I Picked Up the Abandoned Hero

33 – 33. What I was looking for

It is full of noisy sounds.

The market with countless tents proves how many demons come and go here.

The shop was filled with crystals with mystical lights, birds that mimic human speech, bells with clear sounds, and various rare goods.

“Is this really a market for demons…?”

Arsel was very surprised by the sight.

When I only heard Alfred’s explanation, I thought it would be a darker and more mellow place, but it was because it was a huge market on a very large scale.

“Is it quite large? This market is open for about a week a month, so the scale is bound to be large. Because this is the only proper market.”

Anyway, this seems to be the only market for demons.

Even that is a market that only opens for about a week a month due to the circumstances of the demons, and other than that, there was no place for the demons to engage in economic activities elsewhere.

Sometimes it is said that some demons mix with human cities, but since the relationship between demons and other races is a relationship, it would be dangerous if it were known.

That’s why almost all demons from all families come here during the week when the market is open, and it was inevitable that the scale would be as large as most of the demons that existed.

“Where the hell do you get all these rare herbs? Where the hell is the land where these things grow in the territory of the demons…”

Stella was very interested in the various herbs on the market.

As elves are born in the forest and spend the rest of their lives in the forest, they care about things that are hard to see even in their hometown.

“Mostly looting.”

“Ah…”

But after hearing the truth from Alfred, his twinkling eyes retracted.

“Of course, these small merchants usually gather directly from the forest or trade with the locals. Even if you come to the market to plunder and sell them in the first place, it won’t make any money.”

“Why?”

Arsel asked in an incomprehensible tone.

“Most of the items in this market are priced by the owner of the territory. Plus, you get a seat tax based on your income. It will be easier to understand if you think of it as a tax.”

“I see, that’s how it looks.”

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After listening to Alfred, I looked around.

Little monsters flying in the sky were watching the whole market.

In particular, the main targets of monitoring are merchants, who check what items they sell and how much they charge.

If you don’t make a deal in a designated place, the demons in charge of management will immediately dispose of it, so it seemed difficult to do nonsense.

“What happens if I break the market price or cheat?”

“Normally, this doesn’t happen, because the demons who used to do that have all disappeared a long time ago. But maybe if you just try…”

Alfred pretended to cut his throat with his hand.

It is said that the punishment will be given immediately.

“The demons of this territory have strong power, and although they are not as strong as the demon king, they are very old enough to be the same age as my grandmother.”

“Who are you?”

“A vampire, and a vampire that has been aged for over 1,000 years. Look closely, the shape of the surveillance monsters is similar to that of a bat. Although his eyesight is like that of a bird.”

At the center of the market was a castle large enough, if not as big as the devil’s castle.

A castle perched on top of a hill.

It is said that this is the castle where the demons, the owners of this territory, live.

“I’ve heard of vampires, remember? The demon who hid in a human city the other day, kidnapped her maiden and drank her blood.”

Stella said she remembered.

In the past, when Arsel was staying in the capital of a certain kingdom, the girls of the city were kidnapped and there was a commotion.

After a week of investigation, the ugly looking demon tribe found in the sewer. The demon kidnapped the maidens, drank their blood, and imprisoned them in a cage.

“Yeah, I remember. In the end, you found it and cut the sashimi with the holy sword.”

Alfred nodded.

“I didn’t tell you, more than that, how did you know that?”

“Of course I was watching it all. It wasn’t bad to watch after work to pass the time.”

“It’s always been that way, but it’s really creepy.”

Stella was disgusted and hid behind Arcel to avoid Alfred.

“You will get used to it over time.”

“…What have you been doing to that guy?”

Arsel smiles heartily as he sees Stella like that.

It has been a frequent experience since I met Alfred at the fire at the magic school.

However, she must not have gotten used to Alfred yet, since she met Stella halfway through the journey.

“Anyway, that’s true. Originally, the lord of this place said he was fed up with human blood, so he won’t touch it anymore. The demons subdued by the hero are probably abandoned by their family.”

“Are the same demons abandoned?”

“Maybe he took advantage of being a member of the family to receive money from merchants or something like that? I don’t know the details, but the lord here is a pretty strict demon.”

If it was unexpected, it would have been unexpected.

To Arcel, the Demons only thought they were a race with at least a strong strength and special abilities.

“There are only a handful of demons who were directly mobilized for war with humans. Most of them were forced to make money like this because of the demon king and support them from the rear.”

However, looking at it now, we have a society that is at a fairly high level, and even a market has been formed.

Even if the number was small, it was only relative. Rather, it looked like there were twice as many as the Elves.

This is why it seems that he struggled so much in the war.

As long as Arcel also tried to assassinate the demon king with a small number of elites because he could not defeat the demons in war, now he could understand the reason to some extent.

“…”

“Stella?”

That seemed to be the case with Stella as well.

Moreover, Stella quietly grabbed Arcel with her trembling hands behind her.

Perhaps it was more than just being surprised by the demons, it was intimidating.

“…If the lord of this place is against us, it will be difficult to even resist now. Be careful.”

Elves have good eyes.

No race can match the eyesight of the elves.

Elves go beyond simply having good eyesight and can see things that others cannot see.

Some special elves are said to be able to see a little bit of the future or even a person’s destiny, so what Stella saw must be the energy flowing from the castle of the territory.

“Perhaps if the demon lord wasn’t there, it wouldn’t be strange if the lord of this place called him the demon lord.”

Stella had confirmed how dangerous the lord of this place was.

If the demon king was a huge shadow that could cover the entire world, and Alfred was the endless deep sea, then the lord of this place had the darkest blood.

It was blood that was too thick to flow.

“It will be fine. As long as we don’t break the rules, we won’t be particularly hostile.”

Even the invisible Arcel could tell that.

The magical power felt in the castle could not be explained simply as being strong or enormous.

It wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t win if he was in his prime, but honestly, if only three or four more demons like this had directly appeared in the war, he would have definitely been defeated.

Even if the demon king went directly to the battlefield right away, Arcel chose to evacuate the soldiers and civilians while minimizing damage as much as possible rather than blocking the demon king.

“You don’t have to worry about that anyway. Did you say Youngju here is the same age as my grandmother. I’m so old that I don’t usually get up from my chair.”

However, Alfred maintained a smile as if there was no danger at all.

I don’t know if it’s already familiar because it’s the same demon, or if even such a demon doesn’t feel particularly dangerous because it’s under the command of the demon king.

“First of all, I’m going to the bookstore to buy a magic book. Do you guys want to just visit the market? If you go around alone, you’ll definitely get suspicious, so stick around.”

“That bastard is a very unpleasant word.”

“Of course you are saying that you are in a bad mood?”

“What?”

“Anyway, as long as you don’t make a fuss, you’ll be fine.”

Alfred, ignoring Stella lightly, seemed to be waiting for Arcel’s opinion.

As if thinking for a moment, Arsel stopped in place.

“…No, I will go too. Are there other books besides magic books in that bookstore?”

“A lot? But what book are you looking for?”

“I just want to take a look. Because I’m also curious about what kind of books the demons read.”

In the end, everyone followed Alfred to the bookstore.

The bookstore Alfred went to was quite a corner of the market.

†††

The bookstore itself is an old bookstore with nothing special about it.

However, as it is a second-hand bookstore, most of the books on the bookshelves are many years old, and even Stella, who is the oldest, is full of books she has never seen before.

“Look for the book you want once, I will only look at the magic books separately.”

Alfred said that finding a magic book was very boring and was looking at the book alone in the corner, and Stella also focused on looking at the book, saying that there are many mysterious books.

‘It just went well.’

Arsel followed the bookshelf and went deeper.

I didn’t need anything else.

What Stella is looking for are books that can help you find out about the history of the demons, their origins and when the demon king came into being.

‘Are there any history books of the demons here?’

Until now, I couldn’t find out about the history of the demons.

In the first place, there was only a common story about a demon king appearing and threatening the world.

Even when Arcel was branded as a witch who betrayed humanity, there were times when Arcel ventured to infiltrate the city in search of only one book.

Of course, I didn’t have any special income.

I thought it would be the study of the demon king, but that place had already been plundered and nothing was left.

But it would be different here.

‘Surprisingly, there are also books written by humans.’

If you had asked Alfred, he might have found it right away.

He had the ability to readily tackle difficult tasks without any particular problem, or easily solve difficulties even when faced with difficulties.

However, this is something he cannot ask.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe in Alfred, but this was a story I should never have known unless he was also a demon.

‘I found it.’

And I finally found it.

It wasn’t what I was looking for, but there was a history book that could be substituted or solved the question.

There is no human interference, and it is a book that only demons observed, recorded, and solved.

‘As expected.’

Unfortunately, however, it was in demon characters, so Arcel could not read it.

I was very disappointed because I had high expectations for Arcel.

Even if you can read it to some extent if necessary, since this is an old history book, it seemed to be written in fairly ancient writings among the demons.

Still, if you study the characters of the demons, you will be able to read them.

If it was really difficult, asking someone who could read this text was another way.

Of course, it would be impossible to ask Alfred, who is a demon.

Once Alfred said he could buy the book if necessary, I tried to buy it along with the other books so as not to get suspicious.

“!”

But suddenly, a human pretended to approach Arcel.

Arcel quickly hid himself, but it seems that the other party noticed the presence as well.

“Kids these days don’t read these books… What kind of books did the young wife come here looking for? And that, too, smells like a human being.”

It was judged that there was no point in hiding any longer, so Arsel showed himself.

It was an old demon who called Arcel.

“It’s a Demon, but why does it smell of humans as well? When you live there, strange guests come.”

The old demon tribe laughed while holding an oak staff.