Town of Licarice.
One of the three great cities of the Demon Continent.
During the Human-Demon War, this was the town that served as the stronghold of Demon Emperor Kishrika Kishirisu.
Also known as Old Kishiris Castle.
The first thing that surprises a visitor about this town is its location.
It was built inside an enormous crater.
The crater serves as natural city walls, having thwarted countless enemy invasions throughout history.
Even now, it remains a natural barrier against Monster incursions.
At the center of the town stands the partially ruined Kishiris Castle.
The castle was destroyed during the Laplace War Campaign.
It bears the scars of the battle between the Kishrika-faction Demon King and Laplace, the Demon God.
Sturdy walls and a black-gold castle that still faintly recalls its former glory— Together, they impress upon visitors the might of the former Demon Emperor and the harsh history of the Demon Race.
Licarice is a town of considerable pedigree.
And travelers will come to know its true beauty at dusk.
—Excerpt from *Walking the World* by adventurer Bloody Kant.
--- That is what the "Town of Licarice" means to me, based on my knowledge.
There are three entrances to the town.
Fissures in the crater wall double as gateways.
The crater rises high enough that, unless you can fly, infiltrating from anywhere other than these entrances would be nearly impossible.
And each entrance is guarded by two sentries.
In other words, the town's security is tight.
I looked at
"What's wrong...?"
I recalled our conversation back in the Migurd Race village.
"Ruijerd. We can get into this town, right?"
"I've never entered. I always get turned away."
Even among humans, the Supard Race is deeply despised.
It's practically ingrained in their DNA.
You only need to see how
I'd hoped the Demon Continent might be different, but apparently not.
"So, how exactly do they turn you away?"
"As soon as I approach the town, the gate guards start shouting, and before long a horde of adventurers shows up."
In my mind's eye, I pictured guards yelling "Stop!!" while tough-looking men poured out of every corner of town to come at us.
"Then we should probably use disguises, right?"
When I said that, Ruijerd glared at me with an annoyed expression.
"Disguises?"
Something about the idea clearly bothered him.
"Calm down. The first priority is getting inside the town."
"No—what exactly do you mean by 'disguise'?"
"Huh?"
He didn't know what a disguise was.
Was it a cultural difference?
Well, even if he had known, he probably still wouldn't have been allowed in.
"A disguise is when you alter your appearance to conceal your identity."
"Oh... and how do you go about it?"
"Well... for starters, let's just cover your face."
I sat down on the spot and pressed my hands to the ground, channeling mana into the earth.
--- "Halt!"
Soldiers stood at the town entrance.
One had a snake's head and a menacing look, and the other had a pig-like head with a smug expression.
"Who are you! What's your business here?"
The snake-headed one had his hand on the sword at his hip as he challenged us.
The pig-headed one was leering at Eris with a sleazy look.
This... pig... bastard. They'd probably get along great.
"We're travelers."
As planned, I stepped forward.
"Adventurers?"
"Y—no, we're not. Just travelers."
I almost blurted out "yes" by reflex, but I had no proof of registration.
For people our age, claiming to be aspiring adventurers wouldn't be unusual, though.
"And who's that man behind you? Suspicious-looking fellow."
Ruijerd's face was hidden behind the rock full-face helmet I'd made.
His spear had its tip wrapped in cloth, making it look almost like a staff.
Suspicious, indeed.
Still, better than showing his true Supard Race appearance.
"He's my brother. A strange adventurer gave him this helmet, and when he put it on, it got stuck.
I heard there might be someone in this town who could remove it, so—"
"Ha ha! What a fool's tale!
Well, can't be helped then.
Go ask the old hag at the item shop—she might be able to do something about it."
The snake-head laughed and took a step back.
They weren't very wary of us.
If this were Japan, a man in a full-face helmet would draw far more suspicion.
Maybe because we had a child with us.
Or perhaps people wearing helmets weren't all that rare around here.
"By the way, where can someone earn money in this town?"
"Earn money? What would you need that for?"
"My brother's stuck in this helmet until it comes off, and if removing it costs money, I'll need to earn some."
The snake-head muttered, "I see—that old hag might actually charge you for it."
The item shop must run a pretty tight operation.
Oh well, not my problem.
"Then head to the Adventurers Guild.
Anyone can earn day wages there without startup capital, even outsiders."
"I see."
"Go straight down this road. It's a big building—you can't miss it."
"Thank you."
"Registering with the Adventurers Guild also gets you a discount on inns.
Even just registering is worth it."
I gave a casual bow and walked through the gate.
Then I stopped.
"Come to think of it—is this town always this on edge?"
"No, apparently someone recently spotted 'Dead End' around here. They're on high alert."
"What?! That sounds terrifying..."
"Yeah—let's hope it moves on somewhere else quickly."
"Dead End."
A frightening name.
It must be some truly dreadful Monster.
--- Entering the town proper.
The streets were slightly shorter than those in Roaa, but spread out just as wide.
The layout of towns seemed to follow a familiar pattern everywhere.
Near the entrance, inns and stables catering to merchants lined the road.
"So, adventurers, huh..."
Based on everything I'd gathered in my life so far, adventurers were essentially temp workers.
Skilled people registered with a talent agency called the Adventurers Guild, received job assignments, and steadily built up their reputations.
Ordinary folk posted quests through the Guild.
Competent adventurers were dispatched to handle them.
"I'm not sure if we can actually earn money, but it might be worth registering?
It could double as identification. What do you think, Eris?"
"Adventurer! Become! Becoming one!"
Eris's eyes were sparkling.
Come to think of it, she'd asked Gilleen about his adventuring days more than once.
She might have secretly admired that life.
"Ruijerd, are you already an adventurer?"
"No, I've never been inside a big enough town to have an Adventurers Guild."
Right. So the Guild only existed in large towns.
"Well, that might actually work out better..."
Plans were steadily falling into place in my head.
I couldn't keep wearing this heavy helmet forever.
With my face hidden, I'd never earn the Supard Race a good reputation.
I could do something big and then reveal "Surprise! I'm actually Supard!"—that could work too.
But I'd heard that the lowest-rank adventurer jobs were just odd jobs around town.
Actually, doing small tasks might create a better impression of surprise than going for the grand gesture.
If things went well, it could earn the town's trust.
Ruijerd had a likable personality.
Even better than "He single-handedly defeated a powerful Monster and saved the town" would be "He rescued lost children"—that kind of contrast would resonate more.
I'd already proven that in the Migurd village.
Helping people rather than fighting Monsters should be the focus.
Approach people without prejudice.
With Ruijerd's personality, that alone should suffice.
But for helping people, this helmet was a problem.
Not being able to see facial expressions was a minus.
If it were me, I wouldn't trust someone whose face was hidden.
Maybe switch to a helmet that only covers the hair and forehead...
No, that would still be suspicious.
I didn't know if this world had a custom of removing headwear when meeting people, but personally, I'd find it rude.
However, doing small good deeds one at a time would take forever.
I needed to establish Ruijerd's presence throughout the town and build a positive image.
"Hmm... what to do?"
First, we needed name recognition.
No matter how many good deeds he performed, if he was just some nameless young man, it wouldn't matter.
To get people to remember his name, maybe I should start with a big Monster hunt after all.
In this world, the strong were generally accepted.
Defeating a well-known Monster could improve his social standing to some degree.
Of course, with the Supard Race, the fact that they were strong was already known—so it could easily backfire.
Wait, though. What if it were a crisis threatening the whole town?
Everyone trapped in desperate danger, and then—accompanied by a triumphant fanfare—the dashing young man appears: "The demon-world heartthrob, Ruijerd!"—and takes down the enemy in one strike.
Oh, that could work!
The question was, what would the enemy be?
And conveniently, I'd just heard the perfect name.
"Ruijerd.
Do you know what 'Dead End' refers to?"
Lure a Monster called "Dead End" into town.
Let the town fall into panic.
Then have Ruijerd defeat it.
A classic tale of good triumphing over evil.
Perfect.
But his answer was not what I expected.
"That's me."
"...What do you mean?"
What the—?
Another philosophical riddle!?
That's what I thought, but...
"I'm called that in some circles."
Ruijerd = "Dead End."
So that was it.
Well, that made sense.
Of course people would be on guard if a Supard Race member was wandering near their town.
And to think he'd earned such a dangerous epithet...
Just how feared was he...?
I also thought the gate guards could stand to do their jobs a bit more competently.
They probably didn't even see Ruijerd as a person.
Just a rampaging Demon Race creature too stupid to attempt a disguise.
"What do I do now..."
But this epithet had high name recognition.
It could be useful.
"There's no bounty on him or anything, right?"
"Yeah. That's not a concern."
Really?
It's fine, right?
I'll trust you on this?
Don't lie to me—I don't want that!
Either way, I'd need to adjust my plan a bit.
--- First, before heading to the Adventurers Guild, we browsed the market stalls.
The stalls near the entrance all looked roughly similar.
Though prices varied widely.
And so did the merchandise.
For example, where Roaa would have had a stable, here they were selling lizard-like creatures.
In the Demon Continent's terrain—full of elevation changes and rocky ground—these creatures were probably more useful than horses.
There were no shared carriages, but individual merchants operated their own wagons.
For the long journey ahead, there were many things we wanted.
We'd need to collect them gradually.
But today's purchases were already decided.
I scanned the prices while looking for the cheapest stalls.
We weren't in a hurry, but I didn't want to spend too much time either.
What I was after: dye, a hooded cloak, and if available, something resembling a lemon.
"Mister, isn't this dye a bit overpriced? You're not gouging me, are you?"
"Don't be ridiculous—this is the fair price."
"Is it really?"
"Of course it is!"
"But they're selling the same thing over there for half this price."
"What!?"
"Well, there might be a quality difference... Oh, this cloak is nice. I'll take this and those lemon-like things over there together—any chance you can throw in a deal?"
"Kid, you're a natural negotiator. Fine. Take 'em."
"Oh, right. Would you buy these off me? I've got some Pax Coyote fur, Acid Wolf fangs, and stuff..."
"That's a decent haul. Let me see... two, four, six... How about three Scrap Iron Coins?"
"That's way too low. Six, at least."
"Come on—four, then."
"Deal. Done."
I haggled like that and wrapped up the transactions in one go.
Since I didn't know the going rates, I had no idea if these were good deals.
Honestly, I'd haggled, but I still felt like I might have gotten swindled.
Remaining funds: one Iron Coin, four Scrap Iron Coins, and ten Stone Coins.
Money given to me by
I had to spend it wisely.
We ducked into an empty back alley.
I hoped nobody shady would bother us...
Well, if they did, Ruijerd could handle it.
It would be a chance to earn more money.
"Ruijerd, if anyone picks a fight with us, let's beat them half to death."
"Half to death? You mean leave them between life and death?"
"No, just beat them up normally."
But unfortunately, nobody picked a fight.
I mean—really, unfortunately.
Although, the kind of people who'd try that probably wouldn't carry any money anyway.
"Ruijerd, let's dye your hair first."
"Dye my... hair?"
"Yes. With this dye."
"I see—change the hair color.
That's a clever idea."
He was impressed.
Apparently, dyeing hair wasn't a custom in this world.
Or maybe Ruijerd just didn't know about it—he didn't come down to civilization very often.
"However, shouldn't we pick a more different color?"
I'd chosen blue.
I'd picked the shade closest to the Migurd Race's color.
"No—there's a Migurd Race settlement about three days' walk from here.
A lot of people know about it.
So starting today, Ruijerd, you're Migurd Race."
"...And what about you two?"
"We're your lackeys number one and two that you picked up somewhere."
"Lackeys? I thought we were equal warriors?"
"That's the setting. You don't need to remember any of it—just follow my lead and I'll act it out for others."
What we were about to do was put on a show.
I explained the "setup" to Ruijerd.
Starting today, Ruijerd would be Royce—a young Migurd man pretending to be the Supard Race's "Dead End."
This young Migurd named Royce had always wanted to be the kind of figure everyone feared and respected.
One day, he picks up two children.
Children who use Magic and Swordsmanship.
They become devoted to Royce for saving them.
"Devoted?"
"Not me, personally."
"I see."
These two kids were quite strong.
Seizing on that, Royce came up with an idea.
He was tall, even among the Migurd.
If he impersonated the "Dead End" Ruijerd, people might fear him more easily.
If a fight ever broke out, he could sic these two on his opponent.
The two children were kids, but useful nonetheless.
He'd use them to rocket to fame all at once.
"So you'd impersonate me—you're quite the shameless man."
"I know, right? Totally shameless.
But what if the fake Ruijerd did good deeds?
What would people think?"
"...What would they think?"
"He's clearly a fraud, but he's actually a pretty decent guy."
What I needed was comedy and inconsistency.
The kind of guy who'd impersonate others, but who wasn't actually bad at heart.
That was the key.
"Hmm..."
"Word spreads that the fake Ruijerd is a good guy.
Once that rumor takes hold, we've won.
Eventually the details blur and what remains is: 'Ruijerd is a good guy.'"
"...That's impressive, but would it actually become reality?"
"It will."
I said it with certainty.
At the very least, Ruijerd's reputation couldn't sink any lower than it already was.
He was at rock bottom already.
"So it was that simple...?"
"It's not simple at all—I don't even know if it'll succeed."
Plans always go wrong somewhere.
The more meticulous the plan, the more it falls apart in the second half.
But if everything went well, layering rumor upon rumor might let Ruijerd's true nature finally come through.
"But what if the lie is exposed?"
"Don't worry. You're not lying about anything, Ruijerd."
"...What do you mean?"
Pretending to be Migurd while claiming the name Ruijerd.
Following the plan, doing good deeds to make people like him.
Not even using a fake name.
"Royce" was just a precaution for if they got too close to discovering the Supard Race truth—Ruijerd himself would always give his real name.
Ruijerd of the Supard Race.
The townspeople would simply assume on their own that "Royce the Migurd is pretending to be Ruijerd."
So there was no lie involved.
The only one lying was me.
But Ruijerd seemed uncomfortable with deception, so I'd keep that to myself.
"They'll just assume I'm Migurd on their own."
"Hmm... ah, I see. Since I'm impersonating myself—but then playing the Royce part...
My head's getting tangled. What should I do?"
"Just act natural."
Ruijerd looked troubled.
This man would never make it as a method actor.
"But don't take the bait from cheap provocations and kill anyone."
"Hmm... you mean I shouldn't pick fights?"
"You can, but pretend to struggle.
Take a few hits, pant heavily on your shoulder, and then narrowly win in the end."
After saying that, I wondered whether he could actually pull off that kind of acting.
But then: "Pulling my punches—what's the point?"
He was fine with that part.
"At the same time that they'll think 'the real Ruijerd wouldn't be this weak,' they'll also think, 'Wait, if the real one is that strong, isn't he actually amazing?'"
"I don't really follow..."
"It makes them think I'm a fake while also putting them in a good mood."
"What good does a good mood do?"
"It'll spread the rumor that the Supard Race isn't actually weak."
At that, Ruijerd's expression darkened.
"The Supard Race is not weak."
"I know.
But they're feared because they're strong.
If people learn they're not so scary, the current situation might ease up."
That said, being thought of as too weak was also a problem.
A Supard Race member surviving in unknown lands—they could face persecution all over again.
Balance was key.
"I see..."
Well, that should cover it.
The more I explained, the more likely I'd slip up.
"I'll support you with everything I've got, but how it turns out depends on your efforts, Ruijerd."
"Yeah, I understand. Leave it to me."
I used juice from the lemon-like fruit we'd bought at the market to bleach Ruijerd's hair.
His emerald-green hair had relatively light pigmentation, so the bleaching worked.
Then I saturated it with dye.
Hmm.
Not exactly beautiful.
Rather ugly, in fact.
But at least it didn't look green anymore.
From a distance, it might pass for Migurd—well, no, his height made that impossible.
But he probably wouldn't look Supard anymore.
Disguises worked best when they were vague.
He looked kind of Migurd, but claimed to be Ruijerd of the Supard Race—without fitting either category, leaving people thinking, "Wait, what?"
"Oh, and here—take this."
I unhooked the necklace from my own neck and placed it around Ruijerd's.
"Is this a Migurd protective charm?"
"Yes. My master gave it to me as a graduation gift. I've worn it ever since—never take it off."
If he wore this, at least people would associate him with the Migurd Race.
People who recognized it, anyway.
"It's a precious thing. I'll make sure to return it."
"You'd better."
"I will."
"If you lose it, I'll genuinely kill you."
"I understand."
"To be specific: I'll use Earth Magic to seal this town's entrance and flood the crater with magma until it's completely filled."
"You'd take the other townspeople down too? There are children here!"
"If you want those children to live, don't you dare lose it."
"Hmm... if you're that worried, wouldn't it be better if you kept it from the start?"
"No, of course—that was just a joke."
"..."
Now, let's put the hooded cloak on Eris.
Her red hair was too conspicuous.
We needed to draw eyes to one place.
"Eris, about this cloak..."
I spread out the cloak we'd bought and noticed it had "ear pockets."
How to describe it...
It was like the hood worn by the sages in Final Fantasy III.
Not white, but it flared out behind the wearer like a mantle.
It was probably designed for Beast Race use.
I might have bought the wrong thing...
Eris didn't really care about clothes.
But judging by her Boreas-style greeting, she clearly didn't want to dress or pose in a particularly Beast Race manner.
"Um, Eris, this cloak—I was thinking..."
"Ooh! That one! What—what are we gonna do with it!?"
"I was wondering how it would look on Eris~..."
"Really?!"
That was what I'd expected, but she was overjoyed.
So that gesture itself hadn't bothered her after all.
"I'll treasure it!"
Eris immediately put on the cloak and beamed from ear to ear.
Well, you know what—whatever the reason, she's happy, and that's what counts.
Now then, the Adventurers Guild was next.
The key was comedy.
I had to keep that in mind.
Let's hope it goes well.