Demon Prince 39.1

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Chapter 39.1. It Was Common Knowledge

The registration and acceptance of requests at the Adventurers’ Guild are complete. Now, we’re heading toward the Northern Forest by carriage. At the Adventurers’ Guild, there was the usual...

[Hey, hey, this ain’t no playground for kids. Go home and suck on your mom’s breast!]

Or...

[Hey kid, you've got a pretty lady there. Why don’t you share her with us?]

But none of that happened.

“Well, there aren’t many idiots who’d mess with the Demon Lord’s son in their own country. Besides, Jun’s already famous as a healing mage.”

That’s what Ai said. Yeah, makes sense… But instead, there was this kind of interaction.

“Hey, Demon Lord’s son, even if it’s a safe request, you should get better equipment. The weapon’s fine, but at least wear some leather armor.”

“Um, Jun-sama, we’re beginners too. Would you like to form a party with us?”

We received both advice and an invitation. I thanked the adventurer who gave me advice and politely declined the party invitation.

By the way, my current equipment includes a standard longsword and shortsword, the kind used by the knights. I also carry two spare daggers.

As for armor, I'm wearing something akin to what’s called a surcoat on modern Earth. Yuu and I designed it, and Miss Sylvie made it for me. It’s made from magic fabric and is all black, with magical enhancements from Lady Stephania. The enchantments include weight reduction, poison resistance, and enhanced defense against cuts and impacts. 

Since I’m still growing, it’s made a bit larger. Although the magic fabric adjusts size to some extent, there are limits. Under the surcoat, I’m also wearing chainmail with a weight-reduction enchantment. It may not look like much, but it’s far more protective and easier to move in than full armor. Prioritizing mobility, this is the result of careful consideration of defense.

This gear alone wiped out more than half of my savings so far. In the future, I plan to order custom lightweight armor for the shoulders, chest, arms, and legs. Also, I’ll need custom-made weapons, so I still don’t have enough money. The equipment made by Lady Stephania is top-tier and comes with a high price tag.

“Hey, Lily. What kind of magical beasts are in the Northern Forest? Any strong or troublesome ones we should watch out for?”

While traveling by carriage, Ai asked Lily about the magical beasts in the Northern Forest. I was curious too, so the timing was perfect. By the way, Sebast is driving the carriage.

“Yes. Umm, the strongest one by itself is the C-rank Rock Armadillo. Its outer shell is covered in rock and very hard. It rolls up and charges at you. If you take a direct hit, even a warrior in full armor could suffer severe injuries.”

“How big is it?”

“Umm, about the size of a dwarf.”

That’s pretty big. If that thing rolls and crashes into you, it’s going to hurt a lot.

“Anything else?”

“Umm, then there’s the D-rank Flying Snake with poison. It jumps from tree to tree and attacks from above. There’s also the Rock Monkey, which attacks in groups. By itself, it’s only E-rank, but since they always attack in groups of five or more, it’s considered C-rank.”

Sounds like there are some pretty dangerous creatures. It’s impressive that Lily can hunt in a place like that. And all by herself, too.

“Lily, you hunt alone in such places, right? Haven’t you been attacked?”

“As I mentioned before, the strong ones don’t come out unless you go deep into the forest. In the shallower areas, there are stray goblins or non-magical creatures like bears or boars. The Flying Snake sometimes shows up in the shallower areas, though.”

So they do come out. And bears too? Between a bear and a goblin, the bear would probably win.

“Aren’t bears dangerous, even if they’re not magical beasts?”

“Yes, bears are quite strong, but they’re only about D-rank, so I can handle them. As long as I don’t get ambushed, I’m also okay with the Rock Armadillo. I’ve hunted them a few times. Wolves that attack in packs and Rock Monkeys are scarier.”

Wow. So that’s how it is. Lily’s pretty strong. Now that I think about it, she has the mark of a skilled archer too.

“Is that about all we need to worry about?”

“Yes. Oh, wait, there’s one more. There’s a variant of the Rock Armadillo called the Jewel Armadillo. It’s a rare magical beast that occasionally appears with jewels on its back. If you capture it alive, you’ll receive a huge reward.”

“Isn’t it okay to kill it?”

“With the Jewel Armadillo, you can harvest the jewels and release them back into the forest. Over time, it will produce more jewels, so it’s better not to kill it.”

“Then why don’t they raise them to harvest jewels more regularly?”

“They tried that a long time ago, but it failed. No new jewels would form after captivity.”

Seems like everyone thinks the same thing. Anyway, speaking of magical beasts... There’s something I’ve always wondered about, so I decided to ask everyone.

“Hey, why haven’t normal animals gone extinct if there are magical beasts around?”

"""Huh?"""

“I mean, magical beasts are generally stronger than regular animals, right? To a carnivorous magical beast, wouldn’t normal animals just be prey? I find it strange that weak animals can survive in nature with dangerous magical beasts around.”

In my past life, I thought the same thing about games and comics that featured magical beasts or monsters while also having regular animals. It seemed a bit inconsistent. But back then, I just shrugged it off because, well, it’s just a game. Now that it’s reality, it seems even stranger.

“Um, Jun-sama?”

“What is it, Noela?”

“It’s common knowledge that magical beasts don’t attack regular animals.”

“Huh?”

Common knowledge? Something everyone knows?

“Magical beasts seek to consume beings that possess magic power to enhance their own. We demons and humans all have at least some magic power, which is why we’re targeted. However, regular animals don’t possess magic power, so they aren’t attacked. Only in rare cases, like when a magical beast is starving or deranged, do they attack regular animals.”