“So you’re saying you were defeated by that human kid and brought him all the way here?”

“B-but…”

The werewolf, who seemed to be the commander, made a gesture of slitting his throat, and the gnoll with three fingers cut off was dragged away.

Hearing the pitiful wailing grow fainter, I clicked my tongue.

“This is not a sight to show guests.”

“Quiet! Human, it has not yet been determined whether or not you are a guest of the Tribe Head.”

“Oh, how scary.”

The werewolf bared its teeth and snarled, but didn't go any further.

It was clear they didn’t want to act rashly in a situation where they didn't know if I was a guest of Avantnik.

It was a relief that they at least knew what the Eight Council was.

Otherwise, I would have had to beat up everyone in this outpost.

“How long will it take for the message to reach the Tribe Head?”

“You’ll have to wait a day or two. The Tribe Head isn’t a man of leisure.”

I had no intention of wasting a day in this place that had nothing but burnt tree stumps and grass.

I took out a ring from my pocket and flicked it upward.

The werewolf, surprised by my sudden action, watched the ring rise.

“Caw!”

A raven flew down, snatched the ring, and landed on my arm.

The suspicious look in the werewolf’s eyes turned to surprise.

“Could you get me some writing tools and paper?”

“Yes.”

With the paper and pen Wilhelm handed over, I scribbled a short message saying that I had arrived.

“Just hand this to Avantnik.”

The werewolf stroked its chin as it watched the raven with the letter fly away.

“So you really are from the Eight Council. You use a raven.”

“You know more than I expected?”

“You naturally learn these things working under the Tribe Head. And…”

The werewolf looked me up and down.

It didn’t feel great, but it bowed its head right away, so I missed my chance to interject.

“You must be the blind noble the ones who went to Eslick were talking about.”

“Blind?”

“The people here think anyone who walks around with their eyes closed is blind. There are quite a few blind shamans, you see. They’re just stupid, so don’t take it personally.”

I could definitely feel his attitude soften, but it wasn't the kind of feeling of groveling you'd get from meeting a strong person.

“Humans say they introduce themselves when they first meet. I’m First Mate Yenolkirsh. I know it’s hard to pronounce, so just call me Yenoki.”

“I am Count Valheit.”

First Mate, huh.

Considering that Avantnik uses the title of Captain when he's outside, this meant he was the second-in-command.

I didn’t know why the First Mate was in such a remote outpost, though.

“This outpost was set up in a hurry, so there's no comfortable place to host you. For now, you can use my tent over there. At least the stupid ones won’t bother you.”

If I were Korean, I'd probably have to refuse a couple of times, but I decided to accept the offer without a word.

Treating guests with the utmost respect was one of Charnirasho’s few virtues.

The problem was that it was difficult for a human to be treated as a guest.

“I should host the Tribe Head’s guest myself, but since we’re short-staffed after the fire, I’ll have to be rude.”

“It’s alright. I think it would be more comfortable to not have you around, anyway.”

The werewolf nodded and walked off toward his subordinates.

He uttered something unintelligible, but judging by his subordinates’ reactions and the tone of his voice, it was definitely cursing.

“He's not as violent as I thought. I thought all Demons had bad tempers.”

“Have you met many Demons?”

“No. I’ve only seen them in passing. But I’ve heard about them and read about them in books.”

It’s true that Demons are the easiest villains to feature in adventure novels.

There's no reason to pick a fight with them, and no one would be sad if they died.

Given that this was the case even in the Empire, where Demons at least didn't get rocks thrown at them, it was obvious what rumors and books from other places would be like.

“You should just take those with a grain of salt. It’s not all true, and it’s not all false, so you should see for yourself and judge.”

“Yes.”

I was going to have to meet with Demons more than once or twice, so it would be a problem if I kept thinking like that.

This matter alone wasn't just about dealing with the Demons of Charnirasho.

There was only one reason I came here myself.

To suck Noah dry.

***

Avantnik appeared at the outpost in less than half a day.

It was unexpected that he came himself.

“It wouldn’t do for a Tribe Head to laze around when a valuable guest has arrived. Normally, I would have set up a lavish feast, a return for the one I had at the Headquarters, but the situation is what it is.”

The fact that he was putting on a pretense and treating me like a guest didn't make me feel warm; it filled me with suspicion instead.

“I didn’t expect you to come in person. I thought you would just tell me where to go and that would be it.”

“That would be the case for a normal guest, but as for Count Valheit, shouldn’t I be the one to serve you?”

If you looked at him, he seemed like a great, magnanimous person, but honor-bound pirates like him only exist in cartoons.

This meant he had a different agenda.

Like he needed to keep a close eye on me himself...

“But I did bring some alcohol. It'll be better than that bland stuff they sell in the Imperial Capital.”

“I’ll gladly drink it.”

I exchanged perfunctory pleasantries and fell silent.

Unless he could read my mind and know why I was here, he would start dropping hints soon enough.

“It hasn't been long since the Eight Council meeting, and you’re already on a trip. That’s not like Count Valheit. It must not be an easy task, is it?”

As a subordinate brought out the glasses, Avantnik whispered.

It was blatant, but it was better because there was no need to beat around the bush.

“This was a topic that came up briefly at the meeting, but you said you were protecting the Demons who escaped from the Northern Federation, didn't you?”

“That’s right.”

He spoke lightly as if it were a trivial matter, but I could see him thinking.

He was probably calculating why I brought up the subject.

“I was thinking of meeting with them, as they are friends of mine.”

“That would be difficult. They’re quite sensitive from living on the run. How about you visit them in a few days?”

Excuses came out smoothly, so he must have prepared for this to some extent.

If the matter was brought up at the Eight Council meeting, he would have thought they were quite valuable.

“Even if they’re people I know?”

“You don’t know all the Demons who were on that ship. There’s no need to make them tremble for no reason.”

“Can I take that to mean, ‘Don’t even think about meeting with those Demons because they are under the Captain’s protection’?”

“To put it aggressively, yes. I cannot let a guest meet them without knowing your intentions. This is a matter of Charnirasho’s honor.”

It was more a matter of face than honor.

He didn’t want to look like a Tribe Head who just handed his guests over.

Even if he didn't have to care about that reputation, it was a good enough excuse to refuse my request.

“I understand. It would not be right as a comrade to ask for something that would stain the Captain’s honor.”

“I appreciate your understanding. If you give me a few days, I’ll let you meet them. I can promise you that much.”

He wanted to raise the stakes and figure out my intentions in the meantime.

If that was the case, I also had a way.

“I have no intention of making an unreasonable request. But wasn’t there a human among the Demons you rescued?”

“…Huh.”

Avantnik hesitated before answering.

He seemed to think I already knew and was asking, and that assumption was correct.

How could he not know when I was the one who sent him?

“You didn’t lock up the human separately, did you?”

“Why would I do that? I treated him as a guest. Is that human the person you know?”

“You could say we know each other. His name is Ede, and he’s my direct subordinate.”

The area around us was noisy with the Demons having a drinking party, but silence fell where Avantnik and I sat.

“Did you have a direct subordinate besides that butler?”

“I was envious of everyone who had a subordinate, so I got one myself.”

“Haha, so the fellow you brought with you was a subordinate. I had no idea. No idea at all.”

“You can allow me to meet my subordinate, can’t you? I need to meet him quickly.”

Even if I was a guest, hierarchy was still hierarchy.

That was a very natural concept for the Canine Demon Tribe.

At least, according to the setting.

“Well, I suppose. Yenoki!”

Hiding his disappointment, Avantnik raised his voice, and the First Mate approached, reeking of alcohol.

“Do you want me to bring the human?”

“No, he said it was urgent, so it would be better for him to go directly. You guide him yourself.”

“…What about the Vestol guys crossing into the forest?”

“There’s no sailing for a while, so I’ll do it as a diversion.”

Yenoki nodded without another word.

With our conversation over, I got up from my seat.

“Thank you for your kindness, Avantnik. Oh, I forgot to mention one thing…”

Avantnik glared at me with an expression that said, ‘What is it now?’

I could see the relationship chart dropping without even having to look at the Status Window.

“Leitche has announced that they will postpone their pioneering project for the time being. They said they would take the Captain’s concerns into consideration.”

“For the time being means they will eventually do it.”

“You’ve bought some time to prepare. And you could say that the humans cowered after Avantnik’s roar.”

“Hmm. Well, that’s good news.”

It was a good story for Avantnik, who had the ambition to bring in other Demon tribes as well.

At the very least, it would prevent the relationship chart from plummeting.

“Putting Leitche’s official statement aside, what are you going to do about the Raven?”

“I’m going to figure that out now.”

I only said that and left the spot.

I could feel Avantnik’s gaze following me.

Since he didn’t detect me, he wasn’t hostile, at least.

“Let’s pack our bags and get ready to leave, Mr. Wilhelm.”

“Huh, yes? Oh, yes!”

Wilhelm, who was readily drinking the alcohol offered by the gnolls and werewolves, scrambled to his tent.

I was surprised he was so okay after drinking at least five glasses of what I saw.

“That guy can hold his liquor better than he looks. I thought he was just some kid who just shed his baby fat, but he's quite impressive.”

Yenoki said with a proud look on his face.

I didn’t know why he was so proud, but it wasn’t bad to get a good evaluation.

I wonder how Ede is doing.

I hope he didn’t get caught because he ran his mouth without thinking.

***

“Then, a knight appeared and blocked the robbers!”

“Why did a human protect the Demons?”

“Because he was a kind knight! He said, ‘You are the monsters,’ and then drew his sword…”

“Ahem.”

Ede turned his head at the sound of a cough, and Noah was standing there in an awkward posture.

“Kids, you’ll hear the rest of the story next time.”

“Aww…”

The Demon children, whose story was cut off right when it was getting interesting, looked at Ede with pleading eyes.

Ede shook his head with a firm expression.

“Alright, it’s bedtime. Only the kids who wake up early tomorrow morning will hear the rest of the story.”

The grumbling children scattered, and the smile on Ede’s face disappeared.

“What’s the matter?”

“Aren’t you treating me a bit too differently?”

“I just got swept up in this, and now I’m in a place swarming with demons. Wouldn’t it be more unnatural if I were friendly?”

Ede said in a cold voice.

It was a persona Valheit gave him.

To join as naturally as possible, swept up in the situation, and to show obvious signs of unhappiness.

Then, their commander would feel terribly sorry.

“I’m upset, too. I was so worried because I thought a normal human got swept up because of us.”

“Does that mean it’s not the case?”

“Nope. Count Valheit came and said you’re his subordinate.”

‘Ah… so I don’t need to act anymore.’

The icy look on Ede’s face thawed.

“Ugh… it was hard pretending to be the unfortunate protagonist, but it’s finally over.”

“You’re scary. Your face changed in a second.”

“So why is Count Valheit coming?”

If Count Valheit was coming in person and exposing his act, it couldn’t be a normal matter.

Noah shrugged and deliberately trailed off.

“Well… he says he wants to give us a job.”

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