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This is what “everything taken care of” must feel like.

The meeting went well, and the objectives were achieved. I’ve been able to build a close and friendly relationship with the Emperor. I hired a Dwarf, Todon, who can break the stagnation in craftsmanship, and he gave me some of the trade samples along with the catalogue.

This is nothing short of a great success. I never thought things would go this well before coming here. That’s probably why I think it’s inevitable that something unlucky would happen at least once.

“Maou-sama, armed humans are spreading out ahead, trying to stop the carriage.” (Ran)

A report from Ran, who had been waiting on the roof of the carriage. At first, there were just people, but as we got closer, the reports kept getting worse. They were armed, dirty, and worst of all, they were trying to stop the carriage.

Could they be what you call bandits? No, we should probably call them highway robbers, since we’re in the wild. It would be nice if we could just break through with the carriage, but it’s not that heavily armored, and if the horses are injured, it’s over.

“What’s the spider lady up top saying?” (Todon)

“She says there are probably enemies ahead. It looks like we’re going to have a fight. Sorry, but could you stop the carriage?” (Nobunaga)

I thought about just using “Gravity” to crush them and get it over with, but someone beat me to it by getting off the carriage first. It was Rin. He jumped off with great force and charged straight into the armed group.

“Why?” (Nobunaga)

“Rin is the Maou-sama’s bodyguard, so it’s only natural. There’s no need to trouble the Maou-sama with something like that. Well, there’s also a part of Rin that wants to show his skills to Maou-sama.” (Ran)

I had completely forgotten that I had brought Rin just for the sake of numbers. He was meant to be a bodyguard. In that case, if I fight, I would be stealing Rin’s job… I’m glad I don’t have to fight.

When Rin engaged, he thrust his weapon into the throat of the man in front of him, swiping sideways. At the same time, he swung her tail toward the ball and struck it, using it as a distraction. The enemy faltered, and he charged in, swiftly overwhelming them. The battle ended in an instant, and the massacre was over just as quickly.

“Shaaa!” (Rin)

As the men tried to flee, Rin howled in the middle of their corpses. Perhaps he had been holding it in. As if responding to that howl, the ground nearby suddenly heaved, and a man jumped out of the earth. He was holding a knife and heading straight for us.

*Dun!*

He was slammed headfirst into the ground, his body soaking in the crimson result. When the man appeared, I had already activated “Gravity” between the carriage and him. He crashed headfirst into the ground and became one with it.

“Fireball!” (Ran)

“Gyahhh!” (Man)

From the opposite side of where I was looking, I could hear Ran casting magic followed by a terrifying scream. Looking over, I saw the man’s hands and back entangled in threads, unable to move from the ground. Ran must have used her magic to pin him down, then hit his head with a Fireball. Only his head was burning fiercely, and as his throat was burnt, he couldn’t scream properly before he died.

“This is shameful, Maou-sama. I couldn’t handle it as efficiently as you would, and I feel embarrassed.” (Ran)

“I silenced him before he got close to the carriage. It’s enough. But this was quite well planned. Rin acted as the decoy, or rather, the one to hold them back. The ones who came out from both sides must have been the main attackers aiming to raid the carriage. To be able to emerge from the ground like that, they were practically assassins.” (Nobunaga)

Bandits and assassins. And if it was all planned, it made me suspect there might be someone behind this.

I asked Ran to confirm if there were any other enemies around and got off the carriage to strip the attackers of their belongings.

I don’t need their clothes. They smell awful. Their weapons are all rusty, or the blades are chipped and useless. But I’ll take them. It’s better than nothing. As for the other things they had… paper? It was stained with blood, and I couldn’t make out much of it. I’ll try to read it later, if I can.

In the end, Rin received poor-quality weapons from the men he fought, and I got some well-maintained knives from the assassins who had appeared from the sides.

“What’s this? These are some pretty terrible weapons. Are you really going to take them back?” (Todon)

“We’re low on supplies, so we have to take whatever we can use. Also, can you make out what’s written on this paper?” (Nobunaga)

I packed the weapons into the carriage, and Ran went back up to the roof to keep watch. Rin also climbed up to stay ready for quick action. The roof was probably smaller than the inside of the carriage. While organizing the few spoils, I handed Todon the blood-stained paper. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make anything out of it myself.

“There’s no way I can read something this covered in blood. But… I’ve seen this pattern somewhere. Where was it…? Ha! It was a completely different one!” (Todon)

Todon laughed heartily, and I let out a deep sigh. I let go of the now useless paper.

“However, aren’t you surprised? These humans were killed.” (Nobunaga)

“Ha! No one’s going to say anything about killing those kinds of people. If anything, they’d probably be grateful. Though, when the big spider lady burned their heads with fire, I was scared!” (Todon)

He laughed loudly, and just as he did, a protest hit him from above. Todon, looking uneasy, asked if he was going to get burned. I just answered that there were no guarantees.

After that, Todon was silent and seemed to be scared the entire way until we arrived in Andal.

—

(POV switch – Karve)

“I’ve returned. After returning the carriage, Maou quickly went back to the Great Forest of Owa.” (Messenger)

“Good work, you can rest for a while.” (Karve)

I let out a sigh of relief, having entrusted the driver with the task.

Although I’ve been in contact with Mustang’s side, if we angered Maou, Andal would be the most at risk. As the Guildmaster of Andal, I must be cautious to the point of being paranoid. Now I can say we are safe for the time being. From now on, I’ll just focus on acting as an intermediary between Mustang and the Great Forest of Owa. The mental strain will be greater than before, but it will still be nothing compared to now.

I thought I would be able to rest for a while, but the driver didn’t leave right away.

“Actually, there are a few reports I need to make.” (Messenger)

“If it’s just a report, you can do it after you rest… No, let’s hear it.” (Karve)

I entrusted the driver with the task because he’s a capable man. He got excellent intuition for an adventurer and was also very polite. There were two reports. The Demon King’s carriage was attacked by bandits but easily repelled. A bloodstained piece of paper was left inside the carriage.

For a moment, my consciousness nearly slipped away, but I managed to recover. The political skills of Baron Farce were remarkable, and the security was outstanding. That didn’t mean there weren’t bandits, though. For them to attack the Demon King’s carriage, it was almost pathetic.

As for the Demon King, it seemed he didn’t even give it a second thought. To the Demon King, there was probably no reason to worry about bandits. But the next thing was the real problem. The bloodstained paper. The paper soaked in red was unreadable, with only a small portion of it left white. But it was that small white portion that was the problem.

It had a pattern. The paper used for official documents by the Empire had a pattern at each of the four corners. The pattern indicates the issuer’s rank. If it was the Emperor, it was the Imperial Family’s design. Dor nobles, it was their family’s, and if the paper was made under a noble’s direction, it would bear a pattern designated by that noble. And the small pattern I could barely see in the corner of the paper I had in my hands was the pattern used by those who work under a noble.

The only person in Andal who could use this pattern was one person.

“Get the magistrate right away, no, keep him under surveillance! If he tries to escape, it’s fine to kidnap him and lock him up. Send a fast horse to Baron Farce right now! Immediately!” (Karve)

“I’m sorry, but I’m alone, so I can’t handle everything… I’ll take care of the fast horse, but could you arrange for the surveillance?” (Messenger)

I quickly wrote a letter, explaining the situation and enclosing the bloodstained paper. It might be lacking in detail, but I think it should get the point across. Next, I needed to arrange for surveillance, but I couldn’t openly recruit for it. If only Dan were here. I regretted more than ever that he had left. For now, I would personally approach a few trusted adventurers. I couldn’t make a big public announcement, or the magistrate would find out.

“I’ll bring up candidates for trustworthy adventurers…” (Karve)

“Hey, I’m here!” (Adventurer)

Since the Demon King appeared, even if temporarily, the adventurer guild in Andal was now in a state of complete inactivity. But that didn’t mean there was no one. The good ones were probably resting at inns, gathering information on where to flee or where there was demand if they needed to attack. I was about to ask for some trustworthy adventurers still in Andal, but the only staff member at the guild right now was a crazy old woman.

“I’ll do it myself!” (Adventurer)

“Okay…” (Karve)

A shortage of personnel… I never imagined it would come to such a pathetic situation.

Once this is over, I’ll drink as much as I want.

—

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