■ The Road to Dragon Mountain □
After a sweet rest, we set off again for Dragon Mountain.
With a long journey ahead, there was no time to sit back and relax.
Doom Land is, for the most part, an undeveloped land.
Most of the Demon Tribe live in tribal units, and even then, there are hardly any places that can be called cities, so they must be counted as settlements.
The only groups of any significant size would be the Beastman Tribe in the western Great Forest, the Dragon Tribe of Dragon Mountain, and the Demon Tribe affiliated with the Demon King’s Castle.
I wasn’t originally this well-versed in the affairs of the Demon Tribe, but since there wasn’t much else to do on the way, I asked Camilla, and she readily told me.
She said her hobby was reading books in the library, and she seemed to know quite a bit about the overall trends of the Demon Tribe.
Thanks to that, it wasn’t too difficult to grasp the context just by listening to her stories.
“Ah, come to think of it, have you ever seen an elf, Camilla?”
“Yes. An elven delegation has visited the Demon King’s Castle a few times.”
Elves are a familiar name to humans, but at the same time, they are almost like mythical creatures.
Most elves live in Alfheim, the land beyond the Great Forest, but the trade route to Alfheim is blocked by Walter Leonhart, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King’s Army and the master of the Great Forest, so sightings of elves who have voluntarily traveled are extremely rare.
However, their beauty is so famous that connoisseurs and minstrels always discuss the beauty of elves.
Though how many of them have actually seen an elf is questionable.
“I heard elves have a really unpleasant personality?”
“What do you mean by unpleasant?”
“Uh… arrogant and makes you want to punch them?”
“If that’s what you mean, then Caldlasth-sama is right. Elves inherently have a tendency to look down on other races.”
One of the most shocking things I learned in this world is that elves really dislike humans.
Well, it’s not that hard to understand.
If I were an elf, I’d be disgusted too if some walking squid tried to get a glimpse of me and caused all sorts of trouble nearby.
The empire fell because of that, so it’s no wonder elves despise humans.
Apart from that, they also seem to have a bit of a chosen people mentality, considering other races inferior.
“Anyway, let’s stop talking about elves and finish discussing the exchange meeting.”
“Is there something else you’re curious about?”
“How many types of demons gather at the exchange meeting?”
Camilla furrowed her brow slightly, as if deep in thought, and began listing them one by one.
“Demons, imps, dragonkin, succubi, harpies, lamias, undead, centaurs, beastmen, mermaids, slimes, etc.”
It seems like they all come together.
‘If my identity is discovered there, I’ll be in big trouble.’
I’ll probably have to wear a mask all the time at Dragon Mountain.
[[#]]Second day of the journey.
On the way, we encountered a trio of hyena beastmen highway robbers.
The robbers, characterized by their brown fur with spotted black fur, consisted of one fat guy, one skinny guy, and one of average build, and judging by their similar facial features, they seemed to be brothers.
“Kehehehe! If you don’t want to die, hand over your money!”
Meeting such a stereotypical robber after a long time felt oddly refreshing.
I stepped forward as the representative of the group and asked.
“What are you guys?”
The hyena beastmen glanced at each other, then struck a pose that they thought looked cool.
“We are the vicious criminals who make even crying children stop!”
“The lonely hyenas searching for prey!”
“The Blue Tri-Stars!”
From my perspective, they weren’t vicious, lonely, or blue, but the robbers who introduced themselves as such pointed their blades at us.
“What should we do?”
As I pondered how to deal with these guys to make a good impression, Ozma, standing beside me, drew her Hellfire Demon Blade and said.
“What’s there to think about? Just cut them down.”
Whoosh!
Black flames enveloped the blade of the Hellfire Demon Blade.
Seeing this, the robbers flinched, but then the middle one, thinking they shouldn’t be underestimated, boasted loudly.
“Anyway, there are two of them and three of us! If we cooperate well, we’ll definitely win!”
Camilla seems to be considered non-combatant.
Not entirely wrong, but I corrected the flaw in their logic.
“By the way, I’m not going to fight either.”
Then the middle guy said with a triumphant expression.
“Then it’s 1:3, so we’ll definitely win!”
Hmm. People can really be that stupid.
I said to Ozma.
“Focus as much as possible on using magic. To apply it in combat, you need to be somewhat skilled.”
“Understood.”
Ozma answered and clenched and unclenched her other hand, not holding the sword.
Soon, the battle began.
“Uraaaaaah!”
The big guy at the back swung a crude greatsword.
It seemed he had never properly learned swordsmanship, as his attack was clumsy, but the destructive force from its weight couldn’t be ignored.
As expected, Ozma naturally deflected the greatsword’s trajectory and immediately activated the magic she had prepared in her left hand.
“Paralyze.”
A simple second-tier spell that temporarily paralyzes the opponent.
The current that traveled through the conductive greatsword electrocuted the big hyena, rendering him immobile.
After dealing with one, she quickly deflected a dagger flying from behind with the Hellfire Demon Blade.
This time, it was the skinny guy who attacked, and judging by his familiar throwing stance, he wasn’t a novice.
Moreover, the sheen on the dagger’s tip suggested it was coated with poison.
“Hup!”
Ozma naturally gathered mana at the soles of her feet to enhance her jumping power and leaped high, turning her back to the sun.
The skinny guy, who had looked up at her, squinted at the blinding sunlight, and that brief moment led directly to his defeat.
Squelch!
“Kyaaaaah! My arm! My aaaaarm!”
By the way, the capital of Nepal is Kathmandu.
In an instant, two were incapacitated, and the last remaining leader shouted in anger.
“How dare you hurt my brothers!”
Ozma, with her bloodied blade in the air, said as if it was ridiculous.
“That’s why you shouldn’t have robbed us.”
“Shut up!”
The average-built hyena beastman, with eyes wild, threw away his weapon and charged at Ozma, half-surrendering to his rage.
In full beastman form, he was incredibly fast, but unfortunately, Ozma’s reflexes were sharp enough to deflect arrows shot at point-blank range.
“Groar!”
The hyena, who had lunged at Ozma’s neck, opened its mouth wide, but a beat faster—
“Bind.”
A green ring suddenly appeared in the air, forcing his mouth shut, and immediately after, the flames from Ozma’s Hellfire Demon Blade engulfed his entire body.
Thud!
Without even putting up a proper fight, the hyena fell to the ground, reduced to ashes.
A truly pitiful end compared to his bold attempt at robbery.
“What will you do? Will you continue?”
The remaining two, still alive, shook their heads in fear and ran away as if their tails were on fire.
“Tsk, pathetic.”
She muttered as she sheathed the Hellfire Demon Blade.
It was a perfect victory.
[[#]]”You were quite skilled, weren’t you?”
I gave high marks for her excellent use of magic, considering she hadn’t been learning it for long.
Ozma scratched the back of her head with an embarrassed expression.
“R-really? I still think there are areas where I’m lacking.”
“It’s your first time using magic in actual combat, right? From my perspective, it’s a passing grade. Not many people can judge so calmly and use magic in tense situations.”
Mages generally dislike close combat.
After all, magic itself requires considerable concentration to cast, and doing so while fighting hand-to-hand is difficult unless one is exceptionally brave.
And from what I’ve seen, Ozma has a natural talent in that regard.
That’s why I encouraged her to learn magic.
Even the simplest spell can become a fearsome weapon depending on who uses it.
Hearing my praise, Ozma’s lips curled up, unable to hide her good mood.
She seems to be the type who is weak to compliments.
We still have about two days before reaching Dragon Mountain, so I’ll need to train her to maximize her combat sense during that time.
