The Village Without Men
“I heard Lord Lucifer has successfully bribed several high-ranking nobles of the Seolha Empire. She plans to use that foothold to establish a proper base there as well…”
“They say the Demon King himself is quite pleased with the news…!”
“Lord Chierre and the other corps commanders have been meeting with Lord Lucifer quite frequently lately… Hup!”
Seras, the vampire sent by Blood to monitor Lucifer’s movements, could no longer continue. A dull, grating sound—grind—echoed as teeth clenched together. Blood’s expression was visibly hardening in real time.
Th-this is bad.
Sensing that saying anything more would spell disaster, Seras wisely trailed off. She quietly turned to leave.
“W-well then, I’ll continue my investigation.”
In situations like this, running was the only answer.
“Wait. Stop.”
Unfortunately, Blood had no intention of letting her escape.
Was she going to take her anger out on her? Heart pounding, Seras answered carefully.
“…Yes?”
“Bring one.”
“Who?”
“Anyone. Just drag in one of the pushovers working under Lucifer!”
“U-understood!”
Seras bolted like her life depended on it. She had no idea who it would be, but she hunted desperately for a single target. It was the only way to get out of this mess alive.
“I-I heard you called for me.”
“Yes. Sit down.”
The unlucky demon who had been snatched up—Endelion—couldn’t even raise her head. She had simply been passing by when she was grabbed and dragged before Blood, one of the Demon King’s Army corps commanders. To make matters worse, rumors of the bad blood between Blood and her current master, Lucifer, were everywhere.
“You serve under Lucifer, correct?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
“I’ve heard Lucifer’s been making quite the stir lately. You wouldn’t happen to know what kind of plans she’s currently pushing, would you?”
“Pardon?”
“Just tell me what you know. No pressure. Of course, I’ll simply treat it as something I overheard by chance while passing through. Go on, speak.”
Blood smiled as she spoke in a relaxed tone, but the menacing aura radiating from her made one thing clear: if Endelion didn’t spill everything, she might not leave this room alive.
Gulp.
“Well, you see…”
So she told her everything. Even the information she had been strictly ordered to keep secret—she dragged it all out without holding back.
Once Endelion had emptied her entire bowl of secrets, Blood nodded with a satisfied smile.
“Hehehehe. Excellent. Your name was Endelion, yes? I like you.”
“Y-yes, ma’am.”
Even her name was known now. If this ever reached Lucifer’s ears… wouldn’t she be dead? Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. If that happened, she’d have no choice but to beg on her knees.
“And do you know anything about the healer who supposedly cured the emperor?”
“Who?”
“That… I believe his name was Sieg?”
Sieg?! There was no way she wouldn’t know him. He was part of the very group that currently held her heart hostage. Thanks to that, the information she had just spilled had already been passed along to the Baekya Duchess.
“I’d appreciate it if you told me everything you know about him… You can do that, can’t you?”
“W-well, that’s…”
Endelion, who had been about to speak, suddenly froze. Her body reacted on pure instinct. She didn’t want to harm Sieg.
“Actually, you don’t need to tell me anything particularly impressive. I’d just like to know exactly how outstanding his healing ability is.”
“His healing ability…?”
“Well, I can make a rough guess. After all, he’s a man, isn’t he? Even if he’s a healer, it’s obvious how this works. The emperor was surely healed by a saintess, and the male healer simply assisted. My subordinate keeps insisting I be careful, so I’m just confirming.”
Because he was a man? What nonsense. The very Sieg who had completely restored Endelion’s dying body with a single gesture? The one who made the blind see, the lame walk, the sick become clean, and the deaf hear?
What should she do? Tell the truth, or hide it?
Unlike when she had spoken about Lucifer, Endelion grew extremely cautious.
“I’m thinking of capturing that Sieg fellow myself. If I eliminate the opponent who gave Lucifer so much trouble, wouldn’t the credit come to me? I wonder— if I curse him with my blood magic, could that Sieg actually heal it?”
At the additional explanation, Endelion made her decision. She knew exactly what she had to do.
“Just as Lord Blood expected, he is merely a man at best. He cannot use any truly remarkable healing magic.”
“Is that so?”
She would hide the information about Sieg. Even though they held her heart hostage and relentlessly demanded intelligence from her, Endelion lied without hesitation. She had decided this was the way to protect him.
“Good. Then I must move at once.”
Blood rose energetically. If she eliminated the Sieg that Lucifer had failed to handle, the Demon King would surely look at her in a new light. She was certain of it.
*
It had already been two weeks since we set off for the Goshura Great Forest.
After a long journey, we finally reached the remote border village.
It was the last settlement before entering the Goshura Great Forest, and it was far larger than it appeared. More like a small city.
The moment we arrived at the entrance, the gatekeepers greeted us with startling enthusiasm.
“A man? It’s a man!”
“What did you say? A man?! No way!”
“Man! Man! Man! Man!”
It was the most peculiar welcome I had ever received. They were literally shouting in excitement at the sight of me.
“S-should we go somewhere else?”
Nero must have sensed something was off too, because she grabbed the hem of my clothes.
This village definitely felt strange.
Soho checked the map and spoke up.
“But there aren’t any other villages nearby, are there?”
“W-well, that’s true. Maybe we should have stopped at Kashimir Castle after all.”
Nero scratched her head.
“If we had… wouldn’t we have been caught by the Church?”
I answered.
The Kashimir territory that bordered the Goshura Great Forest—and its central stronghold, Kashimir Castle—had been deliberately avoided. Since they were in the middle of planning a beastmen subjugation, the place was crawling with Church personnel. Because we had chosen to avoid the Church’s eyes, we had no choice but to steer clear of major cities.
Thanks to Nero’s magic, the journey here hadn’t been too difficult. But once we entered the Goshura Great Forest, only harsh wilderness awaited us. We couldn’t afford to skip this village.
“Then let’s go in,” Soho said, taking the lead. Having traveled extensively, she moved with complete confidence.
“Welcome to our village. Hehehehe.”
The village chief herself came out to greet us—a middle-aged woman with a warm smile.
“Thank you for welcoming us.”
Soho stepped forward to handle the conversation with the chief. We had decided not to reveal Nero’s identity. Our official story was that we were on a patrol mission, sent by the Arcadia Empire’s imperial command to assess the state of the Goshura Great Forest. Once again, secrecy was our top priority.
“…I see. In any case, you are most welcome. Merchants have grown scarce lately, so it has been a very long time since we’ve had visitors from outside. Hehehe.”
The chief smiled brightly after hearing the situation from Soho.
“We’ve missed seeing new faces so much. It’s wonderful to meet you.”
Then her eyes met mine. She kept grinning at me, and I felt a chill run down my spine.
With the chief’s guidance, we were able to replenish our supplies and rest properly. They even threw a festival, saying they wanted to hold a proper welcome ceremony.
“Drink up! It’s a festival!”
All kinds of food and alcohol were laid out as the villagers gathered in one place. We were finally able to eat our fill after days of scarcity, but—
“Lord Sieg, doesn’t something feel strange?”
Soho approached quietly and whispered. I nodded. I had felt it from the moment we arrived—the odd atmosphere had a clear source.
“There are no men here.”
“Exactly.”
Every villager should have gathered for the festival, yet there wasn’t a single man in sight. I had heard that many men had been captured during recent beastmen raids. It seemed this village had suffered the same fate.
People of all ages—children, adults, and elders—were present, but no matter how hard I looked, there were no men among them.
“Hehehe… There is a rather unfortunate story behind it.”
Apparently having overheard us, the chief approached.
“After the beastmen attacked and took our men, every male in the village was sent to Kashimir Castle for safety.”
“No…”
“They say it’s for our protection, but we have no idea when—or if—they will return. We’re left waiting with no promises.”
With slumped shoulders, she took a long swig of beer.
“Kya! So seeing a man after so long, I got far too excited…. There’s no hidden meaning behind it, so please, enjoy yourselves.”
Her tearful expression was heartbreaking. With their families, lovers, and friends taken or sent away to the city, the grief they carried must have been deeper than I could imagine. Yet to keep from drowning in sorrow, they held frequent festivals and gatherings to lift their spirits.
“Please eat and drink as much as you like!”
Akasha was overjoyed at the chance to binge after so long, while Nero timidly picked at her food. Soho enthusiastically downed cup after cup of alcohol, and I ate in moderation. Everyone eventually went to bed satisfied.
I was given a large room all to myself. During the journey we had mostly camped together, so it had been a while since I enjoyed the luxury of sleeping alone.
Since we planned to depart at first light, I intended to sleep early. I closed my eyes, drifting off—
Rustle.
I sensed people nearby. The faint sound of footsteps. More than one or two?
Goosebumps prickled across my skin as I quickly sat up. I grabbed the self-defense weapon I had prepared earlier.
Of all the times for us to be separated…
Akasha, Nero, and Soho were all sleeping in different places. The village was simply too small to house everyone together.
The stealthy footsteps stopped right outside my door. The one who appeared was the chief.
“Lord Sieg… I have a favor to ask. Do you have a moment?”
“A favor?”
What kind of request would bring her here in the middle of the night?
“Would you… sow some seeds for us?”
Seeds? What did she mean? Surely she wasn’t talking about that?
My doubts didn’t last long. When the chief opened the door wider, several women entered. They were already completely naked.
“You may do as much as you like, however you desire.”
It was a request I could never have imagined.