Soon, time arrived the next day.
In the morning, Takeru established a new training method for Raphtalia and Rifana: running alongside Filo, of course, while under Takeru's gravity suppression.
Hearing Takeru's request, the two were startled, but they didn't refuse. Because Takeru had already told them that besides leveling up, self-training could also increase their strength.
Moreover, this strength was permanent and could be stacked with the power gained from leveling.
After running wildly with Filo, they understood a little why Filo was always so tired and hungry after each rest. Running with weights was truly exhausting.
But the more exhausted they felt, the more effective it seemed.
So, they ran quickly, constantly adjusting their posture. The correct posture not only reduced strain but also better improved their speed.
While everyone was working hard, Takeru wasn't idle either. He was also meditating. Having become a Demon Lord, although the gains from each meditation weren't too large, they were more effective than before, especially regarding his mana upper limit.
At this moment, Takeru's own mana upper limit had reached 721,500.
If he worked hard, perhaps by the end of this mission, he could break through 750,000 or even reach higher.
Soon, after a short rest at noon, everyone continued running. By evening, they spotted a village.
Through his Observation Haki, Takeru sensed the presence of a dragon.
"Takeru-sama, it looks like someone ahead is in danger!" At this moment, Raphtalia's voice quickly reached Takeru's ears.
"Save her." Hearing Raphtalia's words, Takeru spoke directly.
"Yes!" Hearing this, Raphtalia accelerated. Just as a Needleboar was about to attack a girl, a flash of light passed by, and the Needleboar was split in two.
"You are..." Seeing that she seemed to have been saved, the girl came back to her senses and looked at Raphtalia.
"Raphtalia, Takeru-sama's sword." Hearing the girl's question, Raphtalia said proudly.
"Takeru-sama?" Hearing Raphtalia's words, the girl looked confused.
At that moment, Filo pulled the carriage over.
"Are you alright?" Jumping down from the carriage, Takeru looked at the girl, who was still a bit shaken.
"Yes, thank you for saving my life. Eh, could you be the Sword Hero?" Suddenly, the girl noticed the long sword in Takeru's hand and spoke with surprise.
"Of course, Takeru-sama is the Sword Hero!" Hearing the girl's words, Raphtalia spoke again.
"I see. How rude of me. My name is Melissa. Thank you for your help. And Brave One, have you come to deal with the dragon?" Hearing this, the girl quickly introduced herself and looked at Takeru expectantly.
"Yes, it's my target." Hearing Melissa's words, Takeru nodded gently.
"That's great! Now that the Brave One is here, our village is finally safe!" Hearing Takeru's words, Melissa said with delight.
"Oh, right, Brave One, it's getting dark. If you don't mind, please stay at my home tonight and set off tomorrow." Soon, seeing that the sky was already dark, Melissa spoke expectantly.
"Alright, then please excuse the intrusion." Hearing her words, Takeru nodded gently.
Led by Melissa, Takeru and the group quickly entered the village.
Seeing Melissa followed by Takeru and the others, the villagers curiously asked about them.
Upon learning Takeru's identity and purpose, they cheered. After this dragon arrived, many adventurers had lost their lives. This led to fewer and fewer visitors to the village.
Until two weeks ago, they had finally scraped together 500 silver coins to post a subjugation request in the royal capital.
But there had been no word. Seeing Takeru arrive, they were naturally overjoyed.
Waving briefly to the ordinary villagers, Takeru followed Melissa into her home.
She even prepared dinner for Takeru. However, the entire village was impoverished and simply couldn't provide any good food.
"Master, it's not good. Filo wants to eat Rem-nee's food!" After tasting the food Melissa had provided, Filo spoke directly.
"Filo, that's very rude," Hearing Filo's words, Raphtalia quickly said.
"I'm truly sorry. I have no good food to offer you." Hearing this, watching Takeru calmly eating her simple dinner, Melissa said apologetically.
"Don't worry about it. By the way, how does the village make a living?" Thinking this, Takeru asked curiously.
"Well, before, many adventurers would come here to hunt. Through lodging and resting here, we could earn some copper and silver coins. Also, the village would sell some grain and pick some fruits to sell in the royal capital for silver coins and necessities."
"But now, because of the dragon, fewer and fewer adventurers come, so..." Hearing Takeru's words, Melissa lowered her head.
"Is that so? I'll solve the dragon problem tomorrow. But relying solely on adventurers for income is too unstable. Does the village have a lot of grain and fruit?" Thinking this, Takeru looked at Melissa questioningly.
"Well, not much. There are many fruits in the forest, but because of the distance, by the time we get them to the royal capital, they've often already rotted." Hearing Takeru's words, Melissa said dejectedly.
The economy here was indeed very poor.
When adventurers had been around, things were somewhat better. But now, with no adventurers coming, life was extremely difficult.
However, after the roads were paved, the situation might improve considerably.
But even with the slimes' assistance, paving roads to reach here would probably take over a month.
So, connecting all the villages of the Dawn Empire was truly a huge project. But once successful, the impact would also be enormous.
With myriad thoughts in his mind, Takeru didn't say much for now. He just said goodbye to Melissa and built a luxurious house in the open space next to her home.
Witnessing the empty space transform from nothing to an exquisite house, Melissa was stunned. She had never heard of magic that could build houses so quickly, nor had she ever imagined it.
"Alright, then, Miss Melissa, see you tomorrow." After finishing the house, Takeru waved to her.
"G-goodbye." It took Melissa a while to come back to her senses. Watching Takeru and the others enter the house, she was stunned for a while before returning home.
"Takeru-sama, this village seems very poor. Can we help them a little?" After entering the house, Raphtalia hesitantly asked Takeru.
"We can help a little, but ultimately, they have to rely on themselves." Hearing Raphtalia's words, Takeru nodded gently.
"That's great! Thank you, Takeru-sama!" Hearing Takeru agree, Raphtalia smiled happily.
Seeing these impoverished villages reminded her of her own village. If someone had been willing to lend a helping hand back then after the wave, they wouldn't have suffered so much, right?
But what they received back then wasn't help, but greater disaster. However, it was also because of that disaster that she had the chance to meet Takeru and have this wonderful life.
If he wanted to help this impoverished village, Takeru could do so easily. As for what he might gain, Takeru shook his head with amusement. This village had nothing that could help him.
Even all their possessions were worthless to Takeru. The only benefit might be that changing the village's fate would increase his evaluation score.
Of course, Takeru didn't really care about these so-called returns. He just felt that sometimes doing more good deeds could bring peace to his heart and reduce his own aggression.
Soon, the next morning arrived.
After breakfast and saying goodbye to Melissa, Takeru led Ram and the others towards the mountain.
Because of the many adventurers who had traveled here before, a dirt path had been cleared.
The dragon was located at the highest point in the forest. Following the path to the end would almost reach it.