Chapter 52: Economic Suppression (Patreon)

More than a year had passed since the Teleport Incident in Fittoa Territory.

Roxy, too, had boarded a ship — sailing from Zant Port in the northern Millis Continent to Wind Port in the southern Demon Continent.

Ostensibly, she was there to search for Rudy, but her true purpose was to visit her hometown — after twenty years, to see her family again.

Meanwhile, in the town of Rikarisu Town on the Demon Continent, after gathering the supplies they needed for their journey, Rudy and his companions walked out of town under the joyful gazes of many demons.

It took them more than a year to reach the southernmost tip of the Demon Continent — the site of the vital port connecting to the Millis Continent: Wind Port!

Walking along the beach, Eris bounced across the sand, thrilled. Since it was her first time at the seaside, everything about it filled her with wonder.

The countless varieties of seashells, the ceaseless rolling tide — all of it gleamed beautifully under the sun.

Rudy and Ruijerd walked slowly behind her, watching the girl bound about amid the beautiful scenery, bright smiles spreading across their faces.

Just then, Eris turned back and looked at Rudy expectantly. "Rudy, want to go play in the water together?"

Rudy shook his head with a smile. "There are plenty of monsters in these waters. Neither of us swims well enough to go straight in safely."

"Fine..."

Hearing this, Eris pouted, clearly disappointed.

With a little hop, she jumped onto their giant lizard mount.

Seeing this, Rudy exchanged a smile with Ruijerd and climbed onto the lizard as well.

Together, the three of them made their way into town.

The moment they entered, rows of stalls came into view. Compared to inland towns, this port town enjoyed uniquely favorable resources.

The variety of goods on offer — food, clothing, tools, curiosities — far exceeded anything found inland, and the sheer number of stalls was beyond comparison too. Even the range of sapient races in town was far greater.

Weaving through the crowded stalls, the three of them finally reached the docks on the other side of town.

Recognizing their features at once, the boat captain blurted out, "You're the Justice League, aren't you? The haughty redhead Eris... the shaven-headed Ruijerd of Hell... the golden-haired Wicked King Rudeus!"

Rudy nodded with a smile. "That's right. Do you have space on a ship heading out?"

The captain laughed. "Of course we do. Though for humans, the crossing only costs five stone coins — but Mister Ruijerd here, if I'm not mistaken, is a demon. By the rules, demons need two hundred green ore coins to cross. And that price applies to your whole group."

Rudy blinked in surprise. It cost that much for a demon to cross over to the human side?

In that moment, his thoughts turned to the Human-Demon War fought centuries ago. At first, the demons had held an overwhelming advantage, but in the end, thanks to the efforts of human heroes — and Ruijerd's vengeance — humanity had ultimately won the war.

Ever since then, they'd used economics to keep a tight grip on the Demon Continent's development. It really was terrifying.

Rudy nodded, deciding not to push the matter. "All right, thank you."

With that, he turned and headed back into town.

Ruijerd sighed, his face full of guilt. "Sorry. This is all my fault."

Rudy glanced back at him and smiled. "That's not wrong — it really is your fault, Mister Ruijerd."

"Uh..." Guilty as Ruijerd felt, hearing Rudy state it so bluntly still stung a little.

Seeing Ruijerd's brow furrow, Rudy smiled. "You told me about your past before, and along the way I've pieced together a few more things myself. Weighing that against what's happening now, I've reached a conclusion: centuries ago, you took your revenge on the Demon God Laplace. But precisely because of that, humanity has spent all these years using economics to suppress the Demon Continent. Honestly, from that angle, it's completely understandable if every demon on this continent grinds their teeth in hatred of you."

Ruijerd had expected Rudy to needle him about being a demon. What he never expected was for Rudy to have worked out so much in an instant, saying something he'd never anticipated.

So the Demon Continent's dire straits all these years really did trace back to his act of vengeance. But... had his revenge truly been wrong? His people had suffered such treatment because of Laplace — there was nothing wrong with what he'd done!

Rudy watched Ruijerd's fists clench and smiled. "Mister Ruijerd, this world isn't purely black and white. Your path of vengeance, as far as I'm concerned, was never wrong. But it's also true that your involvement was what finally tipped the scales toward humanity's victory. And humanity, to guard against another demon invasion, used economics to keep the Demon Continent in check, stunting its growth entirely. Both of these things are completely justified — each from its own side."

[Author's Note: We're about to go on the paid shelf — that was fast! Honestly, when I first started writing Jobless Reincarnation, it was purely because I felt frustrated after seeing what happened to the protagonist, so I kept writing for the love of it even though the numbers weren't great. But I never expected so many of you to send rewards, votes, and flowers — thank you all so much, truly, truly grateful. Thanks to 159971, 187971, and Butterfly Sister for the rewards and votes. I've been working hard to bank up chapters these past few days — I currently have about forty thousand words stocked up, and once we're on the shelf, I'll release them all in one go. I hope everyone enjoys it! Well, that's it — I won't waste a whole chapter padding the word count. I'll save more words for the actual story.]