Chapter 50 – Cherny

Cherny

“Cherny. Come here.”
The chieftain calls me with a voice so cold it could freeze my body.
My steps towards him are heavy.

“W-Why did you call me?”
The chieftain, who was looking at me with contemptuous eyes, opened his mouth.
“I heard from another tribe member. You almost died at the hands of a human warrior.”

“…Yes.”
The human side attacked first. Just when I had found a deer carcass after a long time and was filling my hungry stomach, they suddenly attacked.
…Even if it hadn’t been a surprise attack, I probably wouldn’t have won anyway.

I was born weaker than the other tribe members from the start.
Moreover, being born as a demon but avoiding eating humans, I was called a half-baked demon by the tribe members.
‘But I just can’t eat them.’

Just as a deer that only grazes on grass wouldn’t eat meat, it was the same for me. It’s physiologically impossible.
“…Sigh.”
The chieftain lets out a deep sigh. That sigh is laden with disgust towards me.

“We are the proud Blue Wolf tribe. We’re also the right arm of the Demon King. And yet… No, never mind. You may go.”
What right arm? We’re just hunting dogs.
I thought, ‘If you’re going to dismiss me right away, why did you call me?’─but I kept it to myself.

I’m used to this kind of thing.
“Hey, Cherny. Come here.”
…As I was about to return to my tent, I heard the most unpleasant voice.

“W-What is it?”
When I turned my head towards the owner of the voice, I saw a tribe member glaring at me, apparently displeased about something again.
It was the one who had been constantly bothering me lately. His name was Ras, I think. Honestly, I don’t care enough to remember.

Although our tribe usually maintains a human form and only transforms into wolf form during battle, he was in wolf form.
Is he trying to show off his fur or something?
…He must think he looks cool. He doesn’t look cool at all.

Moreover, his human form is even worse to look at.
He probably vaguely knows this himself, which is why he’s still in wolf form now.
I wanted to lightly ignore his words, but knowing he would cause all sorts of trouble if I did, I reluctantly approached him.

Only when I approached did he start speaking.
Because of his large size, even in wolf form, his eye level was similar to mine.

“I heard you almost died to a mere human?”
“…So what?”
“Instead of practicing that useless barrier, why don’t you just come under me?”

By the way, when he says to come under him, he doesn’t mean to become his subordinate.
…He literally means to get under him. It’s extremely unpleasant.
“I refuse.”

As soon as I conveyed my refusal, Ras, seemingly offended, spat out abusive words.
“Tch. How dare a half-breed be so arrogant.”
Thud.

“Ugh… What are you doing?”
As if that wasn’t enough, he roughly pushed me over with his brutish front paw.
“Pfft. Suits you well.”

…Ras laughs at me as I fall on my bottom in an unsightly manner and walks past.
‘How miserable.’
The surrounding tribe members look at me as if I’m pathetic.

‘I wish I had been born human instead.’
It was shortly after this that my exceptional talent in barrier techniques using demonic energy was recognized, and I was given the position of barrier specialist in the Lilith Corps.

“…I had an unpleasant dream.”
Cherny, who had woken from her dream, muttered.
Due to the unpleasant feeling that lingered even after coming to her senses, she blankly stared out the window.

It was the first time she had dreamed of those days since coming to this house.
‘It’s in the past. Let’s forget about it.’
Growl.

Perhaps she had slept longer than expected, as Cherny’s stomach growled.
‘I’m hungry.’
Cherny, having come to her senses, immediately headed to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Cherny was alone in the house for once.
Lately, Ariel had been taking the children to the library, but Cherny couldn’t find any interest in it.
‘The imperial language is too difficult…’

Because of that, she thought it would be better to look after the house.
“La la la~ What shall I cook today~”
Her mood, which had been down due to the dream, had long since improved at the thought of eating.

Cherny arrived at the kitchen, humming a tune she had picked up somewhere.
‘Hehe. The chick is cute.’
Cherny looked at the apron Ariel had given her as a gift for a moment, then carefully put it on.

Then she took out a cookbook from the drawer and started examining it.
“Should I try making this scrambled egg today~”
She found a dish she liked.

Following the recipe, she poured oil extracted from Perin seeds into the flat pot Ariel called a frying pan.
She confirmed that the pan was well heated.
Then she gently poured the pre-whisked eggs into the pan.

‘Hehe, I must have a talent for cooking.’
Sizzle. The savory smell of oil and the soft aroma of eggs stimulate her nose. Her mouth waters involuntarily.
She lightly sprinkled the pre-prepared salt and pepper on top, then gently stirred the pan with a spatula to let the eggs clump softly.

In just a few minutes, soft and moist scrambled eggs were completed.
‘The oil seems a bit wasteful. Maybe I could grill some meat too…?’
After transferring the completed scrambled eggs to a plate, Cherny placed thinly sliced deer meat on the remaining oil.

“Heeh… It looks delicious.”
Sizzle sizzle. A delicious sound that stimulates the stomach.
Since living with Ariel, Cherny had learned that grilled meat tastes several times better than eating it raw.

‘To think I didn’t know this, I’ve lost half my life.’
Cherny sincerely thought that she was glad to have come to this house.
“Phew. I’m happy.”

Cherny patted her full stomach and talked to herself.
‘When I was in the Demon King’s army, I used to eat rotten meat chunks…’
While other members of the Demon King’s army mainly ate captured humans, Cherny, who had a unique constitution, couldn’t eat humans at all.

Therefore, for Cherny, who used to pick up and eat rotten meat chunks, the current life felt like a dream.
“It’s been about two years already. At first, I really thought I was going to die.”
The hero party members, who transcended humans, were the very embodiment of fear for Cherny, who was then part of the Demon King’s army.

Especially Cherny, who was in charge of barriers, had many occasions to face Ariel due to her role, and Ariel’s appearance at that time was chilling even to think about now.
“She said she didn’t know about demon affairs, but that was exactly right.”

It was a bit amusing that she, who had been like that, was now waiting for Ariel and the two children to return.
“Hehe. I’m going to sleep right after eating, Ariel-nim!”
Thinking she would clean up the dishes a bit later, Cherny immediately lay down comfortably on the sofa.

Just as she was about to take a short nap, feeling a slight sense of guilt…
‘Oh, are they back already?’
…She sensed someone’s presence in the barrier surrounding the area.

At first, she thought Ariel’s group had returned, but soon Cherny realized that wasn’t the case.
…The intruder, or rather intruders, who had entered the barrier were emitting a faint demonic energy.
She instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

‘T-They’re getting closer. I’m sure of it. They’re coming this way!’
She hurriedly spread a spatial distortion barrier around, but they seem to have some means to ignore it and are getting closer.
“I-I need to get out of the house!”

Pitter-patter.
Thinking that staying here might ruin Ariel’s precious home, Cherny immediately fled outside, forgetting even to take off her apron.
“Huff… hah…”

How long had she run? The surroundings were filled with dense trees.
‘Where am I…?’
Cherny had lost track of their position halfway through her frantic run.

Just as she was catching her breath…
“Finally found you, Cherny.”
…A familiar voice was heard from behind. A voice that remained in the faint edges of her memory.

When Cherny turned around at that voice, what entered her sight was─a wolf large enough to fill her entire vision.
And that appearance was all too familiar to Cherny.
“C-Chieftain?”

Led by him, other wolves also began to reveal themselves one by one.
They were all Cherny’s kin─the Blue Wolf demon tribe.
“H-How did you come here…? No, weren’t you all supposed to be dead?”

They should have died heroically in the final battle.
She hadn’t seen it herself, but that’s what she had heard.
She hadn’t cared much about her kin who usually ignored her, so she had just accepted it, but why had they come looking for her now?

“…Indeed, as you say, our tribe’s numbers have greatly decreased since then. …To put it simply, the number here now is all that’s left.”
“Eh?!”
Even if she counted carefully, it was barely ten. To think only this many remained. There used to be at least several hundred.

The chieftain spoke with eyes filled with sadness.
“Cherny. Our tribe is facing an unprecedented crisis. In times like these, we must unite our strength.”
Then he transformed into a demon form with two horns on his head and extended his hand towards Cherny.

“Come, Cherny. Let’s go to where we belong.”
Although it was a sudden proposal, his intention was clear.
He was telling her to follow him.

“I-I’m sorry, but…”
Naturally, I, who was satisfied with my current life, tried to refuse the chieftain’s proposal.
After all, weren’t they the kin who had ignored me so much? Honestly, I didn’t care whether they disappeared or not.

“…”
Perhaps sensing my intention to refuse, the chieftain’s eyes turned cold.

Thud.
And the chieftain naturally placed his hand on my shoulder. Whether he intentionally applied force or not, a sharp pain rushed through the shoulder where his hand touched.
‘Ouch…’

“Surely you’re not trying to refuse, are you, Cherny?”
I hated that attitude of his, not doubting for a moment that I would follow his words.
The chieftain’s words reeked of the intention: ‘How dare a half-breed like you defy my words?’

I wanted to immediately tell him no, but the words wouldn’t come out of my mouth.
Just by him standing in front of me, I felt like I had become an infinitely small existence.
“Why is there no answer?”

I feel like tears might leak out.
I want to run away right now, but there’s no way someone like me could escape in this situation.
My body, which had become so intimidated, started to tremble.

‘I’m sorry, Ariel-nim.’
“I-I’ll go.”
The chieftain smiled with satisfaction at Cherny’s words.