Chapter 132: The North (16)

“Incubus! How do you know that name? K-Sai and Krik-Sai! How do you know the names of those two!”

“I told you. We were very close.”

They didn’t seem to believe me. An imp, hiding in a corner, said, waving its hands.

“Don’t lie, Incubus! There’s no way they’d be friends with… an Incubus like you!”

Apparently, the imps I had devoured were quite the big names among their kind. The third one who’d suddenly sprayed me with holy water that day might have even been a powerhouse beyond my control at the time. I said, recalling K-Sai, who had screamed in agony with a pained face.

“I met K-Sai in Poar Village. Back then, that guy was working under a demon named Taffy.”

As I started telling the story of how I met imps and built friendships, the imps began to gather around. The story of K-Sai making a contract with a human to gain power. And the tragedy of K-Sai being murdered after encountering wicked priests. When I mentioned K-Sai’s physical characteristics, the imps reluctantly nodded, and they gnashed their teeth upon hearing that priests had tortured K-Sai.

“Th-those cruel bastards! Pouring holy water into someone’s anus to kill them!”

“Humans really are filthy creatures! We must kill them all!”

“What about Krik-Sai-nim! What happened to Krik-Sai-nim!”

The imps were literally having a fit. K-Sai’s tragic death seemed to have hit them with tremendous shock. I then went on to talk about Krik-Sai’s life and death.

“When I went to deliver the news of K-Sai’s death, Krik-Sai was already dying. His body was in terrible shape after suffering horrific torture. His entire body was mangled by divine power, and he was begging his brother for forgiveness.”

“Aaaah! Krik-Sai! Even he suffered!”

“This can’t be! Cruel humans! Oh, cruel humans! We won’t forgive you! We must kill them all!”

The imps no longer regarded me with suspicion. They sat huddled together, starting to cry ‘guk guk’. I, too, put on a sad expression and mingled with their group. I hugged the largest Imp among them and we patted each other’s backs.

I whispered to the imps.

“Let’s get revenge.”

The imps looked at me, their faces streaked with tears. Hugging the imps tightly, I said,

“Let’s get revenge on that Beast King Baara and the humans.”

The imps nodded. They clenched their fists until their knuckles bled. They said,

“Help us, Incubus. If you are a friend of K-Sai and Krik-Sai, you are our friend too.”

“Okay.”

I nodded and looked up at the sky. Of course, I had no intention of becoming friends with the imps. What I wanted was to escape while Drak-Sai and Beast King Baara fought each other. I prayed that things would go well and turned back towards my lodgings.

When I arrived at my quarters, no one was there. With a bewildered look, I scanned the area around the cave again and beckoned to a Beastman lazily lounging around. The Beastman, who was lying down with his back stretched out, pointed outside the cave with his tail.

“Stop flicking your tail and just tell me, bastard. Where are my women?”

“The women are behind the shopping district.” The Beastman said that and lay back down.

As I went outside, Snow Leopard, having finished his hunt, was returning with a wild boar. He was quite a strong warrior in this village and actually a well-respected Beastman, yet Baara treated him poorly. Whether it was because of his deep, soulful eyes or his blunt demeanor, I had no way of knowing.

Snow Leopard glanced at me and then walked towards the warehouse. Since the warehouse was behind the shopping district, we ended up walking side-by-side. As I started walking next to him, Snow Leopard frowned and asked,

“Why are you following me.”

“I have business over there.”

“Ah, you mean where the humans’ belongings are. Your women are over there.” Snow Leopard said that and took another step ahead.

I broadened my stride to match his pace and asked,

“Are you satisfied with the leader right now?”

“We follow the strong.”

“So, I’m asking if you don’t care that the leader is killing humans and… eating them.”

“The strong prey on the weak. That’s the way of the world, and it’s natural. Since the strong have become the boss, we follow the boss’s laws. I’ve heard that comrades of yesterday becoming enemies today is natural in the Demon World.”

“You aren’t from the Demon World, though?”

“Beastmen came from the Demon World. And following the rules of the strong is our tradition.”

I thought he was a strong-willed guy because of his bluntness, but it turned out he was just a cowardly bastard. I gave up on the idea of recruiting him, clicked my tongue, and shook my head. Seeing me move away, Snow Leopard wagged his tail and headed towards the warehouse.

Behind the shopping district was a giant pile of trash, a mixture of people’s clothes and stacks of documents. The sight, like a meatball made by an unskilled chef from carelessly cooked meat dough, made me let out a hollow laugh.

The two were wrestling with the clothes. Exposed to the cold, repeatedly freezing and thawing over a long time, these belongings had stuck together solidly like a single block of ice, making it impossible to tear apart with ordinary strength.

Lorena started trying to pry apart the stuck-together clothes, then drew her knife and began cutting them. Alice sat in a corner, blowing warm air onto her reddened fingers.

“What are you doing?”

“Dad!”

“Evan!”

When I revealed myself and spoke, the two dropped what they were doing and rushed towards me. Alice slipped her hands under my clothes, making it clear she was cold, while Lorena stuck her knife into the ground and ran to me.

Alice asked me, “Dad, are you okay? Didn’t that demon do anything weird to you?”

“Nothing happened. What are you two doing now?” Alice pointed at the pile of clothes and told me about the fugitive we had chased. She said the fugitive, who had fled towards Phoibe, tried to hide in this Beastmen’s village, but was caught by the leader, tortured horribly, and died.

“So they say that person’s belongings are in here. That’s why Lorena and I were looking for them.”

I ruffled Alice’s hair and said, “Really? I was a bit worried you might get into trouble being stuck here, but it’s good you can handle things like this now. Still, don’t push yourselves too hard. Look how red your hands are. Your pretty hands will get all chapped. Take your time, and if you can’t find it, let’s just give up on it.”

“Dad. We absolutely have to find this.” Alice said firmly and clasped my hand tightly. Her bright red fingers were ice-cold. I, in turn, held her hand tightly and blew warm air onto them. Alice’s expression softened for a moment, but then she shook her head again and said with determination.

“This is a chance to strike a blow against that family of heroes. This person took it himself to prevent it from disappearing by burning it, so it wouldn’t fall into the hands of those filthy humans. Someone needs to console this person’s spirit and get revenge.”

I gently bit her fingers. A pleasant sound rang out as my nails met her teeth. Laughing, I said,

“So, you want revenge?”

“Yes. Revenge. Don’t you think it’s infuriating, Dad? They misused Ithaca’s finances as they pleased and even killed anyone who questioned them. I really want to strike a blow against people like that.”

I looked at Lorena. She also nodded with a stern expression.

“My father has lived his life trying to catch people like these. And now, a clue has appeared right before me. I’ll help too. I really want to strike a blow against those bad people.”

Alice clung to me and said, “Dad. When can we escape?”

“I don’t know. We still have plenty of time, so let’s prepare slowly. I also have something I need to prepare separately, and I don’t know how long that will take.”

“So, what will you be doing here in the meantime?”

“My abilities were recognized, so I’m going to receive training from their combatants. Pretty impressive, right? I’ll get stronger every day. Look forward to it. And don’t push yourself too hard.”

I flexed my arm to show off my muscles to Alice. However, my feeble Incubus forearm didn’t display the burly muscles I had imagined. Alice laughed while poking my arm, and Lorena subtly moved closer to me.

Unable to withstand the two’s charge, I fell to the floor, and we curled up together like hibernating beasts in front of a rock, sharing body heat. Alice lay down with her head on my thigh, and Lorena curled up, holding me tightly.

Lorena snuggled into me.

“I’m sorry, Evan. If only I were a little more skilled, we wouldn’t have been dragged here.”

“It’s okay. Thanks to this, I’ve received training, and ultimately, coming here was the right choice.”

Alice nudged my thigh and said, “With such a poor sense of balance, how can you possibly become a combatant?”

Laughing, I replied to Alice, “Being so sensitive to the cold, how did you even think of rummaging through clothes outside?”

We looked at each other and burst out laughing, then stopped again. It felt like the stars of the deep night were looking down only on us. Hugging Alice and Lorena tightly, I said,

“Don’t push yourselves too hard, okay?”

“You too, Dad.”

“You too, Evan.”

The two nodded, saying that.

After being held for a while, Alice suddenly lifted her head. She took Lorena’s arm, placed it on top of mine, and finally stacked her own hand on top. Then she said to me,

“Daddy, Daddy. Do that. That thing.”

“That thing? What thing?”

“You know, the words you always say. Hurry!”

I laughed again. I nodded and signaled one, two, three with my head.

One.

Two.

Three.

“For love and justice!”

The three of us exchanged glances. Alice said,

“It feels incomplete to end like this, so should we do a closing cheer too?”

Lorena nodded in agreement. Our eyes met again.

One.

Two.

Three.

Raising our arms, we shouted.

“To victory!”

“Aja!”

“Fighting!”

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“…We really don’t match, do we.”

“Dad, ‘To victory!’ is so tacky! What is that?”

“Aja is weird too. Is that an Academy cheer?”

Laughter spread, loud enough to reach the stars.