“Sorry… what’s the demon world?”
“It’s the world where demons like us live. Well, just think of it as the other world you guys went to. Even we don’t know the details.”
Hmm…
“Got it. Continue from there.”
“Sure. Ten years ago, we demons from the demon world suddenly appeared in this world. We panicked, but the humans panicked even more—and they tried to wipe us out. That was how the war began.”
Eliminate…
“Japan too?”
“Haha, Japan wasn’t that bad. People in this country weren’t armed, so they mostly ran away. There was a military, but for some reason, it didn’t attack us.”
Hmm… sounds like Japan.
“Japan prohibits possession of weapons.”
“Seems like it. But other countries are different.”
Other countries…
“You demons didn’t just appear in Japan?”
“All over the world. And don’t call us monsters. We’re different from those unintelligent things. We’re demons. You’d be pissed too if someone called you an ape, right?”
So they’re different from monsters…
“Sorry. I don’t really understand.”
“Figures. Anyway, we’re demons. Let me continue. There wasn’t much conflict in Japan at first, but elsewhere, all-out war broke out. Naturally, Japan was eventually drawn in as well. More than anything, we demons had nowhere to live. Then the first shot was fired—by troops at one of the American military bases.”
Right. There were American military bases in Japan…
“And then?”
“We’re not stupid enough to just sit there and get killed. If they’re gonna fight, we’ll fight back. So we took over the cities.”
It’s really war.
“Hey, what about the humans? Did you win?”
Ayaka asked.
“We had the advantage at first. The humans in this country were really weak, it was no contest. But they quickly counterattacked and started pushing us back. Since then, it’s been a struggle for control of the towns. Actually, it’s happening around here too. Around here, including Beppu, belongs to us demons, but places like Kumamoto are human towns. There’s often skirmishing around Mount Aso.”
A war between demons and humans…
“Yuu-kun, what do you think?”
“It’s a bit hard to believe.”
“Right…”
Even if they told me to believe it, it’s difficult. But right in front of me is a talking goblin.
“Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Well, I think you’ll understand once you actually see it.”
See it… huh.
“Hey, if we keep going down this road, will we reach a demon town?”
“That’s right. This area is rural and close to the mountains, so no demons live here, but Beppu proper is populated entirely by demons. You might be surprised when you see it.”
Seriously…
“Would it be bad if we kept going?”
“Huh? What should we do? This is way beyond just contacting the police.”
There’s no one around, let alone police.
“Well, you two might be able to manage somehow.”
Hmm?
“What do you mean?”
“Like I said earlier, you two have mana—and an unbelievable amount by human standards. If you claimed you were demons, they’d probably believe you.”
Us as demons…
“No, that would probably be impossible. We look different from you.”
“Ah, I should mention this too… There are all kinds of demons, just as there are all kinds of monsters. I’m a goblin, but there are also orcs and demons who look almost human. Succubi are really popular with humans, you know? So popular that humans even founded a Succubus Church.”
Succubi… I hadn’t seen any in the other world, but I knew the image—a sexy older sister who drains men’s essence. I, being well-read, had studied this.
“How ridiculous.”
Ayaka was exasperated.
“Absolutely.”
What I could say is that if it were Minato and Riku instead of Ayaka, they might have gotten a bit excited.
“Hehehe. Well, that’s how it’s, so I think you’ll be fine going into the city. Though I can’t guarantee it.”
Hmm…
“We don’t know the current situation or what passes for common sense in this world anymore…”
“I still don’t really get mana or demons, and it’s not sinking in…”
We hadn’t had a chance to process the situation yet.
“Then shall I guide you?”
Hmm?
“Guide us? You?”
“Yeah. If you’re with me, no one will be suspicious. And I can teach you things as we go.”
That would be helpful, but…
“Why would you do that for us? It’s suspicious.”
Ayaka narrowed her eyes.
“I’m not forcing you. I’m only offering because I haven’t given you information worth as much as the mana I received. You can refuse, but then I’ll return the mana.”
The demons’ rule of equivalent exchange, huh…
“What do you think, Yuu-kun?”
“I think it would be dangerous for just the two of us to keep going.”
“But what if it’s a trap?”
“If he were setting a trap, he wouldn’t need to give us information here. And if we don’t go to the city, we’d have to go the other way. Into the mountains.”
The word “stranded” came to mind.
“Don’t go further in. It’s a dead end. There’s no road.”
The goblin nodded and told us.
“Ugh, I’m getting confused. My head is spinning.”
Ayaka held her head.
“Ayaka, let’s believe in ourselves. We have enough strength to escape if something happens.”
We may have dropped out, but we’re not weak.
“Sorry. I’ll leave it to you, Yuu-kun…”
Alright.
“Goblin, guide us.”
“Sure. And my name is Elvis.”
Now that was a cool name.
“I’m Yuu. This is Ayaka.”
“Hehehe. Nice to meet you. By the way, are you two married?”
“No. We’re friends.”
“Hmm… I kinda figured. Well, get in. I’ll take you to Beppu.”
Elvis gestured toward the van with his thumb.
“Not that it matters, but how can you drive?”
“Haha, I think you’ll be surprised when you get to Beppu. We demons live just like humans. We drive cars, we watch TV. This world is the best.”
TV… are they broadcasting shows?
Wait… come to think of it, there had been a TV in the house where we stayed.
“Ah, by the way, I don’t know if it was your house, but we stayed the night there.”
More accurately, had it not belonged to the humans who used to live there?
“Do whatever you want.”
“We ate the ham too.”
“That’s theft.”
Sorry.
“Do you have anything to eat? We’ve only had ham since yesterday.”
“Ah, yeah yeah. There are apples in the back seat, eat those.”
Elvis got into the driver’s seat as he spoke, while we climbed into the back. Inside, we found cardboard boxes piled high with red apples.
“What are these?”
“They’re for sale. I grew them. I’m a farmer, after all.”
A goblin farmer…
“You really are just like people.”
“We’ve gotten used to it over ten years. Now get in.”
“Ah, right.”
Ayaka and I got into the back seat and took apples from the cardboard boxes.
“Is this safe?”
“There’s no poison. They’re normal apples.”
My Appraisal skill confirmed that.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yeah.”
As we bit into the apples, the van started moving.
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