Paradigm Parasite - Chapter 182: "Request"

“We?”

“Yeah, it’s not like you just appeared out of the blue, is it? I want to make it clear where you came from and for what purpose.”

I thought Hieda’s argument was quite reasonable.

A commotion breaks out, and people with information conveniently turn up.

I wouldn’t suspect a match pump.

They cause a furore and ingratiate themselves.

Or they’ve started it, but they can’t control it, so they’re plotting to force you to clean it up. ……?

Yeah. I wouldn’t trust these stinkers.

The man’s good nature comes out in the fact that he is aware of this, but asks about it from the front.

I’m sure that’s not the only reason as long as he keeps his position as king, but isn’t he a little naive?

“Can’t we talk about it after all the trouble is over?”

“Oh, I’d like to hear it now, at least in terms of trusting you guys.”

His face is an insect, so I can’t read his expression, but the sound of his voice conveys his seriousness.

Aspizal looks a little troubled, but realises that he can’t fool them, and confesses honestly.

“We’ve been collecting reincarnated people. We came looking for our friends from beyond the forest.”

“…Friends, huh? What are you going to do with them?”

“I can’t tell you now, but I want a force that I can trust to a certain extent.”

“That’s not just about being strong, it’s also about having someone you can trust your back to.”

“Yes. It’s true.”

As he says this, Aspizal leans back a little.

“The way I see it, both of them are fine in terms of personality and Roe is perfectly competent. If I had my way, I’d want them both.”

“Hmm? Your brother over there isn’t one of you?”

Hieda tilts his head curiously.

“I was hired by chance.”

I replied, cowering my shoulders. In fact, I’m only temporarily working with them, I’m not one of them.

They want Hieda to join them, but he can’t.

His title is king, the head of this country.

There’s no way he’ll be won over by persuasion.

And he doesn’t even explain the situation.

If I were in Hieda’s shoes, I would have thought, ‘Is this guy licking his chops?’

“You’re not one of us without an explanation. To be honest, it smells like trouble. What’s in it for me?”

It’s a natural question.

“Well… normally it would be food, clothing, shelter and money. ……”

Aspizal’s bristling.

For all intents and purposes, the man in front of me seems to have enough of everything…

“None of them are on time. Either way, I’m loving life here, sorry I can’t get into that.”

“It’s ……… Huh, why is it that all the good properties are so hard to catch?”

The only people who can be caught by that solicitation method are the idiots who think they are the hero, who think that only good things can happen to them.

“No, the only people who can be caught by that suspicious solicitation are idiots who are either too naive or too crisis-phobic.”

Hie mutters something similar to my thoughts.

Well, that’s a natural reaction.

“By the way, Roe is currently -”

“Sorry, but I’m the same as Hie over there. I don’t find your stories attractive.”

“Right… By the way, we’re going to get a cute girl who’ll do anything for us…”

“Hey, Asu-kun!?”

For some reason, Yonomori raised her voice, but I ignored her and laughed through my nose.

The most unnecessary in the current situation. I’m not hungry for women, and I’m not in need of food. In the first place, you’re a liability.

It’s just a hindrance, to put it bluntly.

…I mean, why did Yonomori raise her voice?

I don’t think so, but -.

I glance at Yonomori.

She realises the meaning of my gaze and starts to panic.

“Chi, it’s not me, okay? It’s not me! But that’s just no good! I can’t let you do that!”

…What the hell is this guy talking about?

“No, even I would refuse to do anything you want because you’re too shady. I mean, what kind of yes-man is that? Is he a slave or something?”

“This time… not a slave, but the person who recruited me before was very willing to follow me under those conditions…”

“What is he, an idiot? What’s wrong with that guy?”

Hieda’s tweaking has not caught up with him anymore.

“Let’s see. I’m surrounded by girls and I’m free to do what I want… not what I don’t want, okay?”

“………”

“…… something’s making my head hurt.”

That’s a coincidence. Me too.

“Let’s change the subject. You were saying something about the other side of the forest, did you guys come through there?”

“We did. Speaking of which, how did Roe get through the forest?”

“Straight through, that’s all I can say.”

Flying, though.

“Oh, I knew there was a way out. I was looking into it for a while, but it’s easy to get lost and you can’t see the end when you’re up in the trees. I’ve been neglecting it because it’s too risky to go in, but if there’s an end, I might have to think about it a bit.”

“I wouldn’t recommend it too much. The monsters there are pretty strong, so if you take a half-decent one, you’ll die?”

Is that so?

I don’t know because I flew over, but I nodded my head in agreement anyway.

“Well, I guess you’re right. It was so common for people to step in unintentionally and not come back, you know.”

“Besides, it’s not that easy to get out of it because of the distance. If you’re going to go, it’s better to make a schedule based on the assumption that there will be dropouts.”

“Roe is right. Even we used to travel for a few months, so I don’t think it’s realistic for a large group of people.”

The difficulty is just getting around, but even if we do get through, we’ll have other problems.

Like language, Urs Laguna is a place where, unlike here, you don’t have to be a criminal to enslave other people or other races – or even to be able to.

It’s obvious from the fire what will happen to the beastmen, a rare species over there, who don’t know left from right.

Unless you are very good at getting around, you will be sucker punished, at best a slave and at worst left to die in the field.

Hieda, perhaps sensing something in our reaction, gives a small snarl.

“I see. The human kingdom doesn’t seem to be a carefree place. I’ve got it pretty much figured out. I can’t take you up on your offer, but I trust you.”

“Are we done with discernment?”

When Aspizal said that, Hie went rigid for a moment.

I also realise Hieda’s intentions there.

They were probably secondary to the stories from beyond the forest and were looking at our reactions etc. to see if they could be trusted.

I don’t understand what made you decide that you could trust us, but I’m glad the conversation is going smoothly.

“Well… he’s a hard man to eat. Well, as long as he’s on our side, we’ll be able to rely on him. Well, it’s time to get back to the story. What are you guys going to do now?”

“We’ve looked in the canyon to the east, but we struck out, so we’re looking for something else.”

“You’ve been that far, I mean, there’s nothing in that area, is there?”

There were a lot of magic stones buried in there.

“It was worth seeing, but that was it. In the meantime, we’re going to check out the north.”

“By north, you mean the Uzbek Animos?”

“Uzbekistan?”

“It’s our neighbour on the sea.”

I add to Aspizal, who tilts his head.

Uzbeanimos.

It’s a city-state in the northern part of Torkruzarb.

The population was not included in my memory, but it should not have been as large as here.

Taking advantage of its location on the sea, fishing and other activities are thriving and the city has a large number of vessels.

Freshly caught seafood is popular and many people visit to eat it.

The king of the country is not the head of a union, but a group of representatives who set the country’s policy as the king.

“You know a lot.”

“There was a nice guy who was kind enough to tell me.”

I’d really like to try the fish dishes, so I’ve always wanted to go there if I had the chance.

“For my part, I’m suspicious of the location near the sea. The attacks have been sporadic, even though they’ve been targeting us.”

Oh, so you’re saying there aren’t many of them around here to begin with?

“If they were right, wouldn’t it be a mess over there by now?”

“Maybe. I don’t know how wise they are over there, but if they decide we’re too hard to catch, they might think about finishing their meal somewhere closer at hand.”

Are those things going to come at us in droves?

I can handle a few of them, but if it’s more than that, it’s going to be tough.

I’m kind of in the process of going too, but it’s better to say the right thing and tell them to stay here…

Just as I’m about to open my mouth, there’s a forceful knock on the door.

“What’s wrong? You can come in!”

Hieda gives permission to enter, and a beastman with an impatient expression runs into the room.

“Excuse me for interrupting! This is a request for help from Uzbek Animos! It appears that the monster in question has appeared in large numbers and is under attack!”

“Seriously? …… understands. We have our own protection, and although we can’t spare the numbers, we’ll organise a force. Request the mercenaries as well! We need a headcount fast. Offer them a larger reward!”

When Hieda gave the order in rapid succession, the beastman who came in replied and hurried out of the room.

“I wanted to think about it a bit more, but it seems the situation has moved on. I’ll send out the troops. What about you?”

“We’ll go separately. It’s faster for us to move on our own than to stick together.”

“I’ll write you a letter. If anything goes wrong, show it to the guys on the ground. At least they won’t get in the way.”

I missed a good time to interject.

It’s going to be troublesome. …… Well, okay.

I’m also curious about the story that you showed up at this time, and I want to see the mastermind of the monster.

Beside them, Aspizal and Yonomori stand up after receiving the documents prepared by Hieda.

“Well then, we’re going ahead of you, see! Roe, I’m going too.”

“Ah.”

I nodded and left the room after following Aspizal and bailing to Hie.