Butcher Demon

Chapter 208

◇◆◇ (Gevaudan’s point of view)

『Ha …… ha ……! That was close! Too close!』

At night. In the forest.

Tiriel, who had been staring into the distance from a while ago, wiped the sweat from her forehead…….She has gold eyes, but one of her eyes has a silver color for a long while now, and now the silver one is sparkling.

We had left the anthill castle and were heading for the human colony. I was going to contact Abigail.

I had planned to go alone, but Arshella and Tiriel ended up sticking with me as my traveling companions.

It would have taken me about two days to get there on foot, but since I had spent the day digging up the snow, I was expecting to arrive around noon tomorrow.

I thought about asking Ferrari to pick us up, but I left him at the Ant Hill Castle. It was snowing, after all. Insects are generally sensitive to cold. When the snow melts, I’ll ask to ride on his back again.

Then, there was the problem with Tiriel …….

As we were running through the woods, she suddenly stopped and sat down on a nearby stump, saying,『Excuse me.』 and her eyes became unfocused, staring off into the distance, and then『Ah!』『Hey!』『Hurry up!』…… start talking to herself.

I had no choice but to leave her to her own devices, Arshella and I started to prepare for camp sooner than we had planned.

I hunted some rabbits and prepping for dinner, and as we were getting ready, Tiriel came back to our world.

She was still breathing heavily. That’s a bit sexy.

『–Phew……. it’s all right now……. Oh, you are preparing the meal for me? Thank you!』

Peering over the neatly arranged ingredients, Tiriel clapped her hands in front of her chest.

『Then, I’ll have to treat Gevaudan with some of my home-cooked meals. Leave it to me!』

With that, she rolled up her arms. Tiriel took the initiative to start preparing dinner.

Originally, only Arshella was supposed to accompany me on this trip, but I was forced to bring Tiriel along because I was afraid she would not be able to communicate with me. Apparently, channeling magic has a limited range. Tiriel’s range is said to be much wider than average, but even so, there are limits.

Walking in the snow is a chore. At first, Tiriel seemed reluctant to join me, but then she suddenly came out of nowhere and offered to be the cook.

She said she wanted to repay me at some point. So she offered me a home-cooked meal. I was happy to hear that. But thank me for what? Was it anal training? Maybe she is in love with me after all.

By the way, Ferris is absent. She is in the middle of a round-table discussion with Titania. She is an ambassador for Faymbaum, which is an important position. Nine-tailed special envoy. That’s amazing.

『Well, then, you take care of the rest, Tiriel.』

『Alright.』

I sat down beside Arshella after watching Tiriel put the pot on the fire .

『You should prepare yourself Gevaudan.』

Arshella looked at me with a grin.

『What?』

I tilted my head, and Arshella sniffed.

『Tiriel’s cooking.』

『She seems pretty good at household work.』

Arshella raised one eyebrow at me as she watched Tiriel toss the ingredients into the pot.

fu~n fu~n la~ la~ la~ ♪ Tiriel hums a cheerful tune while she cooks. The back view of Tiriel happily cooking is just like a newly wed wife.

Even from her back, she looks beautiful. What is it? Perhaps it is her flaxen hair that hangs straight down her slender back. Or was it her clothes? The shape of her modest buttocks is clearly visible in the glossy fabric. My crotch is getting impatient with the desire to insert it into her from behind right now.

『This is the first time I’ve had a relaxed conversation with you girls.』

『Eh, is it really?』

『Because we were so aroused when we talked last time.』

『……』

Arshella’s mouth tightens in embarrassment.

『You don’t have bikini armor right?』

I try to start a conversation.

Arshella’s armor was respectable. It was not the kind of outrageous armor that men imagine when they hear the word “fantasy”.

『Bikini Armor?』

『You don’t know? It’s for when a woman wants to get fucked on the battlefield, they wore that to send a sign to the enemy that gang rape and rape are OK. With plates that only cover the private areas and 90% of the skin visible, hungry, thirsty men will come to you in a rush. Like moths to a flame.』

『Wha-what’s that? subhuman woman going into battle with that kind of equipment?』

『I heard that the survival rate is surprisingly higher than normal equipment because dirty men who see the bikini armor try to capture women alive without hurting them. Even if they are caught, they will be kept and used as a sex toy instead of a slave, so they won’t die.』

Of course, this is all based on my imagination.

『Bikini armor …… such effects ……』

Arshella began to seriously wonder as she looked down at her armor. I feel a sense of guilt for planting another strange piece of knowledge in her head.

As I was having such a silly conversation while looking at Tiriel’s food, something occurred to me and I asked her a question.

『Can I ask you something? there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you for a while』

『Mm? what is it?』

『Why are you guys attacking Earth? Ferris took me to Miforsis once before, and the air was much cleaner there than it is here. What do you want by coming all the way to this dirty planet? Do you want resources or something? But there aren’t many resources left on Earth either.』

At least they didn’t seem to be struggling with environmental problems over there. Even in towns like Dean, it didn’t look like they were suffering from food shortages, nor did they seem to be suffering from overpopulation.

Miforsis looked much richer and more beautiful than Earth, where the resources are almost depleted, overpopulation, and the air is filled with toxic substances.

What is it that they want from us that makes them go to the trouble of barging into this dying planet?

『Well, the thing is……』

『It’s the for the <Changeling>』

Arshella was reluctant to say it, but Tiriel answered.

She continued, stirring the simmering pot like a little witch.

『In Miforsis, Changeling is periodically born, and in order to end the dangerous existence of the heroes who arise as a result, the Demon Lord stood up to destroy the subhuman race on our planet.』

『What’s a changeling?』

『Well…….. a changeling is a child born from the souls that got swapped and birth between Earth and Miforsis. ow ow……”』

Tiriel grimaces at the splattered soup.

『Swapped birth?』

How?

『It means that the soul that was supposed to be born in Miforsis becomes the child on Earth, and the soul that was on Earth becomes the child on Miforsis.』

『Ho ho ho』

『Subhumans that have no magic powers are sometimes born with very rare elite skills. This is also thought to be a result of the changeling’s influence. A “hero” is one of those subhumans who are sometimes born with those outstanding skills. 』

Tiriel huffed and puffed as she tasted the soup.

『Among the subhuman …… you mean there are subhumans in Miforsis?’』

『You don’t know anything, do you?』

Arshella looked stunned.

I was a little offended and retorted.

『I was born and raised on Earth. I don’t know what’s going on in Miforsis.』

『Even though, there must be changelings on Earth too.』

『Really?』

I was honestly surprised by this unexpected fact.

『If there is one over here, there must be one over there too. If all of a sudden someone is born with powers that you don’t understand, it’s going to be a hot topic right?』

『”Hmmm…..?』 I hesitate.

…..A person that is born with powers that we don’t understand?

『You mean a psychic?』

『Psychic?』

『Yes. People who can read cards in an envelope, produce sand from their hands, and bend spoons by their will are very popular topics.』

『read cards in an envelope, produce sand from their hands, and bend spoons?』

Arshella’s expression turned confused.

『These people are called psychic or esper, and they’re being treated as con artists. A scam.』

『Mm…..changelings are scammers ……?』

She was dumbfounded.

Tiriel heard this and thought for a while.『Oh, that’s right…….』

『There are many people who are not aware of the existence of the power that resides within them and has never trained or used it. Even we have to study, train, and use our magic tools to finally be able to use our skills in a meaningful way. Besides, It’s even worse when the body belongs to a subhuman that cannot handle magic well, no matter if the soul is from Miforsis.』

『Is that so? Although they could use such a rare elite skill, such a waste…. 』

Arshella said sadly.