75 – Debt
I took Aruru to the base in the Hallberry Forest that Algot had prepared in advance.
Aruru, tightly bound all over, wriggled like a fish on my shoulders a few times, but eventually seemed to give up and settled down.
During the journey to the promised base, it might have been effective to constantly talk about Meruru.
No matter what I said, Aruru stared at me with eyes that seemed to say she couldn’t believe anything, but she didn’t say a word.
“…… Anyway, I’ve taken care of your sister before, and I have no intention of harming you.”
“……”
“Well, I guess even if I say it like this, you still can’t believe it.”
Aruru didn’t say a word.
I thought that maybe she had lost her ability to speak after becoming a demon, but that couldn’t be true.
“Aruru never trusted humans.
The various experiences she had when she came from the Helvetika Island to the continent shattered her trust in humans.
Aruru even thought that Yunoa was an opportunistic human who was using her younger sister, Meruru.”
The narrator gave me a slight hint about Aruru’s perspective.
… What could have happened to her to make her like this?
Could it be that Aruru also experienced all sorts of terrible things at the hands of humans like Shari?
I didn’t know what had happened, but it seemed difficult to gain her trust right away.
For now, I had to take her to the base as promised with Algot and think about it.
By the way, now that I had successfully captured Aruru unharmed, I started to worry again if Algot really had no intention of harming her.
There were various circumstances implying that she had no intention of harming Aruru, but there was still a slim chance.
Especially when Algote showed a strange and unpredictable attitude, I couldn’t be sure of her true intentions.
If I were to take Aruru and suddenly treat her like a prisoner of war, torture her for information, and then try to execute her…
No, no, that couldn’t be possible.
Let’s stop drawing up the worst-case scenario in a strange way.
I trust my instincts.
Algote is definitely not a psychopath.
But it was true that there was nowhere for demons to live in this kingdom.
Although I brought her in alive, there didn’t seem to be any other option for her besides being banished to the demon realm.
The location Algote had prepared was a small cottage that seemed hastily built with wooden planks.
As expected, it was in a position where no one would ever pass by.
I opened the door of the cottage and went inside.
“Of course, I knew you would choose this side.”
Algote was waiting inside.
She already knew that I had captured Aruru and brought her here.
I carefully laid Aruru, who was tightly bound and unable to move, on the floor.
Then I said to Algote,
“I knew from the beginning that it would turn out like this.”
In many ways.
Whatever her true intentions were, in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to kill Aruru, even if it meant thinking of Meruru.
Even if she wasn’t Meruru’s sister, being a “demon” alone wouldn’t be a reason for me to kill her.
Anyway, since I handled things the way I wanted, I believed I had the right to know Altote’s true intentions behind all this.
“Well… I guess so.”
“But why did you have to involve me in this?”
“I had my suspicions, but I needed confirmation. Just in case.”
Altote said with a smile.
Confirmation, huh? Was he trying to test me in some way?
“Sit down for now. It might take a while to explain.”
I sat down facing Altote on the floor of the cottage.
In the corner, Aruru was still glaring at Altote with her axe eyes wide open.
* * *
Altote slowly and thoroughly began to answer my questions.
He said the reason he had me involved in this was because he wanted to confirm my stance on demons.
Supporting or protecting demons was strictly forbidden in the kingdom.
Demons were always a threat to humanity and the kingdom, represented by the existence of heroes and the Demon King.
If it was revealed that someone was aiding demons, it was a serious crime that could even lead to execution depending on the circumstances.
That’s why Altote said he needed to confirm multiple times what stance I had towards demons.
“I first sensed it when you went to find the missing Meruru and met Aruru. The strange attitude you showed towards Yunoa… You must have already suspected that Aruru was a demon, but you didn’t tell me. You knew that if the guild found out, they would definitely issue an extermination order.”
“…I see, so you knew.”
“I couldn’t sense any hostility from Yunoa towards demons. That must be because you had already interacted with them in some way.”
“Well, that’s…”
I had no intention of denying it at this point.
I didn’t have any particular hostility towards demons as a being.
Whether they were humans or demons, there were both good and bad ones.
“But that’s a suspicion. I am in a position of responsibility as the Guild Master. If I am wrong and you accuse me of aiding demons, it would be a big problem, wouldn’t it? So, I’ve tried to test you several times and entrusted you with Aruru subjugation requests to confirm if you are someone I can trust.”
“To be honest… from the moment I took on this job, it felt like you were telling me not to kill Aruru, but to capture her alive.”
Well, I had my suspicions too.
My words seemed to surprise Alcott a little.
“If it felt that way, then I failed too. I must have given myself away too much.”
“I wouldn’t have any reason to kill Meruru’s sister, would I?”
“I know, but I wanted to confirm it again.”
I could fully understand why Alcott had tested me so cautiously.
After returning from the Demon Realm, I couldn’t openly express my support for demons.
It wasn’t a matter of right or wrong.
People in this world had lived for far too long considering demons as enemies.
From a young age, they had grown up hearing stories of heroes and demon kings, where demons were considered absolute evil.
Even though I myself had doubts about whether Alcott truly harbored hostility towards demons, I couldn’t casually speak about it.
Being cautious was only natural.
“Well, actually, I’ve been helping demons for a while now.”
“What?”
I was taken aback by Algot’s sudden declaration, and my eyes widened.
Having a mindset of looking at demons without prejudice and actually helping them is a different matter altogether.
“The appearance of demons in the kingdom has been happening occasionally for a long time.”
Algot continued to speak.
“Usually, demons rarely come over to the kingdom because they live in the demon world and unless they have a special purpose, they don’t usually come to the kingdom. However, demons are occasionally discovered near the kingdom. What do you think is the reason for that?”
“Well….”
“The characteristics of demons discovered near the kingdom are clear. Unlike other demons who live in communities by forming groups in the demon world, they operate as individuals without any kinship. You already know that demons exist in various races, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“The demons that appear in the kingdom were originally not demons, but they became demons by receiving a transfusion of demon blood recently. That’s why they live near the kingdom, avoiding people’s eyes without any kinship, unable to adapt to the demon world. They have become demons, but they have become ambiguous beings who don’t belong to either the demon world or the kingdom.”
After listening to Algot’s words, I looked at Aruru, who was staring at me from the corner.
She must have originally been a merfolk who crossed from the Helvetica Island to the mainland like Meruru.
Certainly, the demons I saw in the demon world were living in villages, gathering with their own kind.
The Karia tribe with mushrooms on their heads, and Ainblad, where pure-blooded demons lived, were like that.
Although I didn’t see it with my own eyes, other demons would also be living in the demon world with their own kind.
But in the case of someone like Aruru who recently became a demon by receiving demon blood, it was the same as not having the same kind.
It wouldn’t be easy to live alone in the demon world without any special help.
There would also be issues of identity regarding suddenly becoming a demon.
Come to think of it, it wasn’t simply a matter of being a demon and just living in the demon world.
“To help demons, it’s not like…?”
“Yes. I am protecting those who have become demons without anywhere else to go.”
“How is that possible?”
“You know that I’ve had quite a life as an adventurer in the capital, right? There’s a large lawless area in the underground of the capital, Pippenel, where even the kingdom can’t intervene. I have a secret hiding place there.”
There was such a place in the underground of the capital, Pippenel.
But no matter how lawless the underground area was, it didn’t seem like an easy task to send demons in and have them live in hiding.
“Don’t people notice? Even if they are demons…”
“There are two ways to identify demons apart from their unique powers. One is the eyes. When someone becomes a demon, their eye color and shape change under the influence of the Demon King. The other is the mark. Those with demon blood have small red marks somewhere on their body. But apart from that, their fundamental appearance doesn’t change much.”
After turning his head to briefly check on Aruru’s state, Algot continued speaking.
“The demon shelter that I run is disguised as another store. As long as we cover the eyes and marks and enter there, there’s hardly any chance of getting caught unless we come out ourselves.”
“So, are you sending Aruru there too?”
“Yes. There are other demons in similar situations there. It’s much better than wandering around alone and risking being hunted, don’t you think?”
“How many people are there in the demon shelter?”
“About seven. And the people I trust the most run the store and protect the demon shelter. It looks like a restaurant on the outside, but inside, there’s a hidden wall that leads to the demon shelter through a gambling den. Even if there were inspections from the kingdom, they wouldn’t go beyond the gambling den.”
“Seven people…”
There were as many demons in a similar situation as Aruru, if not more.
No, that was just the number of people being protected in Algot’s demon shelter, so there were probably more.
Anyway, it was surprising that Algot was involved in such secretive work, but it was fortunate.
With this, at least the risk of Meruru’s sister being brutally killed disappeared.
“Anyway, now that you know this fact, Yunoa, you should also become one of my ‘most trusted people’.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Algot said to me.
Although he already considered me as someone he could trust and told me everything, his words also sounded like a warning that he wouldn’t forgive me if I betrayed him and revealed anything about the demon shelter.
“Wait, so Meruru… Meruru will finally be able to meet her sister? Is it possible to have a visit at that demon shelter?”
“It will be difficult right now. Look at Aruru’s state. If we let her go, wouldn’t she attack us right away? She has been listening to our conversation this whole time, and if she had heard even a word, she would have said something.”
As Algott said, Aruru’s gaze still held a strong sense of hostility.
I tried to subdue her by hitting her a little harder… but her eyes were filled with a determination and mistrust that surpassed that.
“…What if Meruru can persuade her?”
“No, it would be dangerous in her current state. A demon who has fallen into human mistrust can only trust people in the same situation. Let her adapt slowly at the demon shelter, and when we truly prove that we are not enemies, it won’t be too late to meet her.”
Algott spoke firmly.
I looked at Aruru’s lifeless face with a bitter expression.
At the same time, I couldn’t help but recall Meruru, who had been pretending to be fine and cheerful.
It was disappointing that Meruru couldn’t reunite with her sister right away, but with her current state, I couldn’t predict what might happen.
The narrator had said that she couldn’t even believe that I was friends with Meruru.
For now, it seemed best to follow Algott’s opinion.
The demon shelter…
According to Algott, there seemed to be quite a few ‘trustworthy people’ who were helping her.
It would be impossible to secretly operate a demon shelter like that in the current kingdom by myself.
If I get the chance later, maybe I should ask Algott for a favor and visit.
I was also concerned about why they ended up receiving ‘demon blood’.
I suddenly felt like I had discovered a hidden side of this vast kingdom.
On the one hand, I found some comfort in knowing that I wasn’t the only human in the kingdom who saw demons without prejudice.
The more I knew, the more I realized that something was wrong with this world.
And that’s when I realized I wasn’t alone in thinking that.
* * *