episode_0048

I was faced with a monster that was neither human nor demon, but rather similar to a mythical harpy, but I could not easily pull the trigger.

The limbs and tail feathers were the same as those of a bird of prey, but the head and torso were identical to those of a human woman, and it was not easy to kill it simply because it was trembling and crying in fear.

However, there is no need to show mercy to the man-eating monsters that prey on humans, just as they just killed all the baby birds of prey.

When I tried to pull the trigger with my finger, the harpy-like thing that was trembling in the arms of the falcon-headed bird of prey gathered courage and opened its mouth.

“Driver! Please don’t shoot! I am Dorothea, a D-class adventurer belonging to the Adventurer’s Guild!”

“What?”

I couldn’t hide my embarrassment at its sudden action of speaking human language.

The name Dorothea and the face that called itself an adventurer were all too familiar.

The person who resembles Kalthran and is a beauty, and the person who resembles Minaterin and was born as a Human.

“Are you… Mr. Karlsran’s daughter?”

“Yes! Do you know my father? Did you receive a request and come to rescue me?”

Dorothea jumped out of the Birds of Prey’s arms and held on to the iron bars, looking very happy.

She seemed confident that I would save her life.

Well, in a situation like this, it’s probably worth pinning your hopes on just because you didn’t pull the trigger.

By the way, Dorothea’s untransformed body looked very cold because it was literally naked.

Even if your limbs were covered in feathers, it would be of no use if your body looked like that.

It seems that this is why other birds of prey were hugging her so tightly.

“Okay. I received great help from Mr. Karlsran. And I’m not a knight, I’m Rebecca Caron, a D-class adventurer like you.”

“We were members of the same guild! nice to meet you! Excuse me, but are you by any chance Rebecca, the owner of Iris?”

“That’s right. Have you ever met Iris?”

“No. My parents told me that something like that happened. Are your parents well?”

“He sobbed when he was informed that you had died. So I promised that I would at least get your body back, but it seems something completely unexpected has happened.”

I never dreamed that I would face a task more difficult than returning Dorothea’s body to the Karlsrans.

The situation is so bad that it would be better to be dead.

I used my analysis skills on Dorothea to understand her condition.

And I found out that Dorothea was a hybrid of a forcibly created human race and a bird of prey race.

A hybrid between a human and a demon? Who did this terrible thing?

Who is it? It’s probably the work of those masked people who use the ‘L’ character rotation.

I never thought a hybrid would appear, following the giant parasitic larva obtained from the fortress’ warehouse.

What exactly do those crazy bastards want? Is there an intention to create a new world?

“Dad, Mom, I’m sorry. Dark…”

Dorothea sat down and shed tears, holding on to the iron bars with her hands like a bird of prey.

Then the injured Bird of Prey, who was in the cell with her, approached her and comforted her.

I thought it was disgusting to see demons sympathize with human emotions, but Dorothea was able to cheer up thanks to the birds of prey.

Perhaps a strong bond was formed between the two in a short period of time.

However, if Dorothea had been an ordinary person, the Birds of Prey would have long since become cold corpses.

I think the world is really ironic.

“Dorothea, what on earth happened to you?”

“While retreating with the punitive force, he was captured and taken to an underground prison. There, people wearing strange masks made trapped people like me swallow bug eggs. I was in so much pain that I lost consciousness, but when I woke up, my body had changed like this.”

“Strange mask? Was it a white mask with a unique gold pattern?”

“There was a gold pattern, but it was black, not white.”

“I see. What happened to other people?”

“I died because a huge bug came out of my body.”

“Is this by any chance?”

“Yes! That’s it. Everyone but me died because of that bug.”

Dorothea looked at the bug in the glass container I showed her and nodded, pointing at it with her scaly finger.

According to her testimony, the larvae I obtained have the ability to turn people into demon-like hybrids.

Although it makes no sense based on common sense, this is a different world from the old world, so don’t think too much about it.

What is important now is not the principle by which larvae act on the body, but rather the existence of a method to force a person to become a hybrid in some way.

It is unknown what the relationship between the technology to control monsters and the technology to turn people into hybrids is, but it is clear that the organization of masked men is plotting an evil plot with its anti-human technology.

While I was lost in thought, Laura and Iris came to my side.

And as soon as the two saw Dorothea holding on to the iron bars, they immediately tried to shoot her.

“No! Never shoot! This is the person we were looking for!”

As I hurriedly blocked the attack with my body, Laura and Iris hurriedly raised their muzzles upwards to prevent them from firing magical bullets at me by mistake.

However, Laura took out a long sword instead of a magic gun and slowly approached me.

“Rebecca, don’t be fooled. That thing is just a monster that looks like a human.”

“Calm down. He was originally a human, but he was a poor person whose body changed because of the larva we found.”

“Is there any evidence? If it’s just a one-sided argument, Rebecca will be in danger.”

“If they were just monsters that looked the same, they wouldn’t have cried for their parents.”

When I brought up the story about my parents, Laura immediately stopped.

I’m sorry for bringing up her weakness, but this was the best thing for now.

If I hesitated just a little longer, I was going to cut Dorothea to death.

“Laura, like Rebecca said, that person is the daughter of Mr. Karlsran and Ms. Miraterin. We looked at the picture together. And I’ve heard you two talk a lot about Dorothea. These are people who really love their daughters. So please don’t kill me. Huh?”

Iris also helped me, stopped Laura, and carefully grabbed her wrist while she was holding her long sword.

Then Laura reluctantly put the long sword back.

Although it was only a short moment, I was so nervous that I broke into a cold sweat.

“Whew, thanks for listening to what we have to say.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. I reacted the same way as you at first. If Dorothea hadn’t talked to me, I would have pulled the trigger too.”

I hugged Laura and comforted her.

Then Laura, who had been downcast, perked up a little.

“Rebecca, then what will you do with that bird of prey?”

“Well… he seemed close to Dorothea.”

“Friendly?”

“Yes. I was holding Dorothea when I first found her, and just a moment ago I comforted her when she was crying.”

“Ha, so many ridiculous things happened today that my head hurts.”

Laura shook her head and leaned against the wall.

Starting with the story about Dominic at dawn, larvae, hybrids, and human-friendly demons all popped out, so it’s enough to give you a headache.

Honestly, my head is too complicated.

I think it’s beyond what we can handle on our own.

However, taking Dorothea to the city seems like the only outcome would be her being executed or going straight to the laboratory.

So, is releasing it freely the right answer? I’m not sure.

First, I need to get more information from Dorothea.

“Dorothea, what does that bird of prey have to do with you?”

“I’m your lover. I also named him Marco.”

Dorothea spoke with a blush and gave a loving look to the bird of prey named Marco.

Then Marco responded with profound eyes, even though he couldn’t make a rich expression like a human.

I really don’t know what the hell I’m looking at.

“Ahaha… So what’s the story?”

“After my body changed, I was handed over to the birds of prey. Of course, I was raped and treated as a slave. But Marco was different. This person comforted me when I was crying out of sadness and gave me medicine and food.”

They look like demons and humans… It looks like Marco was really nice to Dorothea.

Otherwise, Dorothea may have felt a sense of kinship because she was a hybrid.

Anyway, it is certain that people were kind enough to feel love for the demons.

“It is said that Marco refused cannibalism and rape and lived as a slave his whole life. That’s why they helped me because they couldn’t just leave me alone. It’s a lifesaver for me.”

“Do you two really understand each other?”

“Yes, I can’t explain it, but we can talk. Oh, Marco, please tell Rebecca that he’s thankful she didn’t kill us.”

Dorothea clearly understood the sound of Marco chirping like a bird and conveyed his meaning to me.

It may be a lie, but considering Marco’s uncharacteristic demon-like attitude so far, it seems highly likely that it is the truth.

Maybe I’m just being naive.

I thought about it for a while and decided to open the prison door.

“Dorothea, I will get you guys out of prison. Tell Marco to watch his attitude and actions.”

“Yes! Thank you, Rebecca!”

With the power of my magic armor, I simply broke the lock and opened the iron bars.

Then Dorothea helped Marco, who was injured, and came out of the prison.

Laura did not like what was happening, but unlike her, Iris went out of her way to help Dorothea and support Marco with her.

All the people present, hybrids, and demons watched Iris’ actions in amazement.

Marco made a bird noise and Dorothea responded with a similar sound and told Iris that Marco was grateful.

It is laughable that humans would help demons just because there are hybrids.

When Iris steps forward like that, I feel like I can’t just stay still.

However, perhaps because it was after beating the bird of prey to death to its heart’s content, I think it would be better to use another method rather than helping him directly.

I took out the recovery potion I bought from my bag.

“Will this work on demons as well? After all, it’s made in a temple, so isn’t it okay?”

“For demons, it is almost immediately effective.”

“Even though it was made in a temple?”

“Yes, the temple says it is the result of a sacred ritual, but in reality, they just manufacture and sell medicine according to a secret recipe passed down from generation to generation. So, it is bound to be more effective against demons with stronger vitality.”

Laura harshly criticized the temple.

I don’t know much about the religions of this world, so I don’t know if the authority of religion is weak or if Laura is bold.

Anyway, I trusted Laura and handed Dorothea the healing potion, which she immediately gave to Marco.

Then Marco’s wound healed quickly and he no longer needed support.

Laura put her hand on the hilt of the sword in case Marco attacked her, but fortunately no such incident occurred.

Marco thanked me again through Dorothea.

Looking at his eyes, I don’t think he’s lying.

“Dorothea, what are you going to do next?”

“I’m not sure, but for now, I’m going to try to live quietly with Marco. If it’s a place where people and demons don’t live, it’s probably safe.”

Dorothea looked at Marco with eyes clearly filled with affection, and Marco sent a similar look to Dorothea.

I think the two of us can get along well, but it’s true that I’m worried.

Is it really right to just let it go like this without taking any action?

“Rebecca, if you two live together and keep giving birth, it will only be a matter of time before another demon village arises.”

As expected, Laura objected, and of course what she said made sense.

If something, whether a hybrid or a demon, is born between Dorothea and Marco, there may be someone who will end up suffering.

Here, it may be right to ‘liberate’ both of them appropriately.

However, I am not a person who can make a cold-hearted decision about someone who is not a definite enemy.

“Don’t worry. I can’t lay eggs anymore. Did you see the eggs when you entered the observatory? Those are all eggs I laid. I laid so many eggs in a short period of time that my uterus was completely destroyed. So you can rest assured about that.”

The atmosphere suddenly calmed down.

In particular, Laura, who had openly mentioned giving birth to a baby, could feel her embarrassment even through her helmet.

In the end, Laura briefly apologized to Dorothea.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. If I were in your shoes, I would say the same thing. Even if they are able to lay eggs again, they will destroy them all right away. So don’t worry.”

Dorothea had already made up her mind.

Seeing her resolutely resolve to live a new life, even in a situation where it would not be strange to fall into endless despair, gives me complex feelings in many ways.

Marco placed his hand on Dorothea’s feathered shoulder and expressed his full support for her cause.

That kid might actually not be a demon, but a person wearing a doll mask.

You are so kind to Dorothea. After all, the female he loves. No, it’s because she’s a woman.

“Laura, Iris. Can you guys trust Dorothea?”

“Yes, Rebecca. I can trust you.”

“Laura, what about you?”

“I don’t believe it. But I will completely trust Rebecca’s choice.”

“Thank you. Then let’s set Dorothea and Marco free immediately.”

We, who were blocking the path of the two people, moved out of the way as if we had promised in advance.

Then Dorothea and Marco, who hesitated for a moment, passed us by holding hands and stood in front of the ladder going upwards.

“Dorothea, how should I tell your parents?”

“Cut off my hair and tell me I’m dead.”

“Okay. I will do that.”

I received a dagger from Laura and cut Dorothea’s long hair into a bob.

I could see new feathers growing under her hair, but it seems like all the hair will eventually be replaced by feathers over time.

“There is a battle going on outside, so run to the back of the peak.”

“Thank you all so much. When I get the chance someday, I will definitely repay your kindness.”

“If you two live happily and peacefully, that is repaying the favor.”

“Thank you! Thank you!”

Dorothea hugged me, repeatedly saying thank you.

I patted her back without saying a word, and after the hug was over, I took out some clothes from my bag.

Dorothea covered her naked torso with warm clothes, and my heart felt warm as I watched.

Soon Dorothea and Marco climbed the ladder and went outside, and we followed them.

“Good-bye, Dorothea. I’ll tell my parents well, so don’t worry.”

“Yes. Then we will leave. Always stay healthy and happy.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

We said goodbye to the Dorothea couple and watched in silence as they glided side by side down the peak, spreading their wing-like arms.

The two people quickly moved away, but I was certain that they were continuing to smile at each other.

But their smiles did not last long.

Two gunshots were heard in succession from somewhere, and Dorothea and Marco fell to the floor at the same time.

Feeling angry, I turned to the source of the gunfire and saw a man wearing a white mask with a geometric gold pattern.

El Kudan. He killed Dorothea and Marco, who longed for a free life.