Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 17: The Visitor
“Did you hear? The demon army has apparently withdrawn from the Weimar border.”
“…You’re starting to actually seem like a merchant now.”
“What!? Why?”
Well, think about it…
He shows up with supplies, always sharing news from the townsfolk.
“That’s what merchants do.”
“No, no, no! We agreed I was a friend last time, didn’t we? Or was I not?!”
Ivern looked flustered.
“So? Why did the demons withdraw?”
“Oh, are we done with that topic already? So, I’m officially a friend?”
“Yes, yes, a friend. So, what’s going on?”
“You don’t need to be so dismissive… Anyway, as for the demon army, the official statement is that they were intimidated by the Weimar forces and decided to pull back.”
“…That sounds vague and suspicious.”
“I think so too. When they put out such a non-specific statement, it usually means they don’t really know the reason themselves.”
“Probably. I bet they’re just spinning it in a way that suits them.”
Ivern looked at me with a curious glint in his eyes.
“Oh, does that mean you’ve got a guess about the real reason?”
He’s sharper than I thought.
“More or less.”
Ad
“Mind sharing your theory? For reference, if nothing else.”
“Sure, but remember, it’s only a guess.”
“That’s fine by me.”
With his go-ahead, I shared my thoughts.
“The demons crowned a new king a little over a year ago, so by now, things should be stabilizing. They probably wanted to test the waters with the human side to gauge their reaction.”
“Hmm, go on.”
“At first, it was the usual skirmishes. But when Weimar began rallying volunteers for a full offensive, the demons likely saw that the humans were more determined to fight back than they’d anticipated, so they decided to retreat. That’s my take on it.”
When I finished explaining, Ivern let out a small “Whoa.”
“That’s impressive. You really read into it.”
“Like I said, it’s just a guess, so keep it to yourself, alright?”
Ad
“Oh, right, a guess… I kind of forgot that part.”
“You forgot?”
“It sounded so convincing, I started thinking it was the truth.”
“Well, I’ve been fighting the demon kingdom alone for about a year and a half now, so I know their movements pretty well.”
Even with a new leader, to the demons, humans are still the enemy.
They have a long history of being oppressed, and even now, human nations seem eager to conquer the demon kingdom, launching invasion after invasion.
Each time, the demons’ hatred toward humans only grows, and now they’re bent on conquering human lands themselves.
So, once their leadership was secure, it’s no surprise they’d want to resume their invasion.
But this time, there’d been a break in the conflict since… well, since they were fighting me, so they probably wanted to see how humans would respond.
When I explained this to Ivern, he nodded, but then tilted his head as if something bothered him.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Humans want to conquer the demon kingdom, right?”
“Yep. That’s why I was summoned.”
“Then, why didn’t the humans launch an invasion while the demons were in disarray during their succession?”
That’s a fair question.
“They had other problems to deal with.”
“…What was going on?”
“Catching a runaway from another world.”
“Oh…”
After hearing this, Ivern gave me a pitying look.
“Those guys followed me wherever I went. Every time, I sent them packing, so the human nations were so busy trying to track and capture me that they couldn’t focus on the demons.”
“That makes sense…”
I defeated them so many times that eventually, none of the nations came after me anymore.
It was around that time that I had my dramatic reunion with Meyleen.
The timing was just… too perfect.
“Still, considering they haven’t lifted the bounty, it seems none of the countries have actually given up on you.”
“They’re so annoyingly persistent. Maybe I really should go break into the royal castle…”
“Don’t do it.”
“I know, I know.”
Ad
Because of all that, I absolutely despise the human nations in this world.
In fact, I almost felt some sympathy for the demon kingdom after they were tricked into losing their king.
Well, that was until I heard more from Meyleen.
There’s no sympathy left for the current demon kingdom.
If they come at me, I’ll fight back without hesitation.
We were talking about this when…
“…Huh?”
“What’s up?”
“I just got a reaction from the barrier.”
When I said this, Ivern’s eyes widened.
“Wait, really? Even with the guards still stationed at the forest entrance?”
“Yeah. Either they took out the guards, or they found another way into the forest.”
The forest I was in was thick and overgrown, making it pretty difficult to navigate outside of the maintained mountain path.
If they went to the trouble of taking down the guards or sneaking in through an unmaintained route just to get close to the barrier…
“…This might be a tricky opponent.”
Ad
Annoying, but no choice.
I got up from my chair and knocked on the door to the bedroom where Meyleen and Yulia were.
“Yes?”
I opened the door to find Meyleen and Yulia making baby clothes.
“Oh, that looks cute.”
“Doesn’t it? So, what’s up, Kenta?”
“Yeah, I got a reaction from the barrier.”
Meyleen’s eyes widened.
“In this situation?”
“Yeah. I’ll go check it out.”
“Alright. Be careful, okay?”
Meyleen kissed my cheek and slipped something into my chest pocket.
“What’s this?”
“A handkerchief I just embroidered. Take it with you for good luck.”
Touched by her thoughtfulness, I gave her a tight hug before letting go.
“Alright, I’ll go have a look.”
“Take care.”
With a wave goodbye from Meyleen, I headed toward the spot where the barrier had been triggered.
Whoever had come this far in this situation—I’d need to be extremely cautious.
In any case, I was glad I listened to Ivern’s advice and left the barrier up.
He’s useful for more than just bringing supplies and news, after all.
With that thought, I cast a barrier around myself as well.
This way, no magic or presence would leak, and it’d be hard for anyone to spot me even up close.
Now I could approach without them noticing.
And when I finally reached the source of the disturbance…
“A demon?”
Standing there was a demon woman, unusually voluptuous, with small, black wings sprouting from her back.