Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Imps and the Time of Trials #4
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Even Marmar, who had a generous heart, had no intention of simply forgiving the imps who had deceived and tormented her.
“You lot fix the rooms and furniture...! If you don’t, I’ll kick you out...!”
With nothing more to gain from the imps, Marmar naturally assumed the superior position. The imps, who could be thrown out onto the streets at any moment, could only be grateful for her treatment.
“Now, Tartar will diligently clean the floors...! And Purpur will do the dishes, while Gargarr...”
“Heehee...!”
The star-tailed little devil imp Tartar watched her comrade Gargarr chase after Bandi this way and that. Then, with a small sigh, she shook her head.
“It’s best not to give Gargarr any tasks...”
“Then get to cleaning!”
Marmar ordered the imps who had deceived and exploited her for days. The imps hesitated, glancing at each other, before slowly starting to clean up the mess they had made.
Marmar nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
“Good. Everything’s getting back to normal.”
“Marmar, you sure you’re okay with this? These guys tormented you. Wouldn’t it be better to report them to Ark for punishment or kick them out?”
I asked Marmar if she was really fine with such a light punishment for the imps. But she shook her head.
“No need to go that far. Among imps, it’s the one who gets tricked that’s at fault.”
The one who gets tricked is at fault.
How ruthless.
Truly the Demon King’s creations.
Thinking of the Demon King made me glance at the imp Gargarr, who had received a baptism under the Demon King’s subordinate.
“Garr...”
She seemed almost like a beast. No trace of intellect—just moving on pure instinct, that’s the vibe she gave.
“Has she always been like this?”
I asked the imps, who were busily cleaning. The armband-wearing imp Tartar nodded.
“She’s had a troubled mind ever since escaping the facility...!”
“I see. By the way, what’s this ‘facility’ you keep mentioning?”
The imps had said they escaped from a place called the ‘facility.’ They wandered like wild animals with nothing to their name until they found work and came to Arc.
Even in Arc, they barely ate, rummaging through trash for scraps and scrap metal to sell.
And yet, they tried to exploit Marmar, who had shown them kindness. It was shady, but you could call it strong survival instincts and vitality. In that way, they resembled Marmar.
Thud, clank, thud.
As Tartar hammered away at the broken wardrobe, she explained.
“The facility was a deeply imp-hating place...! The magical beasts imprisoned there had their freedom stripped and were exploited for labor...!”
According to Tartar, there was some institution called the ‘facility’ somewhere near Arc. They locked up magical beasts there and subjected them to all sorts of abuse.
“They’d make us dig the ground until evening, then fill it back in the next day...! Meaningless labor—it was utterly humiliating and horrific...!”
Literal make-work digging.
I recalled hearing that prisoners of war were sometimes made to do that in wars to exhaust their bodies and break their spirits. It was apparently quite effective.
“Heehee, full speed ahead...!”
Scratch, scratch.
I could sort of understand why the deranged imp Gargarr kept digging at the ground. She was mechanically repeating the facility’s digging tasks.
“So why were you locked up in the facility?”
I grew curious about the facility’s purpose. Why had they imprisoned imps and other magical beasts?
Tartar said,
“The facility’s cruel wardens called horned imps like us persons of interest...”
Horns.
“Come to think of it, you all have horns. Marmar doesn’t. What’s the difference?”
“Horns are symbols of misdeeds...! They grow little by little like medals with every bad act...!”
I see.
Like Pinocchio’s nose growing with every lie?
To imps who saw horns as badges of honor, the hornless imp Marmar must have seemed easy pickings.
I touched my forehead just in case. It was smooth, no horns in sight.
Then, the blue-haired, round-tailed imp Purpur chimed in.
“All we had were our chains.... So when that incident happened, we all escaped together...!”
Purpur explained an incident at the facility about two months ago.
On a day like any other, being exploited for labor. Someone raided the facility, killed a bunch of people, and hunted the imprisoned magical beasts.
In the ensuing chaos, sisters Tartar and Purpur made their escape, picking up Gargarr as a comrade along the way.
From the description, the raider sounded like the protagonist’s party.
Come to think of it, in the original story’s second part, there was a mad scientist experimenting on magical beasts. Had that episode played out?
It seemed the protagonist’s party was faithfully following the original route.
Like a train running on fixed rails, never missing their tasks.
* * *
With everyone pitching in, the devastated garden and flowerbeds were soon restored to a decent state.
No pretty flowers or lettuce, of course, but Marmar stayed positive: “We can just plant more.”
Despite the twists and turns, it had worked out for Marmar—she’d gained extra hands. Together, they could handle anything from here on.
Still, some unease lingered, so I decided to scare the resting imps in the corner.
“I’ll be checking in often from now on. If you get any funny ideas and pull more stunts, I’ll rip your tails off.”
“Hieeek...!”
The imps trembled at my threat. Marmar remarked in wonder.
“I’ve never seen imps obey anyone like this. Must be the dignity of a comrade!”
“Yeah?”
“Imps are rebellious by nature—they don’t bow to just anyone!”
“I see.”
Maybe it was because I carried the Demon King’s bloodline. I briefly imagined revealing, “I’m the Demon King’s grandson,” to them.
But I quickly shook my head. They’d probably go wild, spreading rumors everywhere and strutting around.
My identity would be exposed to all, and I’d be uprooted and killed before my flowers could bloom.
“Hmm.”
So how should I make use of these imps?
Soon, thoughts of the baptism rite that high-ranking Demon King army officers or the Demon King himself performed on imps resurfaced.
And Gargarr had experienced it firsthand.
Though the sole witness, Gargarr, was quite unhinged, making normal conversation impossible.
Still, on a whim, I asked Gargarr, who was frolicking in the flowerbed.
“Gargarr, do you know anything about the baptism rite?”
I’d asked once before with no reply. Maybe this time.
“......”
Gargarr stopped playing and stared at my face. The star-tailed, armband-wearing imp Tartar marveled.
“I’ve never seen Gargarr listen before...! She always just growled or spat negative words...!”
According to them, Gargarr even paying attention to human speech was miraculous.
Having lost her reason and become a creature of instinct, maybe she instinctively sensed my true nature.
The problem was she listened but didn’t respond. What was this honey-colored imp thinking?
Her inscrutable mystery reminded me of Aira.
“......”
As Gargarr stayed silent for a long while and I began stroking my chin, thinking it futile—
“Trial...!”
She raised her dirt-covered hands high above her head.
“Trial...!”
She repeated the word. Sensing she had more to say, I guessed based on it.
“You mean undergoing a trial?”
“Success...! Evolution...!”
“Success leads to evolution?”
“Comrade, how are you even talking to her? I can’t understand a thing.”
Marmar stared at me conversing with the mad imp like I was some marvel. Truth be told, I was puzzled too.
It was just a hunch-based exchange, like this. Maybe some subtle rapport as fellow half-fairy and imp?
Hit or miss.
“Baptism...! Blood...!”
My hunch or not, I’d connected with Gargarr and learned that blood was needed for the baptism rite.
The blood of the Demon King or high-ranking Demon King army members evolved imps to the next stage.
Of course, such blood wasn’t for any imp—it was a reward for those who passed a certain ‘trial.’
“Did I get that right?”
“Garr...”
Gargarr promptly rolled in the flowerbed as if denying she’d said anything. Her clothes got filthy with dirt and dust, but she looked thrilled.
Watching her, landlady Marmar furrowed her brow.
“You really had a conversation?”
“Dunno. But if so, it seems the Demon King rewarded imps who passed trials.”
“Then if His Majesty the Demon King returns someday, could I get a reward too?”
Marmar wondered if she could receive one from the Demon King. But the imps, having finished cleaning, shook their heads coldly.
“A hornless imp might not qualify...!”
At that, Marmar touched her forehead.
“Why don’t I have horns? I wish I did!”
I imagined horns sprouting on Marmar’s forehead. Honestly, it wouldn’t suit her.
“Marmar, you’re doing great without horns, so I’m sure you’ll get a reward.”
“Really?”
I wanted to give hardworking Marmar a reward.
If high-ranking Demon King blood empowered imps, couldn’t mine?
The issue was how to get her to consume it. Asking out of the blue, “Wanna drink my blood?” would earn me weird looks.
Was there a natural way?
That worry was unexpectedly resolved by an unlikely source.
“Garr...!”
Gargarr suddenly went berserk with a hoe, giving my finger a shallow cut.
“Comrade...! You’re bleeding...! Must’ve nicked it on the hoe...!”
“Ah.”