About the Truth. (10)

The atmosphere suddenly grew awkward with the demon who appeared out of nowhere and started sobbing.

So, who was it?

The problem was that while they knew me, I didn't know them.

I tried to comfort them somehow, but the more my hand touched them, the more sorrowfully they cried, which was quite a headache.

"Demon King-nim, Demon King-nim, how could this happen, *sniff*..."

"I'm fine, so don't cry ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so much, okay?"

When I wiped away their tears with my sleeve, they made a deeply moved expression.

I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are.

Wiping away their tears was just a habit from when children fell and cried, it didn't have much meaning beyond that.

"I am called Elli."

But hearing that name made me feel strange.

Elli. Elli, you say?

The familiar name brought a familiar face to mind.

They don't resemble each other at all, but their names are the same.

Elli isn't such a crybaby, though.

"Could it be that you were defeated by the Hero?"

"...Yes."

When I nodded, they made an expression as if they had lost the entire world.

They reached out and fiddled with my head, seemingly searching for the horns that used to be there.

I'm sorry, but my horns were cut off a long time ago.

When they looked like they were about to cry again, I gave a bitter smile and patted their back.

Did this child know that there was a human with the same name as them?

"By the way, how did you know to come here, nya? Now that I think about it, it's super suspicious, nya..."

Indeed, there were many suspicious aspects to simply 'finding' this place.

Finding an old, dilapidated temple hidden deep in the forest?

Anyone would find them suspicious—no, they were a suspicious demon.

Of course, I didn't particularly want to be suspicious.

"...A certain human sent me."

The demon Elli began her story.

She said that she had been captured by humans and was about to be sold as a slave, but a human rescued her, saved the lives of two other humans, and told her to come here.

"...Was that human perhaps someone with blonde hair and green eyes?"

"Yes, that's right."

It was the Hero after all.

When I nodded, they asked if I knew the person.

If you call them an acquaintance, then yes, they are.

I didn't specifically tell them that the one who saved them was the Hero who put me in this state.

I merely informed them that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he was an acquaintance.

"Ariel-ssi, have you perhaps finished preparing the meal—"

"..."

"Demon!!"

As soon as Bel's eyes met the demon Elli's, she pulled out a blade, and I let out a sigh.

It seemed that the only demons that child could tolerate were me, Hallibel, and Rin.

Perhaps it was because she had horns that made Bel think that way even more.

"She is my acquaintance, so do not be too wary."

"...If Ariel-ssi says so."

Her suspicious expression remained, but her guard lowered.

The children clinging to me had their tails stiffly raised due to the tense atmosphere.

The kids are getting scared.

When I waved my hand gently, they scurried over, which was incredibly cute.

"Ariel~"

"Arieel~"

"Yes, yes."

They clung tightly to my legs and rubbed their chins against them.

After the children did this, Ryanyori always used to say, 'They're covered in baby scent, nya.'

When I subtly lifted my arm, the children clinging to my legs began to clamber up my body, huffing and puffing.

I was surprised that even though they had grown quite large, they weren't particularly heavy.

"Demon King-nim, those children are..."

"...They are the children I gave birth to."

The demon Elli had an expression as if she couldn't understand.

Perhaps she had found faint traces of me in the children.

Feeling no particular need to persuade her, I quietly surrendered myself to the warmth the children created.

The demon Elli's expression twisted strangely.

"Demon King-nim, are you truly alright with that? Giving birth to children of another race, and then—"

"It's something I do because I like it now, so it's fine."

I gently tapped the top of her head.

I glanced at her horns, which had their tips cut off, then smiled faintly.

It's incredibly painful and agonizing, but I'm okay.

It wasn't a forced smile born from not wanting to worry the other person.

I was truly okay.

Probably.

"By the way, where is Miko?"

"Miko-nim is talking with Rin."

Bel always spoke formally to Miko.

When I asked why, she replied that even though Miko's body was smaller, she was still an elder to her.

It seemed like a valid point, so I once asked Miko, 'Should I also speak formally to you?' but she was utterly disgusted.

She said something about being too embarrassed to hear formal speech from me.

"Then where is Laila?"

"Laila is taking care of Hallibel-ssi with Elli-ssi."

"...Elli, you say?"

The demon Elli flinched at the name, which was the same as hers.

Perhaps having the same name is a strange occurrence even among demons.

When I looked at her with that thought in mind, the demon Elli slowly backed away.

As if she was scared.

"Don't be too scared. Elli is a good human."

"Th-that's not the problem. If a human named Elli is really here—"

"Ariel-ssi?"

Before I could finish speaking, Elli entered.

The demon Elli and the human Elli.

Their gazes locked, as if drawn by magnets, and they stared blankly into each other's eyes.

At that bizarre sight, I instinctively gasped.

"Elli, Elli? Elli!!"

I quickly tried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to shake Elli's shoulders, but she didn't budge.

The two acted as if only they existed in this entire world.

What in the world is happening?

My heart pounded, fearing something might go wrong.

When I was young, the dream I had was to buy a mother.

People who came to the temple always paid offerings and bought children.

There were no babies on the day they bought them, but a little later, they would come carrying a baby in their arms.

So, if you give money to the Goddess-nim, you can buy a baby.

When I was young, I vaguely thought that.

If so, couldn't I pay money and buy parents too?

It was a thought I had when I was eight or nine.

Perhaps it was from that moment.

The moment I diligently saved the allowance the priest-nim gave me.

As time went on, money began to accumulate in my hands.

But that wasn't nearly enough to have parents.

If things continued like this, I would never be able to buy parents.

Thinking that, everything became ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meaningless, so I gave all the money I had accumulated to the beggar who was begging in front of the temple.

I still remembered the moment I smiled at the beggar who was shouting 'thank you'.

The sight of the beggar crying out their thanks to me seemed more valuable than parents I might never be able to buy.

So I killed humans.

Those damn bastards who dismembered a demon child and used its limbs as materials for a summoning.

I was summoned into this world by borrowing the child's life.

That's why I couldn't forgive those humans.

I tore apart the human in front of me, escaped that place, and then crushed the heads of two others who were passing by nearby.

After that, humans appeared, subdued me, and then—

""Ah, AHHHHHHH?!?!?!!!""

A scream filled the room.

The countless memories flooding into her mind gnawed at Elli's sanity.

So, whose memories are these?

Elli, they're your memories.

A voice whispered.

But, but I'm not Elli.

I'm Elli, but not *that* Elli.

"Elli, are you alright?! Elli!!!"

"Demon King-nim, no... Ugh, Ariel-ssi?"

It felt as if her head was on fire.

When she reached for the liquid flowing from her nose, her palm was stained bright red.

She couldn't tell if she was a demon or a human.

"Ariel-ssi, why are you looking at me like that?"

"...It's nothing."

Her head throbbed.

It hurt so much, she just wanted to rip her head open.

But she couldn't show such an unsightly display in front of the Demon King-nim.

...No, Demon King-nim, you say.

It's not Demon King-nim, it's Ariel-ssi.

"Just a little, just a little rest and I'll be fine."

As she sank down weakly, Ariel-ssi approached and supported her.

She didn't know what had happened, but she was glad to be embraced in these warm arms.

"What in the world happened, nya."

"...I don't know either."

I sighed, looking at Elli lying on the bed.

The demon Elli who suddenly appeared.

And even Elli, who encountered her.

I distinctly remembered them staring blankly at each other, and then screaming.

'Would the Hero know...'

Since he sent the demon Elli here, he might know about this phenomenon.

If she had simply fallen ill, it wouldn't matter, but by no means could this be dismissed as ordinary.

Even if the demon Elli had suddenly disappeared, the unconscious Elli's condition was unusual.

No, to be precise, her body parts had changed—or perhaps, it would be more accurate to say they had grown.

"There's a strange smell, nya..."

When I reached out, a hard sensation filled my palm.

As my body trembled at the unfamiliar sensation, Ryanyori's tail gently tapped my shoulder.

At the gesture that seemed to tell me not to be too tense, I slowly took a breath.

How can I possibly remain calm in this situation?

"Elli..."

I fiddled with the small horns that had sprouted on her head and closed my eyes.

My head felt dizzy.