Chapter 51 – Bad Guys

Bad Guys

“Puel. What book were you reading?”
“Fufu. It’s a secret.”
“The library was fun!”

Puel and Saya seem to have become quite interested in books lately.
Saya seemed to be mostly interested in magic-related books, and Puel… I’m not sure what kind of books she was reading. Anyway, she was reading them intently.

Unfortunately, books in this world are quite valuable, and borrowing them required quite a complicated procedure.
Instead, I decided to take them to the library frequently, which is why I brought Saya and Puel again today.
Cherny didn’t seem interested in books, so although I invited her, she said she’d stay home alone.

‘A romance novel with Leon and Mona as the main characters…’
Having people you know as the main characters of a novel wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
…Though the yuri romance novel with me and Riste as the main characters was a bit interesting.

‘To think Riste would pounce on me while I’m sleeping.’
As expected of fiction, it was quite far-fetched.
“Hmm, this should be enough for Cherny, right?”
“Cherny likes meat, so she’ll probably like it.”

We left the library a bit early for Cherny who was alone at home, bought some simple snacks for her, and headed home.
*
“Cherny. We’re back.”
‘Huh? Did she go out somewhere?’

No answer from inside the house.
Usually, Cherny would have greeted us affectionately right away. Did she go out for a walk or something?
Now that I look, Cherny’s barrier that was around the house has disappeared too.

‘Something feels off…’
“I smell meat!”
As we entered the house, just as Saya said, a delicious smell started wafting from the kitchen.
Could it be that she was so focused on cooking that she didn’t notice the barrier had disappeared?

“Huh? Cherny’s not here.”
“That’s right. She didn’t even clean up the dishes… Where could she have gone? Moreover, the back door is open too.”
The kitchen was left with dishes that still had some food on them, and a frying pan left on the magic cooking tool.
And the open back door.

Somehow, it felt like déjà vu.
“Hm? Saya?”
Poke poke. Saya was poking me with her finger.
I thought she was just playing around, but Saya’s expression was quite serious.

“Ariel. I smell something ominous. It’s not Cherny’s.”
An ominous smell? Wait a minute.
I finally realized the identity of the strange feeling I had been sensing since we returned home.

‘It was the remnants of demonic energy.’
“Sister. There are Cherny’s footprints leading from the back door. They seem to lead to the mountain behind… Sister? Let’s go together!”
Before Puel could finish speaking, I ran towards the mountain behind, following Cherny’s footprints from the back door.

‘It’s faint, but Cherny’s demonic energy still remains. And that of others too.’
The messy footprints around Cherny’s are too organized to be from wild magical beasts native to the forest.
Besides, I had already cleared out the nearby magical beasts, so there shouldn’t be any left that could threaten Cherny.

‘I hope nothing bad has happened…’
As the trees became denser, tracking the footprints became more challenging.
Moreover, quite some time must have passed, as even the remnants of demonic energy had already dissipated into the air.

Eventually, at some point, their traces completely disappeared.
While looking for anything that could be a clue, I found something.
It was an apron with a chick drawn on it.

“Cherny…”
The apron I had given her as a gift was neatly folded and placed under a tree.
The moment I saw it, I felt like something snapped inside me.

‘Should I just burn this entire forest?’
If I burn away all these cumbersome things around, wouldn’t it be easier to find Cherny?
The deliberation was brief. Just as I had made up my mind to burn down the entire forest and was about to draw up my magical power,

“Um, Ariel? Did something happen? Saya and Puel came this way, so I followed…”

A familiar voice reached me as I was in trouble.
“Mona?”
The puzzlement of why she was here was momentary, as hope began to rise in my chest.

‘That’s right, if it’s Mona…!’
Mona is the thief of the hero party and unquestionably the best when it comes to tracking and mobility.
If it’s her, it shouldn’t be difficult to trace the ones who took Cherny.

“Did something troublesome happen?”
…It was the appearance of a savior.

“U-Um… Can I ask just one thing?”
“What is it?”
“H-How did you know where I was?”

In response to Cherny’s question, another tribe member next to the chieftain answered instead.
“…It’s the smell. The chieftain wouldn’t miss the smell of his kin.”
“Ah, I see.”

‘They’re really no different from dogs…’
The sun is starting to set. Surely they don’t intend to travel all night? My legs are already starting to hurt.
‘The apron must be dirty now. I liked it.’

The clothes they usually wear in human form are made of demonic energy, so there’s no problem when transforming into wolf form, but the apron is different.
If I transformed while wearing it, it would obviously be torn to shreds, so I left it where I met the tribe members.
Cherny was worried about that.

“We’ve arrived. Everyone transform into human form.”
As they left the mountain, following the chieftain’s order, the tribe members started transforming into various human appearances.
‘Eh? Have we arrived?’

We’ve crossed the mountain, but that’s all. The surroundings were just a desolate plain. Yet he says we’ve arrived?
“Kyahah. Sorry for making you transform into human form. I can’t stand fur flying around. Anyway… Is that the one? Your friend? Companion? Tribe member? Subordinate? Slave? What was it again? Whatever.”

Just as Cherny was puzzled, someone appeared out of thin air where there was nothing before.
The girl who suddenly appeared with her purple hair fluttering in the wind approached the chieftain with an innocent smile.

“…A tribe member. Not a subordinate or slave.”
“Hmm. Why are you looking at me like that? It’s scary.”
Then the chieftain silently stared at the girl in front of him. Their gazes crossed for a moment.

It’s impressive enough that she didn’t avoid the gaze of the chieftain who was a head taller than her, but what’s more surprising is that it was the chieftain who looked away first.
‘Oh… She seems to be coming towards me.’

The girl, seeming to have lost interest in the chieftain, slowly started walking towards Cherny.
“Hmm. You look familiar.”
“Eek!!!!”

The girl who had brought her face close to look at Cherny suddenly had a flash of realization in her eyes.
“Ah, I remember now. You’re that successful experiment’s pet, aren’t you?”
“P-Pet?”

“Kyahah. Don’t you remember me? We saw each other in the capital last time. Oh, maybe only I saw you? Anyway.”
The girl continued talking without responding to Cherny’s words.
Eventually, the girl spoke to Cherny with a bright smile as if she couldn’t contain her joy.

“You know. If her pet dies, how will that monster react? Will she get angry? Will she be sad? Or will she not care at all?”
‘T-This child. She’s dangerous!’

It felt like being a frog in front of a snake. Cherny instinctively sensed that the girl in front of her was dangerous.
“Kyahahah. Hah, hahah. Ah. Wait… I need to change the plan. If that monster follows us, we’ll all die. Not yet. I want to see how she’ll react if her pet dies, but… Hmm. I’ll have to hold back.”

The girl’s face, which had been laughing maniacally, suddenly turned cold.
Then the girl muttered something.
Then she changed direction and started approaching the chieftain again.

“What’s the matter? Weren’t we going to your hideout?”
“…That was the plan. But things have gone a bit awry.”
The girl shrugged as if troubled. Then she reached into thin air and took out something to show the chieftain.

‘Spatial magic! W-Was she a magician? Then, could that appearance just now have been teleportation magic…!’
Unlike Cherny who was startled, the chieftain maintained a calm expression as if he already knew.

“Hmm, I’ll come to get you later. Until then, stay on standby around this area. About two days? If you can survive.”
The girl who had been looking troubled handed the black cube-shaped object she had taken out of her spatial storage to the chieftain.

“…What is this?”
“Later, if a strange monster chases you, swallow it then. Got it? Kyahah.”
The girl left only those words and disappeared into thin air again.

“Arrogant brat. If it weren’t for the promise to resurrect the Demon King…!”
A tribe member who had been quietly watching the girl’s behavior started kicking the innocent ground, unable to contain his anger.
The chieftain, who had been watching this with a complicated expression, turned his gaze to Cherny and said,

“…Let’s look for a nearby village for now. It’s about time the other tribe members start getting hungry too. Cherny.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Spread a search barrier to find a village where humans are gathered.”

Cherny, who had a bad feeling, asked the chieftain back, prepared to be scolded.
“W-Why?”
Then he looked at Cherny as if she was pathetic and said,

“…Isn’t it obvious? Because the tribe members need to fill their stomachs.”
“I-I see.”
‘What should I do… At this rate, the humans will be eaten…’

What the chieftain meant, in simple terms, was to find humans to use as food.
“Hey. The chieftain has spoken. Hurry up and spread the search barrier. Tch. If it weren’t for this situation…”

This situation? Does he mean the situation where there are few kin left?
“Move quickly!”
Thud. A tribe member hit Cherny’s back to hurry her.

Apparently, he was displeased with the trouble they had gone through to find Cherny.
The gazes of the surrounding tribe members and the chieftain towards Cherny started to turn cold.

“J-Just a moment.”
What should I do. What should I do. What should I do.
Following the chieftain’s words means ultimately turning my back completely on humans and siding with the demons… If that happens, I’ll never be able to return to Ariel-nim.

Even Ariel-nim wouldn’t forgive me if I cooperated in harming humans, her own kind.
“Why are you dawdling like this?!”
Thud. Someone among the tribe members kicked my back hard. Thanks to that, I fell down spectacularly.

“Ouch…”
It’s the same situation as before. The tribe members’ contemptuous gazes are still the same.
Even the chieftain is looking at me with cold eyes.

What will happen to me if I don’t comply with their demands?
…Being abandoned would be fortunate; the angry ones might even use me as food.
The chieftain is someone who doesn’t forgive tribe members who don’t follow his authority.

A tribe member approached me as I was wavering, unsure of what to do.
…A familiar disgusting face, it was Ras.
It had been a while since I’d seen his human form.

So you were still alive… Why did someone like this survive?
“I thought I smelled humans, and sure enough. You’ve sided with the humans, haven’t you?”
“Ugh…”

Ras grabbed my collar and lifted me up. Naturally, my throat was constricted, making it difficult to breathe.
“W-Well…”
Seeing that I couldn’t answer his question, Ras said to the chieftain,

“Chieftain. As we expected, it seems she’s indeed sided with the humans. What should we do?”
In response to Ras’s words with a fierce expression, the chieftain answered.

“…We can’t kill her. Just rough her up a bit. She’s the last remaining female, after all.”
‘Ah.’
The moment I heard the chieftain’s words, I realized why they had gone to the trouble of finding me, whom they had despised as a half-breed.

“Cherny. Our tribe is facing an unprecedented crisis. In times like these, we must unite our strength.”
‘This is really the worst.’