The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 248

The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I’m a “Farmer”, Not a Demon King! ~

Chapter 248   Pillar of light

“But if that’s the case, are we in the clear? Frankly, we also attempted to invade that forest, didn’t we? I haven’t, but didn’t the boss before my father try to attack a few times?”

“But that was only about twenty years ago, right? The boss has changed since then, and they’ve been targeting us for centuries. It’s pretty clear who they dislike more. Plus, now we have a mutual… mu… mutual treaty? Something like that, and we’re getting along. So, it’s natural for us to be on this side, right?”

Did they understand that the rulers have changed, at least?

Well, if she can gather information by connecting with plants worldwide, it wouldn’t be surprising if she knew.

“And besides, we have Flora here, and the leaders are you and me.”

“I get that your Sacred Tree isn’t concerned, but don’t casually include yourself in the leader’s name.”

But it’s true that it’s not entirely incorrect. She could be considered the representative of the elves in this town. In fact, if someone asked the elves to choose one person, it would probably be her. She’s already at that level in terms of position.

However, acknowledging it is a different story. I absolutely won’t admit that she’s in a leadership position. Because she gets too full of herself. I can assert that.

“Nevertheless, the atmosphere is incredibly heated.”

As we were talking like that, Bell unexpectedly murmured. When I directed my gaze, Bell was peeking over the chest-high wall, observing the scene below. However, it wasn’t focused on the enemy; instead, it was directed into our town.

In response to Bell’s words, I also looked down from the wall. There, various individuals were present—chatting while maintaining their weapons, sporting intimidating smiles, and striking unnecessary poses to show off their bodies. These scenes were not something you would typically witness in this town.

This is probably due to the victory in battle, but the influence of Lilia’s speech is also apparent. Hearing Lilia’s words, they decided they couldn’t just stay hidden, came out to fight, and won. They didn’t just get protected; they protected their own town. There will be some commotion.

“Well, in reality, it’s not just those who willingly became criminals. Some were framed, others lost their place by defying nobility, ran away, or had other reasons… Well, there are quite a few who ended up here because they had nowhere else to go. I’m one of them, to be honest. I didn’t do anything, but I came here because I had nowhere else to go. People like that have moved here since the town was established. This place is safer, more peaceful, and more normal than Karakas. For them, having this place taken away must have felt like a joke.”

“Flower town primarily chose homeless people and individuals with a quiet nature from Karakas to relocate here, but not all of them are criminals. Some were framed by nobles or resisted the tyranny of nobles and faced charges. Others came here as a getaway for nobles and commoners in love. While they technically committed a crime, they aren’t all what you’d call ‘criminals.’ There are people like that.”

“It’s not like they willingly became criminals, but for those without a place to go, this town is a haven where they can live without anyone complaining about their position or relationships. If such a place is under attack, and after hearing a speech about not yielding, they would naturally be angry. Having fought and won to protect it, I think it’s not unreasonable for things to turn out like this.”

“However, was that light not too much?”

Sofia seems to be recalling the earlier scene and slightly furrowing her brows in concern… Yeah, I agree.

“Really? I thought it was very conspicuous.”

“No, I mean, it was definitely noticeable, but…”

“Well, then it’s fine. With that, I can become a splendid representative of ‘evil,’ can’t I? I did it!”

Looking forward to the future or overflowing with unnecessary enthusiasm, Lilia seems to be thinking about it, but I wish she would calm down a bit.

How much longer will it take for her to settle down? Maybe a few decades? If possible, I’d be happy if she could grow up a bit earlier and lead a more settled life… but is that too much to ask?

“…Hey, wasn’t that more like justice than ‘evil’?”

“The rhetoric did sound more like justice, to be honest.”

“Well, if the person herself doesn’t mind, isn’t it fine?”

I completely agree with Bell and Sofia’s words. If that wasn’t Lilia’s own words but a mix of the will of the Sacred Tree, then it can’t be helped. In any case, she seems satisfied, and as long as it doesn’t harm us, I think it’s fine.

After various things came to an end, we lazily chatted while gazing at the battlefield from the top of the wall.

“Kyle has returned.”

“Huh? Oh, thanks for your hard work. How was it? Seemed like you caught someone commander-like, but…”

As we talked, Kyle, who had delivered this time’s ‘prey’ to Edward’s subordinates, returned. When Kyle returned from the hunt, he had a man dressed in something that looked important in both hands. Well, just because he seemed like a commander, it wasn’t clear who was who, but what were the results?

“Sorry. I missed the enemy commander. It was someone else who took him down. I just caught a couple of posh guys who claimed to be nobles around there and handed them over there.”

“No, your achievements are more than enough. I don’t think you can call them worthless small fry, at least not someone who hasn’t done anything.”

He was able to capture prey in a place where the tough guys from Karakas had been released. I think that’s more than enough as a result.

“Maybe, but next time, I’ll do it more skillfully.”

“Well, in any case, if we’ve defeated the enemy army and captured a few important figures, we can handle the rest however we want.”

With this, it’s settled. Was there anything else left?

“Oh, right. I mentioned the possibility of reinforcements, but do you think they exist?”

“Ah, but that was just talk about possibilities, right?”

“Yes, it was. Besides, even if they were there, given the current situation, there’s probably not much they can do, right?”

“Is there a possibility that they’ve already infiltrated this town?”

“…I doubt it. Unlike in Karakas, anyone unknown here, aside from elves, would be treated as a potential threat.”

After all, ensuring the safety of our guests comes first. However, there haven’t been any reports of strange individuals at this point.

“If this were Karakas, as Bell mentioned, there might be a possibility of a hundred or two suspicious infiltrators causing no issues and going unnoticed, but well, that’s impossible here.”

“Then maybe there’s some commotion happening over there?”

“Over there? …Well, that’s a possibility. Stir up trouble here to attract attention, then cause a disturbance over there. Or it could be the other way around, but it’s not impossible.”

However, if that’s the case, there’s no need to worry at all. Over there, it’s not non-combatants like us; they have combatants who welcome real fighting. And at the top of that hierarchy is the monstrous swordsman. While guerrilla warfare might cause some damage initially, in the end, they’ll manage to handle it somehow.

“——!?”

In that instant, I felt a disturbance from the city of Karakas on the edge of my field of vision, though it was far away.

Rather than contemplating what the disturbance might be, I quickly turned and focused on the situation in Karakas.

By the time we turned, a pillar of light piercing the sky had already appeared over the city of Karakas.

I didn’t know what it was, but the moment I saw it, the highest level of alarm bells rang in my head.

That was dangerous. I didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely dangerous. Not the kind of thing we should be hostile towards.

While my mind kept repeating the word “dangerous,” that pillar of light was truly something of that magnitude. At the very least, it wasn’t a power wielded by humans.

However, that pillar of light gradually disappeared, and in a little while, it became completely invisible.

“…What was that just now?”

A bit after the pillar of light became invisible, I finally managed to utter those words.

As I started speaking, Kyle let out a deep breath and then addressed me.

“Hey, Vesnar-sama. I felt something really ominous. Did you sense it too?”

“Yeah. I don’t think there was any hostility or malice, but the feeling of danger was off the charts. How about the three of you?”

I asked Sofia and the others who were present, but the results were probably not going to be different.

“I sensed a martial aura, but there wasn’t anything in particular.”

“I felt the same. I couldn’t sense any intention to harm Vesnar-sama, at least.”

Sofia, being a non-combatant, might not sense it, but Bell has a skill that allows her to detect any malicious intent toward me. The fact that it didn’t react could mean either there was no intention to attack me, or, as much as I hate to consider it, an outlandish power beyond the scope of her skill was at play.

Given the bizarre power displayed by the earlier light, it’s hard to say, but I’d be relieved if there was truly no intent to attack. Otherwise, it could mean trouble.

“It was shining brightly and looked cool!”

…Lilia you’re that type of person, aren’t you? I should have known.

But what could have happened for us to feel such a threatening power? Was there something or someone emitting that light earlier? Who could it be?

Considering there’s no hostility towards us…

“…My father?”