Ch.126Chapter 126

Why does Ouro rush to food like someone who’s obsessed with eating while being insensitive to other things?

It’s a well-known fact that Demon Gods are transcendent beings who can survive without basic actions like sleeping or eating. It sounds funny to call it transcendence, but I suppose living without needing nutrients or forced rest does feel that way.

But to think she likes eating.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying food. It could simply be a pleasure separate from the necessity of eating.

What’s important is why Ouro only pursues that pleasure. We’ve been to amusement parks, watched TV, and played various games. Simple games like gonggi, for example.

No matter what we do, the conversation always returns to food. Eating. I stared at Ouro while thinking. She gazed back at me steadily before blinking. Reading anything from her expressionless face was nearly impossible.

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, and I couldn’t read her immediate expression either, which made me feel frustrated.

“Why do you like eating so much, Ouro?”

After thinking about it from different angles, asking the person directly seemed much better than agonizing over it myself. She didn’t seem like someone who would hide such things, so there was no reason to figure it out on my own.

Ouro heard my question and seemed to be trying to understand what I was asking. She tilted her head slightly before shifting her gaze.

“Food. It’s the pleasure felt by the tongue. I’ve never experienced such pleasure until now. I had no reason to.”

I understood that much. Who wouldn’t want to try delicious foods they’ve never tasted before?

Like people with small stomachs who regret not being able to eat more delicious food. Or people who can eat a lot but are disappointed when there’s not enough tasty food. Everyone likes food all the same.

It’s also one of the simplest things you can do if you just pay money. Though it depends on money, nothing is simpler than this.

Ouro touched her chin as if recalling her past.

“My memories are spotty, perhaps because of this small body, but they’re all similar enough so it doesn’t matter. Anyway, isn’t it wonderful to experience things I’ve never experienced before? If the Professor dies and I can no longer stay here, could I return to living in the mountains?”

Ouro posed a profound question. It felt like it applied to me too, making me wince slightly.

“Can’t you just grow old and die with the Professor…? Hehe.”

“I’ve never experienced growing old and dying, but it doesn’t seem possible.”

Ouro stated flatly. She seemed to have judged it impossible based on her physical condition, though she hadn’t tried it.

Honestly, living too long would probably get boring in its own way. Becoming a transcendent being who lives for a long time makes worrying about the future so depressing.

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

“Huh?”

I shook my head. I didn’t want to talk about that; I wanted to ask why she was so fixated specifically on food.

“I wanted to ask why you’re only so greedy when it comes to food.”

“Ah… well, it’s the only fun thing that really resonates with me.”

“…What about the amusement park?”

Ouro touched her chin as she recalled our trip to the amusement park. Then she shrugged.

“Seeing the animals was new. But that just felt like filling in a catalog in my head, not something I want to keep seeing. Humans laugh as if it’s so fun, but I’m just satisfied that someone doesn’t run away when they’re next to me.”

“You’re really going to live frugally… What about sleep?”

“I think I slept enough when I handed my body over to you.”

I flinched. I thought she was bringing up how I had possessed her body, and I felt guilty. I was sweating nervously, thinking about changing the subject.

While I was floundering, Ouro chuckled and gestured to me.

“I’m not trying to say anything about that, just that I’ve already slept a lot. Honestly, when I was in the mountains, all I did was spend time in my shabby house with no entertainment and no one to talk to. What could I have done?”

“Sleep?”

Now that I heard it, it made sense.

Animals don’t approach Demon Gods because of their aura. She didn’t go around killing people like other Demon Gods, so she rarely saw anything moving. She might have seen things scurrying by in the distance, but that wouldn’t be enough to fill the long hours of a day.

So what did Ouro do during that time?

A day, a week, a month, a year. Time slowly accumulating. Moments passing meaninglessly. What could someone do who couldn’t fill that time with anything?

Was the reason some chose to kill people, even when they didn’t need to, simply because they went mad?

“Yes, I slept. I didn’t need to sleep, but when I did, at least the boring time passed in an instant. But when I open my eyes now, there are shining things, beings to talk with, and delicious things to eat, so there doesn’t seem to be any need to sleep.”

How empty it must feel to spend all that long time sleeping. Or maybe, since her life wasn’t limited, she didn’t think about it at all?

Being in the city with the Professor and with me was enjoyable. And food, which most directly makes the body feel pleasure, had become Ouro’s joy.

It seemed she ate not to fill her stomach, but to please her tongue.

“I see… But I know the Professor gets a salary, does she have a lot of money? You and I don’t get full, so we can order several pizzas and keep eating.”

“…If she says no, there’s nothing we can do. I eat because I want to eat, not because I need to live.”

So she wasn’t being greedy after all.

I was impressed by her simple statement that she would only eat as much as allowed. It was surprising to hear her say that since she doesn’t need to eat, she could go without if not given food.

It felt like she was always nagging for pizza before. Wondering if she was just saying this now, I probed further.

“Then what about when you asked the Professor for pizza before?”

“At that time, I had just received a new body. It felt like being reborn, so I pushed a little. If she had said it was difficult, I would have given up.”

“You really think everything through, don’t you?”

Ouro made a “hmph” sound. She looked at me with an expression that seemed to say “this much is nothing,” which made me feel strange.

I don’t eat much either, but she’s bragging about it. It seemed like she was proud of anything because she had nothing else to boast about, so I pouted.

“Well, unlike you, I naturally don’t have an appetite.”

“That makes sense. You’ve been around for a long time, while I haven’t. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, so why should I hold back?”

“Come on, with the Professor around, we won’t be separated. Besides, we’ll be here for decades more.”

Ouro dismissed my words, saying that was uncertain.

“The Professor is human, and isn’t it human nature not to know when or where you’ll die? Even other Demon Gods die that way from what I know, so how much more fragile must humans be.”

“Y-you, don’t you know what happens when you say such terrible things? That’s basically a curse!”

“It’s not a curse, it’s a fact. The unthinkable happens when you least expect it.”

I was boiling with anger.

Setting aside whether it was factual, I thought it was too strange to prepare mentally for someone who’s alive to suddenly die, so I gritted my teeth.

I clenched my small fist and glared at Ouro.

She stared back at me defiantly, as if she hadn’t said anything wrong, and I bit my lip hard.

“Don’t say bad things. The Professor will live a long time.”

“If that’s what you want to believe, then believe it.”

“Hey! Take that back!”

“I can’t take back facts. What I said wasn’t about something that already happened, but a possibility…”

I reached out suddenly. I grabbed her dark hair with its navy blue tint and growled.

“I said take it back!”

“Y-you…!”

Ouro seemed startled but had no intention of taking back her words and counterattacked. She grabbed my hair tightly too. As we pulled at each other’s hair trying to hurt each other, we ended up with our heads pressed together.

“Let go.”

“Take it back!”

“I said let go!”

“I said take it back!!”

As we were screaming at each other, we heard the door opening.

“Professor’s back~”

My body flinched, but this was a matter of pride now, so I couldn’t easily let go and just kept struggling.

“Ourr, Ouro~ Are you sleeping? Huh? Huh?! What, what’s going on!”

The Professor approached us as we were pulling at each other’s hair, panting. With an alarmed voice, she separated us with mediating hands.

“Ouro is saying terrible things!”

“I didn’t say anything wrong. It’s not a curse, just acknowledging what might happen.”

“Hey!”

At my words, the Professor flustered, trying to calm me down. I took deep breaths to calm my heaving chest as I looked at Ouro through my disheveled bangs.