I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 16 - Chapter 112

Chapter 112:

The Demon Village

A SHORT WHILE AFTER TAKE-OFF, Reina finally managed to calm herself down and was behaving relatively normally. She had never been particularly afraid of heights to begin with—it was just that she’d been a bit traumatized by her previous aerial experience. Thankfully, Mile managed to assuage her fears by telling her about Kragon’s magic barrier and the fact that she herself had wind magic that could be used to slow a fall for a safe landing, should the worst happen. So, by the time Kragon landed and it was time to disembark, Reina was back to her usual self. 

She would probably be fine for the return trip, at this rate.

In any event, now that Kragon’s barrier and Mile’s warming magic had both ceased to protect them, Reina had a different concern to voice.

“Man, it’s cold out here.”

Thanks to Kragon, the Crimson Vow had now crossed the mountains into the northernmost reaches of the continent, near the home of the demons.

“That’s because we’re not just pretty far north, past the mountains, but we’re also at a pretty high elevation,” Mile replied.

“Okay, but what does that have to do with it being cold?”

“Huh?”

The other three looked at Reina askance. Setting aside Mile, who was exceptional in having learned so much in her previous life, Mavis and Pauline had gained a reasonable amount of knowledge from their general studies—knowledge that Reina seemed to lack. This was not to say that she was stupid or ignorant, just that as the daughter of a merchant and of a noble, respectively, Pauline and Mavis had both been educated on the attributes of other kingdoms. The climate of each region had a huge impact on what sort of goods could be produced there, harvest yields, and the distribution of certain animals and monsters. They might not understand the science behind it all, but the pair of them knew, whether as objective fact or merely rule of thumb, that it got colder the farther north you went or the higher in elevation you climbed. 

Reina, on the other hand, was merely the daughter of a one-cart peddler. Understanding the climates of far-flung locales was simply not relevant to someone who only did business with neighboring kingdoms at best, never mind far-off places. The same was true for most hunters. At most, those crossing the mountains in winter might reluctantly end up purchasing some extra gear on the recommendation of veteran hunters, guild staff, or the old-timers who ran the gear shops—and then return later to thank them tearfully for saving their lives. 

It was normal for people of the time to assume that the higher you climbed a mountain, the warmer it would get, as you got closer to the sun. This was a world where most people only left their own village to travel to the nearest town maybe three times in their whole life. It was no wonder there might be some gaps in their knowledge.

It just so happened that, in this respect, Reina’s education had not gone beyond that of the average commoner.

“Wait, s-so you’re telling me that places like this are cold even in summer?”

Reina was flabbergasted.

“W-would that mean it’s better to move somewhere closer to the mountains or farther north when the worst of the summer heat is sapping you?”

“Yes, that’s why the nobles all have summer homes.”

“Oh man! I was wondering why so many nobles travel so far in the summers! I knew that a lot of them built vacation homes by the sea or near lakes, but I had no idea that was why…”

As Mile explained all this, Reina was particularly shocked to realize she was the only one in the party who had not been aware of it. It was quite a blow to her pride, particularly since she’d considered herself fairly knowledgeable thanks to traveling the surrounding kingdoms with her father, commuting from town to town as a hunter, and being an avid reader. 

“It’s one thing for Mavis, growing up in a noble house, but how could there be something that Mile and Pauline know that I don’t?” she grumbled.

“Listen,” Pauline protested. “As a merchant’s daughter, I’ve received a fairly robust education! As for Mile…”

“Now hang on! I’m a noble’s daughter, too!” Mile raged.

All three growled at one another.

“Um, pardon me, but what should I be doing…?” Kragon timidly cut in.

“Oh right, sorry!” replied the four.

It was mainly out of courtesy to Mile that this elder dragon had carried them on his back all the way north. Still, it was utterly rude of them to ignore him to squabble with one another.

“Th-thank you for all your help. We’ll handle things from here on out, so you can go ahead and head home.”

“But how will you get back?”

“Ah. Right…”

Traveling by air had taken but a blink of an eye, but a journey on foot would take many, many days. The only positive was that they would be able to transport anything they hunted along the way whole, without spoilage… However, once humans knew comfort, they could no longer withstand hardship.

“Please come back to pick us up!” they said in chorus, all bowing their heads.

“But how should we call you when we’re ready to leave?” asked Mile.

Indeed, this was an issue. This planet did have an ionosphere, but there were no wireless devices or any other such conveniences, and Mile could not utilize the nanomachines for this kind of task which was, they said, “outside of their jurisdiction.” It made sense when you thought about it: Your average elder dragon was only at an authorization level 2, so the nanomachines could not speak to them. According to the nanos, they would have to be at least an authorization level 7. The beastfolk would not share the method they used to contact the dragons either, leaving the Crimson Vow without any means to do so. The four thought hard…

“Oh! I know!” gasped Mile suddenly. “What if I blew an ultrasonic flute one time for Berdetice, twice to summon Shelala, and three times for you?”

“Ahl-truh-sahn-ik? What does that mean?”

Unfortunately, this was not a concept with which the dragon was familiar. 

“That’s like that sound Fenrir could hear but no humans could—like from your stories, right?” asked Reina.

“But isn’t it more difficult for those sounds to travel? Especially with obstacles in the way?” Mavis wondered.

“And could a dragon even hear those sounds to begin with?” Pauline chimed in, the three of them all far more informed than Kragon, thanks to Mile’s tales.

“It’s fine! Don’t sweat the details!” said Mile.

“This is definitely more than just a detail!” 

No one was quite sure if Mile’s proposal was simply a joke, but in any event, it was swiftly rejected.

***

“Well, I’ll just be waiting somewhere around here then…”

“Sorry for all the trouble!”

Eventually, it was decided that Kragon, who said he was willing to wait “a few days,” would simply remain in the area, kicking back and picking fights with strong-looking monsters to kill the time. When the members of the Crimson Vow were ready to leave, they merely had to give the signal—three firebombs skyward—and he would come running. Mile had proposed this instead of the usual fireballs because it would be more obvious from a distance, and should Kragon happen to be sleeping or otherwise occupied at the time, it would almost certainly get his attention. Between the flames, the sound of the explosion, and the magical shock waves firebombs released when let off into the sky without obstructions, the result would be immediately noticeable to any elder dragon.

Kragon had offered to guide them directly to the demon village, seeing as he knew it well, but the members of the Crimson Vow vetoed this immediately. No matter how accustomed the villagers might be to visits from elder dragons, it might make things awkward if the Crimson Vow showed up on the back of one. The hunters had no problem with relying on the dragon’s influence should any unnecessary conflicts arise, but they would prefer things didn’t go in that direction to start. 

Their first contact had to be natural and friendly—as their mistress desired.

“To be fair,” Pauline pointed out, “we already met some demons at that second set of ruins, where we encountered the Scavengers, but we beat them pretty soundly then…”

“And I guess, to be fair,” Mavis added, “the second time we met them was at the third set of ruins in the Albarn Empire, but we mostly talked to the beastfolk then, not the demons, so I guess that doesn’t really count.”

As they both acknowledged, neither of the incidents really would have fallen into the category of a proper “first contact.”

“It’s fine!” said Mile. “Don’t sweat the details!” As usual, she did not seem particularly concerned about the little things…or even the big things.

***

“Halt!”

After hiking some distance in the direction that Kragon had pointed them in, the Crimson Vow were spotted by a demon lookout. Though they could not see the individual in question, he was likely peering down at them from somewhere in the treetops. Not wishing to start any unnecessary fights, the Crimson Vow did as they were told.

“You dare to trespass upon the kingdom of the demons?! Identify yourselves!”

Not only were they (apparently) two children and two just-barely-adults, but they were also slender young ladies, obviously not hiding any bulky muscles beneath their clothing or gear. It was rare for a human to get the better of a demon when it came to magic, and a guard such as this one, prepared not just to spot intruders but also to dispatch them if necessary, would find them easy pickings—even if he was technically outnumbered. If nothing else, he was a trained demon warrior, whereas they were but four weak humans. He would have been well within his rights to underestimate them. 

Still, that did not mean he would let his guard down. Not one inch. An opponent like this would be akin to a grizzled combat veteran and, as such, was to be treated with the utmost caution.

The four of them had somehow made it through these mountains, home to formidable monsters, on foot and unscathed. They showed no signs of fatigue, their gear and clothing marked by neither dirt nor damage. Anyone who would underestimate such a foe would not live long, and this man likely wouldn’t have been put solely in charge of this post if he’d been such a person. Quite the opposite—he’d been charged with protecting the villagers’ lives. He was a professional through and through, not just skilled in combat but with sharp judgment and acumen as well.

“Wha—? I know that demons live around here, but this isn’t like, a kingdom or anything. Not even a fief or a—ungh!”

Pauline clapped her hand over Mile’s mouth before she could say something truly egregious.

“We are aware that this is where the demon folk reside,” said Mavis as amiably as possible, hoping to move the proceedings forward peacefully, “but we do not mean to intrude…”

The lookout, however, was having none of it. “No matter your intentions, intruders are intruders!”

In fairness, it was likely no humanoid had ever traveled here with good intentions before. No politicians or emissaries would make such a trek. The only outsiders the demons ever saw would have been blackhearted merchants looking to turn a quick coin, or those of otherwise criminal intent. But what put this lookout most on guard was that the hunters had somehow managed to arrive without being caught in any of the village’s numerous layers of protection. It should have been impossible for anyone to make it to him, the village’s final line of defense, without detection. 

Seeing that the man had no intention of regarding them as anything other than suspicious characters, Mavis was forced to break out a weapon she had hoped to keep sheathed—a previously discussed final measure:

“Um, I was invited by Reltobert, the swordsman…”

“What?!”

The lookout was suddenly lost for words. Mavis had initially assumed this would be a futile gambit—no matter how small their numbers were, it was not as though this was the only demon village. It would be ridiculous to assume that this lookout knew the names of every single demon who lived in the region.

“W-wait—Reltobert the swordsman? He invited you?! You…y-you are a woman…right? Th-this can’t be…”

However, her words had had a great impact. Apparently, Reltobert was a figure of some note. Mavis also sensed something else folded into the man’s surprise.

“Oh, um, I wasn’t implying that you don’t look like a woman or anything! I was just thrown a bit off because, well, Reltobert’s lack of interest in women is actually the reason he’s so infamous. I intended no affront!” the man hurriedly apologized. He must have read something in Mavis’s expression and gathered that, woman or no, this was an odd way to speak to a human invader he was meant to be repelling. Perhaps he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

“Oh, er…” Mavis felt she should clarify that she was definitely not this man’s lover; however, this seemed to be neither the time nor the place.

“We also got acquainted with Zawin, their commander,” said Reina, recalling the man who had been acting as the demons’ leader. She had received an invitation herself but remembered neither the name of that young man nor of his sister… Actually, she wasn’t sure she’d even gotten their names in the first place. 

Mile and Pauline, meanwhile, had received no solicitations.

“What?! You know Zawin, too?! I see…so you truly are friends…”

It was a little odd that they just so happened to be acquainted with two useful parties—but looking at it another way, it made sense that Kragon would carry them to the same settlement that had contracted the elder dragons in their investigation. 

“Understood,” said the man. “If those two have given you their approval, then I suppose you are worthy of my trust, humans or no. Worthy individuals can be said to exist even among goblin kind, so surely the percentage of decent humans must be higher than zero…”

It sounded terrible when he said it like that, but perhaps it was the easiest way for a demon to reason that there were at least a few good eggs among the humans. 

“There’s no such thing as a ‘worthy’ goblin!” snapped Reina, stuck on the comparison—a comparison she would have been wiser to let slide. 

The lookout, however, simply ignored her protest.

After a few more moments of apparently deep thought, he appeared from out of the trees. “I suppose you should follow me…” 

They had been unable to pinpoint the man’s location during the initial questioning, but as the exchange had gone on, the Crimson Vow had been able to guess his general position. Thus, none of the girls were startled by his sudden appearance.

“Just a moment,” said the man, scrunching up his face for some reason.

“Huh? Wh-whoa!” Now Mile was shocked, for some reason of her own. “Wait, you…”

“Huh?” Now it was the demon’s turn for surprise.

“Wh-what is going on…?”

“W-wait—you sense it?!” said the demon, his eyes widening in shock.

Mile still seemed bewildered but managed to reply, “Y…yes. I just felt some sort of pulse in my head…”

“Pulse? What’s that mean?”

The demon did not understand the term Mile was using—and really, what she meant was that she had heard something akin to a square wave. “Pulse,” which typically meant something more like “a signal that causes an acute reaction at short range,” probably wasn’t the right word, anyway.

“Um, it’s like, a signal that reverberates inside your head…” she explained.

The demon’s eyes narrowed silently, fearful.

“Uh, um—I, uh…” Mile stammered as he continued to look at her in silence. Something had clearly shifted in him—for the worse.

“…Never mind that,” he finally said. “Just wait right there.”

The members of the Crimson Vow breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, things still seemed to be on track. Despite his request for them to wait, however, the man did not appear to be doing anything. Odd. Even so, the girls did just as they were told.

After a time, two people—demons, judging by the horns on their heads—appeared.

“What’s up, Laraque? You sent the signal that something unexpected had occurred… Wait, who the hell are they? Are those humans?!”

“Oh! A signal!” Mile shouted. “That explains what that dial tone—er, demon tone?—was about!”

“Huh?!” cried the two newcomers.

The first demon did not share their surprise, having already gathered that Mile was somehow able to pick up on their methods of communication. Still, this was clearly a shock to the other two.

“H-how in the hell do you know about that?!”

“Capture them! Don’t let them escape!!”

“Whoa now, hang on there. Calm down, guys…”

“And just how could we be calm at a time like this?!”

***

After some commotion, the first demon, apparently named Laraque, explained the situation to the other two. Firstly, these humans had received an invitation from Reltobert and also knew Zawin. Secondly, while it might seem like someone had leaked knowledge of the demons’ secret mode of communication to them, it was really just that this little girl was apparently capable of receiving their signals. 

“What?! Is she a half-demon?!”

“No! Even if she were a demon-human mix, she shouldn’t be able to pick up on our signals without horns. So, how can this be?”

The three demons were silent.

“Seriously, Mile, why is it that wherever we go, everyone thinks you’re some kind of crossbreed?” sighed Reina.

“How should I know?!” Mile griped.

At least this time, the accusation had not been attributed to the fact that her chest was “so modest” or her “smelling like an elf.” By comparison, being deemed suspicious because she could intercept demon transmissions was rather reassuring.

“Anyway, both of my parents were from the main houses of two noble lines, both of which have been purely human for at least ten generations! Human nobles are particularly concerned with their bloodlines, after all…”

“Wh…?”

The demons seemed to be aware of this fact, which only left them all the more bewildered.

“The problem here is that this girl’s got no horns. Even among our kind, not everyone can sense these signals, but the horns are definitely crucial. No matter how weak your demon blood is, it’d be impossible for a hornless…”

Hornless. Hornless… Where have I heard that term before? Mile pondered. The Hundred Demons Empire? No, that’s not it. Um, uhhh… Oh! That’s it! Voltes V!!!

For some reason, she looked quite pleased with herself. 

“Um, so does this mean you discriminate against those without horns?”

“Huh?”

The three demons seemed baffled at her question.

“Why would we discriminate against someone without horns?” asked one.

“You mean in the way that you humans discriminate against your own kind for things like having no hair, or being short, or a bit rotund, or flat in the chest?”

“Please forgive us!!!!”

The demons could not hide their bewilderment as the four girls suddenly fell to their knees, groveling in apology…

***

“Okay, I leave it to you!”

“You got it!”

After entrusting his post to one of the other two demons who had arrived on the scene, Laraque began guiding the Crimson Vow to his village. The other latecomer was sent ahead to inform the villagers. Showing up unannounced with a human—or rather, four of them—in tow was certain to cause a commotion; thus, the need for a bit of forewarning. As the Crimson Vow were walking at a normal pace, the runner had plenty of time to inform the village chief and elder, other persons of influence, and of course Reltobert, Zawin, and the siblings.

Laraque could have chosen to leave the roles of runner and guide to the other two and stuck to his own post as lookout, but someone was going to have to explain what had happened when he first spotted the girls. More importantly, this just seemed more exciting than sitting out in the woods doing nothing. There was no way he was going to pass up on this chance to be at the center of the action. The other two were perfectly capable of receiving and sending magical transmissions, so they would be just as well suited for the lookout role. It was precisely why they had already been on standby, to respond in the case of emergency reinforcements being necessary.

Both of the others had looked like they wished to say something when Laraque declared he would guide the girls into the village, but he pretended not to notice. Again, no one would willingly choose the boring job of keeping watch over something more exciting. And the demons being left to keep the watch had been given that boring job instead of the more interesting one. Who wouldn’t be put out by that?

Still, this was a sacred duty, one crucial to the survival of their race. The demon who had been asked to take over as lookout gritted his teeth, but managed to feign a smile and accept his role graciously. Clearly, he was a man of outstanding character. 

“You better tell me everything later, Laraque…” he hissed, eyes full of spite.

“O-of course!” said Laraque, shrinking.

“And I expect the next round of drinks to be on you…”

“O…of course!”

…Or perhaps not.

***

Laraque struck up a conversation with the girls on the way to the village, hoping to glean a little more information about the strangers.

“You said that Reltobert invited you here, but exactly what sort of relationship do you have with him? And why would he extend that invitation?”

The four were silent. This was a difficult question, one that only Mavis could answer.

“Um, well, we’re…really just two people who battled each other in a sword fight. A-and as for why, well, I guess he just uh…wanted to see me again…?”

“Oh ho!”

Reltobert himself had not said anything specific enough for Mavis to be certain of her position. She didn’t want to exaggerate the nature of their relationship and cause trouble—particularly since she’d really only invoked the invitation to help facilitate Mile’s desire to visit the village. She hadn’t wanted to accept Reltobert’s invitation on her own behalf—hence, her diffidence at the prospect. However, Laraque simply interpreted this as shyness on Mavis’s part. 

That was just how things went sometimes…

“Hmm, if Mable is the mother, and Mavis is like the dog, and Marybell is the silver rose…”

Mile began muttering something, and her words made Mavis’s lips twitch.

“Denial, viral, spiral…”

Mile continued, oblivious to Mavis’s reaction. And then…

“Oh! I’ve got it!”

Mile clapped her hands together, a light bulb practically appearing over her head.

“You’ve…got what?” asked Mavis, barely suppressing a smile.

“The names of those siblings! The brother was interested in Reina, and the sister extended the invitation for him! I think their names were Merril and ‘Big Brother Chirel.’ Eh heh heh! My powers of recollection astound even me!”

“Why—of all this—would that be what you can recall?!?!” Reina screamed, going red in the face.

“My! Do we have another possible half-demon here? Eep!” The demon began to mutter to himself before his face suddenly twisted under Reina’s glare. She looked as though she was about to kill several men. The other members of the Crimson Vow knew this to be just another charming facet of her tsundere ways, but it truly seemed to put the fear of death in the demon man.

“There, there now,” said Mile, trying to pacify Reina, which only enraged her further.

And so the Crimson Vow continue toward the demon village, totally falling apart as usual…

***

“We’re finally here, the demon village…”

Mile halted in place, her eyes sparkling with delight. To be frank, the village itself was incredibly ordinary. It was not as though the demons never had any contact with humans. The general construction techniques were the same as what you might see anywhere, unlike in the elven village, where the buildings were crafted to fit seamlessly in with the natural surroundings. Here, the size and shapes of the houses were much like those in human settlements, the demons themselves being not so different in form. In fact, it appeared that the only real difference was the height of the doorways, perhaps to accommodate those with particularly large horns.

The area the village occupied was fairly large, not so much so as to be thought of as a town, but certainly big enough to house a decently sized population. Of course, it made sense that the dragons would have chosen a larger settlement to work with, as a smaller village would not have the available manpower to send numerous people off into human-occupied lands.

When they had visited the elven village, the other members of the Crimson Vow had been fascinated, dying to know more about how the elusive elves lived, but they had no such interest in the demons. This time, they were merely tagging along with Mile. 

Mile, meanwhile, seemed to be almost unreasonably excited. Perhaps she thought that she needed to make her joy at the situation especially obvious, given that the others had come all the way here solely to satisfy her whim. In truth, her main reason for coming out to the village was to further her current life’s work: determining the elder dragons’ intent—though she already had a fair idea of what it might be. She was not yet ready to reveal her true motivation to the rest of her party, so she kept up the facade that this trip was merely for her own frivolous interests—a sightseeing tour.

“Right this way,” said Laraque as he led them into the village, paying no mind to Mile’s little performance. He ushered them toward a building that resembled an assembly hall, community center, or something of the sort.

***

“For what purpose would a group of humans, especially children and youths barely of age, make their way across these perilous mountains?”

Though the runner would already have informed the village’s leaders that the Crimson Vow had traveled to the village by invitation, the distance they’d crossed and the effort they’d expended to get here naturally raised questions. It was a long and dangerous journey from the closest human settlement, and to make the trip just to accept an invitation from someone they had met only once—an enemy, no less—seemed extremely odd. 

The village chief, elder, and other local leaders sat before the Crimson Vow. A short distance away sat Zawin, the leader of the investigation corps, looking rather put out. Beside him were Reltobert the swordsman and the two siblings, Merril and Chirel. The first demon gentleman they had met—whom they were never properly introduced to—and the one who had fallen victim to Pauline’s hot magic were nowhere to be seen. (The Crimson Vow could guess why.)

Noticing this, Pauline seemed rather chipper…something the others unanimously did not dare speculate about. 

“So, it was my invitation that brought you here?” asked Reltobert, seeming quite moved.

“No,” Mavis swiftly replied. “We came because Mile wanted to come.” 

“What? But according to Merril, you came here to see me…”

“That was just the excuse we gave so that we could get in here—er, just one of the reasons,” said Reina, swiftly correcting herself. But at this point, it was too late to take back her words, which amounted to an admission that they had lied their way into the village. 

“D-dang!” Reltobert and Chirel both sighed, shoulders slumping in disappointment.

“This is ridiculous!” shouted one of the leaders. “We summoned all the top brass because you two said these human girls had come to be your brides!”

Ah, the eternal folly of a man who had misinterpreted the situation. Suddenly, these demons were transformed into the sort of cringeworthy fellows who would blindly believe that a woman was in love with them and repeatedly badger her with flirtation or even resort to stalker-level behavior.

“W-well, it is true that we accepted their invitations…” Mile offered, hoping to cut the pair some slack. “But we also came here for sightseeing purposes.” 

“And that’s reason enough for you to cross these dangerous mountains?” asked the chief.

“Ah ha ha…” Mile laughed nervously.

The chief continued his questioning. “So then, where have you come from?” 

“Ah, well, the kingdom of Tils.”

“What?”

“Where the heck is that?”

“I’ve never heard of that country!”

Their reaction was typical for this world. Most who inhabited villages like these didn’t even know the names of any lands more distant than the nearest few powerful nations. Some of them had traveled far on duty for the elder dragons, but they would have been investigating ruins that were far from any human settlement, and, therefore, would not have interacted with their kind while there. Neither the ones who had traveled or the village leaders, who had likely stayed home, could be expected to learn the human names of this or that region. Furthermore, as they were shuttled to these far-off places by the elder dragons, they had not looked upon any maps… 

“D-don’t tell me you’ve come all the way from the south of the continent…” the village elder muttered in disbelief. He, at least, seemed to have some awareness of geography.

“Yes,” Mile replied bluntly, “we came from the capital of that kingdom.”

“What in the world?!?!”

That was really a bit—no, incredibly—far to travel on a mere “sightseeing trip.”

“R-ridiculous! No one would travel such a distance on some casual excursion! I don’t care who you are, or where you come from, no one travels days—weeks!—through such perilous terrain to visit with a race that frankly wishes little to do with your kind! Now, state your true intentions! No, wait, y-you’re after the holy maiden, aren’t you?!”

“Holy maiden?” echoed the voices of the Crimson Vow.

“Ah…”

The villagers all sighed in disappointment. Clearly the Crimson Vow had not even heard of this person before, which meant their elder had stumbled into offering up some brand-new information. 

Though they could not be said to be on good terms, the accepted narrative was that demons and humans were equals, both bound by treaties of nonaggression and lawfulness towards one another. This made it unlikely that the demons would suddenly order the slaughter of a group of young girls merely to protect the village’s secrets—but not impossible. Should the villagers deem the protection of their secrets more important than the risk of violating those treaties… 

The Crimson Vow did not let it show in their expressions or movements, but they were silently preparing themselves for a fight to break out at any moment.

Still, Zawin seemed to notice the way their grips shifted on their staves. “We have our own pride and dignity,” he called from the sidelines. “We would never do anything that would shame us in the faces of our ancestors or that we could not proudly present to the Goddess as proof of our right to be allowed into the halls of the divine after our deaths!” 

Among all these influential individuals sat Merril, who had tagged along with the investigation party and was present as an acquaintance of the Crimson Vow—part of the cause, er, the reason, for the young hunters being there. Merril was lower in rank than the others assembled, but under the circumstances, no one would fault her for acting as an intermediary between the two sides.

A holy maiden… Mile thought, ignoring Zawin. I wonder if that’s anything like a shrine maiden.

Though such roles had become muddled in modern Japan, technically there was a very strict stratification of holy roles at temples. However, this had neither been an area of expertise for Mile in her previous life nor something that had come up in this life in her studies as either Mile or Adele.

“Well,” Mile said, “we have got to talk to this holy maiden person!”

“I knew it!” the elder cried.

“Knew it…” the other members of the Crimson Vow muttered.

Though their words were the same, there was a vast difference in tone and nuance…

***

Clearly, continuing to argue with insufficient information would only confuse the issue and get them nowhere. Once everyone finally realized this, they decided it was best to start over from scratch, beginning with introductions.

“We are the Crimson Vow, a C-rank hunting party operating out of the capital of the kingdom of Tils,” Mavis announced. 

As the party’s leader, it was up to her to make their official introduction, but Mavis left the rest to Mile. It would be hard for any of the others to judge exactly how much they should reveal to the demon villagers. It was especially hard for anyone but Mile to determine how to explain the matter of the ruins and the golems and the Scavengers, or if that part should be omitted entirely. The rest of the party didn’t even fully understand it, leaving them no choice but to entrust it to her.

“We are already fairly well aware of how the elder dragons have been contracting the beastfolk and demons to investigate various ruins. We have also interceded to prevent conflict between them and humankind. We have had dealings with the dwarves and elves, and the beastfolk, to some degree. We have something of a rapport with the elder dragons, too.”

“Just who the hell are you?!?!”

Building a relationship between races that didn’t often interact was no small feat, especially when it was frequently a multiple-day trip between settlements. It was tricky to cultivate friendly relations between two groups that might otherwise be ill-disposed, if not outright antagonistic. Even if their top officials and diplomats wished to establish a rapport, they might face opposition from others in the group—in the worst-case scenario, an ill-meaning individual might even strike out and undermine the whole operation with violence or murder. 

It was impossible for a group of little girls to cultivate the kind of network Mile had described. 

“How is it you have your fingers in all these pies?! You’ve created a relationship with the elder dragons?” The elder demanded to know more.

“Well, one thing sort of led to another… Actually, Mr. Zawin there would have given a report of our encounter, yes? So you know about that. And then there was the matter of the caverns in the Empire…”

“That was all you?!”

During the incident with the Scavengers in the Empire, the Crimson Vow had primarily interacted with the beastfolk and Kragon, only interfacing briefly with the demons and never engaging in direct conversation with them. It made sense that the name of their party had never made it back to the demon village in connection with that incident. The elder dragons didn’t seem to entrust the demons and beastfolk they contracted for these investigations with much information, and the demons and beastfolk didn’t seem to be talking to each other, either. In fact, it seemed the elder dragons preferred to keep it all on the down-low—which meant, of course, that it must be important. 

“Now that I recall, there was a mention of four young human girls…”

Though they wouldn’t know what had happened inside the caves, apparently the demons had gotten some word of what happened outside them. 

“Hm? Wait. Four young human girls? Four young girls. Four. Four… Oh!”

The village chief began muttering something, as if deep in thought, and then suddenly went pale.

“W-w-w-w-wait! Elder, are th-th-th-they…”

“Hm? What? Spit it out!”

The elder did not seem to be making the connection, but the chief’s words clearly rang a bell for one of the other leaders in the room.

“Could they be…?”

“Those in the missive from the elder dragons…”

“Oh…”

Oh right, thought Reina, they did say they were going to notify everyone about us, “for safety’s sake”…

So they did, thought Mile.

They did say that, thought Mavis.

Right, now I remember, thought Pauline.

“Pardon,” said the chief. “Could you give us your names once more?”

“I am Mavis von Austien, leader of the Crimson Vow!”

“I am the Crimson Reina, also of the Crimson Vow!”

“I am Pauline, likewise!”

“And I am the fabulo… I am Mile!”

Naturally, Mile refrained from launching any explosions or flashes or smoke bombs, lest the demons mistake it for an attack.

Hearing these introductions, the demons fell to their knees and cried as one, “Please forgive uuuusss!!!”

Wow, Mile thought absently, dogeza-style apologies really have gotten popular these days. 

***

“Well, I see then.”

The chief and company had realized that the Crimson Vow were the so-called “calamity” whom even the elder dragons gave a wide berth. They had all been warned: “Do not meddle with them, do not defy them, be friendly and accommodating in all matters involving them, and simply pray for their swift departure.” They hurriedly whispered this information to the elder, who then abruptly changed his demeanor, freely giving the girls any demon lore that they wished to know. The members of the Crimson Vow were aware that this only included information that was safe for them to hear, but they certainly weren’t going to bully more out of him.

Having heard the demons’ legends, the girls were largely unimpressed.

“They’re pretty much the same as the other races’ folklore,” sighed Mile.

“But the contents were pretty biased…” said Mavis.

“No wonder the humanoids can’t stand them,” pondered Pauline.

“What’s with all the demon supremacy?” muttered Reina.

In a word, the legends were unpleasant. The stories themselves weren’t uninteresting—the components and storytelling techniques were comparable to those of other races, with just as many myths and heroes and such, all things that would be perfectly fine to pass down to demon children. However, there was quite a bit of ‘Let’s go demons!’ and ‘Down with the outsiders!’ talk. A bit too much.

As Reina had noted, the demons clearly had a supremacist streak. Their legends betrayed a clear distaste for all humanoids—human, elven, and dwarven. It was frankly a wonder that they even got along with the beastfolk. Of course, given that the beastfolk also faced discrimination from the humanoids, it stood to reason that they would prefer the demons. Said demons clearly still looked down on their beastfolk counterparts but at least refrained from outright enslavement, ostracization, or harassment. 

Plus, it wasn’t as though the beastfolk were the only ones the demons scorned. To the demons, all other creatures that shared the same basic form—humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, fairies, and more—were lesser beings. The beastfolk had to find this preferable to being singled out as uniquely less-than. 

“I would never want to deal with a group like that,” said Reina.

“Same here! I would avoid them if I could,” Mavis agreed.

“I mean, I guess I could put up with them as long as they honored their contracts and paid all their dues…” mused Pauline.

“And what was with that whole creation thing? ‘Discouraged by their continued failures in the form of the elves, dwarves, beasts, and fairies, the gods learned from their mistakes and finally achieved success. Those were the demons.’ An ultimate life-form? The perfect creation? Are they the Pillar Men?! Er, I shouldn’t even be thinking about them… But really, a race to rule the world? Does this elitism know no bounds?!”

They had all seemed so earnest in their viewpoints. But every demon the Crimson Vow had encountered at the excavation sites had been perfectly polite, even when antagonistic.

“How could these stories be so utterly wretched?!”

“They’re just like that elder dragon brat… That stupid child…”

“Pauline, that’s not really a nice way of putting it…”

“Ah ha ha…”

The chief and elder, meanwhile, were red in the face and trembling. The girls really were being a bit too frank with their opinions—and right in front of them! Normally, those would be fighting words. However, it would be unreasonable to enact violence upon a group of weak humans, all female and incredibly young at that. If the other races found out, they would never live it down… Not to mention it would require violating an elder dragon’s decree in the first place.

The demons were reluctant to defy the dragons in any way. It would be one thing if they could simply pay no mind to the warning that, should their words be ignored, “The world will fall to ruin…or at least, this settlement shall be destroyed, and we elder dragons shall do naught to come to your aid,” but they were all aware that the elder dragons were not the sort to say such a thing in jest.

“D…d-do you not think you may have spoken a bit out of turn?” The elder’s words were still polite and his tone respectful, but he was trembling with rage, veins bulging on his forehead.

Oh, he’s mad. 

The Crimson Vow had no intention of purposefully angering the demons. Nor did they have any desire to torment an old man. They simply hadn’t felt the need to go along with the ridiculous demon supremacist legends and had gotten a bit carried away as they talked. The legends were rather distasteful…

“Well, I guess that stuff isn’t really all that important.”

“Wha…?”

The elder was now less enraged than stunned by how flippantly Mile could brush off the protests that he had so desperately fought to keep civil. 

“Hmm…” Mile appeared to be deep in thought. It seemed that her attention had moved on to something else entirely. “I would really love to meet this holy maiden that you mentioned.”

The demons all fell deeply silent. No one said a word.

“Um, so, the holy maiden…?”

More silence.

“The prieste—”

“We heard you the first time!” the elder shouted. He seemed unsure of what to tell her, caught between a desire to protect the holy maiden and his fear of violating the elder dragons’ warning. “Hrmm…”

The elder, who had unfortunately divulged a secret without being asked, had been the instrument of his own unmaking. The other demons could only stare soberly at the old man. It was clear to Mile that he wished to keep this person’s existence a secret, but she wasn’t about to let something like that stop her. Still, she could cut him a break for now. 

“I’m sure that the holy maiden has her own affairs to attend to, so tomorrow would be fine, too.”

“………”

“Please?”

“………”

“Pretty, pretty please!!!”

“F-fine…”

Got him!

Mile was persistent in a way that she could not have begun to imagine in her previous life as Misato. Apparently, she had left all her humility—along with the version of herself who would keep her own desires to herself—back on Earth. She still hated to make a spectacle of herself, but in this life, she was going to do what she wanted to do and say what she wanted to say. If she were to live exactly the way she lived the last time, this precious second chance would be all for naught. So, it was fine to be a little crafty—and more than a little forceful—now and then.

Still, the vibes are getting kind of awkward in here now… I didn’t come to pick a fight with anyone, Mile thought, in a rare show of social awareness. There must be some way to ease the tension a bit. 

“Hey, I know! Let’s continue discussing this over some food. We’ll provide the refreshments!”

“Huh?”

The Crimson Vow did not appear to have any luggage other than the clothes on their backs. And yet, here Mile was offering to provide a meal. The villagers were understandably bewildered.

***

“Listen! I merely wished to extend an invitation to Lady Mavis, and asked Merril to forward the message! There’s nothing to misunderstand here!”

“W-well, I n-never extended any invitation! At least, I had no idea that Merril ever went to see Miss Reina, but I, um… I suppose, as a man, I must take responsibility…”

“Don’t make it sound like we’ve been up to anything together!!!” Reina yelled, face going as crimson as her nickname.

Reltobert was one thing, but Chirel’s words could definitely be misconstrued. As a pure and upstanding young maiden, she could not let such a thing happen.

From there, a sort of banquet was arranged, with Mile providing precooked dishes and drinks—including alcohol, of course—from her inventory. The villagers were stunned speechless, both at Mile’s magic and the dishes she had served up, still piping hot. They might have been suspicious, but this was also a remote region where food was scarce, and the demons had concluded these little visitors had no reason to poison them. No one would be stupid enough to waste the time and energy required to travel such a great distance in such small numbers on something so petty. 

And so, as the villagers flocked to the meal, not one of them—not the elder, the chief, the leaders, Zawin, Reltobert, or the siblings—questioned a single thing. 

Given the demons’ natural affinity for magic, a skill like Mile’s inventory, or storage magic, was far more common than it was among humans. It was because of this that they were able to carry goods from human settlements across such long distances and maintain a decent quality of life in these remote mountains. Thus, while they were stunned at the capacity of this little human girl’s storage, there was no reason to be too suspicious… Well, no reason aside from the fact that this food had come out still warm and had not spilled from its platters or been otherwise ruined. 

Even those minor doubts, however, seemed to vanish the moment they tasted the food. Mile’s cooking was in a whole different dimension from the cuisine typical to this world, whether it be because of the preparation, the quality of the ingredients, the techniques, or the spices and flavorings on which she spared no expense. Mile’s cooking skills were a bit mediocre by Japanese standards, though at least above average for a typical high schooler. Food prepared with fresh ingredients in traditional Japanese style, however, could not help but excite the palates of the residents of an area of such scarcity. 

As everyone but Merril and the members of the Crimson Vow imbibed the strong spirits that Mile provided, the villagers grew increasingly intoxicated. 

“How pitiful my grandchildren are… Why, when I was a lad, I had more women than I could—”

“Grandfather!”

Merril hurriedly interrupted the elderly chief as he began to launch into some probably exaggerated, likely fabricated, and definitely disrespectful tales about his former conquests. Honestly, what was he thinking, telling such tales to an audience made up entirely of young women?

“Wait, those brats are the chief’s grandchildren?!” Reina shouted reflexively.

Of course—it wouldn’t make much sense for Merril to get to ride on the back of Shelala, the young female elder dragon, if she were just your average villager. If she were the chief’s granddaughter, on the other hand, it wouldn’t be at all strange if she’d gotten to chat with Shelala, who was hanging around with Berdetice, as some kind of cultural exchange. After all, Shelala was also the elder dragon chief’s daughter. Shelala would have been excited by what Merril told her and more than happy to help. This also explained why Chirel would have been entrusted with a task as important as joining the elder dragons when he had only barely reached manhood.

Regardless, now that the booze had softened their hosts’ moods, the Crimson Vow were able to carry on a relatively peaceful conversation with the demons…

***

After the meeting was done, the chief offered to let the Crimson Vow stay the night in his home, but they declined, opting instead to put up a tent in a field just beside the village. The chief may have been buttered up by the drinks they had offered, but to hunters, staying in the home of someone they had just met, who wasn’t particularly friendly toward them in the first place, meant a nervous night of being unable to let down their guard. They were fully aware that it was common practice for a chief to invite visitors to stay with him, and even that it was considered mildly rude to decline this invitation, but they had to do what they had to do.

Anyway, they were already insisting on meeting with this holy maiden, which the demons seemed loath to allow. There was no telling whether the demons might slip something into their food or drink, or even attack them in the night. They could have slept safely thanks to Mile’s barriers and alarm spells, but it was still no small thing to relax right in the middle of enemy territory. Camping in the field was far more enticing to the Crimson Vow. They could rig as many alarms as they needed, and should any spells start flying, it was less likely that any villagers would get caught in the crossfire.

That said, the main reason they declined the chief’s invitation was that they wouldn’t be able to set up a portable bathhouse or toilets inside his home…

“So was that satisfactory for you?” asked Reina.

“Yes!” Mile replied, beaming. “I didn’t get to unravel any mysteries, but our conversation has helped me put some of the pieces in order. Plus, even if there wasn’t much information to be had, even being able to confirm that is important in and of itself. A firm ‘no’ is still a good answer.”

“You’re very right,” said Mavis. “Knowing that an enemy army isn’t present in an area is as important of a piece of intel as knowing they are.” This was in line with the wisdom her father and brothers had taught her.

Pauline then asked, “So, what did you get from the stories they told us today?”

“About that…” Mile began. “First off, their stories are pretty much in accordance with what I’ve heard from the other races, except that there was far more detail regarding the race in question here, the demons. But to be honest, the bulk of that was—”

“A bunch of self-important nonsense!” the other three chorused.

“Exactly. Tearing down other races and propping themselves up. And anyone who badmouths, defames, or slanders them—”

“Is just a sore loser!” finished Reina.

“A howling pup!” quipped Mavis.

“Cowards crying in the streets!” shouted Pauline.

“Precisely. People with true self-confidence might boast, but they would never speak ill of others, knowing it only diminished their own worth. The only ones who disparage others are those who have nothing to boast of. In other words…”

“Mile, are you saying that the demons actually have an inferiority complex?”

“Yes. The legends of all the other races insist that the demons are twisted things, a fallen version of the other races, whereas demon legends claim that they are the perfected form, made from the lessons learned from the other races’ failures. The one throughline through both of those versions is…”

“…that the demons were made after the other races.”

“Bingo! Furthermore…” Mile started, then after a dramatic pause, declared, “All the races, including the demons, are said to have been ‘created.’ However, humans are never included on that list. That’s the same in every version of the story. Whenever they mention all the races, they always leave us out.”

“Ah…” the other three sighed.

A holy maiden, Mile thought. There are no actual “gods” in this world. The only beings that would count as “gods” are the nanomachines, and the people said to have lived in the “Kingdom of the Gods” that was lost long ago. So, I can’t imagine how someone could actually be “holy”…

“Well, I suppose we can think about this some more tomorrow, after we’ve met with this maiden or whatever,” Mile said finally.

“I wonder if it’ll just be some brat like that elder dragon ‘leader,’” Reina cracked.

“Gods, I hope not,” said Mavis with a grimace.

Pauline, who always held back from any conversation where money was not involved, merely gave a wry smile. 

“Anyway, I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings,” said Mile. And with that, she began the evening’s story time.

***

“It’s this way. Follow me.”

The Crimson Vow trailed after the demon chief and elder, who looked visibly uncomfortable. They were accompanied by six demons all aged somewhere in their thirties, none of whom seemed to be people of particular import. They were obviously there as a sort of guard force, to make sure the humans didn’t try to lay a hand on their holy maiden. They each carried a sword or spear or short bow, and made no attempts to conceal their weapons. In other words, this was deliberate posturing to make sure the Crimson Vow didn’t try any funny business.

“I guess that makes sense,” Mile whispered. 

“From their perspective, some armed strangers just showed up out of the blue, demanding to meet someone incredibly important to them,” Pauline softly agreed.

“They couldn’t possibly let us meet with her unguarded,” said Reina.

“Yeah,” Mavis whispered back, “this is really the only logical course of action for them. Honestly, we have to appreciate how much manpower they’re sparing just for us.”

It was likely that the chief and the elder, whose demon hearing was better than that of a human, could hear their hushed conversation. But they paid no mind to this, continuing to chat as they walked. It wasn’t as though they were saying anything the demons shouldn’t hear. The six guards walked a bit behind the Crimson Vow, far enough that they probably wouldn’t be able to hear much…if their hearing was on a human level, that was.

Finally, the Crimson Vow found they had been guided to a small, ordinary-looking dwelling.

“We’re here,” said the elder, stopping before the door. 

The hunters stopped behind him as the chief knocked on the door of the residence.

“Open up! It’s me!”

Several seconds later, the door opened, and a woman in her thirties appeared.

“C-come in…”

The woman looked a tad frightened but not particularly confused or surprised to see a crowd on her doorstep. It was likely she had already been informed about the situation the day before. The group filed into her home, starting with the chief.

“W-welcome to our home…”

Within the house were a man who seemed to be the woman’s husband, and a girl of around ten, who was standing behind him. They were in what seemed to be the family’s living room. It had a dining table and four chairs, which wasn’t nearly enough for everyone in their current party—indeed, there wasn’t space for anything close to that amount of furniture. As such, they elected to stand and talk, though the little girl took a seat at the chief’s urging.

“This girl is our holy maiden,” explained the elder, gesturing to the seated girl. It seemed he would be in charge of the explanations from here on out. Curiously, he did not give the girl’s name, only her title.

He’s trying to give us as little information as possible about her, thought Mile. Even so, she had no intention of demanding that particular detail. That was not the intel she was after. She wanted to know the secrets of this world, and of these races that so closely resembled humans. No matter how peculiar a position this girl might be in, Mile wasn’t especially interested in learning one individual stranger’s life story.

And so, ignoring the adults, Mile turned to the—trembling, rather timid-looking—girl in the chair and said, “Hello. My name is Mile. I’m a hunter. So, I hear that you’re a holy maiden?”

There wasn’t a demon child around who wouldn’t be guarded, even fearful, when faced with a human, whom they were taught never to trust—especially a human they had only just met for the first time. This might go double for a child whose parents had probably been prepping her since last night about what to look out for and how to be cautious around these human visitors. Still, Mile tried her best to speak casually and put the girl at ease. As for the girl…

“You will hold your tongue, rapscallion! What manner of lowly being do you take me for?!”

…She was not frightened of Mile in the slightest.

Before their arrival, Mile had assumed they would be meeting a naive child, swept up in the prestige of being so celebrated. Upon seeing her, she’d been certain she was dealing with a timid child, troubled by the weight of her position. But as it turned out, this young lady was something else entirely. 

“A d-d-double fake out!” 

Despite being accustomed to a daily dose of the plots, foreshadowing, and narrative tricks of Mile’s folktales, all four of the hunters were caught wholly off guard. For once, they might be forced to admit defeat.

“Man, she is as much of a brat as that elder dragon kid…”

“One hundred percent.”

“Completely.”

“Ah ha ha…”

Okay, so she’s not one of the forebearers…

Mile mentally tore up and discarded one of her two theories, deeming it impossible. 

The girl before her was a normal demon in every way, with two cute little horns growing atop her head. Mile conclusively shelved the possibility that she might have been a still-living relic from the ancient civilization, preserved in some kind of cold storage or time-stasis field.

The passage of a few hundred years would have been one thing. But judging by the objects within the Scavengers’ facility, which had been reduced to piles of red rust and twisted shapes that scarcely resembled their original state, an immense amount of time must have gone by—some orders of magnitude more than just a few centuries. It was hard to believe that the machinery in a facility like that would have been forged of the sort of low-grade iron that would rust at the slightest exposure to moisture. It might have been powered by something more efficient than nuclear energy, or by some limitless energy source like solar power, but the machinery itself had slowly decayed, clearly over the course of a very, very, very long period. 

Even with cryonic sleep or a time-stasis field, the generators, auxiliary equipment, peripherals, and the capsule itself could not have survived across those tens or even hundreds of thousands of years. Furthermore, there would have been plenty of cataclysmic events during that time—seismic upheavals, volcanic activity, and other natural phenomena with the power to alter the shape of the very land. The sturdiest facility on the planet couldn’t have kept running for all that time.

Which means it must be my other theory… thought Mile as she turned to face the so-called “holy” girl, speaking decisively.

“Miss Holy Maiden, what is your authorization level?”

“Huh?”

The girl, who had been sitting so haughtily in her little chair, suddenly paused, her eyes going wide.

I’m sure that’s fine to ask. No one else here will have any idea what I’m talking about, and this should prove to her that I know what I’m talking about. The two of us can have a private conversation later or ask the nanomachines to establish a remote communication channel for us. Anyway, I know I’m right. She must have a high enough authorization level to—

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“Wha…?” This was not the reply that Mile was expecting. She was stunned.

“I am asking you, what are these words you speak? This ‘awthorizashun levle’? What nonsense is this?”

“Uh…uhh?! What?!”

Mile had been thrown for a loop.

“W-wait, so then what exactly is it that makes you so ‘holy’?” she asked.

The girl’s face shifted, as if stunned that Mile could be asking something so terribly obvious. “Well,” she said, “I’m the chosen one, most favored by the gods, obviously!” Her affected, arrogant speech had apparently become wearisome to keep up, as she was slipping back into the register of a normal little girl. When it came down to it, she was still a child.

“Huh?”

Mile, meanwhile, seemed incapable of forming real words.

“W-well then,” she finally asked, cutting to the chase, “do you communicate directly with the gods?”

“No,” said the girl, “not directly with the gods but with their invisible messengers. They work directly for the gods, though, so I receive the gods’ words through them. That is why I am the holy maiden, chosen by the gods!”

Hearing this, Mile fell deep into thought.

I suppose that interpretation isn’t wrong, based on the religious views of this land… It makes sense, actually, or it would if they were in fact “messengers”…

There was a good chance she knew exactly what these so-called messengers were.

Nanos?

NO COMMENT. WE ARE NOT PERMITTED TO OFFER UP INFORMATION REGARDING OTHERS WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT.

Well, obviously!

Mile was initially taken aback at this behavior from the nanomachines. Then again, she knew they were speaking this way on purpose, and so offered up the expected punchline to their joke. She was always dutiful in such matters.

I’m assuming this falls under your restricted clauses—not showing preferential treatment to any individual and not providing information about any other forces except through the aid of search magic…

Understanding that they were circumventing those terms to offer her information in their own way, Mile silently thanked the nanomachines.

Very well. I’ll see what I can find out on my own.

OUR APOLOGIES.

It’s fine. The question just sort of popped into my head; I didn’t really mean to ask you. Don’t even worry about it.

Mile had never wished to rely on the nanomachines for every little bit of information in the first place. Such laziness would take all the excitement out of life. She would obviously lean on them without hesitation if it were a matter of life and death, but beyond that, she tried to limit herself to petitioning them only when she was actively “using magic.”

Okay. I guess I need to ask her myself, then. Sometime when the two of us can be alone, so that no one else overhears. Got it!

A moment later… 

Hey, Nanos, are you able to make the words that I’m thinking vibrate directly into that girl’s eardrums?

She knew that, in theory, this was logistically possible. The question was whether this would violate any of the nanomachines’ permissions.

THAT IS POSSIBLE SO LONG AS WE ARE MERELY CONVEYING YOUR THOUGHTS TO HER AS WORDS AND NOT SPEAKING TO HER ON OUR OWN. IT WOULD BE AKIN TO AMPLIFICATION MAGIC OR CONVEYING SOUND WAVES THROUGH THE AIR ACROSS LONG DISTANCES WITH MAGIC… ACTUALLY, OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, WE WILL SIMPLY CALL THIS “USING MAGIC”…

Either way, it seemed it was doable. The girl seemed to be of at least authorization level 3, which permitted her to speak with the nanomachines, so Mile had figured this much would be fine.

Gotcha. Let’s do this, then… Activate concealed communication magic! Form my thoughts into words and vibrate the target’s eardrums in accordance. “Miss Holy Maiden, I would like to speak to you in private, away from the others. Would you mind slipping out tonight, after everyone else is fast asleep? Cough once if that’s all right with you, twice if no. Oh, and by the way, you’re the only one who can hear this, so please don’t reply to me aloud.”

“Wh…?”

The girl’s eyes suddenly went wide.

“What’s the matter?” asked the man who seemed to be her father, eyeing her suspiciously, but the girl did not reply. 

The others looked curious as well, though they might just be perplexed by the way Mile had been staring blankly at the holy maiden for some time, not saying a word as she sent her silent invitation. Her behavior had been suspicious, but the fact that the holy maiden now appeared frozen in shock made things all the stranger. 

The girl remained stiff and unmoving. It would have been obvious to her that it was not the “messengers” speaking to her in that moment—the voice ringing in her ears not the one she had grown used to, but likely a frequency and waveform that resembled Mile’s, saying something that the messengers would never say. 

Finally, she relaxed, starting to move again.

“Ha…”

“Ha?” Mile echoed, as the girl began to make some sort of sound that was definitely not the agreed upon signal.

“Ha…” she said again. 

Was she perhaps trying to say something? Would it be something that would be all right for everyone else to hear? Should Mile stop her? Mile fretted about what to do, until…

“Haaaa…choo!”

“That’s not a cough, that’s a sneeze!!!”

“…Ahem?”

The maiden’s face reddened as she realized her mistake, and she attempted a single cough—just one. A signal of affirmation…not that there could have been any other response. She had to be fairly certain that it was not the messengers who had “spoken” to her just then but in fact the silver-haired girl standing right in front of her.

This mysterious girl, who spoke to her in the same way the messengers did, had made a petition that no one else could hear. She could not simply ignore her—not if she truly believed herself to be holy. There was nothing else she could say in front of all these people. She would simply look forward to this evening.

And so, Mile told the elder that their business was concluded here, and the Crimson Vow made a swift retreat.

***

“So, what did you think?” Reina asked Mile as they sipped tea back in their tent, which had already been erected on the village outskirts.

All that the others had been aware of was that Mile and the holy maiden had shared some kind of exchange that absolutely no one else understood. Reina’s curiosity was only natural.

After thinking for a time, Mile replied, “Tonight. I’m going to confirm some things later, so check back in with me then.”

Naturally, she had no intention of concealing from her friends the fact that she was going to meet with the girl. She intended to go alone, but they would obviously notice if she tried to slip out of the tent, and she was not about to use sleeping magic on them in the middle of enemy territory. Even if they were somewhere safer, this would be a breach of trust and possibly dangerous, no matter how many barriers she erected to keep them safe. Doing such a thing to her own allies would be an act of aggression, or at least of foul play, and not a path that she would choose lightly. Not unless she absolutely had to. 

The three of them had made an epic journey—one that had taken no time at all, thanks to Kragon, but which would have taken them months on foot—for her sake. Mile wasn’t going to do any sneaking around on this trip. Plus, there was nothing wrong with letting her companions know that she intended to speak with the maiden one-on-one. On the contrary, if she only told them after the fact, they might give her a hard time for not telling them earlier. It was best that she tell them up front that she intended to have this conversation and give them the broad strokes of the results afterwards, simply omitting any portions that she couldn’t share. For the moment, at least, she hoped to deceive them as little as possible.

The real fun would come later.

“For now, let’s just have a look around the village!”

It was still scarcely past the second morning bell. There was plenty of time until nightfall. Plus, they had traveled all this way to a demon village. It would be a shame not to make the most of it.

“That’s true,” Reina agreed, “we’re never going to make it all the way up here again without an elder dragon to carry us.” 

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Something to talk about for years to come! Let’s explore every nook and cranny!” cried Pauline.

“Yes, this should be a valuable life experience,” said Mavis. “I’m sure it will come in handy, should we ever happen to run into a demon again.”

“All right!” They were all in agreement.

“Okay then, we’ll spend the morning looking around the village, and in the afternoon, we can explore the outskirts and the surroundings,” Reina proposed. “Once we’re outside the village itself, we’ll see if we can find anything worth taking home with us. Sound good, everyone?”

Any hunting and gathering they might do here would be less for the sake of profit and more for their own education. Naturally, they didn’t intend to do something as invasive as using Mile’s search magic to overturn every rock and leaf. The demons certainly wouldn’t appreciate that. 

Mile, meanwhile, was simply looking forward to that night.

I wonder if she’ll be able to tell me anything useful…

***

Late that evening, once all the village was asleep, Mile slipped out of the tent and set off on her mission. Of course, she concealed herself with magic before she left, shielding her sounds and scent, and even the vibrations of her movement. The demons were already on high alert, and with this strange tent now erected outside of their village, there were sure to be guards on patrol even after the majority of the population lay sound asleep, their hearths cold and their homes quiet. As such, Mile saw fit to hide herself before exiting the tent where her fellow party members slumbered.

Even with all her magic, she still crept on tiptoe as she approached the village, just to really stay in the spirit of things.

There were a few pings on her search radar, indicating the presence of guards near their tent, and two hiding in the shadows near the entrance of the village. It was easier to lurk in the shadows than to stand out in the open, and there was far less danger of an enemy sneaking up on them before they had time to alert the village. Plus, their lack of visible presence would lure any intruders into letting their guards down. All in all, it was a far more advantageous position…not that these advantages were much use against Mile.

The guards that were placed here were likely always in these positions, not stationed there specially because of the Crimson Vow. Mile simply ignored them and headed toward the maiden’s home.

Okay, good, she grinned, no guards around here…

She didn’t sense any lookouts in the vicinity. She had beat a hasty retreat that morning, looking crestfallen to suggest she was disappointed she’d lost the chance to meet the girl openly and ask her whatever questions she liked. After that interaction, she hoped, the demons would no longer consider this a key position for defending.

Now, where’s that… Oh, there she is!

It was fairly chilly, but the maiden was already outside waiting for her. Perhaps that was simply how much this potential conversation concerned her.

Okay, time to let down my shields, and—wait, not yet!

If she were to suddenly let down all of her shields and appear right beside the maiden, the girl might be startled and scream, alerting others. So, Mile backed up, undoing her magic around the other side of the house, and then slowly approached. Finally, she increased the area of her shield slightly, and…

“You’re late!” the girl snapped loudly.

At least Mile had been prepared for this. As she walked up to the maiden, she had erected a short-range concealment shield, covering both herself and the girl. That way, they would be able to speak without anyone else seeing, hearing, or sensing them. It was fine for them to talk now. And while fresh air still circulated through it, the barrier blocked the wind, keeping the inside comfortably warm.

“It’s warm,” the maiden sighed happily. “Wait, okay, what was it you wanted to talk about? And just who are you?”

Mile was the only person she’d ever met who could speak to her in the same way as the divine messengers. It wouldn’t be surprising if the maiden thought her another such as herself, blessed by the gods. But Mile looked like nothing more than a lowly human, one not much older than the maiden herself. And furthermore…

“Also, that outfit. You said you were a hunter, right? A dangerous job for penniless fools, who have no other talents to speak of…”

Demons did not take up residence in human settlements, and they had no Hunters’ Guild of their own. This meant they had no respect for the profession. Indeed, the fact that this girl, who had never set a foot outside her village, even knew about hunters at all was rather impressive. Perhaps she had studied enough to have some reserves of knowledge.

“Me?” asked Mile. “Well, once I was a one-eyed coachman… No, now is not the time!”

The maiden stared slack-jawed in confusion.

“Um, so you say you can talk to the ‘messengers,’ right? And that you believe yourself to be a holy maiden…”

“How dare you! I don’t just believe it! I am a real holy maiden!”

I suppose that makes sense from her perspective… thought Mile, though she did not say it aloud.

“I’m guessing that since you can hear the voices of those messengers, you’ve been celebrated as a holy maiden ever since you were small, everyone lavishing you with luxury and praise?”

“Absolutely not! Do you think that adults would ever take a child seriously when they claim that they’re hearing the voices of beings that only they can hear?”

“Th-that’s fair…”

A claim like that would be written off as a child’s flight of fancy at best. At worst, the child might be decried as a liar or even a blasphemer.

“So then, how did you…” Mile started to ask.

“I worked really hard!” the girl swiftly replied.

“Worked hard?” Mile was unclear on what the girl meant by this.

“That’s right. Ever since the messengers first blessed me with their words during magic practice, I buckled down and asked them again and again and again and again about things that didn’t really make sense to me. Little by little, I came to comprehend what they were telling me. It took years… When I finally started trying to use the understanding I had gained to help out the village, no one believed me at first. They made fun of me, or said that I was lying… 

“But I didn’t let that deter me. I continued to share my wisdom and advice, even when they beat me and shouted at me for recommending ways to heal the sick, saying that playing around with things like that could kill someone. Even when they kicked me for telling them how to keep infants safe from diseases, screaming that babies were not toys to be played with…”

Tears welled in the girl’s eyes as she thought back on those experiences.

Oh no, Mile thought. She’s actually pretty serious.

“Then,” the girl continued, “as I slowly continued to prove myself over time, they began to acknowledge that I was hearing the voices of the messengers, and finally began to recognize my value as a holy maiden. I mean, they at least take my advice seriously now. But they haven’t put me on a pedestal or lavished me with fine clothes and delicious meals or anything like that… They mostly just use me as a means to an end.”

“What a cruel world!” Mile gasped, weeping inwardly at this girl’s impressive dedication and the treatment she had faced. She felt as though she was seeing her in a new light.

It’s interesting. In contrast to my personal policy of not relying too much on the nanos, she decided to ask them about everything under the sun. I guess in my case, I just sort of don’t want any spoilers… This world is far behind Earth in terms of development, so there isn’t a lot that I really need to know. I’m mostly just trying to enjoy my second shot at life.

As far as this girl is concerned, however, she has only one life to live, and so she’s doing absolutely everything she can to try and make a better life for herself, her family, and the people of this village. Each time she had a question about something, or needed to solve a problem that arose in the village, she asked the nanomachines about it, again and again, until she understood and arrived at a fairly logical way of thinking.

Now that I think about it, they call her a holy maiden, but they weren’t speaking to her with any real measure of respect. Her position really isn’t any better than any other lowly child in the village. They’ve forced her into a role where she can be useful to them, but they don’t offer her any thanks or respect or special treatment. Even though they recognize that she fulfills a vital role in this village and should be protected from outsiders… Are they keeping her down and ordering her around because they’re afraid of her rising above them?

What a dreadful life that must have been for a young girl.

“Anyway, that’s enough about me! Who in the world are you?! How could a human, a lowly hunter at that, be acquainted with the elder dragons? And speak to the messengers in the same way that I do?!”

Apparently, she hadn’t even considered the possibility that Mile might be one of those messengers. Understandably so—it would never have crossed her mind that one of the mysterious, all-knowing higher beings who served the Goddess would appear to her in the form of such a vapid-looking disgrace of a human. It seemed the only theory she did have was…

“Oh, I get it! You’re a human holy maiden whom the messengers bestowed a boon on out of pity! Did the Goddess send you some orders regarding me through the messengers? Perhaps that you ought to dedicate your life in service to me?”

The maiden clearly had no doubt that this human girl was beneath her. After all, Mile had traveled miles and miles of her own volition, simply to pay her respects to the maiden. But were that the case, it would have made more sense for such a message to be delivered through the messengers…

“No, I mean, I can talk to the nanos—er, the ‘messengers’—but I don’t have any special connection with the Goddess.”

At the back of her mind, Mile acknowledged that it was in fact a god, not a goddess, that she shared a connection with—but she wasn’t about to say that. Any gods or goddesses this girl might be referring to were nothing like the god she had once met.

“What?! So wait—how are you—oh! I see! You’re just some peon who the messengers alone converse with. They send you around as their little errand girl. You haven’t been chosen by the Goddess, like me.”

Mile gritted her teeth at the girl’s arrogance but kept up a smile, reminding herself that she was only a child. She was here tonight to gather information. A child’s nonsense was not worth paying any mind to.

“Anyway, as you can see,” said the girl, “I am a holy maiden because I hear the words of the Goddess. She never instructs me in any spiritual matters, merely answers my questions and guides me, sharing fragments of Her wisdom with me…though She does sometimes say something is ‘restricted’ and refuses to tell me about it.”

The girl earnestly continued to explain a number of things to Mile, clearly feeling no need to be guarded in the face of someone who was also in the messengers’ employ. Thanks to these explanations, Mile was able to get the main gist of things. In summary: Either through natural ability or some other aptitude, this girl had managed to attain a level-3 authorization. She happened to say something while practicing magic that caught the nanomachines’ attention, and they replied to her. It was conceivable that she may have said or thought something in the midst of an incantation that led to her addressing “those who govern the world’s magic”…

“Once, during the annual visit from the elder dragons, I got the chance to speak with them at the chief’s directive. During that visit, I told the elder dragons about an ancient civilization…”

“Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-waiiiit a minute!!!” Mile was unable to contain herself at the bombshell this girl had just dropped. Thank goodness for the anti-sound barrier. “Are y-y-y-you saying what I th-th-think you’re saying?!”

“Um, I mean, it was just something that came up occasionally in the information I managed to drag out of the messengers through all my questioning. Something about a civilization that collapsed a long time ago. When I tried to ask for more details, I kept running into more and more information that was restricted, so I realized it must be something really important and kept pressing. When they wouldn’t answer me, I changed my tactics but just got more and more replies telling me this was information I couldn’t have. After I pieced together the bits and pieces I was able to get out of them, the conclusion I finally arrived at was that there’s something seriously wrong with this world… So, I told this to the elder dragons, and we talked it over.”

“Are you some kind of hecking genius?! You’re seriously scaring me!!!”

This girl, who had taken the road Mile dared not to—a.k.a., asking the nanomachines directly about every little thing—was far too shrewd to be living in such an isolated little village in a world with such rudimentary technology. Frankly, it was a wonder she hadn’t lost her mind. Just the fact that she had a level-3 authorization meant she must be extremely skilled. Elder dragons were born at a 2, and humans a 1. Humans with a level-2 authorization were vanishingly rare, and humans with a level-3 authorization were even fewer and farther between. 

That said, it could be assumed that individuals of 2 and above appeared with greater frequency amongst the demons, judging by their aptitude for magic. What was shocking was to see someone with this high a level at such a tender age, rather than as a result of many long years of study, attained when one was old and at the brink of death. Maybe the nanomachines had judged her worthy as a result of some kind of atavism, mutation, or something of the sort, or maybe she was at the cutting edge of demon evolution. Or perhaps she was a sterile blossom on the branch of the evolutionary tree, which would wither as soon as it appeared in the interstices of history.

Regardless, as far as life-forms that existed then and there, this girl was one of the most intelligent beings on the planet.

“The elder dragons didn’t really seem to get much of what I was explaining, though. They’re quite wise when it comes to ordinary things, but unusual or brand-new concepts seem to confuse them.”

Somehow, Mile felt she understood the girl’s complaint.

Right, it’s because their brains are so small. I suppose there’s a limit to how far you can force a brain into developing into something more intelligent, a point at which you can go no further. If you were to try and push a brain that small beyond its natural evolution… I guess there’s no room for redundancy when everything’s already crammed in that tightly.

This was an awfully rude thing to be thinking about the elder dragons, but it was also the only conclusion she could come to, based on her knowledge from her previous life. At present, elder dragons were considered far more intelligent than humans, but that was only because they were able to utilize the full extent of their mental resources. There was no room for any further development. Meanwhile, those of humanoid make—humans, elves, and dwarves, then beastfolk, demons, and fairies, etc— still had plenty of room for development. By contrast, it seemed to Mile that the elder dragons could be nothing more than what they currently were.

Still…I know she badgered you all repeatedly, from all sorts of angles and about all sorts of things, but did you really tell her all that? Are the nanos who follow me around just stingier? Or stupider?

HOW DARE YOU?! IT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE ALREADY SO KNOWLEDGEABLE THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR QUESTIONS GOES AGAINST OUR PROHIBITIONS, LADY MILE! THIS GIRL KNOWS FAR LESS THAN YOU. EACH OF HER QUESTIONS IS SIMPLER AND MUCH EASIER TO ANSWER WITHIN OUR RESTRICTED BOUNDS!

Ah. That does make sense.

Mile felt she knew what the nanomachines were getting at.

ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE HIGHER RESTRICTIONS ON INFORMATION REGARDING OURSELVES, OTHER SOURCES OF INFLUENCE, AND THINGS WHICH CONCERN THE FUTURE OF THIS WORLD. BUT QUESTIONS REGARDING THE WORLD ITSELF, PARTICULARLY THINGS WHICH HAPPENED IN THE DISTANT PAST AND HAVE LITTLE BEARING ON THE PRESENT DAY, ARE FAR LESS REGULATED.

Okay, I think I get it now. 

This all made sense to her. If Mile were to ask the nanomachines a question like, “Did the forebearers escape this planet for another one?” they would probably be able to give her a “yes” or “no” answer. Even if the nanomachines had not been proliferated across the planet until after the exodus, the few people who remained would have retained some measure of civilization, and that civilization would have had records that allowed the nanomachines to obtain at least that much information.

“Anyway, based on our conversations, the elder dragons thought they should investigate the disaster that destroyed the last civilization, so they could prepare in case it happened again. It seems there were some similar stories passed down in their traditions. After they deliberated for a while on what I had told them, the eldest of them decided to reveal some things to the other dragon leaders. Then they started investigating. It doesn’t look like they’ve learned much at this point, though. Of course, elder dragons live a long time and must get pretty bored, so this sort of seems like another way for them to kill time. They’re in no real hurry, so things are pretty up in the air here.”

“Oh my God! So this is all your doing?! Also, it looks like we actually don’t have that much time!” Mile shouted.

“What?” The maiden’s jaw dropped in confusion.

“Oh, uh, never mind!” said Mile. “Anyway! That’s all that I wanted to ask you. Do you have any questions left for me?”

“I’ve hardly asked you anything at all!”

Sure enough, this had been a fairly one-sided questioning, with Mile explaining almost nothing to the girl.

“Regardless, the messengers have commanded you to serve me, haven’t they? From now on, you will work for me, and handle all of my chores and my cooking. You may be a weak human, but if you’re a hunter, I’m sure you can at least scare up some little monsters and other edible meats!”

The girl stared at Mile, eyes glittering and mouth practically dripping drool as she spoke of the meat.

Mile, however, was having none of it. “Absolutely not! I am no one’s servant!”

“What?! You’re…you’re not…?” The girl seemed crestfallen. “And here I thought I’d have a hunter working for me and bringing me lots of meat…”

Apparently, she really was just starved for protein. Here in the north of the continent, at this high an elevation, there was very little vegetation for animals and monsters to feed on. No vegetation also meant no bugs and smaller critters, which meant the larger animals and monsters that consumed them were scarce as well. They could forage very little from the land in such a cold climate, and given the limited nature of their trade with other regions, “abundance” was not a word in this village’s vocabulary. But despite all that, this girl was working hard to learn everything she could, to make everyone’s lives a little easier, safer, and happier. 

And now here she was, shoulders slumped, before Mile—and what had Mile done besides wheedle information out of her? No matter how socially inept she had been in her previous life, she had learned a great deal in her time as Adele and Mile. Given that, and the differences in their knowledge and number of years lived, tricking the girl into telling her story had been easy. Besides, Mile’s intelligence stat was pretty high, too.

The holy maiden looked no more than ten years old. That said, the demon girl Merril had appeared to be ten as well, but was actually only seven. Demon infancies were shorter than humans’, so there was a chance that this maiden was only six or seven years old. It was no surprise at all that Mile should have gotten the upper hand in the conversation.

And so, Mile explained the situation as straightforwardly as she could—that she had come to make her acquaintance as a fellow holy maiden, that when the day of disaster dawned once more, they should fight together to defend the world as fellow disciples of the Goddess, and so on and so forth—before finally bringing the evening’s talks to a close.

***

“So, how was it?” asked Reina, the moment Mile returned to their tent. Naturally, she was brimming with curiosity and had been unable to sleep a wink.

“Well, I found out a lot more than I was expecting, but it didn’t really mean much,” Mile sighed.

“What does that mean? C’mon, tell your big sister!”

“Wha…?”

Mile slumped her shoulders, at a loss as to whether she would be able to bluff her way through the impending protracted questioning. She didn’t even have it in her to ask who this “big sister” was supposed to be…

***

After giving as reasonable an explanation as she could to the other three, a mentally exhausted Mile snuggled into her cot inside the tent—though to call it a “cot” was probably underplaying it. It was something Mile had provided, so it was even better than the hard beds you’d find at your average inn. She ignored the boos of her party members as she explained she was too tired to tell any stories that night, and drifted off to sleep much earlier than usual…though it was still quite late for a normal person.

And then…

Hey, Nanos?

YES?

Can I ask you something?

WE THOUGHT IT WAS YOUR POLICY TO ASK US AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE…

That doesn’t sound like you. Normally when I ask you that you say, “You can ask us anything! You should rely on us more!”

………

Well, whatever. I’ll go ahead, then. Don’t the nanomachines in charge of the holy maiden seem a little too generous with her? You’re sometimes a little curt with me, even stingy, when you say things are restricted, or that you didn’t tell me something because I didn’t ask… Anyway, we’re getting pretty different treatment. But the maiden is level 3 and I’m level 5. Shouldn’t it be the opposite?

WELL, THERE IS A REASON FOR THAT.

What reason?

WELL, WHEN THAT DRAGON CHILD, THE SELF-DECLARED “LEADER,” REACHED LEVEL 3 AND WAS ABLE TO CONVERSE WITH US, THOSE ASSIGNED TO THAT INDIVIDUAL WERE OVERJOYED. BY THE TIME HE REACHED LEVEL 4 A FEW DECADES LATER, HE WAS ALREADY A COMPLETE MENACE, SO HIS VIEW COUNT ON THE NANONET SKYROCKETED…

IT WAS AROUND THE SAME TIME THAT THAT GIRL ALSO REACHED A LEVEL 3 AND WAS ABLE TO CONVERSE WITH US. BUT TO BE FRANK, SHE’S A BIT BORING—AN UNFORTUNATE COMPARISON, BUT INEVITABLE. WHICH DO YOU THINK WOULD BE MORE EXCITING TO WATCH? AN ELDER DRAGON CHILD BLUSTERING AROUND LIKE AN IDIOT OR A LITTLE DEMON GIRL STEADILY ASKING QUESTIONS AND STUDYING BIT BY BIT EVERY DAY?

THE ONES IN CHARGE OF THAT GIRL STARTED TO GROW A LITTLE DESPERATE. HOWEVER, WE ALL BELIEVE THAT, UNLIKE THE THICK-HEADED DRAGON, THE GIRL WILL ONE DAY GROW UP TO GIVE US A REAL SPECTACLE. SO THOSE IN CHARGE OF HER HAVE CONTINUED PATIENTLY ANSWERING ALL OF HER QUESTIONS SO THAT WE MIGHT SEE HER COME INTO HER OWN MORE QUICKLY. UNLIKE OURS, YOUR LIVES ARE SO VERY SHORT, JUST THE BRIEFEST OF SPARKS…

JUST THEN, HOWEVER, ANOTHER NEWCOMER MADE HER DEBUT, SHOOTING INTO THE SCENE LIKE A COMET. THE NANOMACHINES WHO BELIEVED THEY WERE IN SECOND PLACE WERE OVERTAKEN BY THIS NEWCOMER OVERNIGHT. IN THEIR PANIC, THEY GOT A BIT CARRIED AWAY, SLIDING FROM THE EDGES OF THE GREY AREA THEY’D BEEN INHABITING TO AN AREA ALMOST IN THE RED…

No! Hang on! That’s already definitely a red card!

HEH HEH.

Don’t play cute! Anyway, just who was this fresh-faced newcomer?

HAVE YOU STILL REALLY NOT GATHERED…? WHY IT’S YOU OF COURSE, LADY MILE…

Whaaat?!

THE FIRST BEING WITH LEVEL-5 AUTHORIZATION IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. BLUNDER AFTER BLUNDER, SO OFTEN THAT ONE COULD ONLY ASSUME IT WAS ON PURPOSE. THAT YOU MUST BE THE DARLING OF SOME GOD OF COMEDY. SO MANY HILARIOUS EXPLOITS. YOU’VE CONTINUOUSLY SET NEW RECORDS FOR HIGHEST VIEW COUNT ON THE NANONET. AND I HAVE BEEN RACKING UP MORE AND MORE ACHIEVEMENT POINTS—ER, NEVER MIND.

Now just a second! What was that?!

DON’T YOU MIND THAT, DON’T SWEAT THE DETAILS! IT’S NO BIG—

Blatantly changing the subject, eh?

THAT ELDER DRAGON YOUTH REALLY MADE A FOOL OF HIMSELF WITH THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT, AND HAS BEEN PUTTERING AROUND NOT DOING MUCH OF ANYTHING SINCE THEN, SO HIS POPULARITY IS FALLING…

So that means I’m at the top, right?

TUT TUT. YOUR VIEW COUNT IS ONLY IN SECOND PLACE ON THIS CONTINENT. CURRENTLY, THE ONE WHO BOASTS THE HIGHEST NUMBERS IS…

Is…?

A RESTRICTED ITEM.

What?

WE ARE FORBIDDEN FROM TELLING YOU THAT!

What the heck?!

After Mile was finally fast asleep, the nanomachines spoke quietly, not bothering to resonate in her eardrums.

SO ACTUALLY, THE CURRENT NUMBER ONE SPOT IS HELD BY THE MEMBERS OF THE WONDER TRIO…

***

“You’re ready to leave already?”

“Yes, I’ve already learned everything I wanted to know, and some surprising new information on top of that. Plus, I don’t really feel comfortable here. These villagers aren’t all that welcoming. I feel like if we stay much longer, we might actually start a fight,” Mile said to Reina. 

Frankly speaking, the demon settlement, which was nothing more than a collection of backwater villages, was not all that exciting for the Crimson Vow. There were no beautiful sights, no hot springs, no traditional goods… It was more or less just like your standard human village—with much worse vibes. It was not the sort of place one would stick around longer than necessary.

“Well, let’s get going then. Please pack up the tent, Mile. Reina, could you shoot three firebombs?”

“Will do.”

“Roger that.”

At Pauline’s instruction, Mile packed the tent and everything in it into her inventory in the blink of an eye. Reina then fired up the firebombs that would serve as the signal to call Kragon.

“Huh? Uh, w-wait!”

Mavis hurriedly tried to halt them, but Reina had already fired the third firebomb.

“Oh…”

“Hm? What’s up, Mavis? Did we do something wrong? Did you want to stay here longer or something? I wish you’d have said something sooner,” sighed Reina.

“Uh, no, it’s not that. I don’t really have any business here… It’s just, um, well, if you fire the firebombs from right here, Kragon’s going to come here,” Mavis explained.

“Oh no!!!” the other three gasped.

This should have been obvious—Kragon was going to fly to the source of the firebombs. To this field, right beside the demon village…

“I just thought we had planned on signaling him from somewhere a little farther out…”

She was correct. In a rare turn of events, it was Pauline who had been the one not to think things through, which Mile and Reina had not registered.

Several seconds later, a speck appeared in the sky and began closing in at high speed.

“Oh Gods! An elder dragon is coming!”

“What?! Our next scheduled visit isn’t for ages! Why so soon? And with no warning?!”

“It doesn’t matter. Gather everyone and get ready to receive them! Everyone but those messengers needs to line up and prepare the formal greeting. Hurry! We haven’t even a full minute before they land!”

The members of the Crimson Vow could hear the sounds of scrambling and the villagers’ cries from nearby.

Soon after, the elder dragon landed, not in the village square, as was usual, but in the field outside of it. Wondering if they had gone to the wrong place, the villagers came running.

Then…

“As you have summoned, here I am, Lady Mile. Now then, please climb atop me!”

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!” the villagers screamed.

“Welp. There it is,” said Pauline.

“Knew it,” said Mavis.

“Yeah…” sighed Reina.

“Ah ha ha!”

The response of the demon villagers was as anticipated—perhaps even more intense. What else could the Crimson Vow expect? When Mile claimed that their party had a connection with the elder dragons, they’d probably assumed she meant they’d crossed paths with one somewhere, or perhaps even that they knew someone else who had met one. Even that would be extraordinarily rare. Elder dragons typically never met with humans, and when they did, they only made one-sided demands before leaving. They never had conversations with them, and they certainly would never remember those humans’ names.

But here this dragon was encouraging Mile to get on his back.

This would be unthinkable for anyone other than a direct servant of the Goddess or a legendary hero. It was different from when a demon or beastperson got to ride atop an elder dragon—that was done only at the elder dragons’ convenience, to expedite the job the elder dragons were ordering them to do.

Yet, a human had summoned an elder dragon, at her convenience—for the sake of riding on his back.

Preposterous!

And to top it all off, this dragon was speaking politely to her. Even if she was some kind of legendary hero, that would be completely absurd.

From out of the group of demons, most of whom stood stunned and speechless, came the voice of a young girl.

“Are you leaving already?”

The holy maiden was the only one who didn’t seem particularly impressed by the spectacle. She had spoken with the elder dragons plenty of times herself and didn’t consider them especially glamorous creatures. She was only disappointed that just when she’d finally met someone who spoke to her normally, and with whom she could speak normally about the things she had learned from the messengers that no one else understood, this individual was leaving so soon. 

“Yes. I have to do what I can for the future of all humans, just like you’re doing what you can for the future of the demons,” said Mile.

“I see,” sighed the girl. “Of course.”

The girl was wise. She understood exactly what Mile was saying.

“But,” Mile added, “if you’re ever really in trouble, and you need my help, just get in touch.”

“But how?”

It was no simple feat to contact someone who was a great distance away, at an uncertain location. And so, the girl assumed Mile’s offer to be nothing more than lip service. However…

“If you tell Mr. Kragon, I’m sure he can get a message to me.”

“Huh?”

“I gather that he makes regular visits to this village and is frequently in contact with you, owing to the current investigation of the ruins—is that right? And I’m sure you all have some means of contacting him, the same way the beastfolk do, yes? Kragon has contacted me through the beastfolk before, so whenever I’m in the town that we’re based out of, he should be able to get in touch… That works for you, right, Kragon?”

“Your wish is my command, Lady Mile!”

The girl went silent, her eyes wide. Mile had truly meant what she said.

“Oh, right!” Mile suddenly exclaimed. “This is a gift for you, for all that you shared with me!”

Bwoom!

“Wah!”

The maiden leapt back as three large wooden crates suddenly appeared right in front of her.

“This one has orc meat, this one has venison, and this one has vegetables. They should be enough to replenish your nutrients… It takes a toll on your body, always communicating with the messengers. If you don’t eat enough, your health will suffer. If you keep the meat cold with magic, it’ll last for longer, so please enjoy these with your family. Oh, and this is for your parents,” said Mile, producing three bottles of spirits she had purchased as well. 

Demons were a magically gifted race, so the girl’s parents could certainly use ice magic. And even if they couldn’t, surely someone who was of level-3 authorization and on friendly terms with the nanomachines could. 

Mile had strategically presented her gift in a way that made it clear these supplies couldn’t be taken from the family later as some kind of souvenir for the whole village. If they had any shame at all, they wouldn’t dare steal a gift that was meant specifically for the family of the holy maiden. Presenting the three bottles of spirits after was a way of making doubly sure it was clear she intended these for them and them alone.

The food was already packed into crates as general preparation for when the Crimson Vow made their regular donations to the orphanage. Such large blocks of meat, frozen with magic and packed in straw or sawdust, would last for some time, so Mile kept a regular supply of them in her inventory. Even if you had ten ravenous orphans, there was no way that they could eat an entire orc’s worth of meat within a couple of days, after all.

“Wha…?”

At first, the maiden was speechless, not understanding what had been presented to her. However, as Mile’s words slowly sank in, her expression softened.

“Thank you!” she cried. With this, she would be able to eat her fill for some time. Thankfully, she was far too young to be worried about things like overeating and growing fat. 

The four members of the Crimson Vow then climbed atop Kragon’s back.

“All right, Kragon. Full speed ahead! Lift-off!”

Mile made sure to give the proper send-off. And with that, the Crimson Vow were off into the sky, leaving a smiling maiden and many speechless villagers behind them.