The Strongest Onmyoji and the Shikigami With AI are Unparalleled in Another World ~ A Second Life Properly Enjoyed Using Artificial Intelligence ~ - Chapter 168

“This demon… where exactly is this demon?”

“They are camping with the army near the royal capital.”

“I see. They can’t exactly be brought into the royal capital, huh.”

“Is it now?”

“Yes. I apologize for calling on you at this hour.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

When I looked closely at Leanne, her eyes were bloodshot.

She probably hasn’t been sleeping well these past ten days.

“You guys, wait here for a bit,” I said to the other five who had been listening to the conversation.

“Got it.”

“…We’ll wait,” Annie and Alice said, lying down and turning into their usual severed heads.

“We’re curious too, so we’ll wait.”

“That’s right,” Natalia and Pamela nodded in agreement.

“Wake me up when you’re back,” said Lily as she got out of the kotatsu and headed toward the bedding.

She climbed under the covers and closed her eyes.

“Don’t wet the bed,” I teased.

“I won’t…” Lily mumbled sleepily.

Well, she’d been super energetic since morning, so it was understandable.

“Leanne, let’s go.”

“Yes. Please touch me.”

With that, Leanne prompted me to touch her along with AI-chan.

As soon as we did, the scenery around us changed, and we found ourselves transported into a tent.

The tent was spacious, about the size of my room, and equipped with a table, a work desk, and even a bed.

“Where is this?”

“This is my waiting room. The demon is in a different tent. Please follow me.”

Leanne stepped out of the tent.

Although it was night and dark, the area was lit by torches here and there, making it reasonably bright.

Tents similar to the one we emerged from were scattered around, and many soldiers were patrolling the area.

“Quite the heavy security.”

“Well, it is a demon. This way.”

Leanne said as she started walking, and AI-chan and I followed her.

As we walked, we passed by numerous soldiers. None of them stopped us; in fact, they bowed their heads to both Leanne and I.

“Do they know who I am?”

“I believe so. You’re the adventurer who received the sacred sword from my uncle, after all.”

Hmm…

We kept walking until Leanne stopped in front of a particular tent.

Two soldiers stood at the tent’s entrance.

One was a man, but surprisingly, the other was a woman.

Judging by the considerable magical energy I sensed from her, she seemed to be a mage.

“What’s the situation?”

Leanne asked the female soldier.

“No changes.”

“I see. I’ll speak with them. You two stay on standby here.”

When Leanne said this, the female soldier glanced briefly at me.

However, without saying anything, she turned back to Leanne and gave a firm nod.

“Yuuma-sama, the demon is inside. Please try talking with them.”

“Can I speak freely?”

“Yes, I’ll leave it to you, Yuuma-sama.”

Leanne gave a deep nod.

“Understood.”

“Then, please, go inside.”

At Leanne’s prompting, I entered the tent.

Inside, there was a pale, unhealthy-looking woman sitting at a table, drinking tea.

She had a calm demeanor as she sipped her tea, but when she noticed us entering, her eyes widened, and she stared at us.

Her gaze shifted back and forth between me and AI-chan before she froze in place.

“Hmm? I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

“I have too. You’re the demon who attacked us at the eastern ruins but tucked tail and ran when you had to face Mother.”

Ah, it was that demon woman who had been flying through the air back then.

“W-why are you here!?”

The woman, her eyes darting around frantically, asked.

“Why am I here? That’s my line.”

“I-I think I’ll just leave! You can have someone else act as the envoy!”

The woman stood up in a panic.

“Why are you so scared?”

“She’s probably terrified of Mother,” AI-chan chimed in.

What’s so scary about that degenerate fox?

“It’s you I’m scared of! Y-you ate Domic!”

Domic?

That musclehead?

I didn’t eat him.

Oh, wait… the big centipede did.

I took a talisman out of my pocket and tossed it.

In an instant, the big centipede appeared.

“Eek! It’s here! It’s going to eat me!”

The demon woman began trembling, her eyes filled with tears.

“Sit down,” I ordered.

As I moved to an open seat and sat down, AI-chan and Leanne followed suit.

The demon woman, still fixated on the big centipede, slowly sat down as well.

“Why did this happen when I finally left the army…” she muttered, hanging her head and mumbling under her breath.

“Now then, let’s talk. First, your name. Answer.”

“Huh? M-my name… Merell. It’s Merell.”

“I see. By the way, if you lie, the big centipede will eat you,” I added.

At that, the big centipede circled behind the demon woman.

“Eek! I-it’s my real name! Merell Harries!”

Merell straightened her back, trembling as she answered.

“I see… I’m Yuuma. This is AI-chan. And that’s Leanne.”

“I-I know… You’re the one who defeated Sven-sama…”

“Oh? You know Sven?”

And she even added “Sama.”

“I-I was originally one of Sven-sama’s subordinates,” she confessed.

“‘Was’?”

“After seeing Domic get eaten at the ruins, I realized I didn’t want to die like that, so I left the army.”

Ah, so that’s what she meant earlier about leaving the military.