“Armed humans?”
[Yes. There are quite a few, so I got a call saying I would tell you before they attack.]
My eyes narrowed sharply at Deran’s words.
“How many? Is the situation very serious? What are the trends?”
[That is what’s strange. He said that they are not killing monsters at all. I think it was just for the purpose of capturing them.]
“Capturing them… Why?”
I tapped my chin with my finger.
Why are you doing something that is such a nuisance?
For armed humans, it would be a hundred times simpler to kill a monster on the spot and take only a small demon spirit stone. There was no way humans didn’t know that themselves.
[What should I do? They are well armed and there are quite a few of them, but if you command Derakal, it will be resolved quickly. I may go to support.]
“Hmm.”
It wasn’t that hard to turn things around. No matter how well the opponent was armed, there was Derakal and Deran, who could support me whenever I spoke. But what struck me was their intentions.
What was the purpose of taking the monsters alive while taking such damage and risks…?
After a moment of contemplation, I lifted my head a beat late.
“Tell Derakal. Don’t kill them, just keep them alive and join them together.”
[Are you saying that we should let the humans kidnap them together?]
“Right. You two are connected, so you can contact me anytime. We need to figure out what they saw and what their purpose was.”
I ripped off the nails I had been chewing on, and added some words with difficulty.
“When the demons are caught, tell them not to rebel too much, but to be caught secretly. It’ll become dangerous later when they really have to run away.”
[He’s already rebelling against my telepathy. Sigh.]
Deran shook his head sharply. It seemed that Derakal was making a lot of noise.
“What did he say?”
[…He’s being very noisy.]
“If he wants to, he can kill everyone and get out. But if he listens, say I will buy him cookies later.”
[He became quiet.]
“I knew it.”
After I said that, I turned around. Deran also slowly disappeared into the shadows.
Back near the shop, Tina was already standing in front of the door with a fidgety look on her face. She found me and ran to me.
“Lucia? Are you okay? What’s going on?”
I looked into her worried eyes, then slowly pulled her hand away and grabbed it.
“Tina, I may need your strength.”
I took Tina to the Belishat Forest.
When I went to the location that Derakal gave me roughly, it was still a mess with traces of battle.
Traces of cracks and cuts in the trees, and blood splattered over the new white snow. The faint smell of the blood was still in the air.
I could still smell the blood of the monsters spreading around me.
