CH 249

I decided to accept the request of the Demon Lord.

It was uncomfortable in many ways to refuse the request of the Demon Lord, and above all, I couldn’t ignore something that was happening in Lia’s hometown.

The middle-aged demon who had completed the role of a messenger was very happy.

He praised my decision over and over again and confirmed that he would convey my courage and loyalty to the Demon Lord in detail.

But, before he left the farm…….

“Hmm, come to think of it, the honey beer that’s made at Cardis Estate has been talked about a lot. Lord Cardis, can’t I taste a little?”

“This fu*ker….”

He once again poured oil on the burning Kaneff by bringing up the story of honey beer. Naturally, Kaneff exploded. I and all the other farm members had to rush in and stop him.

“Boss, calm down.”

“Boss Kaneff.. It’s me… Alfred. Please, not the chain… Argh!!”

“Mr. Messenger, hurry up and go. It’s really dangerous this time.”

The middle-aged demon and his party left the farm in a hurry. If Speranza hadn’t shown up in the middle of the disturbance, some of them might have had a hard time going back…….

As soon as it was confirmed that I would accept the request, I began to prepare.

There was no need for preparation to solve the problem, but the farm and Estate had to be prepared separately.

At least, the Estate didn’t have much work to do, so I didn’t think it would be a big problem. Not long after, I asked two people who were appointed to the territorial administrator and finance minister, respectively, to work on Estate affairs.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be out for a while. Please take good care of the estate while I’m away.”

“If it’s an order from the Demon Lord, there’s nothing we can do about it. Have a safe trip.”

“Don’t worry about the Estate too much. We’ll take care of ourselves for a few days. Please concentrate on your work. Oh! And don’t forget the gifts when you come back.”

Lagos and Locus reassured me by saying they would take good care of the estate.

All that was left was the farm.

For now, the ones who will be leaving were me and Lia, whose hometown was in crisis.

But, an unexpected person suddenly joined the party.

“Are you coming with us, Ryan?”

“Yes, Sihyeon. I was ordered by the Demon Lord to help Sihyeon.”

It was Ryan.

He came to the farm after a long time and let us know directly that he would come with us. Ryan smiled awkwardly when I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Don’t you like that I’m coming with you, Sihyeon?”

“Oh, no! It’s not like that…… Aren’t you always busy? So when you said you’d be coming with us, it felt a little weird all of a sudden.”

“It’s true that I’m busy. Considering the gravity of this incident, it is natural to put other things off for a while. In addition, there are complicated circumstances that I have to come along with.”

‘Complicated circumstances?’

There seemed to be something that I didn’t know that made Ryan join this mission.

I wanted to ask for more detail, but I had to bury the questions in my head because of other urgent things.

Following Ryan, another unexpected person also declared his joining.

“I’m coming, too.”

“What? Boss is coming, too?”

I stared at Kaneff with astonishment. On the contrary, Kaneff responded heartily as if it was nothing.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“No, I think it’s the first time I’ve heard the Boss saying something he’s going to do on his own… And don’t you have to protect the farm?”

“That’s how it’s supposed to be. I don’t think the farm will be in any trouble without me. Maybe because I’ve been here for so long I’m bored. I will go out with you to get some fresh air after a long time.”

Hmm…

I was confused when I heard Kaneff say he would join on his own. The fact that he, a super-powerful demon, was joining felt reassuring, and at the same time, I was afraid that the super-powerful demon would do something.

Kaneff frowned, looking at me as if he had noticed my complicated innermost thoughts.

“Don’t you like me coming with you?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that I don’t like it…….”

“Then?”

I continued cautiously, observing Kaneff’s countenance.

“You know that this is a request from the Demon Lord, right? On top of that, there’s something very important…….”

“I know that much. At least I won’t disturb you, so don’t worry. I’m gonna stay really quiet.”

“…….”

Faith did not arise readily when he said he would stay quiet, but there was no justification to block Kaneff who spoke so much.

Thus, Kaneff joined as the fourth member after Ryan.

“I guess this is it. Then, let’s leave the farm to Andras and Elaine…….”

“I want to go too!”

When I was about to confirm the party that will be going to the village Red Scales, a fox girl raised her hand and declared her joining.

“Speranza, are you going to come too?”

“Yes!”

I felt a strong will from her tight lips and sparkling eyes. On the other hand, I scratched my head with a confused expression.

“Speranza, we’re not going for fun. I’m going to solve a very important problem with the help of others.”

“I want to help Papa, too.”

Speranza raised her two fists and appealed. Of course, it was a very cute appearance, but I couldn’t allow it just because of that.

When I was confused by the stubborn fox girl, Andras and Alfred, who was watching the scene, stepped up.

“Speranza, shall we do a new class together? You were interested in the instruments you saw at the mansion last time, right? I’ll show you how to play them.”

“Speranza, I’ll play hard with you when everyone is away. So, stay here and play with this brother.”

Speranza looked at the two of them for a moment and then shook her head.

“No!”

“Huh?”

“Ugh…”

A painful moan came out of the mouths of the two.

Speranza’s No was quite a shock, so they kneeled helplessly with their shoulders drooped. Ryan and Lia, who watched the scene, comforted them with pitiful expressions.

“I want to be with Papa. Don’t leave me behind, Papa.”

“I’m not leaving Speranza behind. I’ll come back soon after finishing something important.”

Speranza seemed to have noticed that I had to leave for a long time, and it seemed that was why she was trying to follow me somehow.

I felt sorry for the crying Speranza, but I couldn’t let my daughter come to a place where dangerous situations might occur.

As my permission did not fall even after she kept on making a fuss, Speranza escaped from my hand and headed elsewhere. The place where the fox girl headed was in front of the chair where Kaneff was sitting.

“Boss Uncle. Will you take me with you?”

Speranza looked up with drooping fox ears and wet eyes. The voice of the request was full of sorrow.

“…….”

Kaneff’s upper body, which had a calm expression, leaned forward. He picked up Speranza and put her on his lap. Then he patted her head gently and said,

“Of course, I will. How can I say no to Speranza?”

“Really?”

The drooping fox’s ears raised.

“Yes.”

“YAYYYY!”

Speranza screamed happily and tugged into Kaneff’s arms.

“You’re the best! Boss Uncle is so cool! Boss Uncle is the best after Papa!”

“Yes, yes.”

Kaneff nodded with satisfaction at Speranza’s praise.

On the other hand, the rest of the farm members, including me, looked at the scene with blank expressions. In particular, Andras and Alfred’s faces were full of injustice.

Ryan told me with a slightly vague smile.

“Speranza is smarter than I imagined.”

“Haha… Sometimes I’m surprised, too.”

I replied with an embarrassed look.

“Well, maybe it’s rather good. The place we have to go to is full of delicious food and places to look around. It’s very famous for its hot springs.”

“Oh…… is that so?”

“I experienced it once and it was a very special experience. Of course, the mission comes first, but if you can afford it, it won’t be bad to experience it.”

‘Hot spring…’

The thought of going into the hot water in this chilly weather already seemed to be relaxing.

Ryan continued, looking at Kaneff and Speranza.

“And I don’t think we have to worry about Speranza’s safety. In a way, Speranza is in the safest place in the entire Demon world right now.”

I understood what Ryan meant. After all, there would be no one in the Demon world who could touch someone who was placed preciously on Kaneff’s lap.

I nodded in agreement at Ryan’s words.

Thus, including me, Lia, Ryan, Kaneff, and Speranza, five people left the farm to resolve the curious case of Yakums rampaging the Red Scales village.

-Dadak-dadak-dadak-dagdagdadak.

The luxurious-looking carriage moved under the escort of many soldiers.

One wall of the carriage was engraved with a seal symbolizing the Demon Lord, and the flag held by the leading soldier was also engraved with the Demon Lord’s seal.

In the carriage which moved under an ironclad escort, there was us who had left the farm for the mission.

We were traveling on the carriage for two days.

The interior of the carriage was more spacious and cozy than it seemed from the outside. The place where I sat was very soft and fluffy.

Next to me, Speranza and Lia were sitting side by side, and on the other side, Kaneff and Ryan were sitting.

Unlike Speranza and Lia’s side, who burst into laughter while exchanging stories, Kaneff and Ryan rarely talked and were quiet.

I stared blankly outside and trembled at the cold air leaking from the carriage window.

“Ugh…… it’s certainly cold.”

“Right? It’s far north of where the farm is, so winter comes much faster.”

“As Ryan said, we would have been in big trouble if we didn’t dress warmly.”

If the farm was at the beginning of autumn, this place felt like midwinter weather. Fortunately, the group in the carriage was wearing much thicker clothes than when we were on the farm.

Speranza was wearing a white fur coat. It was so cute because it looked like a cute little winter rabbit.

Of course, I took a lot of pictures on the phone I brought.

I felt that I came really far from the farm in colder weather than I thought. And suddenly, a question came to mind.

“By the way, Ryan. Why are we moving by carriage? Can’t we just use the dimensional leap magic to our destination?”

“I’d love to, but our destination is where we can’t use dimensional leap magic.”

“Is there a place like that?”

“The flow of magic is unstable in some areas of the Demon world. Our destination is one of those areas. So we have no choice but to move with the dimensional leap magic until a certain point, and the rest on the carriage like this.”

“Oh…… I see.”

While I nodded at the kind explanation, Ryan said, turning his head toward the window.

“I think we’re almost there.”

I followed him and turned my head towards the window.

The snow mountain, which looked high through the outside of the window, was the first to be seen. And soon, a large village located below it slowly emerged.