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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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My suggestion to interrogate the demon within the constraints set by the others assessing the risk was approved.
There was no more rational restriction when it came to operating as a party, so I readily accepted it and organized my thoughts.
From the outset, I had no intention of forcing a situation beyond my capabilities anyway.
I have to value my one life preciously.
“The enemy’s location and numbers have all been ascertained. According to our guild members’ estimates, factoring in the time for planning, execution, and round-trip travel, we expect this to be resolved within 3 days.”
The work of receptionists and guild members does not simply end at recording requests and delivering rewards.
Evaluating the difficulty and fairness of requests and making adjustments was their primary duty, and the greatest power of the Adventurer’s Guild.
Knowing this, we were able to relax a bit.
“Aside from the need to move discreetly, this ultimately seems like a measurable request. Which is a relief.”
“It would be problematic if a high-ranking demon commander suddenly appeared.”
“Haha. But they would never assign an immeasurable request. Those would go to the Silver-ranks and above.”
In the end, it was a job, a business.
Even if the guild operated for the kingdom’s wellbeing, adventurers were hired with money.
That was likely why they specifically handpicked individuals who would soon rise in rank, if not already exceeding their own rank.
“As I mentioned, since this is a request from the royal family, the reward itself is quite substantial. It serves as hush money as well, so the amount should be satisfactory.”
“How much is it?”
Engrim silently held up two fingers, causing everyone including me to be stunned.
Those fingers stated with such confidence could not simply mean a paltry sum of silver coins!
“Gold coins?”
“Yes, gold coins. Per person.”
Even Gaendal and Ginh, who had been utterly composed until now, couldn’t hide their excitement as they raised their cups.
Yekaterina began counting with her fingers, and Rellie leaned back in her chair with a modest smile.
And I felt similarly.
Gold coins were never offered as rewards for Copper or Blue-rank requests.
At most, it would be around 10 silver coins, right?
I’ve heard gold coins were only offered for higher-ranked requests that a single person couldn’t handle alone.
But two gold coins each, not just one?
The royal family was truly royal.
Considering the substantial amount or benefits the guild would also receive, the chocolates given to Cheryl and I yesterday, and this grand meal, started to make sense.
They probably had to spend this much to avoid being labeled as embezzling funds from the guild later on.
Whether or not the request was actually worth that much remained to be seen.
“It seems we’ve covered the preliminaries to this extent, and the meal is finished as well. Let’s get into the main discussion now.”
The ensuing conversation contained such a breadth of information that it should have been documented alongside written materials in the usual protocol.
To summarize briefly, there were 20 individuals. They were all skilled, deemed to be worthless and discarded into an abandoned dungeon, each with an extraordinary background.
These details were conveyed meticulously and at length.
“To have to memorize all these specifics on the spot is just too much.”
“Haha. I struggled a bit to memorize it all too.”
I was the only one who empathized with Yekaterina’s grumbling remark.
The others had already adopted a ‘mission-mode’ mindset, beginning to memorize the information Engrim was providing.
Even Yekaterina, after her single complaint, eventually focused on memorizing the parts relevant to her role.
Truthfully, the memorization itself wasn’t particularly difficult for me.
I’m not sure if my mind is simply adept or not, but in the end, all the stories being told felt like game or novel settings, and my overflowing curiosity helped me naturally retain the information.
From analyzing and recalling the details, the biggest commonality our targets shared was their pasts.
Whether for treason, tax evasion, or contempt for the royal family – in one way or another, they were offspring of families who had turned against the kingdom.
Outwardly, they appeared to be hopeless cases, willing to betray their country to the very end.
But from my perspective as someone not of this world by birth, they were simply individuals with their own circumstances.
The only difference was whether they allied with a foreign nation or demons to take revenge against the kingdom.
No matter how much I aimed for the head demon commander, it was merely to send a warning by taking out the authority figure or mastermind, never to mess with the country again – not out of hatred for demons as a whole.
In fact, I can assert that I harbor no ill feelings whatsoever towards demons.
Demons are simply another race, their strength being the only issue.
They don’t specifically hunt humans, nor are they an innately evil race that exclusively commits cruel acts—that would classify them as devils, which do exist separately.
It’s just an international war, just like any other.
But because the opposing demons are so physically superior, it’s been packaged as a crisis for humanity accompanied by all sorts of propaganda stunts, despite this rather mundane reality.
However, since the divinely-appointed Hero exists, humans unquestioningly follow and vilify demons as evil beings.
And that aspect was my biggest question.
This is not a world where it’s difficult to sense the existence of gods, like my previous life.
Numerous records remain of gods manifesting, performing miracles, or acting through avatars, with such phenomena still occurring regularly.
To fabricate lies and create a false Hero without divine sanction would be the act of a madman.
Thus, a Hero likely does exist.
Yet there are no accounts of Heroes being chosen for human-on-human wars or wars between other races – only in conflicts against demons do Heroes emerge.
Of course, the demon and Demon Lord system is unique compared to any other race.
Their autonomous structure makes it difficult to simply categorize them as another race.
While humans can certainly become strong through aura and mana, those are limited to a few individuals.
The general average of human strength barely exceeds being physically stronger than my previous world.
But demons are different.
They are born overwhelmingly powerful, physically and magically.
While I can’t make definitive claims without entering the Demon Realm, it’s safe to assume their average strength is at least two tiers above humans.
And yet, no matter their prowess, the notion that this alone would provoke a divine opposition and a mandate to defeat them through a divinely-appointed Hero is simply nonsensical.
What’s more, it’s not as if all gods bestow their blessings upon a single Hero – it’s always exclusively the God of Light, worshiped by the Imperial Holy See, who appoints the Hero.
This only deepens the puzzling structure.
Even the divine decree itself is problematic.
It does not call for the utter eradication of demons, but merely to defeat the Demon Lord.
And by doing so, the chain of events would ostensibly resolve itself, as history has repeatedly shown.
In my opinion, if demons truly intended humanity’s extinction, the continent would have been upended at least four times over by now.
While I don’t disbelieve in the existence of gods after being reincarnated into this world, their motives are clearly not what humanity perceives them to be.
“Of course those brats would ally themselves with demons.”
From such contemplations, unlike others who became overly serious whenever demons were involved, to me these individuals simply appeared to be ordinary villains who poorly planned and chose the wrong allies.
“Hm? Did you say something?”
Somehow picking up on my murmurs amidst the commotion, Yekaterina reacted, prompting me to naturally respond,
“Just talking to myself. Aside from the demons, It doesn’t seem like there will be any major issues.”
Like ordinary villains, they didn’t seem to pose any great difficulties.
There were reportedly around five aura users among them, as well as mages, but having defied the god opposed to demons, their means of recovery were limited to potions and natural mana regeneration.
Moreover, having lived for an extended period in a dilapidated dungeon without proper facilities, their living patterns were irregular, and they had drawbacks in conditioning.
Most importantly, the very dungeon they occupied had already been surveyed by the guild long ago, so our possession of its interior map meant their locations were practically in the palms of our hands.
“It’s less about confidence, and more about an accurate assessment of the situation. I feel the same way, truthfully.”
In typical dwarven fashion, Ginh had already confirmed the availability of the dungeon map from Engrim while I was contemplating.
The others didn’t raise any objections either, but as adventurers handpicked by Engrim, they didn’t let their guard down.
After seeing so many incompetent individuals, meeting people like these truly felt like encountering characters from a novel.
“If those 20 were on an open plain, the difficulty would increase, but since it’s inside a dungeon, the situation is completely different.
“Moreover, since we have the interior structure of that dungeon in our hands, the only variable we can consider is the demons.”
Even Yekaterina responded with certainty.
It was a confident demeanor that would make my past self, who once had doubts about her intellectual abilities, feel ashamed.
“I only have a modest ability to judge people; when it comes to formulating such plans, I’m an outsider. However, the capable friend who said it would take 3 days made a similar statement. Hearing the same from all of you puts my mind at ease.”
Pleased with our responses, Engrim smiled and nodded in agreement.
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