Bribed by the Demon Lord Right Before the Ending

■ Demon Tribe Village □

Fortunately, we arrived safely at the village before sunset.

If we had walked, it would have easily taken an hour to get down to the village, but since we rode horses from the start, we managed to cut it down to about twenty minutes.

Indeed, nothing beats a horse for long-distance travel.

“Whoa whoa whoa!”

We reached the entrance of the village and slowly brought the horses to a stop.

I heard that all the young people in the village were conscripted into the Demon King’s Army, and sure enough, by the stone bridge at the village entrance stood little Beastman kids with baby fat still on their faces, holding long spears.

Some kind of vigilante group, perhaps?

The kids recognized Barnett’s face as she dismounted from her wyvern and bowed their heads slightly.

“Hello! Commander!”

“That’s right. It’s been a while since I’ve seen both of you.”

When compared to the somewhat lax demeanor she showed when we were alone, Barnett now spoke with a dignified tone. She handed out candies she took from her pocket to the children and asked,

“I’m here to see the village elder today. Do you know where he is?”

At this, the red-haired child raised his hand enthusiastically.

“Ah! The elder should be at home! He’s been bustling around the village since morning because some important guests were coming!”

“Thank you for letting me know, Roto.”

At that moment, another child seemed to notice us standing behind Barnett and tilted their head curiously.

“Commander, who are these people?”

To this, Barnett placed her hands on her hips and replied proudly,

“They’re very important guests that I’ve brought along. They’re black mages sent directly by the Demon King to help out with work in the village.”

“Wow! A black mage!”

The children looked up at me in awe as if they’d just witnessed something extraordinary.

“So, does that mean you can fly around like a bird in the sky?”

“Of course.”

While regular mages might struggle, for me, it wasn’t difficult at all.

By manipulating the flow of matter with my shadow spear and generating a steady stream of wind under my feet, my body gently lifted off the ground.

“Wow!”

Seeing the children’s bright-eyed admiration, I promptly cut off the flow of mana to my feet.

Thud!

“That’s enough for the demonstration.”

The children clapped like seals and begged for more tricks, but fortunately, Barnett intervened at just the right moment.

“Kids, sorry, but we’re quite busy. The mage will be staying in the village for a few days, so maybe you can catch him later today?”

“Yes!”

“Got it!”

Apparently skilled at handling children, Barnett gave them a nod and signaled for us to move on.

I followed her back onto the wyvern, and we slowly guided the beast into the village.[[#]] The elder’s house was located right in the center of the village.

A neatly built brick house with a blue wooden roof.

Judging by its superior craftsmanship compared to the other houses, it was clear the elder was rather wealthy.

Since there was no separate stable, we tied the two wyverns and one warhorse to a tree in front of the house. As Barnett, representing our group, knocked on the door of the brick house, someone soon came out.

“Hello~ Who is it… Oh my! Lady Barnett!”

“It’s been a while. Violet. Is the elder at home?”

“Ah, yes. Father is in his room. Please come in.”

Violet turned out to be a Beastman, half fox and half human.

Not the typical human-like form with just ears and a tail, but truly closer to a beast.

Just like the young Beastmen we met at the entrance, it was oddly fitting for a village that seemed prosperous enough to attract the wealthy.

Of course, I could transform into the appearance they expect, but there’s no need to inconvenience myself when living among similar kinds of people.

Following her inside, we were greeted by the serene atmosphere unique to a countryside home.

It felt like any ordinary family household.

Apparently, even demon tribes don’t necessarily live in peculiar environments.

The elder Barnett had mentioned so often was sitting on the living room sofa, reading a worn-out book.

“Father! We have visitors!”

Hearing Violet’s words, an elderly fox Beastman with long eyebrows and a beard closed his book and stood up from the sofa.

“You’ve finally arrived, Lady Barnett.”

“It’s been a while, old man.”

Barnett approached and exchanged cheerful greetings with the elder.

The short elder looked at me with the wise eyes of someone who has lived a long life.

“Is this the mage that the Demon King sent?”

At this, Barnett tapped her chest proudly.

“A mage who volunteered for our army after being charmed by the Demon King’s charisma a few days ago. They possess remarkable magical skills, and the Demon King plans to heavily rely on them.”

“If the Demon King praises them so highly, they must truly be extraordinary. Nice to meet you, Mage. I am Poppo, the elder of this village.”

I stared at him silently for a moment before introducing myself with the alias I had prepared before coming to the village.

“I am Partarth, the Demon King’s hound.”

At this, the elder wore a slightly surprised expression.

“So that explains the dog mask….”

He seemed to have misunderstood my intentions, but I didn’t bother to correct him.

After all, it didn’t seem like he interpreted it negatively.

After exchanging brief introductions with the elder, we sat down in the living room and began discussing business.

“As you know, Lord Barnett, all the young people in the village were conscripted into the military six months ago, leaving too few people to harvest the crops. If we don’t quickly harvest before the heavy rains, everything will fall over and become unusable.”

Upon hearing the situation, I asked,

“How much land remains to be harvested?”

“The elders and women left in the village have done their best to harvest as much as possible, but there’s still about 100,000 square meters left. Even though we reduced the scale significantly due to the lack of manpower, it’s still quite a lot.”

“100,000 square meters!”

Barnett exclaimed in surprise.

I felt the same way.

In my previous life, it was hard to grasp how large 100,000 square meters was, but having been born as a farmer’s son in this world, I knew it was an enormous amount of land.

Without tractors or machinery, harvesting such a vast area with only manual labor would undoubtedly require the entire village working tirelessly for several days.

From the elder’s perspective, managing the village must be incredibly stressful.

“So, the problem is how to harvest all this…”

The elder muttered this while glancing at me.

Understanding what he wanted, I nodded slightly and said what he hoped to hear.

“Fortunately, given the circumstances, I believe I can lend a helping hand.”

At this, the elder’s eyes widened as he bowed deeply.

“Thank you! Mage! You’ve saved us!”

Despite feeling somewhat awkward at his enthusiasm, I confirmed one fact.

“However, will there be people available to gather the crops that fall to the ground?”

“Naturally, if the mage is willing to help, we must prepare accordingly!”

Nodding, I told the delighted elder,

“In that case, I’ll gladly offer my assistance.”[[#]] After finishing our conversation with the elder, we were treated to a lavish meal.

It seemed the village women had gathered early in the morning upon hearing that guests were coming from the Demon King’s Castle, and they had prepared food for us.

All sorts of meat dishes, salads made with fresh vegetables, and soft white bread made from wheat.

Being quite hungry, I removed my mask, which I had been wearing continuously, and enjoyed the delicious meal.

There was no way the demon tribe residents of this village would recognize my face, so as long as I was careful with my name, I was fine.

“Take your time; there’s plenty.”

Perhaps pleased with my behavior, Violet, the elder’s daughter-in-law who was serving us, smiled kindly as she poured water into my cup.

As I gratefully accepted the cup she offered, I turned to Barnett, who was similarly cutting meat with great enthusiasm, and said,

“I had no idea you were a woman.”

At this, Barnett, who had temporarily removed her helmet shaped like a tin can to eat, shook her brown ponytail and replied with an aggrieved expression,

“I never hid my gender unlike the princess. Besides, isn’t it obvious from my voice and figure?”

Hearing this, I gestured with my fork and pointed out the flaws in her logic.

“But your armor doesn’t reveal your figure, and with that tin can helmet on, your voice echoes, making it hard to tell whether you’re male or female.”

“…”

Faced with my logically sound explanation, Barnett had no rebuttal and sulkily chewed on a large piece of steak.

Meanwhile, Camilla, who had been sitting beside me, had already finished eating. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and stood up gracefully.

“I shall take my leave first. Lord Partarth, if you need anything during the night, please call me anytime.”

With that, Camilla elegantly bowed to both the elder and Violet before heading to the guest room.

I glanced at her retreating back before turning to Barnett across from me and asking,

“Camilla doesn’t eat much, does she?”

Having known her since childhood, Barnett nodded and whispered,

“She’s sensitive about maintaining her figure. Even back in the castle, she used to eat sparingly.”

“Hmm.”

To me, it seemed like she simply wasn’t hungry.

Perhaps, since she’s a succubus, she absorbs nutrients in other ways, making regular meals unnecessary?

While I don’t know much about the physical characteristics of succubi, it was a plausible theory.

‘I should casually ask her about it sometime when we’re alone because I’m curious.’

With that thought in mind, I dipped a piece of bread into the soup and popped it into my mouth.