastard who started the trouble.

Crash bang!

“A fight broke out!”

“Move back from the tables!”

The other customers, making a fuss as if they’d been waiting for this, cheered at the sight.

It felt like I’d been dragged into a perfectly orchestrated setup, but honestly, I didn’t care.

“Stop coming at me one by one like idiots. Come at me all at once.”

“Because the final winner will be me anyway.”