“Claire sister—so it’s the holy water made by the Saintess herself. Rather than shaking it off, it’s better just to go around like this. Isn’t it a waste?”
Before stepping into the room, Andrea said this while sprinkling holy water on her head. Then she handed the half-full bottle to Rina and asked—
“Oh, you don’t need it, right?”
And she returned it to her waist. Her water-soaked hair faintly shimmered even in the dark.
“Are you teasing me?”
At Rina’s sulky tone, Andrea simply shrugged and replied.
“No, I really just forgot. I’ve never lived with a demon before.”
I was going to say I haven’t either, but Rina had been in human society since almost birth. In fact, she had hardly ever lived with demons. So, it might make her more sensitive to the smell of demons or beasts.
Well, it’s true that it would be useless. More than that, I thought that just splashing it would hardly guarantee her life.
Ugh, I absolutely must not let that water touch my hair.
Rina shook her head vigorously and grabbed the doorknob.
*
“It certainly looks like we are trapped.”
Even in a place where the stench stabbed her nose, Andrea remained unfazed. Water still dripped from her wet hair.
After walking for a while after entering the room, it seemed impossible to reach the target. At the same time, it also felt impossible to turn back. The piles of junk piled without any rules seemed to move silently. Even if we tried to return, the path continued in an unrecognizable shape.
“…….”
As Rina walked ahead, she stopped. After thinking about something quietly, she pushed aside a few nearby piles to make a seat and sat down.
“Have you given up?”
In response to Andrea’s question, Rina shrugged once.
“Not really. I never thought I could reach the witch by myself anyway. The witch isn’t an idiot.”
“If that’s the case, then getting here was the goal, huh?”
Andrea leaned against a nearby protruding table. Even though her hair, soaked in holy water, touched the junk behind her, there was no reaction. At least, it seemed those things were not created by the witch’s magic.
“Well, yeah.”
Rina crossed her arms.
Andrea quietly watched Rina’s figure.
“Are you trying to lure someone? Or is it to get back?”
“Who knows.”
Rina stared at the ceiling as she answered.
“How about you tell me some of your story? Stop just asking questions.”
“My story?”
“Didn’t you know this would happen? From the moment you entered alone, it’s not that different from me. A human who has seen both high-ranking demons and witches wouldn’t come alone to try and take down a witch.”
Hearing Rina’s words, Andrea let out a small laugh.
“That’s right.”
And she continued while looking up at the ceiling, just like Rina.
“If I don’t come out, the ones outside will move.”
“I don’t think there are stronger humans than you outside.”
“But if we’re talking about ‘incredibly many,’ it’s a different story. There are many paladins wielding holy swords, more than ‘just me.’ I’m not overwhelmingly stronger than them.”
“I don’t think a few humans can deal with a witch that easily.”
“Even saying a few is a large number. Even if I look young and beautiful, I’m the head of the Inquisition. It’s my job to always prepare for such things.”
Rina scoffed as if she found it ridiculous.
“And if you fail?”
“Then, more church forces will probably storm in.”
“And if they fail again?”
“Then even more troops will storm in.”
“Until every human dies? Are you going to repeat this until the demons win?”
This time, it was Andrea’s turn to laugh, feeling incredulous.
“So, did the demons win? Were they able to exterminate humans and take the world?”
“…”
“This is how we fight. We have always built defenses upon sacrifices and then endured while carrying out sieges from behind. It’s the same no matter the location. Death is commonplace. If you stop because you fear that, then the death of those who died first becomes meaningless. The only way to make it meaningful is to realize the purpose of that death.”
As she spoke, Andrea met Rina’s gaze. In her eyes was a kind of unwavering belief that was almost beyond the word certainty. A firm belief that wouldn’t change even if she faced death or if a precious someone sacrificially negated that very belief.
“Fanatic.”
“I’m the head of the Inquisitors.”
Seeing Andrea confidently respond with her chest out, Rina clicked her tongue in disbelief.
“Well, I suppose it’s my turn to ask now.”
Although she didn’t explicitly say to take turns asking, she felt like saying it wasn’t necessary. It didn’t seem like anything she said would make this woman quiet either.
“Didn’t you come here with similar thoughts to mine?”
“I don’t think like you do. I look calm on the outside, but I was created by the Witch of Suspicion. I usually think pessimistically and prepare for the worst.”
Rina picked up a thumb-sized matryoshka lying on the table.
Opening the blue matryoshka, a smaller red matryoshka was inside.
“…….”
Andrea nodded her head upward, urging her to continue. Rina fiddled with the red matryoshka as she continued speaking.
“There are demons other than me in this society. No, I’m not just talking about ordinary spies. There are those who live among humans without a care. I’ve never seen one that is openly referred to as a demon like me.”
“An interesting story. Though I don’t know how you figured that out.”
“……I think there are two others at school besides me.”
Andrea tilted her upper body slightly in interest.
“Did I mention I’m a dream demon?”
“No. But that’s interesting. Did the boys react?”
Rina shot Andrea a glare.
“I wouldn’t be able to control such powers. Although, there seem to be times when I can’t control it.”
“Oh?”
“Talk of succubi and incubi is all nonsense. There’s no fixed gender for a dream demon. They can take on any form they desire. Well, most tend to stick to one gender and are treated as odd if they change often.”
Of course, Rina didn’t know the details. At least all the forms Rina saw looked almost identical to her in feminine form.
Thinking of the broken and burst corpses, Rina frowned.
“So, regardless of what form it is—whether it’s what you call an incubus or succubus, they can exert their powers regardless of the opponent’s gender. It’s easy to seduce a woman even if you’re a ‘succubus.’ When it comes to ‘sexual orientation,’ it’s practically non-existent. If I set my mind to it, I could do something to you too.”
Andrea calmly smiled, brushing her wet hair with her hand seductively. Rina clicked her tongue in annoyance and continued speaking.
“……Anyway. Just imagine a being with such abilities standing on a platform, using those powers broadly. Both men and women couldn’t help but react.”
“-But that would mean there are some beings who do not react. So, aside from yourself, that makes two.”
“Right.”
One who accidentally used their power without realizing it on that platform.
One who didn’t react among those watching below.
Thus, two.
“Demons are beings born of the demons’ powers. Therefore, the powers they possess are merely minor copies of those of demons. So it’s unclear whether those two are truly demons. Even if they are demons, it’s likely that over half of their lineage is human. Otherwise, how could demons and humans have distant descendants that came into being by chance?”
Neither of them emitted any scent that Rina could detect. To put it bluntly, it was merely Rina’s ‘suspicions.’
But there was no need to add such words to evaporate the credibility of her statement.
“Are you willing to reveal the names of those two?”
Rina recalled their faces. Each of them had faces that made her want to scream in frustration. Naturally, she didn’t plan on telling anyone.
Maybe saying all this was already too much chatter.
“No—”
Bang!
Before Rina could finish her sentence, a loud noise echoed from beyond the wall. The table they were sitting on vibrated slightly.
“Something is coming. Is it the opponent you’ve been waiting for?”
“Who knows.”
Though she responded like that, Rina felt like she already knew who was coming.
*
Does Jian know where I am?
Honestly, I couldn’t figure out where Jian was heading either.
The illusion magic cast on me was easily dealt with, but the problem was that I didn’t know which direction I should go. I came in without thinking, but I had no idea where the witch was or where my friends were. More than that, while I could tell it was enormously vast, I couldn’t gauge the overall size of this room at all.
I didn’t know the witch’s intentions, but she purposefully didn’t imprison us. The junk seemed to shift slowly, and it looked like the paths were changing, but it wasn’t structured like a solitary confinement either.
Or maybe the junk was surprisingly lacking.
If the witch had known we would come, she would also know how threatening Jian was, and she would know what he could cut with a sword. Then she would have to make the barriers near Jian thicker, and naturally, it would be a bit lacking to completely block off other areas.
It might be possible to completely imprison us, but then every wall might become thin.
Anyway, the fact that she didn’t end our lives right away meant that there weren’t that many of them. If we started rebelling, wouldn’t we be able to break through? To try to end our lives, the strength, agility, endurance, and resilience of humans here are completely different from those in the world I lived in. Otherwise, how could they fight against demons and beasts?
Especially those aspiring heroes who attend the academy would be even more so.
You shouldn’t underestimate humans who have survived and adapted in desperate situations for 500 years.
Of course, my strength as a ‘strong character’ may be less efficient in this regard, but with Selena’s magic, who knows, maybe we could break through after all.
Things might look plentiful, but it’s probably a façade. In reality, most of the room might be empty – just enough to make us think we’re ‘trapped.’
Decorating herself with emptiness, pretending to have everything—doesn’t that fit the character of the Witch of Jealousy I created perfectly?
Wow, that gives me goosebumps.
Am I actually quite smart?
Well, who created this world? That’s right, it’s me!
No matter how much they run, they’re in my palm.
Alright, then I know what I need to do.
If it’s a ‘showcase’ path, it’s guaranteed to be the wrong one. They would want us to keep going the wrong way.
Boom! A loud crash echoed from behind the wall.
That’s right. The concrete walls aren’t even soundproof. After all, they’re not solid walls; they’re just a pile of junk.
Ah, that means if we make a loud noise here, they’ll hear it on the other side too?
Maybe breaking down the walls would be a good idea. Finding the path and revealing my position is killing two birds with one stone!
Having made up my mind, I tightly grasped my morning star. Then, I waited until another loud noise could be heard.
Boom! The objects trembled.
That direction!
I forcefully swung the morning star at the obstacle in that direction!
Crack! The table shattered. Objects on top tumbled down—
Among them, various air fresheners and perfume bottles also spilled and shattered.
The liquid from the broken bottles soaked the ground, hitting my nose and rekindling my numbed sense of smell.
“Ugh.”
And this time, I genuinely threw up.
*
But what are humans?
Humans are beings of will!
Humans get broken, but they don’t lose! By Ernest Hemingway
“Ugh.”
Ah, but really, I think my stomach might burst this time.
It’s too late to say sorry, forgive me. The stench had increased so much that it couldn’t possibly get any worse after I swung a few more times. I should have at least brought the morning star case. Had I at least worn that on my head, it would’ve been much better.
No, if I had worn it, I might have thrown up while it was still on. That would be the worst…
Huff, I exhaled and took a deep breath. Ugh, it felt like something would come up again, but I held it back. At least while I was holding my breath, there was no room to smell, and during that time, it was more productive to smash the things in front of me.
At first, I thought that if I broke things, they would start moving immediately and my efforts would go to waste, but I figured Jian must have been focused on breaking on his side, so that didn’t happen. Nice, Lee Ji-An! Just like a protagonist I created. There’s a reason he’s loved by various girls.
Thanks to that, although it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, at least I could steadily break down walls.
The smell was indeed terrible.
I threw up a few times.
But the terrible smell being masked by my own vomit suddenly felt like a blessing.
Spit.
After spitting out the unpleasant feeling onto the ground, I swung my morning star again with all my might. My attack aimed at a particularly weak spot among the toppled obstacles definitely crushed that part, and—
Crash.
The items crumbled. In the process, more perfume and air freshener bottles spilled, but since I was already at the worst point, I didn’t care much anymore.
At the very top of the collapsed objects, that is, between the barrier wall and the ceiling, a tiny gap appeared.
“Alright!”
I shouted and began to climb over the obstacle pile. As I climbed, the haphazardly stacked items crumbled a bit, and by the time I reached the top, the gap had widened a little more.
Once I reached the top, I first poked my head in—only to find it got stuck due to my massive chest. If I forced my way in, I felt like I would fall into one of those situations often seen in adult comics, so I decided to pull my head back and carefully poked with my morning star to secure a space.
Okay, this should be enough.
Confirming that I had made a decent hole, I tried again. This time, I successfully managed to come out of the hole.
Since it was a junk-stacked wall, it wasn’t smooth, so it was relatively easy to slide down as well. I spilled a few bottles again during the descent, but at this point, I just rolled with it…
After getting down from the wall, I gagged once more when—
Boom!
The opposing wall I had broken through suddenly collapsed.
Hearing a different crashing sound than the one I had made, I was left feeling very empty—
Before I could think that, I saw an enormous amount of liquid pouring towards me.
Unlike the wall I had toiled to break, there was a sizable gap large enough for a person to pass through, and Jian came tumbling through.
He smiled brightly, waving at me as if he was happy to see me.
And upon seeing Jian…
“Ugh.”
I threw up again.
Humans were not created to lose, but apparently, they do get broken.
*
Having gained a body made by the goddess, I possessed significantly enhanced physical abilities and senses, but I ended up utterly groggy thanks to one of those senses—my sense of smell.
I used to think it was an exaggeration in manga or novels when the protagonist, even if their body was fine, couldn’t act properly due to mental issues. But it was real. The dizzying stench was one thing, but witnessing myself vomit on the floor in front of others was an incredibly shocking experience.
Ah, this is so damn embarrassing.
Although there wasn’t anything left to vomit since I had already thrown up a few times, the sour gastric acid flowed back up and created an utterly maddening smell in my mouth. I didn’t have water, so I couldn’t rinse my mouth.
Thanks to that, I had no choice but to rely on Jian’s support as I staggered along.
Jian had initially offered to carry me, but when he glanced down at the Saint’s Robe, which was practically a mini skirt, he changed his mind. I couldn’t tell if he was perceptive or not.
Still, it seemed better to accept his offer of support than to end up getting blocked again by another wall while staggering alone.
…Although I didn’t particularly want to walk so closely with a guy.
Besides, being the protagonist he was, his body was quite, well, how should I put it? Solid and big. Since he was just in a shirt and I was soaked, I was pressed right against him, feeling the firmness of Jian’s side. I didn’t find that sensation particularly pleasant, which put my mind at ease. Thank goodness, I’m still a man at heart.
Although I wasn’t as tall as Jian when I was originally a guy, I had shrunk a little after becoming a woman, so I had to look up at him. As a result, I felt quite begrudged.
Moreover, since coming to this world, I hadn’t had any physical contact with any girls!
Of course, I hadn’t had any in the world I lived in either!
Still, since I’ve already turned into a TS character, wouldn’t there be some hugging or hand-holding, or even intertwining arms? Ugh!? Isn’t there supposed to be something with a touch of yuri!? No physical contact allowed at the convent…!
—While I was sunk in my serious thoughts, Jian reached a wall and swung his sword.
With no preparation whatsoever, still clutching me tightly, he swung the weapon lightly, and a light that couldn’t be perceived by the eyes shot forward.
You might wonder how I knew the cutting edge of the sword that couldn’t be perceived by the eyes—
Well, that’s because the wall in front of us shattered in a way that was clearly visible.
“This is… totally unfair…”
I murmured, forgetting my previous resolve to keep silent because of the absurd sight.
“Haha…”
Jian slightly averted his gaze, looking somewhat troubled. If he had a free hand, he might have scratched his cheek.
You seem too strong to brush it off casually.
I glanced down at the head of the morning star I was holding above me.
Its protruding spikes and blades looked undeniably terrifying to anyone that saw them, but in this moment, it appeared so weak and pathetic.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
