Volume 10 Chapter 1 Nilfheim's Slum
Ice was having a dream that day.
What appeared in it was a wolf. A wolf that was like family to him. Unlike the other family members, this wolf didn't have any abnormalities at first.
So, for a while, it lived in peace. Although it had resentment and sadness from being separated from its family, it was just as powerless as a normal wolf. The brave war god raised the wolf.
However, the wolf's growth was not normal.
As the wolf grew bigger day by day, the war god decided to restrain it. It bound the wolf with iron chains, thinking that it wouldn't be able to move.
But the wolf easily bit through the chains.
The war god thought, "In that case," and prepared even stronger iron chains. However, these were also easily bitten through. If this continued, the wolf would eventually break free. The war god thought deeply.
That's when the rope called Gleipnir was prepared. A special rope made by the dwarves. The wolf was suspicious, but it was bound by the war god's determination and persuasion.
From then on, the wolf would spend an eternity bound.
Until the day of the final reckoning, the day Ragnarok would occur―――
* * *
To cause a big commotion in the slum, we first need to know what kind of place the slum is.
So, I decided to take a look around the slum.
"By the way, who's going to be our guide?"
I said, and Sandra and Mudi turned away. Renril was standing at the edge, looking spaced out.
"...Why isn't anyone volunteering, Slum Team?"
I asked with a scowl.
We were in the tavern's bar area.
We had gathered there to discuss our plan and choose the members who could move around for reconnaissance. There was me, Ice, Rollo, and the Slum Team's Sandra, Mudi, and Renril.
Clay and Toxy's team were busy with work, so they wouldn't be participating in the reconnaissance, but they might join in for the actual operation.
So, the 6 of us gathered... but...
Sandra said,
"I don't remember the way."
"You don't remember, even though you've been there so many times?"
"I'm just walking by instinct. I somehow manage to reach my destination."
This girl is like a cat or something.
"What about Mudi?"
"Guiding a kid is such a pain. Why do I have to do it?"
"That's right. This guy is like that."
He's just a simple trash, so he probably doesn't like being relied on. What a trash this guy is.
"So, Renril..."
"Ah, um, I thought either of you two would do it, but if not, I'll do it?"
"Renril, you're a Demon, but why do you have more common sense than humans?"
"Is it possible to get angry when you have common sense?"
I look at Rollo silently. Rollo says "Kyaa~♡ Master's pervert~♡" while trying to take off her clothes, but gets lightly frozen by Ice.
"Huh?"
"Rollo is broken, so..."
"What's with Rollo being called 'broken' by her brother?"
Rollo firmly maintains her pitiful yet un-pitiful monster position.
"I seem to have common sense because I understand a bit of what humans consider common sense. That way, I can take a more enjoyable position in this festival, don't you think?"
I sense Renril's strength in his words.
I see, so he's not just being common sense, but acting that way. Indeed, as long as he seems that way, we might end up relying on him too much.
"Alright, let's leave the guidance to Renril this time."
When I say that, Renril nods slightly happily and says "Understood".
On the other hand, Sandra looks a bit lonely and tugs on my clothes.
"...What about me?"
"Sandra will be guided."
"Got it. As long as you're not left out, it's fine."
Is she a crybaby? Ah, but she snuck into my bed yesterday, so maybe she's just lonely. But why was she n*ked?
"What about Mudi?"
"Just wander around as I like. If you need help while you're in the slums, just call out."
"Well, Mudi's fine with that kind of distance."
Forcing him to cooperate would just make him pout, and that's a hassle.
Anyway, we end up going to the slums with Renril as our guide.
Now, before we head to the slums, let's clarify our stance.
Our action guidelines are:
- Main goal: Defeat the Demon King.
- Mid-term goal- Conquer and hold onto the Demon King's castle's protection tower.
- Short-term goal- Get the powerful demons in each region involved and use them as a cover, that's the plan.
In the slums, I was thinking of using the protection tower as a cover and getting Ede Wolf involved. Then, I received Yor's letter and decided to go along with it.
As for how to get Ede Wolf involved, I still don't have a clear plan. I just hope we can have a fun and exciting time.
While thinking about this, Renril warned us as we walked.
"In the slums, if someone talks to you, kill them, please."
"This is crazy."
I thought, "Can't you come up with a more normal first move?" I was just praising Renril for being sensible.
But then, Sandra nodded and said, "But that's true, Wade." It seems Renril had a reason for saying that, and he continued.
"First, you should know that the bazaar you were in is the safest area in the city. The slums are on a completely different level."
"Whoa, that's intense..."
I remembered the bazaar's living environment, where you could enter an alley and get into a battle in just 5 seconds. The streets were always filled with the smell of danger.
Renril continued,
"In the slums, if you talk to someone and respond, you'll be recognized as a conversationalist, and that means you're a potential target. What that means is that you'll be more likely to get deceived or kidnapped as a sl*ve."
"...Ah, I see. So, if you can't talk, you're not worth anything as a sl*ve because your mind is broken?"
"That's right. If your mind is broken, you won't be of any use as a laborer. On the other hand, if you can have a conversation, that means you have some value as a sl*ve."
I shuddered at the thought of the slums. Is this a world where everything can be turned into money? And it's all based on the assumption of robbery?
The lawlessness of the slums is different from Bael's territory. It's like...the city has a unique atmosphere where money and desire are intertwined.
"So, if someone talks to you, please kill them on the spot if possible. The demons that would talk to you are just weaklings, so if you kill them, they'll be too scared to come near you."
It's better to show that I'm strong and merciless, that's what he said. Indeed, pretending to be weak is tiring, and there's also an element of luck involved. If I can avoid it with my actual abilities, that's the best.
I think about this as I move forward. I arrive at the river that separates the districts and cross the bridge.
Then, suddenly, I sense that the atmosphere around me has changed.
It's more gloomy and rundown than the bazaar, but there's also a feeling of being targeted, a sense of tension that makes me vigilant.
I turn to Renril.
Renril glances at us sideways and says,
"Well, everyone, from here on out, this is the slum."
―――What lay before us was a group of dilapidated buildings, a barren wasteland, and the figures of demons who had lost their vitality.
Unlike the bazaar, where the ground was mostly paved with stone, this place was almost entirely bare earth. In some areas, the ground was muddy and soggy from the snow, while in others, it was frozen into icicles.
The buildings, too, were made of stone, but they were crumbling, with holes and gaps everywhere, and were clearly not suitable for living in this harsh environment.
Finally, there were the people lying on the ground. They were scattered about, some with their backs against the buildings, others on the ground, and still, others piled on top of each other, silent and lethargic. Their eyes were vacant, and it was impossible to tell what they were looking at.
"...This is the bottom of the barrel, even for a slum."
I said, frowning.
The slum in Karditsa was, despite being a slum, a place where people lived and breathed. It was poor, but children ran around, and adults worked busily.
But that wasn't the case here.
There were only people-shaped objects, piled on top of each other, lying on the ground.
"Renril, is it okay to walk around in a group like this?"
I asked, and Renril replied,
"Yes, it's fine. Demons that are still mobile tend to move in groups, so we shouldn't stand out too much."
"Why do they move in groups?"
"For safety, I suppose. It's easier to get attacked when you're in a small group. Whether it's a targeted attack or a sudden outburst from one of them."
I nodded in understanding. If we don't stand out, that's fine.
"Then, please lead the way."
"Yes."
We walked in a group, our footsteps echoing. "Is it okay to chat?" I asked, and Renril replied, "As long as we can take care of any troublemakers that approach us, it's fine."
So I turned to Sandra and said,
"Hey Sandra, were you moving around with a group too?"
"? I was alone," she replied.
"I figured as much..."
It seemed she had been traveling solo all along. I wonder what she was thinking when she heard our conversation.
"So, did you get attacked or anything?"
"Yeah, I did. I blew them all away with magic. And when I did the same to a group that was traveling together, it turned out to be Don Fen."
"Ah, I see."
It seemed she had a brief intense battle, but managed to defuse the situation just in time.
I think it's impressive that she was able to resolve things without any issues. She's always been good at handling situations, like when she dodged Toxy's loan shark, and later became friends with us, like family.
"Hey, big brother, I have a question~."
Rollo said, walking alongside Renril.
"Where are we headed next?"
"From here, we're going to the Assassins' Guild, the Trainers, and our target, Ede Wolf."
Renril replied. Then, Ice asked,
"So, there's a Slums Guild, like a Merchants' Guild, right...?"
"That's right, Ice-sama. Most of the requests are handled by the Assassins' Guild."
"It's like a guild for Sword adventurers...."
Ice said, and I kind of understood what he meant. It's true that their roles are similar, although it seems they also deal with kidnappings and the like.
"I think I heard something about it from Clay, but what's a Trainer?"
"Well, Master, it's like this. If you just kidnap a sl*ve, they won't listen to you, right? So, there's a need for someone to train them to obey."
"Ah, I see... yeah, that makes sense."
I didn't press the issue further. It's not really relevant to us.
"And what about Ede Wolf?"
"Yes, Sandra-sama. Since they're going to be our enemies, it's a good idea for all of us to take a look."
As we were discussing this, Renril stopped and said, "We're here."
The building was shabby compared to the Merchant Guild, but it was definitely functioning as a building.
We could hear voices coming from inside. We nodded to each other and entered together.
As we opened the door, the demons inside turned their eyes on us all at once. But we weren't the type to be intimidated by that. We walked in calmly.
For now, we gathered around a small, high round table that the demons were using. The demons looked at us, but after a while, they looked away.
"...The atmosphere, it's definitely similar to the Adventurer's Guild."
"The jobs they take on are a bit more on the criminal side, but other than that, it's almost like the Adventurer's Guild."
Sandra said, pointing. When I looked, I saw a quest board like the one in the Adventurer's Guild.
I walked over alone and started reading the requests on the board.
'Murder Request: A new circus team is getting too full of themselves, so please beat them up and kill them. You only need to kill one person per team. Just scare them a bit. Ask for details directly.'
'Slave Recruitment: Please kidnap about 5 decent-looking demons from the bazaar and sell them as sl*ves. Since there's a lot of manpower available due to the current bazaar incident, we want to use them as commercial sl*ves.'
'Kidnapping Request: Please kidnap and dispose of someone who is being protected by the Demon King's army. We hope to receive a portion of the reward as sl*ves. The budget is―――.'
I scrunched up my face and stopped reading.
It's just that, seeing the difference in ethics between humans and demons in black and white, it's more intense than I thought...
The fact that beating someone up and killing them is considered just a light scare, and recruiting sl*ves is like a part-time job, and the kidnapping request, which is typical of an assassination guild, has something disgusting written on it.
As I was looking at it with a "what is this?" expression, a demon standing next to me said, "Oh?" When I turned to look, there was a giant wolf beastman standing there.
The beastman had an intimidating presence. He had a calm and collected air about him, and his large, lithe body was that of a wolf.
"...Do you need something?"
"Whoa, you don't even flinch when you see me? You're pretty gutsy for a newcomer. You're promising."
The wolf-like demon bared his fangs and laughed loudly. I stared up at him, my eyes wide with surprise.
He was huge. Seriously huge. He must have been over 2 meters (≈ 6.6 feet) tall, and was close to 3 meters (≈ 9.8 feet). He was so big that I looked like a kid compared to him.
The demon asked,
"What's your name, kid?"
"Uh, sorry. I've heard that if someone talks to me, I have to kill them..."
I replied, looking at Renril. But Renril was frantically shaking his head from side to side. Huh? What's going on?
"Hahahahaha! You think you can kill me? You've got a temper like Sandra, who challenged me before. But at the same time, you're calm and collected. That's interesting."
"..."
I looked at the wolf demon, wondering. Then I said,
"Never mind about killing or not killing. Let's put that aside for now. You're the one who started talking, so you should introduce yourself first. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
"Hmph, that's true. In that case, I'll introduce myself."
The wolf demon placed his hand on his chest and grinned sharply.
"I'm Fen. I'm Don Fen, the king of this slum. And I'm the leader of Ede Wolf, a large-scale assassination guild."
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