Ultimate Antihero:Volume 2 Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Part 1

An envoy from demon world.

The visit of Elfiena that introduced herself as the queen of fairy race.

That notice immediately reached Japan government that managed the Tokyo life sphere with a shock wave along it like lightning.

The prime minister Kinugasa Yoshinori who had continued to haul this dying country all this time since the <Walpurgis Night>, immediately put a gag order in regard to this situation, and then through Onjouji Kai he gave the instruction to the 101st trainee platoon so that they led Elfiena to New Tokyo Sorcery Academy without coming in contact with anyone.

And then, not even a hour since that, Kinugasa himself rushed to the New Tokyo Sorcery Academy.

The one who welcomed Kinugasa who jumped out from his official vehicle as if he was abandoning a crashed vehicle, was two people, Onjouji Kai and Kamishiro Homura.

“What a panicked arrival. It makes your tailored suit messed up y’know.”

“Ha, haha, I’m really in panic here. …After all this is not an evil god, but for a demon of all thing to come proposing political negotiation, this is the first time in the world.”

It was something that was truly misunderstood throughout the world, but evil god and demon was different from each other.

Both of their ominous appearance that surpassed human’s understanding had many points in common, but if the existence of evil god was described in Japanese language, the most appropriate word was [space alien].

They had lived in this world long before human, the existence that was ruling over this plane, even though their existence itself was not of earth, most of them had their origin from any of the end of galaxy.

Therefore, no matter how ominous they were, but till the end they were still an existence of this world.

However, the demon was different.

They were invader that came passing through dimension from an adjoined alternate dimension called the demon world, their origin was not of this world.

In other words they saw this world as nothing more than an object to be devoured greedily.

―The gap between demon and evil god existed in this point.

A century ago, <The Crawling Chaos> that introduced itself as <Man of Darkness> came into contact with the representative of mankind who was ruined by Baphomet, the magician Aleister Crowley, his reason of handing over <Liber Legis> also mostly originated from this.

For them too who were glorified as [god] that reigned over this territory as ancient ruler, the present condition where outsider stepped into their world as they pleased and then acted like they owned the place was unpleasant.

Correct. ..For the evil gods, in actuality they had the warped reason that [the only one who could make sport of mankind was just them], but even so although imperfect they had a reason to cooperate with mankind.

However, ―demon had no such reason.

Such reason supposedly didn’t exist.

But in this occasion, for the first time in human history, a demon of demon world attempted to make contact politically.

In Kinugasa’s heart who had to deal with this situation as a country’s representative, he was filled with shock and impatience, there was also confusion in him.

Truthfully, he didn’t understand at all how he should treat the other party.

It seemed that the other side said they wanted to form an alliance, but was that the truth?

In the first place, was the introduction as the queen of [Fairy race] even true?

―Rather, wasn’t it better to just kill her immediately right now…

Even with many thought crossing his mind, but because this was something without precedent, he was unable to decide which was the best way.

(Sheesh, thinking too much is your bad habit, Kinugasa Yoshinori.)

Kinugasa scolded his brain from thinking all over the place.

Trying to solve something that had no precedent before using one’s own experience itself was a mistake in the first place.

(First her title as the queen of [Fairy race], I guess that’s not fake. If that’s not true, then her coming to human world will only become a stupid meaningless action that just asked to be killed.)

As expected no one would do something that stupid.

Then if she was really a queen, putting aside everything that could possibly happen, he first had to meet her so that they could start somewhere.

After coming to that clean decision, Kinugasa asked Onjouji.

“…So, where is the demon that introduced herself as fairy race queen right now?”

“It seemed that before she crossed over to the human world from demon world, she was swallowed by a kraken and got trapped inside its stomach all along. She said that she wanted to rearrange her attire before the negotiation, so I lent her the bath of the academy. Because of that we need some time before the meeting.”

“Tha, that’s truly…..”

Truly like a human, was what Kinugasa honestly said.

He didn’t even think that demon had the culture of bathing.

Further to want to arrange her personal appearance before negotiation meant―

(By any chance, perhaps this is someone that unexpectedly can be talked to…?)

Kinugasa harbored such expectation inside his heart from this unthinkable common point with human, but right at that moment.

The door at the back of the official car that Kinugasa rode was,

“Hah! Just a vulgar demon trying to put her clothes in order you said?”

Along with a hoarse jeer, the door opened with a force as if it was kicked open.

And then a man with a large body like a bear came out from the door of the official car that was kicked open.

The man was wearing white suits adorned by golden buttons all over it, making it seemed like he was shining.

The large man with muscle mass that could be perceived even with his body covered with thick suit was―

“It’s extremely overstepping itself for a monster to act like human. Drag her naked right now and throw her into cage. That’s what is fitting for a demon.”

The secretary general of China Republic Union・Wan Tairon.

In essence, the man was one of the pillars of <Five Great Leaders> that ruled over the present world, he was also one of the S-rank magicians where only ten existed in the whole world.

And then there was one more person following after that giant body, his figure appeared from inside the official car.

“Haha, well isn’t that fine, secretary general Wan.”

A medium built that was wering a deep blue suits.

It was a dandy with his vibrant blond hair, and his white teeth that sparkled even more than his hair as his characteristic.

“The demon’s appearance is really painful to look at even at the best of time. Our eyes will rot if we don’t at least let it rearrange its attire.”

He was the president of the large country United States of America that once reigned over in the position that could essentially even be called as the supreme ruler on the earth, Joseph Franklin.

Homura bluntly made an unpleasant expression from seeing the figure of the two.

“Hey prime minister. You bring over some really troublesome bunch ain’t you.”

Kinugasa too was in a position that really could understand that grievance of Homura.

Doing something like a diplomacy with demon, just from that it would become a fat that could worsen the position of Japan.

Kinugasa himself wanted to keep this a secret from them and took care of it behind closed door.

However, the timing was too bad.

“When I received the notice, the timing was just when we were having the regulation conference about the <One Year Plan>.”

This was just a bad luck. It couldn’t be avoided in any way.

Especially when the other party was the <Five Great Leader>, there was no way that he could take leave from his seat to accept the notice.

They had the conceit that they were exactly the order of this new world.

And in regard to that order, there was no way they would tolerate anything to be hidden from them.

“…Besides Homura-san and the other member of 101st trainee platoon coming into contact with an existence of humanoid that seemed to be a demon had been caught by the satellite of some country so…. There is no way to hide this.”

“Ah…. Now that you mention that, that’s right huh.”

Homura’s expression turned into late realization from the rebuttal that Kinugasa whispered into his ear.

He forgot that he was constantly put under satellite monitoring.

“That’s depressing. Maybe I should just shot all of them down by pretending about some kind of incident soon.”

“Pl, please be gentle about it if you can…-“

When Kinugasa’s expression paled for real from that joke of Homura,

“Oy you there. What are you bastards mumbling at each other over there? Aa?”

A harsh and rude voice cut in their conversation.

It was Wan Tairon.

Tairon grasped the shoulder of both of them unreservedly before separating them and entered between the two.

And then he held up the collar of Homura―

“By any chance you bastards, are you thinkin’ of doing something. Aa?”

After hanging up Homura’s body with one hand, he brought his face closer while baring his eyes threateningly.

That rudeness was just like a hooligan.

But, ―the coercion that resided in his eye gleam was in different magnitude compared to a mere hoodlum.

Inside the yellowing, stagnating, murky eyes.

The dull light shining slipperily there was―[madness].

Seventeen years ago, he was a dictator that made rain of blood all over the continent under the name of revolution in order to solidify his own ruling body even more. Because he was a man that killed a lot of human in number that couldn’t even be compared with the average demon, he was able to emit this coercing pressure that could even surpass bladed tool in reality.

That eye’s power could even made quiet most people.

It was not something that should be able to be praised, but this man was unmistakably possessing a dominating aura of a [supreme ruler that had reached the extreme].

But even that dominating aura was,

“It’s not like we’re thinking of anything like that y’know.”

In front of Kamishiro Homura it became nothing more than a paper tiger.

Homura was not moved for even a bit against Tairon’s eye gleam.

“Rather don’t get your mug close to me. Your breath stink, geezer.”

He lightly brushed off the thick arm that was like a log constricting his collar.

This casual treatment made Tairon’s voice shook.

“You bastard, it ain’t the place of a chained dog to put on air here. …The other day that senile gramps Innocentius swallowed your bluff whole and released <Aureole>, but I ain’t got tricked here. Thinking of it calmly that’s just something impossible. Just the magic power of a human surpassing the magic power of this star, that’s bullshit.”

“Ain’t that right. Though I think I remember someone that got ready to piss himself from that. That yellow eye looked like it was gonna popped out you know. Looked really cute at you. Can you imagine your face at that time eh.”

“……-!”

Homura’s ridiculing and laughing gaze made a vein protruded out throbbingly at Tairon’s forehead.

“This big mouthed shitty brat…. Then let’s just try talkin’ again after I cut open you bastard’s neck right here!”

Tairon’s temperament raised in proportion with the loudness of his voice.

But in inverse proportion with that, Homura’s tone was lowered down in an amazed voice.

“Even though I just crushed more than half of your country’s army you are already starting something like this again, what a fanatic geezer huh. Just stop it. You are gonna lose anyway, this is just pointless waste of life whether for you geezer or for me, most of all the air of you geezer are gonna be pitiful in front of your underling like this.”

“Youuu….-“

Tairon grinded his teeth in frustration.

But even so he didn’t go as far as grabbing his hand at Homura.

No, he couldn’t do anything like that.

One couldn’t become a king of a country with just violence.

Laying out trickery with the cunning like a fox was also this man’s nature.

That was why although he put on air, he wouldn’t brave risk.

Homura too understood that, so he was merciless at Tairon.

Like that, Joseph who couldn’t just watch at the two who were being like that made a deep sigh.

“A fine adult won’t get provoked by a kid’s talk. Please calm down Wan-kun. We are not coming here in order to have this kind of quarrel. We are the representative of <United World Government>, therefore as the consensus of mankind, we come here in order to face the new threat.”

“…Chih. I got that even without you tellin’ me.”

Tairon said that reluctantly while drawing back his threatening attitude.

However surely inside his heart he was actually relieved.

With his character, it was hard for him to draw back the threat that he let out himself.

He acted violent. That was because he understood how to personify his own dominating aura.

That was why, he was waiting for third person’s interference as a chance to withdraw his threat.

…Really, what a small man that was too cunning.

After Homura glared at Tairon being fed up from the bottom of his heart, he looked at Joseph behind and said.

“Oi you geezers. I’m gonna be present at the discussion too.”

Both of them opened their eyes wide in surprise from that sentence.

“Aaaa!? You bastard, what are you sayin’?”

“There is no need for that right? Haven’t you heard yourself from the demon that introduced itself as fairy that its business is to [form a friendly alliance with mankind], that’s the report that Kinugasa-kun received isn’t it? Then for you who have no connection at all with [mankind] to be present is unnecessary―”

“Shut up.”

But Homura forcibly cut down the objection of the two with a sharp voice.

“ “-……!” “

“This is my decision that I decided myself. You two got no right saying this and that about it.”

From the start he was not looking for permission or anything.

Homura was just telling them straight his decision, to that the two grinded their teeth in frustration.

These men who were standing at the top of their country were at their wit’s end.

And then Homura didn’t even pay attention at them anymore.

He walked ahead by himself,

“Then, gentlemen, follow me. I’ve opened the board chairman room as the place for the conference.”

After that, Onjouji’s voice called out to the three visitors.

And then like that the three people were showed into the school from the guest gate,

“Aah, dirty shoe is strictly prohibited. There are slippers for the use of guest over there, so please change into that.”

Before Tairon and Joseph who were going to enter still wearing their shoes got warned.

Part 2

A little before the arrival of Kinugasa and others.

Both Sumika and Chikori moved through the school in a stealthy way and guided Elfiena to the public bath in the female dormitory that had been reserved by Onjouji’s request.

“This is the public bath that we are always using you know~”

With a rattling sound, Chikri opened the door noisily and then she pulled Elfiena’s hand to enter into the bath.

The public bath of New Tokyo Sorcery Academy was designed in the style that matched the appearance of the academy that looked like an old western castle, its size was vast enough for students of two classes to use at the same time.

“My, how lovely! This is the first time I see a hot spring this big!”

“Is that so? Right now it’s being reserved, but usually there are several dozen people using it at once so it feels cramped though―”

Chikori started to run in pitter patter while saying that, then she took hold one of the shower that was lined up beside the mirror.

Then she twisted the shower knob as much as she could and hot water burst out nicely on her head.

“Aah―. My body is sticky all over from the sea water so this feels good~♪”

“Hot water come out from that kind of place…”

Elfiena blinked her green eyes looking at that happening while murmuring in wonderment.

(I wonder if there is no shower in the demon world by any chance?)

It was not something impossible.

It was hard to imagine the demon bunch to build scientific culture that was similar with human.

Sumika who was standing beside Elfiena thought so,

“E, err…”

As if to support her thinking, Elfiena was beginning to get nervous in front of the shower.

It seemed that she understood that hot water would come out from the shower head from looking at Chikori’s action, so she was following what Chikori did, yet from there she didn’t know what to do next.

Elfiena shook around the shower head left and right, then she took a peek inside it while in the end she tilted her head with a confused expression wondering of the puzzle.

“…If you twist that knob, water will come out.”

Sumika who couldn’t bear to watch, sit in front of the mirror beside Elfiena while pointing out, then

“Ah, thank you very much for your kindness. …Kyawa-!?”

Elfiena said her gratitude while turning the shower knob fully open with all her strength.

Naturally, powerful water stream mercilessly burst out from the shower head.

And then that water hit Elfiena’s face directly.

The girl screamed strangely from great shock while falling back face up.

Stark naked.

Looking at that figure that was too unladylike even from the view point of the same sex, Sumika unintentionally let out a wry smile.

“A, are you okay?”

“I…I’m fine. I just fell over from a little surprise. I, I show you something embarrassing.”

She really looked like she was embarrassed.

Elfiena’s whole face turned bright red even until the tips of her pointed ears, while the wings on her back were busily flapping repeatedly.

But it seemed that she somehow grasped the way to use the shower from that painful expression, she began to properly adjusting the water amount by opening and closing the knob.

“So it’s no good to turn it over too much. Somehow I understand it. …But even so, to not needing to scoop up hot water frequently, the world of human is really convenient isn’t it-“

“…, …yes. Well.”

The smiling face of Elfiena that looked innocent was turned at Sumika.

On the other hand, Sumika reflexively averted her gaze to the side.

―In reality, Sumika was harboring a strong alertness toward Elfiena.

After all, although her appearance was really looked like human than demon to this degree, the girl was still the same demon like baphomet or Typhon and Jambure.

She was one of the existences that had inflicted severe harm to human until this much.

She couldn’t let her guard down at a moment notice at all.

No matter how her appearance looked really close like a cute girl, she mustn’t let herself got tricked.

In place of Chikori who wasn’t being alert at all, Sumika had to pay attention of every single thing.

(…Is she do something strange, I’ll quickly stop her breathing.)

That was her duty as an S-rank magician who was the protector of mankind.

While Sumika persuaded herself like that, she began to wash her hair that was a little damaged from the salty wind.

She pushed out shampoo from the shampoo bottle for communal use and made it foamed in her hand.

Then, looking at that,

“Haa, ..................”

“……”

Sumika noticed Elfiena who was looking at her hand with intense concentration.

“E, err. Is something wrong?”

“Ah, forgive me. That, those foamy bubbles completely caught my mind.”

Elfiena pointed at the white foam at her hand made Sumika understood what was this about.

“By any chance there is also no shampoo in demon world?”

“I wonder about that. …In the end I’m nothing more than the head of [Fairy race], so I’m not really that detailed about the culture of other race, but at the very least it doesn’t exist in the culture of us the [Fairy race]. Because of that the meaning is also not really transmitted that well through the [Concept Translation]…”

“[Concept Translation]? What is that?”

“My. Is there nothing like that in the human world?”

“Yes. I’ve never heard of it.”

“What is called [Concept Translation] is a sorcery for the sake of exchanging words with every living being.

There are several thousand of demon race in the demon world, among them there are those whose body construction cannot make some specific pronunciation, there are also those race that in the first place doesn’t even speak, so most races possessed their own characteristic language or method to transmit their thought.

Because of that the majority of races in the demon world differ in the word that they used, in the first place a conversation between race cannot be established, we cannot make a proper communication between each other.

What we make use of to solve this problem is the sorcery called [Concept Translation].

By using this sorcery, our own word will be converted into the concept possessed by the other race and we can have them understand the meaning of what we say, it also can convert the other party’s word into a concept that we know so we can listen to what are they talking about. ―Although, the more powerful a demon become, they seem to think that there is no need to match the inferior race, so there are only few who use this [Concept Translation] though.”

“Aah, so that’s why we can talk normally like this.”

“That’s right. …But, a culture that we of the [Fairy race] doesn’t possess in the first place, things that we don’t know, namely words where the concept to explain cannot be established, the concept to deal with things like that doesn’t exist in our side so it cannot be translated. And so…that, my apologize but, that-, shampoo? Is that what you called this thing? Can I trouble you to teach me what is this thing used for?”

Being asked that, Sumika was lost for a moment of what she should do.

Because it was not Sumika’s intention to become intimate with a demon.

…Especially because Elfiena was really human-like, so she didn’t want to be attached to her.

If that happened then when the time came, ―it would make it harder to kill her.

But―

(Doing a kindness just that much should be fine.)

Rather if she bluntly refused here, she got the feeling that she would hate herself a little.

That was why Sumika couldn’t help herself to answer Elfiena’s request.

“Err, shampoo is a chemical to wash the hair and the skin of scalp.”

“My. So human make use of medicine when they wash their hair then?”

“Yes. Using this will wash away the oil and micro-bacteria. If you push at the top of that pink container, it will let out the shampoo solution from the tube inside, so first please take that with your hand.”

“Like, this?”

Elfiena who did as she was told pushed at the head of the shampoo bottle for the communal use.

Thereupon, milky white liquid spurt out on Elfiena’s small palm that was held under the tube,

“Kyaaa!?”

Elfiena instantly screamed and shook away her hand.

“For, for some reason what came out from the inside in not something foamy but something slimy instead! What came out is something liquid like the gooey droll of orc you know!?”

“Please don’t give such a disgusting example. That is the solution of shampoo. After you take a proper amount on your hand, please try rubbing it between your hands like this. If you do that it will foam up.”

“Uu, I understand.”

The shampoo was compared to a droll of orc.

She seemed to dislike the sensation of the shampoo very much.

But Elfiena still obediently took some shampoo even while being nervous just like Sumika told her, and then she rubbed it between her hands.

Thereupon,

“Wa, wawawa-! Amazing…-!”

Similar like with Sumika, bubbling foam was produced from between her fingers.

The more she rubbed her hand, the bubbles kept coming out one after another.

Just from a handful of drops of shampoo liquid, it created bubbles that overflowed from her hand.

The expression of Elfiena whose eyes turned bright from that sight was truly innocent―

(…Uuu, it’s just making it harder to do it.)

Whether Sumika wanted it or not, her alertness was being shaved.

That was why Sumika tried to not look at Elfiena’s direction.

“Next you only need to wash your head with that foamed hand. Stroke your hair until its end and also massage your scalp sufficiently. And then after finishing washing your hair moderately, please wash away the bubbles with the shower. Do it as properly as possible, because if there are some shampoo that remained in the hair it will damage the hair.”

After giving the detailed instruction of how to wash the hair, Sumika too began to wash her own head.

With a detailed instruction like that, then surely there would be no more need for her to supervise.

But―that thinking was immediately betrayed.

(……Eh?)

Bubbles that were continuing to multiply endlessly in burble were reflected at the corner of her view.

When Sumika turned her gaze wondering what was going on,

“Wh, what are you doing Elfiena-san!?”

There was Elfiena there with her whole body covered in foam instead of just her head.

“Ahahahaha-! This is really fun for some reason! The more I kneads the more bubbles are going burble burble~, it’s so fun~!”

It looked like what made the bubble increased was filled into the bottle, so Elfiena seemed to have squeezed out the shampoo many times over and made more bubbles.

“You push out too much! I told you already that only take proper amount!”

“Uwaa-, …that looks fun―. Yosh, I’ll do that too!”

“Please don’t get provoked Chikori-san!”

Sumika remonstrated Chikori and also washed away the hands that were the source of the infinitely multiplying bubble.

However Elfiena continued to laugh like a child even while she was being washed by hot water,

“Ahaha, forgive me. It’s my first contact with this culture so it feels fun for some reason. The townscape that I saw in the way here is also like this, there were various things there that seemed like fun places. Human world is so interesting.”

Elfiena showed a pure smiling face without any trace of shadow at all.

“…….....................-“

From that…Sumika recognized her own defeat.

She let out a deep sigh in resignation,

“…I’ll wash your hair for you, so please don’t do anything strange anymore. We are going to be late to the important negotiation like this.”

Saying that, Sumika returned a smile where even civility couldn’t be seen from it.

That was the moment Sumika let go of her vigilance toward Elfiena.

Although she was a demon, but for Sumika who had a kind nature, she was unable to continue holding her tension even to the point of assuming [murder] toward someone that showed nothing but good will until this much toward human.

Part 3

“Hafuu~…”

The three that had finished washing their body soaked their body inside the tub lining at each other’s side.

The fatigue had been piling up from watching over the children since the morning.

Sumika and Chikori looked as if they had completely forgotten that there was a demon right beside them and soaked in the hot water with a face without tension.

But more than the two of them, Elfiena that was between those two was completely melting.

In the middle of crossing over from demon world to human world, she met an accident of getting eaten by a kraken that met her completely tired.

Elfiena murmured with an entranced voice from the feeling of the heavy fatigue that had been piling up at her body’s core like a pile of lead melting out.

“…The goodness of hot spring is the same whether in human world or demon world isn’t it?”

“Speaking accurately this is not a hot spring, but if the [Concept Translation] transmitted it like that then that means there is no culture in demon world to heat hot water by yourself and everyone only use hot spring then.”

“I think so. Everyone in the village use the hot spring inside the forest. We the [Fairy race] live alongside trees and flowers, so we never really use fire.”

According to Elfiena’s story, it seemed that these females called as the [Fairy race] usually resided inside tree or flower.

In other words the nature itself was the town of the fairy race, their home.

That was why, these females didn’t really like fire that had the possibility to considerably damage their home.

What a really fancy story.

―However, when Chikori heard about the hot spring of the demon world, she thought of an unpleasant imagination.

“…By any chance, is it a hot spring of blood?”

Sumika herself didn’t said it loud, but the image depicted in her head was also similar.

After all for human, the demon was merely terrifying invader that attacked human earnestly, that made their image of the demon world from where the demon crept out was the hell itself.

However, here Elfiena shook her head left and right in overly big motion in denial.

“We, we would never soak ourselves in something so terrifying. It’s just a normal hot spring where underground water warmed by the geothermal heat gushed forth.”

“Tha, that’s right isn’t it. Sorry. That’s because I imagined demon world as horror place that’s more like hell. …I wonder if it’s actually really similar with earth?”

“Looking as far as possible from the demon world, there is not much difference between demon world and the human world. There is land, there are trees and flowers, and there are lives that live here in the human world. The demon world is the same with that. No, by any chance perhaps there is a lot more of that kind of nature in the demon world.”

“Haa~. For some reason the image is far too different from what I imagined that it shocked me.”

Listening from the story of Elfiena, their images of demon and demon world that they believed until now was broken down one after another.

And then Sumika realized.

That they human really didn’t know anything about demon.

Well, a method to cross over to the demon world from human world’s side was never established, so it was also something that couldn’t be helped.

(…Perhaps through this encounter, it will be profitable for mankind if we can obtain information of demon world even for a little.)

Like that, Sumika was thinking of serious thing that was really like her.

“But if that place is really that full of nature, then it’s a place that is really comfortable to live for El-san and the others right~”

“……”

The exchanged conversation between Elfiena and Chikori beside her suddenly stopped.

When Sumika became concerned and turned her gaze at them, Elfiena’s expression that looked happy until just now had completely changed, her lips thinned with a sorrowful expression.

Looking at that Elfiena who suddenly turned quiet, Chikori tilted her head wondering if there was something wrong.

On the other hand Elfiena, she moved her trembling lips,

“…Yes. It’s as you said, but. But, the current demon world is already, become a place that we the [Fairy race] cannot live in anymore.”

Elfiena murmured so with a thin voice as if grieving of someone died.

―It became a place they couldn’t live in, she said.

Just what in the world,

“What do you mean?”

When the concerned Sumika asked, Elfiena answered without hiding it.

“A war began. A really great war, so great that it swallowed the whole demon world.”

―Right now, just what was happening in the demon world?

“In the first place, the demon world is a brutal place that where power is everything.

It feels like conflict happened somewhere everyday, there is not a single day of a time of peace.

However even so, there are barely gap for those like the [Fairy race] that doesn’t like conflict, and also races that doesn’t have sufficient power for conflict to live.

But, ―in the recent year a big political disturbance happened in demon world.

Due to the death of a certain demon king whose name was famous through all over the demon world, a conflict for hegemony began due to the powerful clans of various places.

This struggle is extremely severe, in the blink of eye the whole demon world was swallowed in the fire of conflict.

Most of the demons that once invaded the human world, was the [fleeing soldier] of this conflict.

Whether it was Jambure or Typhon―

They were defeated in this conflict and lost their territory, so they aimed for the new land called the human world.”

The current condition of the demon world that for the first time was exposed to the mankind, and the other side of the invasion to the human world.

Hearing that detail, Sumika and Chikori were both dumbfounded.

“Tha, that Thyhon was…fleeing soldier……you said!?”

“Exactly. He was defeated in the struggle for hegemony, he was nothing more than a loser that escaped to the human world barely with his life.”

“…What, a thing.”

Sumika felt faint from Elfiena’s reply.

It was a too shocking fact.

The <Demon King class> that messed up the earth surface until that much was, that symbol of despair was―

Nothing more than demon world’s, just a mere loser there.

(If that’s true……)

The power of the demons that drove off Typhon and Jambure to the human world…just how great it could possibly be?

She couldn’t even imagine it.

Elfiena continued her words toward Sumika who was in a lost for word from such too despairing reality.

“And then, before long our village of [Fairy race] was also swallowed into that war. Our village was burned, the forest was trampled down…many of our brethren were abducted. As the ration of the demons…”

“Ration……, wait, you mean they were eaten?”

Elfiena returned a nod toward the taken aback words of Chikori.

“The body structure of us [Fairy race] is an energy body that is made from magic power of high purity, so the absorption efficiency of magic power from our body is high, as food we are the most suitable seeing the circumstance where magic power is constantly consumed in large amount in war. The [fairy pill] made from the minced meat of fairy, just from a pill it can make you obtain vast energy to the degree that a <General class> demon can continuously exercise sorcery for three days and three nights.”

“Ho, how cruel…-“

Chikori closed her mouth with a pale expression.

Most likely, it was because she imagined the figure of fairy being processed into mince meat while still alive.

And then it was not just Chikori’s imagination, even now it was a scene that was happening in the demon world.

The effect of [fairy pill] right now had been known all over the demon world. Causing the powerful clans to search for them in a frenzy.

“We the [Fairy race] don’t wish to fight.

However, the other demons don’t care of that and come to capture us.

And then us [Fairy race] is excellent as food but, …our fighting ability as a race is the lowest of the low even in the demon world. Even I who possess the strongest magic power among our race, only has strength in the level that was easily swallowed whole by a single kraken, …our body size too, those that possess the size around your average human are only those to the extent like me, most of our people only has the size that can be put atop the palm of human.”

If they were attacked, they could do nothing other than got trampled down.

In these few years since the war started, even the fairy race that was numbered almost a billion, became reduced to only a number of two million, Elfiena talked of that with a heartbreaking expression.

“…The demon world, is already turned into a place where the powerless [Fairy race] cannot live in anymore.”

“El-san…”

Surely the current condition of the fairy pained her heart.

Chikori whose grieving expression looked as if even now she was going to cry snuggled up to Elfiena and she hugged Elfiena’s body tightly.

It was an action that was really like the kind Chikori.

Although Sumika couldn’t take a honest action like Chikori, she felt an emotion as if her heart was squeezed from Elfiena’s story.

But that emotion―

“That’s why we resolved ourselves. We are going to abandon our birthplace the demon world, and negotiate with human…,

―to let us live in the human world.”

“Wha……-!”

Changed into cold shudder from the following words of Elfiena.

“But, that’s……-“

After Sumika reflexively let out her voice like that, she shut her mouth in panic from having done that.

Saying it was [impossible], was not a word that she should say as someone who wouldn’t participate in the negotiation.

But, it was a little too late. Elfiena was also not an idiot.

She immediately understood, what was the world that would come out from Sumika’s interrupted speech.

“Is that, impossible?”

“…I, I’m sorry……”

“No, that’s fine. I too understand how hard this is. The story of what the demons that once visited the human world did here, has been circulated so I know…”

“Even knowing that…you are going to rely on human?”

On the other hand Elfiena nodded without any hesitation.

“Because, we already don’t have any other choice. In order to survive, there is nothing that we can do except to do what we can. Because that’s, …the duty of those that still live.”

“―-“

In order to live, they needed to do the only thing they could.

The words that Elfiena said shook Sumika’s heart greatly.

It was exactly Sumika’s way of life―

Because it was just like what she believed in front of the despair called Typhon, the way those who still live ought to be.

(…We are the same.)

Whether it was herself and also this girl.

Whether human, or fairy.

To continue to fight the unreasonable desperately in order to live.

There was no difference at all.

That was why, surely human and fairy could understand each other.

Just like right now, where Sumika understood Elfiena.

―However,

(That’s, only if talking about individual…-)

Elfiena didn’t understand.

No, she might actually understand, but she was looking at this naively.

The fear and hatred in human society toward the existence called demon that seeped right into the morrow of their bone.

Different with Sumika and Chikori who had a chance to talk directly with Elfiena like this, human society could only comprehend the fairy race as nothing more than demon.

Even Typhon and Jambure, for human those two were nothing more than the same demon.

There was no way, the human race could accept such thing.

Elfiena’s wish, …would never be realized.

Far from that…if Elfiena ever said things like wanting to migrate to the human world in front of those people of the <United World Government>, surely they would never let Elfiena return home alive.

She would be killed. Cruelly. Unreasonably.

When she imagined such sight, Sumika’s chest was burned in unpleasant feeling.

And then that detestable feeling, made Sumika decided a single thing.

“…Elfiena-san. Will you mind if I also attend the negotiation meeting?”

Elfiena was making a shocked face for a moment toward this request, yet

“Yes-. That will be very reassuring if you would do that for me-“

She readily consented toward that proposal with happiness.

Surely it would be reassuring for her to have a human that could understand the fairy even for a little attending the meeting.

However, …that wish couldn’t come true.

It was impossible to shake the mankind’s decision with only Sumika’s backing alone.

Because Sumika understood that, she returned a bitter expression at Elfiena’s ready consent,

(For Elfiena-san’s sake, …there is only one thing that I can do.)

For the sake of this girl who faced the unreasonable with all her might similar with herself once before, Sumika swore to herself that she would do that much.

Translator's Notes and References

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