Volume 3 - CH 8.2

Act 3-8.2: Land Dominated By Ogre 1

「No, not at all, there’s no need to bother with payment. If it’s fine with you, please stay at my house for the night.」

Unexpectedly, the country’s leader readily accepted Shirone and the other girls as his guests, smiling at them like a kind uncle.

Yet, she somehow felt that his smile was rather unpleasant.

「Well then, I’ll show you to your room. As for your demon beast, let’s keep it in my barn.」

But, Kaya shook her head.

「No, we’re truly grateful with your offer, but may I request you let us all spend the night together in the barn along with our demon beast?」

Both Shirone and Kyouka were surprised by Kaya’s remark, however they didn’t voice it in front of the stranger before them; she must have her reason.

「… Y-Yes, it’s over here.」

The country’s leader was just as surprised as Shirone and Kyouka, he even seemed to be a bit flustered as he guided them to the barn.

「What’s the meaning of this, Kaya?」

Kyouka whispered to Kaya, she couldn’t understand why she would let them sleep in a barn instead of comfortable beds, and though Shirone didn’t question Kaya, she was just as puzzled as Kyouka regarding the matter. She felt reluctant to sleep in the barn even though it was safer to stay with the Hippogriff to prevent anyone from trying to take it.

「Milady, may I ask Shirone-sama a question first before answering yours?」

「Eh, why me though?!」

Shirone was surprised that Kaya wanted to speak with her first.

「Did you by any chance feel something unpleasant radiating from that man called Echigos a while ago?」

「Yeah. The way that uncle was looking at us felt rather similar to how monsters usually look at us.」

「Indeed, in fact, I felt the same way as you.」

Echigos’s intention had triggered Shirone’s enemy detection. His eyes had the same aura as monsters, aiming for their life. Though Shirone dismissed it at first as just a misunderstanding since it only happened for a second, that wasn’t the case anymore since Kaya detected the same thing as her.

「It seems this country’s leader is trying to mess with us.」

Kaya sneered as she muttered. Shirone felt a chill running down her spine upon seeing that smile.

「What shall we do then? Should we leave this country?」

She thought that it was better to leave the country that was trying to mess with them as fast as possible. But, Kaya shook her head.

「As much as I want to agree with you… the sun has set. Looking for a camping ground at this time is rather troublesome too.」

Hippogriffs couldn’t fly at night and none of them could use illumination magic or night vision. They could move to some extent at night by using object detection, but there was a limit even if they were to rely on that ability.

That’s why Kaya’s opinion was reasonable; it was too troublesome.

「What should we do then, Kaya?」

Kyouka asked with a slightly irritated voice.

「Naturally, we have to rest as much as possible to recover our strength. I have no idea what this country’s citizens are trying to do to us, but we can easily turn the tables on them.」

Kaya bumped her fists together, crushing the citizens in her imagination. Shirone could only heave a sigh, wondering what kind of hell the citizens of this country were going to experience in Kaya’s hand. But, she had no choice but to agree with Kaya.

Naturally she wouldn’t go as far as Kaya, she was simply planning to knock out her enemy. However, it would be another story if they tried to raid them.

At that exact moment, Shirone and her companions detected the presence of people approaching the barn. They peeked outside only to see several armed citizens slowly surrounding them. The country’s leader was amongst them as well and, from the looks of it, he had gathered many of the citizens and armed them just to catch Shirone and the two others.

「It seems they can’t wait any longer. Shall we teach them a lesson about who they’re trying to mess with, Milady?」

Kaya bumped her fists together in front of her chest as she spoke.

◆

Echigos recalled the three women who just came to this country, they were far more beautiful than any women he had ever met before.

He didn’t know who they were, but they looked like nobles. He even guessed that the haughty looking woman in the center was the master of the other two as her clothes were of the best quality, she might even be a certain country’s princess.

One of the other women looked like an attendant, while the last one looked like her bodyguard since she carried a sword with her. He was now sure that they were the haughty woman’s servants just from the way they dressed.

Echigos wanted those women to stay in this country no matter what.

He also knew that the demon beast that followed those women was a Hippogriff.

Though Echigos knew that it was possible to tame types of demon beasts, he never expected that it was possible to tame a Hippogriff, they were among the strongest. He guessed that this Hippogriff was bred from a young age rather than being tamed as a wild one. And if that was the case, then it was supposed to be docile.

Echigos couldn’t stop laughing since he wasn’t just getting his hands on beauties, he was also gaining a tamed Hippogriff.

They surrounded the barn when he felt that those girls had already gone to sleep. He had brought along fifty other people just for the sole reason of capturing these girls.

Though Echigos felt that fifty people were a bit too much for capturing three girls, he still wanted to instil a sense of fear in them by letting them see his overwhelming advantage and numbers, which would make it easier to capture them.

The problem was their Hippogriff. Though it wasn’t as ferocious as a Griffin, it was still a demon beast. Normal humans were no match for it. However, it shouldn’t be a big deal either for them since he had brought along someone whose power rivalled that of a demon beast.

「Seems like it’s already safe to enter, Echigos.」

Someone suddenly spoke to Echigos from behind. When Echigos turned around, he saw a huge man carrying a great sword on his back.

He had a huge build and extremely muscular arms, a pair of canines peeking out from his mouth. No matter how you looked at it, he looked like someone who could become a bodyguard and gain a lot of money in the process. In fact, that big man was one of the reasons why there were no monsters around this country.

「If it isn’t Daigan-sama. I think you’re correct… they really are fine gems aren’t they?」

「You lied to them in order to ambush them during their sleep, isn’t that right?」

「Yes, it’s exactly as you say. Gufufufufu」

「Kukuku, what an evil man you are, Echigos.」

「Nononono, I’m still no match for you in that regard, Daigan-sama. Gufufufu.」

Daigan cackled—he was the man who could stand against an Hippogriff.

Echigos was only a poor peddler when he was caught by Zengu the Ogre, in fact, he was in the middle of peddling when he was caught. But, with his honed bootlicking that he had trained for years, he managed to become the manager of this human breeding ground.

He met Daigan during that time.

Daigan was originally a human warrior who worshipped evil Gods and gained their divine protection. Now, he acted as Echigos’ bodyguard. Echigos had seen Daigan battle before, he honestly couldn’t believe that he was only a mere human.

That’s why he was sure that Daigan could do something about the Hippogriff.

（The citizens of this country only obey me because they fear Daigan. Though I was only a lowly peddler before, the current me is something akin to a king of this country. I can do anything I want with Daigan’s power.）

Echigos smiled again and then peeked into the barn. They had nothing to fear, they were only facing three weak girls. His only fear was injuring them as they tried to catch them. Moreover, Echigos wanted to have some fun before he gave one of them to Zengu.

And then, as he pondered about how to barge in.

The door of the barn suddenly flung open even before he had the chance to step into it, then the three girls appeared before them, still in their previous attire. In short, they were still armed.

「Shall we ask them first just in case?」

The haughty looking woman asked while glaring at Echigos and co.

In her eyes, it was as if she was looking at trash.