Beginning of the Worst Adventure (IV)

“Hmmm… what to do… what to do…”

I think deeply as I walk away from the Knight Post.

Unfortunately, my plan has completely failed. I did manage to tell a high-ranking officer about what’s going on, but she didn’t take me seriously at all.

I didn’t expect for my dramatic and serious warning to be treated like a prank.

But now that it has, it doesn’t seem like I have any chance of getting through to the knights. So, what can I even do?

“It did seem like they were busy with something specific. Perhaps if you come back in a few days, they’ll be more willing to spare some time for you.”

“Maybe. But I’d rather not wait a few days. Who knows when the other Demon Lords may strike? I should try and get this intel to someone as soon as possible before that can happen.”

If talking to the knights didn’t work, then perhaps I need to change my target.

Who else would be good to talk to about something like this?

The King? He is the head honcho, after all.

No, wait, my chances of getting to him are even slimmer.

What about those Heroes of Light? Not only do they have the power to do something, but it’d be easy to convince them that I’m from the same world.

But I have no idea how to find them. At least, with a King, I can just go to the palace.

Wait, that’s right. I heard the knights from earlier mention something about a Governer’s House.

“Hey, Satanya. Does this city have a governor?”

“It does. The City of Adamsale is under the administration of a governor appointed by the Royal Crown. Actually, funny enough, because of Adamsale’s size and influence, some say the Governor is actually more powerful than most Dukes.”

“That’s perfect! Then he’s the one I need to talk to.”

Such a powerful leader of a large city will know exactly what to do about the Demon Lord threat. Plus, he’ll have the influence to do something about it and spread the word to other important people in the Kingdom.

And as a bonus, he’ll probably be less scary to talk to than that knight lady. Governors have to be good at public relations after all. I’m sure he’s a friendly-seeming dude.

“Okay, then it’s settled. Lead me to the Governor’s House.”

“Aye aye, Captain~ This will definitely not go poorly, pffft.”

And so, I begin my second trek through the city.

Apparently, the Governor’s House isn’t too far away from the central Knight’s Post. Just a bit of a walk really. I suppose it makes sense to have the knights stationed somewhere from which they can quickly deploy to defend the governor.

It’s not long before I find myself in a ritzier part of town.

Even putting aside the houses, the shopping streets here alone feel significantly grander and cleaner. The items on sale also seem more high-class. You can just feel the money emanating from the area.

Remembering what happened with the hooligans from earlier, I avoid any side streets and stick closely to the more crowded areas. I try my best to blend in with the crowd and avoid any more random encounters by paying close attention to the people around me.

In doing so, something catches my attention.

“Hey, Satanya. There’s something I’ve noticed.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Is it just me or… are there no men around?”

Looking back, I feel like I’ve seen next to no men in this world. There are some boys around and even some old geezers, but there’s a stark absence of adult men. In fact, I think those three hooligans I fought earlier may have been some of the only dude I’ve actually seen today.

Even back at the Knight Post, I think all the knights I saw there were women. That seems strange for there to be only female knights, even in a fantasy world.

“No, you’re not mistaken. There are very few men in this city right now.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

“The War. A large amount of the adult men died fighting during the Great War. With them gone and many of the survivors being badly injured, you’ll find that most people in public are women nowadays.”

“Ah. I see…”

I immediately recall the serious injuries on the hooligans I met. Did they get those in the war?

“It was really that bad? The Great War.”

“It was devastating. There was an unprecedented number of casualties on both sides, but the human races definitely lost way more. No matter how badly they were losing, they just kept sending in more troops… Near the end, even teenage boys were being conscripted to fight. Frankly, it’s already a miracle that human society even managed to bounce back after the Demon King died and the war ended.”

“Damn…”

I bite my lip, not knowing what else I can say to express my condolences to those who were lost. As someone who grew up in a relatively peaceful time, I don’t know how bad the consequences of war are, even though my family just two or three generations prior would know all about it.

Perhaps noticing my grim countenance, Satanya suddenly floats in front of me and puts on a cheerful smile.

“But hey, think on the bright side.”

“There’s a bright side to all this?”

“With no men around and a bunch of women, it’ll be way easier for you to get a girlfriend!”

“Pfffffttt—!!”

I do a spit take so loud that it alarms nearly everyone around me.

After quickly apologizing and keeping my head down, I respond incredulously.

“G-g-g-girlfriend? What are you talking about!?”

“Come now. Wasn’t one of your regrets in life never getting a girlfriend? In that case, now’s your chance. There’s plenty of single women around and barely any competition. Even a shy boy like you should be able to find a girl now. Heck, why stop at one? Let’s go and get you a harem!”

“What? A h-h-h-harem? N-no, way. I couldn’t possibly. Not someone like me.”

“Ara. What is it? Are you not the harem type? Do you prefer the one true love route?”

“Y-yeah, of course. True love is the way to go!”

I nod emphatically to show my support for the vanilla romance faction.

I actually do quite enjoy harem stories and I have daydreamed about harem scenarios before, but when it comes to actual preference, I’ve gotta go with pure love. Meeting your one true soulmate and devoting your entire heart to them… that’s a beautiful thing. It’s definitely the more righteous path. Compared to that, wanting a harem is way too greedy.

“Well, in that case, let’s go get you the girl of your dreams! How about we make that one of your goals? To find your one true love!”

“Ehhh… I don’t know…”

“Ara? You’re still unenthusiastic. What’s wrong? Did you not actually want love after all?”

“Well, I do, but it’s more like… I’m not sure about calling it my goal… I’m not really into doing stuff like that. Chasing girls, I mean. Shouldn’t love occur more… naturally?”

I’ve always disliked the idea of approaching a girl just because you’re attracted to her and want to date her. It feels insincere. Like all your interactions are built on ulterior motives.

In general, I’ve always tried not to get close to anyone with the intent of gaining something from them. Though perhaps the past me did take things too far in the opposite direction and ended up pushing away all the people around me.

But in the end, I feel like love is something that should happen only when the time is right. Only after you’ve gotten to know each other and the sparks start naturally flying should such things be taken into consideration. After all, what’s important isn’t being in a relationship, but rather how good that relationship actually is.

“Hmm… I get where you’re coming from, but isn’t that the exact thinking that led you to be single your entire life. You can’t repeat the same mistakes from your past life, or else it’ll just happen all over again. You have to be more proactive!”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

“If there’s something you truly want, then you can’t just wait for it to appear before you. You have to go out there and chase it yourself.”

“I know, I know…”

Despite my muddled feelings, I get what Satanya is saying.

It’s true that one of my big regrets from my past life is that I never experienced romance. So, if possible, I would like to try experience it in this life.

Chase the things you truly want, huh…

I wonder if I’m really capable of doing that.

I think about it properly on my way to the Governor’s House. Is there anything in this new world that I absolute want? Is there something I must get before I die a second time? Or am I being too greedy to have such desires?

As I think those things, I casually stroll through the streets at a rather sluggish pace.

And then, as I turn onto a wide road, I suddenly see something that stops me in place.

“… huh?”

My body freezes when I see it. I can’t believe my eyes at all. Or rather, I don’t want to believe it.

“Hey… Satanya. What’s that over there?”

I point to it with a quivering finger.

It looks like a large cart being pulled by one of those giant bird creatures. But instead of a regular wagon or cart full of boxes, it resembles a giant cage on wheels.

And inside of that cage are a bunch of people, stuffed tight within the metal bars.

Satanya answers me in a calm and casual voice.

“Oh, that’s a slave wagon.”