Published: September 4, 2025
Satou here. In the past, when people thought of auctions, they imagined wealthy individuals trading art and jewelry at ridiculous prices. As a child, I wondered why art pieces weren't just kept in museums.
Nowadays, the only auctions I think of are online ones.
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“Did something good happen, Satou-san?”
Today, I’m helping out with a food distribution. Over several times assisting, Miss Sera has changed how she addresses me—from “sama” to “san,” the same way Zena does. It feels shy, like when she calls me. Since Mia kicks me whenever I get too soft, I calmly respond.
“Yes, a difficult job is finally going well.”
Thanks to some magic I acquired recently at Viscount Seamen’s manor, I managed to successfully create a forged demon blade. Well, it’s only at the level of my previous success with a wooden magic sword—just the first step. The forging side hasn’t progressed yet.
In the book I bought, “30 Classic Circuits for Magical Devices,” there are several circuits that seem usable for demon blades, so I plan to try them one by one. Another interesting circuit is for airships, which apparently requires materials from a magical flying fish monster called the “Airfish.” They usually fly high over the open sea, making the materials hard to get.
“Master, some children missed their food rations. Can we do something?”
“There were a lot of adults today, huh~”
Lulu and Arisa brought two dog tribe children and three rat tribe children, ages around 4 to 8, the same races as Pochi. Pochi is trying to hand out baked sweets from his pocket. Lulu, after much training, made sure he wrapped the sweets neatly in a handkerchief instead of putting them directly into his pocket.
“Hehe, thanks!”
“See ya, puppy!”
Suddenly, the ape tribe children quickly snatched the sweets from Pochi’s hand and ran off into an alley.
Pochi was stunned for a moment, then shouted, “Wait! Stealing is bad!” and chased after them.
“Liza, Tama, please.”
“Yes!” “Roger!”
I asked the two to chase after Pochi to avoid him getting lost.
The five hungry children asked Nana to buy something for them at a nearby stall. I warned Nana not to get anything too expensive—she’s too soft on the young ones. But with Arisa there as well, it should be fine.
Soon, Pochi and Tama returned, each carrying an ape tribe child on their shoulders, tightly wrapped in rope.
“Master, we caught the culprits.”
“Death iron fist to the criminals—”
“What should we do? If we hand them over to the authorities, they should deal with them properly.”
Did Liza just say “deal with” instead of “judge”? I’m scared to ask.
The two little thieves are apologizing, saying “Sorry” and “We won’t do it again,” but I doubt they’re truly sorry. If handed to the authorities, they’ll end up slaves or beheaded. In the Duke’s Capital, harsh punishments are dealt to demi-humans who commit crimes.
Throwing away their lives over a single baked sweet is for people like the French bread guy, not me. I forgave them with a gentle forehead flick.
The kids dramatically writhe in pain, but it’s probably just acting. Pochi and Tama hold their foreheads in pain. Strangely, even Arisa and Mia were holding their foreheads.
I told Liza to untie and release them, and we continued cleaning up the food distribution. The ape tribe kids, calling Pochi “big sister,” helped out. Not learning their lesson, they tried to steal sweets from Pochi’s pocket again but were caught by Tama. After Pochi punched one, they rolled on the ground again. Judging by their HP loss, Pochi is holding back.
“Hey, shrine maiden’s big sister.”
“Miko? Shrine maiden, you mean?”
“What’s wrong?”
“The grown-ups say the Demon King will resurrect.”
“It’s the end of the world. Everyone says we’re all going to die.”
Not only demi-human children but also human kids gathered anxiously around Sera.
I heard at the tea party that during the season of the demon king, apocalyptic and nihilistic sentiments become popular. Also, when Arisa and I did experiments late at night, the tremors apparently reached the surface, sparking rumors that it might be a sign of the demon king’s return. So starting the next day, we had to do experiments deep underground, taking over two hours to reach the lower floors.