“How could anyone not know about devil flies? Of course I know about them,” Tigaro said.
“Then why aren’t you scared?”
“It’s not quite right to say I’m not scared at all, but...I lived in Port City for two years, so I guess I just got used to them.”
“Port City...” I said. A map of the kingdom unfolded in my mind. Because consulting a chart mid-flight was bound to end in an accident, I had committed the geography of the nation perfectly to memory. My mental image lacked the finer detail of, say, a satellite image, but it was accurate enough for general locational information. In any case, the countries on my imagined map had borders drawn between them.
The kingdom we stood in was on the southernmost end of a great continent that was home to two other nations. The country to the northeast was separated from this one by a range of mountains, and the one to the northwest by a forest: the very same forest that was now the habitat of the devil flies. The existence of a port town not far from there—around one hundred kilometers—was reflected in my mental map.
Oltea and Frieze were in disbelief after hearing Tigaro’s story.
“Tigaro, you lived in a dangerous place like that...?” asked Oltea.
“No wonder you stayed so calm and composed,” said Frieze.
“It’s not like I feel entirely calm about it, though. You’ll be with Kaito, so I’m sure you’ll be safe, but I’m still worried for you guys. In terms of danger, Port City’s nothing compared to the Great Forest.”
“True, Port City isn’t quite as dangerous, but it’s still not safe, right...?” Oltea said. If the stampede began again, its first target would be the nearest center of human habitation—the nearest town, in other words: Port City. Abandoning the city would be no small decision. That kind of thing was never done easily, but one’s life was irreplaceable.
It had been roughly estimated that ten years remained before the Great Forest became a wasteland, but there was no guarantee that the swarm would stay until every single plant and animal had been consumed. Shouldn’t we hurry up and get the investigation started as soon as possible? I found myself thinking.
“I spent all my time holed up in the mansion, so I didn’t interact with the townspeople much at all, but it was the same when I got there two years ago as it was when I left: nobody ever seemed scared,” Tigaro said. Despite the fact that not much distance separated it from the Great Forest, Port City was apparently a lively, thriving township.
“The people of Port City must be tenacious. They’ve got strong hearts,” Frieze said.
“That’s not why.” In contrast with Frieze’s expression of admiration, Tigaro’s tone was rife with complex feeling. “Thanks to Monstro, the people there are able to lead safe lives.”
“Wasn’t he your last employer, Tigaro? Is he also the mayor?” I asked.
“Yep. Thirty years ago, Monstro stopped the stampede dead in its tracks and became a hero.”
“Oh? Monstro was the one who stopped the stampede?” I asked. On the day of the Spirit Festival, the King had talked about the event in question. He had told me of the stampede’s last appearance thirty years back, and of the young man who’d driven away the swarm. Since then, the devil flies had taken up residence in the Great Forest. The man who had accomplished that incredible feat was, it seemed, none other than this “Monstro.” In that case, he must have been appointed mayor in recognition of that meritorious deed.
“Now that you mention it, my grandpa used to talk about that guy. When I told him I was moving to the royal capital, he told me that if I was set on leaving home, I ought to go to Port City since at least there I’d be safe even if the stampede happened again,” Oltea said.
“Geographically speaking, it’d probably be the first place targeted, but...I suppose nothing could be more reassuring than living in the same town as someone who has already stopped the stampede once,” Frieze said.
“Plenty of people clearly felt the same way as Frieze, because Port City used to just be a small village, but a flood of refugees turned it into the big town it is now. That’s what I’ve been told, at least,” Tigaro said.
Ever since Monstro’s success, not only had the town been spared from further attacks, but the stampede itself had never since reoccurred anywhere. It was difficult to be sure whether or not the stampede’s long absence was related to Monstro, but there were many who gratefully attributed the ensuing peace to his efforts.
“Personally, though, I despise him. Getting the hell away has been nothing but a relief.”
“Why’s that, Tigaro? He sounds like a pretty great guy from everything I’ve heard,” Oltea said.
“He’s awful about discriminating against hybrids, for one. He’s got a short temper, and he’s always finding something to complain about. I didn’t think he’d ever go so far as to get really violent, but looking back, it’s probably just that I never noticed it happening. He had the nerve to grab my coworker’s ears and yank them around, and it didn’t look like it was his first time either—his hands moved like he had some experience doing it.”
“Their ears?!”
“Unbelievable, right? He pulled on them even though he knew how much she hated that. I snapped and shouted at him for it. After that, he said he’d fire me.”
“Quitting was the right thing to do,” I said. Complementing a hybrid’s ears was like confessing your love to them. One would hesitate to even touch them without first asking permission. To aggressively grab and pull at them was absolutely unthinkable. Put more succinctly, violence of any sort was unthinkable.
Anything a young man like myself said to Monstro was likely to go in one ear and out the other, but I wasn’t just any young man. I was the presiding Sword Saint. If I were to give him a warning in that capacity, he might refrain from getting violent with his maids in the future.
Wanting also to know how he’d managed to disperse an advancing devil fly swarm more than ten thousand strong, I decided to go and meet Monstro myself.
“Is Monstro’s house an easy place to find?” I asked.
“It’s up on high ground, so it’s pretty easy to spot, but... You’re not thinking of going to see him, are you?” Tigaro said.
“I’d like to have a word or two with him. I’m not going to ask you to show me the way or anything, obviously,” I said. Praiseworthy though his accomplishments may have been, Tigaro had no fondness for the man’s character. Surely she wouldn’t want to see him again.
“I’d rather not go anywhere near that guy,” Tigaro started, “but if it’s just to show you the way to his house, then—”