Chapter 87 (1/2)

「Seiji-sama, I have to talk to my otousama about this.」 「Oh well, let’s go?」

We went to the audience hall using【Teleportation】.

「Y-, You are! Ah, Elena! How wonderful, you’ve come back safely. Hurry, come over here!」

In the audience hall, other than the King and the magician who summoned me, there was only a small number of soldiers.

「I didn’t come back.」 「Elena, what do you mean?」

「I went to the『Scab village』with the Hero.」 「What did you say!?」

「The『Scab village』was ruled by the goblin army led by the goblin prince. The people who were abducted were forced to work.」 「Forced to work? What do you mean?」

「The people were threatened by the goblins and were forced to make【Magic stone of Human transformation】.」 「【Magic stone of human transformation】? What is it?」

「Look here, this is the【Magic stone of Human transformation】.」

I showed the【Magic stone of Human transformation】to the King, the King ordered the magician to used【Appraisal】on it.

「It’s certainly a【Magic stone of Human transformation】. It’s『A magic stone that can transform the appearance of the user to Human.』.」 「What did you say!?」

「We also found out that the orcs have snuck into the【Slums】of『Shinju town』using this『Magic stone of Human transformation』.」 「Speaking of『Shinju town』’s『Slums』……」

「That’s right. As for the merchant from the slums who reported that the『Scab village』had been attacked by the demon lord’s army, I think it was a goblin or an orc disguised as a human using【Magic stone of Human transformation】.」 「That’s ridiculous.」

「Otousama, you’ve been deceived by the goblins and orcs! Please stop this war immediately.」 「……」

「Otousama!」 「……No, it’s different.」 「What do you mean by ‘it’s different’?」

「The start of the war against the demon lord’s army… wasn’t because of the『Scab village』.」 「Huh!? Then, what exactly was the cause?」

「In addition to that, a demon snuck into this castle and tried to abduct you, Elena.」 「N!? I haven’t heard such a story.」 「I thought it would scare you so we remained silent.」

「B-, But, was it really a demon?」 「Oh, I’m sure. The demon snuck in but as soon as it was discovered, it ran away. There were 3 maids and a gardener who saw its appearance.」

「King, just a moment.」 「What is it, Hero.」

You’re still calling me Hero? Oh well.

「The maids and the gardener, can you call them here?」 「I-, I understand. Oi, somebody go and call them.」

After a while, one of the soldiers brought the 3 maids and the male gardener― But. This gardener smells like something.

「All of you, tell us about the time when you saw the demon.」 「Yes.」

One of the maids began to answer.

「There was a report that someone invaded the castle so we went to confirm the princess’ safety. When we arrived in front of the princess’ room,『something』suddenly appeared, it was many times larger than a Human. When we screamed, it ran away. That’s all.」

What? The gardener began to answer next.

「When, I went to, check, the garden. There was, demon. Demon, escaped.」

The witnesses’ testimonies are over and it’s my turn to interrogate.

「First, let me ask the maids. The one you had seen, was it really a demon?」 「Eto…we weren’t sure because it was dark.」 「Do the 3 of you have the same answer?」 「「Yes.」」 「But, it’s certainly not a human.」

「Then, the next question is for the gardener. ……You, what is your objective?」 「…… don’t understand, the question.」

「Well then, I’ll say it again clearly. An orc sneaking into a human castle, what is your objective?」 「!?」 「What are you talking about, Hero!?」 「How should I put it, it smells like a rotten fish!」

The gardener who had its smell pointed out suddenly ran away.