Chapter 250

“Red Scales.”

It was the name of the village where we arrived two days after leaving the farm.

Compared to the Elden Village, it was much larger, and there were traces of time everywhere, noting the history that the village had walked.

I was told that most of the Dragon demons in the Demon world were born in the village called ‘Red Scales’, and it was also the same for Lia, who came with us.

Escorted by soldiers, our carriage entered the village. Since the village did not have that many outsiders visiting, the residents gathered near the entrance to look at us.

There were a lot of people who looked similar to Lia – Big thick horns on their heads, and red eyes. The villagers of Red Scales had an atmosphere similar to Lia as a whole.

From time to time, the little dragon demons squeezed out through the adults’ legs and watched the carriage with eyes filled with curiosity.

When I took my hand out of the window and waved, the Dragon demon children burst out laughing and waved back.

They had warm smiles on their innocent faces, which was in complete contrast to the adults who hurriedly hid the children behind them.

Looking at the alertness of the adults, I lowered my hand awkwardly in response.

“…….”

The more we went into the village, the more obvious the reaction of the villagers was. Some welcomed us, while some frowned and openly expressed their disapproval.

I thought it was a little strange, so I wanted to ask Ryan, but I couldn’t because of Lia, who was next to me.

“We’re here.”

The carriage stopped when it arrived at its destination. The coachman quickly got down to the ground and opened the carriage door. The soldiers who were with us also lined up and settled down as if they were about to escort us.

The group in the carriage stepped outside one after another. Finally, when Speranza took my hand and got off, the Dragon demons waiting in front of the building approached us.

The Dragon demons were all dressed in similar clothes, clothes with unique decorations and patterns that looked like traditional clothes. Among them, the oldest-looking male dragon demon came forward and introduced himself.

“Thank you for coming all the way here. I’m Diur, the son of the Village chief.”

The Dragon demon named Diur welcomed us with a very polite attitude. He was a male with broad shoulders, dark eyebrows, and calm eyes.

On our part, I stepped forward and answered the greeting.

“Hello, I’m Sihyeon Lefmere Cardis, who rules the Cardis estate. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You are Lord Cardis. It’s an honor to meet you.”

Diur also briefly greeted the others. And at the end, he exchanged eye contact with Lia for a short moment and nodded his head without greeting.

“Follow me. I’ve prepared a warm room and tea in advance.”

I held Speranza’s hand and followed Diur, who led us to the inside of the building.

As we entered inside, I felt warm energy on my cheeks. Speranza continued to look around as if she felt the inside of the building strange.

We soon came to a large room guided by Diur. There was a large fireplace on one side and a soft carpet on the floor.

And as soon as we entered the room, warm tea and snacks were provided as if they were waiting for us to enter.

“We’ll talk about the important things once the villagers gather. Rest in this place until then. If you need anything, you can tell the person waiting outside. Then….”

Diur kindly finished his job and moved toward the door. Before he left the room, he looked at Lia for a moment. Lia rose from her seat after noticing the meaning in his gaze.

“Sihyeon, can I go to greet the elders in the village?”

“Oh! Of course. Don’t worry about us. Please.”

“Sorry, I’ll be right back.”

Lia bowed her head with an expression of sorry.

Kaneff waved his hand as if asking her to hurry up, while Ryan smiled as if not to worry. Speranza mumbled the snack she received and waved cutely.

Soon, Lia left the room along with Diur.

There was an awkward silence in the room as soon as Lia left, and the sound of Speranza eating the snacks resounded in the space.

“Papa…”

“Speranza, are you sleepy?”

“Un…”

Speranza began to doze off because of the fatigue caused due moving in the carriage and the warm energy in the room. She fell asleep quickly when I held her in my arms and tapped her on the back a few times.

After confirming that Speranza was deeply asleep, I asked Ryan what I was curious about earlier.

“Ryan, wasn’t the atmosphere a little weird earlier? Aren’t we here to help, but why does it feel like the villagers don’t like our presence here.”

“Ah… You noticed. It’s not just us, the reaction will be the same whenever demons who do not belong to Red Scales enter this place.”

“……?”

Ryan continued his explanation in a low voice so that Speranza wouldn’t wake up.

“This whole place, including the Red Scale village, is now ruled by the Demon Lord, but not long ago it used to be ruled by the Dragon demons. This change occurred during the reign of the previous Demon Lord.”

“That means….Did the previous Demon Lord annex the area ruled by the Dragon demons with the empire?”

“Yes. Of course, in exchange for an oath of allegiance, the Dragon demons were granted autonomy here. There’s very little interference from the Castle.”

“Hmm…”

Even though Ryan’s explanation was not completely finished, I could get a grasp of what was going on here.

“Of course, the annexation was not completely peaceful. Naturally, there were quite a lot of Dragon demons who opposed the rule of the Demon Lord, so some big and small incidents have happened in the past.”

Ryan glanced away when he said ‘big and small events’. It was a very short moment, but his eyes were clearly looking toward Kaneff.

“Diur said earlier that he was the son of the Village chief, right?”

“Yes.”

“Previously, the title used to be Tribal chief. It was replaced with the title Village chief instead of tribal chief when Red Scales became part of the Demon Lord’s empire. There are still a lot of people among the Dragon demons who think of this change as disgraceful.”

Certainly, I think I would also think the same way if I was in the position of the Dragon demons. It seems like the disapproving eyes of the residents were not pointed toward us but toward the regime of the Demon Lord.

“This is why I followed you this time… because  Sihyeon should not be in trouble due to this strained relationship.”

I nodded when I realized why Ryan had joined the mission. While I was talking to Ryan, I felt a movement outside the door.

Knock, knock.

A female Dragon demon carefully opened the door and said.

“The chief and everyone had gathered to talk to the guests. I’ll show you to the place.”

“Let’s go, Sihyeon.”

“Yes, will you stay here, Boss?”

Kaneff nodded half-asleep in a soft chair.

“Why do I have to go there? You guys take care of your own troubles.”

Ryan and I nodded as if we expected that kind of reaction from Kaneff.

“Boss, then, can you take care of Speranza for a while.”

“Okay.”

I carefully handed over the sleeping Speranza to Kaneff, who held her in his arms and closed his eyes.

A smile bloomed on my face looking at the comfortable appearance of the two.

“Shall we go?”

“I’ll show you the way. Follow me.”

Ryan and I followed the female Dragon demon out of the room.

She led us to a large building along the passage outside the building. The place we were guided to first seemed to be the building where the guests stayed.

After walking a little while we reached the place where the villagers gathered.

“Here it is.”

The female Dragon demon stopped in front of a large door. She knocked on the door to inform everyone on the inside of our arrival.

Knock, knock.

“I’ve brought the guests.”

The sound of the conversation from the inside of the door got cut off. Soon after, the voice of an elderly person came from inside.

– Bring the guests inside.

Along with those words, the large door opened on both sides, and the Dragon demon woman led us inside.

As soon as we entered the room, the first thing I saw was a long and large table. At the end of the table, I could see a Dragon demon sitting on a tall, colorful chair.

The Dragon demon on the chair had a shaggy mustache and many wrinkles on his face. Despite his old age, he stood up straight and spoke in a clear voice.

“Hurry up and come here. I’ve arranged an appropriate seat for the honorable guests in advance.”

Ryan and I headed to an empty seat at the end of the table.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

As soon as we sat down, the attention of numerous Dragon demons around the table was focused on us. Among them was Diur, who welcomed us and Lia.

The gaze of the Dragon demons was very burdensome, but still, I managed my expression as much as possible as if saying everything was fine.

“I should have met you myself, I’m really sorry. My name is Bardan, Village Chief of Red Scales.”

“I’m Sihyeon Lefmere Cardis.”

“I’m Ryan, from the Pelintz family.”

“I’m ashamed to call the precious guests before they could relieve their fatigue, but please understand… The fate of the village is at stake.….”

“That’s all right. I’m fine.”

“We already know the seriousness of the situation. We can’t be unnecessarily polite in this kind of time.”

Chief Bardan, who nodded at our answer, immediately brought up the main topic.

“I think you must have heard the difficult situation through the Castle. We are trying to stop them as much as possible with the village warriors and the supporting forces from the Castle, but the problematic Yakum group is already within reach of the village.”

“Ugh…”

“Haa…”

As soon as the story of Yakums came out, sighs and groans came out around the table. I immediately understood how much they were suffering.

“The anxiety and fear of the residents are growing day by day, and if we get pushed further, we may have to evacuate everyone in the village…”

Bardan said, looking at me with eyes filled with sorrow.

“The Cardis estate and this place are far away, but I have heard rumors about Lord Cardis several times. It was full of unbelievable miracles.”

“…….”

“We don’t have much time. If we miss this time, something really irreversible will happen.”

He asked earnestly.

“Lord Cardis, can we trust you and leave it to you?”

The moment I was about to open my mouth to answer the question.

“Chief, are you seriously believing those stupid rumors?”

“…….”

Someone’s discontented voice interrupted me.