Chapter 3: The Blue Forest

Killing out of necessity was fine. Humans and animals had to eat to live, and if a hunt could not be avoided, only what was needed was permitted. But unnecessary killing was not permitted.

When that happened, the sky turned pitch black, the forest stirred up a great wind, rocks shattered, and trees were uprooted. Sometimes fire cracked open. A year ago, a whole mountain collapsed, and many of Yondo’s people died and were carried out on stretchers.

“Don’t you remember? The incident where two deer were slashed to pieces inside a cave.”

He seemed to be a human who had been exiled from somewhere. He was a human of very poor character, and he caught two  deer, locked them in a cave, and hacked them to pieces. He cut their throats while they were alive, skinned them, pulled out their innards, and smeared them on his own body.

“He believed in strange superstitions. He was insane.”

“Madman or sane man, the forest does not permit it. That kind of merciless killing.”

Because of that, the mountain collapsed and the cave caved in, killing the human. The human was buried so completely that not even a corpse could be found, and because of him other humans lost their lives. For a time, every human and animal living in the forest had to observe a quiet period of mourning.

“Still, he did go too far. He mercilessly killed innocent deer, so he deserved to die.”

The demon muttered as if displeased, then popped a candy into its mouth. A few seconds passed. Suddenly, the demon’s sharply raised eyes curved down in a smooth arc.

“Ah, this is really delicious.”

The demon twitched its ears, seemingly pleased. Its eyes, which had curved down, relaxed, and it looked genuinely happy.

“It’s so delicious. I’m more excited than when I torment humans.”

Demons differed from one another, but there were some especially weak to the sweetness of humans. It was said that when they put the sweet food humans ate into their mouths, their facial muscles relaxed and their sharp claws and toenails fell off with a clatter. It was true.

“Ah, I feel great! I need to run around! Let’s climb to the top of the Cheonchu Tree!”

The demon, drunk on sweets, was a surprising sight. It wagged its tail, which had turned red, wildly and began humming a song. It looked just like Yondo’s subordinates when they were drunk. They would drink endlessly from huge bottles and sing loudly, and now the demon was doing the same.

“Are you drunk?”

“You come too! Climb to the top of the Cheonchu Tree with me!”

It crunched the lollipop with its sharp fangs. As the white candy disappeared into its mouth, the corners of the little demon’s mouth melted completely.

The demon grabbed Luti’s wrist. Then, without any permission, it suddenly shot upward.

“Wait!”

“Candy is a good thing!! This is a good thing!! Let’s go up there and play with me!!”

It felt like lightning had struck. Before Luti could gather their wits, Luti’s clothes flapped wildly. The speed of the ascent was so fast they could not even open their eyes properly. The demon’s speed was like light and fast as wind, and the force pouring from the demon’s small body made Luti’s shoulder feel like it would be dislocated.

“The Cheonchu Tree!”

The demon shouted and sped up. When they reached the tip of the Cheonchu Tree, which rose so high its end could not be seen, the demon stopped dead as if braking suddenly. Luti, dragged along without even managing to cry out, opened their eyes wide.

Their mouth fell open at the unbelievable sight. The view from the tip of the Cheonchu Tree, said to be the tallest in the forest, was not of this world. It was the heaven Ru had spoken of, a universe free from the yoke of this Earth.

“The forest…”

“How is it, isn’t it wonderful?”

“…It’s blue.”

The demon plopped Luti down on a Cheonchu branch. Then it ran wildly here and there with its long tail and spoke.

“The forest is blue by nature. You probably didn’t know, but the forest seen from the top of the Cheonchu Tree is the real forest.”

“…”

“Do you know why you are human?”

The demon bounced between the trees, then turned to look at Luti.

“Because you don’t know how to see the forest’s true form. That is why you are human.”

Luti could not take their eyes off the forest. It felt like discovering a new world, and they could barely breathe. They had known a place this high existed, but they had never thought they would actually come up here.

Luti lifted their gaze from the blue glowing forest and looked around. The tip of the Cheonchu Tree, which seemed to touch the sky, was warm and quiet, and a gentle breeze drifted by, bringing peace.

“Is this where you live?”

“I don’t live here. It’s a place I come to play sometimes.”

“Why? If it were me, I’d live here.”

“Because a place touching the sky is not good for demons. Demons only need to live a little higher than humans. Then there is no problem.”

Unlike its words, the demon bounced around everywhere. It hopped back and forth across the top of the Cheonchu Tree, and at times curled its tail and hung upside down. Then, with a playful face, it came over to Luti’s side and shook the branch wildly.

“Stop. I’ll fall.”

“What are you worried about when I’m here?”

“I said stop.”

“Human, are you scared?”

The demon looked at Luti’s frightened face and laughed as if it were ridiculous.

“Like you said, I’m human. If I fall from here, I die.”

“Don’t worry. I’m fast. I can save you faster than you can fall.”

That might be true. At least demons did not kill people. And this small demon was different from the others, just as it said. It looked ill-tempered, but unlike other demons, it did not breathe fire and burn hair. A demon Luti had met before had driven sharp thorns into their leather shoes, causing trouble for a while, but this demon did not seem to be that kind. That was why.

“Before that.”

Luti thought of a way to stop the demon. The reason to keep the demon, drunk on sweets and bouncing around, in place had become even clearer.

“Are you going to make a promise with me, or not?”

The demon’s gaze fixed on Luti at their stubborn tone.

“What promise?”

“You said you would tell me three things in exchange for me giving you candy.”

Only then did the demon’s expression change with an “Ah.” Then, with a scheming look as if calculating, it asked.

“How many candies will you give me? For how long will you give them?”

“I’ll give you candy twice a day. You just need to tell me until I make money selling Landter oil, and I’ll give you candy until I get flower seeds strong enough to defeat the red ants. Is that good enough?”

“Hmm. Even so, I doubt it’ll even be twenty.”

The demon plopped down on a Cheonchu branch. Then it slowly wagged its long tail and spoke.

“How are you going to catch a Landter with that small body?”

“I’m not the one catching it. If I find its location, Ru will send people. Then Ru’s people will catch the Landter, make oil, and send it to us.”

“Oho, you use people?”

“Of course. I give them fair payment too.”

Ru called them business partners. If you sent a letter through a flycatcher in the morning, by around noon men carrying large spears on their shoulders would arrive. Once given a map marked with the Landter’s location, they would find and kill the Landter on their own, then hand over a bottle of oil.

“This is a matter of trust. So you show me trust too.”

Demons could not be trusted. Since their trade was tormenting humans and causing them trouble, they would surely take only the candy and not keep their promise. But from Luti’s position, even a losing deal had to be made. For one thing, just seeing the true form of this beautiful forest already made the loss feel smaller.

“You’re clever.”

“Because I’m Ru’s son.”

“Are you really the son of that dwarf Ru?”

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

Luti said that and pulled another candy from a small pocket.

“A candy like this is nothing. I’m the son of Ru, who makes the strongest armor in the world.”

To be exact, Ru was not the one who made the armor. The people of Yondo made the armor, and Ru merely sold them the materials and powders needed for it.

“Yondo’s subordinates build fortresses and search for materials all year round, but they can’t compare to what Ru does. For one thing, Ru knows every corner of the forest and knows the rarity of materials too well. That’s why he produces the highest-grade materials that nobles want.”

Luti put on a slightly solemn face and added.

“With that armor, you will definitely win a war. That’s why no one can treat Ru carelessly.”

“…”

“So you are making a deal with the son of a capable human. You can gain something good through me. After all, you guys don’t even work.”

All they did was play, eat, cause trouble, and torment humans. And yet they loved tasty things and were captivated by human sweetness.

“We’re not crows.”

“You don’t like shiny things, but you like this.”

Luti tossed the lollipop. As the small thing started to fall, the demon darted over and snatched it from the air.

“Human! You just throw this away?”

“What are you going to do. Will you make a deal with me? Will you show me trust?”

The demon fell into thought for a moment. Demons were a rank above humans, so there was no need to make promises to them. They only had to take what they wanted, and humans did not expect deals with demons anyway.

But this child was a little different. Being Ru’s child was one thing, and the glowing hair was suspicious too. And one more suspicious thing was that the child’s two eyes were clearly different colors.

Eyes of different colors.

The demon narrowed its eyes and slowly licked its sharp fangs with its tongue. It had heard there were humans with eyes like that, but they were said to be extremely rare. And that rare child was here in this forest. He carried two candies with him and bragged about being Ru’s son. The demon flicked its tail once.

Humans grow. Once a human body grows for a certain time, it stops in that state.

As they age and time passes, they lose their wisdom. Once this child grows up, he will lose his wisdom too. It was a long way off, but human bodies were so weak there was no telling how they might fall ill. The demon thought to itself.

How many candies from this child could it collect?

Once it had all the candy it wanted, how would the child have changed?

Would he still have glowing hair?

Would continuing to meet this human benefit it?

The demon lightly reached a conclusion.

Before the child could ask again, the demon spoke.

“Fine. You must give me candy twice a day, exactly.”

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