The dinner party finally wound to a close. The noble daughters and their parents offered their formal partings to the Demon King, Beezel, Yuri, and Frau before taking their leave.
Wait, a greeting for me, too?
I was just another guest, so such a polite salute really wasn't necessary. And please, stop making the introductions for me longer than the ones for the Demon King. Since they were being so courteous, however, I joined the others in seeing them off.
That was when I noticed it. Without me realizing, Ria and the High Elves had already begun patrolling the perimeter of Yoko's mansion. So that was the "business" they had back at the village. It was likely a response to the recent ambush—unsuccessful as it may have been—but seeing them in full combat gear felt a bit overzealous. Could they not just... relax? Apparently not. I made sure to tell them "good work" as I passed.
When I stepped through the teleportation gate to return to the Village of the Great Tree, Kuro and his pack were there to meet me. They must have heard about the attack from Ria and Ann. I felt terrible for making them worry and offered my sincere apologies.
Arako the Arachne seemed worried as well. I thanked her for her concern, and the same went for Zabuton's children. Though, looking at the crowd, I wondered why only the most aggressive species had gathered here. I also had to remind them not to use the teleportation gate without permission; they would give poor Futa quite a shock on the other side.
Even after I reached the mansion, several more residents stopped me to express their concern. I wondered exactly how Ria and Ann had explained the situation. Had they exaggerated? Or were they simply that furious?
Gucci, who had accompanied me back to the village, provided the answer.
"The Village Head has been attacked," Ria had apparently declared the moment she set foot back in the village. "The culprits are in custody, but security will be heightened until the full extent of the conspiracy is uncovered. Every High Elf capable of combat is to arm themselves and move to Village Five immediately."
While the High Elves mobilized, Ann had taken charge of explaining the details to the flustered wolves and Zabuton. Afterward, she had sought out Draim, who had been playing with Lananon, to confirm the status of the Reward Medal that was supposed to be in his treasury.
Draim had initially insisted it was safe in his nest, and Gucci had agreed. However, Draim was struck by a sudden sense of foreboding and ordered Gucci to verify the medal's presence. That was how Prada’s failure finally came to light. Gucci had promptly captured her and brought her to Village Five.
Incidentally, it seemed Draim was also the one who had spent his energy holding back Kuro's pack and Zabuton's children when they tried to storm the teleportation gate to reach Village Five. I really owed him one for that.
On reflection, I was glad we had left Prada in Village Five. Bringing her here might have led to a very messy situation. It was a good call on Yoko's part.
Wait, why was Yoko’s tail drooping?
I followed her gaze and saw... Zabuton. Did she have something to say to Yoko? I didn't mind them talking, but I felt the need to intervene. After all, this incident wasn't Yoko's fault. Yoko was the Acting Village Head of Village Five, so the responsibility technically fell to her, but she looked at me with such a pleading, desperate expression that I did everything in my power to defend her.
The next day, I found myself back in Village Five. I had business with Michael-san, but since he was still making preparations, I took a seat in the spectator stands to watch a game of baseball.
It was a matchup between the Tiger Demon King's Army and the Village Five Iron Bull Army. We were currently at the bottom of the seventh inning, and it had turned into a high-scoring slugfest, tied at eight to eight. I had been watching since the second inning, and I was genuinely moved to see how much it had evolved into a proper sport.
On the Tiger Demon King's side, the third batter Ojes, the fourth batter Hyfryguta, and the fifth batter Kihatroy were putting on a spectacular show. On defense, a middle-aged man playing catcher was doing an excellent job of managing a diverse rotation of pitchers. Apparently, Gol, Sil, or Bron usually handled the pitching duties, but they were absent today. It was a shame, but the team’s pitching depth was impressive nonetheless. I didn't know their names, but every pitcher they sent to the mound threw excellent balls.
The fact that they were still giving up runs was a testament to the Village Five Iron Bull Army's brilliant offense. Their style was built on speed, utilizing bunts and stolen bases to great effect. They were incredibly disciplined, focusing on making contact rather than swinging for the fences. It’s hard to keep people from swinging wildly once they have a bat in their hands, so their coordination was impressive.
The on-base and scoring rates for the top of the Iron Bulls' lineup—the Silver Knight in the lead-off spot, the Bronze Knight second, and the Iron Knight third—were particularly staggering. Perhaps it was because they had shed their heavy armor, but all three were remarkably fast.
Suddenly, the Iron Bulls' fourth batter laid down a safety bunt with no outs and the bases loaded. Caught completely off guard, the defense was slow to react. Everyone was safe, and a run crossed the plate. The Iron Bulls took the lead, nine to eight.
Kinesta, the acting manager of Kuro and Yuki, was serving as the manager for the Village Five Iron Bulls. Her tactics were bold, though I couldn't help but notice the villainous grin spreading across her face—it was visible even from the stands. Ire was filming the whole thing; she really ought to be more careful about her expressions.
Opposing her was the Demon King, acting as manager for the Tiger team. He didn't have Tiselle on his shoulder today; I imagine she would have been an impediment to his managing. Instead, she was perched on the shoulder of Gratz, who stood by the Demon King's side. I couldn't exactly offer my own shoulder, but I wouldn't have minded if she sat next to me.
When Tiselle noticed me and waved, I waved back. Gratz waved as well, though his eyes weren't on me—they were fixed on Ronana in the stands. They certainly seemed as close as ever.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Michael-san said, arriving just as the bottom of the seventh concluded.
I offered to move to a different location, but he insisted that the stands were fine and took a seat beside me. Since he didn't mind, we proceeded with our business negotiations while watching the rest of the game.
Apparently, there were potential buyers for every single item Lu had put up for auction. Negotiations were currently hovering around ten to twenty times the starting bids. The primary issue now was the payment terms. Some buyers wanted more time to gather the necessary cash, while others wanted to pay in kind by providing specific high-value goods. Since I wasn't in any particular rush for the money, I told Michael-san to handle the details as he saw fit.
"I appreciate your trust," he said.
"The feeling is mutual. I’m sorry for dumping all this extra work on you. Please, feel free to take a larger commission for your trouble."
"You have my thanks."
The game ended just as we finished our discussion. The Tiger Demon King's Army emerged victorious, eleven to ten. It was a close call for the Iron Bulls. The two teams didn't disband immediately; instead, they stayed to maintain the field before heading off to a joint post-game meal. I would have liked to join them, but since I had only been a spectator, I didn't want to intrude.
Michael-san and I headed over to the Goroun Company's offices in Village Five. Prada was there, apparently having been buried in paperwork since yesterday. She was busy pointing out errors in various documents and requesting corrections. She actually seemed quite skilled at it. I told her to keep up the good work.
After greeting her, I finally took possession of the items I had won at the auction. I could have taken them yesterday, but Michael-san and his staff had looked so busy that I’d held off. I didn't want to wait any longer once he told me not to hesitate.
The Agriculture Diary was a thick volume, likely because it was written on heavy parchment. Because the pages were so thick, there weren't as many as the physical size suggested—about a hundred and seventy in total. Still, that was a decent amount of reading.
Then, I noticed a line of text on the back cover: "The location of the seeds is recorded within this book."
I wondered where the secret was hidden. It promised to be a fun little puzzle.
"Oh, that? The book uses two different scripts," Prada said, leaning over with a smug look on her face. "If you take the first word of the lines containing the page numbers from the pages written in this specific script and string them together, you’ll find the location."
"Wait... you can read the back cover?"
"It's written in Ancient Devil Language."
"I see."
"By the way, I'm the one who wrote it."
...
I wasn't sure what to do. A sudden, sharp prickle of resentment toward Prada welled up inside me.
Zabuton's assessment of Lu: "Safe."
Zabuton's assessment of Tia: "Safe."
Zabuton's assessment of Yoko: "Out. We need to talk. Let's head down to the dungeon."