Vol 2 Chapter 28 – That Is Immeasurably Disgusting

Looking around with sleep-heavy eyes, I muttered to myself.

“Well then, what should we do?”

“………”

“Hey, isn’t it about time you fixed your mood?”

“………”

“If your bottom still hurts, shall I apply some medicine for you?”

“You have no remorse! Do you love my ass that much!?”

“I love it.”

“……”

“I love it very much.”

“You don’t need to say it twice.”

“I love it very much…!”

“Why are you saying something so stupid in a tearful voice!? I’m the one who wants to cry!”

I just wanted to convey how much I love Puria-san’s bottom. I mean, originally it was her fault, you know, so just because she’s sulking doesn’t mean I have to suck up to her like this, right?

I’m doing it, though, since Dad always said that when a man and a woman fight, the man is the one who lowers his head.

“I’m sorry, Puria-san. I went a little overboard earlier.”

“…Hmph.”

“Your bottom was just so captivating, I thought I finally had an excuse to touch it, and I accidentally got too excited. I’ll handle it more gently next time.”

“Isn’t that the wrong thing to apologize for!?”

“?”

“Don’t tilt your head! …Whatever, this is stupid.”

It seems she forgave me one way or another, and couldn’t you say this was a flawless response as a gentleman?

I might even be proud to say my gentlemanly level has already surpassed Wilson’s.

“So? What’re we doing now?”

“Hmm, first of all, there’s just one thing I’d like to ask.”

“Whaaat?”

“Yesterday at the tavern, you heard the story about those thugs making a living by hunting monsters, right?”

“…That’s a story you hear everywhere.”

“Do demons not feel anything when monsters die?”

“…Ah, ah, I see.”

“Well, if there was some sense of camaraderie, I thought there might be some reaction, like anger or something, so I was wondering if maybe that was why you were in a bad mood.”

“Rest assured, me being in a bad mood was 100% your fault… I guess for humans, it’d be like a stray dog getting killed. If a pet you doted on got killed, you’d obviously be pissed, but among demons, only an eccentric might get angry if a monster they didn’t even know got killed.”

“Huh, I see.”

So they’re on the same level as dogs and cats, which means I suppose I don’t need to be so mindful of it.

“…You’re making a creepy face. Did you think up something nasty?”

“It can’t be helped, can it? It’s not a quota we can achieve through normal means since gathering two hundred humans and driving that many to their deaths is quite the task.”

“It can’t be helped.”

What wonderful words. A convenient excuse that likely wouldn’t have been born if the emotion of ‘guilt’ didn’t exist in this world.

Yeah, it can’t be helped, because I am a very, very weak human.

“The real work starts after Alice-san returns, but for now, the most pressing priority is…”

With a “heave-ho,” I lifted that heavy object.

“…cleaning, I suppose.”

The thief who sneaked into the room while we were sleeping is now just a corpse, but I grabbed him by the armpits and dragged him over to the fireplace.

I hate that the smell is probably going to linger, but it can’t be helped. …Ah, rather than burning the body, maybe it would have been better to let Puria-san eat it.

I’ll at least pray for him, though, even if he didn’t have a single valuable item on him. As expected, the ethical standards of the humans around here really can’t be trusted.

“In any case, sorry for the delayed gratitude. Thank you for saving me.”

“Really… I could’ve just abandoned you. I wonder if you understand that…”

Next to me, who had been sleeping soundly while leaving Puria-san to sob, she had apparently given the burglar’s neck a quick slice with her leg talons from under the blanket.

Waking up to the sensation of warm liquid hitting my face was the worst feeling.

“No, I truly am grateful. A burglar would have been one thing, but if it had been a robber, unfortunately my adventure would have ended right here.”

“…You don’t seem very shaken up.”

“That’s not true, just look at my hands. See how they’re trembling? I’m a coward, you see.”

“So fake… Hey, can I ask you somethin’ too?”

“Go right ahead. You’re my lifesaver, after all.”

“It’s similar to the question you asked earlier, but… how does it feel to have a human killed right in front of your eyes?”

“…It’s a bit hard to grasp the intent of the question. Is it fine if I just give my impressions of the current situation?”

“Mhm, yeah, that’s fine.”

“Hmm, let’s see, well, if I had to say, I think it’s ____ing.”

“…Huh? I couldn’t catch that. What did you say?”

“I said, I think it’s ____ing.”

“Are you messing with me? You’re just mouthing the words at the most important part.”

“Jeez! L・I・K・E I S・A・I・D! I’ve been saying it’s ____ing this whole…”

—Nine. I am sleepy. Please do not make so much noise…—

“…Oops. Sorry, Puria-san. Tia-sama says she’s sleepy, so shall we go to sleep?”

“Wait, you haven’t answered my question…!”

“Tia-sama says she’s going to sleep, so it can’t be helped. Come on, come on.”

“…! If Tia-sama says so, it can’t be helped.”

Saying that, Nine unconcernedly pulled the still blood-stained blanket over himself.

Because she couldn’t defy Tia-sama, it couldn’t be helped, but she still wanted him to answer the question.

‘Do demons not feel anything when monsters die?’

That’s what the man in front of her had asked, and she hadn’t intended to mix any lies into her answer.

So, what about this guy?

When she first showed him the ‘Feast Room,’ his smile never wavered.

He said the scars on his body were from abuse by humans, and they had been notified by the Demon Lord that she had accepted his request to become an ally to the demons because he hated humans, but… could humans abandon their own kind that easily?

Leaving monsters aside, demons would never abandon other demons, and even if there were races that got along poorly, they would never fight to the death over it.

Because they were comrades. If they couldn’t trust their own comrades, how did creatures like humans even survive?

Despite being such frail creatures, how had they managed to prosper until now? Just as she had demonstrated earlier, this frail creature would die from a single scratch of a talon, and in fact, this man who had brazenly gone back to sleep as if he didn’t have a care in the world should be no different in that regard.

So why could he show such a peaceful sleeping face in front of the very person who had just killed a human?

“Whose side are you really on? Humans? Or, us…?”

Was he a spy trying to leak Diabolo’s information to the humans, or a traitor to humanity who truly despaired of humans and wished for their extinction?

Which one are you?

…For now, either is fine. He showed an awful lot of attachment to my ass, but even so, he’s surprisingly fun to talk to, and either way, if we can’t achieve Aroma-sama’s quota, we’re destined to die.

Right, for now, either is fine. As long as I’m having fun right now, that’s fine with me.

—That’s right. You don’t need to think too deeply about it, little birdie.—

—It’s troublesome if you ask Nine questions like that too much.—

—So just forget about it for now, because you’re a good girl, right?—