Chapter 2: Candy

While he rolled his eyes, a low, resonant voice unique to demons reached his ears.

He tried to pretend he hadn’t heard, but it was already approaching where Luti stood.

“What, it’s just a kid.”

The demon snorted as if disappointed.

He wished it would back off, but the little demon seemed to have found something and approached again.

“Hmm…”

The demon’s eyes, now right in front of him, were truly black.

The eerily black pupils looked almost blue from how black they were.

On top of that, the tail attached to its rear swished wickedly; its sharp tip was quite threatening.

“Are you a human from down in Delver Valley?”

Delver Valley was where Lady Debora lived.

It wasn’t far from Ru’s cabin, and it was also a place littered with broken glazed pottery and various odds and ends left behind by Yondo’s subordinates.

“I’ve heard that lately humans who like to play tricks often gather in Delver Valley, light fires, and fool around. Are you one of them?”

Humans who play tricks referred to those who dodged the forest’s eyes and did petty things.

They were a group that stole leftover food and goods from Yondo’s people and shared them among themselves.

Ru called such humans lazy idlers.

“What? No answer? Guess you’re a slacker despite your looks.”

When Luti didn’t answer, the little demon’s eyes glinted.

It seemed to be plotting something; it looked Luti up and down, then peeled bark from a rubber tree and turned it into a stone.

“Hey. Human.”

For a moment his vision swam.

If the little demon threw that, at the very least he’d get a big bump on his forehead and might faint for a bit.

And if something happened in the meantime…

“Why don’t you answer me? You want a beating?”

Must be an ill-tempered demon.

Just knowing that Delver Valley was popular in this forest lately meant it wasn’t an ordinary demon, and seeing it perk up both its ears and tail at the same time made it seem like it really would throw him off that cliff.

Even though he was scared, Luti made a quick decision.

Stalling would only end with either getting hit by a stone and passing out, or falling off the cliff.

If that was the case, this method was better.

Luti untied the bag tightly fastened at his waist.

Then he took out what Ru had given him for emergencies.

“Candy?”

The demon’s eyes sparkled when it spotted the lollipop.

Candy was something only humans could make, and it was very famous among demons.

“Stand right there.”

The demon spun around Luti once.

Its flexible movement was extremely agile, not like a demon at all.

“Me…?”

“Yeah, you. Shiny hair.”

The little demon pointed at Luti’s hair with the tip of a sharp nail.

Glowing blond hair was common in this forest, but Luti’s was a little different.

Unlike the large bearded humans, it held the color of salt, and was also the color of a pink whale’s tongue.

“It’s not shiny hair. Just blond.”

“Blond or whatever, I don’t care. You, that’s candy, right?”

The demon pointed at what he held.

Luti swallowed dryly and nodded.

“How many of those do you have?”

Luti raised two fingers.

At that, the stone the little demon had been holding with its tail dropped with a plop.

The little demon asked with suspicious eyes.

“What are you? A gifted?”

“No.”

“Then why do you have two of such a precious thing?”

Because Ru gave them to him.

As for Ru, he wasn’t the most powerful person in this forest, but he was the most gifted and knowledgeable.

He knew everything that happened in the forest, could pick out the herbs and mushrooms growing within it, and was a dwarf gifted who collected something called magic powder and made cloth from it.

“Ru gave them to me.”

“Ru?”

“The dwarf who makes clothes and powder. Ru.”

The little demon’s lips parted slightly.

It had heard of the dwarf who could make clothes and powder.

He was a dwarf born in the forest, rumored to interact with the bearded humans from Yondo.

“Oh, that dwarf. I remember. He sells clothes and powder to the bearded ones, right?”

“They’re not bearded ones. They’re Yondo’s subordinates. Ru trades with people higher than them.”

Those who frequented Clouden were Yondo’s subordinates.

And the people Ru met personally were high-ranking officials from Yondo; they were scholars who made armor advantageous for war.

“Even so, he’s just a small-time dwarf.”

“Don’t say that. No one in this forest calls Ru a small-time dwarf.”

He was scared, but he couldn’t lose.

Ru was that gifted, and he was like a father to him.

His only family and only friend.

He couldn’t let someone insult Ru like that.

“Oh, yeah? Then what are you to Ru?”

“I’m…”

Luti hesitated for a moment, then answered.

“I’m Ru’s son.”

“…”

“My name is Luti. Ru is my father.”

Luti lied confidently.

He even raised his head as he said he was Ru’s son, and the little demon’s ears perked up even more.

“You’re quite a bold one.”

“…”

“For a human to talk back to me, you must have no fear at all.”

The little demon reached out and snatched Luti’s lollipop.

Startled, he shouted “Give it back!” but he couldn’t beat the demon.

Still, when Luti tried to snatch the lollipop back, it bared its sharp fangs.

“Move your hand.”

“This is mine.”

“Don’t get cheeky. I can drop you from here.”

“You’re the one being cheeky.”

The demon’s eyes narrowed.

A red glow surged into its pupil-less black eyes; it was a demon for a reason.

Frightened, Luti let go of the lollipop, and the demon’s nimble tail wrapped around his neck.

“You’re just a human, and I’m a demon. I could drop you down there, or hang you from a tree and leave.”

“…”

“Because I’m a demon. I can be as cheeky as I want, whenever. But you can’t.”

The demon’s eyes turned wicked.

It wasn’t the same look it had when it saw the lollipop.

It gave off a black and red glow, really terrifying.

Even so, Luti acted resolutely.

His legs trembled and felt like they’d give out, but if he backed down now, he really would lose just that candy.

“I-if you do that, you won’t get that candy again.”

“What?”

“If you drop me from here, I won’t be able to move for a while, and you won’t be able to meet me. Even if I happen to run into you, I won’t give you anything like candy.”

Demons had a talent for tormenting humans, but they didn’t rob them.

They might climb on top of a human’s head and cause all sorts of trouble, but they didn’t cause death.

Because if they killed a human, the forest wouldn’t let it be.

Living in symbiosis was the meaning of this forest, and the demon knew that, so it clicked its tongue.

“So how about making a deal with me?”

“A deal?”

“I’ll give you this candy regularly.”

“Then what do I have to give you, human?”

“You tell me where the Landter is. Tell me where the water snakes gather. Tell me where the flowers that red ants hate bloom.”

These three were Luti’s main concerns lately.

He had to sell the oil from Landter to buy a prophecy book, he wanted to avoid the paths water snakes frequented, and lastly, he wanted to plant flowers to keep the red ants from coming and gnawing at the books Ru liked most.

“Why do you need those three?”

“I’ll tell you slowly.”

“Tell me now, human. If you don’t want to be wrapped in this tail and thrown far away.”

The tail around Luti’s neck tightened.

It made a slithering sound as if to prove it wasn’t a lie, intimidating him.

“For your information, I’m different from ordinary demons.”

“W-where are you different?”

“I never let go of a human once I’ve caught them. I’m different from soft-hearted demons.”

Looking at those sparkling eyes, it didn’t seem like a lie.

From the first time he saw it, the demon gave off the feeling that it was different from ordinary demons.

With sharper features and lively expressions, it was different from the little demons that liked to laze around and play.

Luti took a moment to steady his breathing.

According to Ru, you shouldn’t make deals with demons.

They might not keep their promises, and you could incur unnecessary wrath.

Even so, Luti really wanted to make a contract with this demon.

If candy was the goal, he wanted to use it to live a little more comfortably, and he wanted to buy a prophecy book as soon as possible.

“I’m going to sell Landter oil to buy books. I really hate water snakes. They’re slippery and try to smear that unpleasant stuff all over you. And red ants gnaw at mine and Ru’s precious books. I planted flowers, but when the weather starts getting hot, they get worse. Sometimes they even raid the food storage and eat everything, and they even dig into the flower roots, you know?”

“Is that all?”

“‘Is that all?’ Books are very important to us. And do you know how annoying red ants are? Besides, I’m human. Unlike you, I have soft skin that bleeds and tears when bitten.”

Without realizing it, he snapped quickly as if angry, and the demon made a “hmm” face.

“Are red ants evolving?”

“I don’t know. Some of them are so big I have to beat them to death with a broom.”

It was true.

Some were really as big as rabbits, and he had to chase them out while screaming “Aaaagh!”

“Want me to teach them a lesson?”

“No. The forest won’t allow it.”

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