Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned toward the owner of the voice. The person who expressed dissatisfaction was a male Dragon demon sitting in front of me.
Short hair, armor that looked like it was made of thick fur, and a large scar on his face that wriggled every time he spoke.
“You told us to trust the Demon Lord and wait. And what we got in return for that trust… this ordinary-looking guy?”
“Hargan! Are you out of your mind? What kind of rude thing are you saying to the person who came all the way to help us?”
Diur shouted at the crooked male Dragon demon. However, the person called Hargan continued to speak in an aggressive manner.
“We don’t know when the crazy Yakums will flock to the village. You’re telling us that you’re handing over the life and death of the village to that puny guy over there? You’re the one who’s out of his mind, Diur!”
“Hargan, you……!”
The two Dragon demons stared at each other with blazing eyes.
The Dragon demons who sided with Diur and those with Hargan glared at each other. With the large table as the center, there was a trembling tension between the two gangs.
I looked at Ryan with an uneasy expression in the midst of a tense atmosphere.
He smiled quietly, trying to reassure me, and beckoned me to stay still.
“Everyone, stop!”
“…….”
“…….”
“What kind of indecency is this in front of the important guests?”
Chief Bardan raised his voice and scolded everyone. The agitated Dragon demons quickly calmed down and took their seats. However, hostility remained in the eyes of everyone.
“I’m sorry, Lord Cardis. As the problem is slow to be solved, many villagers have become emotionally sensitive. Please forgive them for their rudeness with a generous heart.”
Bardan apologized to me on behalf of the Dragon demons.
“That’s all right. I understand.”
I accepted the apology as casually as possible. Thanks to this, the atmosphere at the table became a little softer.
Not missing the time when the tension was slightly loosened, Ryan opened his mouth.
“I fully understand the sensitive response from people here. It is also true that the Great Lord has not been able to come up with measures so far. But this time it’s different.”
He beckoned everyone’s eyes toward me.
“Believe in Lord Cardis.”
“…….”
Looking at Ryan confidently putting me forward, I got goosebumps all over my body.
I haven’t even figured out exactly what’s going on, but he’s saying as if I could solve it…… From my point of view, it felt very absurd.
Hearing Ryan’s words, Bardan asked, shining his eyes.
“Is that true? Is there a way to restore the violent Yakum?”
“Of course. If Lord Cardis couldn’t do it, no one in the world could do it.”
“Oh….”
As if Ryan’s confident words worked, the attitude of the Dragon demons changed a little bit.
Initially, they were looking at me with eyes full of doubt, but now I felt a little trust in those eyes.
“Can that person without horns really stop the Yakums?”
“Wasn’t he sent by the Demon Lord because he got something?”
However, there were some people who did not like this atmosphere.
BOOM!
“Are you going to fall for the sugar-coated words of the Demon Lord again? Are you really leaving the life and death of our village to them?”
He raised his voice by hitting the table with his fist.
“Hargan is right. What if something goes wrong? Then everything will be over!”
“Um….”
Hargan and the Dragon demons around him expressed a vehement reluctance to Ryan’s words. The atmosphere became more confused by their shouts.
Despite the chaotic atmosphere, Ryan responded with a relaxed expression.
“Is it Mr. Hargan…? Then, do you have a way to solve this problem?”
“Of course.”
Hargan replied in a confident manner.
“We kill all the Yakums who threaten the village. The village warriors, including me, are already waiting with our weapons sharpened.”
Ryan’s expression hardened slightly.
“The Demon Lord has instructed not to attack Yakums hastily. I can’t accept your method.”
“Hmph! Then do you want me to just watch them go crazy?”
“That’s why we came here like this. Just leave it to us for now…….”
“A group of Yakums is already invading the territory of our village. Will you ask us to wait even if they turn our village into a mess?”
“…….”
Hargan jumped up from his seat and looked around and said.
“It was our fault to trust and wait for help from the Castle in the first place. We have to protect our village with our own hands.”
“That’s right!”
“Hargan is right.”
“We have to set a good example so that those monsters would never set foot in our village again!”
“We are not afraid of battle!”
Many Dragon demons sympathized with Hargan’s words. Even the eyes of Dragon demons who continued to maintain a neutral position began to shake.
Hargan was elated by their reaction and looked at me and Ryan.
“Did you say… Lord Cardis? I guess you guys were in a hurry, too. If you’re going to lie to us, at least bring someone who would be believable.….”
“…….”
“Are you saying that a fishy guy with no horns can deal with Yakums? I’ll be glad if he doesn’t pee in front of them later.”
“Hahhahahahaha”!
“Hahhahahhahahah Of course”
Several Dragon demons burst into laughter at Hargan’s sarcasm. Ryan’s face frowned as he crossed the line.
When I was thinking about how to respond.
BOOM
“TAKE BACK those words right now!”
Lia, who was watching the scene, stepped up and shouted. Hargan flinched for a moment at the energy she exuded, but quickly returned to his normal form and replied.
“Take back all the words that disrespected Sihyeon. Sihyeon is such a great person that a guy like you can’t evaluate him!”
“What? “
“You asked if he could deal with Yakum earlier, right? Not only he can deal with them, but there are a lot of Yakums that would move at Sihyeon’s command.”
“…….”
While Hargan went speechless with a blank expression, Lia started explaining everything I did at the Demon Farm without hesitation.
From the time I first met the Yakums, giving birth to baby Yakums, milking Hap, and the many things that followed…….
She continued with a natural flow that I wondered whether she prepared this beforehand.
And soon, the explanation began to get exaggerated due to the excitement with which it went on.
It was like seeing the words of a Cultist who witnessed the miracle of their Cult Leader.
To be honest, I felt pleased at first, but as the story continued I felt more embarrassed.
‘I don’t think I have that great of an ability…….’
I thought I should stop her, so I looked at Ryan, but to my surprise, rather than trying to stop Lia, Ryan was nodding with a satisfied look.
The passionate Lia’s testimony brought me great embarrassment, but in proportion to it, it instilled expectations in the Dragon demons.
“Can he really give orders to Yakums?”
“I heard a rumor like that. On top of that, wouldn’t he really have a mysterious ability if Lia was saying that?”
“It’s best to solve the problem without fighting.”
The atmosphere, which had once completely shifted toward Hargan, once again regained its balance. The Dragon demons continued to talk about the two opinions between them.
Hargan, who lost his momentum in an instant, stared at Lia with a sharp gaze.
“In the time I didn’t see you, you’ve become a great SLAVE of that Demon Lord.”
Despite Hargan calling her a slave, Lia maintained a calm attitude, but her expression shook greatly at the words that followed.
“If your father had seen this, he would have been greatly disappointed.”
“……?!”
Father?
While I was feeling strange about the shaking Lia’s appearance, Chief Badan stepped up and cleared up the chaotic atmosphere.
“Everyone, be quiet!”
“…….”
“…….”
“I’ll make a decision. For the time being, I will leave the violent Yakum group to those who are sent by the Demon Lord.”
When the chief decided to leave it to us, the expressions of the Dragon demons were greatly divided.
Not only the delighted Dragon demons but also the disgruntled Dragon demons quietly waited for the next word as if they respected the chief’s decision.
“But… If even these people can’t solve the problem… At that time, we will solve it in our way regardless of the Demon Lord’s words.”
In the end, those who were dissatisfied were relieved a little when they heard the word that they would get to solve it in their way if we failed.
At the end of chief Bardan’s words, the gathered Dragon demons began to leave the place one by one. Only our party, the chief, and Diur remained around the wide table.
“It’s late today, so I’d appreciate it if you could start moving in earnest from tomorrow.”
“I’ll do that, Chief.”
“Diur, guide the guests to their accommodation.”
“Yes, sir.”
I got up from my seat to go to the accommodation.
“Oh, Sihyeon. I need to talk to the chief about something else.… Go back and rest first.”
“All right, then I’ll go ahead with Lia.”
Lia and I followed Diur, leaving Ryan behind. As I stepped out of the building, this time Lia stopped and said.
“Sihyeon.”
“Yes, Lia?”
“Could you go with Diur to the accommodation first? I have to go somewhere else…….”
Lia seemed to want to go somewhere and I didn’t want to leave her alone with that rather gloomy expression.
“May I follow you, if you don’t mind, Lia? I’d like to take a look around the village for a while rather than going straight to the accommodation.”
“You want to look around? Will that be okay, Diur?”
“I don’t mind. It would be better to do as Lord Cardis wants.”
Thus, I decided to postpone returning to the accommodation for a while and moved along with Lia.
We walked through the inside of the village to the outskirts. The rumors of an outsider’s visit have already spread, and the gaze of the Dragon demons looking at me while walking on the streets was very stinging.
I looked around the village as if I had come for sightseeing without being aware of everyone’s eyes as much as possible.
Red Scale’s unique atmosphere, which was clearly different from the villages I’d seen so far in the Demon world, was attractive.
We went up to the hill outside the village and I continued to eagerly look around the village.
As soon as we reached the top of the hill, I could see several stone pillars erected on one side.
Looking at the solemn atmosphere felt from the place, I could quickly feel that this was a special place.
“Lia, this is……?”
“It is a place where the deceased Dragon demons are buried. I came back to my hometown after a long time, so I wanted to see my mother and brother.”
“Ah…”
There was loneliness on Lia’s smiling face. I nodded silently, not knowing what to answer.
“Lord Cardis, only Dragon demons can enter this place. I’m sorry, but could you wait here?”
“I’m sorry, Sihyeon.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me and take your time. I’ll just relax and look around.”
I replied with a smile to Lia and Diur, who felt sorry for me.
As soon as the two disappeared among the stone pillars, I stepped away from the place and enjoyed the view of the village below the hill.
Thanks to the fact that I came up to quite a high place, I was able to see the scenery of the village at a glance. As I was filled with satisfaction looking at the scenic beauty of the village, an unexpected thing happened.
-Meow meow.
-Meow.
I heard a cute cry from somewhere.
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