I had a dream.
A dream where an angel descends from the sky.
Unlike yesterday, it had to be a good dream, right?
That's what I thought, but— There was a mosaic over the important bits.
It was grinning with a creepy "fufufu" expression.
Apparently it was a nightmare.
Once I realized that, I woke up.
"A dream, huh…"
Lately, my dreams have been pretty rough.
Before my eyes stretched a world of nothing but rock and dirt.
The Demon Continent.
A fragment of the supercontinent that had been torn apart by the Human-Demon War.
Once, the territory gathered together by the Demon God Laplace.
Its area was roughly half that of the Central Continent.
But there were virtually no plants, the ground was cracked, and enormous step-like elevation differences rose everywhere—boulders taller than a person blocked the way ahead, making the whole place a natural labyrinth.
On top of that, the mana density was extremely high, and powerful demons were said to be plentiful.
If you tried to walk across, it would take three times as long as the Central Continent.
Or so they say.
--- This was going to be a long journey.
How should I explain it to
I was thinking about this, but she was in high spirits.
She was gazing at the soil of the Demon Continent with sparkling eyes.
"Eris. This is the Demon Continent, but…"
"The Demon Continent! An adventure is starting!"
She was thrilled.
She sure was taking it well.
No point in making her anxious right away, I supposed.
"Let's go. Keep up."
At
--- Eris and Ruijerd had gotten along well.
They'd apparently had conversations while I was sleeping.
Better than her picking a fight, at least.
She talked happily about everything from her life back home to her magic and sword training lessons.
Ruijerd was a man of few words, but he responded to each of Eris's stories.
That initial terror she'd shown—what had that been about?
Now Eris wasn't the least bit intimidated by this terrifying man.
She did say some shockingly rude things every now and then that made me flinch, but Ruijerd never got particularly upset.
Whatever she said, he brushed it off smoothly.
Whoever started that rumor about him having a short fuse?
Then again, regardless of how she used to be, Eris could now read the atmosphere to some degree.
Edna and I had drilled that into her properly, so she probably wouldn't say anything that would instantly set someone off.
That was the hope.
But you never knew which words might trigger a stranger.
I really wished she'd be careful.
And while we're at it, Eris's own fuse was extremely short too, so I wished Ruijerd would be careful as well.
Just as I was thinking this, Eris immediately raised her voice.
"Is
"No he's not!"
"But
"It is, but we're not related!"
"Half-siblings? Different mothers?"
"Neither!"
"I don't know much about humans, but you should cherish your family."
"I'm telling you, we're not!"
"Just do it. Cherish him."
"Guh…"
She was so taken aback by his forceful tone.
"I-I'll cherish him…"
Well, they really weren't siblings, of course.
Eris was older.
--- The Demon Continent was nothing but rocks, with extreme changes in elevation.
The ground was hard, and when you dug even a little, it turned to powdery soil.
There were no nutrients.
It felt like one step away from a desert.
If you were trapped in a land like this, even demons would start wars.
Plants were nearly nonexistent.
The occasional cactus-like odd rock formation was about it.
"Hmm. Wait here for a moment. Absolutely do not move."
Once every ten minutes or so, Ruijerd would say that, then sprint ahead in the direction of travel.
He'd leap over rocky peaks like a rabbit, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Incredible physical ability.
Guileen had been amazing too, but if you were to quantify their agility, Ruijerd might come out ahead.
He'd return within five minutes of setting off.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."
He never said anything specific, but there was a faint scent of blood from the tip of his trident.
He was probably killing the demons that were blocking our path.
I recalled that the red gem in his forehead served a radar-like function.
It said so in the
Thanks to that, he could detect enemies early and ambush them before they even noticed us, taking them out in a single blow.
"Hey! What have you been doing this whole time?"
Eris asked bluntly.
"Killing demons ahead of us."
Ruijerd answered concisely.
"How can you tell they're there when you can't see them?"
"I can see them."
Ruijerd said that and pushed his hair aside.
His forehead was exposed, revealing the red gem.
Eris flinched for a moment, but upon closer look, the gem itself was quite beautiful.
Her expression quickly shifted to one of fascination.
"How convenient!"
"It may be convenient, but I've wished many times that I didn't have something like this."
"Then I can take it off your hands! Just pop it right out!"
"That's not how it works."
Ruijerd smiled wryly. Eris had learned to joke around too, huh…
It was a joke, right?
She seemed to be having fun.
I should join the conversation.
"Now that you mention it, I'd heard that the demons on the Demon Continent are strong."
"Around here, they're not so bad.
We're off the main road, so there are more of them, but…"
Right. More of them.
Ruijerd had been moving like this every ten-plus minutes.
In the
That was because the knights and adventurers regularly culled them.
That said, the encounter rate on the Demon Continent was absurd.
"You've been fighting alone this whole time—are you sure you're all right?"
"No problem. Every fight is one hit."
"I see… Please tell me if you get tired.
I can provide some support at least, and I can use healing magic too."
"You children worry too much."
Saying that, Ruijerd placed his hand on my head and tentatively patted it.
Was this guy into patting children's heads, or what?
"Just stay by your sister's side and protect her."
"See! Who's his sister! I'm the older one!"
"Oh, is that so? My apologies."
Ruijerd tried to pat Eris's head too, but she slapped his hand away.
Poor Ruijerd.
--- "We've arrived."
We'd been walking for about three hours.
We'd stopped numerous times, the elevation changes were severe, and the winding path had eaten up a lot of time.
But as the crow flies, we couldn't have been more than a kilometer away.
I was pretty tired.
Same as yesterday—my body felt heavy.
Was it a side effect of the teleportation?
Or was it simply that I lacked stamina?
I'd been working on my physical conditioning under Guileen's guidance without fail, so…
"There's a village!"
Eris didn't look tired at all, gazing at the settlement with great interest.
I envied her stamina.
Eris called it a village, but it was more of a small settlement.
A crude fence encircled a cluster of roughly a dozen houses.
Inside the fence were small fields.
I couldn't quite tell what they were growing, but it didn't look like a bountiful harvest.
Growing crops in a place with no rivers seemed like a stretch.
"Halt!"
We were stopped at the entrance.
A boy who looked about middle-school age stood alone by the gate.
Blue hair. It reminded me of Roxy.
"Ruijerd! Who the hell are these people?"
In the Demon God language.
Looks like he could understand the conversation just fine.
He'd been listening properly. Okay.
"Those meteorites I mentioned."
"They're suspicious! I can't let them into the village!"
"What's suspicious about them?"
Ruijerd approached the gatekeeper with a fierce expression.
His killing intent was enormous.
If he'd unleashed that kind of killing aura when we first met, I would've fled without a second thought.
"They're obviously suspicious!"
"They were caught in a mana disaster in Asura and transported here."
"Y-yes, but…"
"Are you really going to abandon a child like this…?"
Ruijerd clenched his fist.
I reflexively grabbed his hand.
"He's just doing his job, so please hold back."
"What…?"
"Besides, someone at his level won't get us anywhere. Wouldn't it be better to call someone in charge?"
The boy furrowed his brow at being called "someone at his level."
"You're right. Rein, call the chief."
Ruijerd glared at him with an intense look that said "don't give me any more attitude," and said this.
"Sure, I was just about to do that anyway."
The boy called Rein closed his eyes.
About ten seconds of silence passed…
"…………"
What are you doing? Hurry up!
Stop closing your eyes—don't tell me you're sleeping.
Or are you waiting for a kiss?
"Ruijerd, what is he…?"
"The Migurd tribe can communicate with each other even at a distance."
"Oh, now that you mention it, I think my master told me about that."
Technically, it was in a book Roxy had given me.
It stated that members of the Migurd tribe could communicate telepathically with those close to them.
It also mentioned, as an aside, that she had left the village because she couldn't do it.
Poor Roxy…
So this was a Migurd settlement.
Should I bring up Roxy's name?
Without knowing her connection to this village, it could backfire.
"The chief is coming."
"Couldn't we go to him?"
"You think you'd even be allowed inside?"
"I see."
An uncomfortable silence settled over us.
Eris tugged gently at my sleeve.
"Hey, what's going on?"
Eris couldn't understand the Demon God language.
"They think we're suspicious, so the village chief is coming to check on us personally."
"What? What's suspicious about that…"
Eris frowned and looked down at her own outfit.
Since we were heading outside the city, she was dressed in her sword-training gear.
A little underdressed, perhaps, but not unreasonable.
At least, in my eyes, she didn't look much different from Ruijerd.
If she'd been wearing a dress, that would have been seriously suspicious.
"It'll be okay, right?"
"What?"
"I don't know what you mean by 'what,' but, you know, the whole thing…"
"We'll be fine."
"Is thaaat so…"
Even Eris, as bold as she was, seemed a little uneasy about being stopped at the entrance.
But once I told her it would be okay, she immediately calmed down.
"The chief seems to have arrived."
From the back of the village came an old-looking little kid with a cane.
Two girls who looked about middle-school age flanked him.
Everyone was small.
Could it be that Migurd tribe members didn't grow past a middle-schooler's size, even as adults?
The Roxy Dictionary didn't mention anything about that…
No wait, the illustration had depicted someone who looked middle-school age.
I'd thought it was a self-portrait by Roxy and had found it adorable, but maybe that was actually what an adult Migurd looked like?
As I was pondering this, the chief and Rein began to talk.
"Are these the ones…?"
"Yes. One of them can apparently speak the Demon God language. Very suspicious."
"If it's just language, anyone can learn it with enough study!"
"Would a human that age really study the Demon God language?"
Fair point.
That was almost enough to convince me, but the chief gently patted Rein's shoulder.
"Now, now. Why don't you calm down and wait a bit."
The chief walked toward us at a leisurely pace.
I bowed my head.
Not the noble's style—a Japanese-style bow.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Rudeus Greyrat."
"Oh my, how polite. I am Roxs, the chief of this settlement."
I shot a glance at Eris.
She was uncertain about what to do with someone who appeared close to her age but had a slightly different aura, fidgeting with her arms crossed and uncrossed.
She seemed to be debating whether to stand there with her arms crossed in a defiant pose.
"Eris. Introduce yourself."
"B-but I can't speak the language!"
"Just say it like they taught you in etiquette class. I'll translate."
"Mm, okay…
P-pleased to meet you. I'm Eris Boreas Greyrat."
Eris introduced herself exactly as she'd been taught in her manners class.
Roxs broke into a warm smile.
"Did this young lady just introduce herself?"
"She did. It's the greeting custom from our homeland."
"Oh my, it seems different from yours?"
"It's different for men and women."
Roxs nodded in understanding, then bowed to Eris, imitating me.
"I am Roxs, chief of this settlement."
Eris was flustered by the sudden bow and looked to me.
"Rudeus, what did he say?"
"He said he's Roxs, chief of this settlement."
"Oh, o-oh, so that's what he said. Like Rudeus told me, it came through fine."
Eris smirked with satisfaction.
Good, that was taken care of.
"So, may we enter the settlement?"
"Mmm."
Roxs looked me up and down with no shame at all.
Cut it out.
With a gaze like that, I'd start wanting to strip.
Roxs's eyes stopped on my chest.
"Where did you get that pendant?"
"My master gave it to me."
"Who is your master?"
"Her name is Roxy."
I answered honestly with Roxy's name.
Thinking about it, this was the name of a teacher I deeply respected.
There was no reason to hide it.
"What did he say?!"
Rein was the one who exclaimed.
He strode over with alarming speed and grabbed my shoulder.
Maybe I'd poked the bear after all.
"D-did you just say Roxy?!"
"Yes, she's my master…"
As I answered, I noticed Ruijerd clenching his fist in the corner of my vision and motioned for him to hold back.
There was no anger in Rein's face.
Only urgency.
"Ro-where is Roxy right now?!"
"Well, I haven't seen her in a while, so…"
"Tell me! Roxy—Roxy is my daughter!"
I'm sorry, what?
"Excuse me, could you say that again?"
"Roxy is my daughter! Is she still alive?!"
What in the— No, I heard you just fine.
I was just taken aback by this middle-schooler's age.
He actually looked more like Roxy's younger brother.
But so that was it.
Huh.
"Please tell me! She left the village over twenty years ago and we haven't heard a word!"
So Roxy had run away from home without telling her parents.
I'd never heard that story.
Honestly, our master really didn't provide enough context.
Wait—twenty years?
Hold on.
How old was Roxy now?
"Please, don't just stand there. Say something!"
My apologies.
"Roxy's current whereabouts are…"
That was when I realized he still hadn't let go of my shoulder.
It felt like I was being coerced.
Confessing under duress just felt wrong.
It'd look like I'd submitted to violence.
If you're going to beat me into submission, at the very least destroy my laptop with a bat, beat me up with karate, and then crush my spirit with insults so terrible they'd be unfit to repeat.
I needed to take a firm stand.
Eris might worry otherwise.
"But first, answer my question.
How old is Roxy now?"
"Her age? No, that's not important right—"
"It is important!
And tell me the Migurd tribe's lifespan as well!"
These were things I had to ask.
"A-ah, right…
Roxy should be… 44 years old this year.
The Migurd tribe lives to about 200.
Some die of illness, but if you're looking at natural old age, that's about it."
Same age as me.
A little bit of a happy thought.
"I see.
Ah, and please let go of my shoulder."
Rein finally released his grip.
Good, good. Now we could talk.
"Roxy should have been in Sellon up until half a year ago.
I haven't met her directly, but we've been exchanging letters."
"Letters…? Could she write in human language?"
"At the very least, she was already proficient seven years ago."
"S-so she's… safe?"
"As long as she hasn't fallen ill or been in an accident, I'd imagine she's doing well."
Upon hearing this, Rein's knees buckled.
A look of relief washed over his face, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"So she's… safe… she's safe, huh… heh… that's good…"
Good for you, father-in-law.
Watching this, I couldn't help but think of
Would Paul cry with relief too, once he learned I was safe?
A letter to
I wanted to send one soon.
"So, does that mean we can enter the settlement?"
I turned my attention back to Chief Roxs, leaving the emotionally overwhelmed Rein behind.
"Of course. How could I turn away the ones who brought us news of Roxy's safety?"
The pendant I'd received from Roxy had worked wonders.
I should've shown it from the start.
Then again, depending on how the conversation went, they might have suspected I'd killed Roxy and taken it.
Demons seemed to live long lives. Their appearance and actual age didn't always match.
Even if I looked like a ten-year-old, if they found out I was really over forty, it could raise some ugly suspicions.
I'd have to be careful about that.
I'd just have to act as childlike as possible.
And so, we entered the Migurd Tribe's settlement.