Chapter 34
. . . . 」
In the dark, damp cave, how and why was he born?
He couldn"t figure out why, no matter how much he thought about it .
After a few hours after he woke up, what seemed to be his ego had awakened, the first thing he do, was to check his body .
Other than that, all he did was lean his body against a rock .
「A, Ah . . . . 」
His voice"s tone was low and dull, he felt terrible tired, his body feels so heavy, he"s hungry, needed help, and scared . These are the only thoughts that run through his head .
「 . . . . Ara, sweetie . Are you alone?」
「 . . . . ?」
「Arara, you don"t even know any words yet huh . Nice to meet you . little skeleton-kun?」
Although he didn"t even recognize himself, he was somewhat glad that he was no longer alone .
A woman appeared in front of him . She held a large staff in her hand and wore a black robe .
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few stones .
「Ah . . . . . . ?」
「Come on, eat up . You must be hungry, right?」
He could guess instinctively . His body feels heavy, but he was hungry . With all the strength he had left, he took a bite of the stone she had taken out .
「I knew you"d be hungry . There"s still plenty left . You can eat it all」
He took a bite of the stone with all his might . He couldn"t taste it, and the stone he ate was falling through the bones . However, every time he bit into it; he felt a sense of satisfaction that he could not describe .
「Aah! Aa . . . . !」
「Well, you"re full huh? I"m glad」
Although he couldn"t say a word, he could somehow express his joy .
There was no heaviness in his body that he had felt a moment ago . On the contrary, he felt very light .
「You are a slave"s child, perhaps . There"s no way a little child would be alone in a place like this . The cave collapsed after last night"s earthquake, so he must have been left behind and turned into a demon」
The woman was saying something, but he could not understand what it was . The only thing he understood was that she was helping him .
「You poor thing . You"ve been left all alone」
She mouthed the words and hugged him . The sound of crunching bones echoed in the cave .
Although he didn"t understand what she was doing, he felt a sense of joy . A strange, indescribable feeling began to circulate .
「Come on . Won"t you come with me? I haven"t decided on a place to go, but I"m sure it"ll be less lonely than being alone . . . . . . 」
Then he followed the girls in her black robe .
With a crunching sound of bones, the little skeleton walked behind her .
＊＊＊
We left the cave and walked a long distance .
It took days to cross the mountain, days to cross the river, and days to reach the big forest .
「My stomach . Is full」
「You ate well, didn"t you? Then let"s get some rest for today」
When we arrived at a somewhat open area with no trees, they sat down to eat .
He, a small skeleton, covered himself with the stone she had given him . She, in her black robe, also had a large staff in her hand, which she propped up against a tree beside her, and she sated her hunger with a mouthful of preserved food .
Every time he ate one of the stones she gave him, he felt his body grow stronger and a little bigger .
Now he could understand the words she was saying, and he could say them himself .
「Tomorrow we"ll be walking a lot again, okay? Get some rest and be ready for tomorrow」
Even a skeleton can regain his strength by resting .
As a small skeleton, he had very little energy . That"s why it was important for him to rest every night .
「yes . . . !」
He replied in a faltering voice and lay down . He hoped that he would be able to travel safely with her tomorrow .
He was a very good sleeper . She could tell immediately that he would be asleep within a few minutes .
「You"ve grown up so well in such a short time . Good boy」
She was stroking his head and talking to herself, what she was giving him was a magic stone .
There are several kinds of nourishment for demons to grow, but magic stones are the most effective of them all .
As an undead, he does not eat meat, so he basically eats magic stones .
What she gave him was a magic stone, which was quite valuable in general terms . However, it didn"t take any special effort for her to get it .
In all her years of living, she had never had a family, and she had never had anything to look forward to in life .
In the midst of all this, she met a small skeleton . she felt a little sorry for him, and gave him a magic stone, which he bites into with all his might . When she saw him, he looks so cute that she asked him if he wanted to come with her .
She was surprised at how much she enjoyed traveling with him, even though it was only for a few days . Watching him eat made she feel happier than anything else .
Even though she is a demon, she is still a woman, and that is why she asked herself if she have motherly instincts in her, but she couldn"t find an answer . But it"s no lie that this is a "good time" for her, so she feels that this is a trivial matter .
「We"ll have to keep walking tomorrow . Let"s take a rest for now」
A journey with no fixed destination . That"s what was this trip supposed to be, but she wanted to take the little skeleton to different places, so she continued her journey to a few places in her memory .
「Oh, that reminds me, I need to think of a name for him . What should I name him? . . . . . 」
It is meaningful for a demon to have a name; it expands its evolutionary future .
It didn"t mean that they would become stronger just by having a name, but it was important in the sense that it would expand their future potential .
A small skeleton that is very important to her . She decided to give it a name .