Cassius
Cassius
My name is 'Cassius'!
When it comes to military strength, no one in the demon race can compare to me—I am the strongest!
Not long ago, I tried to summon the Demon King-nim to unite the demons who had been unable to gather for a long time, but....
The Demon King-nim fell into the human kingdom, and in the end, it failed.
But if I give up here, I wouldn't be a proud demon.
Even though the demons gathered to summon the Demon King-nim scattered again, isn't it just a matter of finding the Demon King-nim who fell in the human kingdom and bringing him back?
So, through Old Man Hank's introduction, I sought out the alchemist Victor and obtained a potion that can hide my appearance and power to go to where humans live!
If I drink this potion and safely bring the Demon King-nim to the Demon King's Castle, the demons will regain their past glory.
I made up my mind and drank the potion....
"I turned into a girl?!"
Actually, this is better!
If I look like a little girl, I can lower their guard and accomplish the mission easily.
But....
"Where is this!!!"
I got lost.
Me, Cassius.
Can I return safely to the Demon King's Castle with the Demon King-nim?
Walter, an employee of the Carter Trading Company.
Walter was in great trouble right now.
"Oppa, can't you not go to work today?"
"Bibi. Let go of this. Because Oppa goes to work, we can eat delicious food."
"Hiiing... You promised to go on a picnic together and you keep putting it off every day...."
His little sister Bibi threw a tantrum, telling him not to go to work.
Because of that, at a time when he would normally have arrived at the trading company early and been preparing for work, he was struggling with his younger sister in front of the house.
It wasn't that he could only blame his sister.
Recently, the trading company has been booming, so when he came home from work, he would collapse immediately.
On weekends, fatigue would pile up, and it had been a long time since he spent time with Bibi.
"I'll really take you on a picnic this weekend. So can you please let go?"
"You'll just sleep again!"
Bibi grabbed Walter's pants tightly and wouldn't let go.
'This is serious.... I'll be late at this rate....'
Just then, Cheol-min, who was passing by, greeted him.
"Hello, Walter. On your way to work? Hello to you too, Bibi?"
"Cheol-min-ssi, hello. Bibi, really let go. I really have to go now!"
"What's the situation?"
Bibi clinging to Walter's pant leg looked like a cicada.
"Oppa won't take me on a picnic!"
Bibi puffed out her cheeks and made a sullen expression.
After hearing the whole story, a smile formed because of the cute reason.
Come to think of it, Cheol-min recalled Walter's family situation.
He had definitely said that the two siblings were living together and running the household.
It felt like unnecessary meddling, but he also felt sorry for them.
Seeing them live diligently without a guardian made him feel like he was looking at himself.
So he decided to lend a hand.
"Alright! You two go on a picnic."
"Huh? But the trading company work...."
"Don't worry about that. I'm off duty at the restaurant today, so I'll talk to Thomas-ssi."
"No, that's not necessary. You should rest on your day off, Cheol-min-ssi. I have time on weekends with Bibi."
"But you said you just sleep on weekends?"
"Ugh, that...."
Walter shut his mouth.
"Go have fun. I'll ask Bibi all about it."
"Then I'll leave it to you. Thank you."
Walter bowed politely.
"Wow! So are we going on a picnic today? I'm so excited!"
Bibi jumped for joy.
"Thank you, Cheol-min samchon!"
As a token of gratitude, Bibi gave him a hug.
Patting Bibi's head, Cheol-min said.
"When you go on the picnic, listen well to your oppa and have a great time, okay?"
"Yes!"
The two smiled brightly and went back inside to prepare for going out.
"They're a nice sibling pair."
Cheol-min muttered and continued on his way.
"Hey, Cheol-min. Wasn't today your day off? Where have you been since morning?"
Thomas was checking the quantity of goods.
"I just escorted Elin to the restaurant."
"Haha. You work hard even on your day off."
"Anyway, Thomas-ssi."
"What is it?"
Cheol-min briefly told the story of Walter and Bibi siblings.
"Is that so? I was planning to give him a vacation soon since he's been working hard, but I understand."
"I felt sorry for them and acted on my own, so I'll cover for Walter at the trading company today."
"Ah, will you do that? The urgent tasks are all done now, so there won't be much to do."
"Yes, what should I start with?"
Waguwagu.
"This is edible."
On a certain mountain overgrown with grass.
A little girl is devouring strangely shaped mushrooms.
"Ah! Meat!"
Deopseok!
"Jjiik! Jjikjjik!"
"Nyam."
A savage child who doesn't hesitate to eat raw food.
Originally, he was a robust man who enjoyed luxurious feasts, but now his appearance has changed a lot.
"Damn. To think I'd get lost and end up living like a hermit in the mountains."
Cassius lamented her situation.
Actually, she—
No, now she—Cassius—is a native of the edge of the continent where demons live together.
The same would be true for other demons; these days, demons had never actually seen a human or been to a place where humans live.
She didn't have a map either.
She had no way of knowing where this was or where to go to find a village of humans.
"If I just keep going straight like this, something will turn up, right?"
That complacent thought had gotten her stuck in a remote wild mountain, but she was far from realizing that.
"Where could the Demon King-nim be~."
She had no means to recognize the Demon King.
Could it be that the appearance-changing drug had a side effect that lowered intelligence?
Since Victor, who made the potion, had disappeared, that too could no longer be determined.
Anyway, cute☆petite Cassius moved forward without thinking.
With her shabby appearance, if anyone saw her, they might be shocked?
"Hmm, I'll rest here today."
Cassius, who had been walking for a while, wasn't tired, but seeing the sun set, she plopped down on the spot.
She gathered some leaf litter in one place, piled it up, and dove in.
Pasak—.
Between the mounds of piled leaves.
Cassius, poking only her head out.
For some reason, the leaves wrapping her whole body warmly seemed very comfortable.
"Hmm?"
She felt a strange sensation inside the leaves.
She pulled out one arm and concentrated intently.
"Now!"
Puuk.
She thrust her hand into the pile.
"Got it!"
Cassius's eyes sparkled with life and her face brightened.
In her hand was a plump grub.
"This is a delicacy."
She grinned and opened her mouth wide.
In one go, ssook.
"Eueum! It melts in my mouth!"
The sensation of juice (?) oozing from the plump flesh.
A savory and sticky texture.
If this isn't gourmet food, then what is?
"Should I become a hermit when I retire?"
Cassius felt a deep sense of elation.
A warm and fluffy bed.
Delicious food.
If this isn't happiness, then what is?
She had definitely come out to find the Demon King-nim, but deep down, she hoped that the Demon King-nim would be found as late as possible.
Or that he had fallen to the opposite end of the continent.
Or that their paths kept crossing.
Or that he had already been captured in the human kingdom?
"No, no. That's too far. Since I turned into a little girl, I keep having strange thoughts."
Well, setting everything else aside, for now Cassius felt somewhat comfortable.
"Kkul...."
Haljjak.
"Eueum... what is it."
Haljjak haljjak.
"Stop it...."
"Meong!"
"Huh? Dog sound?"
At the sudden barking, Cassius snapped back to her senses.
"Heokheok."
"Hello. You son of a bitch? Who are you?"
"Meong!"
"Ah, spit on my face."
Cassius wiped the dog's saliva off her face.
Even while she did that, the dog kept barking.
"Walwal!"
"So what, what do you want me to do?"
Seeing it wag its tail wildly, it didn't seem hostile.
It was quite annoying.
Also noisy.
"Ugh! Go away!"
Should I just kick it away?
Just as she was waving her hands and feet to shoo the dog away.
"Coco~! Where are you!"
A human approached.
"Coco? Huh? A child?"
It was an adult woman.
"Oh my, child. Why are you here like this? Where are your parents?"
The human approached with concern.
She asked while rubbing the soot off her face with her sleeve.
Cassius's personality had mellowed a lot.
If it were the old days, a human wouldn't have even been able to approach.
To think she tolerated this much to minimize causing a commotion—amazing!
"They're not here."
Cassius actually answered the human's question.
The human, as if thinking something, flinched and covered her mouth, looking serious.
She didn't say that she had directly cut off their breath to inherit their power, though.
Anyway, the human misunderstood nicely.
"Huljjeok. Child, what's your name?"
"Ca...."
Somehow, it didn't seem like a good idea to reveal her real name.
"Cassi."
"Okay, Cassi. Come with Auntie. You don't have to be alone anymore."
The auntie hugged Cassi tightly.
'It's stifling.'
It was more stifling than the leaf pile, but it didn't feel bad.
"Meong!"
Coco also snuggled close as if hugging Cassi and the auntie, circling around them.
"Now, let's go down the mountain first."
"Okay."
This was good news for Cassi, who hadn't been able to find a human village.
Having a base would be convenient in many ways.
Let's follow her for now and gather information.
"Auntie's name is Hena. Please take care of me~."
'She's all smiles, not knowing she's being used.'
Cassi sneered at Hena inwardly.
And so Cassi, Hena, and Coco moved to the house.
Dokdok.
"Come in."
"Sophia-nim, a letter has arrived from the shrine."
"Give it here."
Sophia set aside the documents she had been handling on behalf of the Hero and took the letter.
"I received it well. Go out and wait."
Sophia, who had been pondering what content the shrine would send, slowly opened the letter.
"...."
After reading it to the end, she burned the paper with a candle flame, destroying it.
"Where is the Hero-nim now?"
"He is resting in the barracks."
Sophia put on an outer garment and hurried to the Hero.
"Hero-nim, it's Sophia."
"Come in."
The Hero was admiring the artifacts received from the previously visited city.
"What is it?"
"We received word from the shrine that the demons' movements are suspicious."
"Is it serious?"
"It doesn't seem like an urgent matter, but it seemed like something you should be aware of, so I came."
"Is there no disruption to the current schedule?"
"Yes, it seems we can continue the tour as planned for now. If anything new comes up, I'll report immediately."
Sophia left the barracks.
The Hero sat back down and fiddled with the artifacts.
"Could it be because I said something that seemed to disregard the Demon King?"
A recent memory surfaced.
Words that lamented the current situation more than the Demon King.
'What kind of Demon King is that?'
He raised his head and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"Are you saying you're listening to everything?"
The Hero's eyes narrowed.
A pointless competitive spirit stirred.
"The Demon King... Fine, let's see who wins."
The Hero got the feeling that even the Demon King was on the Goddess's side.
The rift with the Goddess was growing deeper.
To train, the Hero left the barracks.
To face the Goddess's detestable face again.
The Hero swung his sword.
