Information gathering is going well, and he have already made contact with several informants, but unfortunately there is still no information that would give us a sense of Nazarick's presence. As usual, Demiurge have sent Sebas to collect information while at meddlesomeness, but he hasn't seem to information with Nazarick, he too.
Information on the the Holy Kingdom has been gathered on a wide range of topics, including the composition of the Kyu-shiki, the composition and strength of the Holy Kingdom's military, and the power relations of the major noble families.
It may seem like unnecessary information for adventurers, but Demiurge wanted to gather as much information as he could before deciding whether it was useful or not. It helps a lot because the informant's mouth has lightened up when he doesn't have to worry about paying just to look at the adamantite plate.
The head of the priestly order, Kelart Custodio, is officially a faith-based magician of the fourth rank, but there is an unconfirmed rumor that he can actually use the fifth rank, but this would be a just thing useless piece of information. By means of the fifth rank faith-based magic Raise Dead, Keralt may be able to revive useful forces and important people, if the Demiurge were to attack and destroy this country, they would be the first to go, if they were to attack and destroy this country, they would be the first to be crushed, but for now, Demiurge' goal is not to destroy this country.
For Demiurge, it was the story of the holy sword Safarlisia held by Remedios Custodio, the head of the Holy Order, Kelart's sister, that was most alarming. The specifics were still unclear, but it was said that he had a great skill that he rarely used, and that he had great power over evil.
As long as they are working as adventurers, they are not likely to antagonize the Holy Order, but Demiurge thinks they should be more vigilant. You don't know what's going to happen, and if Demiurge True character, the demon were to be exposed (and I have no intention of making such a mistake), he would certainly be an enemy of the Holy Knight.
I also found out that there is an opponent in Kyu-shiki that Orlando is said to be unable to beat. The aforementioned Remedios Custodio, Pabel Baraja, who is defending the central fort of the Great Wall with Orlando, Enrique Belsue, the second-in-command of the Marines, and Ran Tsu An Rin, a mermaid. It seemed that they should be font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ｄ/span/fontetermine there ability these people if the opportunity arose. It was a pity that we didn't get to see Pabel Baraja in person while we were in Kalinsha, but he seemed to be in charge of nighttime vigilance, and it was only natural that we wouldn't be able to see him with the Demiurge, who were working during the day to accommodate the humans.
The fact that he is guarding that fortress with Orlando, it can be roughly predicted that the difference in power between Pabel Baraja and Orlando and Jukketsu is probably within the margin of error from the point of view of Demiurge and Sebas. If Pabel Baraja had an overwhelming power differential with Orlando, it would not be surprising if he had defeated Jukketsu and dispelled the demihuman threat from the Abellion Hills.
While he was gathering information, the story of how The fruit of corruption defeated the demihuman Jukketsu and was promoted to Adamantite level finally spread to Prart and became a big topic of conversation, and Sebas, who was behaving conspicuously, became the center of attention whether he wanted to or not. If this is the case, sooner or later the reputation of The fruits of corruption will spread to the capital and to other countries.
When Demiurge received the call, Sebas, as usual, was out of town and not at the inn. Demiurge could have listened to him alone, but he didn't want Sebas to complain later, so he told the messenger that he would go to the Adventurers Guild after Sebas returned. Demiurge breathed deeply, wondering where Sebas was and what he was doing, envying the ease with which he could devote himself to his favorite pastimes of meddling and helping others.
Sebas Chang was puzzled. This was something he had been holding on to recently and hadn't been able to resolve. he feel a little guilty about the kindness and help that he used to be able to feel with a clear mind, and this makes him feel more puzzled. It had been Sebas's concern from the beginning that Demiurge would not go on a tyrannical rampage of destruction and killing, but he never expected to be told that the reason he was restraining himself from doing so was for be together.
The fact that Sebas doesn't like Demiurge and Demiurge probably doesn't like Sebas as well reminds us of the seriousness of the situation that they are in, and at the same time, reminds Sebas that he hasn't been aware enough of the seriousness of the situation.
As Demiurge had pointed out, Sebas don't think that he adjusts to Demiurge. He was honestly sorry about that, and he felt bad about what he did. So he knew he would have to be a little more careful and make as many concessions as he could in order to get along (even if it was Demiurge).
But what Demiurge was saying was so unacceptable to Sebas that it made him think that he was deliberately choosing to say things that Sebas could not accept. It's not impossible, considering how mean Demiurge was to Sebas.
But Sebas had to admit that Demiurge was right, even though it was not funny. The only thing that Sebas needs to do now is to return to Nazarick safely with the two of them, and to do that, he should concede to the extent possible.
If Shalltear had said, "I'd like to have a little fun with that drunk, so give him to us," Sebas would have handed him over, though he would have frowned inwardly. He might even be rather impressed that font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN"ｓ/span/fonthe chose who to play with. Shalltear's cruelty, brutality, and sadism are ordained by the Supreme people, and therefore affirmed by Sebas.
For some reason, when it comes to Demiurgeos, Sebas is too stubborn to back down, and he can't make any concessions. Sebas unacceptable that sadism of the Demiurge from the Supreme people has decreed it to be.
He thought that Demiurge felt the same way about Sebas. And yet, for the purpose of returning to Nazarick, Demiurge is restraining himself and making maximum concessions. As Demiurge said, considering the nature of Demiurge, it's clear how much of a concession that is, no matter how stubborn Sebas is against Demiurge.
But even so, I couldn't allow myself to be gutted alive, my intestines dragged out and cut up, my whole body skinned raw, and my algae scratched for the pleasure of it, just for punching someone while drunk. The Demiurge will probably enjoy watching the opponent suffer as much as possible with enough force to keep him from passing out. The Demiurge would have no problem doing that, and probably do more brutal things that Sebas would never even think of. In that respect, Shalltear's taste is still not incomprehensible less bad.
Sebas knows that the current situation is not right, where only the other side is making major concessions, and that he should make concessions and allowances on his side as well. However, Sebas was very confused about what he should concede, how far he should go, whether he could accept it, and whether he could compromise at all. Sebas is not sure why he is so narrow-minded when it comes to Demiurge when he can forgive others, but Sebas don't even know why.
The situation is what it is now, and as members of Nazarick, we should at least cooperate, if not get along better. Sebas's head understands this, but an unidentifiable part of him deep inside won't allow it.
He walked thoughtfully, and before he knew it, he had walked to the gate on the other side of town. He had originally been walking aimlessly, but he had gotten too far from the inn. He thought I'd better get home before night falls, Sebas turned on his heel and began to walk back the way he had come.
The reason Sebas doesn't stay at the inn is not because he wants to help people or be kind, but because he doesn't want to be in the same space as Demiurge. Sebas doesn't want to stay at the inn, but he doesn't have anywhere else to go, so he just walks around and sees people who need help, so he lends a hand. He's not looking for any man need kindness, and he's not doing it to increase his fame. Demiurge has come to tacitly approve of his work because it's an effective way to increase there fame. It have been very helpful Sebas. Above all Sebas is currently struggling with a question he can't see the answer to, so it's very helpful to be able to think about it while walking outside feel comfortable.
Sebas looked ahead and saw a mother with a heavy basket in her hands and a baby on her back and two young children walking. Sebas walked quickly towards the mother and child, thinking that it would be difficult for him to carry the luggage while taking care of the child by himself, and that he would need help. Fortunately, thanks to the adamantite plate, he was no longer seen as a suspicious person, and in fact, more often than not, people were excuse me to ask for help from such an important person.
To be honest, I really don't want my mother to say "... from The fruit of corruption" when she sees my adventurer's plate when I call out to her, and I'm still angry at Demiurge for choosing my party name without my permission, but I can't argue with her if she says that changing it now will only have a negative effect on spreading my fame.
Demiurge had probably planned this all along. That's the kind of man he is, and it's that kind of cunning that Sebas really hates. I would have no complaints if Demiurge's cunning was used for the good of Nazarick, but this party name seemed to be a mere harassment to Sebas. The Demiurge could have come up with any number of more appropriate names for the adventurer's party, but they went to the trouble of suggesting something that Sebas would have hated. It's Sebas's own fault for not coming up with a better idea, so he can't be too hard on himself, but it's still not fun.
The mother and child's house was not far away, so Sebas took the luggage in his hands as he made his way there home. While the children clung to the hem of his cloak, Sebas decided to forget about Demiurge' unpleasant face by making small talk with the mother to gather information.
Sebas returned to the inn just as darkness was beginning to cover the area. When Demiurge saw Sebas's face, his lips twisted a little and took a deep breath.
"I'm back."
"I'm sorry to say that I just got back, but I've been summoned by the Adventurers' Guild. They have a request they'd like to ask us. I haven't heard the details yet because I thought I'd wait until you got back. I'm going to go talk to them right away, is there a problem?"
"No problem. Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Oh, I've waited so long. Any time I don't get to work for Nazarick is wasted, but the time I've spent waiting for you has been the most wasted of all."
"It wouldn't be good to keep them waiting too long, so let's get going."
Sebas, who had been listening to Demiurge' complaints, turned his back and left the room without showing any particular emotion. The fruit of corruption is keeping the guild waiting because Sebas was late returning, and Sebas was keeping not only the Adventurers Guild waiting, but Demiurge as well. Demiurge followed Sebas to the Adventurers Guild, not even bothering to hide the bitterness on his face.
As soon as The fruit of corruption identified thereself at the Adventurers' Guild, they was ushered into the reception room. After a short wait, a man walked in.
"You are the two members of The fruit of corruption, thank you for coming. I am Danil Monia, head of the Adventurers Guild here in Prart."
"Thank you for your kind attention. My name is Demiurge."
"My name is Sebas-Tian."
"Anyway, have a seat, We've got a pretty tricky case right now, and it's really fortunate that you guys came to town."
Demiurge and Sebas sat down on the sofa according to the guild master's words. The guild master also sits across from them and opens his mouth.
"The client is us, the Adventurers Guild. There is a town called Temer about five days' walk north of this town, and a mountain range runs along the sea to the east. There are occasional requests to go to this mountain range to kill monsters, escort miners, or gather herbs, but a gold-class party that went there to gather herbs disappeared about fifteen days ago. We sent a mithril-class party to search for them, but we have lost touch with them as well. I've given the scroll of report to the mithril class party of the search party as a means of contacting them in case of emergency, and I have a magic caster who can use message, but I haven't heard from them at all. I would like to ask you to search for these two parties and determine the cause."
"...If you're talking about searching, aren't we unsuitable for a party consisting of a monk and a magic caster?font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN" /span/fontI think a party with a ranger would be more suitable."
"But you can't just leave them there. I'm worried about the safety of the adventurers. I'm sure your "summoning magic" can help with the search."
Demiurge thought that the request was quite frankly unprofitable and started to refuse, but Sebas interrupted him. Demiurge could have predicted that Sebas would be tempted to meddle in his favorite category of helping people, but sure enough, he did. Demiurge knew the detour and the loss, but he sighed loudly in his mind that he would have to go in the direction of helping others (which Demiurge didn't want to do) to increase his fame.
It wouldn't be as if it was a negative thing, because since the reputation of the Fallen Fruit as a hero would be further solidified if they could save the two parties. If the two parties are still alive, that is. It's been a long time, and Demiurge thinks it would be a lucky if he could recover there equipment.
As long as we still don't have any information about Nazarick, Prart is just a transit point, and we'll probably be heading for the capital soon. And since there was no chance of survivors, it was not a request that could be used for the purpose of gaining fame. To be honest, Demiurge would rather spend his time gathering thorough information than spend it on such a request. However, if this good-natured person who loves to help people gives off the vibe that he wants to accept the request, the adamantite-class adventurer who claims to be the guardian of humanity will have no choice but to accept. It's a nuisance at best.
"It would be a lot easier if I can just call them hindering.", Without showing any such inner thoughts, Demiurge opened his mouth with a very calm expression and showing any such inner thoughts, Demiurge opened his mouth with a very calm expression and voice.
"No, that won't be necessary. We can handle it on our , since neither of us can use Message, it would be helpful if you could supply us with the necessary number of scrolls for regular communication. We will contact you periodically when we arrive there."
"All right, let's get ready. How long will it take to your prepare?"
"As long as you have a map showing where the first gold-level adventurer went to collect herbs and a scroll to send a message, we're ready to go tomorrow. I'm sure you're not going to be able to take your time, since it's been a long time since the gold level adventurers went missing."
"All right, I'll have them ready ASAP. Can you come and get it tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, sir."
They agreed on a plan and will leave tomorrow morning. It's hard to believe that the adventurers are still alive, considering how long they've been missing. It's hard for Demiurge to say no to this request when Sebas doesn't understand it is worthless acts, even though he has a feeling that it will be a waste of time and money. The only way to say no is to say it in a roundabout way, because there is no benefit to us and they can't say no if we are trying to increase our fame. But there is a Sebas who does not read the air. It's an abomination to Demiurge.
Demiurge couldnot suppress one's anger, and as soon as returned to his room at the inn, he slumped back against the chair's backrest and let out a long sigh, not in keeping with his usual elegance.
"Why in the world would you want to accept such a fruitless request? It's been a long time since they've been missing, and I'm sure that all the trifling adventurers have been wiped out."
"I don't think you can say it's annihilation before you've even looked for it. Isn't that a violent way of saying something that doesn't sound like a wise person?"
"It's been half a month since they disappeared, and I think it's crazy to be optimistic that vulnerable people are still alive. With no one that we shold help, our reputation will not grow, and this is a request that will not benefit us in any way."
"Isn't it by doing our best in every request that we develop our credibility and track record?font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN" /span/fontIt seems to me that you are only talking about immediate profit."
"You should cultivate trust and achievement with requests that have a reasonable return. There is a limit to the amount of sycophancy when you want to take on such a fruitless request that takes hours of travel. Even a lowly adventurer like a piece of trash would probably choose the job better than you."
"As adventurers of the highest rank, we have a social responsibility and duty to fulfill requests that no other adventurer can. I believe that this request is just such a request, and I believe that accepting it is a duty."
"That's the logic of humans, isn't it? We have higher priorities than being the guardians of humanity, don't we?"
"I'm sure that saving the adventurers and increasing your fame won't be negative to your search for Nazarick."
"The only way it won't be negative is if we can help them. Your speculation is based on wishful thinking, not on anything."
"I'm sure there's no basis for your statement that they're being wiped out either."
"What do you think would happen if a weak human went half a month without eating or drinking?font face="Nimbus Mono L, monospace"span lang="zh-CN" /span/fontI think it's more natural to assume he'd be dead."
"Some of them may still be alive, and we won't know until we search them. I don't think the situation is so desperate that we have to give up all hope. In the first place-"
The endless arguing continued until morning, when it was time to leave. Sighing deeply, Demiurge and Sebas went to the Adventurer's Guild to pick up their maps and scrolls, and then set a course north toward Temer.
After three days of walking, we arrived at Temer. Neither of them needed to rest, so they were going to head straight for the mountains, but on the way Sebas stopped.
"I think we'd better rent a carriage."
"We're going to be on a mountain road, we're going to have to adjust to the horses, and I think they're going to get in the way."
"We can't afford to have no way to transport the adventurers when we rescue them."
"Your wishful thinking again. I know it's a waste of time, but it's okay. I'm sure we'll need the legs to carry the bodies and recovered equipment."
Breathing in disgust, Demiurge conceded, rented a carriage, and proceeded to the narrow mountain road. They follow the road to the spot where the gold-level adventurers are supposed to have gone to gather herbs, where they tie the wagon to a tree, and Demiurge summons a scout demon and orders it to search for the adventurers' bodies.
They waited for the demon to return for a while, but eventually Demiurge tilted his head quizzically.
"How can I help you?"
"Something strange is going on. The demon's consciousness has been interrupted. It doesn't seem to have been killed, so it's reasonable to assume that it lost consciousness and was incapacitated, but... if it can be incapacitated, why not kill it?"
"Can you tell me where it is?"
"That's not a problem. Let's head out."
Sebas immediately nodded at Demiurge' words, and the two of them parted ways into the forest. The fact that the scout demon has been neutralized means that there is definitely some kind of threat, but the fact that it hasn't been killed means that there is no imminent danger to life approaching or immediate. There may be a risk of disabling Demiurge and Sebas as well, but since the demons are unable to return, they have no choice but to go out there and find out.
If you can't deal with it, retreat immediately, but the threat of being able to block the movement of Demiurge and Sebas, who have various resistances such as poison, paralysis, and movement inhibition through their race characteristics and equipment, was not something that even Yggdrasil could think of, much less in this world. Of course, the possibility is not zero, but they have to find out before they can talk about it.
After about twenty minutes, they reached our destination.
There were a number of strange things lying around. There were about ten lumps the size of an adult man wrapped in white cotton-like material. The demon that Demiurge had summoned was also lying in the middle of it, seemingly unconscious. There was something odd behind it.
On the surface of the huge white cotton-like object, which seemed to be as wide as a giant tree, drips of blood-colored drop-like patterns were scattered in countless numbers. It was very poisonous looking. As they were thinking about what this was, a huge object sprayed them with a powder that covered their vision.
"I see. It's some kind of mushroom that spreads spores when you get close to it, and I guess it also has a paralyzing poison effect. It doesn't seem to have any effect on those of us who are resistant to it, though. We'll take some of it back to the Adventurers Guild as evidence and samples, and burn the rest. Sebas, would you mind saving some of it and wrapping it up tightly so the spores don't scatter?"
"All right."
Taking the knife Demiurge handed him, Sebas approached what looked like a mushroom, gouged out a piece of it with the knife, put it in a leather bag, tied it tightly, and put it in another leather bag.
"Well, let's get rid of them quickly, shall we? Hellfire wall."
Demiurge thought that he would make sure to thoroughly burn it down, so he unleashed his hellfire magic on the mushroom that was still spewing spores after Sebas had left. The mushroom that was burned by the scorching heat instantly melted and only smoldering smoke was left behind.
"...So I guess that's the adventurer lying around. So that's why he's been used as a nursery."
Demiurge muttered disinterestedly as he thought there would be no more breath, but Sebas bent down in front of one of the tumbling ones and broke the membrane of the mycelium. Eventually, a young man's face appeared, and Sebas, who had brought his face closer and put his hand over his mouth, turned to Demiurge.
"He's still breathing. He seems to be in a state of near-hypothermia, but he has a body temperature. It's not safe to leave him like this, but..."
"Well, that's good to know. It's not our place to say whether or not you'll be able to survive from there, leave that to the priests of the temple."
Without answering Demiurge' words, Sebas broke through the cocoons one by one to see if the adventurers were still breathing. The people who seemed to be gold level adventurers were still breathing, though they looked very weak because it had been a long time since they had gone missing.
Apparently, the parasitic form of the mushroom was to put them in a state of near-death and slowly suck out their life force, and surprisingly, they were all still alive, even though so much time had passed since they had disappeared. As a first aid measure, Sebas used qigong to restore his strength and carried him to the carriage. Demiurge, who was not interested in the adventurer, moved to the carriage and waited for Sebas to finish carrying him.
From there, they would transport the adventurers to Temer's temple and leave the rest to the priests. Demiurge thought it was okay to go back to Prart now that the cause had been determined and the adventurers had been saved, but Sebas insisted that he would see to the safety of the adventurers, so he was forced to accompany him.
Demiurge was a little curious as to whether the mycelium that had taken root in the adventurer's body would disappear with healing magic, but he didn't care about the adventurer's life. The fact that you have rescued him, whether he survives or not, is a fact of life, and they don't need to see if he is safe or not. Annoyed at Sebas.
The adventurers survived. After receiving healing magic, they regained consciousness and the only thing left to do was to recover their weakened strength, which they did at the Temple of Temer. Demiurge thought that he had confirmed enough and decided to return to Prart half-heartedly, suppressing his frustration that was about to explode.
In conclusion, it was the right decision to accept this request. It seems to Demiurge that he was just lucky, but as a result, he was able to save the adventurer's life, and the fruit of corruption's fame was raised to that of a hero who saved the lives of many valuable high-ranking adventurers. As for Demiurge, he was not very happy that things turned out the way Sebas wanted, but he had to admit that the result was good.
"It is said that one good turn deserves another. You may not understand this when you are judging only on the basis of profit or disadvantage, but it may turn out to be good for you. It is also called haste makes waste."
"You always end up with one word too many, aren't you? It's just a coincidence that it worked out this time, but it doesn't always work out this way. Wouldn't it be faster to reach your goal if you chose the most reliable method possible?"
"You can't win people's trust in such a way. A hero sometimes throws himself into risks with no reward in mind. If you want to earn a reputation as a hero, you should be willing to accept such requests."
"I'm saying that people's minds change quickly, and that we should choose a surefire way to make a profit instead of relying on such an uncertain factor. Don't you think it's more reliable to show a proven track record in numbers that no one can complain about after you've done your due diligence?"
"Isn't it you who doesn't understand? The mind changes, but some things remain constant. Isn't the certainty you speak of reliable if we accomplish enough feats that people will never forget?"
"It would be a shame if I had to do this kind of uncertain work every time I wanted to accomplish this feat. The one who doesn't understand is you, no matter how you look at it. I'm telling you, we have a goal to return to Nazarick as soon as possible, and we don't need to waste time on such detours."
"If you are trying to win people's hearts and minds, this kind of request is not a detour but a shortcut. You don't seem to understand that, but the uncertainty of the human mind is also important in military strategy. I don't think that would make you a good commander of Nazarick's defense."
"No one is saying that we don't grasp what goes on in people's minds, we're just saying that we shouldn't rely on such uncertainty. I'm not going to be quiet if you're going to say that much about a result that just happens to work out, you're not aware enough that you're too naive to begin with, are you? Even this time, you took it on the naive assumption that you wanted to help these useless humans, not whether there was any profit in it. I need you to think more about what we need to do to return to Nazarick. In the first place, there was little chance that the adventurers would be alive this time––"
Even though he realized that Sebas naivety was not useless and sometimes produced great results, Demiurge was unable to accept such an uncertain approach and ended up spending the rest of the night arguing fruitlessly.