Chapter 126: Chapter 127: Aunty Loves Her Niece! (4)

“It’s a wolf! It has a fluffy tail!”

That was Cecily’s observation of Yan-Orvault. It must have been her first time seeing a werewolf but he certainly did have a fluffy tail.Seeing Cecily, Orvault nodded his own reaction saying, “It has been a while since I’ve seen a human child.”Then Cecily asked.

“There’s a fluffy tail but no tail or wings. Is this person a demon as well?”

It was a reasonable question.Regarding this, Cariote explained.

“Whatever it looks like, anything that lives in Pandemonium is a demon.”

It was kind of an answer.Demons referred to something like a nationality rather than an appearance or race. The king of the forest, Orvault, chuckled as if he had heard something funny.

“To us, it is you from the outside world who are the demons. You have killed countless numbers of our kind.”

“Well, that’s because the Demon King and his subordinates, you guys, started the war. You also killed countless humans.”

“Indeed, that is correct. But this land is cursed. If we cannot start a war with others and take their possessions, we will decay.”

As Orvault said, Pandemonium was too barren and couldn’t grow anything.The trees were withered and it hardly rained.

Evil karma constantly crawled through the earth like tar and mutated lifeforms, so they had to kill and kill in order to gather limited resources.

“We had no choice but to become demons.”

The werewolf ended with a chuckle.At that, Cecily snorted.

“That’s not true. Being born and growing up in a tough environment doesn’t give you the right to steal from others.”

A sound argument.Cecily must have learned well from school or her grandparents. To say that you committed a crime because of your circumstances was only an excuse, after all.There were many who sought the right solutions in spite of difficulties and that was the right thing to do.

The werewolf Orvault also agreed, “You are right, child.”But then he added something.

“However, the misfortune of those born here was too great to even consider that route. Keep still and take a look.”

Orvault hid his presence as much as possible and moved the grass aside. Then through the opening in the grass, we saw something strange.

It was like a smooth, polluted lump made of black mud. Like a slime, it wasn’t a consistent form and it was consuming a Night Rabbit.

━Kiiiiieeee—!

The slime crawled into the rabbit through its ears, nose, and mouth and settled inside its body. The rabbit twisted around for a bit then with its legs bent strangely, it staggered along.

━Kiiiiaaaa—!

I was thinking what an awful screech it was when Cecily asked.

“My goodness, what is that? It looks possessed!”

“It’s a fragment of evil, a curse that eats away at the land. Once your body is possessed, then it’s over. There are many of them all over Pandemonium. See how many there are.”

There really was a ton of slime where the werewolf’s claw was pointing. They were even at our feet.

“... Hiiik!”

Cecily panicked.The werewolf calmly rolled his feet over the slime and burst it.

Splat—

━Guuuk!

It burst like a water balloon and died.After letting out a sigh of relief, Cecily asked.

“If this disgusting creature is the problem, can’t you just get rid of it?”

“Indeed, you are a smart one. But what if it cannot be done? What if they endlessly come up from the earth? That is the case with these, continuously appearing. It has worsened these days, even.”

“How come?”

“That is this land’s judgment. It was once the territory of a splendid ancient kingdom. But it became ruins in a single day. They committed a forbidden act and it brought a curse upon everyone.”

With that, Orvault stopped walking.And he moved aside some thorn bushes.Rustle—It revealed a black pond illuminated by the moon.

“Childrakes like to roam the area, but every hour, they come to drink the water from this pond. It will come if we wait here.”

I see.This werewolf, Orvault, seemed to have a personality as soft as his fluffy coat. Most demons I knew were horrendous.

“Why are you helping us?”

I had to ask out of curiosity.Orvault replied easily.

“As I have said, we are not foolish. Attempting to attack the one who killed the Demon King would only result in death. That does not mean I will let you do as you please in these woods, either. So, it is better to help.”

I see.

A reasonable compromise.He wants us to be done and out of the forest as soon as possible.Just then, Astarosa, who had been listening quietly, clucked her tongue and snapped.

“You cowardly traitor. Wagging your tail like a dog even when the King’s enemy is right before you.”

“Yes, because I want to live. That is all. Did we not follow King Sabernak for that very reason? Because we wanted to live. He promised us life. But now the King is dead.”

The citizens of Pandemonium seemed to have their own situation.Well, that didn’t matter to me.

* * *

10 minutes.20 minutes.30 minutes….

Cecily Von Ragdoll yawned in boredom from waiting.Her sisters Naru and Hina would be asleep in their beds right now.

‘Can I make it to school tomorrow?’

As she thought that while dozing off—Someone poked Cecily’s side.It was Astarosa.

“What?”

“The Childrake is going to appear soon. We have to leave and stay at a distance of about a kilometer so listen carefully.”

“…….”

“Childrake are not to be underestimated. It’s best if you can defeat it unnoticed. Your slingshot is good enough for the job so don’t worry.”

Slingshot.Cecily realized the weight of it in her hand once again.

「Shoot the Childrake. Then go home to a warm bed.」

It was a simple task.But Astarosa kept going.

“The problem would be when you’re discovered. If that happens, don’t look back and run for it. That’s the only way to survive. Don’t forget it, kid.”

“I understand.”

“But you might not be able to run away. In that case, talk to it as much as you can. Childrakes like to talk so you’ll be able to distract it easily. It especially likes the word ‘friend’.”

“Friend?”

“Yes, but that’s the absolute last resort. Also, when you kill it, make sure it’s dead.”

Astarosa gave her many tips based on her own experience.Cecily packed all the information away in her mind and opened her eyes wide, fists clenched.She felt some of the drowsiness leaving.

And so the presence of Astarosa and the other adults vanished.When she was the only one left, the grass over that way moved.

‘It must be the Childrake!’

She loaded the slingshot with a steel marble and pulled it taut.

‘I dare you to come! I’m going to hurry home, wash up, and sleep!’

It was hard to shoot a wolf but a Childrake was a plant.Shooting trees or grass was too easy for Cecily.

Swish—Soon, something appeared out of the grass.It had the appearance of a child with a large flower sitting crookedly on its head like a hat.It looked about Cecily’s age, which shocked her.

‘That’s a Childrake?’

They said it was a plant.But no matter how you looked at it, it was a kid around Cecily’s age, not a plant!It was only different in that it was covered in leaves instead of wearing clothes.

“Who’s there?”

‘Ah, was I noticed?’

Cecily could feel a cold sweat on her forehead.A flower-head girl was approaching where Cecily was hidden in the grass.The slingshot aimed between its eyes also started to shake.

─Missed. Deduction.─Never get caught.

Mom’s scolding.And Astarosa’s voice giving her advice ran through her head like echoes, then Cecily finally closed her eyes.

Ping—! Shhhk—!With the sound of rubber snapping back to its original state, something flew through the air.That something collided with a thwack.

“Kyaaa!!!”

Plop—Cecily opened her eyes at the sound of a child’s shrieking and falling.Before her, was the flower-head girl, collapsed on the ground.

“... I-Is it dead?”

The slingshot was powerful.And that hit directly on the forehead so it wasn’t strange that it was dead.Cecily was feeling conflicted but she calmed her beating heart as much as possible and stepped out of the grass.

“... Uuuu.”

“I-It’s not dead!”

The flower-head girl was still alive—That fact made the hairs on her headstand.

─Make sure of it.

Astarosa’s voice echoed again in her ears.

Cecily aimed again at the forehead of the defenseless girl, but her face overlapped with the Night Rabbit that Cariote had caught earlier.

‘I need to defeat it!’’

Defeat the Childrake and get home.Cecily kept repeating that to console herself.However, Cecily wasn’t able to shoot again.

“Get that away!”

Before she knew it, the Childrake girl had opened her red eyes, glaring as she twisted Cecily’s hand.

‘W-What kind of strength…!’’

At the strong grasp, Cecily was forced to let go of the slingshot.It was a critical situation.

“F-Fuck!”

Cecily clenched her eyes shut and let out a curse.When she did, something unexpected happened.

“Fuck? What kind of word is that?”

The hand that was twisting hers was loosening its grip.When she opened her eyes, the flower-head girl was tilting her head.

“What does ‘fuck’ mean?”

Cecily didn’t know what was going on but she had to do something to survive this.

“F-Friend!”

“Friend?”

“... It means you want to be /genesisforsaken