Chapter 15

Makai Hongi

Now that I think about it, I did walk on a town road part of the way here.

So it made sense that there would be a town up ahead.

I had to leave the road in order to join the ogre army, but I would have seen the town if I continued onward.

However, when I entered the town, everything was completely quiet. It was like no one was there.

“Surely, this isn’t…a ghost town? Maybe they evacuated?”

Maybe they had all of the residents move, as this place would be turning into a battlefield.

It was easy to assume that the Demon World was constantly fighting all year long, but…no, that was actually right.

But there were still people who didn’t fight in the Demon World. In other words, civilians.

As for why they didn’t fight, it was simple as being much too weak.

In this world, your species determined your size. And so there was not much point in certain races fighting if they weren’t fit for it.

Kobolds were a good example. They were loyal and perceptive.

But they could not use magic, and their physical strength was weak. They could not fight with either style.

More importantly, they were much more useful for doing office work or being aides.

But even races that were not suited for the battlefield tended to be very tough. And they lived healthily wherever they escaped to.

“So, there really isn’t anyone here…oh, there’s one!”

I had thought everyone had already escaped, but I was wrong.

I had seen a giant moving tree.

“Are you…an ogre?”

“Hey, old man. Why didn’t you run away?”

“Because my roots lie deep in this ground. I cannot move even if I wanted to. Hohoho!”

His body…no, trunk, shook as he laughed boisterously. It was an old Cherry Ent.

I see. A ‘tree fairy’ type.

Ogres were ‘demon’ types, vampires were ‘night devil’ types. There were also different names for larger versions of each type. Regardless, residents of the Demon World that were trees and plants were called tree fairy types.

Aside from the Cherry Ent, there were Alraunes and Dryads.

But the Cherry Ents were unable to move.

Well, it wasn’t like they couldn’t move at all. It was possible for them to pull out their roots and walk at the same pace as a turtle.

A younger tree would have smaller roots and be able to walk as fast as a human.

But this old tree in front of me would likely have a very hard time uprooting himself.

“So, you couldn’t run away, old man.”

“It’s too much trouble.”

“There was no one to help you? Should I call some ogres?”

“No, I am very fond of this place. This place offers a great view and plenty of sun.”

Yes, the land here was elevated, and so there was nothing to block the sunlight.

That being said, I didn’t see how that was a good excuse to not run away when the enemy army was invading.

“Well, if the enemy does come to this town, I hope you won’t resist them. As long as you don’t move, they might let you go.”

If the town was taken over, there was no guarantee that the residents would be left safe.

It didn’t matter if you could fight or not. You might be sent to the next battlefield for forced labor. They might just kill if they felt that you were in the way.

It was unlikely they would see an old man who could not work, let alone move, as being much of a threat. But I was still worried.

And so I repeatedly told him to be careful.

“I know that. But it seems like I can become an advanced type very soon. And so I’m living while looking forward to that. Hohohoho!”

“That’s very enviable. In how much time will that happen?”

Becoming an advanced type. In other words, it was evolution.

Evolving into an advanced type had many benefits.