A different anon's crappy isekai

Prologue:

Tragedy on racecourse! One dead!
By Schlomo Shekelstein, May 18, 20XX
Disaster struck yesterday when a high schooler, now identified to be 18 year old Nao Hiroyuki, was struck by a truck during the annual Yokohama truck drag race. The student was killed instantly after he wandered onto the race track. Police are still working to determine his motive, but suicide is suspected.
The Yokohama truck drag race is usually an event that attracts thousands of spectators annually. Started in 1984, it consists of truck drivers participating in a series of races. Although initially limited to 3 trailer drag races, there are now multiple race types involved. The race in question was the multi-trailer drifting race, where truck drivers compete for the best drift.
Driving his three-trailer logging truck, John Bushwick, a Canadian racer who had come to Japan especially for the event, was forced to suddenly swerve when the Japanese student calmly left the spectators area and walked onto the track. However, in a cruel twist of fate, the logger was too good a driver and his vehicle drifted perfectly into the student, who was announced dead at the scene.
Hiroyuki’s classmates describe him as a quiet, polite boy and expressed their shock at the tragedy. The president of the Japanese truckers association has also expressed his condolences to the family, but has stated that the Yokohama races will continue next year as well. Hiroyuki’s funeral will be held in a week’s time.



Chapter 1:

After dying, I awake in another world. Yes, just as I expected. Everything went to plan.
My name is Nao Hiroyuki. Although I wish I could say that I’m the average Japanese high schooler, the fact of the matter is that I’m a little bit different. You see, ever since I was young, I’ve been able to perceive the invisible realm of magic. Of course, when I told my parents about this, they just gave me a worried look, so I have more or less kept it under wraps my entire life.
Naturally, I can now imagine you connecting the dots of “can see magic” and “jumped in front of a truck”. It is just as one would envision, I was quite happily sitting in the crowd enjoying the race when I noticed that magic had started to gather around one of the trucks. What I saw there was a portal to another world opening, all one had to do was allow the truck to hit them.
But of course, thinking that and doing that are two very different things. Although I rose from my seat and jumped onto the track, in that final second of my life, I had an enormous sensation of regret. A little voice in the back of my mind, probably my common sense, screamed “what the fucking fuck is wrong with you, you autistic retard!?”
Regardless, I didn’t really have time to reconsider the situation what with the 15 tonne death machine bearing down on me. It’s nice that my death was fairly painless. Although I would have preferred it if the driver hadn’t made me into a red pancake.
This brings us back to my current situation. As expected, the truck was indeed a portal to another world. Around my feet, I can make out the shape of a magic circle, complete with a pentagram in the middle. A bit unnervingly, it also appears to be made of blood.
‘It worked. Excellent.’ A deep voice comes from in front of me. Looking up, I cannot help but feel I may have made a horrible mistake.
The person before me is not an aged king begging for help, nor a pretty goddess who needs me to save the world. It’s a demon. Not one of those “oh look at me I’m a human with wings and horns” demons either. He’s a goddamned Balrog-looking motherfucker with leathery red skin and legs as thick as my entire body.
Oh shit. I scream inside my soul. Why must I be so curious? This isn’t like my light novels at all!
Looking down at me with his menacing eyes, which are literally made of fire, just by the way, the demon opens his mouth, revealing hundreds and hundreds of shark-like teeth.
‘Hmm. A human.’ He mutters. ‘Judging from your clothes, you are not of this world.’
His voice sounds as mean as he looks. That is to say, if molten lava had a voice, that’s what it would sound like. It’s gravelly and terrifying. At times like this, there’s only one thing to do.
‘Um, Hi.’ I squeak in my calmest voice. ‘I think you’ve gotten the wrong person. Would you mind sending me back?
Ah, perhaps that was the wrong idea. Fire magic begins to gather around the demon.
‘No. You’ll do nicely, other world human.’ Sneering from behind his massive horns, the demon suddenly reaches out, grabbing my defenceless body in his hand. The sensation of weightlessness hits me hard as he hoists me up to the level of his face. Beneath his grip, I can feel my bones creak painfully.
‘My name is Baelaroth.’ His breath smells like burning meat. ‘I will have you serve me.’
Serve him? Well, it’s a step up from being killed for sport I guess.
‘Now, human.’ He purrs like nails on a chalkboard. ‘I think I will start by giving you a name.’
‘I already have one, thank you.’ I respond.
‘Silence!’ A blast of heat threatens to sear off my face. ‘I care not for your inferior name! From this day forth you shall be known as Mittens!’
Excuse me!? Am I a cat!?
‘Baelaroth-sama,’ I say hesitantly, ‘Mittens is a bit…’
‘Silence, mortal!’
Ah, Mittens it is.
‘Mittens!’ The monstrous red giant screams at me once more. ‘I have a job for you!’
Ah, he did mention something like that earlier, didn’t he? I think this time, instead of responding, I would rather not invoke his anger.
‘But first, I need to explain our circumstances.’
Our circumstances? Being held some ten feet off the ground, I suppose I am involved in this, but surely he means his circumstances. I want nothing to do with this anymore.
‘I am the heir to the demon empire, that is, the next demon lord.’ Starting off with this, I somehow feel relief at that familiar term. ‘However, those pesky elves summoned a hero from another world and he slew my father, bringing the demon empire to ruin.’
Umu. I understand. So Baelaroth summoned me to defeat the hero in turn.
‘Fortunately, I was able to escape that place and have hidden myself in this underground cavern.’ Just as the demon says, we are in a dim space made of rock. Since it’s so dark, I can’t really determine much more than that. ‘And now I have summoned you.’
‘I see.’ I respond intelligently. ‘So you want me to take care of this little hero problem of yours?’
The demon stops for a minute and then bursts into laughter.
‘HAHAHAHAHA!’ His hot breath hurts. ‘No, foolish human. As if an inferior creature like you could stand against that man!’
Uu. My pride.
‘I have brought you into this world to be a…’ He pauses, searching for the right word to use. ‘An overseer.’
Oh. That’s a cool word.



Chapter 2:

Overseer. The word has a nice ring to it. However!
‘What exactly does this entitle?’ I respond calmly.
‘Oh, interested are we? That’s good, seeing as you don’t have a choice in the matter.’ Sneering as he seems to enjoy doing, Baelaroth continues to spit heat at my poor face. ‘With my father dead, that makes me the rightful demon lord, does it not?’
‘Yes.’ I agree.
‘Then it is my responsibility as the new demon lord to eradicate the lesser lifeforms from the world.’ He continues.
‘You can’t just be a nice guy?’ I disagree.
‘Silence!’ Ah, here’s the usual scream.
‘However, before I eradicate the lesser races, I need to unite demonkind beneath my banner.’ Baelaroth’s fat tummy wobbles back and forth as he speaks. ‘This is where you will be coming in, Mittens.’
Ah, so I’m a glorified mailman. Round up the demons and bring them to Baelaroth. So much for leading an exciting life in another world. Thinking about it, why the hell did I jump in front of that truck? Oh look! A portal to another world! Let’s go through it! What the fuck was wrong with me!?
‘I will turn this underground cavern into my new castle.’ He announces. ‘As it is, I am unable to defeat the hero, so I will bide my time. I am giving you the mission of overseeing the transformation.’
Oh. That’s not quite what I expected… So rather than a mailman, I’ve been promoted to dungeon master. Van Darkholme would be proud of me. Life is turning up!
‘Do you understand, Mittens?’ Baelaroth shouts in the only volume he seems to know. ‘You must turn this place into a fortress that the hero will not be able to penetrate. At the same time, my power will attract demons to this place.’
‘Yes, Baelaroth-sama.’ I respond. Although my new master is a batshit insane demon bent on world domination, it looks like life will not be all that bad.
‘Excellent!’ Laughing evilly, the demon puts me back on the ground. ‘Oh, one more thing.’
‘Eh?’ I don’t like the sound of that. Nevertheless, magic concentrates into my master’s palm, taking the form of a small choker. No. It’s a cat’s collar. I can’t read this world’s language, but I’m sure “Mittens” is written on it.
‘There is still one more issue to solve.’ He says, handing it to me. ‘Wear this. It will turn you into a woman.’
A woman? I look at the red choker. ‘Is there an option not to?’
‘Wear it or I shall have a hellhound tear off your dick!’ Baelaroth screams at me. ‘Since time immemorial, only eunuchs and women have been allowed within the demon lord’s inner palace! Or would you rather I tear off your sorry excuse for a manhood!?’
‘I’ll wear it.’ I instantly affirm.
Even if I say that, I give a moment’s solitude in remembrance of my little Roger. I know I never really got to use you, but nevertheless, you will be missed little buddy. Ah, a tear is welling up in my eye.
Biting the bullet, I put the collar around my neck and a tingling sensation envelopes my body, particularly my stomach. Although I don’t like it, I can feel my entire body begin to shrink, the ground becoming closer as my stature changes. Around my waist, I can feel my pants become looser and looser until my udon noodle has disappeared.
Looking toward the sky (roof), I give a sentimental farewell. Goodbye, rose of my youth.
Standing there, I have to use my hand to keep my pants up. Although my waist increased in width proportionally, I’ve shrunk enough that my clothing no longer fits.
‘Hmm.’ Baelaroth muses. ‘You’ve become even smaller. What a fragile little creature you are.’
‘You’re just a big guy.’
‘For you.’ His fiery eyes look down on me with scorn. ‘Then, Mittens, I shall be retiring to my room. I expect that you will have made progress by the time I come back. Also, if you run away that collar will kill you.’
‘Eh?’ He didn’t give me time to protest, disappearing somewhere into the darkness on the other side of the cavern.



Chapter 3:

Left alone in the cavern, I have had a little bit of time to come to grips with the situation. I have made the following conclusions.
Conclusion 1: I am a retard.
Conclusion 2: I am a retard.
Conclusion 3: This cavern seems to be an abandoned mine shaft.
I am currently standing in a fairly compact tunnel, however further down, where Baelaroth disappeared, there is indeed a larger cavern. As for the length of the shaft, it’s not very long. Perhaps half a kilometre. I can only guess the reason it’s so short is because they didn’t find anything.
In any case, my master is currently at the bottom of the mineshaft (his room?), sleeping on his side. That is to say, ignoring me.
Taking a deep breath, I consider what to do now. As master said, I need to protect this place against attack, but I feel that there are more pressing matters. Namely, I don’t even know where this is.
Thus, the obvious answer is to go outside.
Thinking that, I make my way toward the entrance to the mine, which logically was the area at the top of the slope. That said, it’s not easy to walk when your pants are threatening to fall down every time you take a step.
Eventually I reach the top, only to find that it has been overgrown over by a dense development of bushes, which completely hides the mineshaft from the outside. Thinking about it, it’s now obvious as to why Baelaroth hid here.
Outside the mine, there seems to be a young forest, which means the operation must have been abandoned a very long time ago. Long enough that the place has been since forgotten. Even inside the shaft, I don’t recall seeing support beams.
Hmm. I wonder in my head. How do I go about this?
Even if I was told to make this shitty little mine into a fortress, I’m just a normal human (for the most part). Being able to see magic isn’t exactly a useful skill when it comes to dungeon building.
Speaking of magic, the mine exudes the stuff because of Baelaroth’s presence. I don’t know if other people in this world can see magic, but it’s a dead giveaway. I guess that’s what he meant about other demons coming.
Hmm. I wonder if I didn’t gain a convenient cheat skill after all. Let’s try this.
‘[Appraise!]’
As expected, nothing happened. So much for that.
Then I guess it’s back to using my brain. These bushes will work as cover for now. But what we need is something to keep people out. Umu. Maybe a pitfall or something. I don’t have a shovel or anything, though. What’s more, a male body would be much more useful for this kind of thing.
Thinking such things, I decide to venture further into the forest and gain some bearing on what the surroundings are like. It’s incredibly early in the morning, probably 2 or 3am, so there’s no light in the world. However, that’s never been an issue for me, considering my ability to see magic.
Magic appears as an indescribable set of colours for me. They can’t be called green or red because they don’t emit visible light. I suppose it’s similar to animals that are able to see the infrared or ultraviolet spectrum. Although humans can use technology to view these emissions, our machines convert the wavelengths into red or green light, which our eyes can process. We can’t actually assign a colour to what we can’t see.
In any case, I’ve digressed some. What I really mean to get at here is that every part of the world is impregnated with magic. For example, the earth, which is rich in earth magic, appears as a very specific colour to me, while living creatures, which are a combination of magics, appear as a different colour. Therefore, even in the absence of visible light, I can see in the dark without much problem.
If I had to name a problem, magic tends to move like vapour, so the resolution of my eyes isn’t all that good. For that reason, the forest before me tends to blur, making it difficult to distinguish one tree from another until I get closer.
Moving through the forest, it doesn’t seem to be ending any time soon. Thankfully there isn’t much in the way of underbrush, so the walk is not difficult, albeit for my restless pants. After trekking about for half an hour or so, I still haven’t made any progress. Running around the treetops, nocturnal creatures watch me curiously.
Retracing my steps, which is a fairly easy feat considering that humans leave a trail of magic behind them, I return to the cave.
Having given myself some time to think, I have formulated a masterplan.
Step 1: Kill yourself for being a fucking retard who just wanders through any old portal that opens up.
Step 2: Build a pitfall so that Baelaroth won’t feed me to a hellhound. (Do this now.)
Step 3: Demand politely ask Baelaroth for magic lessons and/or manpower so that my weak little body doesn’t break.
Step 4: Reinforce the mineshaft before that thing collapses on us.
Step 5: I didn’t think that far ahead.
Step 6: Kill yourself for being a fucking retard who just wanders through any old portal that opens up.
I think it will work very well.



Chapter 4:

Although I said I’d build a pitfall, I haven’t a bloody clue how. I’m not exactly a member of the Viet Cong here, so I’m just going to take an educated guess based on what I know.
At the most basic level, a pitfall is a hole in the ground, often with spikes in it. If I remember correctly, bamboo works quite well as a barb, however that’s not practical in this situation as the trees outside seem more like oak. What’s more, digging a hole in the ground isn’t as easy as I’m making it out to be. In addition to being a girl, I don’t even have a shovel.
Perhaps I should attempt to use a tree branch or a rock? There was certainly no shortage of fallen branches in the forest. I’ll need those to make the spikes as well.
Ah damn it, I’m hungry too!
With no better plan, I find a reasonably flat piece of bark and a sharp rock and bring them back to the cave’s entrance. My plan for the pitfall is that it will be inside the bushes. When a person tries to enter, they will unwittingly fall into it as they try to sneak through the shrubs.
Unfortunately, I have underestimated the power of the earth. After roughly an hour of bashing at the ground and scooping dirt with the piece of wood, I have achieved relatively little. In fact, I’m pretty sure a shovel would have done the same amount of work in less than 10 spadesful.
Ah, how frustrating! Forget a 6 foot drop, I’ll be lucky to make it two!
Nevertheless, I continue to chip away at the disturbingly hard soil. My hands are bleeding and I can’t feel my fingers, but I push past the pain and carry on. Baelaroth is scary enough without being angry.
By the time the morning sun begins to peek out, I’ve succeed in making a hole in the ground. It’s only four feet, but I refuse to go deeper. As for the width, it can probably fit a human in there.
Next is the spikes. I collected a series of fallen branches and using my caveman skills, I broke them into sharp(ish) sticks.
Hitting the bottom of the hole with the rock a few more times, I make small grooves in which the sticks can fit. Yes, it’s crude. Thanks for noticing.
Once the spikes are in, I take a step back to admire my work. Although it may seem improper, I eventually discarded my clothes, except for the underwear, because they kept getting in the way. As a result, now my whole body is thoroughly covered in dirt, with sweat running down my forehead.
Even from close up, the pitfall probably isn’t that noticeable, but as its creator, it now seems glaringly obvious to me.
Umu. Even if I want to work more, my entire body is begging for rest. Not to mention, I’m bleeding all over my hands. I hope they don’t get infected.
I’m also extremely hungry, but there’s not really much I can do about that.
Putting my shirt back on, I return to the cave. To be honest, the pants are just a pain on this body and I’m disturbingly used to not wearing them now.
‘You’ve returned.’ Baelaroth’s voice echoes through the space.
‘Yes, master.’ I respond proudly. ‘I made a pitfall at the entrance.’
‘…’ He doesn’t respond. ‘Are you perchance an idiot?’
An idiot? How rude!
‘No…’ I pout.
‘Leave such trifling things to the minions.’ He barks.
‘You didn’t give me any, moron!’ I snap back.
‘…’ He goes quiet again. ‘I don’t have any…’
An audible crack resounds through the tunnel as my palm collides with my face.
‘Then go find some, you useless demon lord!’ Baelaroth flinches as I scream at him. ‘Look at my hands, they’re like this because of you!’
‘Mittens!’ Suddenly a vicious roar fills the tunnel. Realising my mistake, I shrink back. ‘Do not dare speak to your master in that manner!’
Moving with lightning speed, his massive arm catches onto my leg, lifting me ungraciously into the air. Dangling helplessly, the world is inverted in my vision, my shirt suddenly falling over my face.
‘I will remind you who is in charge here!’ His fiery breath scorches my face, causing my eyes to water.
‘I’m sorry!’ Unfortunately, I am not some stoic protagonist. Perhaps a bit autistic, yes, but I am rather attached to being attached to my head.
However it’s no use, Baelaroth draws fire magic into his palm.
‘Give me your arm!’ He demands.
‘Please no!’ I scream, realising his intent.
Ignoring my cry, the demon forcefully grips my left arm, sending agonising pain down it as I feel the skin begin to sear off. The tunnel is filled with nothing but the sound of my wretched screaming as my fragile body contorts beneath his power. My arm feels as though it’s been put into a furnace, which is not too far from the truth, merciless embers licking at it as I watch the limb shrivel up and die.
Crying in pain, my consciousness reaches its limit, and my vision goes black, the smell of cooking meat still wafting into my nostrils.



Chapter 5:

When I woke up, I couldn’t feel my arm.
After mutilating it with his hellfire, Baelaroth-sama threw me carelessly into the wall of the tunnel and disappeared. Left alone in the mine, I can hear my own sobbing echo back to me.
Damn it! The voice of my common sense yells at me. What did you go and do that for!? Don’t you know it’s better to just do as he says!?
I don’t want to admit it, but he’s right.
Pessimistically turning my head, I look at my arm, which sends throbs of pain to my head.
‘Hahaha…’ A weak laughter escapes my mouth. The entire limb looks like a charred piece of firewood.
Even when I try to make the fingers move, nothing happens. In fact, I can’t even feel them. I can’t feel anything in the entire arm. Did the nerves sever? No. More like they were roasted.
This is some mess you’ve gotten yourself into. The dry voice inside my head sneers. The only thing I can be grateful for here is that the loss of my nerves reduces the pain.
‘Mittens!’ A rambunctious roar echoes through the mine, sending cold shivers up my spine.
‘Y-yesh, master?’ I respond, fear flooding through me.
I soon see the hulking demon’s draconic foot emerge from the tunnel. Attempting to rise to my feet, I struggle due to my lost arm.
‘I have brought you food.’ He announces magnanimously, throwing a whole deer at my feet.
‘Thank you, Baelaroth-sama.’ Although it’s raw, I dare not complain.
‘I hope you have learnt your lesson.’ Sitting down with a loud thump, master glares at me. ‘I do not enjoy damaging my possessions, but there must be respect.’
‘Yes, master.’ I respond pathetically. After this morning’s ordeal, I think obeying the giant demon is the best way to preserve both my body and mind.
‘Eat!’ He looks down at the deer. ‘Are you not hungry!?’
‘I-it’s not that!’ I respond. ‘I’ll eat! I’ll eat!’
Even so, this is a whole deer. From the looks of it, master broke its neck.
Reaching out with my good hand, I touch the dead animal’s fur. It’s rough like a horse’s and no matter how I look at it, I don’t have a hope of tearing through the skin. Not without a knife of some sort.
‘What’s the matter?’ Master leers at me.
‘I-I am not strong enough to get at the meat, Baelaroth-sama.’ I nervously respond.
‘Hmm…’ The demon sits still, observing me for a moment. ‘Your body is rather small…’
Moving without a care in the world, the demon brings on of his giant claws down to the deer and tears into it like butter. Going one step further, he even pulls out a chunk of flesh and hands it to me.
‘T-thank you master…’ I stare down at the daunting slab of meat.
Bear Grylls ate this stuff once, right? Resigning myself to this fate, I take a cautious bite into the meat.
Uu. Tough! I have to bite down unbelievably hard. It tastes like shit, too!
Somehow I feel like I’ve lost part of my humanity. It hasn’t even been a day. Nevertheless, I take a second bite and another, tears of tenacity streaming down my cheeks. Before I know it, I’ve battled my way through the ordeal, although I have a horrible feeling that my stomach is on the verge of rejecting the meal.
‘Good.’ Baelaroth-sama gives an approving nod. ‘You must eat if you want to grow big and strong.’
‘…’ Am I supposed to respond to that? Does he think I’m a 6 year old or something?
‘Since we seem to have had a bit of a misunderstanding this morning,’ He continues, ‘we will have a planning session now.’
A misunderstanding!? I scream in my head. You destroyed my arm!
Thinking such, I nod submissively.
‘Firstly.’ Opening the conversation in his garbling tone, Baelaroth-sama raises a claw. ‘You shall not be required to do manual labour. Leave that to the minions. Your weak human body is unsuited to such a task.’
‘Yes, master.’ I respond meekly. ‘But as it is, you don’t have any minions other than myself.’
‘Indeed.’ He stops thoughtfully. ‘However, it will not be long before the first of my followers begin to appear. Weak demons are naturally attracted to the aura of stronger ones.’
‘But until then, how am I supposed to get work done?’ Retaining a polite and subservient tone, I ask a tentative question. ‘This tunnel needs to be reinforced or else it might collapse on us.’
‘Hmm…’ A deep purr rumbles through the cavern. ‘Can you not use magic, human?’
‘No.’ I respond. ‘I can only see it.’
The large demon’s purring stops abruptly.
‘See it, you say?’ A hungry look appears to have manifested in his eyes.
‘I-is that bad?’ Oh shit. Me and my big fucking mouth.
‘HAHAHA!’ His ear-shattering chuckle is loud enough to cause me physical pain. ‘Oh, this is better than I could have envisioned!’
Haha, oh fuck my life.
‘On the contrary, Mittens, being able to see magic is an extremely sought after gift.’ Baelaroth-sama gloats to himself. ‘It is an ability that only sorcerers can wield.’
‘Sorcerers?’ There’s a familiar term.
‘I suppose you wouldn’t know, being from a distant realm.’ Master muses. ‘In this world, there are many types of magic users. Mages, wizards, clerics, druids and so forth. Sorcerers are a form of magician that specialise in fine manipulation of magic.’
‘But I can’t do that.’ Looking down at my feet, I inform him such. ‘I’ve tried but nothing ever happens.’
‘Because you’re weak.’ Baelaroth-sama tells me, not that I can deny it. ‘In order to use it, you’ll need to level up.’
‘Level up?’ Could it be!? Ohoho!? This is just like my light novels!



Chapter 6:

I have learnt the great secret of this world. That’s right! It’s an RPG world. Hooray!
If that’s the case, then everything has become easier! In order to become a strong dungeon master, all I need to do is go on a genocidal rampage and level up! Mwahaha!
Oh, except master says I’m not allowed to do that, not that I’m strong enough in the first place.
In a surprising patient way for a 16 foot monstrosity, Baelaroth-sama explained to me the operating principle of this world.
Simply put, all sentient creatures begin life with a certain skillset. In the case of my master, he was assigned the class of blackguard, which seems to be a warrior magician hybrid. Each class begins life with a single ability. For example, my ability to perceive magic is the hallmark of a sorcerer.
Upon levelling up, another ability is gained. It appears that in order to actually use magic, I need to acquire a separate skill that I do not currently possess.
‘In any case.’ Baelaroth-sama continues. ‘We will deal with this issue once we have established our base some more.’
‘I understand.’ Damn. I got all excited, but at the end of the day, I’m still this scary guy’s servant.
‘For the moment, I will have you perform a simple task.’ The ginormous demon says. ‘There is a village not too far from here. You will visit it and determine whether or not they will be a problem for us.’
‘Really?’ I ask. ‘I didn’t find one when I went searching last night.’
‘You are small and slow.’ With an evil sneer, master looks down at my frail body. ‘I am not surprised.’
Oh, thanks. I really needed that confidence boost.
In any case, pointing me in the correct direction, Baelaroth-sama forced me out of the mine and back into the wilderness. From the look of the sun, it’s probably around midday.
Following his directions, I wander through the forest once again, spending over an hour slowly plodding along. As expected, the pain in my arm refuses to go away. After walking several miles, the trees eventually come to an end and I happen upon the sight of farmland.
The crops are mostly wheat, although I can also see some carrot fields and even an orchard of apple trees. Toiling in the fields, the forms of the peasantry shuffle about. Although part of me wants to go “ohohohoho, know your place peasants”, the other part reminds me that I’m a glorified slave to the demon lord.
Sighing in spite of myself, I continue toward the golden fields. In front of me, I spot what appears to be a hunter. Wandering toward me with a wooden bow and some partial leather armour, she has long golden hair caught up in a ponytail.
‘Woah.’ The second she sees me, the girl lets out a loud shout and skips over. ‘Hello, there weird lady!’
Weird? Isn’t it the person who starts a conversation by calling someone weird that’s the real weird one here?
‘Hi.’ Let’s just ignore it for now.
‘What’s with the weird get-up? Where are you from? What’s your name?’ The green eyed girl begins to curiously bombard me. Thinking about it, I am still wearing the clothes from my own world, so I must look pretty strange.
‘Wait just a moment!’ Before she has the chance to spout another question, I place my good hand over her mouth. ‘Before that, who are you?’
‘Ah, my name’s Eryn!’ She responds cheerfully. ‘I’m going hunting for dinner.’
‘I see.’ I guess that makes sense, considering her get-up. ‘My name is…’
Mittens…
‘Mitty.’ It’s passable, I think.
‘Mitty, huh?’ Eryn places a gloved finger to her chin. ‘Micchan, then!’
Micchan… This girl comes on super heavy.
‘So what are you doing here, Micchan?’ Ignoring my internal deliberations, Eryn pushes the conversation forward.
‘Oh, right. I was going to-‘ Oh shit. What was my plan again? ‘Uh… see if there were any elves here?’
‘Elves?’ Eryn looks at me with her head cocked to the side. ‘Why would there be any elves here?’
‘Uh, um…’ What the hell? Didn’t Baelaroth-sama say the elves summoned a hero? ‘I’m just following orders.’
‘Orders… Must be tough!’ The energetic girl accepts the answer. ‘Speaking of orders, my master was all like “keep your eyes peeled for demons” yesterday.’
Imitating her teacher, Eryn puts on a deep voice.
‘Haha. Yes. Demons…’ I laugh unconvincingly. ‘What would they be doing around here?’
‘I know, right!?’ She backs me up. Apparently this girl isn’t too good at noticing lies, which makes me feel both relieved and guilty. ‘Oh, well, I’ve got to go now, but I can show you to the chief’s house first.’
‘Sure.’ I accept her offer. Sure beats trying to find the guy later.
Taking my hand, Eryn storms off toward the village, dragging me behind her while I desperately try to keep my pants attached to my waist.



Chapter 7:

Eryn brings me into the village and to a large house slightly away from the centre. The community itself looks like a certain village from Gaul. At an estimate, probably 150 or so people live here.
‘Ossan!’ She shouts, kicking down the door without a care. ‘There’s a government official here!’
‘Government official!?’ A panicked voice shouts back. ‘Shit!’
The sound of a commotion emerges from the inside.
‘Hide the fucking gold, you dolt!’ An audible murmur passes through the wall. ‘I haven’t declared that stuff!’
I can hear you… An imaginary sweat drop forms atop my head. What would you do if I really was the tax collector?
Stepping through the doorway, I find a half-dressed old man in nothing but his pants. The middle-aged man’s chest is surprisingly well-built, like a bear. Behind him, a properly dressed fellow is desperately cramming something into the closet.
‘I’m not here to take your money.’ I say with a deadpan look. On second thought, maybe I should have acquired some funds. Oh well.
‘Oh! Why didn’t you say so?’ The big man’s face lights up with relief. ‘Well then, what can I do you for? My name’s Bryce, by the way.’
‘Micchan’s here about elves!’ Eryn butts in as I open my mouth to reply.
‘Elves?’ Bryce’s eyes narrow, his built arm reaching toward a giant, 6 foot cleaver beside the bed. ‘What about them? Have those knife eared bastards been trespassing around here?’
Yikes. An alarm goes off inside my head. ‘No! Not that I know of. The lord sent me to see if you’d seen any recently, that’s all!’
Hearing my panicked words, the village chief’s body relaxes, but a crazy glint remains in his oil black eyes.
‘The lord? Only thing that guy’s ever interested in is taxes.’ Heaving a sigh, Bryce talks to himself before returning to me. ‘We haven’t seen any recently.’
‘I see.’ I smile, preparing the more important question. ‘What about demons?’
Perfect transition! A small version of myself jumps victoriously on my shoulder, thrusting her fist into the air.
‘Demons?’ The chief’s face remains serious. ‘Not around here, but apparently there was an attack in a village down south.’
Umu. As I thought, humans don’t seem to like demons. Well, considering the way Baelaroth-sama acts, I’m not all that surprised.
‘Then what will you do if demons show up here?’ I probe carefully.
‘What can we do?’ He asks rhetorically. ‘That shitty govern- ahem, the lord doesn’t have the resources to defend us.’
Reading in between the lines. The shitty governor is too greedy to send us any help.
‘All we can do is defend ourselves or run.’ Bryce resigned himself. ‘Nobody in this village is strong enough to hold off demon marauders.’
You look pretty strong, though. Beneath the man’s thick brown hair, his body looks like he could fight an alligator and win. Then again, if all demons are master’s size, the muscly old man not be enough.
‘I see.’ Thinking aloud, I place a finger on my chin. ‘Then it should be okay so long as we don’t venture too far.’
‘Okay?’ Ah, Bryce heard me. ‘Is Lord Sandwick planning something?’
‘Oh! Um, yes!’ I sweat beneath my collar. ‘He’s uh, going hunting! Maybe?’
‘Very well.’ Fortunately Bryce seems to accept that answer.
Haha. That was close. I really need to stop walking into these traps.
‘Well then, Micchan, was it?’ Offering a slightly more friendly tone, Bryce calls out to me. ‘Will you be staying for dinner this evening?’
‘May I?’ Looking out the window, it’s now late afternoon and I remember that I haven’t eaten much since my ordeal. ‘It’s Mitty, by the way.’
‘Of course!’ The giant man responds loudly. ‘I’ll bet that shi- ahem, the lord doesn’t have the money to feed you properly?’
Am I really that skinny? I look down at my new body. Sure it’s a bit on the slim side, but I’m hardly anorexic.
‘Then I’ll take you up on that, Bryce-sama.’
Besides, it’s not like this is betraying Baelaroth-sama or anything.



Chapter 8:

In front of me is my first proper meal since the act of complete and utter retardation that led me to this world. It’s nothing fancy, just vegetable stew, but after the raw deer incident, I don’t feel that I can eat the boar they roasted.
The entire village is holding a banquet tonight, not in my honour, fortunately, but apparently some people got married last week and then somebody gave birth to twins. I guess that’s big news in a small place like this. In any case, I’m going to happily enjoy my food.
There’s no salt, so it’s kind of bland, but there are small cranberries in the soup, which give it a nice sweet kick every now and then.
‘Ne, Micchan, eat some meat!’ Sitting next to me, Eryn tries to force an entire leg of roast ham into my mouth.
‘N-no! It’s fine.’ Flailing helplessly, the juice gets slathered over my face.
‘C’mon!’ Despite my resistance, the greasy shank winds up in my mouth. ‘If you don’t eat properly, you won’t grow up big and strong like me!’
‘Why does everyone keep saying that!?’ I’ll admit that I’m shorter than average, but I’m not a kid, damn it!
That said, Eryn seems to be pretty muscular for a girl. I guess it’s from using her bow so much. With her blonde hair, she reminds me of those Old Norse Valkyries.
‘Because you’re a shrimp!’ Grinning mischievously, Eryn slaps my back painfully. ‘Not even a monster would want to eat you.’
‘Haah? Isn’t that a good thing?’ I retort. Besides, a red monster already tried cooking my left arm.
‘Don’t worry.’ Puffing out her chest, Eryn’s green eyes sparkle brightly. ‘I’ll protect you from any monsters.’
‘Eh, you?’ I look doubtfully at the village girl.
‘Of course!’ She smiles confidently. ‘I’ve already beaten four of them!’
‘O-oh.’ That’s impressive, I suppose. Back in my old world, I defeated a few monsters myself. The Tokyo rail system, for example. ‘Well done.’
‘Hehe!’ She laughed, biting into the ham she’d force-fed me. ‘Master says I’ll be able to take his place eventually!’
‘I-I see.’ For some reason, a wave of guilt overcomes me. Even though Eryn has a dream like that, the demon lord lives only a few leagues from here.
The banquet continues deep into the night and by the time it ends, it’s probably nearing midnight. The villagers served me some beer with my food. Even though I’m a minor, I was quite excited to try it, however it tasted pretty watery in the end. I remember hearing that medieval beer didn’t have much alcohol in it.
Even so, I think I’m slightly buzzed. Ah, being in another world isn’t so bad… I would say if it weren’t for the giant fucking demon on the other side of the forest.
Somehow I ended up staying the night in a spare room at Bryce’s house. My clothes are a pain, so I get rid of them before hopping into bed. Uu. The sheets aren’t that comfortable, either. Nevertheless, I’m considerably tired after the past day, and slip into a deep sleep before I know it.
It’s already late morning when I wake up the next day. Although I was worried about having a hangover, it looks like I didn’t get drunk enough for that. On the other hand, my dead hand is still throbbing painfully. I briefly wonder if it’s not gangrene, but it doesn’t really seem to have changed since yesterday.
Getting out of bed, I search for my clothes, only to find them missing. In their place, a simple linen dress is sitting neatly at the foot of my bed.
Eh? I look at the creamy-white article of clothing. Did Bryce’s wife take them?
Submitting that I have no better options, I begin to struggle into the dress, which is actually much easier to do compared to my shirt and pants from before, even with my useless hand. It feels a bit strange not having anything to hug my legs, but after my attempt to make a pitfall conditioned me to it, I actually don’t mind too much.
If there’s something I want to complain about, it’s that the dress has no sleeves. As such, my charred hand, which was hidden inside my shirt, is now plainly visible. Oh well, I’ll just have to try and avoid the subject.
Opening the door to the living room, I notice the smell of bread in the house, which causes my belly to rumble.
‘Ara, you’re finally up.’ Watching the stove in a carefree manner, a homely woman turns to face me.
‘Cynthia-san, good morning.’ I respond, looking out the window. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s almost midday.’ She responded, putting a rough hand to her soft face. ‘You must have slept 11 hours last night!’
That long, huh? I grimace. I hope Baelaroth-sama isn’t angry.
As I think that, I notice Cynthia’s face change from jolly to concerned. Following her line of sight, I realise the problem. Ah, my arm.
‘P-please don’t worry about it!’ I wave my arms in front of me weakly. ‘It doesn’t hurt or anything.’
That’s a lie. It hurts like shit.
‘I-I’m sorry.’ She panicked, finally breaking away from her stare. ‘That was rude of me. In any case, I washed your clothes for you. They’re still a bit damp, but they should be ready by noon.’
‘Thank you.’ I responded, looking down at my clothes. ‘Is this yours?’
‘Dear me, no.’ Cynthia responds, throwing her brown hair back as she giggled. ‘It was my daughters, though she grew out of it.’
Cynthia is probably half a foot taller than me, so it made sense for her daughter to be tall as well. Even though I’m a man, what’s with this sense of defeat?
Cynthia treats me to breakfast and then brings in my clothes, which are blissfully clean compared to my sweaty body. If I remember correctly, there was a river in the forest, so I might take a bathe there on the way back.
‘Your clothes are far too large.’ Cynthia says with a disgruntled voice as she hands them over. ‘I suppose that cheapskate governor just gave you whatever he had?’
‘Something like that.’ I smile, accepting the neatly folded pile of cotton. This governor guy seems to be a pretty scummy fellow, if I do say so myself.
‘Tell you what.’ Cynthia suddenly says, a light glowing in her hazel eyes. ‘Keep the dress. It won’t fit anyone in this family, anyway.’
‘Really?’ Goodbye holding my pants up! ‘Thank you so much!’
‘It’s no problem at all, dear.’ With a motherly look in her eyes, Cynthia hugs me gently. ‘It’s a shame for a cute girl like you to be wearing some guard’s hand-me-downs.’
Ah, why is everyone in this village so nice?
Eventually, the time to bid everyone farewell arrives and I make my way out of the village. Unfortunately, in order to make my alibi consistent, I wind up leaving the village in the opposite direction of the cave, which forces me to do a long and arduous backtrack in order to return to my master.
By the time I return, it’s been more than 24 hours.



Chapter 9:

‘Are you Mittens?’ A small but gruff voice asks as I approach the mine’s entrance.
Jolting in surprise, I thrust me head around looking for the source of the sound, but all I can see are trees.
‘Down here, paleskin.’ Following the direction of the voice, my gaze shifts lower, finding a small red man at my feet.
He has beady black eyes and leathery skin like Baelaroth-sama. Emerging from his temple, a pair of cute little goat horns match with his hooved feet. Even just from a cursory glance, I can tell that this fellow is a demon like my master, although admittedly far less terrifying.
‘Baelaroth-sama said we’re supposed to do what Mittens says. Is that you?’ The little man asks.
‘Uh, yeah.’ I respond. For some reason this guy speaks like a tough guy despite being less than 3 feet tall. ‘Who are you?’
‘Name’s Gog.’ He answers dutifully. ‘And he’s Toggle.’
Pointing to his right, I notice a second demon. To be honest, they’re both indistinguishable to me. Maybe Toggle’s horns are a bit straighter? My sole lifeline here is that Gog’s wearing a black loincloth whilst Toggle’s wearing a brown robe. I hope they don’t switch at any stage.
 ‘Greetings.’ The second one says politely. ‘As Gog says, my name is Toggle. I am a druid, so I hope that my skills will serve you well, mistress Mittens.’
‘What’s with the suck-up tone!?’ Catching his friend by the ear, Gog pulls Toggle to the side with an audible complaint. ‘You trying to look better than me!?’
‘Shut up, pig nose!’ Toggle’s next words shatter the previous opinion I had of him. ‘If we behave well, then the mistress won’t whip us!’
Huh? Whip them? Am I really such a cruel person in their eyes? We only just met and they already have such a low opinion of me.
‘Bah!’ Gog responds in a hushed voice. ‘Are you sure you’re not a eunuch? You’ve got no balls!’
‘I’ve seen your dick!’ The druid furiously whispers back. ‘It’s as small as your brain!’
‘Oh, that’s it you little shit!’ Clenching his fists, Gog looks like he’s about to start a brawl with his scraggly-haired friend.
‘Ahem!’ I interrupt, placing my hand over my mouth. ‘You two can measure dicks later.’
‘Sorry mistress.’ Bowing their heads submissively, the pair spoke in unison.
‘In any case, you said you were a druid?’ I returned my gaze to Toggle and then moved to Gog. ‘What about you?’
‘I’m a warrior.’ He responded, flexing his impressive muscles. ‘Lost my weapon, though.’
‘Lost it?’ Toggle snickered. ‘More like broke it.’
‘Shut up, big ears!’ Before I knew it, the two of them were back to their infighting.
 ‘Ahem!’ I coughed once more before they could promote the conflict any further. ‘It’s nice to meet you.’
I offer out my good hand to the little fellows, who look at it in shock. After an awkward moment, Toggle shakes it carefully. Following his lead, Gog does the same. Nevertheless, I feel like I’ve committed some kind of social faux pas.
‘So what do you want us to do, boss?’ Gog asks energetically. ‘I hear we’ve got a kingdom to build!’
‘Indeed.’ Somehow this guy’s energy is contagious, and I feel my spirits lift some. ‘Then, what shall I have you do?’
I think about it for a moment. Although I wanted to reinforce the mineshaft, we’ll need proper tools before that’s possible. As it is, all we can rely on is Gog’s muscles, so maybe we’ll just have to set about acquiring some crude resources.
‘Can you use magic?’ I turn to face the druid.
‘Aye. I can use light magic, and my spirit can use Earth magic.’ A somewhat goofy salute awaits my question.
‘Spirit?’ I echo dumbly.
‘I call him Soil.’ Having misunderstood my question, the little demon looks to the side of him.
At first I don’t realise what he’s pointing to, but then I notice a small, wispy ball of brown floating on the spot. There’s also a large concentration of earth magic at the same point, which blends into the ground below it and makes the creature harder for me to see.
Although I’m not really sure, I’ll assume the floating ball is a spirit for now. Let’s ask about it later.
‘Okay.’ I muse, thinking on the spot. Standing there, a bolt of inspiration hits me. ‘Then, if you can use earth magic, does that mean you can make pitfalls!?’
My eyes are practically sparkling as I say this. After all my hard work yesterday morning, my drive to have pitfalls has increased.
‘I suppose I could. It’s a matter of getting Soil to cooperate, though.’ Toggle nods to my question.
‘What about me, mistress!?’ Gog impatiently cuts in.
‘Wait your turn, she’s talking to me!’ Toggle snaps angrily.
‘Oh, it’s all about you isn’t it, big boy!?’ His comrade sneers back.
‘Guys, please don’t fight.’ I fret quietly.
‘Fight?’ They laugh in unison. ‘It’s just some harmless banter, mistress!’
Banter? Does banter really involve almost starting a brawl?
‘In any case,’ I try to act professional, ‘do you think you can bring me some wood from the forest?’
‘I can try.’ He responds, stroking his thin black hair. ‘But I don’t have an axe or anything.’
‘Just collect tree branches.’ Waving my hand, I dismiss his concern. ‘We’ll use them to make some tools. Ah, get some sharp rocks while you’re at it. Oh, and flax if you find any!’
‘Aye, mistress!’ He also salutes.
‘Then I’ll leave you to it!’ Ah, these guys are such enthusiastic workers, I could learn a thing or two about work ethic from them.
Then again, when I think that it’s about time to report to my boss, my passion disappears.



Chapter 10:

‘Baelaroth-sama, I’m back.’ Carefully jumping over my trap, I enter the cave with a small call.
‘Come.’ He responds dismissively.
Making my way inside the cool tunnel, I find master sitting lazily against the wall of the cave. Seeing as he does not seem to be occupied with anything, I cannot help but wonder what he’s been doing all day. Surely he wouldn’t just sit here waiting, would he?
‘So?’ Looking at me with his burning eyes, Baelaroth-sama opens his mouth. ‘Will there be an issue?’
‘I don’t think so.’ I respond. ‘The village chief said that they aren’t strong enough to fight off any invaders.’
‘That’s not an issue.’ The demon barely digests my words before responding. ‘However, if they were to summon knights from the local nobility in order to attack us…’
‘That will also not be a problem!’ I shut down his trail of thought.
‘Oh?’ Baelaroth-sama shows a menacing smile. ‘Do tell.’
‘The local noble- lord- governor… whatever he is. The villagers do not seem to like the ruler of this place. From my understanding he is a greedy man who only ever sends tax collectors to the village.’
‘I see.’ Rumbling contentedly, master smiles evilly. ‘Then we shall leave them be for now.’
For now… I want to speak out, but the pain in my arm makes me hold my tongue.
‘Good work.’ Ending the discussion with grunt, Baelaroth-sama glares at me. ‘Did you meet my new minions?’
‘Ah, Gog and Toggle?’ I respond with a nod.
‘The imps.’ Master confirms. ‘They are small, but they have their uses.’
‘I understand, Baelaroth-sama.’ I bow my head in recognition of his command. ‘I have already assigned them some tasks.’
‘Excellent.’ Pressing his gargantuan knuckles into the ground, master lifts himself off the ground. Standing at full height, he is so tall that I don’t even reach his hips. ‘Then I shall go and find a meal to reward you.’
Reward? The phantom taste of raw deer fills my mouth.
‘T-thank you, master.’ I manage to splutter.
Perhaps with the imps here, I could get a fire going?
Not entirely sure of what I’m supposed to be doing, I follow behind the demon lord’s back. Ahead of me, his long, snake-like tail swings dangerously each time he moves his foot.
As we approach the cave’s entrance, a strange thought occurs to me. Baelaroth-sama is large. Extremely large. On the other hand, the cave’s entrance is covered by trees. Logically there should be no way for the massive demon to fit through the gap without breaking the foliage. Yet he’s moved in and out of the cave many times without issue.
The answer to my pondering is quickly answered. Approaching the mouth of the mine, a complex mixture of magic swells inside Baelaroth-sama, taking on a colour that I’m not familiar with. Quite unfazed, the hulking monstrosity simply walks through the trees, quite literally moving through the trees.
So he can phase through matter… Even compared to my already staggering expectations, Baelaroth-sama is scarier than I thought.
Occupying the entrance, Toggle quickly dodges his master’s foot, which was as big as the imp. Assuming a cow-tow, he waits for the demon to disappear into the distance.
‘Mittens-sama.’ He says after master vanishes into the trees.
‘Mm?’ I struggle through the branches. ‘Just call me Mitty.’
‘Then, Mitty-sama.’ Retaining the submissive tone, he looks at me with his black eyes. ‘I’m afraid there’s a problem. Although I asked, Soil refuses to use her magic.’
‘Eh?’ I look at the little brown wisp. ‘It doesn’t obey you?’
‘N-no, Mitty-sama.’ The imp seems to flinch. ‘I’m afraid that Soil is a bit whimsical. Most spirits are.’
‘You mean you can’t force it?’ I thought this little thing would be like a slave, but maybe it’s more like a cat?
‘Impossible.’ An adamant reply comes back. ‘That’s a violation of our contract.’
Contract? Bah. I’ll have to figure the ins and outs of this thing later.
‘Is there a particular reason it refuses to help?’ I ask.
‘Uh, that is…’ The little imp twitches and sweats. ‘I think it’s best if I don’t say.’
‘Ara?’ I cock my head to the side, a question mark appearing above my head. ‘We can’t resolve this issue if you don’t tell me.’
‘That’s…’ He still refuses to give me an answer. Uu. That only makes me more curious.



Chapter 11:

Eventually I give up on the mystery. After all, Toggle stubbornly refuses to divulge the little spirit’s secret. Given that the little fellow refuses to help, I’ll have to give the imp another job to do.
‘Okay, so if you can’t use earth magic, then what can you do?’ I puff my cheeks out slightly.
‘I-I can use light magic, mistress.’ He cowers. ‘And I possess knowledge of druidism.’
I don’t even know what that means. Druidism is a completely meaningless term for a foreigner like me. Can he tame animals or something?
‘What can your light magic do?’ My list of things I don’t know continues to grow, but I can resolve that issue later. For now I need to get the ball rolling on the creation of Baelaroth-sama’s magnificent kingdom.
‘I can produce light and heal wounds.’ The little man’s pointed ears flick as he speaks.
‘Heal wounds?’ My eyebrow raises. ‘Then can you heal this?’
I hold out my throbbing arm to the imp, who swallows loudly as he gawks at it.
‘Impossible.’ His response is instant. ‘This wound is beyond my abilities.’
Figures. I inwardly huff.
‘If it’s not too impudent of me, may I ask where you got that wound?’ Toggle inquires carefully.
‘Master gave it to me.’ Bringing the arm back to my side, it hangs limply without feeling. After hearing my response, Toggle’s eyes widen, but he doesn’t say anything. ‘It was my fault, anyway.’
Above our heads, the sun is beginning to slink over the horizon, signalling a slow end to the day.
‘Can you make a fire?’ A sudden thought occurs to me. ‘Using your light magic, I mean?’
‘Of course, mistress!’ Toggle responds enthusiastically. ‘I just need some wood.’
‘I see.’ A small giggle threatens to leave my mouth. ‘Then, when Baelaroth-sama returns, please cook my portion of the food.’
‘Very well.’ The druid gives me a funny little salute. ‘I shall go about making a fireplace until then!’
‘Thank you.’ I smile. ‘If I’m not back by then, just eat my share.’
‘Yes, mistress!’
Bidding him farewell, Toggle fades into the distance as I head into the forest.
Although I had originally planned to take one along the way, in the end I had forgone my bathing during the return journey due to time restraints. As such, my body is still covered in dirt and scratches from my attempt to make the pitfall, as well as a copious amount of sweat and grease from simply existing. It’s been some over 48 hours since my last bath, and as a creature of habit, the departure from cleanliness makes my skin crawl.
Fortunately, I had noticed a small stream during my walk to the village. It wasn’t a particularly large, certainly too small to be called a river, but it was wide enough to be a viable bathing spot. However, as I continue to wander through the forest, the body of water doesn’t seem to appear.
‘No. I’m sure I’d passed it my now.’ Thinking aloud, I look behind me, finding only the mountains and a trail of magic I’d left in my wake. ‘Hmm… Surely I should be able to see water magic, not to mention, hear the water itself.’
Alas, I seem to have done naught but waste my own time. The sun has continued to meander through the sky, although it’s not dark yet. Turning around, I begin to follow the path I took to come here, when I hear a very subtle sound. A light murmuring off to the right of me.
‘Oh. There it is.’ Smiling at the great anti-climax, I notice the slithering stream of pure mountain water as it continues on its way toward the plains below.
Whistling happily, I make my way toward the lazy creek. It appears that I’ve found the perfect spot, as a small rock pool has formed, giving me a small waist-high body of water to clean myself in.
Approaching the edge of the pool, I carefully remove my dress and shoes, placing them in a neat pile atop a dry stone. Cautiously poking a toe into the water, I can’t help but shudder at its surprising coolness. As expected of mountain water.
Nevertheless, my desire to clean myself is far stronger than my aversion to the cold. Biting the bullet, I jump into the pool with a single movement.
Cold! Shock overcomes my body as the water suddenly reaches up to the top of my thighs. Even though the air is still warm, my body breaks out in gooseflesh.
Although it takes a while, my body eventually adjusts to the water temperature and after a few minutes, I even find it refreshing.
With my body accustomed to the cold, it’s time to get rid of the grime of the past two days. There’s also something else I need to do.
Crouching down so that half of my torso also enters the water, I hold my left arm slightly above the completely transparent liquid. Slowly, but deliberately, I lower the charred branch of flesh into the cold.
‘Ouch!’ The sensation is the same as a sunburn under hot water, except far more painful. The arm protests painfully as I try to push through the searing sensation. ‘Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!’
Chanting the exclamation like a mantra, I finally manage to submerge the entire limb. Tears of pain fall form in my eyes, but I blink them away as I watch the twisted black flesh.
Betraying my expectations, nothing seems to stream out from the wound. Even though my reasoning dictated that blood, puss and soot should have diffused out into the water, the stream remained surprisingly clear.
 ‘Ara?’ Cautiously moving my other hand to the site, I gently rubbed the least affected area of flesh, drawing a gasp of pain, but not releasing any of the black husk that encased the flesh. Moving with even greater care, I moved further down the arm, only to encounter the same result. The warped black substance that I had thought was residue from the fire refused to budge. In fact, it was as though the stuff had fused with my skin.
Is it because it was made by magic? I wonder. Is that why Toggle couldn’t heal it?
Regardless of the means by which the situation came to be, my discovery means that I’ve been needlessly exposing myself to pain by keeping my poor arm in the water. Bearing this in mind, I immediately remove the accursed appendage. Even outside of the water, the still-wet wounds throb painfully.
‘Ah, whatever!’ I moan to at the agonised stump. ‘Be like that then!’
Trying my best to ignore the perpetual stinging, I take a deep breath and submerge the rest of my body in the water. From the outside, I must look like a log with a protruding branch.
As expected, the cuts of my right hand hurt as well, but compared to the useless sack of pain that is my left, I barely feel a thing.
Holding my breath, I let the water flow over my body, taking the accumulated sweat and grease from it. Enjoying the sensation of cleanliness, I run my hand over my face, feeling an alien surface as I tentatively grope it.
I guess I really am a girl now. I sigh into the stream.
Thinking about it, I haven’t seen a mirror since arriving in this world. As a result, I haven’t a clue what I look like. Pressing into my cheeks, there is already a difference in texture compared to the old me. The skin is supple and smooth. Although I used to have pimples, there’s a curious absence of the inflamed mounds on my new face. In addition to this, the shape of my head feels more angular, like a westerner, although my nose is still small.
Moving my hand further south, my shoulders are narrower than before and my muscles feel softer. Below my collarbone, I feel an aberrant sense of shame as my fingers run over my breasts. They’re not large, but there’s a definite curvature to them when I cup one in my hand.
Reluctantly removing my hand, I surface from the water for a breath. Although it would have been considered medium length on a male, my hair, which reaches down to my eyes, would probably be considered short on a girl. Soaked in water, I have to push my black locks to the side in order to rub my eyes.
Looking down, I investigate my body further, all the while feeling like a voyeuristic pervert. As expected, my royal sceptre no longer exists. My hips are wide and I now possess a thigh gap, between which my maidenhood sits innocently.
Ah, this is too lewd! Blushing profusely, I avert my head. Even if it’s my body, I’m still a man, damn it!



Chapter 12:

After committing an act that I rather regret, I leave the rock pool and approach my clothes, only to find myself in a fix.
I don’t have a towel. Even if I’m clean now (in body, at least), there’s a pronounced movement of liquid moving down my frame. What’s more, at this time of day, my chances of drip drying are not good.
Eventually conceding defeat, I did a little dance to remove as much water as possible before putting the dress back on. Coming into contact with my body, the fabric immediately became wet, chafing against my white skin as I tried to place it correctly.
Looking at the red sky, I guesstimate the hour to be somewhere around 7pm. Of course, the dying light is no problem to me, but I’ll miss dinner if I stay out for too long. Besides, the fireplace will be a good spot to dry off.
Clapping my hands together as I make my decision, I immediately come to regret my action, a sharp burst of pain rocketing up my arm and into my brain. Instead of beginning my journey, I spend the next minute clutching my limb pitifully.
Picking up my socks and shoes, I walk back through the forest. Around me, the trees are even larger than Baelaroth-sama, which is no small feat. Most of them have extremely tall trunks as well as massive roots that protrude above the ground. Fortunately for the soft-footed me, the forest-floor is covered in a layer of soft grass that forms a comfortable carpet between the giants.
Humming in my now girlish voice, I make my way back toward our base. Eventually finding it, I detect the sound of gentle crackling as well as the smell of meat cooking. Looks like I returned just in time.
‘I’m back.’ Emerging from the trees, I’m greeted by the image of 3 demons sitting around a campfire like boy scouts.
‘You are.’ Looking up at me briefly, Baelaroth-sama flexes his enormous, bat-like wings.
‘Welcome back, mistress.’ The imps chime in unison. Seeing their faces covered in blood, I recoil for a second before realising it isn’t theirs.
Sitting between the feet of the demons, rotating slowly on an iron skewer, an entire bear is cooking over the flames. Not concerned about the state of the meat, the two imps were gnawing at two halves of a second bear, their faces buried in its guts.
Taking a seat at one of the stone’s they’d arranged around the fire, a strange thought came to my mind.
‘Where’d the spit come from?’ Although I was initially distracted by the sight of an entire bear rotating over the fire, it wasn’t long before I noticed the metallic shine of the rod.
‘I made it.’ Baelaroth-sama answered calmly.
Just like that!? Inside my mind, I did a spit take.
‘Master.’ Calming my nerves, I stared at the colossal fiend. ‘If you don’t mind me asking, how exactly did you make it?’
‘With magic.’ He replied simply, as though the answer was obvious. ‘The same way I made your collar.’
Ah. Now that I thought about it, that accursed red band was still hanging around my neck.
However, soon my dumbfounded state of mind turned into an annoyed one.
‘Then, master.’ I started, reigning in my anger as my throbbing arm reminded me of what had transpired last time I’d lost my cool. ‘Would I be right to guess that you can make tools? Pickaxes and the like?’
‘As long as it’s something simple.’ Glowering at me indifferently, the giant demon lifted a dead bear cub from the ground and dropped it into his mouth, swallowing the entire creature in a single gulp. ‘While I can make a pickaxe, it will not be very sharp.’
Listening to his explanation, I look at the skewer. Although I had presumed it to be shaped like a barb, it was in fact a rod, completely blunt on both sides. It might be difficult for a human to pierce through an animal with the dull pole, but for a monstrosity like Baelaroth-sama, it would be like punching through paper.
‘Then,’ I further ventured, ‘would you be able to make some tools for me, Baelaroth-sama?’
Saying this, I lower my head respectfully. Even if master was kind enough to find dinner for me, I suspect that was merely because he enjoys the hunt.
‘Hmm…’ He purrs dangerously. ‘Very well. However, I will not become some sort of armoury for you.’
‘Thank you, master.’ Smiling lightly, I express my utmost gratitude. ‘Then I will think of a list of what we need.’
‘Hmph.’ An uncaring grunt is the only response I receive. ‘Eat your dinner. The meat will become dry.’
Turning on the fire, the bear looks foreboding. Nevertheless, I am forced to face the ordeal of exotic meat. Master reaches into the fire and tears the poor animal’s entire leg off, revealing the cooked muscle beneath.
‘T-thank you.’ Taking the giant chunk of meat, I contemplate where my life went wrong. Oh that’s right, it was when I jumped in front of that truck.
Fuelled by anger at my past self, I bite into the muscular leg.
Furry...



Chapter 13:

Uu. Sore… The next morning, I woke up on the floor of the cave. Although I’d used my old clothes as a pillow, the ground was considerably uncomfortable.
Raising my head, a nasty crick had formed in my neck, which I couldn’t get out no matter how much I rolled it. Regardless, I forced myself to persevere and made my way out of the cave, carefully hopping over the pitfall.
‘Ara?’ Standing by the entrance was a strange little hut.
Made completely from earth, it resembled an igloo, if one ignored the fact that it was brown. Looking at it with curiosity, I could not help but marvel at the smoothness of its design. After a brief inspection of the perimeter, I located a small hole in the side, that is, the door.
‘Nobody’s home?’ Quite contrary to my expectations, the mud hut was as empty as my hopes and dreams. ‘I wonder where they went.’
Obviously, the owners of the little house could only be the imps. Although it refused to work for me, it appears that Soil was happy to put a roof over its master’s head. Although I’ve mulled over it, I can’t figure out why it doesn’t like me. Maybe it’s just racist?
Giving up my futile chain of thought, I wandered back to the entrance to the mine. After collecting it all of yesterday, Gog had left a considerable supply of lumber for us to use. However, now that I had secured the help of Baelaroth-sama, the branches would be mostly useless due to their small diameter.
Maybe I can make a bed from it? A thought cropped into my head.
In any case, for now, all I can really do is wait for the imps to return. In the meantime, I’ll just have to go and bother master about those tools. Returning to the tunnel, I march purposefully toward the back of it.
He’s gone too? It’s as empty as the rest of the mine. Where the heck is everyone?
‘Hmm…’ Thinking loudly, I once again begin my patrol toward the exit, only to find a rather unexpected sight.
Hovering in the air, standing out against the trees by the entrance, Soil is waiting for me. Although I check, I can’t see any sign of Toggle.
‘Do you need something?’ I ask innocently. Does it even understand me?
‘You are not of this world.’ A high pitched squeal fills my head, reminding me of white noise. ‘You do not belong here.’
‘Ah!’ Suddenly hearing the voice, I let out a small cry. ‘You can talk!?’
‘Go back to your world.’ Ignoring my question, the little sprite talks at me in an even tone.
‘Believe me, I’d like to.’ Finally recovering from the initial shock, I manage to throw out a response. ‘But I don’t know how.’
‘Don’t know how?’ Although it remains perfectly symmetrical, I can envision the wisp twisting its head in confusion. ‘Return by the method you came.’
‘Baelaroth-sama summoned me here.’ I rebut. ‘I can’t even use magic.’
‘The archdemon summoned you…’ Equivalent to pacing, Soil begins to hover in circles. ‘You cannot convince him to send you back?’
‘Considering that this collar will kill me if I try to escape, I don’t think that’s likely.’ Although I try to laugh the matter off as a joke, even saying brings a shadow over my conscience.
‘Is that so?’ Coming to a stop, Soil floats for a moment before suddenly blitzing toward me. ‘Then I will change my position.’
‘Eh?’ I have no idea what the small creature is talking about.
‘You do not have to leave this world, however…’ The word hangs in the air for a moment. ‘You are forbidden to fall in love with Toggle-kun.’
‘Huh?’ Did I hear something wrong here? ‘Could you say that again?’
‘Toggle-kun is mine. I won’t share him with a floozy like you!’ Suddenly the spirit’s voice seems to have a girlish tone hidden beneath it.
Floozy… The little floating ball of magic is in love with its, no, her master…
‘Excuse me, Soil-chan,’ after letting my thoughts settle, I open my mouth, ‘but you realise that your master is an imp, right?’
‘Of course!’ She responds. ‘He’s the coolest imp in Periodia!’
‘I’m a human.’ Looking at the poor sprite with dead eyes, I calmly state the facts. ‘I’m not attracted to him in the least. What’s more, I like girls.’
‘Eh!? How can you not be attracted to him!? Toggle-kun is the best!’ A sudden flare of brown erupts from Soil’s core, then she pauses. ‘Don’t tell me… You’re into guys like Gog!?’
‘Uh, no.’ I flatly deny it. ‘They both look the same to me.’
‘Hah!?’ Soil angrily huffs at my answer, her synthetic voice becoming more and more heated. ‘They look nothing alike! Toggle-kun has the air of a prince! Gog is like a porpoise in comparison!’
A porpoise!? The image of the dolphin-like creature fills my mind.
‘In any case.’ Attempting to suppress a giggle, I fail miserably. ‘I’m not trying to take your master from you.’
‘I see.’ The ball of energy floats up in front of my face. ‘Then I guess I can accept you!’
Why is everyone in this world weird? I briefly wonder.
‘Then, while we’re here, and everyone else is gone.’ Thinking that now is a good time to resolve some of my issues, I start the conversation along a different tangent. ‘Could you please explain a few things about this world to me?’
‘Of course!’ Over the course of this conversation, my image of Soil has transformed from that of a robot into a cheeky 8 year old girl. ‘Well, at least what I know.’
‘Thank you.’ I would clasp her hand ecstatically, but she doesn’t have any. ‘Then, first of all! Where am I?’
Although Baelaroth-sama explained a few things about skills and classes to me, I still have virtually no idea about the world around me.
‘You don’t even know that much!?’ The spirit gasps. ‘What on earth is that archdemon doing putting you in charge of this place!?’
‘I’d like to know that as well.’ I sneered.
‘Well, despite their size, archdemon’s tend to be rather lazy fellows.’ Soil said knowledgably. ‘Or so I’m told.’
Second hand knowledge, huh? Well, judging from Baelaroth-sama’s actions, that might not be too far off the mark.
‘In any case, this world is called Periodia.’ Putting on an authoritative tone, the little spirit bobbed up and down. ‘I don’t know what your world was like, but here, one’s worth is determined by your level!’
‘That’s a bit extreme, isn’t it?’ I can’t help but feel that the situation is being grossly exaggerated for effect.
‘Not at all!’ She adamantly asserts. ‘The weak must kneel before the strong! Isn’t that why you follow the archdemon?’
‘Yeah…’ Damn. She got me.
‘However, that said, the archdemon seems to be fairly strong, so you should be safe as long as you do what he says.’ Ignoring my wounded pride, the spirit continues on her merry way. ‘He possesses the Mantle of the Demon Lord, after all.’
‘What’s that?’ I ask.
‘It’s an ability that forces weaker demons to submit to him.’ Soil explains, her body flickering with brown embers. ‘Only very strong demons can use it. It’s the reason why Toggle-kun was able to locate this place.’
‘I see.’ Baelaroth-sama certainly wasn’t lying when he said that my number of minions would increase.
‘In any case, we’ve gotten a bit side-tracked.’ Continuing to act like a teacher, Soil interrupts my thought. ‘Periodia is made up of many kingdoms, ruled by strong individuals. The kingdom that we’re currently in is called Yttria, although that’s actually just the name of the region. The country itself is probably named after whoever the king is at the moment.’
‘Does it change often?’ The way she said it makes it sound that way.
‘All kingdoms do.’ Soil chimed. ‘A kingdom only lasts as long as it takes for the king to be assassinated. Usually not longer than 20 years.’
‘Only 20?’ I know that royalty is famous for infighting, but that’s ridiculous!
‘I told you, didn’t I?’ Although I can’t see her face, I feel like Soil is smirking. ‘Strength is justice!’



Chapter 14:

It was a while before the demons returned, which allowed me to do some considerable study on this world. Although we kept going on tangents, Soil was an incredibly useful teacher. What I learned in boating school can be summarised as the following.
The place where we currently are, Yttria, is a small human kingdom on the border of both the demon realm and the elven realm. The former can be found to the west, while the latter is in the north. The remaining directions are populated by other human kingdoms. From the sounds of it, the races don’t get along very well, but as strength is the law of the land, an uneasy peace prevails for now.
Although I say that, the demon realm is currently in turmoil. After Baelaroth-sama’s father was assassinated by the elves, a war has broken out between the two races. Unfortunately for the demons, the so-called hero is currently the strongest thing on the planet, so the situation seems dire.
After discussing this, I asked the little ball of magic about herself, or rather, spirits. According to her, spirits are creatures born from magic. Although they are mostly free to do whatever they want, spirits can form contracts with druids, where they mutually help one another. In the case of Soil, she agreed to be Toggle’s partner after falling in love with him at first sight.
Because they’re essentially a sentient ball of energy, spirits are a unique existence that can’t be harmed. However, in return for this, they are removed from the levelling system of this world. No matter how much they train, a spirit is limited to using magic of its element. For example, Soil can only use earth magic.
While I’m at it, let’s also have a chat about abilities in general. It appears that there are six broad classes of ability. The first type is called the Class Ability. This is the one that Baelaroth-sama explained to me. Everyone in Periodia starts life with one. The second type is Magic. Magic relies on an individual’s ability to transform latent magic into physical phenomena.
Moving on to the next class, it’s called Technique. As far as I can tell, it’s similar to magic, except that it doesn’t actually require magic in order to be done. For example, there is a technique that allows one to do super-powered attacks with a sword. Then we move onto a class of ability called Knowledge. This class doesn’t give you any special powers, but rather fills your head with information on a subject. People who possess the Knowledge ability “Agriculture” can tell whether soil is fertile or not with just a glance.
The penultimate type of ability is called a Passive. Like the name suggests, the user doesn’t need to actively do anything for this ability to function. Soil says that an ability can only be classified as Passive if it exerts its effect on the user’s surroundings, for example, master’s Mantle of the Demon Lord. If the ability only affects the user, then it’s called an Augment. For example, improved reflexes and the like.
With that out of the way, some of the things that confused me earlier have become clear. Well, clearer.
Before I could ask any more, Baelaroth-sama and the imp duo return. Seeing the amount of dead animals they have, I can’t help but wonder if the forest’s ecosystem can survive our occupation. I guess managing that sort of thing will be up to me?
After starting the fire, Gog cooks me breakfast. I’m not sure how, but the imps consume a lot more food than I can. Today we are eating goat.
‘Then, master, could I get you to make some tools now?’ I ask after finishing my meal.
‘Very well.’ He grunts, rising from his seat. ‘What do you need?’
‘An axe, a saw and a hammer.’ Although I debated also having a pickaxe or shovel, my newfound friendship with Soil removes that necessity, besides, asking too much of master is probably not a good idea.
‘I will only make one of each.’ His demonic voice rumbles.
‘Thank you, Baelaroth-sama.’ I bow my head in appreciation.
‘What about us, mistress?’ Gog inquires.
‘I have new jobs for you as well.’ Since we have tools now, the amount of work we can do has increased.
As such, I have improved my to-do list.
Task 1: Kill yourself for being a fucking retard who just wanders through any old portal that opens up.
Task 2: Finish my pitfall!
Task 3: Reinforce the mineshaft before that thing collapses on us.
Task 4: Make a bed.
Task 5: Solve the food crisis.
It’s humble, but I think it’s not too bad.
‘Gog. You’ll be on carpentry duty!’ I announce. ‘Toggle. You’re back on pitfall duty!’
‘Yes, Mitty-sama.’ They respond.
As for me, I’m on… uh… Supervision I guess?



Chapter 15:

Today’s work progressed a lot more smoothly than yesterday.
With Soil now agreeing to help me, I was able to transform my pitfall into a rift that spanned the entire entrance. She was also able to replace my shitty sticks with stalagmites, which can be easily regenerated using magic.
However, we also had to make a small bridge across it, or else I wouldn’t be able to cross into the mine. The crossing point is carefully located on the side of the entrance, rather than the centre. The rest of the pitfall is covered by a sadistically thin layer of dirt that will give way if you step on it.
On the other side, my plans for Gog didn’t go so smoothly. Although master made us some tools, they were all blunt. As a result, the warrior imp had to spend all day sharpening them. Oh, well, looks like I’ll be sleeping on the floor again.
Leaving the two of them to work in peace, I decided to go and have another bath. It’s quite convenient that I found a useful pool so close by.
‘Mittens.’ Just as I was about to relax, a familiar voice sounds next to the water.
‘Y-yes!?’ Feebly covering my naked body with my hands, I spring to attention. Beside the stream, Baelaroth-sama is standing innocuously, well, as innocuously as a giant demon can.
‘You should be careful in this forest.’ He coldly advises. ‘Monsters like to appear in places like these.’
‘Eh, monsters?’ I respond. Eryn did mention those before, didn’t she? ‘I haven’t seen any of those.’
‘They are rare.’ Placing one of his massive feet in the water beside me, master sits down on a boulder. ‘But even so, a weakling like you will not survive an encounter with one. You ought to bring a bodyguard.’
‘I-is that so…?’ Like Gog, master wears little more than a loincloth, but at this angle, I can see… that. Diverting my eyes, I struggle to find a place to settle my eyes. ‘We need more minions before I can do that, don’t we?’
‘Indeed.’ Chuckling deeply, Baelaroth-sama concurs. ‘For now I shall accompany you.’
Eh? How am I supposed to bathe with a 16 foot monstrosity eying me up?
‘Yes, Baelaroth-sama.’ Nevertheless, my only choice is to agree to his order.
For a moment silence permeates the air.
‘Tomorrow, I will have you accompany me somewhere.’ He suddenly says. ‘I will be exploring the mountains above us. We may find useful materials there.’
‘Very well.’ It’s not like I really have any plans for tomorrow. I’m making this up as I go along, after all.
After that, master lets me finish bathing under his watchful eye. Although he told me to be careful, no monsters appeared anyway.
When we return, Gog has finished making the tools usable, while Toggle and Soil have finished the trench. In fact, the two of them seem to have finished their jobs earlier than anticipated, so they’ve occupied themselves with new missions.
‘Mistress, master, welcome back.’ They greet us. Working together, Toggle is holding a rather large branch in place while Gog saws into it.
‘Keep up the good work.’ I respond, while Baelaroth-sama simply grunts.
Before I know it, the four of us are once again enjoying a strange dinner. I can’t help but wonder if I’m going to get scurvy, eating nothing but meat like this. I’ll have to get to work on a vegetable garden at some stage, too.
‘We need to build support beams for the tunnel starting tomorrow.’ I tell the imps. ‘You’ll probably have to cut some trees down in order to do it.’
‘Yes, mistress.’ They answer.
‘Don’t cut them down around here, though.’ After a brief think, I instruct them further. It’ll be a pain if it gives away our location.
‘Got it.’ Gog responds.
After dinner, we all settle in for the night. Although I didn’t realise it until now, apparently Gog and Toggle aren’t allowed into the mine unless they castrate themselves. On the bright side, I’m at least allowed to have Soil construct me a comfy little bed of sand.



Chapter 16:

The next morning, I and Baelaroth-sama find ourselves standing at the base of the mountain. Although I had assumed that we’d be walking up a pass somewhere, it appears that master has other plans.
‘Um… Are we flying up there?’ I ask, looking at the large pair of wings attached to the demon’s back.
‘Of course.’ Master responds, as if that much is obvious.
Reaching out with his massive hand, Baelaroth-sama grabs me like a doll and lifts me into the air.
Uwah… Even just falling from here would probably hurt.
Standing completely still, I see the magic inside master’s body begin to contort.
‘Eh, I thought you were going to fly!?’ I yelp.
‘I am.’ He chuckles. ‘With magic, of course.’
Below me, the monstrous demon’s feet begin to lift off the ground, hovering gently a few inches above the earth. Soon we start to ascend higher and higher. For me, who’s never even been on a plane, I experience a sensation of vertigo as the world becomes smaller and smaller beneath me.
‘Not to be disrespectful or anything, Baelaroth-sama, but what exactly is the point of your wings if you just use magic to fly?’ Perhaps the height is affecting my head, but I ask a daring question.
‘To show off my majesty, of course.’ Laughing scornfully, master flaps his bat-like wings to show off. Looking at them, I suppose they are quite impressive.
Although we’re flying, the speed is slower than I thought it would be. In fact, it’s as though Baelaroth-sama is walking, just vertically instead. Of course, being that he’s a giant, the speed of flight is still faster than I can run.
After a short flight, we find ourselves at the apex of the mountain. Down the horizon, I can make out the forest, which ends to make way for lots of farmland and villages. Although I’m not quite sure of it, I think I can spot Eryn’s.
On the other side of the mountaintop is a sea of grey. Mountains as far as the eye can see. Sparse vegetation seems to grow on the top of them, so I guess they’re not too tall.
‘Where exactly are we, master?’ I wonder aloud.
‘The edge of the Transitional Mountains.’ Grunting in response, Baelaroth-sama lands carefully on a piece of solid ground. ‘On the border of the human and demon realms.’
Saying this, the demon turns to face the craggy mountains.
‘My homeland lies to the west.’ He mutters, pointing at opposite the human villages. ‘The kingdoms of the elves are in the north.’
‘The elves? The villagers didn’t seem to like them.’ I recall, placing a finger to my chin.
‘Humans are not much fond of any race.’ Master dismisses my words. ‘Although that goes both ways.’
Sauntering off without much care, the demon begins to make his way along the mountain tops. Still trapped in his grip, there’s not a lot I can do other than hope that he doesn’t drop me.
‘So what exactly are we doing up here?’ Watching as the giant casually jumps over an enormous crevice, I try to calm my nerves.
‘Monsters occasionally make their home in mountains like this.’ He responds. ‘It will be troublesome if a local dragon decides to be territorial.’
‘Dragons exist in this world!?’ A glitter forms in my eyes.
‘Oh, you have them in your world?’ Baelaroth-sama lifts the skin above his eyes, the equivalent of raising an eyebrow, I suppose.
‘No, not at all! Only in myths!’ Shaking my head, I deny it. But nevertheless, I’ve always thought dragons were really cool. Maybe because they were magical creatures and I thought my eyes might be able to see them.
‘I see.’ He mused. ‘Well, they exist in this world. They’re considerably dangerous.’
Suddenly master stops in his tracks. Sniffing loudly with his nose.
‘Goblins…’ He mutters. ‘A wild tribe, most likely.’
‘Is that a problem?’ Looking up at master’s fiery eyes, I ask as such.
‘Not particularly.’ He glares into the peaks. ‘They will not be a problem to me, at least.’
Turning around, master places me on the ground. After being suspended for so long, my legs feel a little unsteady.
‘I will go and slaughter them.’ Master declares nonchalantly. ‘It will be annoying if they attack my servants.’
‘What about me?’ Standing in the middle of nowhere, I’m not really sure why master even brought me here.
‘Do whatever you want.’ He responds. ‘I can track you by smell, anyway.’
Leaving me there, Baelaroth-sama disappears down off the edge of the mountain.
The first thing I do is move as far away from the edge as humanly possible. If I fall from here, I will become little more than a red speck in the grass below. What’s more, the breeze up here is a little stronger than gentle, so I don’t trust my balance.
Standing atop the mountain, I can see that there is a small track visible on the rock. Master, who quite simply jumped across any obstacle in his way probably didn’t take much note of it. Investigating the path, it leads deeper into the mountains.
What to do? I wonder. Even if I get lost, master will find me, but on the other hand, there are goblins around. That said, there’s nothing to stop the goblins from finding me here, either. Might as well go, then.
Deciding to be proactive, I wonder along the small track. To the sides of it are reasonably pathetic plants that grow occasionally. Mostly it’s just flowers and shrubs, but on occasion there’s a proper tree.
The path begins to descend after a while, and I find myself coming into a plateau of sorts. Well, it’s more of a valley, really. It reminds me of those big lithium mines on Earth, where a spiralling path goes down into the centre. Except that in this case, the centre is just a flat, grassy expanse between the mountaintops. Around the outside of the path, I can see lots of little holes in the cliff face, like a honeycomb. Magic leaks from them like fog.
I wonder what lives here. Although I am somewhat curious, I feel that it is better that I wait for Baelaroth-sama’s return before I investigate such a clearly inhabited place. Thinking such, I turn around.
‘Uh, hello.’ Words escape my mouth as a gargoyle stares at me with stony eyes. Its body is made almost entirely of earth magic.



Chapter 17

Instead of answering, the gargoyle cocks its feline head, beating its wings behind it powerfully.
‘I was just leaving.’ Skirting around the fellow, I start to backpedal up the path. To my surprise, the statue doesn’t make an effort to follow me. In fact, I make it all the way to where Baelaroth-sama left me without incident.
That was weird. Seeing that the stony flier hasn’t followed me, I decide to stay put for now. Ah, I’m mistaken.
The creature comes hobbling up the path very slowly. It walks on its hind legs, with its entire body hunched forward like a lamp. Looking behind me, the path from before ventures over to the edge of the mountain. I really don’t want to go there if I can help it.
‘C-can I help you?’ I ask cautiously, but the mute creature doesn’t respond. Looking at its claws, they’re extremely sharp. Haha. Wouldn’t want to get cut by those.
Setting itself down a few yards from me, the gargoyle sits like a cat and goes still.
Is it just watching me? A thought crosses my mind. Nevertheless, I don’t really want to investigate my hypothesis. For now, let’s just hope the situation doesn’t change.
Sure enough, nothing happens for the next half an hour.
‘You’ve made a friend.’ A dark voice rumbles behind me, causing my head to spin. As expected, Baelaroth-sama has returned.
‘What is it, master?’ I ask. ‘It’s just been watching me like this.’
‘A gargoyle.’ He responds dismissively, sauntering toward the statue. ‘They’re quite harmless, provided you don’t desecrate their territory.’
‘I see.’ Standing safely behind master, I peek at the stony fellow. ‘He appeared behind me when I was exploring. Does that mean his territory is nearby?’
‘It means you entered its territory.’ Without a care in the world, my demonic master crouches in front of the cat, scratching its chin. ‘Show me where you found it.’
‘Just down that path.’ I respond, pointing into the mountains.
Following my finger with his burning eyes, master begins to wander along the path. Following behind him, the gargoyle stumbles along in pursuit. Seeing as it’s probably safer with them than alone, I also make after the red man.
‘It was just here.’ I say as we reach the valley once more. ‘There’s magic coming from inside the caves.’
‘I see.’ Master rumbles. ‘Then the gargoyle probably considers whatever lives here as its property.’
‘What exactly does live here?’ I wonder aloud.
‘Smells like the earth.’ Stepping down the path once more, Baelaroth-sama makes toward the first of the caves. ‘Something more primitive than the dwarves.’
Clasping the edge of the cave, master unceremoniously peeks his head into the hole. Overpowered by my own curiosity, I join him.
‘Cobwebs.’ With my voice echoing into the cave, I note webs of magic strung out across the tunnel. The size of them is impressive, easily big enough to engulf me if I were to walk into them.
‘Where?’ Unlike me, master’s eyes can’t penetrate the darkness.
‘Everywhere.’ As I claim, the webbing continues into the tunnel until the end of my vision, where the tunnel makes a left turn.
‘Arachne, most likely.’ Grumbling contemptuously, master removes his head. ‘Perhaps driders, instead.’
‘There’s a difference?’ I show a dubious face.
‘The spider part is the same.’ Baelaroth-sama explains. ‘But driders resemble elves on the top.’
That’s barely a distinction… I can’t help but think. Isn’t the only real difference between an elf and a human their ears?
‘I doubt they will descend from the mountains.’ Turning away from the caves, master begins up the hill once again. ‘There’s no point in bothering with these creatures for now.’
The rest of our mountain journey was fairly uninteresting. Master grabbed me and carried me along like a ragdoll while the gargoyle followed along behind us. Eventually we must have left its territory, because it disappeared back into the mountains.
We found a few more tunnels around the mountain, meaning that the spider-people’s network must be fairly extensive, nevertheless, master didn’t seem to care about it. Perhaps fortuitously, the main thing we’d been looking for, the dragon, didn’t seem to be present, which meant we were probably safe from random attacks in the middle of the day (apparently most dragons don’t attack at night).
Returning down the mountain, we arrive at camp just in time for lunch. From the looks of it, the imps have been fairly industrious this morning. However, my bed still seems far away.
Given my growing concern about my vegetable intake, or rather my lack of vegetable intake, I decide to go hunting for vegetables in the forest. In accordance with master’s will, I take Soil with me for protection. Apparently it’s time for his afternoon nap, so he won’t be joining us.
That said, I have no idea how to find vegetables in the wild. I wonder if there isn’t a convenient grocery store around here somewhere. What’s more, I have to consult with Soil every time I find a mushroom since half of them are poisonous.
After wandering for a while, I end up with a handful of mushrooms and what appears to be watercress. My brilliant plan is to replant them near the cave.
Just as I’m thinking such things, I hear a rustling in the bushes beside me.