The Legendary Rebuilding of a World by a Realist Demon King Chapter 61

The Adventurers Party were in Danger

While we drank our tea, I questioned the boy.

"You look very young, Yuri. How old are you?"

"I am thirteen."

"That is young."

"But, I will be fourteen very soon."

He looked younger than his thirteen years. I had assumed he was twelve at most.

"What caused you to become an Adventurer at such an age?"

"Both of my parents died when I was very young. I was living with my aunt for a while, but she was quite poor."

"And so you became an Adventurer. Because it is a quick way to earn money."

"Yes."

He didn't seem particularly sad about any of it.

"I intend on becoming a great Adventurer so I can be independent. I want to be a strong man who can protect not just my own skin, but my family."

"That's very commendable. And I'm sure it will not take you too long."

"Do you mean it?"

He said with glimmering eyes.

"Of course, I do. Your strength knows no bounds."

"I'm happy to hear that from a Sorcerer such as yourself!"

He said excitedly. Jeanne teased.

"But I am still stronger."

She rolled up her sleeves. 

Her arms were about as thin as his.

"Well, you are a Hero. That is quite different. Yuri will surely become a great Adventurer. And when that happens, you should go and visit Demon King Ashtaroth."

"Demon King…?"

His expression darkened a little.

"Yes, many humans dislike Demon Kings. But the residents of the nearby town are very diverse. And there is not a single slave in the castle."

"No slaves!? Is that true?"

"It is true."

"I can't believe it. What a merciful king…"

"Well, you will understand if you go there. It should be a comfortable place to live in. You can join the army or start your own business. Or you can continue to be an Adventurer. There are even plans to build an Adventurer's Guild, just like in human cities."

"That sounds amazing. He must be like a human king."

I couldn't say that this was because he was human in a past life. Still, I made the place sound as appealing as possible.

'I see,' the boy said with a smile. But then he continued.

"I want to stay in this dungeon for a while and train. I think I will visit this Ashta once I am stronger. Besides, I have a contract with my current party."

"That is very honest of you. I wouldn't stay in a dung party like that if I were you."

Jeanne said rather sensibly, as she sipped her tea.

I thought that the boy would agree, but he just chuckled.

"Oh, but they are actually quite nice."

"In what way?"

Jeanne enquired.

"…Uhhh. They actually pay me for my work."

"Do they ever deduct from it?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"I had a feeling."

It seemed that the leader would often find ways to deduct from the boy's salary.

For instance,

If he couldn't catch any fish,

Or if he dropped a single chunk of ore,

Apparently, he had never been paid a full salary.

The boy seemed to think he was fortunate that he at least got paid on time, but this was clearly not a great work environment.

I considered having a word with this leader, but the boy stopped me.

"I-I really am fine. This is my personal problem."

He desperately tried to cover for his employer. I didn't like it.

But there was nothing to be done.

I thought this as I took another sip of tea. And then I suddenly heard the sound of an explosion far away.

No, it was below us. Underground.

What had happened?

The others all looked at each other in puzzlement, but I had an idea.

I had had a familiar follow Yuri's party, and so I now had the image appear on a screen.

There they were, they had arrived on the fifth layer and encountered a guardian beast.

The guardian beast of the fifth layer was a creature known as a river horse.

Or Kelpie.

A beast that was half horse and half fish that lived in rivers.

They were very strong beasts, but they shouldn't have been too strong.

However, the Kelpie here were a little different.

First, they were much larger.

Normally, they were about the size of an average horse. But these were closer to a hippopotamus.

Not only that, but it seemed to have powerful magic. It was unleashing multiple 'water spheres' at them.

They seemed to be quite effective against Yuri's party.

Yuri saw this and screamed the leader's name.

"Mister Jayce!"

He quickly picked up his things and started to run off.

But he did stop once to bow towards us. Polite as ever.

He then ran off like an escaped rabbit. He was heading to the shortcut to the fifth layer, which was a few hundred meters up ahead.

He would probably meet up with his party within a few minutes.

However, I did not see how they could beat the Kelpie.

Not only would the party die, but so would Yuri.

I thought this as I glanced at Eve, Jeanne and Hanzo.

They all nodded and began to follow me.

We would also go to the fifth layer and save them.

Chapter end