The soldiers watch us intimidatingly.
Elinalise takes a step forward with a hand on the sword on her waist.
There's cold sweat on her forehead.
No matter what, there are too many enemies to deal with.
Crap, we have nowhere to run.
Do I grab Zanoba and Cliff and fly away?
Do I leave Kishirika and Elinalise behind?
What do I do?
The front-most soldier among them steps forward.
With a hoarse but forceful voice he said,
"We are the Gaslow Region [2] Immortal Demon Lord Atoferatofe's Private Guard."
In fluent Human language.
So we will work with them, probably.
"Atofe-sama commands: Hand Kishirika-sama to us, and head immediately to the castle."
Hearing him, the black-clad riders behind him compare the portrait with Kishirika the person. Eh? They seem riled up.
As Nokopara expected, the portrait was wrong. The one that ordered it was sloppy.
But, even if the portrait was wrong, if she yells out Kishirika like that, she will probably get exposed.
"What if we don't?"
The moment Elinalise asked quietly, all the soldiers drew their swords.
The sound of swords unsheathing clatters.
The chorus of sounds becomes ear-deafeningly loud.
"Kill them all."
I can't tell the strength of an opponent just by looking.
But even I have quite a bit of experience under my belt.
Even I can tell when an opponent is obviously strong.
The private guards are, without a doubt, full of incredible people.
Far stronger than the typical rider group can match.
"No, don't. If they catch this one, then who knows how they'll treat this one? Atofe is the most stupid among the the Demon Kings!"
Hearing Kishirika makes me frown.
If Atofe doesn't have a plan for dealing with Kishirika after capturing her, then why capture her in the first place?
Besides, I have no reason to meet with Atofe anymore.
I should just run...
But the medicine is under the castle right?
Then maybe we should go along... But I've never seen it before. I have no idea what it looks like.
While I'm hesitating, the soldier removes his helmet.
"Please."
A white-haired, battle-wary old man.
With a gentle smile, he bows his head.
"If everyone doesn't come, then we'll be punished by Afote-sama. We definitely won't hurt you, so please..."
I'm a Japanese man that can say... no.
Not like before.
But after such a humble request, I can't help but feel soft-hearted.
"No, don't listen to him. He's Atofe's dog."
Cold sweat dripping down from Kishirika's face.
Seems like she's hiding something.
"I overheard your conversation. Sokasu Grass is grown in Gaslow Region, and we also know the cultivating techniques. If necessary, we can even prepare saplings for you. So please come with us..."
The old soldier bows his head.
I can feel his sincerity.
Even though he can move us forcefully, instead, he requested so humbly.
I'm not too close with Kishirika, but I do know of Demon Kings like Badigadi.
These underlings must have it tough.
"Say, why does Kishrika-sama hate Atofe-sama so much? There must be a reason that you've been hunting Kishirika-sama for half a year. Can you tell me?"
"A year ago, here, Atofe-sama was supposed to receive a shipment of wine from Gekura region, but Kishirika drank them all."
"Oh."
The old soldier continues.
"Atofe-sama was really looking forward to that wine and got really angry. She ordered the private guards from our home country here to investigate and capture her. We don't know what Kishirika looks like, so she gave us this portrait, and we have been searching for her ever since..."
"So that's what happened, I understand."
I knocked out Kishirika with magic myself.