Chapter 9
A Transaction of Lives
Part 2
At the entrance to the town at the end of my long trek through the forest, I silently looked up at the country.
This country, known as the Gran Kokuma Empire, was surrounded by a large wall, making it impossible to see inside from the outside. I’d heard it was an isolated nation, not very active in diplomacy, and that obtaining the necessary permit for entry was quite difficult.
I never thought I’d end up coming to a place like this…
After all, among the human world’s countries, this one seemed particularly harsh towards demons.
I’d heard that demons captured by this country’s people suffered terrible fates.
I hadn’t heard any good rumors about this country regarding demons.
While it’s normal not to hear good rumors about demons since they’re generally enemies to human world residents, the problem was the content of the rumors. Things like keeping captured demons like livestock or using them for experiments. They were all stories that made you feel sick just hearing them.
I was traveling with the demon Dia.
Regardless of the entry permit issue, I didn’t want to come to a country like this.
I figured Dia would be fine, but the thought of her being discovered as a demon made me anxious; it would definitely lead to trouble. The ‘Miscal Town’ we visited last month, which had demons disguised as humans, felt more comfortable compared to this.
So, why did I come here? Because I was asked to.
“Good work. Here are the entry permits for the Gran Kokuma Empire. Make sure you each have one.”
Saying that, Hal-san, who was walking ahead of me, handed Dia and me papers densely covered in writing.
I’d heard the permits were hard to get, so why did he have them for both me and Dia as if it were nothing? I wouldn’t go so far as to call Hal-san a dangerous person, but I sometimes felt an indescribable suspiciousness about him.
If it weren’t for Ruki-san’s request, I would have refused.
——————————
This is how it started.
“You want me to go sightseeing with Hal-san? Why?”
I asked the demon in front of me.
That demon… Ruki-san, with his short, dark gray hair and golden eyes, had been so emaciated when we first met that it made me a little uneasy to look at him, but now his complexion was healthy.
He seemed to be working hard to make a living with a human named Hal-san, and judging by his physical condition, they were managing well.
Dia and I were attending a monthly fan club exchange party for humans.
This time, the party mainly involved light conversation with drinks and snacks; the lavish parties with full meals were apparently held about once every six months.
Ruki-san and Hal-san had been attending every time since that first meeting, and each time we met, we’d ended up talking face-to-face like this. These two also seemed to be traveling to various places for their own reasons, and I felt a certain kinship, so I actively conversed with them each time we met.
Hal-san only gave minimal replies, so I couldn’t get a read on him, but it didn’t take long for me to become friends with Ruki-san. Our conversations about towns we’d visited or moving places we’d seen were lively, and just listening was often intriguing.
Then one day, Ruki-san, as if he’d mustered his resolve, made this request: ‘I want you to go sightseeing with Hal-san.’
“The truth is, I’ve been traveling with Hal for a long time, but he doesn’t seem very interested in towns or people. I won’t be able to stay with him forever, and I’ve always thought I wanted him to find something he’s interested in… And that Hal was the one who said, for the first time, ‘I want to go to this country’…”
“Of all places, this country?”
“Yes, of all places…”
Looking at the map and the country name he gave me, I felt indescribable.
The ‘Gran Kokuma Empire’ was a country I had listed in my “Absolutely Will Not Visit” list. If it were any other place, I love sightseeing and would have agreed with an immediate ‘Of course!’, but I was stumped for an answer.
Perhaps sensing my hesitation, Ruki-san looked very uncomfortable.
And rightly so. Ruki-san was a demon.
He probably knew the bad rumors about this country even better than I did.
“I’m truly sorry. I tried to stop him, but Hal said, ‘I’ll go alone, so don’t worry.’ Precisely because of the location, that makes me incredibly anxious. I know I should be the one to go, but I… just the thought of going to that country makes my legs freeze up…
…I don’t have any other human acquaintances I can ask. I’ll do anything if it’s within my power. Please…!!”
I couldn’t refuse after he, someone I considered a friend, bowed his head to me so many times. Well, I’m human, and Dia is a super high-spec demon, so a day of sightseeing should be fine, right?
When I agreed, he thanked me over and over again.
We had them guide us, and we stopped the carriage at a position where the walls surrounding the country were just barely visible.
From there, the three of us—me, Dia, and Hal-san—would proceed on foot towards the country.
We set up a tent in a spot hidden by trees where it was hard to see. We found a log of a good size to sit on and caught our breath.
“Sorry for borrowing the tent too. I’ll wait here overnight.”
“It’s fine. While we’re gone, please look after the horse. There’s water and feed loaded in the back~”
Saying that, we left Ruki-san in charge of watching the place, and the three of us set foot into the country in question.
——————————
“Well, now that we’re inside, it doesn’t seem like such a bad atmosphere, does it?”
“You’re right, it doesn’t seem particularly like a country with bad public order.”
We walked around the country for a while, cautiously observing our surroundings, but so far, nothing unusual had happened.
The red-brick townscape was neatly maintained. A steam train ran in the distance, and there were many buses. The transportation system was well-organized, there were many street stalls, and the river water was clean. While I could sense some gap between rich and poor, many people were smiling.
I thought it seemed like an environment quite suitable for humans to live in. Apart from the difficulty of entry, it wasn’t a bad place for sightseeing.
It feels strange to say this, but I was almost let down. Of course, nothing happening is a very good thing…
However, I could sense traces of demonic magic power in the area. I have an excellent ability to perceive demonic power, so I can vaguely sense it even if they aren’t visible. If I had to say, that was the only thing bothering me.
We were taking a break at the open terrace of a café facing the central square, having a light meal. All the snacks brought to us were freshly made and warm, tasting as good as their price suggested.
If you ignored the strange rumors, it was a fine country.
But I couldn’t find any reason why Hal-san would want to come here, even if by force.
Since we were walking around together, I had been observing Hal-san’s demeanor, but he didn’t seem to be enjoying the sightseeing very much. If anything, his attitude was matter-of-fact, as if he were observing something.
“Hal-san, why did you want to come here?”
I asked while nibbling on the hot dog I had ordered.
The quickest way to resolve a question is to ask the person directly.
“This country is where I met Ruki-kun.”
“So, it’s your and Ruki-san’s hometown?”
“No, I’m from a different place. Although Ruki-kun spent many years in this country, I doubt he would call it his hometown either. We met deep in the mountains beyond this town, and we left the country without stopping here, taking a rather long detour. There were no walls or guards on the animal trails, you see.”
Well, if it were their hometown, it would be strange for Ruki-san to be so reluctant to come here. Ruki-san, a demon who lived here a long time, dislikes this place… if that’s the case, then as I thought…
Just then, several large trucks stopped in the square.
Their cargo beds were colorfully and pop-ly constructed out of wood, as if a theater performance was about to begin. I couldn’t hear well from here, but several men got out and were handing out flyers or announcing something.
Wondering what was starting, I was gazing blankly when, not only the people already in the square, but also people from nearby houses began to stream out. The person sitting at the next table hurriedly stuffed the food they had ordered into their mouth and rushed to pay the bill.
In no time at all, a simple small stage was set up in front of the trucks, and the square became packed with the trucks and an audience.
From the passenger seat of a truck, a slightly overweight middle-aged man in what looked like a high-quality uniform cleared his throat into a microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for gathering. We have prepared a selection of wonderful items for you today. Please, take a look.”
The middle-aged man gave that greeting and bowed his head elegantly.
At that moment, a sharp sound, like a whip crack, came from the truck’s cargo bed. After a short pause, three individuals with restraints on their arms and legs came out. Humans wearing the same outfit as the man with the microphone mercilessly struck them from behind with whips, driving them onto the stage.
Gagged, they couldn’t even scream and merely wept in apparent pain.
The sight was so painful I wanted to look away.
“…They’re all demons.”
“Yes. Probably lower-ranking demons culled from the demon world.”
According to what Dia told me before, the demon world’s territory is apparently small compared to the human world. Because of that, beings other than excellent, strong demons are occasionally subjected to something called ‘culling,’ where they are sent to the human world. These seemingly culled demons were being put on stage and auctioned off.
High prices were being called out, and transactions of lives were taking place one after another, even in broad daylight.
It was a sickening sight.
“The Gran Kokuma Empire’s famous slave market. It seems all the merchandise are demons, so Akatsuki-kun, you don’t need to worry.”
Hal-san said this matter-of-factly, as if it were a familiar sight.
The way he was elegantly drinking the tea he had ordered looked quite bizarre to me.
For me, it was a sight that ruined the meal I’d gone to the trouble of ordering, but weren’t the customers sitting on the open terrace also standing up and making a commotion? Just a moment ago, I thought it was a letdown because the country seemed nicer than the rumors, but I’d judged too quickly.
It seemed to be the rumored ‘country where demon lives are traded’ after all.
“…Dia, are you okay watching this?”
“I’m fine. That said, it’s not a pleasant sight, so shall we leave?”
“Well, you two, you should relax a bit more. It seems things are just getting exciting.”
“…Hah? What are you talking about?”
We tried to get up and leave promptly, but Hal-san was still leisurely sipping his tea. Even though he had a demon friend like Ruki-san, how could he say such a thing in this situation?
I had let my guard down because he traveled with the demon Ruki-san, but the fact that he wasn’t flustered at all and was watching the proceedings as if it were natural was no different from the people living in this country.
“G-g-g… le, let… go!! Gah… GYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!”
A agonized scream came from the depths of the square.
A cry echoed, rivaling the loud cheers of the spectators. The sound of what seemed like whipping and an even louder roar made my body flinch involuntarily.
What in the world was happening… I didn’t want to see or hear it, so I covered my ears, shut my eyes, and shook my head vigorously. I stayed still, thinking the commotion would settle down after a while, when suddenly I heard Dia’s voice calling out right beside me.
“Akatsuki! Over here, quickly!”
“Huh? What?”
When I removed my hands from my ears, the screams of the spectators in the square, the nearby houses, and the café pierced my ears. Turning towards the square, I saw a single demon charging towards us, breaking through the wave of screaming spectators.
“De… de-deceivers! You tricked meeeee!!”
The demon roared towards us.
I was distracted and surprised by the unexpected event, so my reaction was delayed.
It was a demon with an abnormal physique.
The muscles of its upper body were swollen to more than twice the size of its lower body, and most distinctive was its right arm. Dark red patterns like blood vessels covered it, and from its sharp claws to its skin, bone-like structures were exposed. Perhaps it couldn’t walk on its legs due to the upper body hypertrophy; it used both hands like forelegs and ran straight towards us.
Even though there were other humans in the square, for some reason, it was coming for us.
I didn’t really understand the situation, but if they were looking for a fight, I had no intention of taking it silently. If I dodged, only the café behind me and the people inside would become casualties.
Besides, it was fast… If its target was us, leaving Dia aside, it seemed unlikely I could escape by running.
Thinking it best to intercept it, I was about to activate a binding spell when the charging demon grabbed something from the ground. It looked like bricks from the cobblestone pavement shattered when it struck the ground with its arm. The demon swung back massively and hurled the bricks towards us.
Crap… My constitution allows me to nullify most demon magic and attacks, but I can’t do anything about physical things like bricks or charges.
I stopped the binding spell activation and hastily backed away from the table.
“Guh…!”
The brick launched from its muscular arm had the force of a cannonball.
I managed to dodge the brick itself, but it slammed into the chair and table where I had just been sitting, and fragments of the teacup on the table stabbed sharply into my shoulder. The impact threw me off balance, and I fell onto my back.
Struggling in pain, I tried to get up, but the demon was already right in front of me.
Ah, at this rate, I’m going to be slammed… Just as I gritted my teeth,
“Akatsuki!”
A strong impact hit my left shoulder, and I was sent flying to the opposite side as if pushed.
Looking back, I saw Dia shielding me, taking the demon’s charge in my place.
“Dia!”
Dia was sent flying back and crashed into the wooden pillar of the café. I heard the creaking sound of the pillar cracking and Dia’s muffled groan.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem to have been impaled by the claws extending from its arm or the protruding bones.
But right now, Dia was suppressing her magical power to the absolute limit to safely enter this town. Her physical strength and durability were at human levels; there was no way she could be unharmed after being hit by that mass of muscle and bone.
For a moment, the blood drained from my face, and at the same time, an intense rage boiled up within me towards the demon in front of me.
Don’t think you can get away with seriously injuring someone precious to me.
I’ll bind you and seal you away for life!
I was determined to capture it with a binding spell this time, when someone stepped in from the side.
It was Hal-san.
Despite what had just happened, Hal-san was looking at the demon with a calm face, as if he had known everything all along.
“Hey, move! You’re in the way!”
I grabbed Hal-san’s arm and shouted, but he only turned his head and smiled cheerfully.
I didn’t understand the meaning behind that smile, and it only made my irritation grow. But even more than me, the demon that had slammed into Dia was glaring at Hal-san with a murderous expression.
“Sorry, I need you to wait a little longer.”
I wondered who those words were directed at.
I wanted to ask, but Hal-san didn’t say anything more. He suddenly raised his right hand and lightly flicked it to the left.
Instantly, the demon, which was about to attack Hal-san, was flung violently to the left as if repelled and slammed hard into the cobblestone pavement. The force was tremendous, shattering the stones and scattering debris everywhere.
What was that… It must be manipulation magic, but I only felt magical power for an instant. Even so, to move an opponent with that much force so easily isn’t something just anyone can do.
And this magical power… it feels strange. It’s not a demon’s, but I don’t think it’s human power either.
“Pro… pro-mise… dif-fer… gyaaaaah!!”
The demon seemed unable to speak properly, perhaps due to an issue with its swollen throat, but it seemed to have some business with Hal-san. Hal-san remained calm and simply smiled quietly. The demon seemed to find that attitude even more infuriating and looked ready to pounce again despite just having been slammed down.
Just then, I thought I saw a figure shimmer behind the demon, and it leaped onto the demon’s shoulder.
It was Dia.
Silently, she had apparently slipped behind the demon without me noticing.
The demon seemed to have noticed Dia on its shoulder and opened its eyes wide in panic.
Dia’s face as she looked down at the demon was scarier than any expression I had ever seen on her before.
“Don’t get carried away, brat.”
In a low voice, she said that and stabbed something like a syringe into the demon’s neck.
The demon thrashed and screamed in panic, and Dia landed on the ground as if shaken off. Thinking I still couldn’t let my guard down, I stood in front of Dia, ready to unleash magic at any moment.
“Akatsuki, it’s alright now.”
Hearing that, I wondered ‘Why?’ when I saw the demon, now with the syringe stuck in it, stop moving and collapse on the spot.
The previous enraged expression was gone, its eyes were vacant, and it lay limply. Looking closer, a heart-shaped magic circle was visible in its eyes, and I understood it had been placed under some spell.
The magical power felt somewhat familiar, but mixed with its own, it was hard to pinpoint.
“The blood of a brainwashing demon, I see. You have quite a strange item.”
Hal-san smoothly peered out from behind.
I didn’t understand what he meant, but to me, he was the strange one.
“Hey, Hal-san, I have a lot of things I want to ask you.”
“That’s fine, but could you please deal with them first? I’m not good at handling trouble with others…”
I hadn’t noticed, but the people from the square were now looking in our direction.
The middle-aged man who had been on stage was running over in a fluster, apologizing to us. He said he was sorry for the trouble and that he would pay compensation. And also about retrieving the ‘merchandise’…
It’s true, Hal-san didn’t give off the vibe of being good at communication. Entrusting it to him was worrying.
But honestly, my shoulder wound hurt.
I was thinking I wanted first aid first when Hal-san brought his hand close to my wound.
I flinched, thinking he was going to touch it, but a warm magical light emanated from his hand, and the wound vanished in an instant. Surprised, I touched the spot, but there was no scar at all; it was completely healed. Even though it wasn’t a major wound, healing it completely in an instant was astonishing.
“I’ll heal Dia-kun’s wounds too, so please go ahead. He probably has a broken rib or two.”
“…Tch, absolutely do not go anywhere! And if you make Dia’s wounds worse, I’ll turn you into a mummy!”
After confirming Hal-san’s acknowledgment, I left the spot to deal with the merchants.
Even after all this, Hal-san continued to smile quietly.
