Betrayed by My Best Friend and Dumped by My Fiancée, I’ve Decided to Enjoy Life as I Please ~ For Some Reason, a Bunch of Crazy Fanatics Keep Pledging Their Loyalty to Me~
About two days after leaving the landlady’s inn, we arrived in the neighboring town of “Zaks”.
“Wow. ……! It’s quite a lively town.”
“Yes, it is. I think it is true that every town has its own unique atmosphere.”
Iris, who hides her hair by wearing a hood and a jacket that gives her cognitive disruption, glistens next to me.
It seems that Iris has traveled to many places, but since she was a slave, she probably had no concept of enjoying traveling.
I had a vision of her tail, which should not have existed, wagging in the air.
“After we get a place to stay, let’s take a little tour of the city.”
“I-Is that okay…?!”
I’m interested in this town too.
It is not the season for travel, so it is not likely that all the hotels are occupied and you can get one quickly.
“Then let’s go.”
“Yes, ……!”
After we got our hotel, Iris and I looked around for food and souvenirs, which are said to be a specialty of the area.
I thought I didn’t need any souvenirs since the food would be nice and they would just be a nuisance given my traveling status, but Iris seemed to be different and looked like she wanted something, so I bought her a necklace that looked good on her.
Most importantly, she looked happy wearing it.
“Rex-sama! ……! Why don’t we go over there next time?”
Iris is already in a completely festive mood.
I don’t mind if she keeps her mind on it, and there’s nothing else to do.
“Hey, shopkeeper, can I have two of those buns over there?”
“Oh, brother! Thanks for coming! I’ve got some just made, so please take them!”
“Thank you. I’ll leave the money here.”
After placing the money, I took two buns and gave one to Iris.
Iris opened her little mouth and began to eat the steamed bun with a twinkle in her eye.
“You guys, if you are dressed like that, you must be travelers, right?”
While we were tasting the steamed buns, the owner of the steamed buns shop talked to us, as if he had finished his work.
There is no particular harm, so it seems that he really just came to make small talk.
“Yes. We are traveling.”
“Then I have a piece of advice for you. Don’t go north now.”
“Hou?”
Information is very important on the road, and in everything else.
It is better to hear it than not to hear it, even if you don’t believe the rumors.
I am interested in this information because I know from my life as an adventurer that one piece of information can make the difference between life and death.
“Did something happen in the north?”
“Well, it seems that a monster has appeared.”
“A monster?”
A too abstract expression.
Perhaps it is a monster, but the way it is said, it has never appeared before, or its appearance is rare.
We can’t say for sure yet because we don’t have enough information about it.
“Yeah, it was a big ape monster. It was as big as a building.”
Scarlet ape huh…..
It could be agile, maybe even a herd.
It could certainly be a nasty opponent.
“How did you know there was such a monster in the first place?”
“Hmm? Yeah, apparently some guys got hurt when they were hunting.”
“Hunting ……?”
There are no animals north of here that are particularly tasty to eat or whose pelts can be sold.
The fact that some people were injured means that a good number of people participated in the hunt.
Why would they do that if there was no benefit?
“Is there any prey to be had around here? Rumor has it that there was no particular prey to the north. ……”
“Eh? Is that so?”
Iris sounds surprised at my words.
I was just curious and asked about it, but the shop owner’s mood suddenly changed to one of severity.
Hmm, is there something behind it?
“You know a lot, brother. It’s true that there’s no prey in the north, but what we were trying to hunt this …… time was a monster that appeared in this town.”
Monster after monster……?
It’s good to see so many things appear, but is it possible for them to overlap like this? ……?
I think it’s getting a little creepy. ……
“What kind of monster is this?”
“It’ss …… human looking, but he’s got little horns on his head.”
So that’s what it looks like. ……
I understood what the people in this town were trying to hunt by this statement.
It wasn’t very pleasant.
“Umm …… what kind of …… is that?”
Iris still didn’t seem to understand.
I don’t like talking about it, but Iris is one of us now, and it would be dishonest not to tell her.
Besides, we can’t turn a blind eye to what’s going on.
“Demon …… half-ogre is out there.”
“!”
The moment she heard those words, the expression on Iris’s face, which had been satisfied after eating the buns, became stern.
The proud shopkeeper, who seems not to have noticed Iris’s face, doesn’t stop talking
“I even wrapped my palliatives in a bandana to hide them. It’s horrifying to enter the city at the risk of being a monster. I really hope they give me a break.”
“this–”
When Iris was about to become enraged, I restrained her with my hand and calmed her down.
When I looked, I saw that her hand was on the handle of the rapier.
Oh, that’s dangerous.
If we kill someone in a place like this, we’ll be wanted.
“Surely that’s not funny. What else do you know about this monster?”
“Rex sama!?”
“Well, I don’t know much more than that. I only know what people tell me”
So that’s about it.
Well, not necessarily useful, but informative.
All that’s left is credibility. ……
“I see. Thanks for sharing so much with us.”
“Ou! Come again!”
I thanked the owner and left.
I took Iris with me to an empty alleyway.
“Well, that’s about it.”
“Rex sama, …… why did you do that …… thing? They …… they ……!”
Iris asks me with sad eyes.
Well, that’s the reaction I’m going to get.
I pat her head gently.
“You can’t just get information. It has to be examined carefully and used to its fullest extent to be of value. If you get too riled up in that moment, you won’t be able to hear any more of the information that you could have gotten.”
“That’s …… yes. I’m sorry. ……”
Iris apologizes dejectedly.
But I understand why Iris would want to be angry.
The half-demon man the shopkeeper was talking about is not a monster, but a person.
To be exact, a demon is a person born when an ogre abducts a human and impregnates him forcibly, but as a derogatory term, the name half-ogre is widely used as a monster even though the person is supposed to be the same human.
They are characterized by small horns on their heads, and are a small tribe of people skilled in combat.
Needless to say, they are in a rather difficult position due to their background.
The Iris, a member of the same discriminated tribe, may feel a sense of frustration.
“I will check the truth of the rumors first and foremost. If it’s true, we’ll come to the rescue right away.”
“I understand. ……!”
We immediately started canvassing the town for information.
◇◆◇
We each gathered information and met at the inn.
We found out that the boy we were hunting was an ogre, about 10 years old.
A human woman was fleeing with a demon child.
And finally, there was no doubt that an ape monster had appeared.
With all of this information, it was enough to give credibility.
“So, let’s go……”
This situation cannot be overlooked.
We want to save those within our reach.
Even if it is hypocrisy, it is better to do hypocrisy than no justice.
“Let’s go save the demon child and the woman.”
“…..! Yes, ……!”
Iris and I escaped the city unnoticed and headed north…
-Maiban