If It’s for My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord: Volume 7

by CHIROLU

  Dale had been accepting such frequent work in the forest despite his robust finances in order to keep up with his training. It helped him to maintain his muscles and temper his sword and magic techniques. It also served the crucial purpose of throwing him into a dangerous environment, so that his combat senses didn’t dull.

  Now that he had become a demon, though, his basic abilities had been elevated, and he didn’t have to worry about them ever degrading. His combat senses may dull a bit, but after discussing that with a certain demon lord, they decided that may actually be for the best for the sake of world peace.

  Thanks to all those various reasons, Dale didn’t have any need to force himself to work, so he was enjoying a long period of time off.

  And also, he didn’t want to work. Or to be more accurate, he didn’t want to have to leave Latina’s side in order to work.

  “If you’ve got free time, then there’s something I’d like to ask you to do...” Kenneth said, poking his head out from the kitchen.

  “What is it?”

  “There are some young adventurers who just broke out on their own, and they made a request... They want to take on an escort job, but they don’t have much experience, so they’d like someone to give them guidance...”

  “...I’ve hardly ever done any escort jobs at all. The only times I did any were when I was with your party.”

  Dale had built up experience as an adventurer alongside Kenneth, who had been acknowledged by his grandmother, after leaving his home village.

  He had been well-versed in combat and camping skills even for someone with a background like his, but that alone wasn’t enough to make it as an adventurer. Kenneth taught him all sorts of things, like the tricks to traveling and negotiating with clients. When Kenneth retired as an adventurer and married into running the Dancing Ocelot, Dale also set out on his own and began taking requests directly from Duke Eldstedt.

  After that point Dale primarily undertook extermination requests, so he hardly had any experience with escort jobs.

  Kenneth should have also been well aware of that fact.

  “You see... those adventurers and Latina hit it off with each other. The conversation went in a direction where they figured they could handle it if the person they were escorting was also skilled, even if the task took them to a somewhat dangerous place...”

  “It won’t go so easily though, right?” Dale replied, his expression growing grim for a different sort of reason.

  Just when did Latina hit it off with these adventurers? he was wondering. They sure had guts, getting close to Latina when he wasn’t around. He would make sure they realized thoroughly just what they’d done.

  “Even if Latina was all on her own outside of town, she could probably manage somehow.”

  Dale had said that because of her blessing as a demon lord, which meant she wouldn’t lose her life even if some enemy attacked her. On top of that, she was also a highly skilled magic user, which meant she should be capable of dealing with a great variety of situations even all by herself.

  However, that was ultimately something he had to keep to himself.

  “But if some lesser bastards were there dragging her down... she’d try to back them up, and it would end up being more dangerous than going solo.”

  “Yeah.”

  Cooperation between multiple people relied on more than individual ability, it was a different type of skill. And as she hadn’t practiced or trained in that field, it was a skill that Latina lacked.

  That was why Kenneth simply agreed with Dale’s words of concern.

  “So what about if you accompanied them? You could also handle a request to gather a ton of information in order to make a map of the forest while you’re at it.”

  “A map of the forest?”

  “They’re making a map in order to open a path to Vassilios, but apparently first they want to fill in the numerous gaps in their knowledge. There wouldn’t be any concerns about you getting lost, so you’d be perfect for the task, right?”

  “Well... I guess that’s true, but...”

  Because Dale specialized in Earth magic, he didn’t have to worry about losing his way. Even if he walked into an area he was unfamiliar with, that magic would be able to save his skin.

  “What are you talking about?” Latina asked, suddenly poking her head in. Emma was walking behind her, clinging to the elder girl tightly.

  “Latina...”

  “Exploring the forest, like we’d been discussing. It wouldn’t be any problem if Dale accompanied you, right?”

  The instant Kenneth replied to Latina in that manner, Dale realized he’d been had.

  Just as Dale had expected, he saw Latina’s expression brighten. Seeing that look on her face, there was only one option left to him.

  However, the words Latina said next were a little bit different than what Dale had expected.

  “Um, the investigation of the forest was also a request from me.”

  “From you, Latina?”

  “I could have just asked you directly, but since it had to do with Vassilios, I wanted to involve a lot of the adventurers who come to this shop, too, so I went with a request.”

  “...Was it a request from Chrysos?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dale was perplexed as to when Latina had apparently gotten into contact with her sister.

  In actuality, Latina hadn’t gotten into contact with Chrysos directly. As the ruler of a nation with plenty of responsibilities, Chrysos couldn’t so lightly exchange letters with her sister in a foreign nation.

  However, Sylvia was in Vassilios. Sylvia had previously abused her privileges to have private exchanges with Latina using the Dancing Ocelot’s Akhdar message board. With Sylvia acting as an in-between, the sisters were able to use the information network of the Akhdar temples to carry out a basic exchange of information.

  “And then, we happened to have that discussion about them wanting to take on an escort job, so it kind of turned out that way.”

  “I didn’t even notice...”

  “Their request came through Mr. Syl. They’re pretty close to my age, and being in the Ocelot was kind of worrying for them...” Latina said, then thought for a bit after seeing the sulky look on Dale’s face. She then followed up by saying, “They’re a party of all girls, after all.”

  With that statement alone, Dale’s mood recovered drastically.

  Female adventurers received a great deal of escort requests.

  Because he knew that fact, Dale finally accepted all the details of the conversation up until now. It was a truly deplorable reaction to have.

  When the client requesting an escort was a woman, they often couldn’t help but be hesitant about dealing with a grim-looking, vulgar male adventurer. After all, there was no guarantee that adventurers always behaved themselves properly. When hiring someone, it was important to make sure their character could be trusted so the client wouldn’t be sexually assaulted. However, that was very difficult to do when it came to someone you were meeting for the first time.

  As a result, such clients generally sought female guards, or at least a party that included women.

  When the client was a man, there was a tendency to request someone who looked strong, choosing based on appearances. But on longer jobs, the sort of attentiveness characteristic of women led to the added benefit of raising their names as adventurers.

  It was a different story when it came to parties whose behavior was already well known and proven, but when they had that much of a reputation, they would also have to be a group with significant skill that would require a great deal of money to hire. And above all else, when a party became that skilled, there was no need for them to accept escort requests.

  Considering those circumstances, it made more sense for female adventurers to focus on the sort of skills required for escort requests, rather than those needed for magical beast extermination and harvesting requests.

  It was praiseworthy, seeing young novices
seeking to better themselves by gaining the skills they expected to need down the line.

  “For a while after first starting out as adventurers, they had done harvesting and small magical beast extermination work for a party Mr. Syl introduced them to.”

  “The standard routine for beginners, huh?”

  “That’s what Mr. Syl said, too. The basics of using weapons and tools, and how to accept work, and report things... It’s a little like all the stuff I learned while traveling with you, I think.”

  “How to travel and camp are essential skills... Novices are generally all folks who only know life in towns and villages, even when it comes to adventurers,” Dale said, and Latina nodded.

  “And so, they said they wanted to be taught what they needed, and then when they didn’t need the support, they would take on jobs on their own. But they’re all women, so Mr. Syl came to me, thinking I could relate.”

  “Ugh...” Dale groaned, but grasped what had happened.

  Latina served as a sort of cushion between the veteran and novice adventurers who used the Ocelot. When faced with their idol, both the old-timer veterans and the youngsters wanted to show their good sides. As a result, there was less quarreling and trouble-making, to everyone’s mutual benefit.

  Female adventurers found it easier to use compared to other shops in the same business to start with, as one of the owners, Rita, was a woman. With the addition of Latina’s presence, it made for an environment that was especially friendly to women.

  Thanks to that conversation it was decided that Latina was to depart from Kreuz for the first time in a while, accompanied by Dale. As Latina was unconscious and carried when she went to Vassilios, she didn’t count it.

  “Dale, Dale, what sort of clothes should I wear?”

  “Any clothes would look cute on you, Latina,” Dale responded, swerving a bit from the intended meaning of the question.

  Hearing Dale’s response, Latina’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she complained in a dissatisfied voice, “That’s not what I mean. It’s not like we’re going on a trip, so is it alright if I don’t worry about dressing too heavily?”

  “Well, the season being what it is... It also got pretty chilly at night when we went on our trip before. But with that said, if you wear too much, you may end up getting overheated while moving about.”

  “Hmm...”

  Dale smiled while watching Latina prepare, standing and thinking in front of her clothing storage.

  “Well, this time you’d probably be fine even in casual wear. I’ll be preparing all sorts of equipment, after all. However, we’ll be going through thickets and stuff, so try not to have any exposed skin.”

  Latina kept on preparing while they had that conversation, looking like she was getting ready to go on a picnic.

  The place they were going to wasn’t so safe and secure that you could just take it easy and play around there. The fact that Latina was able to act so casually in spite of that was proof of her absolute trust in Dale.

  “Woof, woof, woof.”

  Vint made a sulking appeal for attention, announcing that he would hold down the fort and intentionally rolling over into Latina and Dale’s point of view, but unfortunately, he was ignored for the time being.

  The following day, before noon, Dale and Latina headed for the southern gate together. When Latina laid eyes on the party of three standing near the gate, she enthusiastically waved hello.

  “Adelina,” Latina called out, and the group seemed to notice. The three girls straightened their posture, unable to hide their nervousness as they greeted Dale and Latina. Latina tilted her head a bit at that reaction from her friends.

  “Are you nervous because of the job? This is everyone’s first time meeting, right? This is Dale, my, um... fiance.”

  That introduction from Latina alone had been enough to provide Dale’s motivation for the day.

  “I’m Dale Reki. Pleased to meet you,” Dale said, giving a brief introduction. He was wearing his usual equipment of a black magical beast leather coat and a gauntlet on his left hand, as well as a sword and knife for weapons. The only difference was that today, he was carrying enough luggage that it made it hard to imagine he was just heading into that familiar forest.

  Having heard Dale’s introduction, the three =girls stood up even straighter.

  “My name is Paula Zenkel. Thank you in advance for your guidance today.”

  Paula, who had taken a step forward and got things started, was lacking in anything especially valuable. That was fitting for a novice, but her gear was worthy of a passing mark. Dale judged that her equipment would serve her reliably in her role as a vanguard fighter. He had also sensed a bit of her leadership skills. That was just what he would expect from someone introduced by Sylvester, though.

  “This is Elvira Wentz. And the other girl is Adelina Beinl.

  “I’m Elvira.”

  “I’m Adelina. It’s my pleasure to meet you.”

  The two girls Paula had introduced repeated their names, looking rather nervous as they did so. Judging from their equipment, Elvira also appeared to be a warrior, while Adelina was apparently in charge of rear support.

  Without Dale even needing to interject, Paula took the lead as they exited Kreuz through the southern gate, while Adelina continued to provide logistical support. Taking up the rear in order to properly surround targets they were guarding was Elvira. It was a by-the-book approach, but at the same time you could also say this demonstrated a good grasp of the fundamentals.

  Dale was carefully observing the three girl team he was technically in charge of providing guidance for. Latina on the other hand seemed to be enjoying herself, and wasn’t feeling nervous in the least.

  “It really has been a while. I just don’t seem to get out of town very often, you know?” Latina said, turning this way and that as she did so.

  The way she was acting made her seem younger than she was, and was proof of how much Latina was enjoying herself.

  While almost bouncing along as she walked, Latina looked up at Dale.

  “Dale, that’s a lot of luggage, isn’t it? Are you alright? Should I help you carry it?”

  “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  Dale was carrying so much luggage because today’s outing was “training.”

  “Normally we’d be done and head home before the day was done, so we wouldn’t need all this. But today I want to check their ability to make camp, too.”

  “But you’ve got my share of the luggage too, right...?”

  “That it’s your share only makes me all the more alright carrying it.”

  It was immediately after their departure, and they were already having such a sickeningly sweet conversation. Though such sights were common around the Ocelot, it really was something everyone had already had more than enough of. In fact, the three girls were already starting to look sick of it themselves.

  “Thank goodness the weather is looking so good.”

  Latina was clearly enjoying this outing, so much so that her bad habit of getting distracted and letting her gaze wander all over was showing. Though with that said, Dale had no intention of giving her a warning today.

  There was no guarantee that the target one was escorting would always be attentive and vigilant, after all.

  It most certainly wasn’t because Dale found Latina enjoying herself to be utterly adorable and a joy to watch.

  “Preparing for bad weather is also an important part of training, though...” Dale responded, while also thinking that he wouldn’t let Latina camp in bad weather in this chilly season. Naturally, he would immediately decide to postpone. She may say that would be fun, too, but there were some things he just couldn’t allow.

  “You’ve got a lot of luggage, too, Adelina. Are you okay?”

  Not realizing the contents of what Dale was currently muttering to himself, Latina smiled and asked that to Adelina, who was walking ahead of them. Adelina dropped her walking speed just a
bit to come up alongside Latina and replied, “It’s because I can’t get directly involved in combat. This way, the two of them can immediately jump into battle without having to worry about their luggage.”

  “I see... Before, when I went on a trip with Dale, we got a horse to carry it all, but I guess you can’t do that, huh?”

  “I’d love to be the sort of person who could use a carriage to carry our stuff, but that can be difficult depending on the details of the job.”

  From looking at them as they carried on this conversation, Latina and Adelina seemed to be fairly close.

  From Dale’s point of view, the three girls had been exceedingly stiff and nervous the whole time, ever since they left Kreuz. But that seemed to fade a bit for Adelina as she was talking to Latina.

  Even though they may not have been used to such things, this line of work required a firm grip on one’s own nerves in order to make sure the client was safe. However, Dale thought with a strained smile that this situation probably wouldn’t last for long, and was trending in a good direction.

  It would be no exaggeration to call Latina’s natural ability to calm down those around her a “special technique.”

  Dale thought such things to himself, having no idea that the greatest reason for that nervousness was being faced with a hero who was becoming a modern-day legend. He had no self-awareness at all regarding his reputation as some amazing champion, a target of admiration for novice adventurers.

  Partway through her conversation with Adelina, Latina looked up at Dale and smiled.

  “Adelina can use simple chants for healing and defensive wall magic. But she can’t get them to consistently activate, so she’s been consulting with me.”

  “Huh...”

  That was definitely something, being able to use magic despite being a novice. If she could use that in real combat, then that would be plenty worthy of praise.

  Latina could handle magic even more easily than Adelina could now since back when she was a small child, but that was just because she was so out of the norm.

  “Normally if someone wanted to learn to use magic, even just simple chants, that would require quite a bit of compensation. But... Latina said not worry about that.”