Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely - Chapter 150

Ch. 150: The Demon General

We were on the second floor of the Sunwest Grandes Church ー the Tavern Floor.

Living up to the rumors, the drinks and food were great, and we were all having a merry time. Emily, who hadn’t drank that much up until now, completely went overboard with the alcohol.

Emily: “This is the beginning of my heroic tales as an Adventurer! You all better be watching me with both eyes open!”

………is the nonsense she was spatting out as she stood up high on a chair and made the announcement.

Well, everyone here is thoroughly drunk. They cheered Emily on and plenty of compliments and good luck wishes were given out.

Currently, she was wearing a shorter skirt than usual, so from where we were sitting, we got some lucky glimpses and moments.

ーーand though I was keeping a straight face the whole time, Cyril slapped me across the face. ………it can’t be helped. I’m a man after all.

Regardlessーー

The celebration of Emily’s beginnings as an Adventurer began to wane. We left Emily, who was completely wasted, with Fred, and I also had to take care of one extreme drunk as we headed home.

Yuu: “HA HA HAーー! Henry, Ageha! Let’s go one more round! One more place!”

Henry: “No, we’re going home.” ……..she let her entire weight fall on my shoulders, and Yuu, the idiot, was laughing merrily in the streets.

Since we started drinking close to lunch, it’s still just hitting the evening hour. People are turning around to glance at us, but as soon as they saw our Adventurer’s Tag, they saw that nothing was out of the ordinary.

……as a follower of a War God who loves his liquor, this was a common sight.

Cyril: “Miss Yuu, how are you feeling?” Yuu: “Hmmm? Miss Cyril, I’m fiーーーne. Wow, it’s been a while since I last drank, and it was so gooーーd. ……..so～～ how about it? Miss Cyril, let’s go one more round.” UGH!! I need to hurry up and throw her in the inn.

Henry: “Ageha, where are you two staying?” Though she sees me struggle with Yuu, she hasn’t paid any attention to us. She hummed a soft tune as she walked with the group.

Ageha: “We just got here, so we haven’t reserved an inn. We’ll just go where you’re staying. You think they have rooms open?” ……..oh, that’s right. They wouldn’t know that Cyril and I are renting a house. It didn’t come up even as we were drinking.

I was trying to think of how we would dodge the question, when Cyril brightened up at Ageha’s words.

Cyril: “Then why don’t we invite them to our house? Miss Yuu, we don’t have to go to another place. You can just drink at our house. How about it? We still have Henry’s liquor, and I can make you some side dishes.”

Oh, crap.

Yuu: “House……..? Miss Cyril, you’re not living in an inn but in a rental home?” Cyril: “Yes. It’s just the two of us there.” Yuu: “WHAT?!”

What happened to her Saint mask she’s so careful about? Yuu turns quickly towards where I’m standing.

She stares intensely into my face for a few seconds and looks at Cyril again. She turns around once more to look at me and………(*smirk～～) she smiles. Well, she’s still wearing her hood, so I couldn’t clearly see her face, but I know for a fact that she just did.

Yuu: “Ohhhhh, uh huh…..hmmmmm? Well now. That is quite the news right there. Oh my, Henry, now fess up! How far did you go with Cyril!!”

Can I just leave this drunkard in the streets somewhere?!

Henry: “………Ageha, could you help Yuu walk home instead?” Ageha: “No way. How could you ask a fragile flower of a lady as myself? I am a woman you know, and it would be too much for me to try and carry a person alone.”

Yeah, that’s complete bs. She’s a Hero of Legend for crying out loud.

And yeah, well, I know she’s just making up random excuses because she doesn’t want to, but there’s no way I would accept her reasoning just now. I’ve seen her throw an Ogre across the field.

And I can’t push her onto Cyril……..ugh, guess it’ll have to be me. I deal with Yuu wildly making a fuss next to me as we head towards our home.

Well, we are both close to our home and Mages Tower, and the Church was near the Mages Tower. Before long, we arrived.

Ageha: “Ohhhh, look at this. It’s a really nice house. It must be expensive to rent.”

Henry: “Well, this is apparently Mr. Riol’s house. A lot of things happened, and we ended up renting this place for cheap.”

Ageha: “It’s Grandpa Riol’s home, huhーー”

Ageha called Mr. Riol “Grandpa.” Though he’s an Elf and looks young, he is quite the grandfather by age alone.

Cyril unlocks the door and beckons the two guests to follow.

Cyril: “Yes, welcome, Miss Yuu, Miss Ageha.” Ageha: “Thanks for inviting us inー”

Yuu: “And now we get to explore their love nestーー”

Love nest….? Yuu…….really……

It’s so awkward to hear the Saint of Salvation (rofl) say those words. But seriously, isn’t she a bit embarrassed about saying it out loud?’

But it looks like I was the only one who thought so.

Cyril: “Love nest? Well, I guess that sounds about right!”

Yuu: “Oooooooohhhh!”

Cyril: “Oh, it’s really not that big of a dealーー”

Crap! Cyril’s going along with it now!!

Henry: “HーHere, let’s not block the door and step inside.”

I abruptly end the conversation and push everyone inside.

I helped Yuu over to the sofa and finally got a break.

Since no one else was around, they were able to take their hoods off, and Yuu fanned her face with her hands to cool off.

Yuu: “Oh, Henry, Henry”

Henry: “(sigh)…….right, you wanted drinks. Wait there.” Yuu looked towards me beggingly, and I let out an exasperated gasp as I turn towards the kitchen.

Cyril: “Oh, here, I can make some snacks as well.” Henry: “Cyril, you be careful as well. You’ve been drinking too.”

Cyril: “Okayー”

Well, she only had about two fruit wines that were relatively low in alcohol, so she should be fine.

Even if she accidentally cut her finger while chopping something up, there’s someone here who could fix that instantly without even looking.

Yuu: “If it’s all the same, bring out the good stuffーー”

Ageha: “I’m good with just juice. Juice please.”

But you would never guess from how she is right now though!

Sheesh. I let out another sigh as I took a bottle out of the cupboard.

Henry: “I don’t have anything special, but here’s what I do have.”

Yuu: “………hmmmm? Whiskey? Henry, your tastes have changed. You used to be all about ales.”

Henry: “I still love ales, but I also like this too.”

And I was reaching for a glass………when Cyril swiftly brought them out.

Cyril: “Here, I brought the drinking glass with ice. Oh, and this is something I made earlier. A liver pate and crackers. Please have some while I cook up more things.”

Ageha: “Cyril, where’s my juice?” Cyril: “We’re out of juice, but we do have milk.” Ageha: “That’s fine.” And Ageha stretches her back.

Henry: “Here you go, Yuu.”

Yuu: “Thanks, thanks. Oh, here. Let me pour your drink.”

I pour the whiskey into Yuu’s glass, and she pours it into mine.

Yuu: “Here, cheersーー”

Henry: “Cheers.”

And we drink the amber liquid down.

The strong alcohol burns as it passes through our throats, and a complex flavor remains on our tongues.

We took the crackers, dipped it with the liver pate, and took a bite.

……….yup, this is delicious. Recently, Cyril’s been into making side dishes and snacks, and after several trials and errors, she was able to find the right amount of herbs to mix in.

Yuu: “This is so goodーー I’m so envious that Miss Cyril is so good at cooking. …….and so? So? Henry, how far did you go with Cyril? C’mon! Spill it alreadyーー!”

Henry: “I don’t have any comment on the subject.”

And I wave her away with my hand to refuse.

Yuu: “Whatーー why notーー?” Henry: “You’re being annoying.”

And I closed the subject altogether. I really didn’t want to talk about this.

Yuu: “Hmph.” Finally relenting, Yuu frowned as she sipped her glass.

……..and well, both Cyril and I are adults. And it’s been about 2 months since we lived here. And well……..

I don’t want Yuu to find out!

Yuu: “Hmmmm, well, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll just ask Miss Cyril later.” Henry: “…….do whatever you please.” IーI don’t think Cyril would……..would talk about this either…….I think……..I……….I better tell her not to later.

Yuu: “Then why not tell me about this town.” Henry: “Well, yeah. I can do that.”

I began chatting with her about this and that about the city.

…………..Cyril finished cooking, and we all enjoyed another round of eating and drinking until morning arrived.

<<<<>>>>

The next morningーー

The City Council of Sunwest and the Grandes Church announced that a Demon General was possibly coming nearby.

But being told that a Demon General, something that no one really knew what that was, only hit dumbfounded ears, and no one panicked.

…….I’m sure if this was Southgaia, one of the closest major cities to Ligaleo, the public response would have been different, but in the back lines, this was about right. It’s problematic to have no sense of danger at all, but at the very least, they will follow orders calmly so it works out.

Henry: “So that’s why me, Yuu, and Ageha will face the Demon General.”

Now that the information is public, I explain the situation to Cyril.

Cyril: “I see. ………and how strong is this Demon General?” Henry: “They vary individually, but most can easily take out a Highest-Tier. ……..but actually, how about Yuu? How strong is this Gizehride?” When she first woke up from the hangover, she looked horrendous, but with {Clear Drunk}, she instantly recovered with the Magecraft Spell, and I turned the discussion over to Yuu. ………and yeah, I’m still really envious of that Spell.

Yuu: “Well, let’s see. He’s about midway between Gilverte, who Henry faced, and Basilard, who Ageha faced. At least, that’s according to Sir Ezeal.”

Ageha: “And he doesn’t use Magecraft Spells much. He’s a close-combat type, and quite big too.”

Ageha adds her insight to Yuu’s.

Henry: “…….so he’s wounded, and in this back area where the Corrupted Magic density is low, it’ll be us three plus the Knights Order of the Four Corner City and Adventurers, huh.”

Yuu: “Well, I don’t think our odds are too bad. But if this place gets taken out, the quality of our Magecraft Spellcasters will suffer immensely, so we need to protect it with our lives. Our lives, you hear me? Well, I won’t let you die regardless, butーー”

That, I can trust. ……..but it’s a little worrisome to not have the top-tier Heroes of Legend around.

Well, Sir Ezeal is at the Capital. Ms. Lotte is in Eastflair, and Mr. Riol, who can cast area damage Spells and the strongest, lone Hero is preparing back in Ligaleo just in case another Demon General appears.

……….so…….with that, we’ll just have to take care of this ourselves.

Cyril: “? Corrupted Magic? Why would that matter?” Not understanding what we meant, Cyril voices her question.

……..oh yeah, there’s no way she could have known about this.

Henry: “Well, it’s a well known secret in Ligaleo, and most people who deal with information would know this here in the backlines, but Cyril, no matter what, you can’t tell anyone about what I’m about to tell you.”

Cyril: “OーOkay? What is it? You’re scaring me.”

I didn’t mean to scare her butーー

Henry: “A Demon General is unable to do much in areas where the Corrupted Magic Density is low. The very first Demon General we defeated around Southgaia due to being cornered there for a lot of reasons I won’t go into right now, but before we defeated it, it apparently [depleted] right before it died.”

This occurred when I first became an Adventurer, so I’ve only heard the rumors.

Henry: “The reason why several Demon Generals do not come at us at once is because they would eat up each other’s Corrupted Magic and would get in each other’s way. Or rather, that’s the theory so far.” Cyril: “RーReally? Was the Demon Race always like that?” No, there’s no way. It’s true that they were fewer in number, and their individual strength was much greater than the average human being, but they had no restrictions about living in Corrupted Magic areas.

………in fact, this is a limitation for Higher-Tier Demonic Creatures.

And, as for further evidence………….when the Demon Army invaded smaller countries, the army poured an atrocious amount of Corrupted Magic and flooded the area before their attack began.

Henry: “And furthermore, for anyone who fought the Demon Country’s Army in the far past, there is no one who remembers a single individual who claimed to be a Demon General.”

Finallyーー

Henry: “If you defeat one, the Grandes Church will reward you with points of accomplishment. ………but I always wondered what that means…..”

Of course, you cannot kill someone of the Demon Race and receive any credit. It’s not a system that encourages murder and genocide……..or at least it shouldn’t.

If I thought about it, there are several theories that come to mind.

And as I see Cyril scrunch her face to think, I turn the ideas over in my head several times as well.