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I"m a bit tired. After slipping away from the audience"s racket, I have started heading towards the place I"m meeting Setsuna and Freya. Nevertheless, the ma.s.ses are terrific.
After all, without even thinking, they chose to dye their hands in murder with just that momentary impulse. They probably aren"t aware that they are murderers while throwing stones and trash. I feel a bit disgusted. Well it is a bit weird for me to be saying that even when I was the one who set it up.
Setsuna and Freya are hiding inside an old, unused storage room of the food stalls in the coliseum. Besides Setsuna and Freya, Barm, the deputy captain of the imperial guard corps, who helped out today is there. I enter the old storage room and look into the blind spot I created with the packaged food. (TL Note: Barm is Bouko, but idk why his name has changed.)
"Are you both safe?" (Kearuga)
"We are safe. No one came here." (Setsuna)
"Yes, we were both very lively." (Freya)
Setsuna and Freya reply. Although it is very rare for people to come to an old storage room, I need to prepare for a worst case scenario. I was worried. Except this room, I wasn"t able to find a safer room that was within the range of amplification magic no matter how much I tried.
"Kearuga-sama, just as you told us to, we got rid of Barm." (Setsuna)
"Good job Setsuna." (Kearuga)
"Yeah." (Setsuna)
Setsuna proudly smiled. Although Barm, helped us out earlier, I knew that he was one of the perpetrators that attacked my village; there"s no way I could let him live.
Apart from my emotional problem, he learnt Setsuna"s face. If by any chance Barm gets captured, the fact that Setsuna is part of my group could be exposed and it will be hard to take action. Leaving that aside, there is a choice of changing Setsuna"s appearance or simply abandoning Setsuna, but I like her and she is also an excellent subordinate. I don"t want to do something like that. Therefore, I used the most reliable mouth sealing method.
"Kearuga-sama, I properly froze him. Ice that was seriously made by the ice wolf race can"t be melted at a normal temperature. They won"t find him for a while." (Setsuna)
"That"s a good way of dealing with him." (Kearuga)
In that condition, it should be fine to leave him packed in a box in the corner of the storage room. Just as Setsuna said, ice made by the ice wolf race can"t be melted at a normal temperature. As long as he"s frozen, he won"t be exposed by smell either. As I stroke Setsuna"s head, her eyes happily narrow.
"Well then, let"s go. Let"s leave the town as we are right now." (Kearuga)
Overstaying is unnecessary. There will immediately be a large amount of troops dispatched to this town; I did something to that degree.
"I am a looking forward to going to a new town a bit." (Freya)
"We are going much further south than here and I"m aiming to go outside the Dioral Kingdom. Once we come out of the national border, there is an interesting town where I plan to gather information about the demons." (Kearuga)
Although the right of self-government is quite strong in Ra.n.a.litta out of the towns in this country, it still doesn"t change the fact that it"s inside the Dioral Kingdom. Once I leave this country, it becomes hard for the Dioral Kingdom to take action against me. Dispatching a large army to a foreign country is basically the same as trying to start war. In case they make formal preparations to dispatch their army, it will take quite a bit of time and their actions will be restricted. The point is, by just crossing the national border, the kingdom"s movements will become slower.
"Is it the demon"s territory? Are you planning to go to the demons?" (Freya)
"I will someday. I still haven"t decided on the time, but there"s someone I want to meet." (Kearuga)
I want to meet the demon king. She"s a beautiful woman with silver hair. The words she spoke on the verge of death still stick to my mind.
『I see, so this is where my life ends huh. I feel frustrated. I couldn"t protect it.』 I want to know the meaning behind these words; what she wanted to protect. Since the younger sister princess, the hero of the sword and the hero of the gun haven"t inflicted any harm onto me, I"m going to leave them alone for a while. I should put the things I want to do in number order.
"So Kearuga-sama even has a friend on the demon side. That is amazing!" (Freya)
"Let"s stop our idle talk here for now. Since this town is probably going to close, we should immediately leave." (Kearuga)
The fact that both princess Flare and Keare, the hero of healing is in this town is evident. Although they have their hands full with bringing the out roar to a close, they are probably going to blockade this town as fast as possible. Unlike the half-hearted effort in checking the people coming and going, they won"t even let one person outside of this town. I must think they have given instructions of that level.
"Did you guys forget anything?" (Kearuga)
"I am fine!" (Freya)
"Yeah. Setsuna has no problem either." (Setsuna)
Well then, let"s go. Equipping the tools for travelling that we hid in the storage room, we went outside from the delivery entrance that merchants use for luggage. Although there were two guards, I skillfully paralyzed them with a needle smeared in neurotoxin. It"s a non-lethal paralysis poison that doesn"t leave behind any after effects. I don"t like unnecessary killing, so I properly choose the people I kill.
We were able to go outside easier than I thought. I"m relieved that they still haven"t started the blockade, and I"m happy that I was allowed to take the raptor. I have gotten attached to this fellow quite a bit. Just like always, Setsuna sits in between the raptors neck and me, and Freya hugs me from the back.
"Kearuga-sama, what"s in the town past the national border?" (Setsuna)
"The place we are aiming for is Buranikka, and it"s the only town where both demons and humans coexist together. If it"s that town, I can directly talk and ask questions to the demons." (Kearuga)
"… isn"t it dangerous? Demons are scary." (Setsuna)
Setsuna talks in a doubtful and stiff voice.
"Although it"s easy to misunderstand, demons themselves aren"t scary. Can you name the differences between a monster and an animal?" (Kearuga)
"Animals that possess mana are monsters. Unlike normal animals, they choose to eat food that holds mana, so they aim for humans a lot." (Setsuna)
"That"s correct." (Kearuga)
A monster is no more than an animal that possesses mana. However, because of that mana, their bodies are altered and most of the time, they become stronger because of their survival instinct. Because of their shared disposition, they also become stronger from eating mana. Humans more or less all have mana, so they are basically the best food for monsters.
"Well then, here"s the next question. What"s the difference between a demon and a human? This is just an example, but for humans, the ice wolf race isn"t that different from demons right? They have the outward appearance of a beast and human combined. Even elves and dwarfs are all put together under the "demi-human" label, but why do you think all races apart from humans cla.s.sified as demons or demi-humans?" (Kearuga)
The ice wolf race that holds the excellent sense of smell and hearing of a wolf, mastered ice attribute magic and holds overwhelming physical ability. In the eyes of a human, it"s not weird for them to be seen as demons. However, in reality, they are under the category of a demi-human or a therianthrope.
"… I don"t know. Since Setsuna was a child, everyone says that demons are scary and just thought they are, but now that you mention it, Setsuna doesn"t know what demons actually are." (Setsuna)
"The correct answer is that they are just calling the race that has the ability to control monsters as demons. Demons have the power to subdue particular groups of monsters depending on their tribe. The strange thing is, near villages that demons gather in, monsters that can be made to accompany those demons gather. According to one theory, it"s said that the mana demons subconsciously release become feed for the monsters and create a co-existing relation. What I"m trying to say here is that humans are devils that claim they are scary. The demons they are trying to kill are no more than a race that holds a unique ability." (Kearuga)
Demons are all lumped together, but both gentle demons and belligerent demons exist, and they have an infinite variety. Just like how there are the ice wolf race, the fire fox race, the moon cat race, the night dog race and the like among therianthropes, demons have every possible race as well.
"Kearuga-sama, that"s strange. Since that means humans are also demons." (Setsuna)
"What do you mean by that?" (Kearuga)
"Because humans are controlling demi-humans with contract magic. Humans are also animals. In that case, demi-humans are monsters because they are animals that possess mana. And if a human knows a demi-human"s true name, they can make them submit. In short, they are a race that manipulates monsters. You could say that humans are also demons." (Setsuna)
"Ahahahahahaha, certainly, that"s true. I hadn"t even thought about that. That"s an interesting way of thinking." (Kearuga)
It"s just as Setsuna said; humans call demons ruthless and cruel, but that is what a human truly is. I don"t know any living being more ruthless and cruel than a human. They kill people from their own race, turn demi-humans into slave to exploit them, eat everything because of their desire and trample down on the weak. Humans are the true demons that should be feared. No, even among demons, they are noticeably atrocious and are a type of demon that can control the strong lineage of monsters that are called demi-humans. My laughter can"t stop.
"I don"t understand Kearuga-sama"s sense of humor." (Setsuna)
Setsuna inclined her head curiously.
"No, this should be considered foul play. If you were told that humans are demons, anyone would laugh since there are too many points to agree on." (Kearuga)
When I say that, I felt something soft on my back; it"s Freya. For some reason, she"s pressing her chest against me.
"If it is Kearuga-sama, I don"t mind being controlled. I am a bit sad recently since you have not cared for me recently. Please make love to me today after a long time. I worked very hard this time, since pretending to be princess Flare was very difficult." (Freya)
"Ah, I"ll give you plenty of love, but that will be after Setsuna since the very first shot is the easiest for raising the level limit." (Kearuga)
"Uuu, I want to be loved first from time to time. But I will forgive you if you pour twice as much as you do for Setsuna-chan." (Freya) (TL Note: ううう, or uuu as I wrote it, is a sound she makes when she"s displeased, and I don"t know how to write it in English…)
This time, she rubs her face on my back; it"s as if she is a spoiled cat. Even though I didn"t intend on treasuring her, it seems she has become quite emotionally attached to me.
"I understand. I"ll make love to you. Hey Freya, are you happy right now?" (Kearuga)
"Yes, I am happy! Since I can be with the person I love and eat a lot of delicious food… and s.e.x with Kearuga-sama is very intense and feels good." (Freya)
"That"s good." (Kearuga)
Freya"s words weren"t an act. If its princess Flare"s acting, I can see through it because of our long acquaintance. If I add the first world into my total amount, I have been close to her for more than six years.
However, on the contrary, questions come out. Even though her memories were erased, do humans change this much? The person I knew called commoner blood as polluted blood and was an ideologist who discriminated and despised it. Her s.a.d.i.s.tic pa.s.sion is only satisfied after enjoying the warped face of people going through pain. To top it off, she had a messed up personality and didn"t love anyone apart from herself, so the gap between princess Flare and Freya who says that she"s happy since she can be with the person she loves is too big.
"Freya, you killed people by my orders. What do you think about it?" (Kearuga)
If her memories were reset, then she should have unpleasant feelings about taking another person"s life. Her stress might even be acc.u.mulating.
"I do not think anything of it. Because no matter how many people that are not worth worrying about die, my only thoughts are "so what?" Instead of something like that, I am happy that Kearuga-sama was pleased!" (Freya)
Freya laughs with carefree smiling face. Hearing that, I finally realized that Freya actually thinks like princess Flare. I see, so it"s not that her personality changed, it"s just that princess Flare who only loved herself instead loves both herself and me.
Her treatment towards humans over than us hasn"t changed. The reason she fell in love with me is because I used hypnotism, mind manipulation techniques and gave her intense pleasure while she was in a blank condition, and gave her an illusion that the only one she can trust is me.
"Thanks. I also love you who worked hard for my sake." (Kearuga)
"I love you too!" (Freya)
Her cheerful voice was filled with sincerity, as if she was a little girl. For now, I will continue using her comfortably. For that reason, I whispered words of love while embracing her. Setsuna, my favorite, is here, and I can toy with, use, and sneer at that princess Flare. There is nothing as fun as this. The raptor continues to run, aiming to leave the national border. Well then, I wonder what kind of fun things awaits me in the next town.
TL Note: There was the LN cover at the bottom of the advertis.e.m.e.nt the author put up, but idk if I"m allowed to post LN covers on my free wordpress site. I don"t really know anything about what I can and can"t do, so I would appreciate it if someone could tell me. For now though, I"ll just put the amazon link here for the people that want to support the author or just check out the cover .
(Though it has a somewhat bad quality image, so you would be better off going to this chapter"s raws and scroll down to the bottom of the page to check it out in best quality.)