The next day, Beldia left the Demon King's Castle after making his preparations.
He didn't bring any subordinates, charging toward the beginner's town alone.
"Witch, let's go too!"
Not long after Beldia departed, Eiji found Airi mingling with the demon soldiers.
"Go? Where?"
Airi gripped her staff, expertly equipping her gear.
"Seems you've fully embraced your role as the Demon King's secretary!"
Eiji gave her an approving glance before continuing, "We're heading to Axel too!"
"Axel? Why?"
Airi was startled and asked in confusion, "Isn't Beldia handling things there?"
"I don't think one Beldia is enough!"
Eiji flashed a benevolent smile.
"So I plan to personally block the gate!"
"Your smile looks really shady."
"Shut it!"
Eiji shot her a glare.
"If you understand, then hurry up and let's go!"
"Then I'll go prepare—"
"No, we leave now!"
Seeing her eyes darting around, Eiji immediately stopped her, staring at her intently.
Nice try.
She was definitely planning to inform the old Demon King, wasn't she?
If he found out I left the Demon King's Castle and went all the way to a beginner's town, he'd definitely cause trouble behind my back!
"Uh, can I at least grab a magic tool?"
Having her intentions seen through at a glance, Airi slumped in defeat.
"I'll go with you!"
Eiji gave her no chance.
"You'll come with me to the bathroom too?"
Midway, she looked at Eiji in utter disbelief.
"Are you sexually harassing the Demon King now?"
Eiji gave her a look that said he'd always known she was trouble.
Airi: "#$%^&*@!"
After retrieving a magic tool from the Treasure Vault, Eiji dragged Airi along and set off without delay.
...
The Kingdom of Belzerg was the only nation bordering the Demon King Army.
Because of this, it was also the only country at war with the Demon King Army. Most of the powerful adventurers gathered here to aid humanity in resisting the Demon King Army.
Other nations, such as the Kingdom of Elroad, didn't share borders with the Demon King Army, so no war occurred there. But if Belzerg fell, they would undoubtedly be the Demon King Army's next target.
They understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold," so they provided Belzerg with financial and personnel support.
The small town called Axel was located deep within Belzerg's territory.
It was the city farthest from the Demon King's Castle, surrounded by weak monsters, with powerful ones rarely seen. This made it relatively safe and the main reason it served as a beginner's town.
If traveling by carriage, the journey from the Demon King's Castle to Axel would take at least five days.
Beldia had set off first, riding his personal headless horse, which would still take about three days to reach Axel.
As for Eiji and Airi, they rode two earth dragons enhanced by Airi, sprinting through the mountains.
Even so, they still had to camp in the wilderness at night.
"Is there no town around here?"
In the middle of a desolate hill, Eiji felt like he was seeing the world in a new light.
"There are many monsters in the wilderness."
Airi knew he lacked common knowledge, so she patiently explained.
"Monsters like man-eating ogres and zombies can appear anytime, anywhere. It's far from easy for humans to build cities, so human settlements are actually quite rare in this world. The chances of encountering one in the wild are practically zero."
Monsters dared not approach human cities, but they roamed freely in the wilderness.
Thus, everywhere outside the cities was extremely dangerous. A single misstep could lead to an encounter with monsters and death at their hands. That's why small villages with just a dozen or so households were rarely seen.
"We haven't run into many monsters on our journey, though."
"Probably because they sensed our presence and fled instinctively."
Eiji's presence was nearly undetectable. With his perfect control over his body, he could conceal his aura at will. If he didn't want to be noticed, it was nearly impossible for others to detect him.
But Airi didn't know how to hide her powerful oni aura. Combined with the two enhanced earth dragons—now at the level of elite officers—ordinary monsters wouldn't dare approach them recklessly.
"Looks like we'll have to camp in the wild tonight."
"Not necessarily!"
In response to Eiji's sigh, Airi grinned.
She patted her skirt and pulled out a keychain-sized, square-shaped artifact from her pocket.
"You're still wearing garters?"
"...Father said it's better than nothing."
Airi's lips twitched.
If he had just fallen for her charms like a normal man, she wouldn't have to wear garters every day while traveling.
Lately, the soldiers in the army had been saying she'd changed a lot, which made her uncomfortable.
She tossed the artifact in her hand.
Poof!
A cloud of smoke erupted.
And then—a mansion materialized out of thin air on the empty land before them.
"Holy crap! A Capsule House!"
Eiji, who had recently revisited the Dragon Ball manga, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Exactly, exactly, just like that!"
Airi was delighted, waving her staff excitedly.
"This is a mansion-type magic artifact—one of only a handful in the entire world! With this, we won't have to rough it outside. We can sleep on soft beds!"
"And this artifact is amazing. Just like the Capsule House, even though it doesn't have plumbing, water flows when you turn the tap. It also stores food, holds luggage, and has a barrier that repels monsters..."
"Wait, what did you just say?"
Eiji suddenly cut off her enthusiastic explanation.
"It can hold luggage?"
He patted the bag on his back twice, smiling amiably.
"Uh..."
Airi froze.
"You did that on purpose?"
"...No."
"Say that to my face!"
The witch turned her head away, showing no intention of turning back.
"Good. It seems you fully understand your mistake."
Eiji smirked coldly.
"In that case, I'll take this magic artifact as a tribute from your guilt-ridden conscience. Consider the matter settled!"
"W-what?!"
Airi was stunned.
"Wait, that's an ultra-rare magic artifact—even the Demon King Army only has one! And I've been using it for years...!"
"Mine now."
"No!"
Thunk!
Eiji knocked her out with a punch to the back of her head.
Even as a secretary, I show no favoritism!
This is how fair I am as the Demon King!
"Wuwu..."
Tears welled up in Airi's eyes.
She could only watch helplessly as her magical artifact underwent procedural changes and ultimately fell into Eiji's hands, leaving her speechless with grief.
Several days later.
The two finally arrived at the beginner's town, Axel.