Human Bodies Are So Weak
I froze. What did she mean by that? What was she planning to do? Right. Charlene was a Grim Reaper. Was she seriously thinking about killing all of them?
Charlene rose to her feet with careful movements and scanned the room. She tilted her head slightly, then spoke in a voice as cold as ice.
Huh? No way. I decided I couldn’t just stand by and quickly grabbed her arm, whispering urgently.
“Charlene. You’re not seriously planning to kill all of them, are you?”
“No. Of course not. If I killed humans whenever I felt like it, that old man Hades would scold me.”
“T-then…?”
“Master. Don’t worry. I won’t kill them.”
She wasn’t going to kill them?
WHAM!!
The sickening sound of flesh being struck rang out as Hans flew through the air and slammed into the wall with a heavy thud.
“Hii… hiiiik… s-somebody help me!”
Hans scrambled to his feet and bolted for the door, fleeing for his life. His lackeys, now covered in blood, did the exact same thing—stumbling over each other in their desperate escape.
Charlene spun her massive scythe skillfully with one hand before reaching out. With a soft pop, the weapon vanished into thin air.
I stood there frozen solid, unable to move a muscle. W-what the hell was that?
I hadn’t even been able to follow Charlene’s movements. She had moved like a flash of light, instantly beating Hans and his gang into submission. I thought I’d heard her take a step, but everything after that had been a blur.
W-well, she did say she was a Grim Reaper. But wait. Wasn’t she currently using a human body?
“C-Charlene. What are you? You said you’re human right now, didn’t you?”
“Hm? That’s right, Master. I’m currently inhabiting a human body.”
“Then what was that movement just now? How is that possible for a human?”
“Because the core of me is still a Grim Reaper. I’m simply using a human body to wield a Grim Reaper’s power. That doesn’t mean there are no limits, though. I can probably only use about half the magical power I had during my active duty days. Why are human bodies so weak? It’s annoying.”
H-half? Just how strong were the Grim Reapers of the Divine Realm?
I thought about it carefully. That’s right. The Divine Realm was the highest of the Three Realms. It was the world that controlled and oversaw both the Demon Realm and the Human Realm. Even its ordinary inhabitants would be absurdly powerful.
I let out a long breath. Maybe I really should stay on Charlene’s good side.
While I was busy overthinking everything, Charlene stared straight into my eyes and gently cupped my cheeks with both hands.
Huh? W-what was this sudden skinship?
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Master. You’re the human who pulled me out of that ice, after all.”
Had she read my mind? Charlene left me standing there stunned, picked up a rag, and spoke in her usual tone.
“Let’s get ready to open for business, Kailon Master.”
It was almost time to end the break. I clicked my tongue. Yeah. Maybe meeting Charlene had been a stroke of good luck after all.
But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a little worried. Why had I pulled her out of that ice in the first place? Pity? Altruism? Looking back, it had been pure impulse. If she had frozen to death, I’d at least wanted to give her body a proper burial…
Could this world end up getting destroyed because of Charlene?
Hmm. I’d have to keep a close eye on her from now on.
That night.
Hoo… What an exhausting day.
I sank into the wooden bathtub I had carved myself, letting the day’s fatigue melt away. It wasn’t a fancy marble tub like the nobles used, but this was more than enough for me.
Just as I was soaking in my personal bath, enjoying the peace—
Creak.
The door suddenly swung open and someone stepped inside.
Huh? The sudden intrusion left me momentarily speechless.
Charlene stood there with nothing but a thin white towel wrapped precariously around her body. She spoke with surprising boldness.
“Oh. Master. You were here first.”
W-w-w-what?!
I frantically grabbed a towel and covered my most important parts.
“C-C-C-Charlene! What are you doing?! I’m bathing right now!”
My face burned bright red as I shouted, but Charlene didn’t respond. She simply walked over to the bath chair on the other side, sat down, and scooped hot water from the bucket to pour over her head.
Whoa. The sight of Charlene from behind, completely naked…
Huh? But her body…?
I could see faint, firm abs on her lower belly. What? Did she work out separately?
“Charlene. Do you exercise? What’s with those abs on your stomach?”
“Hm? These? My body just ends up like this on its own.”
“What?”
“It’s strengthening itself automatically to handle the magical power inside me. A human body has a hard time enduring my power, after all.”
“Aren’t you going to die like that?”
“Die from what, Master?”
“You just said a human body can’t handle a Grim Reaper’s power, didn’t you?”
In response to my question, Charlene poured another scoop of hot water over herself. A brief silence fell—serious, yet somehow not entirely serious. After feeling the droplets fall for a moment, she finally spoke again.
“It’ll work out somehow. That old man Hades wouldn’t have stuffed me into a human body without thinking it through.”
…She was way too optimistic. Seriously.
Anyway, I needed to get out of here fast. Charlene’s chest was surprisingly large, too. Ugh.
If I ever tried to make a move on her, I’d probably taste hell itself.
Just as I was about to stand up from the wooden tub—
“Master. You have to pay back borrowed money.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t you borrow money from that loan shark named Hans earlier? I used my strength to chase him off, but you did borrow money from him, right?”
“Y-yeah, I know that much.”
“You should work hard and repay what you borrowed. If you die without paying it back, that becomes a sin too, and you could end up in hell.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I’m a Grim Reaper?”
Still seated on the chair, Charlene glanced back at me as she said it. Her hips were quite… voluptuous. Whoops. There I went thinking inappropriate thoughts again.
I hurriedly scrambled out of the narrow bathroom. Charlene was right. I did need to repay the principal I’d borrowed. The ridiculous interest was another story…
Looked like I’d have to work hard at the shop again starting tomorrow. Ahem.
The next day.
Thankfully, Charlene didn’t go outside to solicit customers this time, so we weren’t swarmed by a huge crowd. Still, word had spread that a beautiful maid worked at our shop, and customers started coming in on their own more often.
Heh. Nice. This was the perfect number of customers. Not too many, not too few.
I brewed tea and baked snacks while Charlene diligently carried out the ordered items. Hmm. Maybe I should learn how to bake cakes and expand the menu? Charlene probably knew how to make them too…
Ah, no. If I learned cooking from that wicked Grim Reaper again, who knew what kind of verbal abuse I’d have to endure. Ahem.
Thinking like that while working in the kitchen made the time fly by.
By the afternoon, the flow of customers had slowed for a bit. With some free time on my hands, I came out of the kitchen, wiped the windows, and mopped the floor with a long-handled mop.
Meanwhile, Charlene was in the kitchen humming a tune while doing the dishes. From the way she looked from behind, it seemed like she genuinely enjoyed working as a maid. Was it because the body she was using originally belonged to Olivia, an elite maid?
I shook the thought away and continued mopping the floor, casually eavesdropping on the customers’ conversations.
Over there, two large, heavily bearded men were quietly talking over their tea.
“I heard Sephirot has appeared near the Veloska Mountains.”
“Sephirot? What’s that guy doing there?”
“There’s only one reason he’d show up in the Veloska Mountains. That’s where the Demon King Apocryon is sealed.”
Hmm… This sounded like a serious conversation. Who were these guys? Knights? Heroes? Either way, I wanted to hear more.
“Sephirot is a major wanted criminal with a bounty easily exceeding one billion gold. Catching him would change your life overnight.”
“Sephirot is a Special-A rank fugitive. I doubt we could take him with our skills. But do you really think he’s trying to release Apocryon into this world? Why?”
“Do villains ever need a reason to destroy the world?”
A heavy silence fell for a moment.
Aha. So this villain named Sephirot was trying to unleash the Demon King Apocryon upon the world. Given the current state of the empire, if a Demon King appeared, it would probably be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Hmm. Damn it. I’d only just gotten the teahouse running smoothly…
Somehow, while eavesdropping on customers’ conversations like this in the teahouse, I often ended up learning about events happening in the outside world. This particular matter seemed pretty serious, though.
The two men who had been talking looked like bounty hunters. Alright. I’d better ask Charlene for her opinion first.
I picked up the mop and headed to the kitchen where Charlene was washing dishes.
“Charlene. Do you know who Apocryon is?”
“Apocryon, you say?”
As expected, she used polite speech with me while working.
“Wouldn’t he be the Demon King of the Demon Realm? Why do you ask?”
Oh. So she did know.
“What do you think would happen if Apocryon appeared in the Human Realm right now?”
At my question, Charlene set aside the plate she had just rinsed, let out a long sigh, and paused for a moment before answering.
“A Demon King from the Demon Realm appearing in the Human Realm is an abnormal phenomenon. The Human Realm would become distorted, wouldn’t it?”
“Distorted how?”
“It means the destruction of the Human Realm. Is there even a mage in the current Human Realm capable of handling Apocryon?”
As I thought… Damn. So that was how it was.
Wait. Hold on. That’s right. We had Charlene.
I asked quickly, “Charlene. If Apocryon really appeared in the Human Realm, do you think you could beat him?”
Charlene pulled her hands out of the cold water, shook them off, dried them with a towel, and answered.
“I’d have to fight him to know for sure… but with this human body, I think I would lose.”
What?