After the challenge, we had lunch with the money I got.
Then we took a walk around the city.
"Master."
"Look."
A statue of the ancient demon king and hero was placed in the center of the city.
He is the demon king Kuol and the hero Deorika.
The two are famous for having fought the fiercest battles in the last 500 years.
The battle lasted three days and three nights, and Deorika barely won.
This battle, which caused great damage to both demons and humans, became a legend to both races.
At the foot of this giant monument, Kaede waves her hand.
Frau was sitting on Deorika's head and Panda was circling around her.
Hey, you're disrespectful.
Get off of her head right now.
"You look like a very strong demon king."
"He's so different from that evil bitch. He has dignity."
"It's a matter of favoritism."
The demon king, Kuol, is an austere and stoic man.
Deorika, on the other hand, is young and has a fearless face.
It appears to have been made by a very skilled craftsman. There is no sense of dynamism.
Suddenly, I realize that there is a mother and daughter next to me.
"Mom, why did Kuol lose?"
"He took the hero's wife hostage. Victory was almost in his hands, but at the last moment the hero awakened a new ability that defeated the demon king."
"The hero was a cheater."
"That's true. Don't grow up to be someone like that."
The girl cheerfully replies "Okay!"
It sounds like you are getting a pretty dreadful education.
The demon king was a complete coward, no matter how you think about it.
"Master!"
I turned around after Kaede's call.
There was a beautiful short-haired young man riding a horse.
In addition, it has a noble atmosphere like an aristocrat.
"You look like someone strong. Are you an adventurer?"
"Yes, we are a party, we are called "Manyu Brigade."
…………...
Seconds later I realized I had said the name of the party.
What an asshole I am!
No matter how hard I have tried to disguise myself and hide my identity, if I go around saying my party's name like a fool I will be exposed.
But the young man seemed unfazed, smiled, and got off his horse.
"Manyu Brigade, huh. I saw you challenge the sword cat. If you don't mind, I'd like to have a chat with you at my residence."
"A chat?"
"To put it bluntly, it's a request. I'm in a bind."
It is very suspicious.
This individual is probably a nobleman of the demon race.
I can't say anything suspicious.
I turned to look at Kaede.
She nods, "I will leave this decision to you, Master."
The same applied to Frau.
"By the way, what's the reward?"
"If you succeed, I will give you 3 million."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Then follow me."
The young man got on his horse and led us to a mansion not far from where we were.
The demon mansion did not appear to be much different from that of a human.
I took a sip of the tea he gave me.
Hmm, it's delicious.
"I don't suppose you've heard much about the water fountain?"
"No. Do tell."
"The city uses the river coming down from the mountains for its water supply, but recently the source of the river has been blocked by a monster. Thanks to that, the river has started to dry up and we are in a critical situation."
If it is a monster blocking the water source, it is probably quite large and heavy.
Water is indispensable for life.
I grew up in a village, so I can understand it well.
So I cannot refuse this request.
"And what kind of monster is it?"
"A poisonous slime. It 's size leads me to believe it's a King Slime."
"Ugh."
I couldn't help but let my expression of disgust slip.
King-sized slime are on the list of monsters an adventurer should not face.
Normally, slimes are small, but once they exceed a certain size, they become extremely problematic.
The largest size is King.
Physical attacks are naturally ineffective, magical attacks are ineffective against such overwhelming mass, and it has a voracious appetite, trapping any living thing that approaches it and dissolving it with its powerful digestive juices.
And this time, it's the most problematic type, a poisonous slime.
It is logical that it is difficult for him to solve this problem.
"Will you do it?"
"Hmm. Well, all right. I'll do it."
I was a little worried, but I thought Kaede's magic could defeat him.
The most important thing is that I want that 3 million.
I have heard that the dark kingdom is quite large.
I should get as much money as possible for my trip.
"Forgive me for not having introduced myself properly. I am the Marquis de Pione, I rule this land."
"I'm Toru, and this is Kaede and Frau."
"Toru, it's a pleasure to meet you."
We shook hands after introducing ourselves.
We enter the mountain and aim at the place where the monster is.
Behind us was Pione, who was having a hard time climbing the mountain.
Since he was a demon aristocrat, I thought he would be a person of considerable skill, but surprisingly he was not in good physical shape.
I wondered if he simply wasn't used to the mountains, but from the looks of it, his level was quite low.
"What's your level, Pione?"
"Seven."
Eeeeh?
I thought that demons would have a higher level.
"Hahahah, I know, I have a very low level. I'm really only a Lord in name. Because my late father was an excellent demon, he managed to make everyone in the city devoted to me before he died... Oh, but this is a secret, don't tell anyone."
"Are you sure you should be telling us something like that?"
"I have a good eye for demons. I'm sure Toru's and his friends are good."
Pione smiled.
A weak demon with good feelings.
That was my impression of him.
"Get on my back."
"Uh..."
"At this rate we'll never get there."
I leaned over so Pione could climb on me.
He hesitated a bit, but then climbed on me.
"Master!"
"Don't worry, Kaede."
"Well, let's keep going."
"Eh!?"
I jumped up to where Kaede was.
After that, we all ran at once, while Pione, who was on my back, was screaming like a little girl because of the turbulent trip.
With every step I took, I felt Pione's chest hit my back. It was big and soft.
Does this guy work out his pecs?
He should exercise his legs more, though.
I feel as if there's very little meat on them.
"Ueeeeeeeeh!"
We jumped from rock to rock until we reached the middle of the mountain.
"Master, would you like me to help you?"
"No, it's okay, I'd like to go at once and get it over with."
“ ..............”
"What?"
When Kaede saw Pione hugging me she said;
"Master, can you give me a ride when we go back?"
"Yeah, I don't mind..."
"Perfect, you're going to have to carry me like a princess."
"That's not fair, Kaede. My Lord, Frau wants to be carried as well."
Hey, don't neglect your position, we have to be alert.
There are monsters here too.
"There it is."
There was a dark green slime peeking through the bushes.
But the size is more than ten meters.
It is what is commonly known as "King Slime".
It appears to still be at the water source, and traces of flowing water can be seen, but the important water is nowhere to be found.
"Do you think you can win?"
"Kaede, try to freeze it."
"Okay."
She raises her iron fans and uses ice magic.
Piki piki
The ground froze and cold air enveloped the slime.
For a moment, I thought she had frozen it, but it seems that she couldn't completely freeze the nucleus, and soon the thin ice on the surface broke and the slime began to move.
Not only is it large, but it also appears to be of a reasonably high standard.
What else can we do?
I could cut him in half with my sword, but that would impact the water source directly below it.
We have to defeat it without affecting the water.
What if we try to tame it?
"Fufu, it's Frau's turn."
"Do you think you can move it from there?"
"Yes, I'll use fairy dust. By sprinkling a little on top, it will float and move even if it doesn't want to." I see. I hadn't thought of that.
When you get sprayed with that stuff, it's inevitable to be able to float.
Then we can get rid of it when it's in the air.
"Then go sprinkle some on top of it."
"But how do I get close without it attacking me?"
"Don't worry, I'll distract it."
I ordered Kaede and Pione to stand by, and jumped in front of the slime.
"Hey slime, look at me."
“!?”
The slime king reacts to my presence and extends its tentacles.
I drew my sword and cut its tentacles from a relatively far away position.
Meanwhile, Frau moved just above it and managed to sprinkle some of her fairy dust.
The slime slowly began to float.
However, while floating in the air, it began to spit digestive juices.
It used the wrong moment to make an attack like that while floating.
"Woaah!"
"Pione!?"
The digestive juices seem to have splattered near the bush in which Pione was hiding, causing him to rush out.
The liquid had dissolved his clothes and he was naked.
"Toru!"
"Are you all right, Pione... Chan...?"
Pione came running out to me and hugged me.
The boy I had met in town… turned out to be a girl.