I Can’t Run Away From the Girl Who Saved Me

173 – A Short Break (3)

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“Ash, what’s going on!”

Sister Alice came to me and asked.

As if she had run towards me after hearing my shout, Sister Alice’s strides toward me were extremely fast and wide.

The older sister’s gaze was directed to the boy standing across the stream.

At the same time, Sister Alice passed me and kicked the ground, and in her hand was already a shining sword.

“What, what! Wait, wait!”

The demon boy threw his hands forward in fright.

Spreading out both hands was a sign of surrender, indicating that no weapons were being hidden, but that alone was not enough to stop Sister Alice.

The older sister then kicked the boy’s chest with her foot and crushed it.

The boy fell to the floor with a sound like a frog being stepped on.

Sister Alice said as she held the knife to the boy’s neck.

“It’s a demon. Judging by the horns, it’s a higher-ranking entity.”

“Eww,”

“Are you an assassin sent by the Demon King?”

“No… that’s it!”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m a demon.”

Sister Alice raised her sword.

When I saw the sword shining like frost and ready to plunge down at any moment, I instinctively crossed the stream and ran toward Sister Alice.

“Sister! Wait a minute!”

“…Ash?”

“It doesn’t look dangerous. It didn’t attack me! The curse didn’t work either. There’s no need to kill it…”

“It’s a demon. Ash.”

Sister Alice said bluntly.

“…Ha, but he’s a kid.”

“Even though she’s a child, she’s older than you and Ash. The demons don’t live in the same time zone as humans.”

“No… that’s not it…”

I stuttered.

That’s true, actually.

Even though he was a child, he knew full well that it was right to kill him since he was a demon.

In fact, I’ve killed every monster I’ve encountered so far while wandering through the forest.

But today was the first time I met the Demons.

To be exact, it was the first time since I started this journey that I had met someone with whom I could have a proper conversation.

No, to be more precise, aside from my sisters Sylvia and Alice, you could say she’s the first person I’ve talked to since I got trapped in this forest in that carriage accident.

“It won’t be… dangerous,”

“Ash, what are we doing now?”

“… uh?”

“What are you doing? Have you forgotten why we wander through this forest?”

“…”

The older sister spoke calmly, glaring at the demon boy.

I know very well that what my sister said is correct.

We cannot leave the demons alive while we are on a journey to kill the Demon King.

Because that boy might run to the Demon King and tell him about our existence.

But I still hesitated.

All the monsters I’ve killed so far have been impossible to communicate with.

Their intelligence is closer to that of beasts, and they come at me to kill me based on their instincts.

All the hostile creatures I’ve encountered so far have been like that.

But killing someone I could communicate with who showed no hostility or threat to me was a completely different matter.

Somehow I don’t feel like it.

No, it’s more like a violent rejection reaction where you absolutely don’t want to kill them.

“I know… I know…”

“Okay, I understand.”

Sister Alice nodded.

“If you think about it, yes, Ash has never killed a person before. He’s only ever dealt with monsters or beasts that have gone mad from being tainted by magic, so he must be embarrassed. I understand.”

“ah…”

At that moment I realized.

The reason why I feel so reluctant to kill this demon.

“Just look away, I’ll finish this in one go.”

“…no.”

I approached Sister Alice and grabbed her hand that was holding the sword.

“Ash, what are you doing…”

“That’s not it, sis… I’ve killed people before.”

“…”

“An innocent person… You know that, too, Sister.”

My sister immediately understood what I was saying.

Five priests, including Melbourne.

The victims who entered this forest on Sister Alice’s orders and were brutally slaughtered by me.

My sister shook her head and continued speaking.

“Ash, I’m telling you it’s not your fault…”

“I know, it’s because of the curse. But…”

“…”

I swallowed hard for a moment and exhaled slowly.

I clearly remember and know that it was the curse that bound me to this forest, and that it was Sylvia’s love that made me adapt to this forest, but it was that terrible experience that day that made me determined to live in this forest.

When I opened my mouth again, my voice was wet.

“It’s different from back then… Now, the other person doesn’t activate curses, and we can talk to them. It might be okay not to make the same choices as back then…”

“… Ash,”

I caught the blade of the holy sword that Sister Alice had raised with my bare hands.

The holy sword was unable to cut through my soft skin and was slowly lowered down by my hand.

“Let’s talk about it. If you still think it’s dangerous, I won’t stop you anymore…”

“… The demons are far more skilled in magic than humans, so even though they don’t have weapons…”

“I know you’re being unreasonable… I’m being unreasonable because I completely trust in my sister’s strength… I know… So… Yes?”

“…Ha, fuck.”

Sister Alice closed her eyes tightly and let out a small curse.

Then, he quickly removed his feet from the demon boy’s chest and stood up.

The holy sword had already disappeared somewhere.

“I can’t refuse you when you look at me with those dazzling eyes.”

Sister Alice stroked my head and spoke softly.

The boy looked at me and my sister like that and wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.

“…Phew, I thought I was losing.”

＊

The boy introduced himself as a peddler.

He was one of the many demons who left, saying they could not serve the current demon lord who had killed the previous demon lord and forcibly usurped his throne.

The departed demons have been living secretly among humans or living self-sufficiently in secluded places, but it is said that they have recently begun to gather again, one by one, as the demonic energy has surged again in this forest.

It was because he realized that the Demon King was not dead and that this time he would make sure that the rightful successor would take back his place.

That is, this boy was not our enemy now.

Rather, they were even people who had the same goal of taking the Demon King’s life.

“Calling someone a peddler feels a little awkward for me as a human being…”

“Get used to it, it’s natural for us.”

When asked if he had a separate name, he said that the Demons do not reveal their real names to anyone other than their family.

The Demon Tribe only refers to each other by rank or occupation, and this is said to be due to the Demon Tribe’s social structure, which is a strictly hierarchical society.

After hearing that, Sister Alice opened her mouth quietly.

“What a strange story,”

“… What, what.”

The peddler looked at Sister Alice with a nervous expression.

It seemed like she was afraid.

That was understandable.

Sister Alice was the one who tried to kill her, and the black sword she raised as if she was going to strike at any moment was a holy sword that could burn all of a demon’s skin with just a touch, so it was even stranger that the demon was not afraid.

Perhaps it is similar to the fundamental fear that humans feel toward the Demon King.

“Why did the demon tribe, who are so obsessed with class, refuse to follow the current demon king?”

“… I know,”

As soon as I heard Sister Alice’s question, I nodded and agreed.

If it were a class society where one’s title was determined by one’s social position, it would be natural to follow the orders of those above, but the demons refused and ran away from the demon king.

Of course, thanks to that, the adventure of the warrior party may have become much easier, but when I think about it, it was a strange thing.

The peddler boy frowned slightly at the question.

“under…”

I instinctively shut my mouth at the expression the boy made.

This was because his face, which had been filled with fear and tension just a moment ago, was now filled with disgust and annoyance.

The boy spoke in a low, growling voice.

“But what about humans?”

“… huh?”

“Is that how humans are? If a rascal with no qualifications or lineage suddenly appears, murders the respected King, and shouts, ‘From now on, I am the king,’ would they tuck their tails in and follow him like a dog?”

“ah…”

“Of course, there were a few who followed. But most of them left. Many of them went into hiding, saying that they would rather break their horns and go into hiding than serve such a baseless lizard as their Highness. There are also many demons who resisted and were captured and killed.”

“…”

“We will not give up. We will not compromise. Even if we die, leave, or even live our whole lives among humans while hiding our demonic identity, we will never accept that lizard cub as our king.”

At the firm tone of contempt that came out of the boy’s mouth, not only I but even my older sister Alice kept her mouth shut.

Perhaps, we have underestimated the Demons.

They may have arbitrarily concluded that they have a lower social standard than humans.

The words of the peddler boy were enough to infer that, although the Demons were a class society, they were not simply barbaric beings who followed the strongest power.

The class they followed was not simply one of power, but one that was accompanied by legitimacy, politics, and clear consensus.

Just like human society.

As I was thinking that, Sister Alice spoke quietly.

“You might be better off.”

“… what?”

“Because human society is completely ruined now.”

“Oh, right. I saw it on the way here. They lost their command structure and became a bunch of bandits.”

“… okay?”

“You didn’t see it, you’re hiding here because of that curse.”

The peddler boy nodded and said.

“Well, you guys, whose society you supported has collapsed, and we, who are now a handful, are all the same. That damn lizard b*stard, who claimed to be a king, didn’t even think about ruling us. It was like he just wanted to burn down the whole world.”

That’s definitely true.

The king of the kingdom fights against the demons for the sake of humans, and the demon king fights against humans for the sake of the demons.

Humans and demons were closer to competitors, fighting over each other’s interests.

However, the current Demon King simply moved as if he wanted to burn everything and turn all the places his influence reached into a wasteland.

Incomprehensible actions and horrific, cruel events that defy explanation.

That is why the current Demon King has become an object of indescribable fear to humans.

“…”

I thought of the green lady.

According to her, the god of the Demon Tribe was also confused by the current situation.

If neither the Goddess nor the Demon God wanted this situation, then whose intention was it that created this ruined fate?

Who does the current Demon King serve, and what is his goal?

At that time, I was walking with such worries.

The peddler boy tapped me on the shoulder and said:

“They’re all here. Over there.”

The boy pointed somewhere with the tip of his finger.

Lying on his side, he could see a small village with small huts and ruins of stone buildings huddled together between trees that had split in a V shape.

“That is the temporary outpost where our compatriots are currently staying.”

“…Ash, be careful.”

Sister Alice whispered to me with a hardened expression.

“I tried to hurt that boy earlier, but if they outnumber me, things might be different.”

“… You mean I could be attacked?”

“Yeah. You have to be careful. I still don’t completely trust that boy.”

“Can you hear everything?”

The peddler boy said, scratching the back of his head.

“If you’re that worried, I’ll go first and explain. Just follow along slowly.”

“…”

“Why, are you worried about that too? Should I go first and arm them? What do you want me to do?”

“… Let’s go in together. If things go badly, we can at least start by cutting off your head.”

The boy asked me with a bewildered expression.

“Are all humans this warlike?”

“…”

“It was they who kicked me, it was they who trampled me, and it was they who put that vicious knife to my neck?”

“Um… sorry?”

The boy sighed and took a step forward.

As the density of the trees gradually decreased and a wide open space began to appear,

We could see someone standing at the entrance to the village.

“uh…?”

The boy made a voice that sounded like he had lost his cool.

“ah…”

“this,”

It was the same for me and my sister Alice.

“… This is fucked up,”

I whispered softly.

At the entrance to the village stood a woman.

She was wiping the blood-stained sword with a cloth, her platinum hair flying.

The woman’s head slowly turned towards us, and her red gaze flew straight towards me.

She opened her mouth with a smile.

“Ah, Ash!”

It was Sylvia.

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