Ankoku Kishi Monogatari (WN)

◆Sword Maiden, Shirone

We are heading toward the north by air.

Our departure was quite delayed. The reason was the hippogriff that was flying behind.

Riding the flying hippogriff behind me are Kyouka-san and Kaya-san. The reason for our delayed departure was due to Kyouka-san’s preparation.

To be honest, I was about to travel alone. I didn't want to create problems for anyone with respect to Kuroki's matter.

I will definitely free Kuroki from the Demon King’s control.

I am really enjoying coming to this world. I actually felt the thrill of exploring this world.

There's Reiji-kun, Chiyuki-san, and everyone else with me.

There were painful times, but together, we managed to survive those trials.

But then, what about Kuroki?

Kuroki is just a normal human. He had nothing to do with our adventure. He's different from Reiji-kun. He's just an ordinary boring guy that you could find everywhere.

He shouldn't have been summoned to this world and forced to fight.

That's why I must save him at all costs.

But, the hippogriff is too slow. I want to fly faster but then, there's no way I can complain after coming this far.

There are two reasons why they're coming along. Firstly, Chiyuki-san was worrying about my safety. Secondly, Kyouka-san wanted to tag along.

I gaze at the hippogriff. The hippogriff is a demon beast with a lower body of a horse and an upper body of an eagle.

They're weaker than griffons but are more suited as mounts due to their docile nature.

The luggage loaded on that hippogriff is clearly overweight. Kyouka-san’s luggage is just too much.

It would be better if we had one more hippogriff, but using demon beasts as mounts isn't that common. Since Reiji-tachi were also using them for their part of the journey, we ended up with just this one.

As expected, this weight is simply unbearable for the hippogriff. We might need to take a break.

「Shirone-sama! Let's take a rest」

Kaya exactly suggests what was running through my mind.

I nod at her and lower the altitude.

I let the hippogriff rest on a slightly open place.

「We shouldn't continue our journey for the rest of the day. Let's look for a place to stay 」

「Eh!? We haven’t traveled that far, though」

「We shouldn't continue for today. The night is coming soon. Hippogriffs can’t fly at night」

「Ah, you're right…」

Yeah, hippogriffs basically become blind at night. Thus, they can't fly at night. But, I'm different. I can still fly even at night. I should be able to arrive at Algore or Veros by the end of the day if keep flying at my top speed.

「Shirone-sama… Please stop with such foolish impulses to go there by yourself」

Maybe because she could easily guess my train of thought, Kaya warns me about my recklessness.

In the first place, the reason they are coming along is that Chiyuki-san was worried about me going alone and so she made a request for them to tag along.

By the way, there was also the idea of letting the temple knights escort us. However, such an idea was dropped when the matter of distance between the Rox kingdom and the Holy Republic Lenaria was taken into consideration.

Most of all, everyone is worried about me. Thus, I can't just flatly reject their goodwill.

「I know, Kaya-san. Even so…」

I'm saying so while looking at the baggage.

「Shouldn't we decrease the weight a little…」

The sluggish speed of the hippogriff is thanks to the heavy baggage on its back. It should be able to fly faster with a lesser load.

「Oh my, we don't know how long we're going to stay in the northern country, you know. So, this much is normal」

I can't say anything to refute Kyouka-san’s reasoning.

It's my selfishness that brought us to Velos or Algore, the northern land. We might be able to get information about Kuroki if we got closer to Nargol.

Thus, we are currently traveling to the north while betting on such a tiny possibility. Since I don’t know when I'll get a hold of such information, I have to prepare myself to stay there for a long time.

Thus, I must express my gratitude to the two of them who had been preparing themselves for staying so long with me.

Moreover, despite saying it's Kyouka's luggage, most of the luggage is, in reality, mine. Thus, I really can't say anything to them.

「Uuh. I understood…」

Thus, I gave up in the end.

「Well then, since you agreed, let's take a little detour since I found a human country a while ago, let's stay there for the night」

◆Sword Maiden, Shirone

This “country” is too small to be considered as one.

The population hasn't even reached a thousand. The buildings are also shoddy; it reminded me of a thatched hut I saw in a book a long time ago.

This country-like village, despite saying so, is called Koki. Coming to such a small country isn't the first time for me. There was a time when we were staying in the middle of the road during our journey to Nargol.

But then, the majority of such small countries are closed countries, and many of them refuse even a short visit.

Naturally, Reiji won't accept such reasons. He would force his way to stay inside such countries.

He told us that there's no way he could let women sleep on the field. Thanks to that, we almost never camped outdoors.

Kaya-san will be negotiating with the chief of Koki country. Will they refuse our request?

What is Kaya going to do in that case? Since there is no chance for her to let Kyouka-san camp outside, will she break through with raw power?

As we walked all the way to the house of the Chief, the residents seem to have been scared by the hippogriff mount we had. We might be able to do something if we use it as a threat against them.

「We're travelers. May we stay here for one night? We will pay for our stay, too」

「No, no, no, don't mind about such things. If it pleases you, feel free to stay in my house」

But the decision of Koki’s Chief was against my expectations.

The chief of Koki flashed a nice uncle’s smile.

Suddenly, I feel something is out of place in his smile.

「Well, this way, please. Since that demon beast is going to stay in the barn, I will take him there later」

But, Kaya-san is shaking her head in denial.

「No, it's good as long as we can stay in the same room. Please guide us there」

Kyouka-san and I are astonished by her words.

「Y… Yes, this way then」

It seems that the Koki Chief is also as surprised as us. He's at a loss.

Thus, we're staying in the barn.

「What happened to you, Kaya?」

Kyouka-san is asking Kaya-san.

Even though Kyouka-san is there, we don’t know why Kaya decided to stay in the barn. Hippogriff aside, I want to decline to stay in that place.

「Young lady. May I ask something of Shirone-sama?」

「Eh, of me?!」

I'm surprised due to her out of the blue question.

「Didn't you feel that something’s amiss from that man’s expression?」

I ponder about my feeling again after being asked by Kaya-san.

「Yeah. It felt like that the Chief uncle is looking at us in the same way demons look at us」

Kaya also agreed to my words.

「Yes, I felt the same way as Shirone-sama」

The eyes of that uncle made my enemy perception ring warning bells. That uncle had the same eyes as a demon who had just caught his prey. Previously, since it was only for a moment, I thought it was just my imagination. However, since Kaya-san felt it too, it doesn't seem to be a figment of my imagination.

「It seems the Chief of this country is going to do something bad to us」

Kaya-san is smiling lightly. A chill runs down my spine.

「What shall we do now? Shall we leave this country?」

If this country is trying to harm us, it's better to leave this place immediately. But Kaya-san shook her head in denial.

「I would love to do that but… The night has come. It's hard to find a camping ground at this kind of time」

Hippogriffs are unable to fly in the night. Most of all, none of us can use night vision or light magic. I can move during the night to some extent with body perception magic, but there’s a limit to that skill.

As Kaya-san said before, it's already too late to leave.

「But, what shall we do then, Kaya?」

Kyouka-san is asking. I can feel a tinge of irritation in her voice.

「Naturally, we’ll leave after resting for a while. I don't know what the citizens of this country would try to do to us, but it doesn't matter as long as we take them down」

Kaya-san is clenching her fist.

I heave a sigh. Well, the people of this country might have just targeted the wrong prey.

But then, it can't be helped.

Even Kaya won't force her way into the country if they were just simply preventing us from entering. But then, it's a completely different story if they're trying to harm us.

At that moment, I could feel signs of people surrounding the barn in which we're staying.

I look outside through the windows of the barn. The people surrounding our barn are holding weapons in their hand.

The Chief of this country is amongst them. It seems that he's gathering his comrades to stop us.

「It seems they have come. Shall we punish those naughty children, young lady?」

Saying so, Kaya-san is clapping her fist in front of her chest.

◆Governor Echigos

「Echigos-sama! PLEASE SPARE HER! PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T TAKE MY DAUGHTER AWAY FROM ME!」

A man is prostrating in front of me.

「I'm sorry, that's beyond my abilities. It has been decided that your daughter will become a sacrifice for Zengu-sama」

「Please do something about that! Please take the other girl!!」

「It can't be helped, you're a man, too. It seems that you don't care about the fate of the other girl as long as your daughter’s life is spared」

I ended up sniffling to him. The sorrow of others tastes like sweet nectar to me. This is why I can't get enough of this job.

「Father!」

Someone is entering the room. I know that face. She's the daughter of the man who is prostrating in front of me.

「Machime! What are you doing here!!」

「That's enough, father! I have already accepted my fate as food for the ogre! That's why, please stop trying to sacrifice the other girl in my place!」

「But if I do that… You'll…」

「That's enough, father… I'm really glad to be born as your daughter…」

The father and daughter embrace each other.

How laughable… I mean, what a touching conversation.

「Little girl, you're quite a strong will, aren't you? Well then, nice resolution」

I'm saying so to the girl with a somber face while desperately trying to hold back my laughter.

「Yes, Echigos-sama…」

The girl is saying so while bowing lightly.

Such a brave girl. She makes me want to take her in as my possession without offering her to Zengu-sama.

This country is under the supervision of a certain ogre called Zengu. The citizens of this country are livestock for the ogre.

And this girl has been chosen to become the offering for the said Zengu.

Zengu ordered me to choose a girl as a birthday gift for his mother. He told me to choose a healthy one, rather than a fleshy and beautiful one.

Though I want to choose an ugly girl, my life will be in jeopardy if I lose the favor of Zengu. That's why, I really am regretting the fact that this brave girl is about to die.

「Echigos-sama!」

Another one is coming.

「You're noisy, what is it now?」

The one who came is my subordinate.

「Travelers! Three girls just came! They are quite beautiful, too」

Beautiful girls.

I couldn't let that word pass.

「Travelers, huh… Guide me to meet them」

I went along with my subordinates to meet those girls.

Thus, when I met those girls-

「Hou…」

I unintentionally let out an admiring voice. They're the most beautiful women I’ve ever met.

It seems the proud looking woman in the middle is their leader. She's wearing the finest quality garment, so she might be the princess of a country.

I want to keep these woman in this country.

And then, behind those three are definitely hippogriffs.

I heard that it's possible to tame the demon beasts, a long time ago, but I never expected to see a tamed hippogriff.

They might have bought a reared hippogriff.

In any case, this hippogriff isn't hostile to humans.

I must be lucky for getting my hands on the finest women along with the tamed hippogriffs.

「We're travelers. May we stay here for one night? Naturally, we're going to pay for our stay」

The woman on the left started to negotiate.

「No, no, no, don't mind such things. If it pleases you, feel free to stay in my house」

I replied so.

It's natural since I'm going to strip them of all their possessions. Thus, I don't need any rewards right now.

I looked at those three like a hunter looks at their game while pretending to be calm.

「Well, this way, please. Since that demon beast is going to stay in the barn, I'm going to take him there later」

When I was about to guide those three to a residence.

「No, it's good as long as we can stay in the same place. Please guide us there」

The woman on the left asked me to guide them to the barn.

With only straws for a bed, the barn is far from enough as a residence for humans. I'm wondering why I felt chills running down my spine when I heard the voice of this maid.

「Y… Yes, this way then」

Thus, I guided them to the barn while thinking about that matter.

After guiding them to the barn, I gathered my subordinates to ambush them.

The one we should place our utmost attention on would be the woman carrying a sword with her hair tied to the back. [TL: Shirone with her ponytail] She must be talented to be able to become the bodyguard of a woman with such high standing.

「Don't you think it's about time to enter, Echigos?」

A voice was calling from behind.

When I turned around, the one who spoke was a man carrying a large sword. He has a brawny body with muscles bulging at various parts of his body and a pair of canines protruding out from his mouth. No matter how you look at him, he's such a barbaric man.

And this man is also another reason why there are no demons invading this country.

「So it is Daigan-sama. It's as you say, they're the finest quality gems」

「Tricking some women and then ambushing them when they're being careless, huh?」

「Yes, naturally that's my plan. GUFUFUFU」

「Kukuku, Echigos, even the evil me has lost to you」

「Nonono, I'm still far away from Daigan-sama’s level. Gufufufufu」

Daigan is laughing.

That's right. As long as we have this man, we have nothing to fear.

I was caught by Zengu the ogre when I was traveling as a merchant.

But then, by using my ass kissing skills on him, I somehow ended up as the landlord of this place in which Zengu raises the humans inside as his livestock.

For the sake of successfully raising the human livestock in this place, Zengu lent Daigan to me.

The people of this country obey me because of their fear of Daigan.

Even though I'm just a merchant, I'm something like the king of this country now. I can do anything as long as I use Zengu’s power.

Much less to say when the other party is composed of merely three frail girls, so what do I have to be afraid of?

What I'm afraid of is that we might injure the girls when we capture them.

Moreover, I'll have my way with one of them before offering her to Zengu.

I unintentionally wanted to laugh.

◆Governor Echigos

「Echigos-sama. Those women are inside the barn」

I receive a report from one of the guards.

There are fifty armed men in my surroundings.

Though this number seemingly looks overkill just to capture three women, it's logical to use such huge manpower since my goal is to capture them without any resistance by showing our overwhelming numbers.

Well then, how should we break into the barn?

But the door of the barn was opened before we barged in.

Standing there were the three women who hadn't changed at all since we met a while ago. In short, they're still armed.

「At the very least, we need to hear your reason to do this」

The lordly woman, their leader, is asking so.

Well, what answer should I give them then?

「M-My daughter will be saved as long as you become her substitute! Sorry, but please become her replacement!」

When I'm wondering what to say, the man who prostrated in front of me previously replied ahead instead of me.

Those three women exchanged glances when they heard his words. And then, they're seemingly consulting about something.

「It seems you have some sort of circumstance. Do tell us your story」

Maybe because they heard that man’s story, the lordly woman is asking again.

But, I have no intention to continue such useless storytelling anymore.

「Regardless of our circumstances, she's incomparable to you, young ladies. How about putting down your weapons? We won't hurt you as long as you surrender to us」

I give them my warning.

Why in the hell are they asking for our story anyway? No human can beat the ogre.

As long as they are obedient, I'll let them have a good time before offering them to Zengu.

I look at those women while having such indecent thoughts. Thereupon, the woman holding a sword in her hand is glaring at me.

I almost stumbled back unable to support my body after seeing the glint in her eyes.

「W-we're going to use violence if you resist, you know!」

Those women don't seem to have changed their attitudes after my warning. Why can they stay calm despite being surrounded by so many people?

「Doesn't matter! Catch them!!」

On my command, my subordinates approach those girls.

「It seems there are some people who can't be reasoned with unless they experience some pain, huh? Kaya! Shirone-san! Let's teach them a lesson!」

The haughty woman nods to the women on her sides while saying so.

「Young lady. Please refrain from any overwhelming actions」

「Indeed you must restrain yourself, Kyouka-san」

Yup, the woman on her sides were most likely her attendants. And just like that, the proud-looking woman in the middle steps back.

The woman on the left is making a stance with her fist, while the woman on the right is making a stance with her sword.

Five of my subordinates are going for the left one.

「You choose the painful wa-… EH? 」

I doubted what my eyes showed me.

Those five men have already fallen without making any sound. The men are rolling on the ground while growling in pain.

「UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!」

Someone is suddenly screaming on my right.

When I look at that direction, the men who tried to catch the woman on the right have already fallen on their asses. Some even fainted.

Their ropes and weapons have already been shredded to pieces.

Looking closely, that's not the only things shredded to pieces. Their hair is gone, too.

Since I didn't have any bald subordinates, their hair might have been shredded just at this moment. What speed!

The rest of my subordinates are already cowering in fear due to those scenes.

「HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! THERE'S ONLY THREE OF THEM! DO YOU WANT TO BECOME OGRE FOOD! CATCH THEM!」

I look at my subordinates while shouting at them.

They're rolling on the ground like the first ones who tried and ended up as a group of bald people.

These women are strong.

Even I am starting to fear their power.

「Step back, Echigos. Let me do this」

「Daigan-sama…」

My subordinates are retreating.

「You're quite strong, huh. Let this one be your opponent」

After saying so, Daigan’s body starts swelling up.

His already tall body frame becomes taller. Bristles appear from his body; his face and mouth start growing forward.

「Werewolf!」

The woman with the sword cried in shock.

Daigan’s true identity is that of a werewolf. Zengu the ogre sent him to this country in order to protect the humans in this country who have been domesticated by me.

This Daigan was already trained by those ogres to not touch the human livestock of the ogre.

But, his physical prowess as a therianthrope is the real deal. No matter how talented a human is, they won’t be able to beat him.

「Hoo, a werewolf, huh. Well then, let me become your opponent」

The woman with the sword is preparing her stance with a calm face. Even when she's facing a werewolf, her expression is far from fear, she rather seems to be enjoying this instead.

Her attitude angers Daigan.

「LITTLE GIRL! DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!!」

Daigan attacks with his sword.

I panic after seeing that. He must not kill them. Maybe because she’s unable to move, she does not show any sign of trying to guard against the incoming sword.

「… EH?」

Suddenly, Daigan lets out an exaggerated voice.

I also can't believe what I am seeing. The sword in Daigan’s grip… Is gone.

Looking closely, his hands are still gripping the handle of his sword. The sword has not been unsheathed from the sheath on his back.

「I-IMPOSSIBLE!? WHEN DID YOU!!?」

Daigan became flustered.

There's no blood spurting from the bisected part of his arms, it’s raising a trail of smoke instead. The sword of that woman is wrapped in flames.

「Still want to try?」

The woman with the sword asks again. Though she's smiling at us, her eyes don’t seem to be smiling at all.

「KYAAAIN!」

Daigan got cold feet and tried to escape. But, he fell before even that. Now, his left foot is gone. Just when did she slice his left foot?

「KYAAAIN! KYAAAAIN! HYIIIII, MY HANDS, MY FOOT!!」

Daigan is wailing and rolling on the ground in such an unsightly manner.

「Who the hell are you guys…」

I'm muttering so. Their power is abnormal.

「GIVE IT UP! GUYS!」

The woman who was using her fists to fight suddenly shouted in a loud voice.

「GIVE IT UP! YOU PEOPLE, WHO DO YOU THINK THE PERSON YOU'RE TRYING TO ATTACK IS? THIS PERSON’S NAME IS KYOUKA, THE KIN OF REIJI-SAMA, THE HERO OF LIGHT! SHE'S YOUR PRINCESS! YOU PEASANTS SHOULD JUST GIVE UP!!」

I'm shocked by what that woman said.

The hero’s… Little sister.

I did hear the rumors about the hero. The man had dived deep into Nargol where demons far more terrible than the ogre were waiting to kill him.

Quite the haughty man who won't forgive anyone who becomes his enemy.

Even though the demon king wasn't defeated since he got his ass kicked by the dark knight, one can measure the height of his power by seeing how he can get so far to the point of reaching the demon king castle.

And, I heard that the hero had already recovered. And if this woman is the little sister of the hero, my life might be in jeopardy if I were to attack her.

No, even without that, these women are freaking powerful. We're absolutely no match for them.

「Haha~~~!」

I prostrate in front of that woman called Kyouka. The other men also do the same.

I’ll submit to the strong till the very end. That is my raison d'etre.

「I never knew that you're the little sister of the hero! PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEEーーー！ ! 」

◆Sword Maiden, Shirone

We are currently sauntering under the moonlight.

We're heading for the castle, the living place of the ogre Zengu.

Basically, an ogre lives in the mountain and built its castle or palace there.

Even though it looks like a castle from the human’s perspective, it's nothing more than a mansion for the ogre due to their huge build.

Being able to build a castle means that they have considerably high technology. Some of them even excel in magic. High physical power along with magical power, so speaking of their latent potential, no need to say about humans, even the elves can't match them.

But in comparison to their power, they're fairly stupid, it seems they fall behind the humans in terms of wisdom. There's a story about a stupid ogre whose castle was seized after being tricked by a cat fairy.

But fortunately, their numbers are far less than humans. For that reason, the majority of humans are living without being ruled by them.

But then, this country is ruled by one of those ogres.

「That's the place, Kyouka-sama. Zengu mansion」

Following the directions of Echigos, Kaya is pointing at the mansion on top of a cliff.

That was a splendid mansion considering that it was built for the ogre.

This castle was around an hour’s walking distance from Koki country.

The day had turned to night. I wanted to hit the bed and yet here I am, doing this request.

The craftsmanship of the ogre is high due to the fact that they can build castles and palaces on the mountain. It seems that some of these ogres are even capable of building a castle on top of a cloud.

It is said that various treasures are hidden inside the castle of that ogre. It is also mentioned that the size of an ogre mansion is proportional to the number of treasures hidden within.

I'm looking at Zengu mansion. Though it's far more splendid than the residence of a human, looking from the front, it's on the smaller side for an ogre.

It seems that Zengu is on the weaker side as an ogre.

「Well then, let me too…」

I seize the clothes of Echigos when he tries to run away.

「Uhm… What's the matter, Shirone-sama?」

「Are you thinking about going back, Echigos-san? I don't care if it was another person, but there's no way I can let go of you and that werewolf」

When I said so, Echigos and Daigan lower their line of sight.

This Echigos is a human, but different from the other humans in the country, he was the one supervising the citizens of Koki by flattering the ogre. There's no way I'm just letting him go.

The country of Koki is being ruled by the ogre called Zengu. According to Kaya-san’s investigation, countries ruled by a powerful demon like this one aren't on the rare side.

This kind of country isn't attacked by the other demons in exchange for it being ruled by a demon. That's why at a glance, there's more merit to it.

But, that is nothing more than a relationship between livestock and it’s owner. There's no way anyone will be fine being treated as food.

After hearing their story, the citizens gleefully offered themselves to be our guide when we said that we're going to slay the ogre Zengu.

So, aside from Kyouka-san, Kaya-san, and I, some people have come with us to this mansion of Zengu.

Being guided by Echigos, Daigan, who has the power of several people, is carrying our baggage after we healed his arms and foot. Several citizens of Koki country are also following behind us .

I push Echigos to keep moving until we neared the gate.

「ZENGU-SAMA―――！ZENGU-SAMA―――！PLEASE OPEN THE GATE―――！」

After Daigan hollered, that huge gate opened.

The one coming out from inside is as tall as height of three men combined. It’s a five-meter-tall giant man. This one might be the one called Zengu.

According to Echigos, Zengu is the youngest ogre amongst the eight of his mother’s children. It seems that we arrived in this country while Echigos was in the middle of choosing a human sacrifice as a present for his mother’s birthday.

Zengu seems like a human in the latter half of his thirties. A sloppy type with a bulging belly. Yup, definitely a dumb one.

In fact, I feel absolutely no threat from Zengu when he came out while scratching his nether region.

「Oh, isn't this Echigos, what's the matter that brought you to meet me today?」

And then, Zengu’s eyes land on us who are standing behind Echigos.

「Hou, so you have come to bring the women for my dear mother, huh. It must be hard on you, Echigos」

Zengu is laughing while he’s looking at us. That smiling face is creepy. The racial characteristic of ogre race is the fact that there's a huge tusk that grows upside down. Thus, they have a huge mouth and a square-shaped jaw. That's why they look creepy when they laugh.

The citizens of Koki are frightened.

「Let me see, what do you feel now?」

Zengu is stretching his hand toward Kyouka-san.

At that moment, I thought "Watch out". Kyouka-san herself isn't dangerous. Kyouka-san can't control her own magic. If Zengu ever touches Kyouka-san, the angry Kyouka-san might use magic and turn the entire area into charcoal.

Thus, I retreated.

Kyouka-san is always on house-sitting duty. Though Kyouka-san hated that duty at first, as expected, even Kyouka-san agreed to do house-sitting duty when her rampaging magic accidentally injured Reiji-kun when he was trying to protect Sahoko-san.

Zengu’s hand is approaching Kyouka-san. But, that hand is swatted away.

「You shouldn't try your luck by touching my lady」

Naturally, the one who did that was Kaya-san. Even though she was standing behind me, she’s already in front of me since who knows when.

「What the hell are you?」

Zangu leaps toward Kaya-san.

「(Heart Break)!」

She lightly punched the chest of Zengu while uttering so.

「GUH!」

Just like that, Zengu fell down while moaning in pain.

’Heart break’ is a skill that demolish someone’s heart without causing any external wounds via the shockwaves that are transmitted when the fist connects to the target.

Zengu’s heart stopped beating and collapsed.

「Well then, just when we need food for our hippogriff」

The people on the surrounding tremble in fear when she said so while looking at Zengu.

「No way… That ogre, with one hit」

「How can she do that with such a slender body」

「Moreover, being treated as food for the magical beast… She's even more terrifying than the ogre」

Several citizens of Koki unintentionally utter out aloud. By the way, sometimes I also feel that Kaya-san is scary.

Kaya-san tosses the body of the ogre to the hippogriff who came along.

「I'm so tired, Kaya. Let's go in」

Kyouka says so and goes inside.

When we followed her to enter the mansion of the ogre, the inside was as splendid as its outer appearance.

According to Chiyukipedia, the architectural skill of the ogres are on par with the dwarves; there's even a legend of them building a castle above the clouds.

So, choosing to lodge for one night in the mansion of the ogre is a better choice than that human house. However, since this is originally an ogre’s residence, we still need to do some cleaning.

The bedroom seems quite disordered.

There are a lot of pictures of naked ogre girls pasted on the wall of the room.

And there's this underwear-like thing scattered on the floor.

「This one seems like a garbage can, yes. But then, there's a lot of ball-like things in there. It smells fishy…」

Kyouka-san is frowning while saying so. That kind of things appeared inside Kuroki’s room once in a while. I think it's better to not touch those ball-like things.

「According to the stories, this is the room of a single man, so…」

Kaya-san is muttering.

「Kuroki’s room wasn't as messed up as this one though. Could it be THAT thing is also hidden somewhere in this room?」

I think Kuroki’s room can be considered clean when compared to Zengu’s room. There are no such indecent pictures pasted on the wall of his room.

Even so, I'm sure that ecchi book is hidden somewhere. The matter of sneaking into his room and reading it became quite an amusement for me.

Thus, I went into the room.

「Ah, as expected, I found one. An ecchi book」

I discovered a lot of books with pictures of naked female ogres drawn on its cover placed under the bed. It should be sexy pictures, but I feel that the squarish jaw and tusk are far from the aesthetic sense of beauty of males of the human race.

「Shirone-sama. Please do not open this any further」

「Ah, sorry. We're going to dispose of this immediately, right. The ogre’s just similar with Kuroki for hiding those kinds of books」

「It's filthy. My dear brother doesn't have such a book, right Kaya?」

Kaya-san nods to Kyouka-san’s words.

「Yes, Reiji-sama didn't have this kind of books. But then… It might be due to the fact that he didn't need this kind of books」

Kaya-san responds so.

「Well, that's true. My dear brother is different from Shirone-san’s childhood friend, he doesn't have these suspicious books」

I feel a bit offended after hearing Kyouka-san’s words.

「Reiji-kun is amazing indeed, but it'll make a poor comparison if you compare him to a normal boy like Kuroki」

I reply to defend Kuroki. Moreover, almost all men are poor in comparison to Reiji-kun.

「That might be the case Shirone-sama, but can you even say that he is a NORMAL boy?」

「What do you mean, Kaya-san?」

「He won against Reiji-sama. If Reiji-sama is special, that makes him even more special, right?」

「That's…」

I'm at a loss.

「I never held any strong impression about him whenever you talk about him. But then, it turns out that he is a monster when we fought him before. Are you really sure that he is your childhood friend?」

Kaya-san is asking such a question.

「He… is definitely Kuroki. Yup, no doubt about it」

I reply to her. I should never mistake Kuroki for another person.

Kuroki should be spending a normal and boring everyday life in our original world, but he came to this world for some reason.

That Kuroki appeared before us as a powerful opponent. That, in itself, is strange.

Especially for a normal and plain guy like him. He is definitely Kuroki. I don't know what she means, though.

Kuroki could never win against me. He should be far weaker than me.

Someone like him shouldn't be able to win against a hero like Reiji-kun.

But, it was definitely Kuroki. My head is in chaos.

「In that case, he was most likely hiding his true ability. I can feel it in seeing myself that his movements belong to someone who trained in martial arts for a long time. Though I train in martial arts too, he's far beyond me in that matter. No one should be able to reach such heights in martial arts unless they have an extremely powerful drive behind them」

I receive a stronger shock due to Kaya-san’s words. I was supposed to be one who understood Kuroki the most. But, it was different in reality.

The time I spent with Kuroki decreased ever since I met Reiji-kun. Did something happen during that time?

And here I am, really vexed to not be able to see that something.

「To be honest, even I don't know about that. There's way too many things that…」

I cast my eyes down as I answer Kaya-san.

「I see…  Well, at least we caught a glimpse of it」

Kaya-san is saying so, seeing my state.

I can't come up with an answer no matter how much I think about it now. Then, I'll just take Kuroki back and make him spit out the truth.

「That is so, Kaya. Let's take a rest for now」

Kyouka-san seems to want to rest. Yup, I want to sleep, too.

「Certainly, I'm going to prepare the meal after tidying this room. I don't think it's a wise choice to eat meat in this kind of place, so I'll prepare a vegetarian meal. Please take rest for now; the sheet quality is far superior than the human-made one」

I nod to Kaya-san.

We tidy up the room with the help of the people who came with us and have a meal after that.

We made good use of the people who came along.

Especially the father whose daughter almost become a sacrifice, he worked with extreme gratitude toward us.

But then, it seems some amongst them are working because they're scared of us.

I don't know what will happen to this Koki country after this. The other monsters might come to invade in the absence of the ogre.

But, I can't do any more than this for this country.

After tidying up the room and having a meal, we send off the people of Koki.

It seems that the ogre that lived in this mansion had some siblings, but they'll know that we killed their sibling only when they come to this country.

After the meal which was followed by a simple hot bath, we slept.

The sheets of the ogre’s bed aren't stinking since we used new ones. Though there's only one bed, it's enough for the three of us since the ogre bed is fairly large.

Now, I can't help but think about it. When I’ll meet with Kuroki, I should understand the situation.

Thus, we fell asleep.

◆Ruined Echigos

Someone, please save me.

Even if I want to scream, I can't talk due to the gag in my mouth.

As soon as we returned, those citizens of Koki only looked at us with pitying gazes.

The same things happened to Daigan who is unconscious with his movements sealed with numerous locks.

Though that woman called Kaya let us live after I led them, she hanged us upside down from the ceiling of the ogre mansion. That woman is a demon.

I was told that those women called Kaya and Shirone seemed to be able to sense my intent to harm them. Thus, I was arrested by them for having wicked thoughts toward them.

Thus, I'm in my current predicament.

The night wind is cold.

Why must this Echigos-sama suffer from this situation? Tears are streaming down from my eyes.

What will become of me?

Someone, please help me!