Vol 1 Chapter 19 – The Cruelest in This World

—Excerpt from the Saria Orthodox Canon, Chapter Two.

—O people, be with God. To share smiles and prosper in the fields.

Blessed are those who believe in God. For they know the joy of standing alongside others.

Blessed are those who do not believe in God. For the land of tranquility waits to open for them.

…

【A portion of the original text is missing here】

The divine power of God becomes light, dispels demons, and the people obtain tranquility.

…

Believe in God. Though the gates opening to the land of tranquility are narrow, it is the only way.

…The rest is omitted.

—Excerpt from the Saria Apocrypha, Chapter Six.

—The foolish people, tempted by demons, hurt, degraded, and envied the righteous.

【A portion of the original text is missing here】

—When the emissary sent by God held out a hand over those wicked ones, they were instantly scorched and blistered.

The demons that emerged from the outer sea were finally cornered at the furthest reaches of the land.

It is a hideous, defiled place, fitting for demons.

God desired for mankind to prosper.

…

God desired to make this the land of tranquility.

Through the divine protection of the emissary, it was promised that the land would prosper, and people would multiply in the fields and fill the earth.

The demons within the dark trees… 

Vol 1 Chapter 20 – No-Pants Stylist

And so, I dragged my feet, lazily walking all the way to the Forest of Un-giving with Puria-san.

“What was it again? You were born in Ista, right?” “That’s right, so I figured I might as well make a trip back home while I’m at it.”

I managed to drop by on the way here, but I wasn’t able to visit the graves properly.

“So, what, we’re still not at the forest yet? Human legs sure are slow. If it were me, I’d be in Ista in three hours.” “I’m thinking about what to do as we walk. Besides, it’s going to take another two days at the earliest.” “Sigh. I’m already tired of walking. I’m borrowing your shoulders.”

Saying that, Puria-san jumped onto my shoulders. When she placed her feet on them, her talons dug in and it hurt. I was about to complain, but she must have found her balance quickly because the pressure eased up to a light grip.

“Our race isn’t built for walking long distances in the first place, so it can’t be helped.” “Even so, you’re incredibly light. Really, aren’t you just like a feather?” “We’re naturally enchanted with weight-reduction magic, you see. It automatically applies to whatever we grab, too. How about it? Your body feels light, right?” “Yeah, we might get there a little faster at this rate.” “Right? You can go ahead and praise me, you know?”

I looked up, intending to admire the smug look on her face as she boasted, and also to reprimand her for the defenselessness of sitting on someone’s shoulders in a short skirt.

I sputtered.

This girl wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“What’s with you all of a sudden! You got spit on my legs!” “Are you an idiot?! Why aren’t you wearing panties?! Are you an exhibitionist?!” “I told you to stop talking like that! Why would I wear something so annoying?!” “What the hell man. Aren’t you embarrassed? What a feast for the eyes, goddammit.” “I don’t mind if you look if you want to. I don’t care if a human sees.” “No sense of shame. A completely different culture.”

I thought she was an idiot, but I didn’t think she was this much of one. Or are all harpies like this? Is it a gathering of exhibitionists?

Demons might be different, but humans are in a constant state of arousal, you know.

If you show me something like this, my frankfurter is going to show off its standing techniques. The problem is I can’t bring it to a groundwork technique. And if I tried to, it would probably be game over right then and there.

Whatever. I’ll just treat it as a reward and peek all I want.

I’ll even love that shamelessness of yours. I have a big heart, after all.

“By the way, I’m getting hungry. What are we doing for food? I didn’t bring anything with me.” “Were you not listening to Aroma-san? I don’t have anything either.” “Then what are we going to do?” “Alright, Puria. I choose you. Please go find us some food.” “Idiot, it’s the other way around. You go find some for me, you errand boy.” “Shall we decide with rock-paper-scissors, then?” “Are you saying that looking at my body? Just go find some already.”

You inferior race that can only throw paper, fine, dammit, just watch! Don’t underestimate my hunting abilities!

—One hour later.

After fake-crying and begging on my knees, I got Puria-san to hunt a wild rabbit for us.

Useless me was gathering firewood to start a fire.

“You really are useless, aren’t you.”

That stung. She said the one thing she shouldn’t have.

“I didn’t have high expectations for a mere human, you know? But I didn’t think you’d be this slow.” “I’m bad at it. I’ve always been bad at hunting.” “For a creature that can’t even catch its own food barehanded, I wonder how your numbers increased so much.”

I stayed silent.

“Hm? What’s wrong, stomach ache?” “No, I was just remembering the past a little.”

Giving that reply, I started preparing to make a fire. I can at least manage this much.

As I was frantically rubbing sticks together to create a spark, Puria muttered something and gave a single flap of her wingtips. With just that, the gathered deadwood caught fire.

“How about that? You can praise me, you know? It must be inconvenient for someone who can’t even use magic.” “Here, I’ll pat your head. Come over here.” “Hmph, let’s see you try. Nnfuu, what’s this, you’re pretty good at it.”

I patted Puria-san’s head.

Good girl, good girl. Adagio (comfortably), then allegro (fast), crescendo (gradually stronger), prestissimo (as fast as possible)…!

“Here, take this, and this! Soiya, soiya, soiya!” “O-Oww, what are you doing! Stop, don’t rub, my head’s gonna catch on fire!” “W-When a guy is trying his hardest to do things the steady way, you just have to…!” “H-How was I supposed to know! I thought I was being helpful.”

Magic is something that creates a massive gap in ability between those who can use it and those who can’t. Because of my social standing, I never had the opportunity to study it, but I wish I could have acquired at least a little.

In the end, I was slapped on the head by Puria-san and returned to my senses.

“What was that for, you massive idiot! I can eat meat raw to begin with. I specifically lit the fire for a weak human like you!” “T-True. I’m sorry, I lost my mind for a second.” “Good grief. What are you going to do if I go bald?” “If that happens, I’ll take you as my bride.” “Even for sleep-talking, that’s going too far. No thanks.” “Oh my, what a shame.” “Well, do your best. If I take a liking to you, I’ll upgrade you to a pet at least.”

Is going from errand boy to pet considered an upgrade? Regardless, saying that and laughing with a carefree “Nishishi”, the good-natured bird-girl right in front of me was undeniably cute.

Even so, she is still a demon. The enemy of humanity.

A monster that devours humans and thinks nothing of destroying them.

I mustn’t think about it. I mustn’t remember.

I am Nine.

My name is Nine.

Because I can no longer remain sane.

“What, are you done eating?” “Yes, thank you for the meal. I appreciate it.” “It’s fine. It’d be boring if you just dropped dead in a place like this.”

Saying that, she gnawed on the last piece of meat.

Because she has no hands to hold it, I’m feeding it to her, saying ‘say ahh’.

Since we’re both squatting down to eat, you see, ahh geez, I’m a healthy young man too, after all.

It’s in full view, you see. I’m the one who’s embarrassed here.

Sure, her wings and legs are built a little differently from a human’s, but ahh geez!

“Ahhh, I ate, I ate. Thanks for the food.”

Saying that, she plopped down onto her back. Don’t open your legs! Such an exhibitionist!

Dammit, Aroma-san, did you send her with me as a honey trap?!

Though it’s a death trap where I die if I lay a hand on her!

When she’s this defenseless, it somehow makes me feel guilty instead.

Oblivious to my struggle as I desperately averted my eyes, she smirked, brought her face close to mine, and peered into my eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

She’s doing it on purpose! This is bad, she seems easy to handle but she’s not! Her difficulty level is higher than Garon-san’s!

Feeling a slight unease about the journey ahead—in a completely different sense than usual—I hunched forward to hide my condition while finishing cleaning up our meal.

“By the way, whereabouts in Ista is your hometown?” “The First Lost. You know it, right?” “Ah, there. Wait, seriously?” “Seriously, seriously.” “Were there even any survivors there? That makes you even weirder. Shouldn’t you hate our guts to the bone?” “I don’t hold any grudges.”

That’s a lie, though.

But, I’ve decided to love you.

The demons.

By loving the demons who killed everyone in my village, who killed my parents, I will absolutely obtain what I desire.

Therefore, Puria-san. I love you.

You, and your comrades too.

Because I love you.

Heeheehee.

“You’re a weird guy. And you’re traveling to use your own kind as bait from now on, right? I know you worked in the banquet room, but didn’t you have any resistance to it?” “My comrades are all of you. Humans can just suffer and die for all I care. If they can be used as food for you all, then that’s worth celebrating.”

That’s a lie, though.

“So guys like this exist too, huh. I really don’t get humans.”

—I remembered a similar topic coming up during my conversation with Garon-san last night.

“Do you not have any hesitation or regrets?” “Hesitation about what?” “About selling out your own kind. Why did you become a slave trader in the first place?” “Because I couldn’t find anywhere else to work. I have no relatives, no education. I couldn’t learn magic either. Besides, I don’t care what happens to other people.” “Whatever the case, I just can’t understand why you hate humans so much. What made you like this? Do humans not cherish their own kind?”

We cherish them. There were people I cherished.

But they aren’t here anymore.

“Depends on the situation, I guess. It seems your race has a very strong sense of kinship, Garon-san.” “I heard you were abused by other humans, but they’re still your people, aren’t they? I just can’t understand how you can tolerate humans being eaten when they didn’t even lay a hand on you directly.” “Humans prioritize themselves above all else. At least humans like me do, who don’t even have a home to return to, who have no leeway.”

Besides, there are times when humans eat other humans.

If it’s necessary. Whether they want to or not.

I won’t tell Garon-san, though. I remembered, just a little, the time long ago when I unknowingly became something lower than a beast.

“Alright, I won’t say any more. In exchange, do your job properly and come back safe. If you do that, your place…”

Cutting her words off there, she stood up from her cross-legged position.

“Might just be somewhere out there.”

Saying that, Garon-san walked away.

Even in the dim jail cell, I could tell her ears had turned bright red.

How cute. Mother. I love you, Mother Garon—

“Well, enough of that boring talk. Since we have the chance, please teach me all sorts of things about Agusta. Garon-san, despite everything, seemed pretty sheltered, so her stories were quite conservative.” “Ah, Captain Garon, right? She might not look it, but she’s an Ojou-sama, after all.”

And like that, making small talk, I tracked the presence behind us.

She’s following us properly.

Puria-san didn’t seem to notice, but I could tell that a cute, cute little fox was chasing after us.

Ah, Tia-sama.

I’ll start by testing it out on this little fox first.

So that I can share the love you taught me with all the demons, I’ll start with her. I was originally planning to start with Garon-san, but there’s a change of plans.

Plans are always subject to change, right?

I’ll add another person in her place, alright?

“What are you muttering about? It’s creepy!”

Puria-san slapped me. As usual, the feeling of her wings was a painful kind of good.