Intrel Village is the kind of place that often appears in novels as the "Village A," where the protagonist gains fame and experience points. Therefore, this village doesn't appear in the later parts of the story.

However, a few readers, including myself, noticed that Intrel Village does get mentioned later on. It was brought up by the demons.

[I heard that the one who had infiltrated the southwestern part of the empire created a new legion and cleared out the surrounding areas. Well, they were eventually subjugated, though.]

Whether or not this information reached the ears of the Hero’s party is unknown. The author didn’t directly mention or describe any reactions from them.

But what is certain is that the appearance of goblins and orcs near this village is somehow influenced by the demons.

Creak. Creak.

The metal rod I’m holding is a device that detects those demons. I got the idea from a friend and made it one day out of boredom.

'I should have taken more care when making it.'

This device only points in the direction of the demons; it doesn’t reveal their exact location or form. The method of detection is also somewhat improvised, so there's a chance it might just spin in circles.

Still, it’s better than throwing it into a magic artifact storage space and forgetting about it, so I took advantage of the Hero’s party being distracted and slipped out of the village.

Creak.

“Hmm, so it’s this way. Hmm.”

The detection rod slightly adjusts its head as it searches for the demon. I nodded, feeling a bit proud of it.

"Hmm, hmm. Who made you? You better give me a clear direction."

When walking, you should always keep your eyes forward. I had forgotten that obvious fact just a moment ago. Fortunately, falling into the ditch didn’t hurt me, and the detection rod was unharmed.

After brushing off the ditch water that had collected on my robe, I scrambled out. After confirming that no one had seen me, I cleared my throat and resumed walking.

Waaah…

When I had gotten quite far from the village, I heard faint cheers in the distance. It seemed the Hero’s party had begun their activities.

'It might show up soon.'

If that was the case, I would need to prepare for battle. I double-checked to see if my pristine white robe had gotten dirty.

I spun in a circle like an idiot to check the edges, but since no one had seen me, I didn’t care much. Sometimes, being too smart leads to doing foolish things.

'As they say, there’s a fine line between genius and stupidity.'

My earlier actions were just one of those moments.

Creak.

"Is it here?"

At some point, the detection rod stopped pointing in a single direction and began spinning wildly. It collided with itself and spun in every direction, causing quite the scene.

That meant the target I was looking for was right here. If the demon had materialized, I should be able to see it.

But since nothing was visible, it must not be here yet. I turned my gaze to the ground.

"How should I dig this up?"

I entered the magical artifact space filled with tools and began searching for the right one. Since I had left these artifacts lying around for so long, it felt like I was looking at them with fresh eyes.

Maybe that’s why.

"Hmm-hmm, hmmm~."

At some point, I started humming a little tune as I rummaged through the magical tools.

The Hero’s party began their extermination of the monsters. At the front of the line, the Hero, Aswell, crossed the mountain while endlessly running through simulations in his mind.

His holy sword and abilities could easily slay goblins and orcs. But Aswell never considered that power fully his own.

A fragile power that could disappear at any moment.

The Hero viewed the holy sword in this way, and because of that, he subjected himself to grueling daily training and study. More knowledge provided him with numerous strategies to dominate the battlefield, and more strength made those strategies possible.

It was also the teaching of his first mentor, Serlin. She had just headed to the opposite side to set up camp with him.

Meanwhile, Lapirie was stationed in the mountains, cleaning up the remaining monsters, and the non-combatant Arya was tending to the sick in the village. Their movements, honed over a year of working together, weren’t perfect, but they were certainly good enough.

'Louis…'

Come to think of it, when the villagers were giving their welcome earlier, Louis was nowhere to be seen. Arya didn’t seem to know either, so it was clear he had gone off somewhere as soon as the meeting ended.

'He’s either gone to sleep, or he’s working on some research.'

Based on Louis' behavior up until now, it was highly likely to be one of those two things. Aswell had always closely observed Louis' actions, so he was certain of it.

'Come to think of it, I didn’t mention anything about materials for the monsters.'

Louis had definitely said he came here to gather materials for magic. But now that they were in a place full of such materials, he wasn’t participating in the battle.

'Maybe goblin and orc materials are too common for him.'

Unfortunately, Aswell had no knowledge of the supply and demand for magical materials. But based on his personal experience, he could make some inferences.

Louis had probably dealt with goblin and orc byproducts several times before. So it made sense that he wouldn’t be interested in them now.

Ssssk.

"..."

The sly sound of footsteps right in front of him. A goblin.

'They have scouts now?'

This wasn’t yet their territory. But hearing the movements of a small group of goblins definitely meant they were scouts.

And the presence of scouts was a warning that the main force would soon move to expand their territory. If they had been even a day late, Intrel Village might have disappeared.

'Let’s end this quickly.'

As efficiently and quickly as possible, so that Lier won’t have to work too hard. At the same time, making sure Arya and Serlin won’t blame themselves.

'…And just in case Louis needs it, I’ll kill them cleanly.'

Swish.

The holy sword began to shine with its original light. Blue letters floated up from the black gloves gripping the sword, bestowing various spells upon Aswell.

Just by changing his gloves, his stance became more comfortable. Lowering his body as much as possible, Aswell shot forward like an arrow.

----!

----?!

Slice!

And so, the one-sided battle between the Hero and the monsters began.

Hmm.

No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find a suitable tool. The demon beneath me wasn’t the type to act hastily, so there was no need to rush.

This demon had been hiding its presence until the Hero’s party left, so it would probably stay quiet. I had plenty of time, but I still needed to return before the Hero’s party finished their work.

'Otherwise, they might get suspicious.'

I wasn’t planning on telling the Hero’s party about the demon I was hunting. Everything else was straight from the novel, so it didn’t matter, but this particular incident could have unforeseen consequences.

Honestly, capturing this demon wasn’t going to result in some huge power boost. So, I’d just deal with it quickly and head back.

"Deploy."

I summoned a pen and began muttering spells.

"Spread. Status. Statistics."

Blue and golden letters quickly aligned themselves in the air. Simultaneously, several materials were pulled from the space around me, suspended in the air.

"Hmm, this guy’s bones look good."

As if dragging, I drew a line in the air with my pen. The long bone floating nearby followed the path of the line and stopped in front of me.

"Disassemble. And... hmm."

Feeling like I was overthinking things, I paused and placed the pen in the air, circling around the area. It had become a habit I picked up while doing research in this world.

I orbited around the long bone like the Earth circling the sun, using it as a focal point.

"Complete disassembly? Or partial? Or maybe just in pieces?"

With each change in my words, the bone’s shape shifted accordingly. It turned to powder, then partially reformed, and then took on the appearance of a sugar cube.

Ssssk.

"Pieces will be good. Then I’ll add some scales and wing membranes, fuse them, and reshape."

Sssk. Crack!

"The exterior looks very good. Now for the core materials..."

• Uooooh!!

"Huh?"

I must have been too absorbed in crafting the magical tool, as I hadn’t heard anything approaching. By the time I realized it, a hulking green figure armed with a crude stone axe and shield, an orc with a savage grin, was already charging at me.

But, the orc never reached me.

Boom!

It crashed into the translucent sphere that encased me and fell unconscious. An orc’s axe, huh? Since I’m dealing with the one controlling the goblins and orcs, this will work as a core material.

"Sorry, I’ll be taking that axe."

Leaving the unconscious orc behind, I completed the final process. At last, I had crafted a magical tool similar to a drill.

But more importantly, that orc charging at me was unusual. Normally, that shouldn’t have happened. Sensing something was wrong, I turned back and examined the orc once more.

There were signs of fear-induced madness. In other words, the orc didn’t charge at me of its own will.

Which could only mean...

"It’s aware."

Boom!

I slammed the detection rod down hard, and it began drilling into the ground. Now, all that was left was for the drill to reach the demon. It had probably prepared some barriers and other defenses, but the drill would break through everything and create a direct tunnel to the demon.

"I should’ve brought some snacks."

I hadn’t eaten much for breakfast, and now I was getting hungry. I could almost taste the carrot soup I’d had in the last village.

"I’ll have to ask the village chief."

Carrot soup is a common recipe throughout the Empire. There was likely a unique variation of it in this village too.

Crack! Craaack!

----!!!!

A hard object was being ground down by the drill's tip. Looking below, I saw black roots spewing purple sap. Then came the howling.

It was here.