I Was Connected to Earth’s Black Market From Another World With The Skill [Market]! (WN)

Chapter 262

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Chapter 262 – People in the Hidden Village

I’m at a loss. I have no idea.

“Milian on the ramparts of Solbesia, Macian at the artillery, Lucian in front of the castle, and Shariel on the spire watchtower.”

“Yes.”

“Kaiel was in the imperial carriage, Merian in the main camp, and Oriquel in the white tent at the end, right?”

“””Yes.”””

The twin guards were Fell and Eyal. The smart one who now protects everyone in the pirate fort is Tinian-chan. That’s all well and good, but…

“What’s the problem?”

“Myrril, you know what? Can you tell them apart?”

“Of course I can.”

Oh, no. I don’t understand at all. Right now, I feel like I know them because they’re lined up in order, but if they were shuffled around, I’m pretty sure I’d mistake them for each other.

Is that it? I’m like an old man who can’t tell the members of an idol group apart. You’d be crazy to expect me to recognize the same beautiful girl with the same height, the same hairstyle, and the same white clothes.

I can tell the twin guards from the shrine maidens because they have different faces, ages, and clothes, but this one, on the other hand, I can’t tell which of the two is Fell or Eyal.

Looks like I got caught with that look. One of the twins looks me in the eye and says.

“Who am I?”

“…Fell?”

“It’s Eyal.”

I put my hand to my forehead and shake my head, but you know, they look the same!

“Your Majesty the Demon King, that’s… um, now they’re dressed as shrine maidens, but once they start wearing different clothes, of course…”

“They don’t always wear the same clothes, do they?”

“Yes.”

The Prince’s best efforts to follow up on my concern were unsuccessful. I pretended to be calm, but secretly, I was throwing a spoon.

Because you see. As long as I have Myrril, everything will be fine. If I could get the shrine maidens to their destination safely…

“You can’t say you don’t know the rest, can you?”

“I guess so.”

I turned my head and came up with a solution.

“The shrine maidens of the Eastern Temple are some sort of ‘An’, and the shrine maidens of the Western Temple are some sort of ‘El.’ That means they had their original names, right? If we call them that…”

“Those who are qualified to become shrine maidens renounce their names at a very young age. I doubt many of them even remember.”

“It is a forced compromise to begin with. It doesn’t solve the basic problem of not being able to recognize faces.”

“That’s right. You are absolutely right.”

Dusk was falling, and we sat by Casspir’s side, eating by the campfire. Due to the continuous expedition, the excellent food from the “Wolf’s Tail Pavilion” was out of stock. We boiled water in a pot to heat up a group ration of food for the troops. I can’t read the description, but it was some kind of meat stew that I don’t understand. There was a separate container of what looked like flatbread and mineral water. For dessert, I served baked goods and opened some cans of fruit, much to the delight of the young shrine maidens.

Well. Aside from identifying the individuals, I had to consider what would happen to the girls.

“Prince, um… I wonder if there are any of your companions in this refugee settlement.”

We had just passed the oasis and were heading north for about a hundred kilometers. Before the battle, the Prince had confirmed with the Currency of Grace that there was a settlement of refugees hiding in that area.

“I don’t know. All I know is the color, the number, and the strength of the lives.”

“By color, do you mean whether they are your people or not?”

“Yes. The strength is generally the same as their age.”

And there are less than a hundred of them.

It would be possible to go through the area as it is, but then the shrine maidens would have to go with us to a continent 7,000 kilometers away. It is very likely that they will never return to this land.

“Is it possible to visit the village?”

“…Perhaps.”

“”If there is a problem, we will take care of it.””

Looking at the twin guards, I made a decision.

“Then we will visit the settlement in the morning. If there are supplies they need, I’ll give them to them and let them know what’s going on in the south.”

“””Yes.”””

There was a hint of happiness among the Prince and the others. Either they were happy to see their fellow survivors, or they knew that there was someone they actually knew.

“Yoshua.”

Myrril touches my arm. I felt a hint of concern on her face.

“I’m sorry, Myrril, I made this decision on my own.”

“You think it’s a good decision, don’t you? If there was a problem, I would have opposed it. I know what you are thinking.”

I easily ignored the following words, “a little.”

It was not until the next morning, when we entered the refugee’s hideout that I understood the true meaning of these words.

“…No way.”

We were greeted by a group of elves, tall, long-haired, long-eared, wearing hemp-like headdresses and holding handmade bows. They were too healthy to be dark elves, but they had light brown skin and curly hair.

The Prince and the others also had skin and hair like that, so I guessed they were the ‘People of Solbesia.’

“Prince, I did not know that you were safe, and I apologize for my appearance.”

“I am the one who must apologize. I have caused the people of Solbesia great hardship and suffering. This is the result of the royal family’s incompetence.”

“These words are unnecessary.”

I was watching the scene of a group of subjects trying to bow and the Prince refusing them and bowing his head, mouth hanging open and pointing his finger this way and that, when my eyes met Myrril-san’s, and I tilted my head.

“Elves? And the Prince?”

“I knew you didn’t get it.”

“Because they all have normal ears.”

The shrine maidens tilted their heads in wonder.

“”””””Because we are children.””””””

“”The ears do not grow until we are in our twenties.””

The twin guards told me with a look of dismay at my ignorance. No, I don’t know anything about that.

“The Casemaian child elf had long ears, you know?”

“Compared to humans, yes? Elves usually grow up slowly. I think Milka’s age is about the same as ours. Even for her, it will be over 20 or almost 30 before she grows long ears like an adult.”

Oh, I see. No, it doesn’t matter if the Prince and the others are elves or dwarves.

While the girls hugged and exchanged information with their compatriots, Myrril whispered something in my ear.

“I was wondering why you bothered to come to the village. I don’t know why, but you weren’t very good with elves, were you?”

“!?”

That’s how it should be; no one should know about it.

“Do not worry. Probably no one but me knows about it. I can at least guess that your dislike is not malicious.”

“Ah, yes. It’s not that I don’t like them either. I just avoid them because they stimulate my complex.”

“Complex… does that mean something like being shy? I don’t understand why that should be the case.”

I don’t know if she read the context or saw it in my expression, but she understood my intention in a normal way.

“It’s… well, it’s a little similar with the people I’ve worked with, the ones who were snobbish and pompous about their excellence. I’ve never had a bad experience with elves, so this is my fault. I have no intention of avoiding them in the future, and I’d like to help them if I can.”

“Umu. That is the will of His Majesty, the generous and fair Demon King.”

But Myrril laughed.

“You are not so wrong in your assessment of the nature of the elves, are you?”

“No, hey!? My concern is…”

Whether in Casemaian, the northern continent, or perhaps here in Solbesia, they have only become humble because they have struggled in oppression and isolation, and their selective, exclusive, and self-righteous tendencies are something like elven instincts.

“The dying Northern Elves are the best example of this.”

So that’s it. Well, okay.

“Welcome, Your Majesty the Demon King and Queen of the Northern Continent. We, the people of Solbesia, are grateful to you for protecting our Prince.”

The village stood quietly in the shadow of a series of sand dunes, surrounded by a few bushes. We were led to a small log cabin, probably the most magnificent building in the area, and into a room of about ten tatami mats, where we were bowed down by a brown elf who seemed to be an elder.

“Umu. I’m sorry to bother you, but we are here to defeat the false demon king that is spreading in this land. Yesterday, we defeated an entire Imperial army numbering in the tens of thousands, so I wanted to let you know.”

Myrril-san’s voice is cheerful as she delivers this disturbing news.

“Huh?”

The elder and the five or so young or middle-aged elves behind him, who seemed to be in charge, froze and stopped moving.

“Is this a joke?”

“It’s a fact.”

When the twin guards, who were of the same tribe, replied in a straightforward manner, the elven leaders remained rigid, only glancing at each other.

“H-how did you do that?”

“The Prince’s power carried us to the throne room, and the demon king’s power devoured his insides and killed him. After that, we randomly smashed all the small fry of the Imperial Army that were chasing us into tiny pieces with our magic tools.”

“”We also fought them by borrowing the magic tools.””

“Umu. They are young, but they are still elves. They were excellent shooters.”

The twins immediately confirmed the story, and the elders, who had finally managed to reboot, went back into a blue screen. But it’s impossible to accept that all of a sudden, isn’t it?

“Wait… No, you see, Myrril, no, Your Majesty the Queen. That’s not the point.”

“Oh, yes. In the end, your Prince… with something called ‘the currency of grace.’ By some extraordinary miracle, he transformed the corpse into a vast forest.”

“You can’t possibly…”

“Elder!”

The door slammed wildly, and a sweaty young man rushed in. He is startled for a moment when he realizes there are visitors, but he seems to remember his role and bows to us, then stands beside the elder and whispers in his ear.

“Forest?”

“Yes, that’s right. They are coming this way.”

Good timing, isn’t it? I saw that. I mean, it’s been more than half a day, and they’re still coming.

“The length and width are almost ten miles each.”

“That’s absurd.”

Is the measurement of distance the same in Solbesia? The distance is more than seven thousand kilometers. I wonder if there were also transplants from Europe and America on this continent. Or was it the result of contact in trade? Anyway, 16 kilometers in length and width? That seems like an exaggerated number. Either he, the reporter, was too excited to make a calm decision, or… the forest continued to expand for a long time after that.

“Your Majesty, the Demon King.”

While I was thinking, I realized that all the elders had prostrated themselves before me.

“I sincerely apologize for doubting Your Majesty’s power in any way!”

“Huh? Oh, please don’t mind me. Besides, is that all? Would it be better to run away?”

When I looked at the Prince for confirmation, he shook his head with a wry smile.

“There is no problem, Your Majesty. For the people of Solbesia, that green is home.”

“Elves don’t get eaten?”

The elder, still prostrate, nodded his head.

“Yes. The green gives us food, shelter, protection, and abundant water. We will no longer fear the sand or thirst.”

I guess it all worked out. I turned to Myrril, who nodded in satisfaction.

“We must return to the northern continent from whence we came.”

“Eh?”

That’s right. Apart from the Prince and the others, we don’t belong here.

But that changes the problem a bit.

“We will stay here until tomorrow morning. The Prince and the shrine maidens will have until tomorrow to decide what to do.”

The Prince’s expression faded, and his companion’s eyes swam.

The shrine maidens looked at each other, their faces troubled with fear or anticipation.

“Whatever the outcome, I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that all the children over there live happily ever after.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. His Majesty the Demon King has never made a single mistake in his promises. Where they are now, they have a reassuring ally by their side in the blessing of the ‘currency of grace.’ There are also many elves there.”

“””…..”””

We leave the hut, away from the elders talking to the Prince.

“”””His Majesty, the Demon King.””””

“Oh, thank you. Everyone, please line up over there.”

I removed the shackles from the refugees I had the shrine maidens gather for me. It wasn’t much effort since all I had to do was store them, but they thanked me so much that I was afraid to do it myself.

After hearing what they had to say, I felt like I understood what the twins had meant when they said, “We are the only ones who are alive of our own free will now. For the elves, who excel in the knowledge and use of magic, having their magic power blocked is almost the same as being deprived of the power to live and the right to make choices. I think that’s why they use these restraints.

It takes about an hour for the work to be done. The discussion with the Prince seemed to have come to an end, or maybe it was a parallel line, or maybe it was just going around in circles, so I removed the restraints from the elders, and we ate lunch. We provided flour, salt, water, and vegetable oil and opened a large can of food, so it seemed like a luxurious meal to them after living so simply for so long. They will be able to get the bounty of the forest from now on, so their life of poverty will not be so long.

After lunch, Myrril and I decided to rest in Casspir.

It is a small village hidden in the desert. There was no room in the house for guests. The elders were worried about us, but to be honest, it was easier for us to leave them alone.

Looking back south toward the oasis before Casspir, we could see a green wave approaching just over the horizon. If the erosion continues at the current rate, this place will eventually be swallowed by the deep forest. For the people of Solbesia, this could be a blessing in disguise.

“What should we do to make them happy?”

“I don’t know. That is something they must decide for themselves.”

The Prince’s enemies were defeated. He was freed from the empire’s jugular. We also saved as many of his countrymen as we could see. But from now on, it is not for outsiders to interfere.

With the lord’s power, the resurrection of Solbesia is not a pipe dream―at least not a suicide mission, so if the Prince, the twins, and the shrine maidens want to stay behind, that’s fine with me.

“Tinian-chan and the others who stayed at the pirate fortress can be brought back sometime if they want.”

“I suppose so. But by that time, it won’t be the Land of Sand anymore.”

We looked at each other and laughed. Somewhere in the distance, I thought I heard a clap of thunder.