Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 186

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Chapter 186 – The Cause of the Confrontation

“Enny. I wonder if I should have something bitter today after such a long time.”

“Eehh~, even though you always complain about drinking that stuff, great-grandmother?”

“It’s okay. We have a special guest today.”

The room was spacious, with an area of about 33 square meters.

In this room, which could be considered a private room with a bed and a wardrobe, Deputy Director General Kamuria stood at the entrance with Nillow-san. And the master of the place, Neival-sama, and a girl who was still too young to be a caretaker.

“Great-grandmother?”

“Yes. This child is my great-granddaughter. She looks like me, and she has a talent for magic that stands out, so I’m taking care of her directly like this.”

“Hehehe, isn’t that amazing!”

When she placed the tray of drinks on the table, she immediately made a double peace sign with pride. I wonder if she’s about the same age as me right now?

She has the same deep purple eyes as Neival-sama, and there are definitely some similarities that make me think they are related by blood.

Still, an outstanding talent for magic…

I’d like to think that I won’t lose to this girl who gets poked in the butt with a wand because she got carried away, but I can’t bring myself to use Insight here, so it’s hard to say.

If I were to use it, I would want to distance myself from the old woman in front of me, just like the Layard Fairy.

“Well, I’m sorry about earlier. And thank you for taking the time to see me despite my sudden visit. My name is Loki.”

“Oh, I’m listening. My name is Neival. Everyone calls me ”granny” behind my back. Don’t be so formal; drink this first.”

“Hmm?”

At first glance, it looks like nothing but poison.

I was so nervous that I completely forgot about it, but when I looked closer—or rather, even if I didn’t look closer—this black liquid with a familiar smell was definitely not…

…Gulp.

“T-this is coffee, isn’t it?”

“Hihihi, it seems that people from the other world like that bitter stuff. Kamuria, that’s good news for you.”

When Neival-sama, who was smiling like a witch, looked over, Kamuria, the deputy director, looked away with a sour expression as if to say, “Don’t look like that.”

I think she must have gotten the information that people from the other world like coffee and prepared it for me, and as a coffee addict, I can only be grateful.

It’s not the same as the coffee I used to drink every day in Japan, but I think I’m going to like this strong, thick, bitter taste.

“So, Loki, the otherworlder who doesn’t seek wealth or status, do you have anything you want to ask me?”

“…..”

Even if you say that.

Before we met, I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask you, but they all disappeared when we met.

What I’m interested in now is your strength, old woman―the secret behind it.

Whether it was in Lipsum or the royal capital.

Whenever I went to the Hunters’ Guild, I always used Insight.

In the royal capital, I even used it on the soldiers.

As a result, there wasn’t a single person stronger than me, or so I thought.

At least I could see my target with my eyes, and I never felt my whole body go numb.

Now that I’ve turned off Insight, I can’t imagine losing to an old woman who uses a cane to support her legs and back instead of a magician who uses a staff.

Nevertheless, when I use Insight, the alarm sounds loudly.

I don’t know how or why this happens, but if we were to go head-to-head, I would probably lose to this old woman.

(Is it a level, an individual or overall stat, or something else, like a wild monster skill that isn’t a stat?)

Since I thought I had a decent number of skills, including the monster-only ones, I feel compelled to find out what the cause is.

But that’s like asking to see all of the old woman’s skills and occupations.

Knowing that it’s practically impossible, I wonder if there’s anything I can do to make a start.

(No… I’d better check the conditions first. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that the negotiations will be stalled.)

I was almost driven by my thirst for knowledge and tried to get the information without checking the other party’s return.

Once you ask, it’s over.

I don’t know what kind of demands I’ll face after I tell her.

“There are some things I want to ask and know. But what do you want from me, Neival-sama―or rather, from the Kingdom of Lagreath? I think that depending on your demands, the ‘deal’ will not be concluded.”

As I say this, the old woman leans back with her chin resting on her hand over her staff, and while giving off an atmosphere of not being very enthusiastic, she replies.

“I think the immediate problem is how to deal with our eastern neighbor, the Kingdom of Waltz. When the time comes, this country will want to ask Loki for help. Isn’t that right?”

The person being asked is Deputy Director Kamuria, who is standing behind me, peering around the door to see what’s going on.

“You are right. If possible, we would like to avoid local involvement and instead deal with matters that affect the survival and development of the country…”

“Hmm! Deputy Director Kamuria.”

Nillow-san tried to stop him, but I guess that’s to be expected.

I fully understand that this is his original wish from our previous conversation in Malta.

However…

If I participate in the war, I might be able to get a good cause to become stronger…

I believe that the “evil” is not the soldiers who actually carry out the orders but the higher-ups who control them, so even if I were to help, I would have no way of making a decision without knowing “why it seems like a war is about to break out.”

This is the part that remained unclear when I asked Orlando-san, the Guild Master of Malta.

At the time, I didn’t care that he had left it unclear because I thought that if I interfered too much, I would get emotionally involved.

“Why is a state of war about to break out?”

I asked again.

――Is it because you want to become stronger or to create an opportunity for a final attack on the people?

――Or is it because you are worried about the future of the people you have come in contact with in this country?

I don’t really understand myself.

It feels like the two overlap.

The only thing I can say is that the situation and my feelings have changed since before.

So, with some determination, I asked for an answer.

“Neival-sama.”

Perhaps there is a problem on the side of the Lagreath? As if to confirm my previous suspicion, I hear a voice behind me interrupting the answer of Deputy Director Kamuria.

Of course, the old woman in front of me can also hear it.

Nevertheless, without changing her expression, she answers…

“In this country…”

“Neival-sama!”

“It’s because of the discrimination against the demi-human race.”

She replied in a matter-of-fact tone as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Ah, criticizing the decisions of the country and the royal family from your position would be a big problem, wouldn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t criticize them; I just stated the facts. Or do you think that Kamuria is to blame for the situation with the Lagreath?”

“O-of course not! If it weren’t for that, this country wouldn’t be able to exist! That’s why…”

As the conversation continues, I think about what I’ve been told and begin to understand.

When you put it like that, it’s true; I’ve never seen any existence other than humans since I came to this world.

The generic term for the various species classified as people, as the goddesses said―race.

The Beastmen, of which the man Hans, a reincarnator from the Republic of Elion, is a major figure.

The dwarves who live in large numbers in the Freyville Kingdom, which is further east of the Waltz Kingdom.

The elves, of which Ril is said to be a base form.

There are also various other non-human races, such as the ancient race Ria mentioned, but I’ve never met anyone other than Ril, who is a base form.

And even Ril, who is a goddess, doesn’t count as one of them.

The only people I see in the Kingdom of Lagreath are humans.

I’ve never really thought about it, but is that because of regional differences? Or is it discrimination?

“It’s a beautiful day outside, isn’t it?”

“?”

“I know she’s not talking to herself, so what is she saying?

When I looked over, the old woman was looking out the large glass window at the view outside, which could be called a garden.

The neatly trimmed flowers and plants are so beautiful that even I, who have little interest in gardening, cannot help but admire them.

“The sunlight is pleasant. And the garden is beautiful.”

“Isn’t it? Why don’t we go and have a look? Enny, you can entertain the two people from the auditor’s office.”

“”Huh?””

Enny-chan and I are confused by her words and actions.

I don’t really want to see the garden, but the atmosphere pressures me to follow her, and it would be bad if I didn’t, so I just follow her.

“It’s a beautiful day. I’ll talk to Loki outside.”

“…..”

She says a few words to Deputy Director Kamuria, who is standing next to the door, but he just stutters and doesn’t answer.

Unlike the man, who looked slightly impatient, Nillow-san followed the old woman with a strong gaze.

Once we were out of the corridor, we made our way to the outside of the palace.

As I looked at the scenery in time with the old woman’s slow pace, we reached the end of the vast garden.

At the point where the trees that must have lined the perimeter of the garden were lined up, the old woman, who had been silent until then, finally opened her mouth.

“If we’ve come this far, we should be okay.”

“…Is there something you want to tell me in secret?”

It was a joke, but the old woman seemed to be serious.

She laughed, “Hihihi.”

She continued to speak with a distinctive chuckle.

“The people from the Audit Office aren’t just looking outside. They’re also watching our conversations.”

“I see. That’s why they were in the room.”

“Even if I kicked them out, they would have been able to hear most of what we said anyway, so I just left them alone.”

“…So that’s why we’re here?”

“That’s right. By the way, when you’re talking, don’t turn towards the palace. There’s a chance they can read your lips.”

“…..”

“What I’m about to tell you is a fact that the country would like to hide. You can decide for yourself what to do about it.”

The first thing I felt was discomfort.

The words were careless and unworthy of a prominent figure in the country.

But when she said it was something the country wanted to hide, I couldn’t help but listen.

I listened intently, trying not to miss a single word of what she muttered.

After she finished speaking, I felt a sense of frustration and anger well up inside me.

The content was additional information about the current situation of this country that I had heard from Orlando-san.

The three western countries, including Lagreath, and the two eastern countries, the Kingdom of Waltz and the Kingdom of Freyville, where dwarves live.

It seems that this is the composition of the alliance between the three Western countries, which is based on human supremacy, and the alliance between the two Eastern countries, which is based on tolerance of demi-human races.

Or rather, it’s not just a story because, in fact, Lagreath only sees humans. It’s said that Freyville is home to many dwarves, so it’s probably safe to say that this is confirmed information.

Of the three Western countries, Lagreath is particularly harsh. It won’t accept goods that are clearly made by demi-humans and is so thorough that it won’t even allow demi-humans to set foot on Lagreath soil.

In recent years, they have begun to allow the importation of personal equipment that is not intended for sale, but until then, it was said that even if you were wearing equipment that was clearly made in Freyville, you would not be allowed to enter the country.

It’s a level of hatred that you can’t even understand when you hear about it.

Of course, only Lagreath has gone this far, and the other two allied countries just look down on the existence of the demi-humans.

It is also common for people to cross national borders for business, and regardless of whether it is good or bad, it is also common to sign slave contracts and use them.

However, this excessive discrimination against demi-humans is not the direct cause of the war; in fact, the old woman said that it is more about money.

The northern part of Lagreath is a group of mountain ranges that appear to be quite high and could be seen from the sky over Malta in the old days.

There are two main trade routes for Freyville, which produces high-quality weapons: one goes north of the mountains, and the other goes through Lagreath, which is south of the mountains.

However, the southern route was closed, so they made money by trading through the northern route.

Conversely, countermeasures were taken to prevent the export of Lagreath’s famous wheat and other grains through the Waltz Kingdom to the east, so in a sense, it was a mutually beneficial non-interference.

This relationship had apparently existed long before the old woman was born.

However, it was only in recent years that this relationship began to break down.

The cause was said to be the sudden increase in excise taxes by the country on the northern route of the mountain range, which caused a sense of unrest to spread.

Merchants and wagons must pay taxes on the goods they bring in when crossing a country’s border, just like customs duties in the modern world.

Naturally, when taxes go up significantly, it becomes harder to make a profit―so when this story came up, I couldn’t help but ask.

“Could it be the influence of the Otherworlder from the East, Marie?”

“What? So you know? Well, it’s the only thing I can think of. The situation is similar in all the central countries, to varying degrees.”

When she answered like that, I couldn’t help but grit my teeth in frustration.

I have no intention of approving Lagreath’s excessive discrimination, but still, it’s you, isn’t it?

After all, the countries of the central continent are well aware that they are beginning to face difficult situations in terms of tax revenue, so they direct their anger at Lagreath, who has been blocking the western route for many years for the stupid reason of discrimination, rather than at the countries on the northern route who have raised their excise taxes.

The result seems to be the situation between the two countries, which has developed into a series of minor skirmishes in recent years.

When I heard this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you just stop discriminating?” in a tone that was almost like scolding a child.

Even if the underlying attitudes of the other two allied countries can’t be changed immediately, if they just allow the passage of goods produced by the demi-humans and the passage of demi-humans, they can expect an increase in tax revenue just from that.

And if they can’t allow the passage of grain to the East as a countermeasure, wouldn’t that be solved as well, and they could expect a large increase in export profits?

I just told them the obvious result of such a common sense approach, but…

“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. After all, this is a place that has been judged by God. The royal family is only thinking about not making the same mistake again.

I couldn’t help but gasp as I listened to the old woman’s serious expression.

In my mind, I saw the face of a beautiful girl with black hair, like a Japanese doll.

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