Ch.68Innocent NPCs Getting Dragged In. (2)

“What?”

“People from the Empire keep coming. They’re asking for Ragni Bluemoon Ottoman. I told them she’s not here, but they don’t seem to believe me.”

The Demon Market called me over, and I thought he was summoning me because he hadn’t suffered enough from me yet. I came ready to teach him a lesson, but surprisingly, he’s passing along useful information.

Hmm. I’ve become too aggressive lately. But that’s all because of these demon bastards and unfair treatment, not my fault.

And now that I’ve dealt with one unfairness, the Empire is causing trouble… Where on earth can I find peace in my life?

“I rejected all their requests to send delegations to search for her, but according to recent information, there seems to be movement from the Imperial Palace to employ people from ‘that side.’ That’s all I have to say.”

“No. What do you mean by ‘that side,’ you weeb? Why are you cutting off the conversation as if you’ve explained everything with words only you understand?”

“Weeb… what? What’s that?”

“Didn’t anyone teach you not to answer a question with another question?”

The pretty Demon Market scrunches his eyebrows as if feeling wronged by my continued badgering. But I couldn’t find it in me to like him even if I wanted to.

“Look, I’ve been treating you quite amicably, so why are you talking to me like this? ‘Weeb’? What language is that even from? It doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Of course I’m going to complain. Have you forgotten what happened recently?”

This damn demon bitch not only tried to use his powers on us but was also caught by Ragni a few days ago while secretly investigating our backgrounds.

But this demon’s excuse is:

“That was—! You said you wanted to recommend your sister for admission, so I was just doing basic research…!!”

“Is it normal to hire people to investigate behind someone’s back? And is Ray even enrolling, you bitch? My sister is enrolling here, but you got caught investigating Ray, are you seriously taking me for an idiot?”

“Urgh!!”

When I clench my fist and scowl, the Market closes his mouth with an expression somewhere between pitiful and wronged.

But it’s not really pitiful or unfair, is it? Honestly, how can I treat him well after that?

“So, what do you mean by people from ‘that side’?”

“I’m talking about assassins. I think they plan to eliminate the princess.”

“…No. Why?”

They’ve been quiet until now, and suddenly? Why would they want to kill Ragni?

Shit, if they wanted to kill me, the princess kidnapper, I could maybe understand after making a thousand concessions.

But they want to kill the enslaved princess who was kidnapped? Why on earth?

“I wasn’t going to mention this because I’m not sure about the details, but you know about the recent Demon of Wrath incident? I publicly announced that I ‘personally’ prepared and stopped it, right?”

“Yes, and?”

“But it seems the Empire thinks it wasn’t me but the ‘princess’ who did something.”

“…What the hell kind of nonsense is that?”

I can’t help but grab my forehead at this absurdity. Ragni was just a home guardian this time and never even showed her face near the frontlines.

But suddenly they’re implicating her? Am I too stupid to understand this?

“Setting aside whether you’re stupid or not, it took me quite a while to understand too. You know the princess is smart, right?”

“Our girl is pretty clever.”

“…Right, they seem to think your girl is so smart that she stopped it with a strategy devised by her intellect that ‘even demons’ couldn’t counter.”

Jesus. Is that kind of thinking even possible? This isn’t just thinking outside the box.

And if they think she’s a princess who can even stop demons, shouldn’t they be desperately trying to take her back? What exactly am I witnessing here?

Parents trying to kill their talented child… Ah, right. Eight was a dark fantasy, wasn’t it? Is this how it’s supposed to be?

“Anyway, you’re saying assassins are coming?”

“Yes, I think I’ve done enough by telling you this much…”

“Then stop them all? If even one of them gets near us, you’re dead that very day, understand?”

“…What?”

Well, what can I do? If the Empire is going to act like that, I’ll use official authority to block them. When I tell the Demon Market that this is obviously what needs to be done, he widens his eyes as if he’s heard something absurd.

Why? What?

“Wait, you want me to fight the Empire to protect you? If that leads to war or economic retaliation…”

“Then the Empire becomes the asshole, and Aigram just becomes a little less prosperous than now. Isn’t that right?”

“Look. Even if you have leverage over me, if you come at me like this…”

“If you don’t help us, I’m thinking of ending your life right now, not just using leverage. I’ll announce that you’re a demon, kill you, become a hero, become the Market, and use that power to block them. Isn’t that also an option?”

“……”

Somehow my brain works really well when dealing with these guys? Do I have some intelligence buff related to demons?

Of course, I’m just saying this and don’t actually intend to do it. Why would I want to be a Market?

Besides, I don’t know if I’d win or lose in a serious fight with him, so there’s no need to make more enemies. However.

“…Damn. You’re such a thug.”

“Okay. Then stop them? Today’s information was quite helpful. Handle the Ira situation well too. Good luck~”

“……”

Anyway, he’s already cowering in a position of defeat, thinking he’s weaker than me.

After that pleasant information exchange, I walked out of the mansion. I heard something crashing inside, but who cares.

But I really am like a thug when dealing with demons. Of course, since it’s good for the world, I have no intention of changing this stance.

I headed back to where the kids were.

*

“…What? Aigram killed one of the Seven Deadly Sins demons?”

“Yes, young lady. You seem young, but don’t you know what’s happening in the world? Have you been living in some mountain retreat?”

The woman riding in a carriage heading to Aigram was momentarily stunned by this news.

Strange. Wasn’t the demon supposed to appear in Aigram several months from now? She had clearly received a revelation that it would appear next summer.

“Driver, this young lady is clearly from the Holy Nation, right? Don’t you know they usually don’t care about worldly affairs?”

“Huh? Ah, I see. A clergy member? Then you weren’t secluded in mountains but in a church, that’s why you didn’t know.”

“……”

She is a priest from the [Eight Holy Nation], the only religious country on this continent of Eight.

She simply moves according to the revelation that [The time has come].

“Hmm… Then there’s no point in heading to Aigram now. Where should I go?”

“Priest, where are you trying to go? Are you perhaps looking for those demon fellows?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. Something like that.”

“Oh my. You’re a devout priest indeed. Then instead of Aigram, which is already taken care of, wouldn’t it be better to look at other countries?”

“What? Other countries?”

The driver, who travels around, shared the information he knew with the priest.

Even though the Holy Nation doesn’t associate closely with that country, if this woman is truly ‘devout,’ she would surely want to know this.

“…So Ponia has monster parades and even demon followers… Driver, how long would it take to get from here to Ponia?”

“Hmm? If you get off at the next city, there should be a border carriage to Ponia in about two days. It’ll take roughly 6 months to get there.”

“Thank you for the kind explanation.”

While she believes that the ‘revelation’ before her is somewhat accurate, she doesn’t consider it definitive. After all, this ‘revelation’ shows:

[Ponia’s Destruction D-Day: 3 days]

[First Seven Deadly Sin Appearance D-Day: 69 days]

But Wrath, one of the Seven Deadly Sins, has already been eliminated in Aigram. This means the revelation could be wrong.

‘…I was told not to interfere with Ponia’s destruction, so I had no choice but to just gather strength, but now that I’m free…’

As the only one among those with the power of [Revelation], highly regarded in the Holy Nation, who moves forward without being swayed by [The Nation’s Will], perhaps she could change the events shown in this revelation. And then.

[Encounter with the Savior D-Day: 352 days]

Someday, she will meet that person and together save this continent from the threat of demons.

Lizerotte, a battle saint who lives solely by her devotion rather than the will of the Holy Nation, begins to move in a completely different direction from the ‘original work.’

This too is a snowball rolled by someone—no, it’s now a butterfly effect too massive to be called a snowball, though no one realizes it.

*

A few days after meeting with the Market.

“…We’re screwed.”

“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

After leaving Ira with the stone that depicted her, Ray, and Gore, I came to the guild with Ragni to gather information, and I realized that day had finally come.

[Philia Trading Company Escort Request – Participation Requirements: Blue Veteran and above…]

“What’s special about this request?”

“……”

What’s special? Originally, this request is supposed to be filled with the last spot taken by a playable character, and it departs today.

But instead of just one spot, there are three vacancies, and it’s departing this afternoon—in two hours. Soon this request will be taken down.

Can you see that female guild staff standing there, clearly thinking ‘Should I take it down or not?’ ‘What should I do?’

In other words, the moment I walk away from here, this request will be removed, and it will be confirmed that there is no playable character.

‘…Maybe I’m the playable character. I’ve thought about that briefly.’

[-Occupation: Mountain Keeper NPC- Level: 401 Name: Jack. Age: 18.]

Absolutely not. My occupation is fixed as a mountain keeper, and my level is problematic.

My stats aren’t exact, but thanks to additional stats, I’m stronger than my level suggests. However, my growth rate is garbage level. Plus, without registering a mountain, I’m weaker than Ray who’s only level 200.

Frankly speaking, if they gave the playable character position and reincarnation to a level 1 villager and told them to get stronger, they could become stronger than my current level.

More quickly, with a higher level and greater strength.

No matter how I think about it, I’m not a player, but if I just leave this here, someone will die.

No, quite a few adventurers and the trading company escort will die.

I clearly remember that this involves the Philia Trading Company’s daughter becoming friends with the player, opening up various sub-quests connected to the Philia Trading Company in different cities. Plus, the daughter gets close to the player after being attacked by bandits and having her escort wiped out.

She’s definitely not a combat NPC, but she seemed like a valuable material support NPC. But they’re not taking this quest? If there’s a player, there’s no reason to ignore this, right?

I kept staring at the request, and Ragni, frustrated by my lack of response, started reaching for the request.

-Grab!

“Huh? Why? Aren’t you interested in this request?”

“I am, but I wasn’t planning to take it.”

“…Then how long are you going to stare at it? It’s been 20 minutes already. Don’t you feel sorry for the guild staff over there? You should be satisfied with tormenting just me.”

“……”

When I grab her outstretched hand, she looks at me incredulously, then at the guild staff, and sighs.

Really, are we screwed? What should I do? It feels too unsettling to let people die.

‘Hey! You’re not going to save everyone with quests, right? Just ignore it and move on! No player means your female rabbit won’t get NTR’d, which is actually good!’

‘Let’s save them since they’re right in front of us and get those valuable materials. We don’t need to save everyone else, right? And are you satisfied with just one masochistic rabbit and a cat? If you’re lucky, you might hook up with someone else? Wouldn’t it be nice to be the kept man of a rich woman?’

The black Jack and the dark gray Jack inside me are fighting.

But what the hell are they saying?

Shouldn’t it be white and black fighting? Where did white Jack go?

“…Damn it.”

I finally decide to listen to gray Jack and reach out my hand.

It’s not that I want to seduce another ‘normal’ woman, but I might as well save a life while getting materials and compensation.

The request starts this afternoon anyway, and we could all move together. I’ll just leave Ira with Ray and Gore for today and go on this request.

“Sigh. Ragni, want to come on this request with me?”

“Huh? Sure. But what about Ray and Gore?”

“They’ll watch the house. I don’t want to take Ira to dangerous places.”

“Are you saying you don’t care about me?”

“I’m saying I need a smart slave.”

“Really, your treatment of me is chilling. I like it though.”

So I took down the request and was about to head outside after registering with the guild staff…

-Grab!!

“Eek?!”

“Wha?!”

Someone suddenly rushed toward Ragni at the entrance, and I quickly pulled her into my arms, causing the other person to nearly fall forward.

“I-I’m so sorry!”

“Watch where you’re going.”

With Ragni’s HP, she wouldn’t die from a collision, but it would still hurt.

Of course, that might be a reward for them, but if she injured her leg, we couldn’t take her today.

“I’m really sorry! I’m in a hurry!!”

The woman quickly bowed to us and rushed past.

Is she a beastkin? Cat ears? No, wait, that’s…

“She’s a beastkin. You always stare so intently at beastkin?”

“…Can you tell what kind of beastkin she is?”

“Huh? Cat… no. White tiger beastkin, right?”

“…Unbelievable.”

“Huh?”

The woman who rushed past us quickly approached the guild staff who had been handling the request earlier and began talking.

[-Occupation: Striker- : Level 15]

And the status window floating above her head showed a “job” that no one in this world had ever displayed before.