An Unidentified Scent
I screamed at the top of my lungs, my face drained of all color. “What the hell are you doing right now!! Rahel!!!”
But Rahel simply gazed down with icy detachment at Roselia’s head as it rolled across the floor with a dull thud. No matter how unhinged and yandere she was, she had never once chopped off the head of a civilian—let alone an innocent village girl—without warning. I lunged at her and grabbed the collar of her robe.
“What the hell is this?! You can’t just kill someone—!”
“…This bitch is a demon. Look closely.”
Huh? A demon?
Caught off guard by Rahel’s eerily calm voice, I followed her gaze to Roselia’s severed head on the floor.
“Wait… there’s no blood?”
It was true. Where the cleanly severed neck should have been gushing blood, there was only a grotesque, writhing mass of dark, viscous slime. Then the head that had fallen to the floor began to crawl forward with a wet, slithering sound and reattached itself with a sickening squelch.
The horrifying sight made me instinctively release Rahel’s collar and drop into a combat stance.
“Hee hee hee, kyahaha! You noticed I was a demon right away. As expected from an S-rank adventurer bitch—the instincts are on another level…”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!
Of course, Rahel wasn’t the type of villain who would politely let her enemy finish monologuing. She didn’t even give the creature time to fully stand before she swung her axe like a madwoman, carving up the floorboards. But Roselia—or rather, the demon bastard—liquefied its body like slime and slipped nimbly between the axe blades.
“Heh heh! There’s no way such brutish physical attacks would ever work on m—”
There was, however, one thing the creature had overlooked.
“Fulmina.”
It had fled outside to avoid Rahel’s axe swings. Which meant it was finally time for my specialty—Weather Manipulation.
“Hm…?”
KWAAAAAANG—!!!
From a perfectly clear sky with not a single cloud in sight, a house-sized bolt of lightning slammed down precisely onto the demon’s skull.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
“Fulmina. Fulmina.”
I snapped my fingers repeatedly, chaining the strikes one after another.
CRACK! BOOM! KWAAAAANG—!
“Fulmina… Ah. It ran away.”
After exactly five consecutive lightning strikes, the demon’s presence completely vanished amid the blackened dust and scorched earth.
“It didn’t die. It just fled, right?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t the main body anyway—just a fragment of a clone.”
I turned to look at Rahel, who had answered with complete seriousness.
“…You knew the second you opened the door? That the fake was leaking demonic energy?”
“Obviously. Besides, that thing wasn’t just any random demon. It was a fragment of the Demon of Lust.”
What?
For a second I thought I’d misheard her.
“You’re saying that wasn’t just some leftover residue? But we cut the heads off all the Seven Deadly Sins Lords and subjugated them ages ago. How does it make sense for a fragment to pop up now?”
“Beats me. I don’t know the details either. By the way…” Rahel tilted her head. “You really didn’t realize that bitch was a demon?”
“N-no, I had no idea…”
The moment I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, I heard the sound of metal scraping against wood.
Skrrrrrrch—
Rahel was slowly walking toward me, dragging her gleaming blue axe across the floor. Uh, umm? Why did the mood suddenly flip like this?
“W-wait! Rahel, we were working so well together just now! Let’s talk this out first—!”
“You clearly told me earlier that you weren’t seeing any women.”
“That’s… I swear on my life that Roselia and I had absolutely no personal relationship…”
My excuse made Rahel suddenly yank at her own snow-white hair in irritation before hurling her axe to the ground.
“If there was nothing between you, then you should have told me whenever that whore came around, you idiot!!”
“Huh…? S-sorry…”
“You almost got dragged away by those filthy demon bitches and turned into a tool for their exploitation! What would you have done if I hadn’t been here…! Hic, sob…”
…Rahel had started crying. And not just any crying—she was sobbing her heart out.
“You ran away without saying anything… Do you have any idea how desperately I searched for you?! Hiccup…! How much those demon bastards salivate over your ability! Sob, huuuuuh!”
The same Rahel who I thought was about to chop me into pieces had dropped her axe and was now bawling like a child. Yeah… this was the real her.
I let out a small sigh, quietly opened my arms, and pulled her into a hug.
“I get it… I’m sorry. Come here.”
“Hic, huuuuh…”
Rahel buried herself in my chest and cried bitterly for a long time, as if releasing every ounce of pent-up resentment and fear she had bottled up until now. My shoulder grew damp with her tears, but all I could do was stand there and gently pat her back.
About ten minutes passed like that.
The sound of her childlike wailing suddenly cut off. Then came a low whisper right beside my ear.
“You won’t run away without saying anything again, right?”
“Yeah, I promise. Next time I’ll definitely tell you before I… No. I won’t run away at all.”
“Really?”
“Yes. As long as both my legs are still attached, I won’t run.”
At my firm declaration, Rahel slowly lifted her head and met my eyes. Her red irises, still glistening with tears, curved in a chilling smile.
“Then, Mujin. If you ever try to run away again… it’s okay if I chop off all your arms and legs for real, right?”
Hiiik!
No, how can she say something that terrifying so naturally right after sobbing in my arms like that?
I desperately ignored the cold sweat running down my spine and gave a stiff nod.
“Y-yeah… that’s fine…”
Apparently satisfied with my answer, Rahel flashed that signature eerie yet captivating smile again.
“Good. Then let’s go inside, my puppy. You must be really scared. Master will make you some warm tea.”
Ten minutes later, I was sitting at the living room table, sipping the black tea Rahel had brewed. Across from me, she was carefully inspecting the large chocolate chip cookies Roselia had left behind.
“Ah, those chocolate chip cookies were actually pretty good… Oh.”
Shit. The honest thought slipped out before I could stop it.
Rahel slowly raised her head. Her blood-red eyes glowed with an intense light as they locked onto me.
“What did you just say?”
“N-nothing!! More importantly! Did you find anything suspicious in those cookies?! Like poison or something!”
I widened my eyes and quickly changed the subject. Rahel answered without fully dropping her suspicious glare.
“…Not really. Fortunately, there’s no curse or poison.”
“Really? That’s a huge relief. But it’s still weird. Why would a demon on the level of the Lust Lord spend a whole year just quietly buying my crops and bringing cookies instead of kidnapping me immediately?”
BANG!!!
Rahel suddenly slammed both hands on the table and shot to her feet.
“What?! An entire year?! You let that bitch into your house every single week?!”
“What was I supposed to do?! She was buying my crops! A merchant can’t just refuse to sell!”
“Fine, the crops I can understand! But don’t tell me you were happily munching on these cheap cookies with her every time she came over?!”
“T-that’s… She brought them as a service, so from a business perspective I had no choice but to…”
My pathetic excuse made Rahel snort and cross her arms.
“Hmph. Your tongue sure is smooth when you want it to be. That’s it. Bark.”
“…Huh? Right now?”
“Are you really going to disobey your Owner again? Should I start by cutting off your legs?”
“……Woof! Woof!”
It was pure reflex. Rahel’s lips immediately softened into a gentle curve.
“Good boy.”
She stroked my hair with the tenderness one might show a prized pet, gently ruffling it.
…But something’s wrong. Why does this feel so good?
I was a grown man, yet being petted and treated like a dog sent a strange warmth through me. When she pulled her hand away, I even felt a faint pang of disappointment.
Have I lost my mind? Is this Stockholm syndrome?
While my brain was busy short-circuiting, Rahel’s sharp voice snapped me back to reality.
“Anyway, we can’t stay here anymore. The demons have completely pinpointed this location. Who knows how many more of those bugs might be hiding near my puppy, disguising themselves.”
“Yeah… I can’t argue with that.”
“I’ll handle tracking down the demons myself. Mujin, do you have anywhere else we can go besides this house?”
Somewhere else to go, huh?
The Mountain Cabin I had scouted out a few days ago immediately flashed through my mind.
“…There is one place.”
“Whoa! This place is so pretty and nice!”
The old cabin nestled on the mountainside made Rahel jump around excitedly, exclaiming in delight at every dusty corner. Her snow-white hair fluttered as she laughed brightly, looking every bit like an innocent girl who didn’t know a thing about the world.
Of course, the actual words coming out of her mouth were anything but innocent.
“It’s so secluded and the soundproofing is perfect! I could tie my puppy up nice and tight and keep him locked away for the rest of his life and no one would ever know! Wow, it’s the perfect honeymoon home just for the two of us!”
“Y-yeah… Haha.”
This is exactly why I didn’t want to bring her here.
She’s not seriously thinking about digging a basement prison, is she?
I wiped away the cold sweat trickling down my cheek and forced a smile.
“Should we start moving our stuff here then?”
“Yeah, let’s do that! Starting tomorrow… Huh?”
Rahel, who had been bouncing around like she owned the world, suddenly froze like a mannequin in the middle of the living room.
Then, very slowly, she lowered her gaze to the floor. The bright smile that had been curving her lips had turned ice-cold, and a chilling murderous aura began to seep from behind her.
Again? Why is she suddenly going berserk again?
“Rahel? What’s wrong? Is there a bug or something?”
At my cautious call, Rahel turned her head to look at me. Her crimson eyes were blazing. Her brow was furrowed with open displeasure and irritation.
“…Mujin.”
“Y-yes?”
“From under these floorboards…”
Rahel tapped the old wooden planks with the tip of her foot. Tap. Tap.
“I smell that familiar scent from your house earlier. It’s really strong?”
What?