The Strongest Farmer in Another World ~I'm a "Farmer", Not a Demon King! ~ - Chapter 531

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

Chapter 531   What happened in the Holy capital

“Ah, welcome back. I’m relieved to see you’ve returned safely.”

“…Yeah. I’m glad you’re safe too.”

We departed from the Sacred Tree Forest and followed the same path back, but this time we managed to return without any attacks along the way.

Granny greeted us, expressing joy at our safe return and exchanging words.

However, upon hearing my words, Granny snorted disapprovingly and began to speak.

“Safely… Well, that might be difficult to say.”

“…There was an attack?”

“Well, something like that. Although, it wasn’t us who were attacked, but rather this town.”

“This town? It’s about the attack, right?”

We had anticipated the possibility of being attacked.

We brought about a thousand people with us to the holy kingdom, and when I headed towards the Sacred Tree, I took about three hundred people with me. The remaining seven hundred were waiting here, and I didn’t think there would be an attack on such a large group. However, at the same time, seven hundred is a number that could be easily overwhelmed by the enemy if they were determined.

Therefore, there was a very real possibility that while we were away, Granny and the others could have been attacked.

But in reality, it wasn’t Granny who was attacked, but this town. It’s confusing. Did a coup happen? I can’t say it’s impossible with that king. It feels like now, when our forces are diverted, is an opportune moment for something like this.

“Yeah. About a week ago, I think? Around that time, these humanoid masses of black flesh suddenly appeared and started rampaging through the town. Honestly, what in the world is going on? Several of our kids got injured too.”

“Black… that can’t be true, can it?”

“Why would I make something up out of thin air? I don’t lie like that.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I mean, that’s true, but that’s not what I meant…”

However, my thoughts were different. It wasn’t the king who had attacked.

And I had encountered those masses of black flesh.

“Probably, but we encountered them too.”

“Really?”

“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

“Huh. Are you mocking me? …Well, leaving that aside, tell me more about that.”

In response to the Granny’s words, which started with a light laugh but then turned serious, I began to recount the events on the way.

About the encounter with the bandits. How those bandits mutated and had someone behind them. About the elf we met at the Sacred Tree. What that elf had been protecting. Various other things, as much as I could understand.

I may have skipped over a lot of details, but I think she understood the main points.

“I see. It’s quite intriguing to think about the origins of the elves and the secrets of the evil gods, but let’s set that discussion aside for now… So, drinking a potion turns people into monsters, huh? …And so, that alchemist is now here, is that correct?”

“That’s not our current belief.”

“Well, I suppose. If the phenomenon is caused by a curse, and if it’s related to the potion, then it’s quite likely, isn’t it?”

I believe that the transformation is likely a result of turning the curse into a potion.

After all, the second princess we fought against before turned into what Granny described as a ‘mass of black flesh’, but Roroel said that her appearance was the result of being influenced by the power of an evil god.

Given that those bandits ended up in a similar state to that of the second princess, it’s reasonable to assume they also incorporated the power of an evil god—essentially a curse.

And the method used for that might have been that potion.

“However, it still doesn’t make sense for them to rampage through the town.”

Even if an alchemist or someone like that came here, they would likely seek refuge in the holy kingdom. Or maybe with the church, but that’s beside the point. Seeking refuge isn’t about being protected, it’s about being allowed to research freely, but there’s undoubtedly a connection.

In such a situation, would they harm the ones who are giving them shelter? No way.

Even if they did, it wouldn’t be in such a small-scale manner; they would make moves to quickly take control of the town.

But in reality, there’s just been a bit of commotion and that’s it. Honestly, I don’t understand what they’re trying to achieve.

“There could be various explanations for that. Maybe it was an experiment, an attack against enemies, or perhaps a punishment. It could have been an accident or an unexpected outcome.”

Certainly, as Granny suggests, there are various possibilities to consider.

“Also, there’s another possibility… They might be making a move against us.”

“Against us? …Attacking the town?”

“Rather than attacking the town, it’s about showing off the monsters. By displaying these monsters, they can later claim that when something happens, or if something goes wrong, it’s the work of the Demon King, right? Well, it might also be their intention to cause harm to us in the process, or to showcase their power.”

Ah… that seems plausible. After all, when people think of the Demon King, they think of the ultimate evil. It’s easy to blame anything that looks like a stereotypical villain, like those cursed monsters, on the Demon King.

However, while I understand they might want to frame us as the villains, I don’t understand what they hope to achieve by doing so.

“…But what is their ultimate goal, anyway? We were reluctantly summoned here to deal with the anomaly of plants withering. That’s the official story, but it’s not like that’s their real intention, right? Do they just want to kill us?”

In a way, we were summoned as heroes—at the request of the holy kingdom’s forces—to deal with the anomaly of the withering plants.

That decision might have been made by the hero alone, and it likely caught the holy kingdom and the church off guard.

But once a decision is made, politicians seek meaning in it.

Indeed, while it may have started as the hero’s idea, ultimately it was the holy kingdom that permitted our arrival, so there must be some underlying motive to consider.

The problem is that we don’t understand what that motive is.

“Well… Since we haven’t fully grasped the situation in this country, it’s all just vague speculation. But ultimately, isn’t it about destroying Karakas?”

Karakas, huh… Well, I can understand that much. Karakas is a city of criminals… for the ‘Church of Justice,’ it must be eradicated.

Furthermore, by eliminating it, they can seize the wealth and power accumulated there.

So, wanting to wipe out Karakas is a comprehensible idea. In fact, I’ve been thinking they’ve been aiming for that for a while now.

“Do they really desire treasure that badly? Well, I mean, I want money too, but isn’t there a limit?”

“You’re not particularly greedy yourself. But usually, those in power act to satisfy their desires.”

I guess it’s because I have memories of living as an ordinary person. Honestly, even in my current life, I feel like I’m living luxuriously enough. And besides, in a world without electronic devices, no matter how luxurious you try to be, it ultimately just feels like ‘Well, this is it.’ I can’t be satisfied with half-hearted luxury. So, I have no choice but to compromise. Knowing that pursuing desires won’t get me anywhere, I find happiness in my current situation.

“In any case, that might not be the reason this time.”

Granny sighed and said that. It seems she has an idea about why the holy kingdom wants to eradicate Karakas, other than what I’ve been thinking.

“This country maintains its barrier with the help of elves. In other words, it stays prosperous because it has the resource of elves. However, recently, it has become difficult to obtain elves. Naturally, they would think to remove the cause if that’s the case, wouldn’t they?”

Ah, I see. Well, I can only say that makes sense.

Because I’m protecting the elves, they’re gathering from various places to the Flower Garden. And that must have been the case in this country as well.

Originally, there should have been elves besides Roroel, but those elves came to Karakas seeking safety. As a result, sightings of elves have disappeared from this country.

I thought they wouldn’t just vanish like that, but the nobles even began to collect elves they owned as slaves, so it’s fair to say that almost all elves have disappeared from this country.

The forests where the elves lived should have withered away, and the last elf remaining in the Forest of the Sacred Tree also died. So, perhaps there are no elves left in this country anymore.

“And now, we ‘know too much.’ If the higher-ups truly have the power of the evil god, or if they’re being manipulated by it, they’d want to get rid of us, wouldn’t they?”

Granny’s additional words were also convincing.

No matter what we say, it won’t be acknowledged. Even if we say, “The people of the church are minions of the evil god,” or “The church is the real heretics,” do you think they’ll believe us? It’s unlikely.

But even if the majority doesn’t believe it, a very small number might, and if something strange happens in the future, it could spark a backlash.

Thinking like that, we, who know about the divine tree and the evil god, would be targets for elimination.

However, since only we know this story, the people from the church may not attack us for that reason alone, but unfortunately, there’s a Holy Maiden over there. And not to mention the shield guy. Those two who heard this story with the hero will probably report its contents to the church.

I hesitated to take action because killing them might cause trouble, but should I have just done it after all?

But if I had done that, it might have led to war regardless of the involvement of the evil god. Right now, they haven’t made a move yet, and they haven’t created any public reasons to attack us, so they won’t start a war. Even if they do something, it would likely be assassination, small-scale attacks, poisoning, or plotting.

So, I guess the current situation is still better. That’s how I feel, at least.