The Hero’s Party Members Treat Me Well for Some Reason

Street of the Outcast (1)

During our previous expedition, we departed in such haste that we carried little luggage.

This time, it was much the same.

Partly because of the hurried departure, but also because we could purchase supplies along the way.

The place we were currently heading was not quite the Demon Realm itself, but rather a village on its border.

For it was there that the building I desired, the Black Magetower, resided.

Regrettably, unlike other magetowers, the Black Magetower wasn’t located at the heart of a nation. Even though black magic had been legalized, its reputation remained poor.

It was akin to a prison, a factory, or a cemetery – a place to be avoided.

Such buildings could never be located at the city’s core, could they?

The Black Magic Tower, too, adhered to this, making the region they occupied a boundary line of the Demon Realm.

Located on the outskirts of the various nations, few people wandered here easily, and, because it bordered the human realm, monsters were relatively scarce.

Of course, the Demon Realm loomed just a few hundred meters away, so monsters did frequently intrude… but either way, the Black Magic Tower was, at its core, a force of arms.

They could dispose of monsters lurking near the Demon Realm’s entrance as easily as picking the meat from a chicken bone.

Even the monsters they caught were used as magical ingredients for novice Black Mages.

Aside from the low mana levels, the Demon Realm’s boundary line was, for them, a rather sweet location.

But this, then, raised a rather small question…

“Then, what about food, clothing, and shelter?”

Lily had, conveniently, voiced the curiosity.

As her question implied, a trivial problem of lacking infrastructure could arise.

Whatever they were, the Black Mages were still living creatures.

Basic necessities – eating, sleeping, relieving oneself – had to be met.

If people were to live, they needed clothes, an occasional delicious meal, and even some kind of establishment to relieve built-up stress.

But since this was the very edge of the human realm, one would expect such infrastructure to be scarce.

“Don’t worry,”

Surprisingly, however, proper infrastructure *did* exist there.

“There’s a village nearby, you see.”

A village inhabited by rather peculiar individuals, at that.

Our first destination, then, was that very place.

Even as I knew from the dark-skinned elf right here on our team.

In this world, there existed a handful of races beyond humans.

Elves, dwarves, or various kinds of demons who dwelled in the demonic regions, things of that nature.

But because this world was dominated by the human race, the treatment of these other races wasn’t exactly… favorable. If humans squabbled amongst themselves, how much more discrimination did you think other races would face?

That was why seeing a member of another race in a human territory was a rather rare sight. From their perspective, so easily persecuted, there was no reason to live within human lands.

So, where could you find them, then?

If you wished to see an elf, you went to a great forest. If you wished to see a dwarf, you tunneled beneath the earth.

But to meet those even more marginalized races, you had to seek out places where the foot of man rarely tread.

Yes, places like this, for example.

“We’ve arrived.”

After a long journey, stepping down from the carriage, I took a moment to survey the landscape.

A bizarre sky appeared, a strange hue where the crimson skies of the Demon Realm mixed with the blue of the Human Realm.

Before me stood several structures made of wood and mud. The village seemed quite large, especially considering it was located at the very edge of the human territories.

“Halt!”

“State your identity!”

As I approached the village, the guards protecting the gate blocked my path. But even *that* was unlike anything common.

Because the guards were not human, but comprised of other races.

A combination of lizardmen and insectoids, no less. Quite the novel formation. For a moment, Yulis flinched, thinking they were monsters, but, thankfully, his knowledge held him back from attacking.

I stepped forward and spoke to them.

“I am a hero. I have some business in this village. Could you let me pass?”

For the first time in a long while, not in my usual delinquent mode, but the everyday one.

The reason I’d adopted that rogue persona was to move more freely amongst the nobles.

A third-rate punk was better than some shadowy figure, after all.

But there were no nobles here, were there? And most were Otherkin besides. Without connections to worry about, I decided to just relax this time.

“Wh-what? You say you’re the Hero?”

“Suspicious… Could that Hero’s Crest be a forgery, perhaps?”

…Of course, that was entirely separate from my trustworthiness, though.

“Aish, I’m telling you, it’s real! Take a proper look, won’t you?”

“Hmm… It’s not like we’ve seen one of those Crests before.”

“Forgive us, but we cannot allow entry to suspicious individuals…”

Thanks to that, I was forced to bicker for quite a while.

What was with these monster-looking b*stards anyway? This is why you can’t go handing out human rights all willy-nilly.

If they just lacked sentience, I’d sweep them all away without a second thought.

“What is this commotion, what is all the noise?”

“Ah, Chief!”

As I was indulging in such dangerous thoughts, a new figure appeared.

A man with a sturdy build, distinct features, and dark skin. A Dark Elf.

“Ah, listen, Chief. This guy keeps saying he’s the Hero, what should we do?”

“What? Hmm… Eh?”

The fellow took a moment to look us over, and then suddenly made an expression of surprise. And then, he called out the name of one of our party members.

“Lady Adele?”

Summoned, Adele offers a smile, hesitant and strained.

“…It has been a while.”

After that, things proceeded with all due haste.

*

There was a slight kerfuffle, but still, we managed to slip in easily, thanks to Adele’s connections.

The hero, perhaps they wouldn’t know, but Adele, a dark elf just like them, was a different story.

Seems like there’s some kind of…color…that connects all of us darkskins.

In the real world, after all, there’s the massive cartel that is the Hood; why would this be any different?

Yes, Adele is from here, from the Hood. Not born here, exactly, but I know she lived here for quite a while.

“Nothing much seems to have changed here.”

“Haha, it’s only been a few decades, after all.”

She spoke with a touch of wistful nostalgia, prompting a response from the male dark elf beside her.

Having met an old friend from her homeland after a long time, she was currently touring the village. To me, the wooden houses all looked more or less the same, but she seemed to see something different.

Now that we were already in the village, I decided to just let her be.

Honestly, there wasn’t much for me to do here, anyway. The only tasks were to find an inn and replenish our dwindling supplies.

Our party wasn’t exactly short on coin, so neither presented much of a problem.

Therefore, I decided to let everyone go off and sightsee, as a treat for my party members.

The Black Magic Tower, after all, was a place only I had business with. Thankfully, the Black Magic Tower wasn’t too far from here.

Heading toward the tower, I took a moment to observe the street scene.

‘More than half are Dark Elves, eh…’

Just as expected of the ‘hood’, most are occupied by the sooty ones.

Well, when you think of a race persecuted in this place, Dark Elves are what come to mind. Though recognition has improved a lot now thanks to Adel and some ancestors, there was a time when Dark Elves were treated almost like the Demon King’s army.

That’s because their original territory was located near the Demon Realm.

Consequently, they were often tangled up with monsters en masse, and many would show hostility at the sight of a Dark Elf.

I don’t know if skin color is included in the cause of that discrimination… but these guys are a pitiful race in their own way.

“Damn…humans have come here again.”

“Disgusting b*stards. They must be here for dark magic, no doubt.”

Of course, I seemed to be the most pitiful one right now…

Perhaps because they’ve been discriminated against for so long, they now show hostility towards humans instead.

Those sooty b*stards are just as bad when it comes to racial discrimination.

Even here, the Black Magic Tower was a facility to be avoided.

Whatever the intention, black magic itself was a bizarre discipline, that’s true. Moreover, inevitable accidents due to experiments occur frequently when a magic tower is nearby.

From the citizens’ perspective, it was something they could never welcome.

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no other races who studied black magic…but that didn’t improve perceptions either.

Fortunately, they only showed hostility and didn’t do anything to harm me, so I went on my way without paying attention.

How long had I been walking like that? I was finally able to reach my desired destination.

The very edge of the village.

A large tower can be seen erected in the area closest to the red sky.

Unlike other magic towers, it is a gloomy tower painted only in black. The treasury of all black magic.

A certain unease clung to the air around it, for reasons unknown.

The building, even on outward appearance alone, was enough to warrant avoidance, yet for me, it was a space I absolutely had to visit. Because there were a few essential skills to be learned.

“Hoo…”

And with that, I took a deep breath and stepped inside.