Chapter 8: Misunderstandings and Missed Connections

Where did monsters and demons come from? In the novel, it pointed to a place called the “Demon Realm.”

A world where the land was so barren it had turned black, and the sky was a gloomy gray. A world where anyone who saw it would question whether any life could truly exist there.

That was the Demon Realm. But where was it?

Just where was it located that it could seemingly spit out monsters and demons across the entire continent with a poof!?

[The author described it like this:]

[The Demon Realm and the Human Realm exist as if they are back-to-back in a mirror.]

Simply put, the Demon Realm was like an underworld, or a shadow world. Its composition was the opposite of the Human Realm, which is why it had such a desolate landscape.

The creatures living in that world were called monsters, and those with higher intelligence were called demons. And these demons and monsters often deviated greatly from common preconceptions.

—-!!

The demon screaming below was no exception. Its roots, spread intricately deep underground, were being destroyed by the drill.

For an active demon to be rooted like this implied it had been staying here for a long time.

‘But didn’t it start mobilizing the monsters a week ago?’

Then there was no need for it to stay here for so long. Looking at the severed, writhing roots, she thought,

‘…To hinder the hero’s movements, even slightly?’

The Twilight Fortress, which she would encounter in a few months, came to mind. Naturally, the Twilight Fortress incident was also orchestrated by a demon.

A high-ranking one at that. It was probably in the midst of planning and executing its scheme. If she assumed a lower-ranking demon was lying in wait to buy time…

‘That’s possible.’

They were surprisingly intelligent. They had to be, to control and manage those ferocious monsters. That’s why even the hero’s party and other powerful figures from different kingdoms occasionally fell into their traps.

So, it wasn’t unthinkable for them to employ such a tactic.

‘Well, I can ask this one.’

She looked down again. But apart from the severed roots, she couldn’t see anything resembling a main body.

The drill had fallen into the tunnel where the demon presumably was. It was probably too dark to see clearly underground.

‘Where’s the illumination magic tool?’

Kwaaang!!

Suddenly, the translucent protective barrier shook with a loud noise. A fist of grotesque shape filled her upward gaze.

—Uooooh!! How dare you!!

She had thought it had fled, but it had bravely come to fight. It attacked while she was distracted.

Impressive spirit, for a demon.

“But you should have just run.”

Then it could have lived to fight another day. Of course, she wouldn’t have let it go, but at least it would have had hope.

The demon looked very different from the typical image she knew from her previous life. Its lower body resembled a tree stump and roots, while its upper body looked like a gorilla or other ape.

It specialized in a fighting style that involved punching while wriggling its numerous tentacle-like legs. The advantages of this form were its speed and strength due to its many legs.

But that didn’t mean it was invincible. She didn’t even need to use her [Unique Magic]. She didn’t take out her portable workbench or pen.

—How dare you damage the noble body of Akturas!! You will die here!

Kwaaang!

Its fist flew towards her again, but the result was the same as before.

She wore a robe made by someone who cherished the being who taught her magic. It was impossible for a mere low-ranking demon to inflict any significant damage.

One of her goals was to create protective gear that rivaled this robe. There were many potential applications, but her understanding was still lacking.

—Tricks! I’ll destroy…?

Rumble… Thud…

“How deep did you dig that tunnel?”

Something was smashing rocks and approaching from underground. It had only started making a fuss now, so it must have fallen quite deep. Then, it burst out from beneath the demon, impaling it straight through.

Thud.

The demon died with a long hole pierced through its body by the makeshift drill. Its blood sprayed everywhere, contaminating the ground. Thus, the mastermind behind the attempt to devour the village met its demise.

“Come to think of it, crops grow well around here.”

Would the village’s carrot soup recipe be filled with grains? Just imagining it made her mouth water. But at this rate, many crops would be ruined by the demon’s blood.

That meant there might be less delicious carrot soup.

She shoved the drill back into her subspace and cleaned the blood-splattered ground with a giant cleaning brush. After making sure no one was around, she stored the demon corpse in a subspace labeled [Pre-Processing].

“Just collecting trash.”

It definitely wasn’t because she was interested in it as an ingredient.

Now, all that remained was the soiled ground and her standing on it.

“Huh?”

The unconscious orc was gone, leaving only a pool of blood. Looking closer, she saw several of the demon’s smaller roots scattered around. It seemed they had served as a source of nutrients for the demon while she was unaware.

She swept away the pool of blood with the cleaning brush, and the ground returned to its normal appearance. The tunnel…

“…Let’s ignore that.”

Filling it would take too much time. The goblins and orcs wouldn’t be able to hold off the hero’s party for that long, so she had to return quickly to avoid being discovered.

“My robe’s clean, okay, I just need to go back like this.”

Oh no. She fell into the same ditch she had fallen into earlier. They said practice makes perfect, and at this rate, she could represent her country in the ditch-falling Olympics.

Since her robe was clean, she just brushed off her face and hair and got up. She felt a bit disheveled but ignored it.

As she neared the village, she noticed a commotion.

“Huh?”

She cautiously approached and peeked inside…

“Are you sure no orcs entered the village?”

There was Aswell, the hero, urgently asking the villagers about the whereabouts of a monster. He looked quite flustered, unlike someone who had fought countless orcs.

“Aswell, what’s wrong?”

“Serin, I clearly saw an orc fleeing while I was attacking their camp. It definitely came this way, but…”

“Nothing came into the mountains. Are you sure you didn’t see wrong?”

“That’s impossible…”

Elves had superior senses compared to humans. It was impossible for Raphilia, with her sharp eyesight and hearing, to miss a lumbering orc running away.

‘Was it the one that came to me?’

The only orc that had disappeared on its own was the one that came to attack her, forced to carry out the demon’s orders. The one that became excellent demon fertilizer.

“Hero, our village militia can handle a single orc.”

“No, it was my duty. Besides, it’s an orc, and they reproduce quickly… If we don’t find it soon, this situation could happen again.”

By the time that happened, the hero’s party would be in the west or north. After conquering the Twilight Fortress, they could rely on adventurers and mercenaries, but before that, the village would be doomed.

‘I should tell them.’

It wasn’t good to see them so worried. Composing her expression and clearing her throat, she casually entered the village.

And she did so while carrying the orc’s axe, which she had used as a material for the drill, in her arms. She had dismantled the drill to present the axe as proof of her deed. It wasn’t a big loss since she could easily replace the axe part with other materials.

“…Rui! Wait, is that…?”

“Oh, I was looking around and found an orc.”

She tried to act nonchalant, shrugging as if to say, “See? I took care of the thing you were worried about, Hero!” But the hero’s reaction was different from what she expected.

“What? Are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“Wait, there’s dirt on your face… are you hurt?”

“Huh? No, I’m not.”

“Don’t lie! Aria, please!”

“Yes!”

Things weren’t going as planned. Even Aria, the saintess, rushed over with a worried expression and grabbed her hand.

“No, I’m not hurt…”

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault for letting it get away. Sigh…”

“Aswell, it’s a relief that it ended like this.”

“…I need to train more. Rui, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s really okay…”

But the hero, as if he had no intention of listening to her, walked into the village with a sad expression.

“Raphilia.”

She called out to Raphilia, her accomplice, but she also had a worried expression.

“I’m glad your face isn’t injured. If this cute face had been scarred…”

Scarred?

‘It can be healed.’

But Raphilia seemed to be imagining something gruesome.

“Phew… fortunately, there are no major injuries.”

“That’s good. Rui, walks are nice, but it’s best to avoid them in situations like this.”

“Serin. It’s not that, I actually killed the dem…”

“We’re worried too, but Aswell seems to be the most affected. He’ll probably be foolishly training every night now.”

“…”

It was hopeless. She couldn’t get a word in edgewise. She turned to Aria, who seemed the most likely to listen, but she too was looking at her with the same concern as the others.

Even after realizing she was fine, Aria pulled her into a hug.

Gasp. Gasp. I can’t breathe.

“Rui, it’s only been a few days, but we consider you a true companion. So… if you need help, don’t hide it and call us right away. Okay?”

She tried to tell them about the demon, but she failed.

‘Do they have this little trust in me…?’

She headed back to the lodging, shocked in a different way than the others. Lost in thought about how to build their trust, she ended up staying up all night.

And as Serin had predicted, the sound of Aswell’s relentless sword training echoed from outside the lodging.