The Sixth Race

It didn't feel real.

How many people had I just killed? Even on a low estimate, at least ten thousand. No — more than that.

What could hardly even be called a war was over, and I watched as Redrago held back the mages surging toward us.

"Redrago. Am I… am I okay?"

I'd thought I would be fine. But once the magic ended and a little time had passed, my hands started shaking hard.

Maybe because I'd killed more people than I'd expected. I just wasn't used to it.

"Mm. You're fine."

Among the mages Redrago was turning back was Lena.

I'd spotted that oversized hat of hers when I cast the spell earlier, so finding her again was easy.

"That one is fine. Want to talk. Le… Lena."

I pointed at her with one finger as I spoke.

Lena turned around as if she'd heard her name.

"Oh my. I'm the exception? Someone you know from the guild?"

"So Tiable has a familiar face among the guild people. Well, if she wants to talk, I won't stop her."

Redrago sent everyone else away except Lena, leaving only the three of us — me, Redrago, and Lena.

I got straight to the point.

"Lena. What race?"

I'd noticed that the magic language she chanted wasn't a human tongue, so I asked.

"H-huh? What are you talking about. Of course I'm…"

Lena stammered, glancing at Redrago for cues.

This is a pretty different image from first impressions.

She was flustered enough that her eyes darted everywhere; she twisted her body this way and that and yanked her hat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down hard with both hands.

The hat… She's pulling the hat down? That smells suspicious.

"I'm human, of course!"

Maybe she'd decided the bold approach was better. She planted both hands on her hips and spoke like a completely different person from a moment ago.

Hmm…

"Hwia."

Every time I said Hwia's name, a cool, not-unpleasant wind would blow, so I tried it once with the intent of knocking Lena's hat off.

"Th-that magic—!"

A cool wind laced with the smell of blood swept past me and toward Lena.

She hurriedly pulled her hands off her hips to grab the hat, but she was already too late.

Lena's huge hat lost the fight against the wind and went sailing off, tumbling down into the ravine below.

The bright yellow hair that had been hidden under the big hat spilled free, and a pair of cat ears twitched upright on top of her head.

"It's fine. I'm a half-orc myself. I don't dislike someone just because their race is different. And neither does Tiable."

Redrago spoke after seeing Lena's bright yellow cat ears.

Lena thought for a moment, then answered in a more confident voice.

"Hnn… Well, then I guess there's no need to hide it."

"Once people know you're a beastman, they treat you like an animal, and it's a real pain~"

"But if I show them this, most of the trouble goes away~"

Lena pulled a necklace out from her chest and held it up. Even in the faint moonlight, it shone gold.

From the way she talks, Gold rank must be pretty high. Last time at the guild, people just quietly backed off the moment they saw that.

"Why help Sepia?"

I was genuinely, purely curious. Why would another race join a human war and help them?

"Because it pays?"

Clear and simple. How much money could they be offering, for her to join a war on the side of people who hated her own race?

Well — the ones she's killing are humans too, so maybe it doesn't matter to her.

"Umm… Why were you in a human guild, then?"

"Because it pays?"

"Why are you so good at the human language?"

"Money. The human-side guilds pay well."

So this is what Lena is like. As long as there's money in it, she'll do just about anything…

"Wait, wait — I've got a question of my own, Tiable."

"Are you, by any chance, a demon?"

Demon. That word again.

What even is a demon?

"Demon… What is that? I've never heard it before, until today."

Lena flinched — and so did Redrago, who had been listening the whole time.

Why are they so surprised?

"You've never heard of demons?"

"Tiable, do you know what races there are?"

I held out one hand and unfolded my fingers one by one as I listed every race I knew.

"Yeah. Human, orc, beastman, elf, dwarf."

"Five."

The moment I finished, Lena and Redrago looked at each other. The unspoken That can't be right hung in the air between them without either of them needing to say it.

I was left with the distinct feeling of being the only idiot in the room.

After a long, heavy silence, Redrago spoke.

"Tiable. There is one more race."

"Demons. Outwardly they look exactly like humans, but they possess an enormous amount of mana. If the mana is too great, it condenses and grows into horns. That is the race."

I hadn't known.

So this world had one more race after all.

Then… can I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠assume every black sphere–type spell I've cast is demon magic?

Everything I'd seen of Suxus's orc magic and Lena's beastman magic, I'd been able to roughly grasp the structure of. But that black magic — I could see how it was built, and still not understand it.

A race with astronomical mana. Their magic must be absurdly advanced, too. I want to know more about demon magic…

But wait. Demons have enormous mana. And those black spheres I used — and the reason Redrago asked me to help with the war in the first place.

Does Redrago think I'm a demon?

Sure enough, Redrago opened his mouth.

"Tiable. I believe you are a demon."

"I-I'm not a demon."

What reason am I supposed to give? Do I even need a reason? I am human… right?

"Horns! I don't even have horns!"

I fussed at both sides of my head and shoved them toward Redrago and Lena.

Redrago smiled, just a little. Lena clamped a hand over her mouth, fighting not to laugh.

"Ti-Tiable, even if you were a demon, I wouldn't do anything weird to you~"

That basically means you already think I am ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one, doesn't it?

"If anything, being a demon would be better. There's so much I've wanted to ask."

"The demons I've met never spoke a common language, you know."

Lena looked at me with the eyes of someone who'd just found something fun. A little scary.

"Ah! One more thing I'm curious about, Tiable."

"How did you use our beastman magic?"

Huh?

"When you knocked my hat off, you used Tailwind magic, didn't you?"

When I knocked the hat off? Tailwind magic?

"That… is beastman magic?"

The conversation had wandered into the kind of territory that made my eyes light up without my meaning to.

"Beastman magic?"

"---d---y-(Huiya)"

Lena cast the spell. A cool wind rose behind her, and I could see air wrapping around her feet.

"Normally it lightens your feet like that and boosts your movement speed, but your pronunciation was off, so it just made wind?"

"Usually if you pronounce it that way, nothing happens at all. But with that much mana— no, because you're a demon, maybe?"

Having a lot of mana doesn't mean you can butcher the pronunciation and still cast. And I'm not a demon in the first place!

I decided to try casting it myself with the proper pronunciation.

"Huiya."

h-u-i-ya

A stronger wind than before rose at my back, and air began to coil around my feet the same way. Was it casting properly?

"Y-you just did it on the spot? Accurate pronunciation alone doesn't usually let you cast a spell right away!"

"As expected of a demon…"

She rested her chin on one hand and muttered it quietly, but I heard her perfectly well.

"Mm. So what I actually want to know, Tiable, is how you knew beastman magic at all."

How I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew it. I just kept saying Hwia's name and wind started blowing, so I tried knocking your hat off with it. My usual wind magic didn't seem like it would send the hat flying on its own.

I truly had no idea how I'd come to know and use beastman magic either, so I told the truth. Honestly.

"I… I don't know either…"

A little embarrassed, I scratched my head as I said it.

"…"

"Lena. Tiable was found in the forest. With no memories."

Redrago, who had been quietly listening to the magic talk, spoke up.

"So Tiable herself likely doesn't know. She's probably confused. Well — I have heard the rumor that demons can use the magic of every race."

"Hmm~ So I can't ask about demons, then~…"

Lena let the end of the sentence trail off, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"I've kept you a little too long. Tiable, I'd like to see you again sometime. Come visit the guild~"

"Y-yeah."

I wanted to talk more about beastman magic myself. I would definitely have to go find her later.

"W-wait! My hat! What about my hat?!"

Ah. I was the one who blew it away.

I used the words I'd used before — remembering how panicked I'd been when I first arrived in this world with no clothes.

"Could you make a hat for me."

Something that could loosely be called a hat began to form. It slowly took on the shape of a proper hat, and before long it had become a fairly decent one.

It really was an incredibly precise creation spell.

Lena, being a mage, stared at the scene in open shock. Redrago, who had only ever been on the receiving end of magic and couldn't cast any himself, simply watched me with a fond expression.

"Hiii… So this is… demon magic."

I really wish she'd stop saying that word. Though… maybe this creation magic really is related to demons somehow.

Anyway, I was tired. A yawn slipped out of me without warning.

"Mm. You've earned the right to be tired. Go rest, Tiable."

And so I thought the war had ended anticlimactically.