Vol 1 Chapter 11 – My New “Mother”

What a disaster, little boy.

But this is something that happens everywhere. The ancient law of the jungle, the strong devouring the weak—it just happened to make its way to you.

The suffering of existence. The suffering of separation. The suffering of unfulfilled desires. The suffering of encountering what you hate.

As long as you are alive, there is pain you cannot escape, so you must learn to accept it.

Everyone must go on living after parting with the ones they love. After all, you were born into this cruel world.

That is why humans are born into it crying out in sorrow, isn’t it? And to find joy greater than that sorrow, you must keep on living.

Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to face the Mama and Papa who loved you so much, would you?

Here, if you’re really that lonely, I will stay by your side until you can stand on your own two feet.

My name?

I already told you before. Have you forgotten already? What a hopeless child.

Listen closely. You must not forget this time. My name is—

It was the morning of my third week since coming to Agusta.

I woke up in a haze. The fact that I hadn’t been violently shaken awake meant I was actually up early for the first time in a while. No sunlight reaches down here, so my sense of time is incredibly vague. They don’t give me a blanket, so my body is chilled to the bone. Resenting my own body for taking so long to warm up, I stretched to get the blood flowing.

Ah, still, I had such a nostalgic dream.

After the village of Nile was destroyed, Tia-sama took care of me in the Forest of the Ungiven.

Gentle, and though her body was cold, my heart always felt warm when I was with her. She was like a second mother to me.

And though she taught me how to live like a human, I didn’t need anything like that anymore, so I made a promise with her instead. A very, very important promise that sustains who I am today.

I know, Tia-sama.

First is that werewolf. Her name is Garon-san, and she’s quite a lovely person. I believe I’ll be able to introduce her to you very soon.

So, be a good girl and wait for me, okay?

Feeling like I could move a bit better now, I started stretching. I can’t leave this underground Dungeon unless someone comes to unlock the door anyway.

Right, let’s start by having Garon-san improve my sleeping arrangements.

Since I’ve designated her as my “Mother,” maybe I’ll try acting a little spoiled. I’ll have her play house with me to the absolute fullest, assuming she’s prepared for the consequences, of course.

Today was yet another day of work. Aside from getting punched a little bit for sneaking a bite of food, there wasn’t anything worth mentioning.

And then, the moment I’d been waiting for: study time with Garon-san. I wonder what she’ll teach me today.

Inside the library bathed in the evening sun, Garon-san and I faced each other. She said we wouldn’t be using any specific teaching materials today, so I wonder what we’ll be doing.

“I’ve been thinking. You can read, write, and do math to some extent, right? And we’ve already covered the bare minimum etiquette so you don’t get killed. So, it’s time for the next step. First, we need to confirm if the common sense here aligns with human common sense.”

“Right, I agree completely.”

“That being said, you’ve seen the castle, so you probably realize that we demons possess a culture that incorporates human technology. Supposedly, back in the day, we used to survive solely on hunting.”

It’s true. Not just the castle, but the buildings in the castle town don’t seem vastly different from what humans build. Even when it comes to food, they have concepts like raising livestock and growing vegetables.

Besides, if they didn’t have a monetary system, they wouldn’t be able to buy slaves from humans in the first place.

Well, the slave industry facilitated by the beast-kin of Rill Marl is only continuing to expand. Since I used to do grunt work for a slave merchant, I’ve got a fairly good grasp of the situation around here.

I’d never say it out loud, but I often heard rumors of demons being sold to humans, too.

In other words, they are secretly trading with humans, which inevitably means human culture is flowing in. Conversely, there’s a possibility that demon culture is unknowingly spreading to the human side as well.

While thinking about all this, I gave her my reply.

“Yes, I believe the holy scriptures of the Church of Saria also record a history of demons hunting humans.”

“Well, yeah. We hunted and ate anything, human or animal, but apparently we took it a bit too far.”

“I heard it incurred the wrath of God, and that’s why you were locked away here in Agusta. And at that time, the beast-kin who sided with humans were given the land of Rill Marl, while the beast-kin who sided with the demons fled to Agusta together.”

“Who knows if anything those Saria cultists say is true. But fine. So, in order to survive in this barren land, our ancestors started imitating humans.”

“Meaning?”

“Basically, we had to start cultivating the land, raising livestock, and providing our own food.”

There’s something inherently off about this.

According to the Saria scriptures, demons are monsters who cannot survive without slurping the blood and flesh of humans. If they could survive by eating the exact same things as humans, why would they go out of their way to hunt and eat humans? Sure, maybe humans taste delicious to them, but if it ultimately led to them being locked up in Agusta, the risk seems way too high. And yet, the culture of eating humans still remains.

Even though they can live without eating us. I wonder why.

If a God really existed, well, I can understand why they’d ostracize the demons. But since it’s just a scripture written by humans anyway, I really can’t bring myself to trust it.

Tia-sama didn’t talk much about the circumstances surrounding this, either.

I really don’t get it.

“What’s wrong? Why the weird look on your face?”

“Oh, no, nothing. Please continue.”

“Whatever. So, you know about Indira, right? We got lucky and exported the massive amount of magic stones produced from this land over to that country, gathering up money. They’re the kind of place that doesn’t care about anything as long as there’s a profit to be made.”

“So I’ve heard, though I don’t know the details.”

“Well, I don’t know much about what happened after that either, like Seneca branding Indira as heretics for starting a business with demons, or Indira buying off Volks and making them attack Seneca. Humans really do some incomprehensible shit, honestly.”

“Ah, the messy Dark Age. Fortunately, my birthplace, Ista, apparently didn’t get dragged into it.”

“Well, everything past that is just human business. Regardless, we became able to get our hands on human technology and resources from Indira, and Agusta still has dealings with them today.”

“And Seneca is off human trafficking the people they’ve branded as apostates. So I guess there’s some kind of connection between here and Volks as well. The world sure is a complicated place.”

“Ojou probably says she’s going to destroy the humans, but—ah, I talked too much. Forget it.”

“Okay.”

Well, that probably means Indira gets special treatment, at least. Though I’m sure the overall structure is still “Demons at the top, humans at the bottom.”

“Still, there really is something wrong with you.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just casually brought up human trafficking. Normally, isn’t that something you’d be disgusted by?”

“Well, I was originally a slave merchant’s lackey, after all.”

“Humans really are just a bunch of trash. I can’t even fathom casually selling off your own kind. I get that there are annoying guys out there, but they’re still your own people, aren’t they?”

There’s no way they’re “my own people.”

A neighbor isn’t always a good person to you. You might find hypocrisy in wanting to help people you can’t even see, but there isn’t a single human who would gladly shoulder the burden of someone suffering right in front of them.

Even so, I do love humans, though.

But since that won’t get me anywhere, I’ll love demons, too. I will gladly love them.

“Especially when they’re sold to us, it basically means they’re getting eaten. That was supposed to happen to you too, but you—”

“That’s no good, Garon-sensei.”

“What is?”

“You shouldn’t let yourself feel emotional attachment to something like a human. Humans, just as you said, are nothing but trash.”

“Listen, Garon-sensei. I’ve been treated worse than a slave. I wasn’t even considered merchandise. See? My body is covered in scars, isn’t it?”

With this loincloth that only covers my lower half, there’s no way to hide them.

This body, scarred by whips and blades, is honestly quite unsightly. But if Garon-san feels even the tiniest bit of sympathy for me, maybe I’ll get lucky.

“Garon-san. Please, destroy the humans. That’s the only thing I desire from the demons. That is why I am here.”

That’s a lie, though.

“Wait here a bit.”

Saying that, Garon-san left her seat.

Ah, so cute. Did she really believe that? I think Garon-san is the only one who would fall for such a cheap farce. At the very least, I feel like Puria-san would have just laughed through her nose.

“Perhaps it would be best if you didn’t get too close to Garon.”

A voice called out from behind me.

“Oh my, Eva-san. Sorry to intrude.”

“I don’t know what you’re scheming. But I want you to stop deceiving Garon.”

“My, what a scandalous accusation.”

“It is impossible for a human to side with demons. Humans are instinctively wired to fear demons. Therefore, it is obvious that you are plotting to cause us harm.”

“Instinct is nothing but a servant to reason.”

“Humans who like cockroaches are an absolute minority. In the same vein, physiological disgust is hard to wipe away.”

“Though if you eat them when you’re starving, they’re actually quite delicious.”

“Are you trying to change the subject? You’re an anomaly for a human. But whatever you’re planning, it’s useless.”

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

What is she talking about? I just want to love you all.

To say I’m scheming is so offensive. I’m hurt. I’m super hurt. I demand an apology and compensation.

“The only ones allowed to play the fool are jesters or sages. And a human who can only live for a brief flicker of time can never become a sage.”

Saying that, she touched my shoulder.

“You’re going to die soon anyway. After all, you are nothing but a puny hu—”

Cutting her words off mid-sentence, Eva-san stared intently into my eyes.

“What is it?”

“What are you?”

“No, no, no, asking ‘what’ I am doesn’t make any sense.”

“A human?”

“I’m a human, of course. A pure-blooded Ista native. Or do I look like a demon to you?”

A handsome guy? Do I look like a handsome guy by demon standards?

How embarrassing. Being so good-looking that she has to stare this intensely is making me blush. It’s been two years since I’ve received such a passionate appeal—not since Slave A (32, Male), whom we handled as merchandise!

“It was a pointless question.”

Saying that, she averted her eyes and wandered away again.

What a confusing person.

As I sat in the chair and waited for a while, something was suddenly thrown over me from above, plunging my vision into darkness.

“Here, wear this!”

“Oh my, Garon-san. Welcome back.”

“It’s Sensei. Sen-se-i!”

Seems she’s gotten awfully particular about that. She must really like it.

Still, she went out of her way to bring me a jacket? She really is a good person. I’m actually a little surprised.

“Is this really okay? For me to keep it?”

“Hah, I’m just lending it to you. Having you sit in front of me looking so unsightly is an eyesore.”

“I suppose so. But thank you very much.”

“Hmph.”

Sniff, sniff.

“Hey.”

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

“Hey, stop it. What the hell are you doing?!”

Sniff, sniff, sniff, sniff. Sniiiiff, haaaah.

“It smells just like Garon-sensei.”

“Y-Y-You idiot, g-give it back! Give it back right now!”

“It’s incredibly fragrant.”

“Don’t mess with me! Give it back, idiot!”

“Nine.”

“Hah?!”

“My name is Nine. You know that, right?”

“I don’t give a shit about some human’s name! More importantly—”

“If you call me Nine, I’ll give it back.”

“Hey, human. You’d better cut the crap. I’m taking it easy on you and you’re getting completely carried away.”

Uh oh, she’s actually starting to get mad.

But I can’t back down here. Exchanging names is a very important thing.

If I don’t get her to properly acknowledge me, my love will never reach her.

“Are you going to kill me?”

“Do you want to be killed?”

“I don’t want to die. But, rather than being killed by a human, I think I’d prefer being killed by you, Garon-san.”

“You’ve got guts. To honor those guts, I’ll make sure you don’t suffer.”

Saying that, Garon-san raised her right arm.

Ah, she’s serious. She’s seriously intending to kill me. She’s finally getting serious with me for the very first time.

Now is the time I must convey my love to her. I have to show her that I am serious, too. Because I’ve long since staked my life on this little game of mine that took ten years to set up.

“I have just one request.”

“What is it?”

“Please eat me without leaving a single scrap, okay?”

And then, I closed my eyes.

I waited ten seconds.

I’m still alive.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

I slowly opened my eyes.

“You really are messed up in the head.”

Saying that, Garon-san crossed her arms. She probably just got tired of thinking about it. Sounding a bit more clear-headed than before, she continued.

“To be blunt, Aroma hasn’t decided what to do with you yet.”

“Honestly, I bet she just wants me to die quickly.”

“To put it plainly, yeah. But put yourself in my shoes, having to deal with a guy like that. And on top of that, you turn out to have a death wish.”

“Well, I sincerely apologize.”

“It pisses me off.”

Saying that, Garon-san glared at me.

“I’m going out of my way to make time to deal with you. If you just go and die right away, it makes me look like a total idiot.”

“I honestly wouldn’t mind dying at any moment. As long as you destroy the humans for me, I have no lingering regrets.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that. We’ll slaughter the humans completely. I’ll prove that our Ojou-sama is the supreme ruler of Halls.”

“Listen, Nine. You make damn sure you see it through to the end. That is your role here. I’m the one looking after you, so don’t you dare try to die so easily.”

“Yes, Garon-sensei.”

“Tch. Your replies are the only good thing about you.”

Clicking her tongue once, Garon-san turned away.

By the way, I ended up keeping the jacket she lent me.

Well, she did say, “I don’t care anymore, do whatever you want,” so I decided to take advantage of her goodwill.

Ah, so warm.

Alright, next, I want a blanket.

Ah, wait, no. I can’t ask for things in return. I need to reflect on that.

Because love is something that vanishes the moment you demand it. But I suppose it’s okay to act a little spoiled. Because Garon-san is my “Mother,” after all.

Still, Eva-san seems like she’s going to be a bit of a hassle.

I knew it would happen, but being suspected is sad. But it’s fine. I’ll just love her, too.

Even someone as stiff and overly logical as Eva-san will surely understand eventually. That I simply want to love you all. That’s it.

Right? Tia-sama?

Ahahaha.

Heehee.

――――――――――

Eva Karma, Chief Librarian and Head of Magical Administration of the Diabolo Territory within Agusta.

She understood humans better than anyone else.

Having repeatedly conducted drug experiments, magical experiments, and various other trials using human bodies, she had contributed to the demon territory’s medical, pharmaceutical, and magical fields across a vast array of disciplines.

If you included corpses, she had perhaps touched the human body even more times than Electra Vila Detra.

Right now, she was tilting her head in confusion. For her thoughts to reach a dead end was something that hadn’t happened in years.

She felt a sense of wrongness. When she touched the shoulder of the human called Nine, she had channeled a microscopic amount of mana into him, but his reaction pattern felt subtly different from all the humans she had tested until now.

No magic power. No particular abnormalities in his physical body. Possibility of mental weakness.

He was undoubtedly supposed to be a human. It was almost as if a demon were wearing human skin. No, that wasn’t quite right either.

That thing was fundamentally different.

He was definitely a human. Of that, she was certain.

But her experience refused to recognize that thing as a human. There was a sickening feeling, like looking at something that was clearly in her field of vision but being entirely unable to perceive it.

And yet, despite all that, she couldn’t understand what exactly made him different from other humans.

Which could only mean one thing. That thing was an existence she had no knowledge of.

Eva Karma was a machine designed to absorb knowledge. That was how she defined herself.

In that case, she had to investigate it.

If it was for Christela’s sake, and by extension, the sake of all demons, Aroma would surely grant her permission.

She would speak to her first thing tomorrow. It was a shame she couldn’t go today, but the date had already changed.

Yes, whatever that human was scheming, it was pointless. She felt a bit bad for Garon, but she had decided to make that thing her own sample.

She had decided it.

An eternal quest for knowledge. A quest that would continue until her death.

Before she died, she had to know everything there was to know about the magical arts.

She spotted a single, pesky vixen in the way. Perhaps she should erase her.