Chapter 23: The Beginning Of The Demon Race

The second day arrived, and we left the County.

Except for the eldest son and daughter, still confined, the Count’s family saw us off.

“……”

“How long are you going to be like that?”

“I don’t know.”

Thinking about last night still made me feel breathless.

How could she do that to me…

“Did something happen?”

Diana, who had slept all day since arriving at the Count’s estate, asked, but I didn’t answer.

Because I could predict Diana’s reaction if I told her such things.

“Ah, well-.”

Since I wasn’t talking, Lilac beside me tried to explain instead, but I pinched her thigh to stop her.

“Please don’t tell.”

“What will you give me?”

How could a person be so cruel?

Is it because she’s a criminal who stole a teenage girl’s breath?

Of course, becoming an adult at 18 in this world meant it wasn’t legally problematic.

‘Still, even so

How could she…’

Blushing, I brought my mouth close to Lilac’s ear and spoke.

“Let’s do it later. Later.”

Conveying my earnest heart, Lilac finally shrugged and closed her mouth.

[Still, wasn’t it good?]

‘Shut up.’

[So mean.]

Does this Goddess really have nothing better to do?

But I didn’t refute it.

Because it was actually the first time I had such an experience in my past and current life combined.

It hurt at first, but as it went on, the feeling-.

Shake!

Shaking my head left and right to dispel the wicked thoughts, I looked straight ahead and saw Diana, sitting on the carriage seat, looking at me strangely.

“Perhaps mentally…?”

“It’s not like that, okay?”

“Hmm.”

Turning my flushed face away, I looked out the window.

On the snow-covered roadside, occasional purple lumps caught my eye.

Wriggling on the snow and emitting strange gases, the lumps moved sluggishly like caterpillars.

However, right now, the pain in my lower abdomen from last night bothered me too much to look closely.

“Still, the hymen…”

-Is intact.

I muttered quietly, hoping Diana and Lilac inside the carriage wouldn’t hear, but.

Rustle.

My body flinched at the sensation of golden hair brushing against my right cheek.

Then, Lilac’s mouth approached my ear and retorted the words I just muttered.

“I held back. Weren’t you satisfied?”

It was a small voice, but it sounded incredibly loud to me.

Still keeping my head fixed outside the window, my body trembled, and only then did Lilac move away.

Ignoring my pounding heart, I asked for an explanation about the things visible outside.

“That? Monster eggs. Gross, right?”

“Those are eggs…?”

Feeling dizzy for a moment at Lilac’s words, I looked at Diana.

She also seemed tense, perhaps her first time in the Demon Realm too.

I looked again at the purple eggs outside the window.

Those are eggs?

What kind of egg is bigger than me?

Literally, the wriggling eggs out there were larger than anyone in the carriage, including me.

It was hard to believe those were just eggs, and I couldn’t fathom how much larger the monsters would be if they hatched from there.

Did she sense my worry?

A hand filled with warmth rested on my head, stroking it.

“Don’t worry. As long as you’re careful about the gas the eggs emit, there’s no problem.”

Also, since you’re a Saintess, inhaling the gas probably won’t affect your body, Lilac added.

Indeed, the divine power in this body could likely purify such purple gas easily.

Given that the divine power is white and yellow.

And apparently, Lilac and Butler evaporate that purple gas, the Miasma, with mana.

“We have arrived at the first village.”

Hearing Butler’s words, I stepped out of the carriage, and a scene of purple air met my eyes.

Miasma floated in the air like ripples, creating an unpleasant feeling.

Since the snow hadn’t completely disappeared yet, this could be considered the entrance to the Demon Realm.

Even at such an early part, if there was this much Miasma, it meant it would only get denser towards the center of the Demon Realm.

Looking around, the purple eggs I kept seeing earlier were scattered everywhere.

Perhaps this was why monsters headed straight for the County estate upon hatching.

“Maybe hungry monsters come down because it’s close to the Count’s estate.”

I nodded in agreement.

If this many eggs hatched at once and descended, the County would face quite a tough battle.

The number of eggs was that large, and it would only increase further.

Unless Lilac wiped them out, they would continue to multiply.

Being a Saintess’s body granted resistance to Miasma, but the unpleasant feeling didn’t disappear, so I raised my arm and covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve.

Lilac and Diana, who followed, also frowned as they approached.

“Still ominous.”

“I know, right? Who would have thought the Demon Realm was this contaminated?”

“Maybe the number of monsters surged because the Demon Lord was recently reborn. That’s why eggs are strewn all over the place.”

The two nodded at my words and headed towards the village ahead.

Following behind, I didn’t forget to take care of Butler.

“Hoho. Young Lady Sia must be the only one who thinks of this old man. I am truly happy.”

‘Just holding hands and following along, yet you like it this much? Makes me feel awkward.’

The moment I thought that, something slipped into my other hand.

It was Lilac’s hand.

“I want to hold hands too.”

“Fufu. Being like this feels like a family trip.”

As Butler said, the three of us looked like a grandfather taking his two granddaughters on an outing.

As we overtook Diana, a hollow voice came from behind.

“Wait for me!”

And so, the four of us entered the village, and villagers began to appear one by one.

For reference, we left the carriage at the entrance of the Demon Realm.

Further exposure to the intense Miasma could cause the carriage to rot.

The villagers who came into view were all strange.

It might sound odd, but they looked genuinely strange.

Some had only one eye, others had twisted limbs.

Judging by appearance alone, one might call them human.

But, well. Could they really be called human?

As I silently observed the village and its residents, someone who looked like the village chief walked over.

Unlike Butler, he had a staff and a severely shrunken body.

“@?!@&₩♤!”

The chief was saying something, but I had no way of understanding it.

However, Lilac seemed to understand.

“What did he say?”

Lilac scratched the back of her head and interpreted the chief’s words.

“Something like, ‘Where do you dirty-aura bastards think you’re going?!'”

“What?”

As Diana asked, the chief shouted something again.

“@%*#@×”

“Aish. What is he saying?”

Annoyed by our lack of understanding, the chief furiously tapped his staff on the ground.

“He says you and Diana go, and I stay here. Ah. Butler has to leave too.”

“Aha.”

I understood the chief’s intention.

He probably thought three women and an old man would be weak and had dirty thoughts.

As Lilac finished interpreting, villagers who hadn’t been visible before popped out from somewhere and surrounded us.

It seemed their plan was to subdue us and take only Lilac.

“Will that be as easy as it sounds?”

Though it was the entrance to the Demon Realm, these were ultimately Majin long exposed to Miasma.

‘Majin’, far removed from the people of the Empire.

And according to Imperial law, Majin are to be executed on sight.

The moment the words finished, Butler momentarily vanished and reappeared beside me.

It was a short time, maybe 4 seconds, but his sleeve was stained with red liquid.

“Let’s choose our words carefully.”

As Lilac nonchalantly walked through the Majin, their heads began to fall off one by one.

What happened in that brief moment.
What was done to them.

The Majin in the village couldn’t even properly grasp it.

Dying with their eyes wide open.

Diana and I swallowed hard and followed Lilac.

However, due to the 5-minute stamina limit, I soon ended up riding on Butler’s back.

Feeling somewhat sorry, I asked Butler, who was carrying me.

“Isn’t it heavy or tiring?”

“Not at all. Young Lady Sia is so light, it actually makes me worry.”

“Right. So light she feels like she could fly away.”

Lilac, leading the way, agreed with Butler’s words.

Still, the uncomfortable feeling didn’t leave.

No matter how weak and light this body was, it was still a human body.

It must weigh at least several tens of kilograms.

How could Butler show no sign of fatigue?

‘It’s frustrating not even knowing my own weight.’

Not that I want to know.

Like that, without moving a single leg, we went a little further from the entrance of the Demon Realm, and a purple forest appeared.

“Ugh. Just looking at it makes me sick.”

As Diana spoke with distaste, Lilac moved forward and said.

“This is still the beginning. The further you go, the harder it will be to look.”

“Ugh.”

Eventually, the four of us entered the forest.

“Tell me if you’re tired. We can rest.”

“Okay.”

Since I was riding on Butler’s back anyway, I thought there wouldn’t be anything tiring, but mental fatigue quickly set in.

It was because of the intermittent sights of Majin eating monsters.

“Ugh.”

Finally, I slid weakly off Butler’s back and vomited a rainbow onto the purple ground.