6. The Circumstances of a New Companion (Not the Hero) Joining the Hero Party
In the stifling silence of the cramped space, the old man's wheezing breaths echo. “Ah, ahh. Haa……” And my own groans, which no one gives a damn about.
Succubus, they'll devour you, they'll harm you, demonkin— I could hear all that. Sure, it hurt, it was unfair. But whatever they said, it wasn't me. I was definitely human, and I had no intention of doing any such thing.
But these people— they treated me like a human, the only ones who did. And now, because of me...
“Is that thing mimicking my child's voice or something!!”
The old man's cracking shout was directed outward, but it felt like it was crushing me. Your child? Why do they have to hear that? We're the weird ones, I'm the demonkin. Why— No.
“Th-that...” All that came from my parched mouth was a deflated whimper. As I squirmed in my bonds, I toppled sideways. My head hit the ground. My cheek pressed into the sandy dirt. The alien, creepy sensation of my horn scraping the floor.
Even so, my eyes stayed fixed on the people at the door. But the old man ignored me completely. He drew a deep breath into his gaunt frame.
“If you've got a mouth, then speak up instead of keeping it shut!! You filthy beast—”
“...Fuck, old man, that mouth of yours is really something when you hear yourself.”
A raspy voice cut him off.
“As if you'd know shit. That thing's not dangerous? You gone senile? You didn't listen to a word Leona said earlier and just kept bitching.”
The old man turned his body with effort. A black-haired girl stood there, arms crossed. Her eyes looked up at him, but there was no respect or courtesy in them.
“In this shithole village, you think being village chief makes your head all stiff? Then what are us young brats supposed to do? Yeah, looking at you, I get the picture.”
The village chief's cane trembled.
“Y-you... Y-young... thing...”
“What, hit me? Go on, fucker. Let's see if you've got the balls.”
I held my breath without realizing it, watching. The old man was skinny, but his build was still bigger than the girl's. The arm gripping the cane slowly rose.
“She's our party's mage, village chief.”
A golden short-haired woman spoke. The old man's arm froze.
“Not that it would happen, but if you lay a hand on a party member, as leader of the hero party, I shall not stand idly by.”
Her words were measured. Her voice was so soft compared to anything I'd heard from her before. The arm, rigid in midair, moved again— not upward, but slumping downward.
The old man spoke slowly, in a feeble voice. His gaze drifted vaguely to the floor.
“...This old fool misspoke.”
“Apologize.”
The black-haired girl— the mage, if I recalled the hero's words— said it. The village chief's head turned.
“Not gonna? At your age, you never learned how?”
The chief's white-bearded mouth twitched. The mage stood with arms crossed and one leg cocked.
“Takes you long enough. Senile, or just deaf in your old ears?”
“S-sorry. Mage-nim. This old fool... dared to missppeak...”
But the mage pointed toward the outside with her finger.
“...Eh?”
“To those people. Village chief or whatever, apologies to me are worthless. Say it to the ones you were yapping about kids and shit to, gramps.”
The chief stammered even more than before. At his fumbling, the mage sneered.
“I don't say things twice. Lucilla, you can revoke all the holy power, right?”
The mage elbowed a woman who'd been silent till now. Taller than the mage, dressed in stuffy robes, with long brown hair. Holy power? What the hell kind of world is this?
Before the woman could speak, the chief was faster.
“...S-sorry. I... I said things I shouldn't. S-sorry.”
Only then did the mage smile. She approached me with light steps.
“Leona. We should get going too. Yeah? This thing reeks.”
“...Prepare to depart. It shan't take long.”
“Y-you're leaving?”
The old man stammered at their conversation.
“You really senile, gramps? You think we're gonna hole up in this backwater? Think we wander around for fun?”
The mage squatted in front of me. Lying face-down like this, my gaze naturally looked up at her. She extended one arm. Her wrist was pale and slender.
“Eww, fuck!”
She wasn't helping me up. She grimaced and waved her hand in front of her face.
“So much fucking meat on you. Worse than most demonkin? Why's your sweat smell so goddamn rank?”
I was sweaty, sure, but the smell? No clue. I just stared blankly, no words to say. The mage wrinkled her nose even more and moved her hand. I thought she was fanning, but no. Flicking her fingers playfully, a sparkling light appeared in the air and vanished.
“Wha...”
Even in this state, I couldn't help but gasp in awe. No incantation or anything.
“There, better. All succubi like this?”
She didn't seem to expect an answer, and I had none anyway, so I stayed quiet. Better how? I was still tied up and face-down. Hard to smell yourself, they say— what the hell did this body smell like? Did she cast some smell-removal spell? Leaving the sweat but erasing the odor...? Huh? My skin didn't feel sticky anymore. The ropes still hurt, but the itchy, clammy sensation was gone. My throat wasn't dry either.
“Um, if you're leaving... what about me, the demonkin...”
I started to ask how she did it, but swallowed it when she scowled fiercely. She stood from her squat, snapping at me.
“Quit your whining. Age before beauty or some shit? What, want us to leave you?”
As the mage approached, the old man backed away preemptively.
“Leona! You drag that blubbery lump out. I'll check if we left anything.”
The mage left without looking back. One followed, then the others trickled out. Left were the village chief and the hero. The hero stood silently. The chief fidgeted, glancing at me. His wrinkled eyes still held no kindness— fear and disgust mixed. He avoided my gaze, peeking sideways. Maybe from all the yelling from the mage, his mumbling mouth finally whispered softly.
“...Please. Take it away. Please, hero-sama.”
How much did he hate it to emphasize like that? The hero nodded slightly.
“I intended as much, village chief.”
Was being taken good or bad? I couldn't tell. The hero party that drew swords, aimed guns, called me demonkin. The villagers who wouldn't give water to a demonkin, just peeked from afar. Thinking about it... both seemed...
Amid my despairing thoughts, the mage popped up. My sweaty body had felt refreshingly clean, if only for a moment. I didn't have a choice anyway. That thought oddly eased my mind. A little. My bonds still hurt, but just a bit. Better to know who's who. I silently pronounced the name the mage had called. First, the hero... Leona.
The hero party left as suddenly as they'd come. The villagers were sorry to see them go, but they understood. They'd brought unprecedented energy to the village, but even precious guests couldn't stay in such a hovel forever. The hero party was too noble; their village too shabby. Regretting it was a luxury anyway. The world was still at war, they said. Even if the hero party crushed an army, the crisis sparked by the word “war” didn't fade easily. Plus, the “purple-skinned demonkin” everyone gawked at was enough to heighten their vigilance. Form a militia, request protection from the nearby fortress. For such a rundown village, there was a lot of talk.
That wasn't the hero party's concern, and it was for later. For now, they saw off the departing party. More send-off than farewell— a crowd gathered at the village edge, that was it. Even the village chief, who could spin pretty words, kept his mouth shut. Rumors spread fast in that tiny village. No one stepped up past the chief with flowery speeches. A few offered dried grains or fruit, saying take it. They had little to spare, but it was minimal thanks to the saintess and mage. The saintess declined, but the hero accepted after repeated refusals would be rude. The kids yelled immature goodbyes and come-agains. The mage ignored them, but the saintess and hero waved. Thus, the villagers watched the hero party recede into the distance. They watched a long time, since the pace was slow. The hero party hadn't come on horses. So they moved slowly. But at the very end was the “new companion”— absolutely not part of the hero party, the purple-skinned demonkin. Even without sharp eyes, you could tell her steps were strangely sluggish. And with keen ears, you could hear the demonkin's weird, lewd groans.
“Ah, ahh, my feet, so, ouch, eek! Hiiyaah……”