Published: July 4, 2025
Ryo looked around at the Rock Golem that was crushed by the ice wall. The magic stone had been thoroughly shattered.
"This method was a failure, wasn't it?"
Ryo sighed and looked disheartened.
"No, if we hadn't defeated it, we would have been the ones in trouble... It was unavoidable for survival. Besides, I didn't even know that we could extract the magic stone in the first place."
"That's true. First, we need to survive, and then we can think about profit."
Ryo remembered the words of a man who had earned several billion yen in annual salary and had bankrupted the England Bank.
He was one of the three great investors in the world, and it was a fact that he was still alive.
So Ryo nodded vigorously.
"It seems there are some that haven't moved, a bit farther away... What should we do?"
The only ones who had attacked Ryo and his companions were the Rock Golems in the area. In the distance, towards the west, quite a number of rock formations could still be seen.
"Ah... honestly, I'm scared of it turning into a hornet's nest, so I don't want to get involved too much. Not to mention, it would be a hassle if Abel's pockets were filled with nothing but magic stones, right?"
"Well, setting aside my pockets, I agree about the hornet's nest. Let's head north quickly."
With that, the two started walking north.
"Does that mean the area we walked along the wall was the nest of these Rock Golems?"
"Positionally, it seems that way. I don't know why that's the case, though."
"Is there some special magical power coming from the ground... or is it a trap set by someone?"
Ryo said this in a detective-like manner.
"Someone... I can't imagine there would be people around in a place like this."
"It doesn't have to be a person, you know?"
Ryo's eyes sparkled with a glint.
"Like elves or dwarves?"
"Ugh..."
With that, Ryo glanced sideways at Abel, shrugging, as if to say "what a hassle."
"Hey, don't look at me like I'm some unfortunate person."
"I'm talking about devils or something like that."
"Devils... what are those?"
"Huh? That?"
There seemed to be a section at the end of "Monsters Encyclopedia: Beginner's Edition" that Michael (alias) had specially added as "Special Rank."
It listed "Dragons" and "Devils."
Since it was specifically written, Ryo thought it was common knowledge for humans living in "Fai."
Abel had displayed quite a bit of knowledge when he explained about the Central Nations.
Ryo thought he had at least more than average knowledge compared to the people living in this world of "Fai."
But now, Abel claimed he didn't know what a "devil" was...
"Abel, do you know about dragons?"
"Of course I do. I’ve never seen one, but I know of them as legendary creatures."
They did exist, but Ryo decided not to mention that.
He felt it was better to keep it to himself.
"Then have you never heard of devils or demons?"
"I have heard of devils. They are the enemies of gods and angels."
(I see, so they are known as devils.)
However, Ryo felt a slight sense of discomfort.
If that was the case, why didn’t Michael (alias) write "devils" instead of "devil"?
Moreover, the explanation for devils was:
"Those who have fallen from grace... are not known. Their origin is unclear."
(I still feel something is off. Well, there's no point in worrying about it.)
"So, Ryo is saying that this Rock Golem was set up by a devil?"
"It can't be completely ruled out as a possibility, can it?"
Of course, he was just saying that randomly without any basis.
"Speaking of which, didn't you mention elves and dwarves earlier, Abel?"
"Ah, I did. I was looked at with a really condescending gaze by some water attribute magician."
Abel glared at Ryo with narrowed eyes.
"Abel, you won't become a great swordsman if you get hung up on such trivial matters."
"I don't want to hear that from you!"
Having navigated through several brushes with death, the two had become like comrades-in-arms.
It was a good thing as traveling companions.
"Well, anyway, please tell me about the elves and dwarves."
Ignoring Abel's shouting, Ryo prioritized his own curiosity.