I had expected us to disband as soon as the auction concluded, but since I had won a few items, the paperwork took a bit longer than anticipated. Calling it "paperwork" was an exaggeration, though; it was really just a matter of signing a few sheets of parchment. Since the items would only be handed over after payment, I wouldn't actually receive them until a later date.
Michael-san mentioned he had something he wanted to discuss with me, so it looked like I would need to return to Village Five tomorrow as well. I noticed the Demon King, however, paid for his prizes on the spot and took them with him.
It was already midnight by the time we finally stepped out of the tent. Torches were lit at various points throughout the area, making it reasonably bright. Still, compared to the steady glow of the Nyunyu-daphne, the flickering light and acrid smoke were distracting.
Then there was the matter of consumption. Village Five was using a massive number of torches. If we didn't come up with a countermeasure soon, the surrounding mountains would be picked clean of timber. While we did import firewood from Shashato City, it wasn't as if I wanted the mountains elsewhere to be stripped bare either.
Come to think of it, I didn't see many torches in the Royal Capital. They had streetlights—magic lights, I assumed. I wondered if there was any way to procure something like that for us.
While I was lost in thought, the Demon King asked what my plans were for the rest of the night. I told him I planned to head back to the village and have dinner, just like always. Upon hearing that, he invited me to join him. Apparently, he was planning to host a dinner at Yoko’s Mansion here in Village Five, with Yuri and Frau as guests.
I was happy for the invitation, but I worried about the logistics. Wouldn't it be an issue if the guest list suddenly grew? He reassured me that he was ordering out. That simplified things, though I was surprised to hear the food was coming from Sake & Meat Niz.
Since Tiselle was going to be there, I decided to accept. I would feel lonely parting with her so soon, anyway. I offered a silent apology to Ann. I suppose this counted as eating out.
Lu, Tia, and Yoko also asked to join us. Ria and Ann decided to head back to the village ahead of the rest.
"What about the two of you?" I asked Galf and Daga as we left the baseball grounds.
Instead of answering, both men drew their weapons and shifted into a defensive stance. Before I could even ask what was wrong, a group of armed men suddenly emerged and surrounded us.
"Village Head, leave this to me," Yoko declared, stepping forward. "This land is under my protection. I will not tolerate such insolence on this soil, even from mere small fry."
Before Yoko could even launch an attack, one of our would-be assailants collapsed. It looked like he had been struck from behind. I blinked in confusion. Who was it? The man looked like an ordinary resident.
As I watched, more people who appeared to be locals emerged, systematically taking down the rest of the group.
"To think you'd surround the Village Head and Yoko-sama! You bastards must have a death wish!" one shouted.
Apparently, they were on our side. I had to quickly tell them to stop attacking the men who were already unconscious before they ended up killing them.
"It seems I have been saved," Yoko said, addressing the locals. "Who are you? State your names."
The man who had landed the first blow stepped forward. "Ha! I am Gaha-Loga. I run a small goods stall at the foot of the hill. We saw them surround the Village Head and Yoko-sama, so we judged them to be enemies and attacked."
"I see. You have done well. I shall see that you are rewarded later."
"Thank you, but as a resident of Village Five, I only did what was expected. I must respectfully decline a reward."
"Hmm. Then I shall pay you a fee for your services rather than a reward," Yoko countered. "I have about a hundred meal tickets for Noodle Shop Buritoa here. Split these among everyone who helped."
"Ha! Thank you very much!"
I watched with a sense of admiration, thinking that Yoko was starting to look like a proper lord. Then I glanced at the Demon King.
"To think they'd attack even with me standing right here... Is my fame really so lacking?" he muttered, looking utterly dejected.
Beezel, Tiselle, and I did our best to comfort him.
"It's okay. I'm sure that's not it at all," I said.
"Indeed," Beezel added. "They likely never dreamed the Lord Demon King would be out here."
"I was sitting on your shoulders," Tiselle pointed out. "They probably couldn't see your face properly."
The Security Team eventually rushed over and took all seventeen of our assailants into custody. Apparently, they were a notorious bandit group from a distant region. Why they had come all this way remained a mystery. Perhaps they had targeted us coming out of the auction venue assuming we were carrying a lot of gold. The details would come out during the interrogation.
I checked on Tiselle, worried that the experience might have frightened her. She seemed alright, but I gave her a comforting pat on the head anyway.
Even so, they were a remarkably dense group of criminals. To think they would attack a group that included not only the Demon King and Yoko, but also Lu, Tia, Ria, Ann, Galf, and Daga. Regardless, I intended to have the guards investigate them thoroughly. They might have accomplices lurking elsewhere.
While it was a problem that a bandit group had managed to infiltrate the city, there was little to be done to prevent the arrival of groups that didn't usually operate in the area. I needed to think of a way to gather intelligence on criminal organizations from further away.
Leaving the rest to the Security Team, we began the walk toward Yoko’s Mansion. Since we tried to avoid using Beezel's teleportation magic within the village whenever possible, we traveled on foot.
Perhaps because of the ambush, Galf and Daga were on high alert. However, the town's residents were even more vigilant. They formed a tight perimeter around us as we walked. I appreciated the sentiment, but they didn't really need to guard us that fiercely.
Then there was the Demon King. Perhaps overcompensating for his earlier lack of recognition, he was putting an absurd amount of effort into asserting his presence.
"I am the Demon King! The man standing before you is the Demon King himself! Come and get me if you dare!"
I watched him as he shouted at passersby. Was he running an election campaign?
Beezel sighed beside me. "It actually makes him seem more like a fake."
"Please, stop announcing your name as you walk," I pleaded. "It’s embarrassing."