episode_0046

After Shari came forward to protect me, the mushroom-headed demons accepted me into the village.

They were one of the many tribes of demons known as the Karia tribe.

They said they had lived for over thousands of years in the underground of this demon realm.

Shari introduced me to the people here using their unique communication methods so that the Karia tribe could accept me.

Starting from when I became a ghost after being mistreated by Patton, to when I listened to the illusions shown by Shari at the Bellafork Mansion, and the incidents where I scolded Patton and held his funeral, I relayed everything to the people in this village.

As a result, I received a lot of curious looks and was treated as a guest by the Karia tribe.

Especially, it seemed convincing that Shari belonged to the same race as the demon king of the demon realm, which elevated my status from someone to be killed to a guest in this village.

In this way, I found myself entering Benos’s house, who had previously aimed a spear at me.

“We demons have countless tribes. Some non-demons even become demons by receiving demon blood. So, it’s unbelievable that a human is friends with a pure-blooded demon.”

Benos, the young Karia demon who had aimed a spear at me, recommended the mushroom tea to me.

I later found out that the girl named Kiki who brought me here was Benos’s younger sister.

The house, made from large mushrooms, felt cozy with its plushy floors.

Even the table was made flat by shaving off sturdy mushroom stones found in caves.

There were mushrooms in the tea, and even the food made from grilled meat of beast-like demons had mushrooms in it.

In many ways, I felt a cultural shock due to the novelty of it all.

“I’m really glad we could clear up the misunderstanding.”

“Speak comfortably. You don’t need to observe human etiquette here. Except for the village chief. Oh, and that tea tastes extremely bitter when it cools down, so drink it before it does.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll drink it without hesitation.”

I raised the teacup and took a sip of the mushroom tea inside.

The taste… it felt like drinking sweetened red ginseng extract.

Just by tasting it, I felt like it would be good for my health.

Meanwhile, Kiki and Shari were playing around.

When Shari flew through the air and passed through Kiki’s body, Kiki laughed in amazement.

When Kiki reached out to touch Shari, Shari pretended to respond to Kiki’s gestures.

Seeing the ghost playing with a child for the first time, even as an adult, I couldn’t help but be fascinated and couldn’t take my eyes off them.

Especially, the scene where Shari suddenly emerged from underground and startled Kiki while she was distracted was so funny that it made me laugh.

“It’s the first time a human has come to this village. Even when the former demon king fell to the hero, this village remained unharmed. That’s because it’s so deep underground.”

Benos sat across from me at the table and spoke.

I couldn’t help but be concerned about the mushroom almost a hand’s length long growing on his head, but I decided to ask something more important.

“Um, is there any way for me to go back?”

If the tribe that had made this underground their home for a long time knew, they would also know how to leave.

But Benos shook his head sadly as he replied.

“The path you came from is blocked. Even if there’s a way up, it’s impossible to climb. No matter how well you climb, what if the hole collapses halfway? There’s only one way out from here. But it might be difficult for a human like you.”

“Still, please tell me. I can’t live here forever.”

“If this path connects to the surface, it leads to Kutranux. Moreover, since we haven’t had any interaction with the surface demons for a long time, that path is filled with all sorts of monsters.”

“Kutranux?”

“Oh, it’s the Demon King’s castle. Currently ruled by Demon King Versella.”

Benos said as if it wasn’t a secret.

So, to summarize, the only way for me to leave here is through the direct route to the Demon King’s castle.

Furthermore, that path is filled with all kinds of monsters, making it extremely dangerous.

The hope of returning to Cubel is slowly fading away.

I wonder how Cubel is doing now.

Mireia, Tina, Meruru, Sylphy…

Are they all doing well?

Are they still looking for me in the guild, or have they just assumed I’m dead?

These thoughts made my mind unnecessarily complicated.

“But aren’t demons on the same side as your kind?”

“What are you talking about? Wild demons are dangerous to anyone. Unless they are tamed and raised separately…”

“Is it like how your sister raises a Mimic?”

“Ah, you mean Arong. Yes, even I find her taste a bit unique.”

Benos said, looking at Kiki.

I could feel his affection for his sister in that gaze.

After that, I exchanged some trivial stories with Benos at his house.

He said I could stay here until I found a way to leave, as I had nowhere else to go.

It was surprisingly kind treatment from someone who had initially tried to stab me with a spear.

Indeed, demons are not much different from humans, as I had thought.

There was something fundamentally wrong with this world.

Why have demons and humans become so unable to kill each other?

There are kind and good demons just as there are despicable humans.

At least, I didn’t feel like I could fight just because the opponent was a demon.

After all, even Shari, who is a demon, is watching over me.

Well, if someone like Bloodstain from the Horn Canyon, who was determined to kill me first, comes along, there’s nothing I can do.

Moreover, the human notion that demons and monsters are always on the same side was also wrong, according to Benos.

From what Benos said, monsters seemed to be more like wild animals in the demon realm.

Just as there are ordinary wild animals and domesticated livestock like dogs, cows, and horses on human land, in the demon realm, wild monsters and tamed monsters are separate.

My belief that demons and humans could get along just fine strengthened, and I wondered why they couldn’t just leave each other alone.

Well, I can’t change the concepts of this world that have solidified over thousands of years on my own.

Setting aside the headache-inducing thoughts, I decided to first focus on how to leave here.

* * *

“The Karia tribe has lived in the underground of the demon realm for a very long time, making them one of the oldest tribes in the demon realm.

They have existed in the demon realm even before the concepts of Demon Kings and heroes first appeared in this world.”

The narration began to provide me with information about the Karia tribe.

“The mushrooms growing on the heads of the Karia tribe serve as an indicator of how long they have lived.

The older the Karia tribe member, the larger the mushroom growing on their head.

If their health deteriorates, the mushroom on their head also deteriorates, and if they lose their life, it rots away.

In particular, cutting or pulling out the living Karia tribe member’s head mushroom leads to death, similar to extracting a human’s heart.”

Kiki was surprised to see that there were no mushrooms on my head because of that.

From Kiki’s perspective, it must have been quite a shock to see a human walking around without a heart.

But then again, I have a different skin color, so why didn’t I think of them as a different race from the start?

Well, seeing the world through the eyes of a child is not always something adults can understand.

Anyway, I was getting along very well in the Karia tribe’s village.

Surprisingly, I found the food made from monster meat and various mushrooms quite tasty.

Of course, there were still Karia tribe members who were wary of me.

I wonder if the other races living in Kubele felt the same way.

So, one day, while spending time in the Karia tribe village, pondering various thoughts.

“Oh no!”

A young Karia tribe man named Venos rushed into the village in a panic, shouting.

What’s wrong?

“Kiki… Kiki is missing!”

Kiki must have been with Venos when they went out.

But when Venos returned to the village, he was alone.

“She disappeared while I was picking mushrooms! She didn’t come back to the village? If she went into the Abyssal Passage alone… Oh… Oh!”

Venos was extremely flustered, explaining the situation to the people around him in a disorganized manner.

It was clear from the atmosphere that it was a quite serious situation.

Some villagers listened to Venos and quickly grabbed their weapons.

It seemed they were preparing a search party to find Kiki.

Kiki.

If that child hadn’t brought me here, I might have withered away in the depths of the underworld.

I was grateful to Venos for letting me stay in his house.

“Venos, do you have a spare sword in the village?”

I approached Venos and asked.

Venos looked at me with a bewildered expression.

He was so flustered that he kept clenching and unclenching his fists and pacing back and forth.

“I’ll help you find your sister.”

I said, placing a hand on Venos’s trembling shoulder.

I should at least earn my keep.