Chapter 4

After everyone had cried their hearts out…

“Hebenia, you must be hungry, right?”

“We made some stew.”

“Look how pale you are. Eat first and get your strength back.”

Probably embarrassed that they’d all cried in front of me, the adults quickly changed the subject and carried me downstairs to the dining room.

Literally carried me.

The moment I sat at the table, a bowl of creamy stew was placed in front of me.

It was packed with meat and vegetables.

Just looking at it made me hungry.

“Wow… this is really delicious!”

When I exclaimed in amazement, Uncle Popina proudly puffed out his chest.

This voluntarily bald uncle had been the cook back in the exile camp.

His listed crime was manslaughter caused by violating the Food Sanitation Act.

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

After finishing our meal, we moved to the garden outside.

The moment I stepped out…

My eyes widened.

Wow… did a rich family used to live here?

I sat down on the grass.

After spending two months sitting on hard ground, my backside twitched the instant it touched the soft lawn.

I wasn’t the only one.

Everyone else reacted the same way.

It was strangely funny.

The oldest person among us, Uncle Modi, stepped forward.

His listed crimes were group assault and organizing and operating an illegal organization.

“Before we discuss what we’ll do from now on…”

“I’d like to thank Hebenia one more time.”

“Now then!”

Ian grinned and lifted me into the air again.

“Let’s give our heroine a huge round of applause!”

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted once more.

With one hand over my chest, I playfully bowed again and again.

“But…”

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

“Why us?”

“What the guards said keeps bothering me.”

“They definitely mentioned mining ore…”

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

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion.

We decided to see whether all twelve of us shared something in common.

But no matter how hard we searched…

We couldn’t find a single thing that connected everyone.

“We can think about that later.”

Uncle Modi continued.

“For now, deciding what we’ll do next is more important.”

Everyone nodded.

Including me.

He’s right.

The people of the exile camp had regained their freedom.

But…

It was only half of their freedom.

We were still trapped inside a monster-filled forest.

And before proving our innocence…

We had officially become dead people.

If I’d known everyone was innocent…

I would’ve wished for us to escape to the outside world instead.

Did I make the wrong wish?

Just as anxiety started filling my heart…

“Still…”

Ribi, sitting beside me, sighed in relief.

“It’s all thanks to you, Hebenia.”

“You haven’t seen it yet, have you?”

“The Demon Lord filled the warehouse with food.”

“There are clothes, shoes, fabric…”

“Enough supplies to last a lifetime.”

Ian joked,

“There was enough to make me question his sanity.”

Everyone laughed.

They look so much more relaxed…

Only then did I realize how much more at ease everyone seemed.

“I’m really glad.”

“We weren’t ready to go outside yet.”

“That’s true.”

“Even if we insisted we were framed…”

“Who would believe us?”

“Honestly…”

“I didn’t believe you were innocent either.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“Everyone thought the same thing.”

“That everyone except me was a dangerous criminal.”

I quietly listened to the adults.

That’s true.

For reasons I still didn’t understand…

The Emperor had falsely accused innocent people and imprisoned them to mine ore.

And once they were no longer useful…

He ordered them killed.

For now…

Staying here and preparing for the future is the safest option.

It seemed my decision hadn’t been wrong after all.

It had helped everyone.

“Then…”

I raised my hand.

“Our goal should be…”

“To eat well and live well.”

At this moment…

That was the best plan we could possibly have.

* * *

“Let’s explore the place first.”

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

The town was enormous.

It felt like it took nearly an hour to reach the edge of the forest.

“This seems to be the residential district.”

“Did nobles live here?”

“Look at the size of these houses.”

“No.”

“It’s the commoners’ district.”

“These buildings are too small to be noble estates.”

“Even so…”

“They’re still huge.”

It truly showed just how prosperous Exilium had once been.

We also visited the warehouses.

Just as Ribi had said…

They were packed not only with food…

But also clothes and countless daily necessities.

Demon Lord…!

I’d thought he was just an obsessive clean freak and handsome pervert…

Who knew he was actually so generous?

From now on, I’ll call him “Demon Lord” with proper respect.

“Still…”

Ribi looked up at the blue sky.

“There isn’t a single animal here either.”

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

Perhaps because of the monsters living in the primeval forest…

This new place was just like the exile camp.

Not even an ant could be found.

The peaceful scenery somehow felt eerie.

Then…

A beast’s roar echoed from outside the warehouse.

Ribi and I exchanged glances before immediately running toward the sound.

Several adults had gathered in an overgrown clearing.

When we got closer…

Aunt Elva, who had been imprisoned for violating pharmaceutical laws, was kneeling on the ground frantically digging through the weeds.

Whoa…

Her eyes have practically rolled back.

While I stood frozen in surprise, Ian explained.

“She found an incredibly rare medicinal herb.”

“A medicinal herb?”

“Not just any herb!”

Aunt Elva suddenly jumped to her feet and shouted.

“It’s… it’s Dulcevia!”

She was so excited that the veins in her eyes stood out.

I looked down at the plant.

It had heart-shaped leaves.

When I leaned closer…

A sweet honey-like fragrance drifted into my nose.

“It has remarkable effects.”

“It detoxifies poison.”

“Stops bleeding.”

“Reduces inflammation.”

“And treats almost every illness.”

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

It couldn’t even be cultivated artificially.

Even in the past…

Finding one or two plants a year had been considered lucky.

But for decades…

No one had found any.

The academic world had practically declared it extinct.

Yet…

Right in front of us…

It was growing everywhere like ordinary weeds.

Which means…!

My eyes widened just like Aunt Elva’s.

“Is it expensive?”

“Really expensive?”

“A single stalk is worth enough money to feed a family of four for twenty days!”

And Dulcevia wasn’t the only thing.

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

“I-I can’t believe it…”

I gasped in amazement.

“…We can’t even sell any of it!”

I ended up pounding the ground and crying right beside Aunt Elva.

Honestly…

This situation really did make you want to roar like a wild animal.

* * *

Aunt Elva confidently estimated that the herbs and mushrooms we’d found today alone were worth hundreds of millions of Livs.

But what was the point?

We can’t sell them…

Still…

At least I’d learned that this world’s currency was called Liv.

That was something.

“By the way…”

Ribi suddenly called out to me.

“The Demon Lord left a message.”

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

“Really?”

“I only just remembered.”

“I hope we haven’t kept him waiting.”

“I don’t think he’s the type to get angry over something like that.”

“I only just woke up anyway.”

“That’s true…”

Ribi smiled awkwardly before trailing off.

Is she scared of him?

Looking around…

The others also seemed rather afraid of the Demon Lord.

Personally…

I wished they wouldn’t be.

He was a kind person who had helped us.

Still…

Just in case…

We decided to prepare ourselves in case he actually was angry.

Returning to the building where we’d first stayed…

I picked up a small stone and drew a summoning circle outside.

An upside-down star.

A circle around it.

And just like before…

The finishing touch.

“Ptui.”

I spat onto it.

“W-Why did you spit?”

“That’s the price for summoning him.”

“…What?”

The adults were visibly shocked.

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

“He really is a demon.”

“Even what he wants is disgusting…”

At that exact moment…

The instant my saliva touched the circle…

It burst into brilliant light.

Huh?

Did it do this last time?

I didn’t remember it happening.

Then…

White smoke poured out of the summoning circle.

At the same time…

A grand, majestic opera began playing as background music.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed.

A pair of shiny dress shoes stepped dramatically out of the smoke.

Whoa.

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

He didn’t seem like that kind of demon…

Still…

Just to be safe…

I quickly signaled everyone behind me.

“Demon Lord!”

“Demon Lord!”

“We believe in you!”

“We place our hopes in you!”

Without hesitation…

We all dropped to our knees.

Then lay flat on the ground.

Like completely insane demon worshippers…

We loudly praised him.

When there was still no response…

I cautiously opened one eye.

“…”

“…”

A bright red silk shirt covered in tacky floral patterns.

Loose black trousers.

A thick gold necklace.

An angel tattoo visible through the open buttons on his shirt.

A rough, intimidating face.

A large, muscular build.

A horribly bleached yellow shaggy hairstyle.

And finally…

Eyes that shone like worn-out suns.

The demon looked exactly like a gangster from an old crime movie.

He stared down at us as though we were the crazy ones.

I stared back at him exactly the same way.

A demon…

With an angel tattoo?

Seriously?

* * *

To avoid confusing him with the first Demon Lord…

We temporarily nicknamed this one “Bleached Demon.”

The very first thing the Bleached Demon did…

Was lecture us.

“Have a few years in exile made you idiots lose all your common sense?”

“You people are worshipping demons like you’ve got no fear!”

Getting scolded by a demon…

For worshipping a demon…

Did that even make sense?

“If you’ve got enough free time to do stupid things like this…”

“Love your neighbors more!”

“And take care of yourselves first!”

“Just look at your bodies!”

“You’re nothing but skin and bones!”

“Honestly!”

The worst part was…

He wasn’t wrong.

So we all quietly crouched there…

Listening to his harsh lecture.

This feels exactly like being scolded by a murderer for not living a good, honest life…