Red Shadow Appears (Toward The Finale, Part 2)

One day.

Kou told me that someone had come to the garden of the mansion in the forest.

It was a garden where sacred beasts such as Pegasus, Almiraj, and Fenrir lived peacefully.

The vegetable and medicinal herb fields were lush with greenery, and there was also an orchard heavy with fruit.

Outside the gate facing that garden stood an old man dressed in red ninja garb.

At his waist hung weapons and tools similar to those Edgar used.

The old man narrowed his eyes and gazed at the garden with curiosity.

He seemed strong, but harmless, so I approached him and spoke.

“Old man, do you need something?”

“Hmm. Are you the master of this place?”

“I am.”

“That big white wolf over there, you see. An acquaintance of mine has been searching for it. Could you return it to us?”

“That’s impossible—no, wait.”

I put a hand to my chin and thought.

—Teti should have been chosen as the next chief. It seemed to be something like a feudal lord.

Teti herself might want to become a lord more than she wanted to spend her days lazily while working as a shop assistant at Puchi Eli.

The old man looked puzzled.

“What is the matter?”

“I’ll ask her herself for a moment.”

I stepped away a little and went into the shade of a tree, then took out the sub-device and contacted her.

Teti came to the garden right away.

“What, what is it, Alec-sama?”

“Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to become a local lord in the Yamata Kingdom.”

“Huh? At the far eastern edge? No, no, that makes no sense. I’m not planning to leave here.”

“I see. Then I’ll refuse.”

“No, why did that even come up? I don’t understand.”

“Someone who’s looking for Fenrir came. He says he wants him returned.”

When I pointed at the old man, Teti looked.

Teti beckoned Fenrir and called him over.

“Come here for a second, Fenrir.”

“What is it, my chief?”

“That old man apparently came to look for you.”

Fenrir looked at the old man standing outside the gate and let out a sigh.

“Red Shadow, is it…”

“You know him?”

“He is one of the Legendary Three Ninja and a master of Fire Release ninjutsu.”

“It’s not much good to talk while standing around, so let’s have him come into the mansion.”

I invited the old man in and returned to the mansion with Teti and Fenrir.

We received him in the reception room.

Teti and I sat on the sofa, while Fenrir curled up beside Teti.

Across from us sat the old man named Red Shadow. I had Liricia watch the shop.

Dinashee, the deformed four-head-tall maid fairy, prepared tea on the table.

“Here is tea, please enjoy.”

After that, she gave a little bow, then walked out of the room with small steps.

Then we introduced ourselves to each other and began the discussion.

The old man explained the circumstances.

“The Yamata Kingdom is a land where eight clans live together, and one of them, the Emi Clan, is a group that carries elven blood. The person recognized by Hyoma—Fenrir—becomes the next chief of the Emi Clan.”

“So that means I’d become the chief of that Emi Clan?”

“That is how it would be. Would you return with Hyoma?”

Teti frowned with her cute face and said,

“I was treated horribly in all sorts of ways and nearly died. I didn’t even know I was a snow elf until recently. —So obviously, I wouldn’t want to go back now.”

“If you return, you can become the master of the house—in other words, the lord who governs the Emi region, you know? Many subordinates would serve you, and a luxurious life would await you.”

“Haaah? The life here is perfect for me. I can read books and write novels while doing easy shop-sitting work, so it’s super comfortable.”

Because Teti had lived through terrible experiences, I had been worried about whether she had any discomfort in her life, but apparently, this was the ideal environment for her. Good, good.

The old man frowned with his aged face and groaned.

“In that case, could Hyoma alone at least return with me? The Emi Clan is in trouble because they cannot choose their next chief.”

“Hmm… I do have a pact with the Emi Clan, but… among the current Emi Clan, there is no one who can use ice and snow magic to the level of a chief. Unless they can cool the unbearable summer heat, I cannot recognize them as chief.”

“Nnngh. That is troublesome.”

Teti grinned as if she had thought of a prank.

“That’s not the only reason you don’t want to go back, right?”

“W-What are you saying, chief!”

Despite his huge body and terrifying aura, Fenrir became flustered like a puppy.

I was puzzled and asked Teti.

“What happened?”

“Fenrir got himself a girlfriend.”

“Seriously?”

“What did you say!”

Red Shadow and I were shocked. Red Shadow was far more shocked.

Still grinning, Teti stroked Fenrir’s head as he sat beside her.

“He’s been getting along really well with White Fang-chan, Kou-chan’s former Dungeon Master.”

“You work fast, Fenrir.”

“N-No! She is not just White Fang! She has steadily continued evolving upward from a Forest Wolf, and now she is on the verge of becoming the legendary sacred beast, Saint Fang! —S-So…”

“So you’re trying to mark her early, huh? Fenrir, you’re so naughty.”

“N-No, it is just, I…”

Fenrir answered incoherently.

Teti struck the finishing blow.

“You mean she’s such a wonderful girlfriend that she seems like she could become Saint Fang. That’s exactly what they call love being blind, right?”

“Grrr…!”

Whether from frustration or embarrassment, Fenrir ground his teeth and fell silent.

Red Shadow let out an exasperated sigh.

“Teti-dono does not want to return, and Hyoma does not want to return either. That said, taking them back by force is impossible…”

Red Shadow glanced at me.

I shrugged and answered.

“Old man, from the look of you, you seem strong, and you probably use strange techniques like Edgar too, right? Couldn’t you win even against three opponents?”

“If it were three, yes… but four would be too much, you see.”

“Four?”

As if answering my question, the door to the reception room opened. A lanky, tall man with messy hair came in. It was Edgar.

“You noticed, Master? As expected.”

“Hmph. You say that after deliberately releasing killing intent in a way I could sense. —Against these four, far from taking anyone back, even returning alive would be an extremely difficult feat.”

“Thanks for rating a half-baked guy like me so highly, Master.”

Red Shadow stood up while saying “Up we go” in a tired voice.

“Well then, nothing can be done, so I shall go home.”

“Master, are you planning to abandon the mission? If you go back empty-handed, they’ll take your life.”

Edgar spoke with his usual carefree smile, but there was something earnest in his voice. He seemed to be worried about Red Shadow.

However, Red Shadow also answered with a carefree smile.

“I am an old geezer with little time left. My life is nothing worth clinging to. —Well, perhaps I will travel leisurely through the nations before returning.”

Without even standing up, I folded my arms and thought.

This Emi Clan was in trouble because they could not decide on a chief. But neither Teti nor Fenrir wanted to go back. But if Red Shadow did not bring Fenrir back, he would apparently die.

In that case—

After drinking my tea, I spoke to Red Shadow, who was about to leave the room.

“Then why don’t the Emi Clan come here and live instead?”

“““Huh!?”””

Everyone in the reception room raised their voices in surprise.

“I mean, in terms of ability, only Teti can be chief, right? And this Emi Clan sounds like they’re something like snow elves. If we ask Kou to make a snowfield dungeon floor, shouldn’t they all be able to live there?”

Even after I finished speaking, everyone gaped blankly for a while.

Then they first laughed while suppressing their voices, and in the end, they laughed loudly.

“Indeed, that would settle everything peacefully! Or rather, so you really were a Dungeon Master after all!”

“I’m the chief, after all. Everyone should just obey me!”

“I can also avoid leaving the mansion.”

“Your head works in strange places. As expected.”

Praised by everyone one after another, I scratched my head.

“Well, the biggest problem is whether the king of the Yamata Kingdom would allow an entire tribe to disappear.”

“That should not be a problem. The Emi Clan is small to begin with and exclusionary besides.”

“If my guess is right, King Mikoto will give permission in an instant.”

“Wait, I’m finally getting subordinates under me!”

“I should already be your subordinate, though?”

Everyone was happy. Was this really all right?

Their tax revenue would decrease, and they would no longer be able to defend the territory, so all sorts of problems should arise.

Normally, I did not think this would be allowed, but…

No, I was a man lacking common sense.

Surely, as everyone said, it would work out.

“Then let’s move in that direction. Everyone, please cooperate too.”

“Understood.”

“Leave it to me.”

“I shall persuade the Emi Clan.”

“This sounds fun!”

Everyone left the room in high spirits.