SYOV 07

Chapter 7

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“…What?”

I froze and asked again.

“E-Executed? On the spot?”

“Transmigrators are always talking about the original story and whatever else. They destroy the world’s order, the flow of fate, and causality however they please.”

“If one transmigrator appears, at least ten thousand people end up suffering.”

“They really think they’re the main character of the world.”

The uniformed Demon shook his head with a troubled smile.

“There’s an organization called the Multidimensional Alliance. Ah… that might be a little too advanced for you right now.”

“Anyway, transmigrators have caused countless incidents across different worlds—”

I swallowed hard.

What kind of plot twist is this all of a sudden?!

A transmigrator?

Immediate execution?

I shouldn’t have asked!

I should’ve just pretended to be Hebenia!

What was the point of my stupid conscience?!

Just then—

“Could it be…”

“You asked because you think you’re a transmigrator?”

The uniformed Demon suddenly leaned his face close to mine.

Startled, I answered with a loud hiccup instead of words.

The uniformed Demon smiled innocently.

“Oh dear.”

“You’ve misunderstood.”

“Don’t worry.”

“You’ve simply settled properly into your original body.”

“Lady, you’re not a transmigrator.”

“You’ve returned.”

The uniformed Demon smiled so beautifully it could make anyone’s heart flutter.

But all I felt…

Was fear.

I couldn’t tell whether it was because of the Demon’s smile…

Or because I had just learned an unbelievable secret about myself.

But one thing was certain.

…I was so shocked that even my hiccups stopped.

I wasn’t a transmigrator.

I had been…

Hebenia Clavis…

From the very beginning.

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First, I introduced the uniformed Demon to the exile family.

I decided to put all the questions swirling inside my head aside for now.

I was dying to know the answers…

But none of them were urgent.

“You can ask me more questions if you’d like.”

“My head’s a mess right now.”

“I’ll ask later.”

“Oh dear.”

“Did I talk too much?”

“Not yet…”

Everyone had gathered in our house to prepare dinner.

The moment they saw the uniformed Demon…

They greeted him warmly.

“From today onward, I’ll be staying by Lady Hebenia’s side.”

With his cheerful replies and friendly smile…

The uniformed Demon won everyone’s hearts almost instantly.

He even told us his name.

“Please call me Verity!”

“Of course, it’s just an alias.”

“If an ordinary human heard my true name…”

“Their head would explode, and after dying they’d wander the world until their soul wore away completely.”

“……”

“……”

A Demon was still a Demon.

While dinner was being prepared…

I quietly called Ian over and walked with Verity to a corner of the yard.

“Verity.”

“You’re a very strong Demon, right?”

Verity nodded.

“If we’re talking purely about combat ability…”

“I’d say I’m second to none.”

“Even the two Lords you’ve already met acknowledge my strength.”

So the Bleached Demon was a Lord too.

“Then…”

“Could you help train both Ian and me?”

“Hebenia?”

Ian looked at me in surprise.

I turned toward him.

“Um…”

“Sorry for deciding this on my own.”

“But when you were holding the sword earlier…”

“You looked really nostalgic.”

“……”

“Just like the man in that song we exercised to this morning.”

Ian gave a bitter smile.

“Haha…”

“That’s embarrassing.”

“To think even someone as young as you noticed.”

Then he admitted it honestly.

“Yeah.”

“You’re right.”

“I still haven’t let go.”

Even though he had been forced to give up being a knight because of a false accusation…

Ian still couldn’t forget the days when he held a sword.

“To me…”

“A sword isn’t just a weapon.”

“It was how I protected my family.”

“It was the proof of all my hard work.”

“And proof that I was truly alive.”

“Ian…”

…That was a little embarrassing.

Still…

It only showed how precious the sword was to him.

So I quietly hid my thoughts behind a smile.

“My goodness!”

Then—

“To think a human this admirable exists!”

Verity was deeply moved.

Now that I think about it…

That really was the kind of line a chuunibyou would love.

He looked about fifteen.

Maybe he really was in middle school.

No wonder he’s so strong.

Since we were already talking about it…

Ian and I decided to begin training the very next day.

I ate a hearty dinner…

Then went to bed early.

But sleep wouldn’t come easily.

So… I really am Hebenia.

I had believed I was a transmigrator this whole time.

Even though my thoughts were in chaos…

My heart gradually became calm.

That’s a relief.

The guilt of taking over someone else’s body disappeared.

Now…

I finally felt free.

Like I no longer had to hesitate about anything.

Still…

A new question appeared.

If being Hebenia is the real me…

Then what was the life I lived as Chae Habin in that other world?

“Mmm…”

I even groaned while thinking…

But no satisfying answer came.

“Well…”

“Then let’s forget about it!”

My curiosity wasn’t urgent.

The most important thing right now…

Was living happily here in the exile settlement.

To do that…

I needed to learn how to use my power properly.

Of course it’s frustrating.

If this life was truly mine all along…

Then what was all that suffering in the other world for?

But…

Compared to the relief and happiness I felt now…

That bitterness was nothing.

Yeah.

Forget it for now.

Let’s get some sleep.

What was the point of complaining about a life even worse than exile?

Just as everyone else was reclaiming their own lives…

I would reclaim mine too.

I’ve found a goal worth looking forward to.

That thought eased my heart.

As if praising me…

Someone gently stroked my hair.

“……”

Startled…

I opened my eyes.

It was already morning.

When did I fall asleep?

The feeling had been so vivid that it hardly seemed like a dream.

Without thinking…

I touched my own hair.

It was a morning filled with a strange, pleasant embarrassment.

Wearing a navy-blue school tracksuit…

Verity led Ian and me to the edge of the residential district, where the ancient forest began.

“First…”

“Please take these.”

He handed each of us a backpack.

Ian’s was a plain hiking backpack.

Mine was pink…

With a little ant wearing a flower on its head.

Inside were dried rations…

A water bottle…

A first-aid kit…

And other supplies.

…No way.

Goosebumps spread across my body.

I immediately looked at Verity.

Still smiling innocently…

He said something horrifying.

“The best training is real combat!”

“Let’s begin a survival training camp by hunting monsters inside the ancient forest!”

“You demon!”

“I am a demon.”

“Are you out of your mind—?!”

I was just about to argue…

When I noticed Ian was strangely quiet.

A chill ran down my spine.

I slowly turned around.

Ian’s eyes were shining with determination.

As though entering the monster-filled forest…

And growing stronger…

Was his destiny.

Has this guy gone crazy?!

Look beside you!

There’s a seven-year-old standing here!

Perhaps noticing my displeasure…

Verity smiled his usual carefree smile.

Then he placed a strawberry milk-flavored candy into my mouth.

“As Lady Hebenia already knows…”

“This place is where the Lord’s familiars roam freely.”

“The monsters are merely food for those familiars.”

Exilium was the familiars’ territory.

The familiars belonged to the Demons.

In other words…

This land belonged to the Demons.

“Monsters don’t dare act recklessly in the territory of beings stronger than themselves.”

“R-Really?”

Maybe the training won’t be so hard then?

Unfortunately…

That hope was crushed immediately.

“The moment we enter the forest…”

“I’ll seal my own power.”

“Then the monsters will happily rush toward us.”

“You two can hunt them properly.”

“You demon!”

Considering how I’d coughed up blood the last time I used my power…

That wasn’t welcome news.

“So…”

“You’re not doing it?”

“I-I’ll do it…”

“But still…”

As if he had expected that answer…

Verity smiled.

Now…

Only Ian’s decision remained.

“What about you?”

“I want to become stronger.”

Ian lowered his eyes.

Quiet determination burned within them.

“I was too weak.”

“I couldn’t even protect myself.”

“That’s why I was framed.”

“My family…”

“They’re probably suffering because of me right now.”

“……”

The family of someone exiled for embezzlement and breach of trust…

After everything we’d experienced…

Their situation probably wasn’t good either.

Usually…

The families of the accused aren’t protected.

Ian, who had once served as an Imperial Knight…

Knew that better than anyone.

Even if he looked calm…

Inside…

He was burning.

The same was probably true for everyone else in the exile family.

“…Alright.”

Before entering the forest…

I made one wish to Verity.

“Please make something that lets us communicate with everyone back home.”

“What kind of thing?”

“Hmm…”

I glanced at the watch on my left wrist.

I remembered reading in Everything About the Clavis Family in One Book that it had a phone function.

“Make another one exactly like this.”

“With the phone function.”

Verity immediately created another watch and handed it to me.

Just then…

The exile family arrived to see us off.

I fastened the new watch onto Livi’s wrist.

Then I taught her how to make a call.

There were two calling modes.

Voice.

And video.

Voice worked exactly like a normal phone call.

Video displayed a small screen that showed the other person’s face.

“Oh my!”

When my face appeared on the tiny screen…

Livi and everyone else gasped in surprise.

Wow.

The picture quality is amazing.

While I was admiring it…

Someone gently tapped my shoulder.

I turned around and smiled brightly.

“Aunt Dallis!”

My fellow life prisoner…

The woman falsely accused of murdering her husband and abusing her child…

Still hadn’t recovered mentally.

The adults had told me her hair used to be brown.

It had turned completely white…

After only one day in the exile settlement.

Aunt Dallis stared blankly at me.

Then…

She slowly opened her arms…

And hugged me tightly.

I wrapped my arms around her too.

“Listen to Livi while I’m gone.”

“I’ll bring you a present when I come back.”

We decided to wait until the exile family had returned to the village before heading into the ancient forest.

Staring at the dark woods…

I asked Verity,

“How do we get inside?”

“You’ll open it yourself, Lady.”

“Me?”

“Then should I open it instead?”

“Don’t tell me a butler can’t even open the barrier?”

“Lady…”

“We’ve only known each other for one day.”

“That’s a little harsh.”

Verity placed his hands on his hips and answered proudly,

“I’m basically the equivalent of the kid who gets sent to buy bread!”

“There are things I can’t do!”

“Wouldn’t that make me the one paying for the bread and giving you the errand money?”

Doesn’t that make me the bread errand kid?