Chapter 7
“…What?”
Frozen in place, I asked again.
“E-Executed? On the spot?”
The school-uniform demon nodded.
“People who possess other bodies are always going on about the ‘original story’ and things like that. They mess up the world’s order, the flow of fate, and the law of cause and effect however they please. When one possessor appears, at least ten thousand people suffer because of it. They all think they’re the main character of the world.”
He shook his head as if troubled.
“There’s an organization called the Multidimensional Alliance. Ah, that might be a little too advanced for you right now. Anyway, because of possessors, every world has suffered countless incidents…”
I swallowed nervously.
What kind of plot twist is this all of a sudden?!
Possessors?
Immediate execution?
I shouldn’t have asked! I should’ve just shamelessly pretended to be Hevenia! Why did my stupid conscience have to speak up?!
Then—
“Did you ask because you think you’re a possessor, my lady?”
The school-uniform demon suddenly leaned his face close to mine.
Startled, I answered with a loud hiccup instead of words.
Seeing me like that, he laughed brightly.
“Oh dear, what a misunderstanding! Don’t worry. You simply settled back into your original body properly. You aren’t a possessor.”
I returned.
The school-uniform 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.
One thing was certain.
…I was so shocked that my hiccups stopped.
I wasn’t a possessor.
From the very beginning…
I had always been Hevenia Clavis.
First, I introduced the school-uniform demon to everyone in the exile camp.
I decided to put aside the countless questions spinning around in my head for now.
I desperately wanted answers, but they weren’t 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?”
“It’s… still okay for now.”
Everyone had gathered at our house to prepare dinner.
As soon as they saw the school-uniform demon, they warmly welcomed him.
“This demon will be staying by Lady Hevenia’s side from today onward.”
With his polite replies and friendly smile, the school-uniform demon won everyone over almost instantly.
He even introduced himself.
“Please call me Verity! Of course, it’s an alias. If an ordinary human heard my true name, their head would explode, and after they died, their soul would wander the mortal world until it wore away completely.”
“…”
“…”
A demon was still a demon.
While dinner was being prepared, I called Ian aside and took Verity with us to a corner of the yard.
“Verity, you’re a really strong demon, right?”
He nodded.
“If we’re only talking about combat ability, 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 both of us train?”
“Hevenia?”
Ian looked at me in surprise.
I turned to him.
“Um… sorry for deciding this on my own. But when you held the sword earlier… you looked really nostalgic.”
“…”
“Like the man in the song we exercised to this morning.”
“Haha…”
Ian smiled bitterly.
“That’s embarrassing. Even you noticed.”
Then he admitted it honestly.
“Yeah. You’re right. I still haven’t let it go.”
Although he had been forced to leave the knights because of a false accusation, Ian still couldn’t forget the days when he wielded a sword.
“To me, a sword isn’t just a weapon. It was how I protected my family, the result of all my hard work… proof that I was alive.”
“Ian…”
That was a little embarrassing to hear.
Still, it showed just how precious the sword was to him, so I simply answered with a bitter smile.
“My goodness…!”
And then—
“To think such an admirable human exists!”
Verity was completely moved.
Now that I think about it… that’s exactly the kind of line an eighth-grader going through a chuunibyou phase would love.
He looked about fifteen. Maybe he really is that age.
No wonder he’s so strong.
Since the subject had come up, Ian and I decided to begin training the very next day.
I ate a hearty dinner to prepare for tomorrow’s training and went to bed early.
But I couldn’t fall asleep.
So… I’m really Hevenia.
I had believed all this time that I had possessed someone else’s body.
Despite the confusion in my mind, my heart gradually became peaceful.
That’s a relief.
The guilt of taking over someone else’s body disappeared, and confidence filled its place.
Now I no longer had any reason to hesitate.
But another question arose.
If being Hevenia is my true self…
Then what was my life as Chae Habin in the other world?
“Mmm…”
Even after thinking so hard that I groaned aloud, I couldn’t find an answer.
“Well, then I’ll just forget about it!”
My curiosity wasn’t urgent.
Right now, what mattered most was living well here in the exile camp.
To do that, I needed to learn how to use my power properly.
Of course it’s frustrating. If this life was always my real one… then what was all the suffering I went through over there for?
But even that frustration was nothing compared to the relief and happiness I felt now.
That’s enough. I’ll forget about it and get some sleep.
There was no point complaining about a life that had been even worse than exile.
Just as everyone here was reclaiming their own lives…
I would reclaim mine as well.
I’ve found a nice new goal.
Thinking that made me feel much lighter.
As if praising me, someone gently stroked my head.
“…”
Startled, I opened my eyes.
It was already morning.
When did I fall asleep?
The sensation had been so vivid that it hardly felt like a dream.
I unconsciously touched my hair.
It was a pleasant morning, filled with a shy sense of happiness.
Wearing a dark navy school gym uniform, Verity led Ian and me to the edge of the residential district, where a vast primeval forest stretched out before us.
“First, please take these.”
He handed each of us a backpack.
Ian received a plain gray hiking backpack.
Mine was pink, with a picture of an ant wearing a flower on its head.
Inside were dried rations, a water bottle, a first-aid kit, and other supplies.
Don’t tell me…!
A chill ran down my spine as I hurriedly looked at Verity.
With his usual innocent smile, he cheerfully said something horrifying.
“The best training is real combat! Let’s begin a survival training camp by hunting monsters in the primeval forest!”
“You demon!”
“I am a demon.”
“Are you out of your mind—!”
I was about to argue furiously when I noticed Ian beside me.
He was strangely quiet.
When I glanced over, he had the determined expression of someone prepared to die.
His eyes shone as though entering a monster-infested forest to become stronger was his destiny.
Has this guy lost his mind?!
Look beside you!
There’s a seven-year-old standing next to you!
Perhaps noticing my displeasure, Verity smiled his usual cheerful smile and popped a strawberry milk-flavored candy into my mouth.
“As you already know, Lady Hevenia, this is the playground where the Lord’s familiars roam freely. The monsters here are simply food for those familiars.”
Exilium belonged to the familiars.
The familiars belonged to the demons.
In other words…
This was demon territory.
“In the territory of beings stronger than themselves, monsters don’t dare run wild.”
“R-Really?”
Then maybe the training won’t be so difficult?
Unfortunately, my hopes were about to be crushed.
“The moment we enter the forest, I’ll seal my own power. Then the monsters will happily rush toward us. The two of you can hunt them properly.”
“You demon!”
As someone who had coughed up blood the last time I used my power, I wasn’t thrilled to hear that.
“So, are you not going to do it?”
“I-I’ll do it, but…”
“As expected.”
Verity smiled knowingly.
Now all that remained was Ian’s decision.
“What about you, Ian?”
“I want to become stronger as quickly as possible.”
His lowered eyes quietly burned with determination.
“I was weak. I wasn’t even strong enough to protect myself, so I ended up being framed. Because of me, the family I left behind is probably suffering.”
“…”
The family of a criminal exiled for embezzlement and breach of trust.
Judging from everything we had experienced…
His family was probably living under terrible circumstances too.
The families of accused criminals rarely receive any protection.
As a former Imperial Knight, Ian knew that better than anyone.
Even if he acted calm on the outside, he was probably burning inside.
The other exiles were likely the same.
“…All right.”
Before entering the forest, I made one more wish to Verity.
“Please make something that lets us communicate with everyone back home.”
“What exactly do you have in mind?”
“Hmm…”
As I thought about it, I glanced at the watch on my left wrist.
Clavis in One Volume had mentioned that it had a phone function.
“Make another one exactly like this. One with the phone function.”
Verity immediately created another watch and handed it to me.
Just then, everyone came to see us off.
I fastened the newly made watch onto Ribi’s wrist.
Right there, I taught her how to make a call and tried it out.
The watch had two communication modes.
Voice calls and video calls.
Voice calls transmitted only sound.
Video calls displayed a small image of the other person on the screen.
“Oh my!”
When my face appeared on the tiny display above the watch, Ribi and everyone else gasped in surprise.
Wow. The picture quality is really good.
While I was marveling at it too, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
I turned around and smiled brightly.
“Aunt Dalise!”
My fellow life prisoner—the woman falsely accused of murdering her husband and abusing her child—still hadn’t fully recovered mentally.
The adults said her hair had originally been brown.
It had turned completely white after only one day in the exile camp.
Aunt Dalise stared blankly at me before quietly opening her arms and hugging me tightly.
I wrapped my arms around her as well.
“Listen to Ribi, okay? I’ll bring you a present when I come back.”
We decided not to leave for the primeval forest until everyone had returned safely to the village, just in case.
Staring into the dark forest, I asked Verity,
“So… how do we get inside?”
“You’ll open it yourself, my lady.”
“Me?”
“Should I open it instead?”
“A butler can’t even open the barrier?”
“My lady, we’ve only known each other for one day. That’s a bit harsh.”
Placing his hands on his hips, Verity answered proudly.
“I’m basically the guy who runs bread errands! There are things even I can’t do!”
“If anything, aren’t I the one paying for the bread and the errand fee?”
Sounds like I’m the real bread delivery boy here.
