Chapter 171 (1/2)

Volume 2

The Simple Job of Only Perishing to the Hero Volume 5 Chapter 22

– 107.167.229.84

The town of Elgrad, a major city of the south, was currently enveloped by a silent stir.

The soldiers of the Southern Army that were more than twice the size than usual were coming and going on top of the defensive wall that surrounded the town, and the gates meant to enter and exit the town were all closed.

Even the number of soldiers patrolling was greater than usual, and figures of soldiers that seemed to be running around to support the Southern Army auxiliary headquarters in the center of the town could be seen.

An enemy attack──Hearing those words that hadn’t been heard ever since it turned into Demon King Vermudol’s era, the inhabitants of Elgrad uniformly raised voices of anxiety.

During the time of the previous Demon King Gramfia, something like that was an everyday occurrence, and in the south where there was a huge disturbance every day to begin with, the concept of living as a group such as a town or a village didn’t exist.

Ever since the Dark Continent was unified as the Zadark Kingdom, Mazoku that really weren’t suited for battle called the Norm started to live there, and the south was extremely peaceful.

Within that, the current the situation was one that happened for the first time since the town of Elgrad was created.

Among the artisans that made up for a majority of the inhabitants, there was almost no one that tried to do delicate work during this state of emergency, but that being said, there also weren’t many that thought of shutting themselves up in their own homes alone.

They gathered in places like the town’s plaza and the coffeeshops, and they gossiped with worried-looking faces.

In one among those, in the Merlet Coffeeshop, artisans were facing grave-looking faces at each other with cups that had steam coming out in front of them.

「To think there’d be an attack…… What’s the point of attacking a town like this?」

「There’s rumors that it’s the Hero. Don’t they just intend on slaughtering us?」

In response to the Norm man that said something like that, a Beastia man that was at a different seat turned around towards him.

「Oi oi, don’t say something so reckless. The relationship with mankind is going well, right? There was even the talk of this town becoming a tourist attraction soon.」

「But, in that case, who could the enemy be?」

「Isn’t it the survivors of the western area? There’s rumors that there are survivors of Vermudol-sama’s great purge.」

Maybe because the men gradually got carried away, they transitioned to stories where the previous Demon King Gramfia was actually alive, or where the rumored anti-Demon King organization, 「El Darkness (the True Darkness)」, had finally taken action.

「Like I was saying, that rumored gigantic armor binding has finally……」

「Wait a second, that was concluded as being impossible at the time of conception wasn’t it.」

「That’s right, to begin with, making equipment for Dragon Mount Unit use was too difficult, and the blacksmiths were seriously crying. Think about it realistically.」

「That was pretty absurd too, wasn’t it. I mean, those guys don’t even need something like that to begin with, right.」

「Come to think of it, what’s going on with the Aqua Metal (flowing metal) idea? If that were completed, then that would also make considerable progress.」

「That also broke down at the time of conception. To begin with, the problem of weight hasn’t been resolved at all, and above all, the technology to make it flow isn’t even in sight. Whoever came up with that is an idiot.」

The shoulder of the man, who was getting heated up while gradually digressing, was tapped on from behind.

「I’m telling you that that’s not it! To begin with, it needs to follow the basics of the carved seal designs of the Sorcery Equipment!」

「Aaand there it is, a believer in the faith of Margaret-sama of Muraz!」

「Oi, hold on. I can’t ignore that either! Besides, Margaret-sama really is beautiful, isn’t she!」

「Geh, so you’re on that side!」

The man’s shoulder, once again──strongly this time──was tapped on.

However, the man didn’t notice that and continued the conversation. They no longer knew what the start of the conversation even was.

「Aan!? That’s some nerve, you crappy artisan! Get out of here!」

「Ahh!? Even though you can’t make anything but feminine designs that are only popular with women, don’t go acting so confident!」

A fist was swung down on the head of the man who stood up.

*Gokin* From that intense sound and pain, the man finally turned around to face behind him. Drawn in by that, the other men also turned towards that direction.

When they did, several soldiers wearing armor that was in the official style of the Southern Army were surrounding the artisan men with looks of amazement on their faces.

「You guys……We’re busy enough as it is. Don’t go causing pointless uproars, dammit.」

「Ah, no. Sorry ’bout that.」

Glared at by a soldier in the prime of his life with an unshaven face, the artisan men curled up looking apologetic.

「Jeez……If you’re that energetic, how about you just stop being an artisan and apply for the Southern Army? If you want, I’ll even endorse you.」

「W, well. Look, I’m small in spirit, see. I’d be a bit uneasy and……」

「A guy small in spirit wouldn’t do any grappling fights. If you’re gonna be that noisy, be noisy at home.」

Although the artisan men had their faces go red in embarrassment, they glanced at the faces of the soldiers.

「Ahー, but. Although the current situation is called an attack, we virtuous citizens haven’t been told any information at all, you see. In that case, we have no choice but to amuse ourselves with gossip.」

「What virtuous citizens. You all cause disturbances once a day. If you make me laugh too much, my fist will come out.」

When the soldier in the prime of his life clenched his fists, the artisan men looked at different directions and started whistling.