Edgar And The Demon Realm

Late morning in the Royal Capital.

The sun had already climbed fairly high.

When I got back to the shop, Edgar was there.

His hair was just as messy as ever.

After inviting him inside, I greeted him briefly and asked,

“Don’t you need to be out hunting with your party?”

“It’s just rat extermination, so the kids are more than enough, man. —You left me a message; what’s up?”

“There are some things I want you to look into. And I also need to apologize.”

“What for?”

“I found out the Princess’s soul is no longer in this world. But she hasn’t passed on either.”

Edgar’s black eyes, hidden under his bangs, flashed.

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She isn’t in this world. But there’s a good chance she’s slipped into the Demon Realm or the Fantasy Realm. If we can find records from past heroes, we should be able to look into it.”

“I get it. That’s where I come in, yeah.”

“While you’re at it, check whether the Philosopher’s Stone is in the Demon King’s Castle.”

“’Kay, no problem. That much I can handle easy.”

Edgar accepted the task in the same casual tone you’d use for a quick errand.

Impressed, I added one more thing.

“And it sounds like the Light Gem is in the Yamata Kingdom. You know anything about that?”

“Huh? For real? …Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it.”

“Well, even if we do go, it’ll be after we bring the Princess back to life.”

“…That’s what I’m hoping for. Once I bring the Princess back to the kingdom, I don’t care what happens to me.”

His tone wasn’t much different from before, but it couldn’t hide the resolve behind it.

—So going back to his homeland really is a life-or-death move for Edgar…

Not wanting to worry him, I answered lightly.

“That’s all I need from you for now.”

“Then I’ll go dig around a bit.”

“I’m counting on you.”

As soon as Edgar stepped out of the shop, he vanished from sight.

I turned back to look at Liricia and Teti behind the counter.

“Want to go gather herbs, you two?”

“Yes, Master!”

“Yeah!”

“There aren’t any monsters to worry about, right?”

“Yes. The forest is completely safe now. I don’t sense a single trace of evil.”

“That’s good. Still, be careful.”

“Thank you, Master.”

With Teti in tow, Liricia headed toward the curtain that separated the kitchen.

All I heard after that was the wardrobe door opening and them stepping through.

I sat at the glass counter and watched the shop.

Nobody came in, so I spent the time spacing out and thinking about what lay ahead.

First, money for rejuvenation. Then the Philosopher’s Stone.

And the Princess’s soul for Edgar.

The Light Gem was in Edgar’s homeland.

While I was mulling everything over, Edgar suddenly popped back in.

He handed out a long, well-toned arm holding some papers.

“These are the documents you wanted, man.”

“Thanks.”

I took them and started reading.

First up was the Philosopher’s Stone.

It seemed a past hero had found something like it in the Demon King’s Castle.

“Oh? So that means the Philosopher’s Stone is in the kingdom?”

“Nah, if you keep reading, you’ll see they got caught in the collapsing Demon King’s Castle and lost all their gear.”

“I see. So it’s probably still sitting in the Demon Realm. Got it—then as a long shot, we’ll just have to go to the Demon Realm once.”

“’Cept it says here the entrance to the Demon Realm got sealed, man.”

“You’re kidding me… That’s a problem.”

“And there’s definitely no such thing as a full map of the entire Demon Realm. I did find one for the Fantasy Realm, though.”

“This last one here, huh. All right, I’ll have Liricia check it later.”

“I’m counting on you guys.”

Bowing deeply, Edgar left the shop.

I let out a long breath.

One problem after another.

Even if we wanted to go to the Demon Realm, it looked like we couldn’t.

“This is bad… I’ve got no clue how we’re supposed to get there.”

Past heroes had managed it, apparently, but could I really pull it off?

As I pondered, something occurred to me, so I took out the handset.

“Hey, Kou. You know how to get to the Demon Realm?”

“I do not, Master.”

“I figured. That means we’re in for a lot of research.”

“Hmm~? Does Master want to enter the Demon Realm?”

“Yeah, I do. If it’s possible.”

“I don’t know the route, but letting you in is easy, you know? We’re Tier 5 and we’ve got Mithril, so we just have to link a corridor.”

“For real!?”

“For real~.”

“That helps a lot. Let’s try going tomorrow.”

“Okayyy~.”

While I was talking with Kou, the delivery guys arrived, so I ended the call.

I helped them haul the soundproofing materials into the shop.

The cramped interior—from the kitchen to the counter, inside the shop and even out front—ended up completely packed.

I spoke to one of the delivery men.

“Thanks for the hard work.”

“Just need your signature right here for receipt~.”

“Sure thing.”

After I signed the delivery slip, the workers left.

Then I got to work tossing all the materials into the wardrobe one after another.

By the time I finished, Liricia and Teti were back.

“We’ve returned, Master.”

“That was fast.”

“I thought it might be bad to take too many.”

“Good call. For now, a moderate amount is fine.”

“Yes, Master.”

Liricia nodded, her silver hair swaying.

I turned to Teti.

“All right then, Teti. Watch the shop for us.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

Teti tilted her head anxiously, her blonde hair sliding over her shoulder.

To reassure her, I smiled and replied,

“We’re just going to cull a few dungeons nearby. We’re only extending some corridors, so even if something happens, we can get back right away.”

“Okay, got it! Have a good trip!”

Seeing Teti’s bright smile and hearing her cute voice see us off, Liricia and I stepped through the wardrobe.