SYOV 04

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After everyone had cried their hearts out…

“Hebenia, are you hungry?”

“We made some stew.”

“Oh dear, look how pale you are. Come eat and get your strength back.”

Maybe they felt embarrassed after crying in front of me. The adults quickly took me downstairs to the dining room, saying it was time to eat.

They carried me the whole way.

As soon as I sat down, a bowl of cream stew was placed in front of me.

It was full of meat and vegetables. Just looking at it made me hungry.

“Wow, this is really delicious…!”

When I praised it, Uncle Popina proudly puffed out his chest.

This voluntarily bald uncle had been the cook in the exile settlement. He had been exiled for murder caused by violating the Food Sanitation Act.

According to him, he had once been a very famous chef.

After we finished eating, we moved to the garden outside.

The moment I stepped outside, my eyes widened.

Did a rich family used to live here?

I sat down on the lawn.

After spending two months sitting on hard ground, my bottom twitched the moment it touched the soft grass.

I wasn’t the only one.

Everyone reacted the same way, which made me laugh a little.

Uncle Modi, the oldest member of our exile family, stepped forward.

He had been charged with group assault and forming and operating an illegal organization.

“Before we discuss what to do from now on, I’d like to thank Hebenia once more.”

“Come on, everyone! A big round of applause for our hero!”

Ian grinned and lifted me into the air again.

The garden filled with loud applause and cheers.

I placed a hand on my chest and jokingly bowed again and again.

“But… why was it us?”

Aunt Nema, who had been falsely accused of selling counterfeit goods, spoke up.

“I can’t stop thinking about what the guards said.”

“They said they imprisoned us… to mine ore.”

“But would they really go that far just for that?”

Everyone tilted their heads.

We decided to see if we all had something in common.

But even after comparing ourselves, the twelve of us—including me—couldn’t find a single thing that connected us all.

“We can think about that later.”

Uncle Modi continued.

“Right now, deciding what we’re going to do next is more important.”

Everyone nodded.

I did too.

He’s right.

The people who had been wrongly imprisoned in the exile settlement had finally regained their freedom.

But it was only half of a freedom.

We were still trapped inside the ancient forest full of monsters.

And before our names could be cleared…

We had already been declared dead.

If I’d known everyone was innocent, I would’ve wished for us to escape outside instead…

Did I make the wrong wish?

Just as I started worrying that I’d made a mistake—

“Still, thanks to Hebenia, we can finally relax.”

Livi, sitting beside me, sighed in relief.

“Hebenia, you haven’t seen it yet, have you? The Demon filled the warehouse with food.”

“There are piles of clothes, shoes, and fabric too!”

“There was enough to live here for the rest of our lives.”

Ian joked that there was enough to make someone lose their mind.

Everyone burst into laughter.

They look much more relaxed…

Only then did I realize how much calmer everyone looked compared to before.

“I’m really glad. We’re not ready to leave this place yet.”

“That’s true. Even if we said we were framed, who would believe us?”

“Well… to be honest, I didn’t believe any of you either.”

“So… I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“I think everyone thought the same.”

“That everyone except me was a dangerous criminal.”

I quietly listened to the adults talking.

That’s true.

For some reason, the Emperor had falsely accused innocent people and sent them to the exile settlement just to mine ore.

Then, once they were no longer useful…

He ordered us all to be killed.

For now, staying here and preparing for the future is the safest choice.

My decision hadn’t been wrong.

It had helped everyone.

“Well then.”

I raised my hand.

“How about we all live well together?”

That was probably the best goal—and the best plan—we could have right now.

“Let’s look around first.”

Following Ian’s suggestion, we began exploring our new home.

The village was enormous.

It felt like it took a full hour just to reach the edge of the forest.

“This looks like the residential district.”

“Did nobles live here? These buildings are huge.”

“No, this was the commoners’ district.”

“The houses are too small to be mansions.”

“Even so… they’re still this big.”

Now I could truly understand how prosperous Exilium had once been.

We also went to see the warehouse.

Just as Livi had said, it was filled not only with food, but also clothes and every kind of daily necessity.

Dear Demon…!

I thought he was just a handsome clean freak with strange habits…

But he was actually so generous!

From now on, I’ll respectfully call him the Demon.

“By the way… there aren’t any animals here either.”

Livi looked up at the blue sky sadly.

“I’ve gotten to the point where I even miss hearing birds sing.”

Just like the exile settlement, there wasn’t even a single ant.

Maybe it was because of the monsters living in the ancient forest.

The clean and peaceful scenery somehow felt eerie.

Just then—

A beast’s roar echoed from outside the warehouse.

Livi and I looked at each other before quickly running toward the sound.

The adults had gathered in an open field covered with weeds.

When I got closer, I saw Aunt Elva, who had been imprisoned for violating the Pharmaceutical Act.

She was sitting on the ground, frantically digging through the weeds.

Whoa… her eyes are practically rolling back…!

I froze in surprise.

Ian walked over and explained.

“She found an incredibly rare herb.”

“A herb?”

“Not just any herb!”

Aunt Elva suddenly jumped to her feet and shouted.

“It’s a rare herb called Dulchevia!”

She was so excited that her eyes had turned bloodshot.

I looked at the herb.

It had heart-shaped leaves.

When I leaned closer and sniffed it, it smelled sweet like honey.

“It has amazing effects for detoxification, stopping bleeding, reducing inflammation, and treating almost every illness.”

“That’s why it’s called the miracle cure.”

It couldn’t even be grown artificially.

It had always been extremely rare, only appearing once or twice a year.

For the past several decades, none had ever been found.

Scholars had already concluded that it was extinct.

Yet right now…

It was growing everywhere like ordinary weeds.

That means…!

My eyes widened just like Aunt Elva’s.

“Is it expensive?”

“Is this worth a lot of money?”

“One single stalk can earn enough money to feed a family of four for twenty days!”

And Dulchevia wasn’t the only one.

Rare herbs and valuable mushrooms were growing all over the residential district.

“I-I can’t believe this…!”

I couldn’t hide my amazement.

“We can’t even sell something this valuable!”

I dropped to my knees beside Aunt Elva.

Together, we pounded the ground and cried.

This really was enough to make anyone roar like a wild beast.

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Aunt Elva confidently said that the herbs and mushrooms we found today were worth hundreds of millions of Liv at the very least.

So what?

We can’t even sell them…

Still, at least I learned that the currency in this world was called Liv.

That alone made me feel a little better.

“Oh, right.”

Just then, Livi called out to me.

“The Demon left a message.”

“He said to summon him after you woke up.”

“Really?”

“I just remembered.”

“I hope we haven’t kept him waiting.”

“I don’t think he’s the kind of Demon who gets angry over something like this.”

“And I only just woke up.”

“I guess that’s true…”

Livi smiled awkwardly.

Is she scared?

Looking around, I noticed everyone else seemed afraid of the Demon too.

I wished they wouldn’t.

He had helped us, after all.

Still, just in case he really was angry…

We decided to prepare ourselves first.

I returned to the building where I had first woken up.

Picking up a small stone, I drew the summoning circle outside.

An upside-down star.

Then a circle around it.

Just like before…

I finished it with saliva.

Spit.

“W-Why did you spit?”

“That’s the payment for the summoning.”

“What?”

The adults were shocked.

“A demon accepted the saliva of a seven-year-old as payment…”

“He really is a demon.”

“Even what he wants is disgusting…”

The moment my saliva landed on the summoning circle—

It burst into a brilliant light.

Huh?

Did it do this last time?

Confused because I didn’t remember this happening before…

A thick white smoke suddenly poured out of the circle.

At the same time…

A grand opera began playing like background music.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed through the air.

Then…

A pair of shiny dress shoes stepped through the smoke.

No way…

Did we really make him angry by summoning him so late?

He didn’t seem like that kind of Demon.

Still…

Just in case…

I quickly signaled the others behind me.

“Dear Demon!”

“Dear Demon!”

“We believe in you!”

“We place our hopes in you!”

We all immediately dropped to our knees and lay flat on the ground.

Like a group of completely insane demon worshippers…

We loudly praised him.

When there was no response…

I carefully opened one eye.

“……”

“……”

A red silk shirt covered in flashy flower patterns.

Loose black pants.

A thick gold necklace.

An angel tattoo showing between the open buttons of his shirt.

A rough-looking face.

A large muscular body.

Bright yellow bleached hair.

And finally…

Eyes that burned like a worn-out sun.

The Demon looked like a gangster straight out of the end of the century.

He stared at us as if we were completely insane.

I stared back at him the same way.

The Demon has an angel tattoo.

Does that even make sense?

To avoid confusing him with the Demon I met before…

I decided to temporarily call this one the Bleached Demon.

The first thing the Bleached Demon did…

Wasn’t introducing himself.

It was scolding us.

“What, did living in exile for a few years make you all lose your minds?”

“You idiots are actually worshipping a demon without fearing anything!”

Getting scolded by a demon for worshipping a demon…

Did that even make sense?

“If you’ve got time to do useless things like this, love your neighbors more and take care of yourselves!”

“Just look at your bodies!”

“You’re nothing but skin and bones! Seriously!”

He wasn’t wrong.

So we quietly crouched there…

And obediently listened to his lecture.

This feels exactly like being scolded by a murderer for not living a good life.