Published: July 3, 2025
The end of the "demon king's mountains" began to come into view on the morning after the battle with the red bear.
"Finally..."
Nils muttered, and Sera responded.
"They say that a person traveling a hundred miles is at the halfway point after ninety miles. Or perhaps, it’s said that the journey isn’t complete until one returns home. Nils, don’t let your guard down."
"I-I don’t really understand, but… I’ll try not to let my guard down..."
Feeling that Sera had said something quite sensible, Nils answered honestly.
Of course, he had no real understanding of what a hundred miles or a picnic meant...
"Oh, a fairly vast land is spreading out..."
"Um, what’s that lined up over there…"
"It looks like riders..."
"No, that’s probably…"
"Centaurs..."
Sera looked at the land, Amon found something, Nils expressed his first impression, Zeek hinted at a recollection, and Eto confirmed it.
"Centaurs!? Long live fantasy!"
The surprised voice came from Sera.
Meanwhile, Harold and Gowan remained silent in astonishment...
Which was understandable.
Centaurs are monsters rarely seen in the Central Nations.
Rather, encounters with wyverns are far more common...
Though, thinking about it, that’s a terrifying notion as well.
"I see. The reason Archbishop Graham told us to come here first was for this."
"Eto?"
Sera asked a question in response to Eto's words.
"Centaurs are intelligent monsters. They are certainly monsters because they have magic stones within them, but they are said to be able to converse with humans. They embody the spirit of martial valor... or rather, they are a race where strength is everything. It is said that if you can survive the 'Festival of Battles', you will be able to obtain the information you seek."
"The Festival of Battles..."
Eto added more, and Sera murmured in excitement at the name.
"But, those centaurs are part of the demon king's army, right? We came here to meet the upper ranks of the demon king's army, after all."
Zeek expressed his doubts.
"Well, we’ll find out once we actually go. After all, they’re already tracking us... There’s no option left to not go."
Nils made a decisive decision like a leader.
In situations like this, even Sera acknowledges Nils’ decisiveness and boldness.
As the group descended the mountain and entered the plain, a herd of centaurs, easily exceeding two hundred, lined up ahead.
Then, one particularly splendidly armed centaur stepped forward.
"This land belongs to us, the centaurs. No one may invade it."
In response, Nils answered from the group.
"We are not here to invade. We’ve come to ask the location of the demon king."
When Nils' words echoed, the centaurs gasped.
It was a voice that couldn't form words.
A stir began...
Clang.
The splendidly armed centaur struck the ground with the tip of his spear, silencing the commotion.
"Very well. If you wish to know something, ask with a sword. That is our way."
Saying that, he turned back and called out.
"Chiron!"
"Yes!"
The centaur called Chiron responded and stepped forward.
It seemed he was ready to "fight."
"This is the 'Festival of Battles'... What should we do?"
Zeek asked Nils.
"Hey, can you let me go?"
"Huh…"
"Nils?"
Surprisingly, Nils volunteered to go himself, leaving Amon speechless and Sera with a puzzled expression.
This was quite rare.
Nils still had the appearance of a child leader, looking like a muscle-headed warrior, the very epitome of a frontline swordsman.
However, he rarely expressed a desire to participate in mock battles.
Of course, it wasn't that he was bad at mock battles.
It’s just that in such situations, Amon usually goes as the representative of Room 10.
That’s probably why Amon was left speechless.
He had expected to be the one to go, and suddenly the party leader declared he would go instead.
Of course, he had no dissatisfaction with that itself... but why?
Feeling the six gazes upon him, Nils scratched his cheek with his finger and shyly said,
"Well, you see... when you think of centaurs, they’re like the pinnacle of martial monsters... Opportunities to fight with all your strength like this are unlikely to come in a lifetime. So, I just wanted to give it a try..."