Chapter 7
Lurking in the Town of Thick Fog
(Part 1)
Several days after leaving the human fan club venue, I was driving the carriage while checking the map given to me by my master.
The journey to our destination was exceedingly long. Moreover, it seemed to be a small town located deep, deep within the forest, all by itself.
The rough ground had been rendered muddy by several consecutive days of rain, causing us to take longer than planned. That being said, it was still much faster compared to walking. Negotiating with Kizuna to get this carriage was definitely the right decision. According to the newspaper forecast I bought in a town we stopped at for a break along the way, the rain should let up soon.
In fact, compared to yesterday, it had already lightened to a drizzle.
My master, staying inside the carriage to avoid getting wet, was gazing blankly outside through the windows set into both side walls.
“You know, there’s something I’ve been wondering. Dia, what is it about me that you like?”
He suddenly threw that question at me.
When I turned to look, he was playing with his own hair while looking outside, seemingly bored. He didn’t appear particularly serious; the atmosphere was more like he was just asking on a whim because he had nothing else to do.
“Well… there are many things, but I especially like your eyes. When it’s just the two of us and you look at me, Akatsuki, you sometimes gaze at me with eyes filled with madness. That freezingly beautiful obsession sends a thrilling sensation down my spine.”
“…Are you really complimenting me with that?”
My master turned to face me with an expression that seemed to say he was at a loss for how to react. Moreover, he didn’t seem to be aware that he looked at me with such eyes. Indeed, these aren’t words one normally uses to compliment another human.
“I am complimenting you. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t be traveling with you.”
“What are you talking about? Dia, you made a contract with me back then and became mine. Even if you hated me, staying with me is a given.”
“You say such outrageous things so casually… Well, I find the warped nature of your love perspective endearing as well, so it’s fine… Let’s see, besides, a thousand years ago, I was treated specially in terms of fear and respect. Akatsuki, who treats me without any special treatment despite knowing my power, is a precious existence.”
That’s precisely why I could accept the members of the human fan club so amicably.
For demons, strength is of paramount importance, critical to survival. It’s often said that the only sure way for the weak to live safely is to be favored by the strong. Both Iblis and I, back in those days, had lived for a long time, so there were many who would cozy up to us. I remember we were both quite sick of it.
But the demons in the human fan club don’t judge anyone based on strength or weakness. It’s strictly enforced that anyone who does so is expelled. While their ways of thinking about and affection for humans are diverse and sometimes difficult to understand, it’s fundamentally a comfortable place.
“Huh? But I do treat you specially, Dia. Because you’re the only one I love.”
My master tilted his head and said this without a hint of embarrassment, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Is that so?”
His delightful words made me feel my heartbeat quicken slightly.
A smile naturally spread across my face.
Looking up at the sky, I saw the rain had stopped.
―――――――――
As we continued onward with the carriage, eventually a river came into view alongside the road.
Perhaps my master had grown bored of the foggy forest with its poor visibility, or maybe he was taking a nap to prepare for the town ahead, he was asleep.
Checking the map, it seemed we should arrive at our destination soon if we followed this river. I stopped the carriage by the side of the road and gently shook my master’s shoulder to wake him.
He slowly sat up, languidly. He stretched largely, and a pop sound came from his bones. Perhaps because the ride had been quite bumpy, his whole body seemed stiff.
I dipped a clean towel in the river, wrung it out, and shook off the excess water. I also drew water into a bucket we had loaded in the carriage and placed it in front of the horse, which began to drink quietly.
“We’ve arrived near the destination. If the rumors are true, entering while riding in the carriage could risk losing the horse. From here, let’s proceed on foot.”
As I relayed this, I draped the damp towel over my master’s face with a pasari. Whether the cold on his face woke him up, he scrubbed his face with the towel before standing up.
Looking from the carriage towards the area beyond the river, it was hard to see clearly due to the fog, but I could make out the shadows of several buildings. This region was somewhat chilly. He changed into a sweater that covered his neck and packed the bare minimum of luggage into a small backpack for moving around.
“Alright! Let’s go then.”
“Understood. I believe Akatsuki will be fine, but just in case, please don’t stray from me. I don’t know how many of them there are.”
“Yeah, if there are any disguised ones, report them, please.”
―――――――――
The closer we got to the town, the thicker the fog became, and our visibility worsened.
The surrounding area was filled with demonic magic power, which naturally made me tense up. It’s a strange place. Everywhere around here is steeped in magic power. It seems this area has seen almost no human intervention, and due to the topography, the magic power finds it hard to leak out.
I’ve also heard it’s famous as a place where ‘culled’ demons are abandoned, and due to the effects of gate magic and the demons themselves, it has become like this.
“What’s that ‘culling’?”
My master tilted his head and asked.
“In the demon world, due to overpopulation problems, it’s not rare for weaker demons to be expelled to the human world. The selection process for which demons to expel is called culling.”
“Huh~, so that’s why the town we’re heading to is famous for having many demons?”
And that’s not the only reason for the high demon population.
I hear that town is also a decaying place with deep fog, where people hardly ever come, and leaving is difficult. We came here by carriage, but it still took us several days. On foot, it would take even longer and be more dangerous. On top of that, perhaps due to the fog and magic influence, it seems communication with the outside, like telephones, is impossible, making the town even more isolated.
It’s a town with little human traffic, and due to the magic power permeating the area, contacting the outside or even detecting demons is difficult.
For demons, it couldn’t be more convenient.
It really seems we should be careful.
My master said he was mentally prepared to activate his barrier magic at any time and strode on ahead.
Soon, the buildings that had only been visible as vague outlines began to become clearer. We seemed to be nearing the town entrance. I couldn’t sense any human presence outside, and the atmosphere was such that you wouldn’t be wrong to call it an abandoned village.
At the town entrance stood an imposing arch-like gate, with a large plaque attached bearing the name ‘Miscar Town.’
It was the moment my master took the lead and tried to pass under it.
A click sound, like something activating, rang out. I hurriedly looked at my master’s feet where the sound came from and saw a magic circle had appeared there.
“Whoa, what’s this?!”
“This is… a transfer magic circle?”
My master instantly activated his barrier magic, and a transparent film of magic appeared around him. It covered his entire body to protect him from external threats, but the light from the magic circle swallowed him up, barrier and all.
By the time the light faded, my master’s figure had vanished.
I hurriedly ran over to the spot where the magic circle had been. Crouching down, I touched the magic circle, concentrating to trace the remnants of the magic power. The transfer destination seemed to lead somewhere inside this town.
But, even considering the area was saturated with magic power, this was a blunder.
Probing for magical energy nearby made it clear. This was set up by a magician quite proficient in magic. It doesn’t seem like the level of precision a culled demon could manage. If that’s the case, then the one who set this transfer magic is almost certainly human.
As I was analyzing the magic, I heard the sound of someone stepping on gravel behind me.
Standing up and turning around, I saw four humans standing a few meters away. They all wore hoods of the same design pulled deep over their eyes, and they were looking straight at me.
I recognized that attire. It’s the uniform of ‘Exorcist,’ an organization specializing in demon subjugation. Moreover, these are the uniforms for the members of their small, elite special forces.
This might become more troublesome than I thought.
“Master, life with you is certainly never boring…”
