Chapter 18 – The Demon Kingdom

Jack and Natalia's monkey ride arrived at the outskirts of the Dulia town in 15 minutes. They took a normal walk from there. It was already late afternoon, the time for lunch.

They neared the southern gate to be greeted by his father, Alban. He was standing there with shining eyes, his chest pumped up, all smiles. Jack's lips also curled up. Standing behind him were a few guards who also wanted to talk with Jack.

"Son, how was your mission? Did you slay another wyvern or was it a dragon?" Alban asked with a mischievous tone, gesturing with his eyebrows.

And before Jack could open his mouth, Natalia answered, "Hehe, this time, your son has defeated a demon witch, captain!"

Everyone present widened their eyes hearing the name. Alban got shocked for a moment before he recovered, "Haha! That's my son!" and patted Jack's shoulder in delight while taking a mental note to report the incident to the mayor.

Other guards also came out of their stupor hearing Alban's voice.

"As expected from our captain's son!" one of them said.

"That's right! Our town does not need to fear the demons anymore," the other guard said before adding, "Who knows, he might be the hero everyone's waiting for…"

"Haha! Yes, Mr. Hero, please swing your hands in that direction and destroy that damn demon kingdom!" the third one jested and everyone laughed.

After a bit of an idle talk, the duo headed towards the adventurers guild.

As they arrived, the same bustling atmosphere greeted them. Natalia handed the letter to the reward counter and received the reward. Two gold coins were a hefty reward for an adventure mission, from which she handed one to Jack.

"It's not done yet! We still need to report this incident to the guild master," Natalia said with a smile and started heading towards the second floor.

"We have to report there too?" Jack asked as he followed her.

"Not every mission. Only the demon sightings have to be reported," she answered as she knocked on the door.

"Come in," they got the confirmation and they entered inside. Albert greeted them with a smile and gestured to sit.

"Only the demon sightings… Why would the guild collect such information? Unless…" Jack muttered while sitting on the chair until Albert interrupted.

"That's right, young man! Our guild has to report to the royal family. The royal family is keeping a close eye on the demons you know?"

Jack raised his eyebrows, "Is that so? I guess the demon kingdom is a major threat to the royal family's rule?"

Albert shook his head, "Not just the royal family, the demons are a threat to the whole of humanity. Not just humans but also demi-humans…" He went on, "The royal family has been working diligently to unite all the races since the last unsuccessful attempt at defeating the demon kingdom…"

"Were they defeated?"

"Well, I wouldn't say defeated as they managed to conquer some land… But they had to retreat after witnessing the monstrosity of the demon kingdom," said Albert and Jack stared at him in amazement and curiosity. While Natalia leaned back on her chair silently.

Albert only needed a trigger to talk and Jack just showed some interesting expressions, so he started explaining, "They say, after that territory, they encountered giant monsters… the behemoths and bloodthirsty demons with horrible and sinister appearances who even disregarded their life to attack."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "What's more, even their demon generals had armies of monsters, monsters that are only found in dungeons…"

Jack's eyes lit up and his blood began to boil, "Oh, so they can even control the monsters?"

"That's right! Some say that they were close kin from the very start… Some even say that the dungeons were created by the demons for their convenience… haha! Though I don't believe that," Albert chuckled.

Jack looked at him in curiosity, waiting for him to continue while Albert stared at him silently as if saying it's over.

"That's all?"

"That's all we know about the demon kingdom…"

Jack's eyes became sharp, "That was a former human kingdom, right?"

"That's right, its prestige and power wouldn't lose to our kingdom in the slightest," said Albert.

"It must be a prosperous kingdom just like our kingdom, with developed trade and economy, then…" Jack paused while Albert perked his ears as he started to wonder what Jack was trying to get at.

"The guild must have prospered there, too, right?" Jack asked and Albert nodded, so he continued,

"With such a vast network, the guild must have gathered a lot of information…"

"Young man, I understand where you are trying to go, and you are right. But the guild had lost contact with the branches there. The messengers sent there wouldn't return…" Albert explained, "And even if they had gathered some by any means, it must be classified. Why would the royal family allow spreading of the information which could create unrest among the people?"

Jack nodded in understanding, "Then the demon kingdom hasn't attacked our kingdom?"

"Surprisingly, no. We still don't know the true extent of their power. But despite having a large army of powerful monsters at their disposal, they haven't attacked yet. Rumors say that the whole kingdom has turned into hell and all its residents transformed into demons… no sane person exists there...," Albert answered.

"Is that so… that's quite weird. Why did the demons come here in the first place? Really makes one wonder as to what they might be planning…" Jack made a pondering expression.

Albert smiled, "Maybe they are planning to take over this world once again!?"

Jack widened his eyes, "Once again?!!"

"Haha! Like depicted in folklore. There might be some truth to that as the world boundary exists."

"World boundary?" Jack asked curiously.

"....Legends say that a thousand or so years ago, demons invaded this world, and a great war between the demons and the gods happened. While the common people just became victims in their heaven-shaking war..." Albert paused.

Jack's face showed a wide grin as excitement coursed through his entire body. "Then?" his voice also oozed out excitement.

Albert felt a bit uneasy seeing his expression, "We don't know the end, but it is said that the mana goddess escorted all the remaining races to this continent and erected a colossal barrier known as the world boundary…. Though we don't know how much truth the story holds. Most people believe that the world ends at the world boundary."

Jack began pondering as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. Although he hadn't seen the world boundary, it was obvious that the world wouldn't end with just one continent. And since the barrier actually exists, there might be some truth to this story.

As for the world ending there, a frog's world ends at the walls of the well. Since they can see the sun, the moon, and the stars, it is obvious that they are living on a revolving planet existing in a universe, otherwise, the place wouldn't be able to sustain life.

A large number of factors are necessary for life to occur on a planet. It won't simply occur on a piece of land unless all the factors are provided by some external source… like mana? But for the mana to do so, it has to be omnipotent and the amount required would be ridiculous.

Albert looked at the pondering Jack and smiled like an old teacher. "His majesty the king is an extraordinarily competent man. To tackle the problem, in just 20 years, he managed to unify all the demi-human races and put an end to their slavery," he said with a reverent expression.

"At the same time, he ordered the noble families to affiliate themselves with strong adventurers. Some of the S-ranked adventurers had even been directly granted noble titles by him," Albert continued.

Jack nodded in understanding. Due to the existence of dungeons, strong people tend to pursue an adventurer's profession due to the possibility of earning lucrative money from them. Most people like the freedom the profession provides.

Recruiting such people into the military during a crisis is quite hard. Though a king has all the rights to forcefully hire them as militia, the present king used quite a clever approach. By granting noble titles, the strong adventurers received riches and fame and at the same time, they became obliged to serve in the military. Jack understood all this.

But putting an end to slavery? Is that even possible? Even on modern earth, slavery and human trafficking are still occurring. If this king had truly managed to do so then he can only be described as extraordinary.

"With your rank, many noble families will pursue you in the future. I'd advise you not to increase your rank right away after arriving at the capital. Take your time to study the families before affiliating with them. Though if you get a direct noble title, that would be the best," Albert advised.

Jack nodded. Being able to obtain a noble title is regarded highly here it seems. Though he has no interest in being a noble. It is not an easy thing as it involves responsibility, administration, and a lot of paperwork.

While being affiliated with a noble family requires one to dance to their tune. They would surely use him left and right.

It isn't as easy as depicted in the novels where the MC becomes rich and then goes on chasing skirts.