Chapter 18

In any story, the enemy of humanity is some sort of demon. Whether it was a demon that killed people with curses and miasma, or some sort of demonkin, a race powerful enough to need a hero from another world to take down.

I had assumed the latter when I arrived in the human kingdom of Azria, a place that almost worshiped the idea of an otherworldly hero. It was there that I learned more about the Demon race, and their conflicts with the humans of this world.

Apparently, before the recorded history of this world began, there were more than just four races living in it. All the stuff I had been told about it sounded like epic tales, folk tales, or just complete rubbish, but I can say it was safe to assume that whatever my race was, my body had probably come from that era.

I heard stories of dragons, leviathans, krakens, just name it. None of what I was told overlapped, so it was hard to find one to believe. However, one thing that I did notice was that the Beastkin and Elf races existed in none of them. It was just humans, demons, some race of deities, and a list of mythical creatures. I didn't doubt that those mythical creatures existed, of course. After all, I myself had literally flown my way to the human kingdoms.

Of course, I kept quiet about my ability to fly and my origins from another world. I wasn't looking to bring any trouble my way. This, however, did not stop me from digging up all the information on these subjects, since I was pretty interested to see what kind of conflict was between the humans and demons of this world.

What I learned? Nothing. That was the problem.

There was no sensible information I could get anywhere about this conflict. There was also no information on Beastkin and Elves besides their physical appearances and obvious things like Elves are good at magical stuff, and Beastkin are physically strong. Each trip to the bookstore felt like a complete waste of time, and each time I found myself returning more and more frustrated.

I had overlooked a very important part of keeping out of the spotlight, however. I didn't consider that the humans might have other ways to detect a non-human being in their cities than sight. It didn't cross my mind since there were plenty of Beastkin walking around, but on second thought, those looked a lot like slaves. Not even a week had passed before a sound came from my inn door that sounded suspiciously like a vase salesman's knock. When I opened the door, a mistake I never would have made if I wasn't so annoyed, I was held at spearpoint by two generic, overly buff men.

"Oh shit!" Was what reflexively came out of my mouth. Nothing followed because my brain had shut down temporarily from the shock.

"The Emperor requests an audience with you."

I was stunned. I had almost thought that these three had come to straight up get rid of me or drag me to some old warehouse to lock me up with how they were acting.

"Uh... Shouldn't that be the other way around?" I asked, pointing out the issue. "Wouldn't I have to request an audience with the Emperor?"

"That's besides the point. You're coming with us."

"Wait, right now?! I've gotta pack my stuff. What about supplies? Isn't the capital like, two weeks away from here by carriage?"

The two men looked at each other, then back at me, and nodded reluctantly. "We'll return for you tomorrow morning, then. If you try to escape..."

"I wont!" I threw my hands up. "Seriously. I get it."

It was at this point I realized that I was acting in a way extremely out of character for how I looked, since I was just saying and doing stuff I would have done if I were met with the same situation in my original world, not like two men coming to your door with spears is very realistic anyway. Probably explains why they were so confused. The two men left, and I closed the door.

I walked into the room's bathroom and took a long look at myself in the mirror, something that I hadn't done since I came to this world. I had an thin, small figure, which made up for what it lacked in curves in cuteness. My face was very much the same, my pale skin emphasizing the royal blue color of my large, round eyes, and the rest of my features being just... so... fine. That was the only way to describe them. My nose, chin, eyebrows, all of it. It was all just so small, delicate, and...

"So damn cute!" I unintentionally squealed out loud. It felt like such a weird thing to say, since I was technically talking about myself, but I could stare into that mirror for hours on end without getting bored.

My silver-green hair seemed to let off a subtle sheen as the light of the lamp hit it. That was the one thing I had been able to enjoy without looking in a mirror, as it hung all the way to my waist and was so, so silky. That and the fact that my own skin was so smooth made it feel like I was some expensive porcelain doll. If I had met such a girl in my previous world, I would have instantly fell for her.

But sadly, this wasn't some girl I was looking at, this was me. And as much as I loved my new look, I would never go as far as to fall in love with myself. Because of this, the feelings I felt when I looked in the mirror were quite mixed.

Was I happy that I got such a cute form, or was I mad that I got one so unfitting of who I was? Could I even be considered myself anymore, or just some stranger with my memories? Thoughts like these always hit me whenever I looked in the mirror, so I avoided reflective surfaces as much as I could.

Well, it would have been much worse if I were looking at my old self, that's for sure.

On the day I came to this world, I killed two men.

They were bad guys, sure. They ended up taking the lives of hundreds of students, sure. But that didn't change the fact that I killed them with my own two hands. To those around me, I would have probably seemed like a hero. After all, I saved a full class of students from the explosion, even if those students were just a fraction of the students that attended the school. Or would they have been angry with me, for not having saved the rest of the school, too? Either way, people would have seen me as a brave kid. I could have been being praised by someone at the very moment I was thinking about this stuff, even thought it was at least a month after the incident itself.

But what would I have seen? If that blond-haired, thin, and not too well-built teenager showed up before my eyes, would I have seen something I was proud of? A hero? An Idol? Someone that I was proud of?

No, I was sure it was none of the above.

I would have seen a murderer.