Love Between Different Races
After the discussion with Frontier Count Netzel and others, Christo left Soderholm Castle with Siegfried and Tiger Black of the [Band of the Great Hawk of Salvation].
Until last night, he had been sleeping and waking in the castle's study room, but the arrival of Netzel's group had taken over the study room, the hall, and all the guest rooms, and Christo and the others had to move to a guest house in the middle of a field in the pioneer village.
After the dinner party was over, Melvina and Patricia headed to the guest house as soon as possible.
By the time Christo arrived at the pioneer village, they would have already bathed and gone to bed.
He felt sorry for making them walk around so busy, even though they were on vacation.
(If it was going to be this big of a deal, it would have been better if I had taken action from the beginning and resolved everything.)
Christo regretted as he parted ways with Siegfried and the others in the wilderness and walked alone into the vast fields of the pioneer village.
He must say that neither Blaise nor the village chief are individually strong enough to deal with the magnitude of the problems that are occurring in the former Soderholm territory.
They are not the only ones.
Siegfried and the other members of the [Band of the Great Hawk of Salvation], the Adventurers' Guild, and the church in charge of the frontier are all lacking in something.
For example――.
It's just an example, though.
If Christo doesn't consider the danger of his extra-human abilities being exposed to humans at all.
Given the premise of sacrificing all the fun of traveling with Melvina.
Christo would have destroyed the northern forest and the swamp in a few hours, dragged the god of the swamp or whatever its name was to negotiate, and reestablished an agreement with favorable conditions there.
It doesn't matter if Eltharion is there or not.
In half a day, Christo could turn the forest and the swamp of the north into scorched earth, and he could turn almost every living thing in the forest into mindless puppets with a single glance.
Eltharion, which had to protect the forest and the swamp, would have eventually succumbed to Christo.
But Blaise, Siegfried, and the others could not.
Even the village chief, if he was going to follow the [god of the swamp], he should have at least made sure that the villagers were under his control. And he should have made a regular effort to increase the harvest without relying on the power of the [god of the swamp]. Christo could have invented an agricultural plow to dig up the heavy, wet ground, or he could have studied the magic of this region and used magic to dig up the soil or adjust the temperature to explosively increase the harvest.
But the village chief and villagers can't do that.
The same goes for the paperwork.
It took a month for the government to sort out some of the records that Christo could memorize comprehensively if he read them for five days without sleep and rest, yet they still haven't been able to sort them all out.
There was a difference in performance between demons and humans.
Ordinary humans could not destroy an entire forest in a short time, and if confronted with Eltharion and his subordinates, they could not avoid being annihilated.
A kind of charisma is needed to control the villagers.
They can't keep reading documents for five days.
At best, they would have to be able to maintain their concentration for an hour.
But Christo could do it.
Christo didn't do it, and that's why they were in this situation now.
[I think it would be better to have him do it all already.]
He remembered what Caspar said to him when he visited the Holy Sword Academy in early April.
[You think we're working too slow, don't you? Why don't you do everything by yourself――]
He had never said anything about Blaise and the others being slow, nor had he shown any signs of irritation (Christo was not interested in Blaise and the others before he gets irritated with them in the first place), but that was what Caspar had told him.
Loneliness.
Exclusion.
Negative feelings were directed at him by others because he was born with overwhelming power as a demon god.
Christo still remembers the feeling of alienation he felt many times when he was a child.
Little Christo, who deserved to be loved, didn't like that.
Because of this, he became depraved, fleeing loneliness and exclusion.
[Are you okay, Christo-sama? Don't underestimate humanity. No matter how much power you have, you can't win against a group that continues to grow, live, and evolve.]
The old man's words come to mind.
Christo remembers saying to the old man with a serious face, [You are very afraid of monkeys that can only speak].
In the end, to Christo, humans were nothing more than that.
A devil uses people's negative emotions as food. He thought that talking monkeys existed just for that reason. In short, they are food.
The vampire Piercarlo D'Alessio and Christo had no fundamental difference in their perception of humanity.
However, after meeting with Setanta, Melvina, and Patricia, it began to waver little by little. Seeing them, who had a strong will and had been martyred for their mission, made him realize what a trivial demon he had become. However, his perception of most other humans has not changed at all......
(The old man wanted to coexist with humans. But why did he want to coexist? Why did he want to coexist with humans, who are vastly inferior to him as a species?)
The old man's coexistence was to become friends with the people of the pioneer village.
How did he come up with such an idea?
He was afraid of humans.
At the same time, he loved them.
Why is it so――?
(Perhaps I'm fatally lacking what it takes to understand the old man.)
That's why he can't love the human race like the old man―― like Devil Surt.
The feeling of fear is only because of what the old man taught him and the overwhelming power of the pseudo-holy sword. Christo felt no fear or horror of the human race itself.
(I want to know what I'm missing)
The strong curiosity he had by nature comes to the surface.
The old man had originally been on the side of eliminating the human race together with the [Demon King of Chaos]. Until then, his thoughts must have been similar to those of Christo. However, there was some kind of shift in his thinking after the Demon King was killed, after wandering around the world, and finally ending up in this place, where he was killed by Lancelot.
The old man came into contact with the humans and understood them.
And respected them.
There was something intense about the experience.
What did the old man see in humanity?
"……Hmm?"
As he was lost in thought, he suddenly saw a lantern light at the edge of his vision.
He looked at the orange light on the bank of the field.
Then, around the entrance of the northern forest, he spotted his childhood friend―― Ulrika, who was looking around suspiciously.
"――――"
Christo narrows his eyes.
In front of Ulrika, behind an oak tree, she noticed a goblin lurking.
He kicks the ground, releasing a little of the demon's physical power.
He crosses the field as if flying and runs up to Ulrika.
"Eh? W-who is it?"
"Get down, it's dangerous."
"Eh?"
Ulrika holds up the lantern with a dumbfounded look on her face.
Behind her, a goblin with a club jumps out from behind a tree.
The goblin, who was higher than Ulrika, raised its club and aimed at the back of her head, but before it could strike her, it was shot in the head by Christo's Arrow of Light and fell at Ulrika's feet.
"Hyaa!? W-what is it!?"
"Calm down. It's a goblin. It was going to make you unconscious and bring you back to their den to use you as a nursery."
"C-Christo!? Wait, hyaaa!? I-it's a goblin! I-it's dead!"
A young woman with freckles flails her arms in the air.
Humans, once distraught, have a hard time recovering.
Christo waited for Ulrika to calm down while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
"You're not hurt, right?"
"Ah... n-no."
After a few seconds, Ulrika, who had regained her composure, held up the lantern and nodded.
He doesn't like light, so he doesn't want her to shine it on his face.
But she couldn't see anything without light, so he had to put up with it.
"What are you doing in a place like this? If you're wearing a monster-repellent incense around your waist, did you intend to go into the forest?"
"Uu... that's."
"――――"
"I was going in. I'm sorry."
"Why on earth? The forest is dangerous at night. The feast of the god of the swamp is over."
Christo said in a strong tone, to which Ulrika replied, [I know].
"I was thinking of going to see Eltharion. Look, it's noisy when Pontus finds out in the daytime."
"But it would be suicide to go into the forest at night. If I hadn't been there earlier, you might have died."
"I know it's dangerous, but if I don't do something about it, our village will end sooner or later. Before that happens, I thought I would ask Eltharion if the god of the swamp would have mercy on us."
"Did you not mention this in one of your previous letters?"
"I wrote it, but surely it is not enough to ask once or twice. I have to ask again and again and again until Eltharion does something about it."
If it doesn't work once, it won't change no matter how many times you ask, unless the situation changes, but Ulrika seems to believe that Eltharion will change his mind if she asks again and again.
"Is Eltharion a compassionate guy?"
"Yes"
"I see. If you insist on going to see him, I will escort you. If you go alone, you may fall prey to the goblins, as you did earlier."
"W-well, it's dangerous in the forest. Even the clothes you're wearing will get tattered. It is my own decision to go to see Eltharion, and I don't want to involve you in this."
"I've gone to the trouble of rescuing you from a goblin, but it would be a disservice to you if tomorrow morning you were found dead. I'll escort you just for old time's sake. I'm still good at magic, so you don't have to worry about me."
"B-but."
"It's alright. Your grandmother might find us if we argue here. You better go into the forest quickly if you're going in."
"…………"
Ulrika looked in the direction of her home and frowned.
She hesitated for a while, then nodded once and turned her back on Christo.
"It can't be helped. Then I'll go with you. But if you get in danger, make sure you run away. While I'm being eaten, just make sure you get home alive."
× × ×
They went through the forest.
They follow the path he took when he participated in the previous orgy.
In normal times, the path is cleared by lumberjacks, and it is easy to walk on.
However, trees are planted at equal intervals on both sides of the path, and in the shade of these trees, there are countless shadows of what appear to be werewolves or monsters.
They are furious――
It is not that he doesn't have an idea, but it is a little unconvincing to think that they have seen Christo's power before and have come all the way here to get back at him. When one sees the destruction that Christo has wrought, it is obvious that no matter how many of them there are, they are no match for him.
In fact, they appear to be hanging out in the shallow layers of the north woods with more other intentions than to kill Christo and Ulrika.
If they were after Christo's life, they would have tried to find an opening, but there was no sign of such an attempt at all.
"It seems that the monster repellent incense is working."
Next to Christo, Ulrika says in a relieved tone.
"Or is the necklace I got from Eltharion working..."
"Necklace?"
"Yes. This one."
Saying that, what she took out was the same necklace that Christo had received from Eltharion. Ever since he was building the barrier, he had vaguely suspected its effectiveness, but it seems that this necklace was of little use.
Without Christo by her side, Ulrika would have been devoured by one of the surrounding monsters by now.
They don't know what the purpose of the people hanging out here is, but it would be strange if they didn't try to get their hands on these tasty-looking treats.
"Speaking of which, Christo, why don't you have a light?"
"I have night vision. Did you forget?"
"I remember that you had good eyesight from long ago. You're always chasing the breasts and buttocks of the women in the village."
"It means that I had such a playful side. Not anymore."
"Indeed. You have a pretty wife now. You don't have to chase after our muddy asses. How did you get such a beauty?"
"I won a bet with a certain man and got it."
"You're lying. No one would gamble such a pretty girl."
He could have broached the subject, but instead, he wanted to ask Ulrika a question.
"How did you and Eltharion fall in love? Humans often fall in love with elves, but the opposite is rare."
"I met him some summers ago. I was going into the northern forest to pick medicinal herbs at the behest of my grandmother, and on the way I was chased by wolves. As I ran desperately through the forest, I lost my way and found myself in a swamp."
"You mean you walked through the forest to the swamp? No, I'm more surprised that the wolves didn't catch you."
When Christo said that in surprise, Ulrika nodded with a complicated look on her face.
"I don't know how I survived either. But one thing I do know is that the wolves didn't really attack me, and that's why I survived. They were following me, keeping a few meters behind me, for about half a day. Maybe they thought it would be more profitable for them to bite my throat when I was tired than to really try to kill me."
"You were really lucky. So, what happened after you went out into the swamp?"
"There was a fallen tree nearby, and I sat down with my back against it. I threw away my basket, and I didn't have any tools to make a fire. There were fumes everywhere that smelled like iron, and I felt sick. I thought I was going to die, and then Eltharion came."
Ulrika crouches to avoid a twig overhanging the path.
Christo pushed past the twig with his chest, not caring.
"In the midst of the white gas, I heard a man's low singing voice. There's no way there are people in a place like this. I'm sure it's some kind of monster that lures people to the waterside with its singing voice. But... the next moment, a handsome boy with golden hair peered into my face. I thought I was hallucinating, but Eltharion was so clear. He asked me who I was, and I was able to come to my senses that it was not a hallucination."
"It's a strange way to meet someone."
"Isn't it? I was so glad to be saved that I cried to Eltharion, whom I had just met, and buried my face in his chest. When I buried my face in his chest, it smelled like flowers, and he held me gently in his muddy arms and stroked my head, and I fell in love with him."
"I understand why you fell in love with Eltharion, but what is the reason why Eltharion fell in love with you?"
When Christo asked that, Ulrika made a difficult face.
"I don’t know why he fell in love with me. But when we talked together, ate together, and laughed together, he told me he wanted me to stay with him. Maybe he felt that we were on the same wavelength after we had been together for a long time. At least I feel comfortable and happy with Eltharion."
"So you're saying there's no reason to like someone? But having fun in conversation is an important factor. After you get married, you'll be seeing each other for the rest of your life."
"Ah... If I'm with Eltharion, I probably won't die in my lifetime."
"What do you mean?"
Ulrika kicked a pebble on the road.
The pebbles roll down the forest path with a high-pitched noise.
But once it was out of the lantern's light, its direction was uncertain.
Using his demon sight, I could see that the pebble had strayed from the path and tumbled down a wooded slope.
"Eltharion is thinking of turning me into a demon."
"Hmm? It's like the vampire Duke Godfred Salvatori and the Holy Sword Maiden."
"God...? What is it? Is there such a story?"
"It's a famous opera. The vampire Godfred fell in love with a human woman, turned her into a vampire, and swore eternal love."
"In an opera, it would be romantic, but when you're the one who has to choose, you don't know what to do."
"Are you hesitating? Will you not accept Eltharion's offer?"
"Of course!"
Christo looked at Ulrika, who responded immediately, with great interest.
"Why? If you join Eltharion, you are promised an almost eternal life. You will never grow old or die, and you will be able to live forever with your loved one."
"But what about grandmother, Pontus, and everyone else in the village? My appearance doesn't change at all, and everyone grows old and dies."
"――――?"
Christo tilted his head inwardly.
He really did not understand what Ulrika was worried about.
Humans grow old and ugly and eventually die.
Or they are killed by disease, beasts, or their own kind before they grow old.
It is the natural order of things.
Ulrika will be freed from such irrationality and have the opportunity to be reborn from an inferior species to a higher one. There is no reason to mourn, considering that she can evolve into a better version of herself. In fact, she should rejoice.
"I want to grow old and die with everyone."
"I don't understand what you mean. If you don't become a demon, you will die at sixty or so, right? It would be difficult to maintain good health this far north. Also, Eltharion, being an elf, is slow to grow physically and mentally, but you, a human, will grow at a frightening rate. Your face will have inerasable wrinkles, your hair will lose its oiliness, your waist will bend, and your body will become immobile. Even your taste for food will change, and your mind in tandem."
Christo jumped over a large rock lying on the road and grabbed Ulrika's hand, pulling her along so she wouldn't fall. Ulrika, being young, jumped off the rock softly.
"Soon you won't be the you who is now. You may not be the you that Eltharion loved."
"But I don’t want to be left behind by everyone. And I don't want to leave grandmother behind."
"What if you get married and then go back to the village? Well...... there is a good chance that the villagers will find out that you are different......"
The holy tree church will not leave her alone if she has become a member of a demon race that lives in the forest.
Subjugation or falling into slavery.
If she accepts Eltharion's blood, the demon god, Ulrika will become an individual of the king class―― essentially a high elf, so she will be useful as a slave.
If Ulrika is kept in the city, separated from nature and well, covered with [Blue Ash], there is little worry of rebellion. She will only be a superior female who can maintain the body of a young woman indefinitely.
"Eltharion says that if we get married, we will live in the swamp. I may go to the village, but no more than once a month."
"It's probably for your safety. If you become an elf, the holy tree church will be a troublesome opponent."
"But... I don't want to spend my whole life alone in the swamp. Eltharion seems to communicate with the monsters of the forest, but to me, werewolves and goblins are terrifying. It's a monster. I would live in a swamp infested with such things, which I rarely see in the village... Eltharion says, [I'm here], but I want to be with everyone."
"Friends can be made again. Werewolves, goblins, even [Wood Women] can be good neighbors."
"Remember Yattrud?"
"Yeah"
She was the village girl who was killed by Melvina in the castle the other day.
She was originally human, but had been mutated into a [Wood Woman].
Ulrika puts her strength into the hand holding the lantern.
"Yattrud was a kind child. However, after she was chosen as the liaison of the god of the swamp, she became a different person, exclusive and cruel. She was no longer Yattrud. It was Yattrud on the outside, but on the inside, it was something else.
"Indeed. Her stomach was full of tree roots that looked like parasites, and her brain was white with spores."
"That's a scary thing. The love they feel for monsters, and the compassion they have for everyone in the village... what is it?"
"Sociality, a sense of community, a spirit of mutual support?"
"Yeah, yeah. She doesn't have any of those feelings."
"You don't think you can be friends?"
"At least, not the kind of friends you and I have."
"Yeah. Well, it would be something more wild and primitive."
"If I start living in the swamp, the only person I'll talk to will be Eltharion. If I fight with Eltharion, I'll be alone. I will be dependent on Eltharion, and Eltharion will be everything to me. Eltharion seems to want that, but I...... such a future is terrifying."
"The swamp will become a prison. You will become Eltharion's pet?"
"No, I don't think Eltharion sees me as a pet...... perhaps."
"It's a closed space, just the two of you. If a subordinate relationship arises, there is a future in which one of you becomes the pet."
"I don't like the idea of a s-subordinate relationship. Christo, you pervert."
"Was there such an element in our current conversation .....?"
Christo lowered his eyebrows.
He still doesn't understand Ulrika's thoughts.
Humans and demons may have different brain structures in terms of fear of being alone with their loved ones.
Eternal life and near-omnipotent power.
Those who were born into this world take it for granted and those who weren't――.
The latter―― Ulrika, the have-nots, fear eternal life.
On the other hand, those who are born with it do not fear eternal life.
Because they are complete as individuals, they ultimately have no need for community or sociality.
Their thinking is fundamentally different at the level of the tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years of evolutionary history that has been etched into each of their bodily tissues.
"I understand what you're thinking. I can't sympathize with you, but it's important to have a mutual understanding when it comes to becoming a couple. There are many things that can't be undone after marriage."
"Yes. One of us has to give up at some point... It's difficult."
"Your love for Eltharion is strong enough to remain unchanged in spite of your differences. I am sure that everything will be fine. I hope so."
"Thank you. Christo, you're a good guy after all."
"Hahaha, people often say that. There aren't many people in this world who are as good as me."
Christo replied with a smile.
Before they knew it, the forest path was nearing its end.
The forest square where the orgy took place was near.
But Christo stopped when he suddenly noticed the smell of blood in the wind.
He grabs Ulrika's shoulder and stops her too.
Muffled by the rustling of leaves in the forest, he could hear someone tearfully begging for their lives.
"Christo?"
"You wait here. There is a bad sign coming from the square."
"A bad sign? ...! Eltharion!"
Feeling something, Ulrika thrust her hand into the neck part of her clothes and took out the necklace from inside. The green stone of the necklace is faintly shining. As soon as she confirmed that, she shook off Christo's hand and ran off.
"Hey!"
"Eltharion! Eltharion!"
(That idiot. This part hasn't changed at all since the old days.)
He followed her, giving up inwardly.
A big curved road just before entering the forest square.
Ulrika moved out of the bushes in front of her and showed her face in the square.
After a while, Christo peered into the square from behind her.
"Eh...? ...El, tharion...?"
Ulrika is at a loss for words.
A dark forest square.
A faint moan echoes in the void.
There were many strange objects scattered about.
Male and female adventurers armed with swords, spears, and leather armor.
Their bodies were entwined with ivy, and roots were growing on their exposed faces and other places.
Gouging at their flesh and pulsating with blood, the ivy was covered with dazzling red flowers.
The adventurer in front.
As Christo watched, the grassroots rooting in his cheeks broke through his nose, gouged out his eyes, and invaded his mouth.
His eyes were bloodshot, and eventually, the eyeballs spilled out as if they were melting away.
There are many such bizarre corpses lined up.
In front of a female adventurer, hands outstretched and bound in the shape of a cross, was a blond man in a white robe.
However, he was partially mutated, and his lower body was that of a horse, while his upper body was that of a monster with brown horns and rigid arms.
A beautiful, valiant, and even deceptive figure of a demon god.
He seemed to be sipping nectar from flowers.
The sound of his forcibly sucking in not only the liquid, but also undissolved flesh and bone was echoing.
Somebody, the still-living adventurer let out its last gasp.
"Eltharion...?"
"――――"
In the middle of Ulrika's lines, Christo's vision clearly changes.
The vegetation in the square shook finely at a terrifying speed, and the sound of twigs snapping and breaking echoed continuously.
The next moment, a blond man with a bright red mouth and hands grabs Ulrika by the neck and presses her against the trunk of an oak tree.
"Grrrrrr"
Only the face of the beast remains.
Ulrika seemed to have already passed out.
Eltharion's golden eyes were stained with the primal pleasure of blood and violence.
When Christo suddenly looked at his feet, the wreckage of several bone spears was scattered.
Apparently, at the same time as Ulrika was attacked, Christo also received several fatal attacks. He was unharmed because he had put up a barrier with rune magic beforehand, but he might have been killed several times if he hadn't put up a barrier.
"Eltharion, stop."
Christo grabbed an arm wrapped in a white robe.
His arm was as slender and delicate as a woman's.
But the feeling was as hard as steel.
"If you do more than that, Ulrika will die. Stop now."
"......, uu......, uuu......"
The ferocity fades from Eltharion's eyes.
He closed his eyes in pain and regained his beautiful, androgynous face.
The hand that gripped Ulrika's neck loosened, and Eltharion staggered back.
Christo hugged the body of his childhood friend who was crumbling down.
"......What are you, doing here?"
Eltharion glared at him, breathing hard with his shoulders moving up and down.
He had veins showing all over his face and was aiming his murderous intent at Christo.
Christo doesn't care but checks Ulrika's neck to make sure it's not damaged.
"Go away. Get out of this forest!"
"Is that how you treat the man who saved your lover's life? The nerves in her neck are damaged. I will heal her with the healing rune."
"...Ullrika, huh.... tch. Why did you come to visit me at a night like this?"
"Just make a bed or something where she can lie down."
Christo said so and looked up at Eltharion.
Eltharion shook his head as if to shake off his beastly nature and made a large ivy bed in the square.
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