Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases: Volume 5 (eBook)

Shin Kouduki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025
250 Seiten
J-Novel Club (Verlag)
978-1-7183-0534-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Allen and his friends return to the Frontier, but Allen barely gets to enjoy a week of peace before another visitor comes to request his help! It's Akira, the Champion, with a strange Amazon in tow. Naturally, it isn't long before Allen is wrapped up in trouble again, as Chloe- the Amazon-reveals that the people of her and Mylène's village are still alive, and Akira leads the entire party to a mysterious abandoned demon lair deep within the desert on Adastera's southern border. As the party searches for clues as to the surviving Amazons' whereabouts, it couldn't be more obvious that something is seriously amiss.

Meanwhile, Riese and Noel are summoned to the capital, where they find themselves mixed up with a shadowy, border-spanning organization. And this time, Allen might have to do the unthinkable to finally obtain the peace he seeks...

---

Allen and his friends return to the Frontier, but Allen barely gets to enjoy a week of peace before another visitor comes to request his help! It's Akira, the Champion, with a strange Amazon in tow. Naturally, it isn't long before Allen is wrapped up in trouble again, as Chloe- the Amazon-reveals that the people of her and Mylene's village are still alive, and Akira leads the entire party to a mysterious abandoned demon lair deep within the desert on Adastera's southern border. As the party searches for clues as to the surviving Amazons' whereabouts, it couldn't be more obvious that something is seriously amiss.Meanwhile, Riese and Noel are summoned to the capital, where they find themselves mixed up with a shadowy, border-spanning organization. And this time, Allen might have to do the unthinkable to finally obtain the peace he seeks...

Textauszug

The Demon Lair

Just as Akira had said, the group arrived at the lair surprisingly quickly. It wasn’t located far from the edge of the desert, but was still unknown to the wider populace. That was a testament to how few people visited the region, and to the measures the demons had taken to ensure their lair would not be noticed. It was camouflaged so that it could not be seen until one drew close.

“Huh, they haven’t used any kind of magical barrier,” said Allen, “just ensured that the color blends into the surroundings. And...I see, this area is a total blind spot.”

“I was pretty shocked when I came across it too,” said Akira.

The building seemed like it had appeared out of nowhere. Its walls were painted the same color as the sand that surrounded it on all sides.

“If you hadn’t told me, I don’t think I would’ve even noticed it,” said Mylène.

“Did you and the other Amazons do the painting, Chloe?”

“Not that I recall,” said Chloe. “Like I said, strength is our forte, not delicate work like this. I guess the demons must have done this themselves? It was just them and us here.”

“I guess it’s not that strange,” said Anriette, “but it’s kinda funny to imagine.”

The group continued to examine the area. For an isolated structure in the middle of the desert, the building was rather small, almost too small to call a building. It had only one floor, and even that didn’t take up much space. Assuming it really was as it looked from the outside, it didn’t seem like much of a lair at all.

“I’m guessing only the entrance is exposed?” said Allen.

“That’s right,” said Chloe. “There’re stairs going down as soon as you go inside.”

“Ohh,” said Anriette. “I did wonder why you were digging a tunnel underground.”

“Were you digging the whole time you were here?” asked Mylène.

“Yeah. It was only recently that we finished this place,” said Chloe. “And now it’s been abandoned. I’m glad they won’t be using it as a base, of course, but seeing all my work be for nothing...”

“That’s a tough one,” said Allen. “In this location and with its history, it’ll be tough to find anyone else who wants to make use of it.”

“Isn’t this technically part of the Frontier too?” asked Chloe.

“Technically, yeah. Actually, the border is somewhere in this desert. But nobody really worries about exactly where.”

“Isn’t that where the demons attack from, though?” said Anriette. “Shouldn’t you be monitoring that?”

“I guess?” said Allen. The desert base had been abandoned, presumed useless. A handful of people standing watch for demons wouldn’t do much good; establishing a base and preparing for a demon attack would require considerable military force. Any insistence that such a force was only there to watch out for demons wouldn’t hold much water; it would be difficult to refute the perception that this was just an excuse for mounting a force to cross the desert and attack the Demon Kingdom. Preparations would have to be made accordingly, and at that time, the Duchy of Westfeldt and the Kingdom of Adastera itself did not have time for such concerns.

“Anyway, it’s Riese’s job to worry about that sort of thing,” said Allen. Harsh as it might have seemed, it wasn’t his concern. He’d bring it up with her when she returned, and she’d make a judgment. For now, his concern was what was right in front of him.

“There’s no point just standing around here,” said Akira. “Let’s get inside. I already took out all the monsters I found nearby last time I was here, but look out for yourselves, all right?”

“Yeah, new monsters could’ve shown up since then,” said Allen.

“Sounds extremely likely to me,” said Anriette.

The desert wasn’t host to many monsters, but they did exist. Even to them, however, this was an inhospitable place, so abandoned buildings made for perfect shelters.

“I’d rather the place wasn’t inhabited by monsters,” said Chloe.

“Better than being used by demons, isn’t it?” said Mylène.

“I guess so. Not like one is much better than the other, though.”

Heading into what had once been a demon base, even one that Akira had already explored, was still risky. There was no telling what might await them. The banter that Mylène and Chloe shared seemed lighthearted, but Allen could tell it was their way of calming their nerves. He much preferred it to them being scared and on edge.

Allen peered at the building. What, if anything, awaited them? Along with the others, he stepped into the lair, sure that any clue or simple resolution would not be easily forthcoming.

***

As soon as he stepped inside, Allen was struck by how surprisingly normal the interior seemed. But demons were, after all, still people. An unusual structure would only make the place harder to live in.

“This is more normal than I expected,” said Mylène, echoing Allen’s thoughts.

“I was surprised the first time too,” said Akira. “In fact, I still am. I imagined it seeming more unmistakably demonic.”

“I expected something like this,” said Anriette. “Function over form. A strange-looking lair wouldn’t be practical.”

“Speaking of surprising, where are all the monsters?” said Chloe.

“Yeah, that’s kinda surprising too,” said Allen.

After walking around for some time, they still hadn’t run into a single monster, nor had he even sensed there were any lurking around. While Allen wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, something about it didn’t feel right. He couldn’t say for sure if it was due to the demons’ handiwork or simply because they were out of the sun, but it was far more comfortable in the lair than out there in the desert. Any monster that happened across the place would have surely taken refuge here.

Only two things could explain why there were no monsters: either they hadn’t discovered the lair, or those that had discovered it were somehow unable to inhabit it.

“The camouflage doesn’t seem good enough to fool monsters,” said Anriette. “They’d be able to sniff the place out, even if they couldn’t see it.”

“Maybe they didn’t like the smell?” Mylène suggested.

“Oh, you mean like the stuff traveling merchants use?” said Akira. “I’ve smelled that stuff before. It has a special scent to it. We would’ve noticed.”

“Maybe they recognize that it’s another monster’s territory?” Chloe offered. “There are some that demons make use of. And it hasn’t been too long since they left.”

“I guess it’s possible,” said Allen, “but are monsters even capable of that? I don’t understand how demons are able to control them in the first place.”

There was no clear distinction between monsters and animals. “Monster” was, for the most part, a term for powerful animals that posed a threat to humans. Their behaviors were no different from animal behaviors. It wouldn’t be strange if they could sense when territory had been claimed, and the fact that demons could put them to work didn’t seem particularly mysterious either. But with monsters being so dangerous, they had not been well researched, and many things about them were still not understood. It seemed unlikely the group would be able to figure out why monsters hadn’t gathered in the old lair.

“Do you have any idea what the demons were doing here?” Allen asked.

“I’d tell you if I did,” said Akira. “They must have been up to something, though. Why else would this place be so unusually comfortable?”

“I doubt demons like being uncomfortable more than anyone else,” said Allen. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they did something to ward off monsters as part of that.”

“But isn’t it strange that whatever they did is still keeping the monsters at bay after they’re gone?” said Mylène.

“It’s strange, for sure,” said Akira. “And this place is still just as comfortable as it was when they were here. If it was just down to technology and not demonic power, I’d understand it, but...that’s not possible, is it?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. They’d never seen demons demonstrate any particular technological competence. It was definitely odd how comfortable this place was.

“You know, that’s not the only thing that’s weird,” said Allen.

“Huh? What else?” asked Akira.

“It’s way too pretty.”

“Pretty?” said Mylène.

“You think so?” said Chloe. “It’s really dusty.”

Anriette seemed to understand, at least. “Maybe not pretty, exactly,” she said, peering at the walls, “but there’s not a scratch on the place.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s a better way of putting it,” Allen agreed.

“What do you mean?” said Mylène.

“You took out all the monsters lurking around here, right, Akira?”

“Yeah, like I said...” Akira began, but she stopped with a gasp of understanding. This was the place she’d stormed, sending the demons fleeing, and yet there were no signs of her attack—no bodies, no scratches, nothing...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.6.2025
• Reihe/Serie: The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases
• Illustrationen: Shin Kouduki
• Übersetzer: Shin Kouduki
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: fantasy political intrigue and drama • harem fantasy adventure • Light Novel • LitRPG • Magic • OP overpowered protagonist • reluctant hero
• ISBN-10: 1-7183-0534-6 / 1718305346
• ISBN-13: 978-1-7183-0534-2 / 9781718305342