88 – Demon Protection Shelter
After Meruru and Aruru reunited as sisters,
I decided to stay at the Demon Protection Shelter for a few more days so that Meruru could spend more time with her older sister.
As a demon, Aruru couldn’t leave the Demon Protection Shelter, and Meruru was supposed to continue her work as a receptionist in Qubele.
I was worried that Meruru would throw a tantrum and insist on going to the Demon Protection Shelter with her sister, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.
Aruru persuaded Meruru, saying, “Now that you’re on the continent, live your own life instead of being tied down here.”
Considering the fact that she was her older sister, Aruru was much more mature in her thoughts and speech than Meruru.
And the attitude of glaring at me and not wanting to talk when only I was around softened to the point where we could have a conversation after meeting Meruru.
“Come to think of it, there’s something I want to ask.”
Seizing the opportunity when Aruru was alone, I approached her and spoke.
“heheheh…”
As soon as Aruru saw me, she swallowed her breath and shielded her stomach with both hands.
Although communication had become possible, she still had the habit of startling and covering her stomach whenever she saw me.
No matter how inevitable it was, I felt a little sorry when I saw that even such a trauma was deeply engraved on her body.
“Can you stop covering your stomach every time you see me since I absolutely won’t hit you? It makes me feel like a villain every time I see it.”
“Don’t worry about it. My body just reacts on its own when I see you.”
“Anyway, I have something I want to ask.”
While still covering her stomach with her hand, Aruru nodded her head.
“How did you end up receiving the blood of a demon?”
It wasn’t just Aruru.
Other demons being protected here were the same.
Though they hadn’t willingly entered the demon realm and received the blood of a demon, why did they become demons?
One of the reasons I visited the demon shelter was to find out the cause of the demonization occurring near the kingdom.
“I don’t really want to talk about it…”
Aruru avoided my gaze and refused to answer.
Could it be that someone intentionally spread the blood of demons among the people in the kingdom?
But the number seemed too small to be intentional.
If I had come with the purpose of demonizing the people of the kingdom, there would have been plenty of ways to spread the blood of demons on a large scale.
So, could it be a natural occurrence?
No, that seems a bit far-fetched too.
Only when someone receives the blood of a demon does a previously healthy person suddenly become a demon.
“The reason Aruru doesn’t talk about why she became a demon is because she doesn’t want to talk about her life before that.
From Noble mtl dot com
From the moment she first set foot on the continent to becoming a demon, her life was cruel and unbearable.
Furthermore, she didn’t even know the exact reason why she became a demon.”
At that moment, the narration said something that bothered me greatly.
Aruru herself doesn’t know the exact reason why she became a demon?
How is that possible?
I wanted to ask more, but I stopped because I could see from Aruru’s expression that she didn’t want to be asked any more questions.
“There… “
As I was about to leave Aruru behind and go somewhere else, Aruru suddenly called out to me.
“I heard that you took care of Meruru when she first came to the continent.”
“Well… that’s true, but Meruru also helped me a lot when I was in need. We helped each other.”
“What about her?”
Aruru looked slightly surprised at my answer.
“If it weren’t for Meruru, I wouldn’t be here either. We’re indebted to each other.”
“Surprising. I thought she was just a young child.”
“Well, your sister is also living her life diligently in her own way.”
“…I see.”
Aruru looked down at the ground, her face showing a pensive expression.
I could see Meruru’s thick, fluffy tail slowly swaying.
But even in that moment, she didn’t give up covering her stomach with both hands in front of me.
Having heard a lot from Meruru, Aruru now understood that I had no choice but to strike her to capture her alive.
But apart from that, the fear ingrained in her body didn’t easily fade away.
There’s nothing I can do, it’s a fact that I hit her hard.
“Um, Yunoa… that’s what you said, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So… thank you for taking care of Meruru and letting me meet her….”
Aruru turned her face towards me, her eyes looking elsewhere as she spoke in a voice that gradually grew quieter.
What is it? What are you trying to say?
“Go… go… go….”
“What?”
“Go….”
“….”
“Go… Go…. It happened.”
With those words, Aruru stepped back, making a rustling sound.
No matter how much I think about it, it seems like she was trying to say thank you…
Maybe she’s just not good at expressing herself.
It’s unexpected, this embarrassment that doesn’t suit her overflowing wildness.
Although her words were a bit strange, I didn’t feel bad about it.
Aruru’s feeling of gratitude was conveyed well enough to me.
* * *
“What are your impressions of the Demon Protection Shelter?”
The supervisor’s office in the protection area of the Demon Protection Shelter.
As it was time for me and the shelter supervisor, Mirabel, to leave, we sat down to have a drink and talk for a while.
Meruru made sure to spend time with her sister until the very end.
It will realistically be difficult for her to come back here for a while once she returns to Kubel.
The distance is too far, and we each have things we need to do.
As for my impressions of the Demon Protection Shelter…
Honestly, I thought it was much better than I expected.
From Mirabel and the others who help with the work here, it was evident that they were making an effort not to have prejudice against demons. They paid a lot of attention to various welfare measures so that the demons, who couldn’t go outside at all, wouldn’t feel too lacking.
However, no matter how much investment was made in the environment of the Demon Shelter, whether the demons here were in a happy situation was another issue.
In reality, the demons here, who were practically suddenly deprived of their freedom in life, had nowhere to go once they left the Demon Shelter.
Because they were originally not demons, it was difficult for them to live in the Demon Realm.
But they couldn’t live in the kingdom either.
They had to live away from their families like Aruru, and to be honest, I didn’t know how long this Demon Shelter would be stably operated.
“It’s difficult to define in one word. I’m glad it’s running better than I thought, though.”
“Exactly, the operation of the Demon Shelter is just a temporary measure.”
Mirabel nodded slightly as if it was obvious from my answer.
“Regarding the cause of demonization near the kingdom, there is no clue, right?”
I asked Mirabel a question about the unanswered doubts.
Except for Aruru, who said she didn’t want to talk about it, I met other demons and talked to them.
As a result, I was able to find one common point.
The demons here didn’t know exactly why they became demons.
Many demons answered my question, but according to the person who gave the most specific answer, it was like this.
It was when they were facing imminent death from being attacked by monsters.
When they were standing there, gradually losing strength and unable to move, they heard a voice.
Would they give up on life like this, or would they be reborn as demons and live a second life?
The moment they answered that question, they lost consciousness, and when they woke up, they were told that they had become demons.
It was a chaotic situation, so I didn’t know who was sharing the blood of demons.
It was a story like this.
“There are suspicions that someone within the kingdom is sharing the blood of demons. However, there are no clues as to who it might be. If someone intentionally spreads the blood of demons, we cannot guess their intentions and purposes. For now, all we can do is gather newly discovered demons in the kingdom and bring them to the shelter for protection.”
“I see.”
I absentmindedly picked up and put down the empty teacup, nodding my head.
Listening to the stories of the demons being protected here, those who share the blood of demons did not have the indiscriminate intention of increasing the number of demons.
It felt like a last salvation offered to those struggling in dire circumstances…
It felt like an urging to become a demon for someone facing death.
Maybe Aruru had experienced something similar.
But why?
The more I thought about it, the deeper the questions in my mind became.
No matter how much I pondered here, it seemed that no answer would come.
“Miss Yunoa, and… Mr. Algot. I want to talk about them.”
Just as my thoughts were becoming more complex, Mirabel spoke up.
“Yes, is there something you want to say?”
“Are you curious? Why did Mr. Algot create a shelter like this?”
“Well, honestly… I am curious why he would take on such a risk and spend so much money for this.”
I honestly expressed my doubts.
In a society where demons must be captured and killed without exception, how did Algot come up with the idea to create such a place?
Considering her personality, I didn’t think I would get a proper answer if I asked her directly, so I listened carefully to what Mirabel had to say.
“There was someone Mr. Algot had promised to marry. They were fellow adventurers.”
“So, he had a lover.”
“Yes, but during a solo mission, that lover suffered a serious injury and ended up receiving demon blood.”
“Oh…”
“At that time, there were no demon shelters like this… It was a very difficult situation. Mr. Algot went to search for his lover, who hadn’t returned, and only later found out that their lover had become a demon.”
“So, is that person also being protected here?”
Becoming a demon… If that’s the reason, it’s understandable why they spent so much money to create a demon shelter.
They couldn’t live openly in the kingdom anymore, so they must have had no choice but to meet in secret.
But Mirabel shook her head at my words.
“No, they’re dead. The guild found out about their existence and issued an extermination order.”
“I see…”
“After hearing the news of his lover being exterminated, Mr. Algot felt that something had gone terribly wrong. He said that even though they became a demon, they were still the same as before, not turning into a monster.”
“Hmm…”
So Algot also felt that demons weren’t much different from humans, like I did.
Although the process was terrible, to say the least.
Demons are not monsters.
They were just like other humanoid species, like beastfolk or lizardmen.
But the history and social atmosphere in the kingdom made it difficult to see this simple truth.
Algot… He seemed like a person who enjoyed teasing others on the surface, but there was something like that in his past.
“Could the person who turned Algot’s lover into a demon and the person here who turned everyone into demons be the same individual?”
I asked Mirabel.
“Well, nobody knows.”
There were too many uncertainties.
But the narration remained silent.
At times like this, it would be nice if someone could tell me something, I thought. But I was already wrong at the point of having such thoughts.
Why do humans and demons have to treat each other like enemies?
As someone from another world, I don’t really know.
“No one knows how long this demon shelter can last.”
“……”
“But Mr. Algot has done his best to protect this place. I hope that even if we don’t know what will happen in the future, at least this place can be a little help in preventing the tragedies Mr. Algot has experienced from happening again.”
Thanks to this place, Meruru was able to reunite with her sister.
Regardless of what Algot ultimately wants, it was meaningful to create this place even if it meant pushing the limits.
But still, if the fundamental problem between humans and demons is not resolved, it will only be a temporary solution.
“Anyway, thank you for everything. You’ve been a great guide.”
I stood up from my seat, signaling that it was time to prepare to return to Kubel.
* * *