(The next morning.)
I'm awake and heading to the kitchen.
Ugh… Rose is a sexual harasser. The bodyguard too. Even in another world, my luck with women is still crap. I just hope I don't get raped in this world.
"It's morning!!"
No one answers. I guess they're still asleep.
"Did they even come back last night?"
I check the rooms, and they're empty. No one's here.
"They didn't come back?"
I leave the house and head to the castle.
Everything seems normal; I don't think anything bad happened, but better safe than sorry.
•
•
I enter the castle and notice something really weird.
"Seriously?"
The party's still going. It hasn't ended.
For rich and educated people, their parties last longer than the ones young people throw in my world.
My grandma approaches me.
"Did you sleep well, Dani?"
"Grandma, did the party go on all night?"
"Yeah, isn't it great?"
… Great…? Being young again has gotten to her.
"Well, I guess so… Sure… Anyway, the bathroom works perfectly; I tested it."
"I'm glad."
"I'll eat a bit and head to the guild… Oh…"
I notice there's no more food on the tables.
Ugh, I wanted to keep eating that delicious pink chocolate cake.
"I guess I'll eat at the guild."
I see Rem and walk over to her.
"You still have energy?"
"Of course!"
"Well, keep having fun. I'm going to the guild to take a mission."
"You're doing a mission alone?"
"I need money, and you guys seem to be enjoying the party. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Even though I only have wind-type magic, I'll help you."
"You have wind-type magic? How many spells do you know?"
It's one of the rarest magics with few spells. I hope she knows some I don't.
"There aren't many wind-type spells, so I only know two."
"Which ones?"
"I think they're… 'Blizzard' and 'Akaso Wind.'"
Ugh, I already have those.
"Blizzard: lets you use wind like arrows. Akaso Wind: lets you use wind to knock down enemies. They're really good spells."
But I was hoping for new ones… Too bad.
"But they take a lot of magical energy to use."
"Energy? Is there a usage limit?"
"Of course, if you run out of energy, you can't cast spells or even move."
"Wow, wow, I didn't know that."
"Let's go to the guild and take a mission!"
I'm curious to see if she can be useful.
"Let's go."
Energy, huh? I've never felt tired. What's my limit…? Huh?
A huge shiver runs through my body… Fear? Why am I scared?
"Why are you crying, Dani?"
"What?"
Am I crying? Why am I crying…? I feel weird.
"It's allergies. Something got in my eye. Let's go."
What happened to me?
•
•
(Central Village 1.)
Restro grabs an adventurer by the neck and lifts him off the ground, in front of the terrified and helpless gazes of the adventurer's family, who can only cry and hope for a miracle.
"Where's the adventurer named Daniel?"
All the adventurers surround the demons, but they know it's pointless to try to defeat them, which is why they're trembling and crying in fear.
But despite being scared to death, they try to fight.
"I'm asking you something! Where's the adventurer Daniel?!"
"I don't know, he left two days ago!"
"Where did he go?!"
"I really don't know!"
"Tch. Useless human…"
"Hey, let that useless guy go and fight someone who can actually give you a challenge!"
Sandro approaches Restro and Nadia.
Despite his bad reputation, Sandro hates people who prey on the weak.
He stands in front of Restro.
"I won't let you hurt them! I challenge you to a fight!"
Sandro draws his sword and prepares to fight.
"Wow, wow, an adventurer who dares to challenge us. Restro, leave him to me," Nadia says with a sweet smile.
Sandro breaks out in a cold sweat but stands firm and smiles.
"Whenever you're ready, beautiful."
•
•
(King Freis's Castle.)
A small blue bird flies through the window into Cristal's room.
"What's wrong, Nei?"
The bird starts talking.
A magical bird-type familiar, mainly used for surveillance.
"Some demons are in Central Village 1. They're looking for Daniel."
"Demons?!"
Cristal rushes out of the room and heads to the King, who's walking through the halls, talking to some people behind him.
"My King, there's trouble! Demons are in Central Village 1!"
"Demons? Tch. What do they want now?"
"They're looking for Daniel!"
"For Daniel…? Daniel, huh?"
The King smiles.
"Fufu. This will make things easier for us. Go to the village immediately and give the demons this message: 'Daniel is in King Finder's kingdom, leave our kingdom at once!'"
"You're going to tell them where he is?"
"Daniel's getting in the way of our plans. We need to get rid of him."
"I'll do it, with your permission."
Cristal runs off.
"Your Majesty, should we gather our army?"
"Immediately."
•
•
(A few minutes later, in Central Village 1.)
"Ugh… Damn it. Not only… beautiful, but powerful too, huh? So… unfair."
Sandro can barely stand, but he stays on guard. He's completely wounded, with cuts all over his body and blood covering his face.
Nadia doesn't have a single scratch.
Sandro has deep two-centimeter wounds all over, and considering Nadia has no injuries, it's obvious she was just playing with him.
She treated one of the country's most powerful adventurers like a toy, an adventurer who was even able to harm Daniel.
Sandro knew better than anyone that Nadia was toying with him, but at least he bought time.
While they fought, his ex-girlfriends were helping the orphanage kids and villagers escape.
Sandro was just the distraction.
"Wow, wow. I'm surprised you lasted this long."
"I… won't… let you… hurt them."
"I'm bored now."
Nadia punches him in the stomach with her right fist, knocking the air out of him.
Sandro vomits blood and almost collapses, but he manages to stay on his feet and tries to raise his arms.
"Don't know when to give up, do you?"
"I… don't… want…"
He really didn't want to give up, but exhaustion and pain overwhelmed him.
He fell to the ground and lost consciousness.
"Wow, wow. He lasted longer than I expected; he even made me sweat… Hey, Restro, I don't think Daniel's here."
"Let's destroy the village just in case."
"Stop!!"
Cristal arrives flying and lands in front of the demons.
"I have a message from King Freis: 'Daniel is in King Finder's kingdom, leave our kingdom at once.'"
"King Finder's kingdom?" Nadia says.
"I know where that is, let's go," Restro says.
Restro and Nadia fly off, and the adventurers help Sandro, trying to clean his wounds.
"Sandro protected us. He wasn't just a pretty face, huh?"
"But those demons are stronger than any demon that's been here before. That demon toyed with Sandro."
"Do you think Daniel can beat them?"
"D-damn it…" Sandro says.
"He's awake?!"
Sandro tries to stand, but he doesn't have the energy and stays on the ground, filled with frustration, knowing the demons are after Daniel.
Even though he knew he had no chance of beating them, Sandro didn't run and fought with all his strength, and he still wants to get up to help Daniel, but despite wanting to, he doesn't have the energy. He needs time to recover.
"Sandro, rest, you'll die if you move!"
"Quick, get blood from the guild!"
"Tch. Damn… King… Traitor… son of a… bitch."
•
•
(One hour later, in King Finder's kingdom.)
(POV - Daniel.)
Rem and I are in a green valley, fighting some Orcs.
They're easier to defeat than I thought, so I'm not too worried, just cautious enough.
Rem stands in front of two Orcs and extends her hands.
"Akaso Wind!"
A powerful gust from her hands sends the Orcs flying toward me.
Perfect.
"Nice job, Rem!"
I slice the two Orcs in half with my sword. Victory…!
"Huh?!"
The Orcs' bodies fall on me, and I hit the ground. Their blood stains my clothes and face. Arghhh! I'm such an idiot! I didn't move! Gross, I've got Orc guts on me!
"Gross, Orc blood!"
I stand up, a bit disgusted. This smells awful!
"Dani, we make a great team!"
"We took down 10 Orcs; that was awesome!"
Rem turned out to be more useful than I thought.
"I'd hug you, but you're covered in blood!"
She gets too close and sniffs me.
"Orc blood stinks!"
"Let's head home, then go to the guild for the reward."
"Alright!"
Rem climbs onto my back, and I fly off.
"Gross, now I've got Orc blood on me too!"
"When we get home, we'll bathe."
Rem's useful after all.
But I don't think she's strong enough to fight a demon.
I know Orc meat is edible and all, but I'm too lazy to carry their bodies. I'll leave that to the guild's cleanup team.
•
•
A few minutes later, we arrive home, and everyone's there.
We're back from work; it was a tough day, even though it only took an hour.
"Where were you?" Alex says.
They all sniff us, and their faces twist in disgust.
Yeah, yeah, we stink. That's what a hardworking man smells like.
"Why do you smell so bad?" my grandma says.
"I'll tell you later."
I head to the bathroom, and Rem tries to follow.
"Wait, I'm filthier; I'll bathe first."
"But we can bathe together."
"No, we can't."
"Please!"
"No!"
"I'll bathe in my underwear, don't worry!"
She starts undressing, and I blush. Arghhh! Does no one in this world have common sense or decency?!
"You bathe first; I'll wait!"
"Wait, I don't know how to use it."
"I'll explain."
Blah, blah, blah. After a long explanation of how to use the bathroom, she's ready to go in.
"Incredible! But you're using that instead of tree leaves?"
Rem points at the toilet paper with her index finger.
…
…
…
Rem's stuck in the past… Even here, they use toilet paper.
How long ago did she actually die?
"That's way better than leaves, trust me."
"Alright!"
"Don't take too long."
I leave the bathroom and close the door.
What's with that girl? People in this world make toilet paper from tree leaves… Though it's almost the same… But I feel more comfortable with regular toilet paper.
I head to my grandma.
"Did you explain how to use the bathroom to the others?"
"Yes, don't worry."
Thanks, Grandma, you saved me a lot of… Huh?
My phone rings.
"It's probably Rose."
I hope she has new information for me.
I pull out my phone and answer.
"Hey, Rose. Good morning. How…?"
"You need to leave! Two demons are in Central Village 3, and they're looking for you!"
"They're looking for me?!"
I knew it, they're coming for me! I need to keep them away from my grandma!
"I'm watching them; they're in the vill… Wait, they left the village… They're heading to the castle!"
"I'm sure one of the adventurers told them I'm living here. Thanks for letting me know."
"Be careful. When you start fighting, I'll help you."
"Thanks!"
I hang up and pocket my phone. More trouble! If there are two, the Demon King probably sent his strongest demons!
Should I use that spell and sacrifice one of my lives?! No, not yet. I'll try to defeat them with my own power first!
"We've got trouble; two demons are on their way! We need to stay alert! Cris, Sonia, go to your rooms; this is dangerous!"
"Yes!" they both say.
Cris and Sonia head upstairs.
"The rest of you, help me evacuate people while I fight!"
We leave the house and get ready.
"We need to catch them by surprise. Muslar asio! Dex Sword!"
I grip the sword tightly.
"Grandma, I don't know if the demons can detect your angel magic, so I'm not asking you to hide, but if they don't sense you, go hide with Cris and Sonia."
"Alright."
…
…
…
They're here.
A few minutes later, the demons land far from us, and we see them. They don't look like demons. Demons with human appearances, huh? Ugh, it'll hurt to kill them, but it's necessary.
"Are those demons? One of them looks like a human woman… But…"
I rub my chest with my hand… Weird… Is this fear…? No… It's not fear… What am I feeling? I've never felt this before. Am I being affected by some kind of spell?
Is it pain…? Something like that… Why do I feel this kind of pain?
"Why does my chest hurt? Seeing her makes me feel something weird… Is it part of her magic?"
My grandma stares at the demons.
"They may look human, but they're demons, Grandma. Sorry, but I'll have to…"
"Wait, Dani, she's… Impossible!"
Impossible…? Huh?
My grandma pulls me by the shirt and drags me into the house. What?! What's going on?!
"Grandma, I can't hide; I have to go fight! It's my mission, I have to do it!"
"You need to go to Soular right now!"
"Huh? Why? I can beat them. Trust me, I'm going to defeat them!"
"Listen to me. Go, and when you get to Soular, call me! That's an order!"
… Did she just give me an order?
W-what? My grandma's never given me orders before. Why doesn't she want me to fight? What's wrong with her? This makes no sense!
"But if I leave, they'll kill you all!"
"Just go!"
"Why…?"
Slap.
"… Huh?"
My grandma slaps me hard with her right hand, and her eyes fill with tears.
… My grandma… slapped me? And it hurt.
Why? Why is she insisting I leave?
"Please, just go. I'll tell you when you're far from here."
"Grandma…"
My companions enter the house.
"What's going on?" Liz says.
I sigh and stare at my grandma… Why is she doing this?
… She must have her reasons… I can't disobey my grandma.
I must never disobey my grandma, and when I disobeyed her and killed Sandro, I regretted it.
My grandma's always right. She must have a reason for wanting me to leave… I have to trust her.
"Cristina…"
I want to obey her, but I can't leave… Leaving…
I'm the demons' target; they want me. And from what the King's bodyguard said, they can detect lies… Yes… I can use that to my advantage.
"Alright, I have a plan."
"Dani!"
"I'll listen to you; I'll leave, but I'll draw the demons away from you. Goodbye."
I exit through the back of the house and fly off.
"Why did she react like that?"
I have to trust my grandma; she knows what she's doing… Ugh, I hope this works.
I pull out my phone and call Rose.
"What's up?"
"Rose, go to the demons and tell them I went to Soular because I know where the rocks are."
"You're leaving already?!"
"They might go after my grandma; please, tell them I went to Soular!"
"… Alright, I'll tell them."
"Thanks."
I hang up and check the map.
"I need to go this way to get to Soular… Why did my grandma react like that? She seemed so nervous and scared."
Grandma… I hope I don't regret my decision.
I'll always trust my grandma… Always.
"I hope the information you gave me is true, crazy lady."
•
•
The demons break down the house's door, startling everyone except one person.
"Who are you?!" Daniel's grandma says, angry and not scared at all.
"Wow, wow. Are these Daniel's companions?" Nadia says.
"Who are you?!"
"Where's Daniel?"
"He went far away; I don't know where."
"You're lying."
The demons enter the house.
"Where is he? Come on, don't make our job harder."
Nadia draws her sword and threatens Daniel's grandma, holding it to her neck, but she doesn't get what she wanted—no fear in her eyes.
"A tough girl, huh?"
"Stop!!" Rose shouts.
The demons turn and see Rose.
"Who are you? Can't you see we're busy?"
"I know where he went."
"Oh, wow, wow," Nadia says, sensing she's telling the truth.
"Sis, don't tell them!" Liz says, scared, thinking she's betraying Daniel.
"Wow, wow. A fairy. Where's Daniel?"
"He knows where the rocks are and went to Soular to get them."
Nadia's expression shifts to one of surprise and joy upon hearing this.
"The rocks?!"
"Nadia, we need to go!"
Nadia stares at Daniel's grandma for a few seconds… Something about her felt very familiar. Or rather, her eyes felt very familiar.
"Wow, wow… Let's go."
The two demons leave and fly off without killing anyone.
Daniel's grandma sighs, disappointed.
"Nadia, why did you do this?"
Daniel's grandma starts crying, filled with sadness and desperation, as something just happened that could harm her beloved grandson.
"What's wrong?" Sara says, worried.
"I'm sorry… Don't worry."
"Sis, I hate you!" Liz says, crying.
"Why did you tell the demons where Daniel went?!" Alex says.
"He told me to tell them, I'm sorry."
"Dani…" Daniel's grandma says, tears streaming from her eyes, knowing full well that her grandson took the demons with him, and very soon he might encounter her.
Rem comes out of the bathroom in her underwear, shaking her hips.
"Ahhh, that was the best bath I've ever had."
Rem looks at everyone, nervous and scared, unaware of what happened because she didn't hear anything.
"Did something happen?"
•
•
(POV - Daniel.)
About 20 minutes after leaving, I get a call from my grandma. Finally! Arghhh! I nearly had a heart attack waiting!
"Are you all okay?!"
"Yes, your plan worked; they left."
"Phew. Thank goodness… Now tell me, why didn't you let me fight?!"
"It's really complicated… Look… Wait, they're all eavesdropping; let me get away from them… Okay, I'll tell you… This is hard to believe, but… Well… Dani, I'm sorry, but one of those demons is your mother."
…
…
…
"Huh?"
I stop flying, utterly confused by her words. Did I hear that right? My mother?
"My mother? Sorry, I think I misheard."
"Yes, your mother. When I saw her, I knew it was her; she looked exactly like your mother, and when they left, I confirmed it because the other demon called her Nadia… And your mother's name was Nadia."
"My mother?"
"That's why I told you to leave; I don't want you to fight your mother. She may be a demon now, but she's still your mother."
"My… mother?"
"I know it's hard to believe, but as I told you before, she did some really bad things when she was alive and became a demon."
"My mother…? My mother, huh? My mother… Why is she here?!"
"I don't know; I was shocked too."
I refuse to believe it… I don't want to believe it… It must be a mistake… Please, let it not be her. Millions of people in damn hell, and it just has to be my mother who shows up here?! God, did you know about this?! Why the hell didn't you tell me anything, you son of a bitch?! These are the kinds of things you mention, you useless piece of shit!!
"You must be mistaken; my mother became a demon, but she's a demon in World 15. It's impossible for her to be here!!"
"A lot of weird things happen in this world; maybe one day we'll figure it out."
"… Was that demon my mother?"
"I think you need time to process this. Be careful in Soular; your mother and the other demon will be there too… Dani, I told you because I want you to be mentally prepared when you see her again. I don't want you to fight her, but if it's unavoidable, I don't want her to kill you… Fight and win."
…
…
…
My mother.
…
…
…
My mother… Is it really my mother?
Why does my heart hurt? I want to cry… Damn it… Damn it!
Why me, damn it?!
"… I'm sorry, I have to hang up."
I hang up and call God.
"I know you can see me, answer, you son of a bitch!! Did you know about this?! You useless piece of shit, I'm doing your damn job, at least answer the damn call!!"
…
…
…
No answer, but I get a message.
"Huh? 'I can't help you anymore. I'm sorry. Goodbye.' Is this a damn joke?!"
I try calling again, but I can't; it says the number doesn't exist. Arghhh!! Useless piece of shit!!
"What?! You're not even good for answering questions, you useless jerk?!"
God's number disappears from my phone.
"Please, help me!!"
…
…
…
No sign from God.
"Tch… Ugh, fine, I guess you've helped me enough… Sorry for the insults, God… I'm sorry…"
I land on the ground.
…
…
…
Why?
"Mother… Why did you become that?!"
I lie on the ground, crying.
Why me? Why?
"Mother… Mother… Why are you here?!"
•
•
I spent about 10 minutes crying. I'd never seen my mother, not even in photos; my grandma didn't have any pictures of her, so I didn't recognize her. Finding out my mother is a demon hurt a lot. Now, knowing she's here and helping the demons, it hurts even more.
Mother, why were you so bad? Why are you helping the demons? Why?
"Why?"
… You help the demons…
"But I help humanity."
I stand up and fly toward Soular.
I don't care if you're my mother; I won't give up! I'll defeat the demons, and that includes you!
My only mother is my grandma; you shouldn't matter to me!
"You won't win!"
I pull out my phone and call Rose.
"Are you okay?!"
"Listen, tell me everything you know about the demons. Everything!"
"All I know is they're very powerful; we don't know where they got so much power. They appeared two years ago and attack us because they believe the rocks are hidden somewhere in our country."
"They're only after the rocks? That's it?"
"And… well, they like to fight, and sometimes they stay in a village to have fun… That's all I know. Ancient books only say very little about demons. Though I read in one book that thousands of years ago, humans fought the demons, a battle we won, and the demons disappeared from the world. Sadly, that's all the information we have about them."
"Thanks!"
I hang up and pocket my phone. The rocks are their only goal right now, huh? I have to destroy them… I will. I'll ruin their mission!!
"I need to find the rocks and destroy them!"