Kuro no Maou

The children finally made it to Rockwell, the sandy harbour town, the gateway to the Atlas Desert.

……

But there is no one to raise his voice of joy as one. Even Leki, who always cheers everyone up, watched the streets dangling with blur and dust with some tired look.

"Ur, this carriage is no longer working"

"I'll take the boat from here, so I can dispose of it here."

From Sparda, far north, the former Baxter General Council carriage has finally reached its operational limit. I stood two heads, but now I only have one. That, too, has already reached the limit of fatigue and is likely to fall even now.

I thought the journey out of Adamantoria and down the Varna Forest Sea would be easier than previous journeys because no one was following us anymore. In fact, until just before we got through the jungle, things were going well.

But Leki and Ursula recall. Dirty adults are not the only ones in this world who strip their children of their teeth.

From the former, what people have feared most is monsters.

On the verge of exiting the Varna Forest Sea, the carriage was attacked by a herd of wild raptors.

Wild Raptor is a monster of the Grounddragon species classified in Hazard Rank 2 and is not much of a threat to Leki and Ursula, who are now splendidly ranked 3 adventurers.

But the raptor, who forms a larger herd than normal and strikes, carrying what must be protected: a carriage carrying the children, became the worst enemy. Above all, the leader of the horned giant body who led the herd continued to target the children too obsessively and cunningly.

A bunch of raptors won't be forced to keep attacking. He seems to understand that Leki and Ursula are powerful enemies who can kill themselves, and he quickly retreats before the victims leave.

And then, after a certain amount of time, they come at us again. Yes, what the Raptor took is an operation that strengthens the opponent's drain due to a long war. Repeat raids day and night without distinction, giving the opponent no time to rest.

Leki, who is proud of his health, was also quite impressed with this. Ursula, a magician class, can't use magic when she has to rest well. Night protection is almost a burden on one leech. Still, if there is a raid at night, Ursula must also wake up and fight instantly. We are both exposed to uninterrupted fatigue and, above all, mental pressure…

"At that time, I thought I couldn't do it anymore, Death"

"Yeah, the only thing that saved me was my luck"

Depleted Leki and Ursula realized their defeat first.

I don't know how many times it's gonna be anymore. I repelled the Raptor's raid, but I finally see the limit. One of the horses pulling the carriage is killed and brutal claw marks are engraved all over the body of the vehicle.

Until now, I had never leaned on one of the carriages, but at last, I allowed myself to get that close. If we were bad, it would not be strange for one or two of the children to be sacrificed, it was such an extraordinary battle.

This time it was hard to beat. But there's no next time. I wasn't sure I could protect the carriage any more. Before that, I wonder if we can even protect our lives.

By then, weakened, it was the large caravan that appeared before them on their way back to Karamara.

It is a group that employs many mercenaries as escorts and has ample defensive power. By sticking to their line, Wild Raptor's fear finally left.

With the peace of mind, our sweetness was also an experience to think about.

"Hey Ur... can the Lekies really help Lillian out Death"

"... I don't know"

Beat the slave traders who caught themselves in Sparda, take the carriage and flee to freedom. Back then, I was full of confidence that I could escape everywhere.

Adventurers' lives in Adamantoria began to be able to provide for their children in a poor but stable manner, and they were promoted to Adventurer Rank 3, leading to greater confidence in their power.

But now when I can overcome any difficulty, I don't feel like believing in myself. I've only been lucky to get here so well. It is a story that there was only one degree of handicap that could be overcome by one's own means.

I saw it when I had just entered the Varna Forest Sea, a slave to an animal man's child loaded in a front carriage. When we saw them, we knew that there were people we couldn't help, no matter how much we raised ourselves.

He was attacked by a herd of wild raptors who obsessively targeted him, and realized that, instead of others, even his own life, was best served by protecting it.

I thought I could have been strong. Now, he says it's about standing shoulder to shoulder with Priest Chloe. They continued to care for and protect their little children, saying they were already fine adults - such confidence, such pride, nowhere to be found now.

It was enough experience to know how helpless they were.

"But I can't back out later."

"Jesus, when we get here, we have to do it"

Leki and Ursula looked at the vast sea of sand that runs to the other side of the horizon with a cloudy, hectic gaze.

Beyond this desert lies the end of a long journey.

The endless desire city of Carla Mara.

The city with the most slaves on the continent of Pandora. I'm sure that's the worst environment for an unaccompanied child, no matter who can't tell me, Leki and Ursula have already guessed.

In both eyes, there was no more light of hope, only a vague sense of anxiety clouded.

Leki and Ursula walk quietly through an abandoned city lined with crumbling stone buildings.

This dungeon, which has been going through almost every day for the past month since we arrived at Carla Mara, has already been a long time since we could walk.

A dungeon of ruined neighborhoods bustling with large numbers of adventurers, but few explore the area around here. In this first tier, Ruined Town (Undead City), which serves as the first area, the point where you can expect to harvest has long been established, and it is up to amateurs and the market to url fruitless places.

Leki and Ursula, who have only been coming to Karamara for a month, are ranked three, but in this dungeon they can still be considered novices to offense. But the two of them who found out more or less about Iloha as an adventurer in Adamantoria already have as much information as they can get together.

In other words, there was a clear purpose and we were deliberately going through this lonely place.

"Zombie 3, Runner 1"

Leki, who leads by walking one step ahead of Ursula, speaks to herself without turning to the other.

"Slash it."

"Aurai."

After confirmation, Leki pulled out the loving sword 'Obsidan Sword' and ran out like a disease.

As you jump out of the corner of the house that kept the prototype, you can see the zombies creeping pointlessly through the middle of the road.

The main monster that emerges in the first tier is a zombie called the epitome of an undead monster alongside a skeleton.

A rotten body in worn clothing, an unclean being that is attacked to devour the living by relying on slightly remaining sight and hearing. But to slow motion, no reason as a person, no sharp instincts like a beast, only simple actions that strike straight at you, even a runaway adventurer can deal with enough.

Well, before Leki's sword moves with rank 3 prowess, there's no such thing as being a normative zombie.

"Wow, wow..."

"Vuaaaa!"

Zombies who merely groaned and wandered were cut to pieces before reacting with their handsome feet to slashing leeks.

Leki kills off the zombies with a single blow, quietly, but lavishly, with no hanging. It takes less than two seconds to slash and throw away three zombies.

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

And the last remaining zombie, known as the 'runner', noticed Leki, who appeared with sharp reactivity, but suddenly lay down on the truncated ground as he took the first step he tried to rush out screaming.

Running zombies. Runners therefore.

It is a type of zombie that still retains the same athletic ability as humans. Some obstacles, etc. are overcome by the full force of the disease. Then, with that crazy scream, sometimes the nearby zombies come together, the first person a beginner should be aware of.

But what is being interpreted is a behavior that, as always, just strikes straight at the physical ability of human beings. If you don't have any special abilities such as this and have some strength, you're just a clutterfish that won't be a problem.

"Going Death"

After completing the elimination of the obstructive obstacles, Leki and Ursula just move on.

"Are you really here, Death?

"There's got to be a way out of here to the back port."

The two of them are now in the middle of fulfilling the purpose for which they came to this Carla Mara.

A month after we arrived here. He was following the whereabouts of Lillian, who had been captured, living secluded in an inferior section like Slam Street.

The majority of the purposes for which child slavery is used in Carla Mara are labor within the dungeon. In this first tier, there are no powerful weapons, magic equipment (magic items), gold or silver treasures at all, but there are a lot of things that can be a commodity if you bring them back, such as food, groceries, and materials.

The goods thus collected from the dungeon… have somehow returned to normal after some time has elapsed. Yes, it is possible to harvest it again, as it does to take crops in the fields.

This is said to be the magical influence of the ancient ruins on which the dungeon is based, but details are unknown. Ancient objects that can be taken as many times as possible. However, that fact is sufficient, and those who live in this city are not interested in anything other than the money in front of them.

In the dungeons of ancient sites, which are countless throughout Pandora, such regenerative phenomena are common and are one of the major reasons why adventurers once again challenge dungeons that have been attacked in the past. But the dungeon of Carla Mara has a short reserve and reclamation cycle that is not the ratio of other ancient sites.

So take as much as you can. That's right, even with the kid's hands.

Leki and Ursula were in despair when they found out one reason to support Carla Mara's prosperity in the middle of the desert.

Lillian was just a sick kid. I don't think I can crawl around in this filthy abandoned city to avoid being found by zombies, to collect supplies, etc.

And there can be no such thing as a veto on the slaves of children who are sold together in a dozen tangles. If Lillian is assigned to the task of collecting supplies in the dungeon, its survival is hopeless. How many days can that child live in the ruins where this zombie spreads?

But in the midst of the unfortunate continuation, the good news came in, as if the twinkles were finally turning out.

I heard about a kid who looked a lot like Lillian from a drunken man who called himself and had been drinking in an Adventurer's Guild booze seat that I hadn't done so much for Ate.

He slammed a dozen silver coins without getting lost and made them look into the details.

"Hey, do you know what an STD is?

Hehe, and Ursula nods with reluctantly and other faces to the man who hears nasty things with a nasty face, prompting him to go ahead. Now, if it's just a sexual harassment statement, I'll buzz it off. Next door, "Sabjou????" Leki, who is, goes straight and buzzes.

"Between desert ship sailors, then, for a long time, they told me that if I fucked a virgin, it would heal."

Ursula nodded with a fed up face when she asked the man persistently if he really knew what he was talking about... already and began to wonder what was going on.

Leki, on the other hand, leaves the hatena mark floating.

"In short, you're wacky that the kid your daughter is looking for was chosen as a constant medication"

"Xuri? Lillian? Why?"

Leki left it. This story doesn't seem like it either.

Only the numerous romantic novels and the growing ear Ursula who read through books containing remarkable portrayals and totally out-of-the-box scenes are circumstances that I wish I knew.

Demand is for virgin women. Then the younger that age, the more likely it is. So a young five-year-old Lillian was chosen.

"So Lillian's already been used!

"Don't worry, I haven't got my hands on it yet. He's chained to his neck and he's kept it tight."

Once used, it is clear that it will be discarded as it is. It can be said that Lillian's appearance has just been confirmed and that his safety is guaranteed.

"... where is Lillian now?"

"Any further information from here is an extra reward."

Issue gold coins, whether or not you say so.

"Hehe, thank you. Even kids are welcome to pay good guys."

Just say it.

"The slave merchant ship of Silverian Familia. One of them, his name was, uh, Whitewish IV, I guess. The captain there is the buyer."

Gathari, and to Leki and Ursula, who take their seats, the man says away with a hella laugh.

"Hey, this is advice from Ozzie, but it's time to stop thinking about getting it back. The opponent is Silverian Familia. Even if I buy it back, I can plug the extra price, and if I try to take it back... I'll never be able to walk around here again, okay?

It didn't matter. If only Lillian could get it back, he'd just leave this dirty, ugly city of desires.

"Hehe, well, calm down. The ship carrying Lillian hasn't come back to Carla Mara yet."

Now, I just sailed and am no longer in Carla Mara.

"Return to port is scheduled for the first of the dark moon in three weeks. By the way, this ship is purchasing merchandise on a slightly shitty route, so it's the back port that's coming back."

The back port is a secluded port from the main entrance of Carlamara, where passenger ships and freighters coming from Rockwell dock.

Regardless, they are used for illegal transactions and smuggling, and the location is secret. And such back ports are said to be owned by the organizations that control the back society of Carlamara, to each of them.

Silverian Familia is one of them. It is the oldest and largest gang in this Carla Mara.

"Where is the back port of Silverian?"

"That information's not for sale, then."

"I'll make sure you have the money."

"Well, I'm looking forward to it."

Did the man think it was a joke? But Ursula slammed ten gold coins to his usual table at a later date.

And then we decided to head to the back port of Silverian Familia, just like the information we got from paying a fortune.

"- Ur! Here, here Death!!

"Yeah, definitely"

Finally, we discover the way out from the dungeon to the back port.

From here on out, malicious people, not zombies, will become enemies and stand in the way. Maybe we're hiring awesome batons like we're no match for ourselves right now.

But I can't come this far and go back. I will surely take back the lost.

If we get it back, this time, we'll all be happy.

We are not wacky enough to protect all of our poor children. So at the very least, I want to protect what I can hold in this arm.

And if that comes true, I'm sure I can get my chest up and reunite with Priest Chloe.

This is the last time you do something dangerous.

So he decided in his heart that Leki and Ursula were powerful and stepped into the back port.