Chapter 7

“…What?”

I froze.

“E-Executed?”

“Immediately?”

The school-uniform demon nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Transmigrators are always talking about ‘the original story’ and things like that.”

“They recklessly destroy the world’s order, fate, and the chain of cause and effect however they please.”

“When one transmigrator appears, at least ten thousand people suffer because of it.”

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

He sighed helplessly.

“There’s an organization called the Multidimensional Alliance. Ah… maybe that’s still a little advanced for you.”

“Anyway, because of transmigrators, every world has suffered all kinds of…”

I swallowed nervously.

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

Transmigrators?

Immediate execution?

Why did I even ask?!

I should’ve just shamelessly pretended to be Hebenia!

Why did my stupid conscience have to act up?

Just then…

“Wait…”

The school-uniform demon suddenly leaned his face close to mine.

“Did you ask because you think you’re a transmigrator?”

Startled, I couldn’t answer.

Instead…

“Hic!”

A loud hiccup escaped me.

The school-uniform demon smiled brightly.

“Oh dear.”

“What a misunderstanding.”

“Don’t worry.”

“You simply settled back into your original body.”

“You’re not a transmigrator.”

“You came back.”

He smiled so beautifully that anyone watching would have their heart flutter.

But…

All I felt was fear.

I wasn’t sure whether it was because of the demon’s smile…

Or because I’d just learned an unbelievable secret about myself.

One thing was certain.

…I was so shocked that even my hiccups stopped.

I hadn’t transmigrated.

I had been Hebenia Clavis from the very beginning.

* * *

For now…

I decided to introduce the school-uniform demon to everyone.

All the questions spinning around in my head could wait.

I desperately wanted answers…

But none of them were urgent.

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

“My head’s already full.”

“I’ll ask later.”

“Oh dear.”

“Did I talk too much?”

“So far…”

“…it’s still okay.”

The members of our exile family were gathered in our house preparing dinner.

The moment they saw the school-uniform demon…

They warmly welcomed him.

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

His polite attitude and friendly smile immediately won everyone over.

He even told us his name.

“You can simply call me Verity!”

“Though it’s an alias, of course.”

“If an ordinary human heard my true name…”

“…their head would explode.”

“After that, their soul would wander this world until it completely wore away and disappeared.”

“…”

“…”

A demon was still a demon.

While dinner was being prepared…

I called Ian over and took Verity to a quiet corner of the yard.

“Verity.”

“You’re a really strong demon, right?”

He nodded.

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

“I’m among the best.”

“Even the two Lords you met earlier acknowledge that.”

So Bleached Demon Lord was also one of the Lords.

“Then…”

“Could you help train both Ian and me?”

“Hebenia?”

Ian looked at me in surprise.

I turned to him.

“Um…”

“I’m sorry for deciding this on my own.”

“But when you held that sword earlier…”

“You looked so nostalgic.”

“…”

“Like the man in the song we exercised to this morning.”

“Haha…”

Ian smiled bitterly.

“That’s embarrassing.”

“I can’t believe even a child noticed.”

Then he admitted it honestly.

“You’re right.”

“I still haven’t let go.”

Although he’d lost his position as a knight because of false accusations…

Ian had never forgotten the days he carried a sword.

“A sword isn’t just a weapon to me.”

“It protected the people I cared about.”

“It was proof of all the effort I’d put in.”

“And proof that I was truly alive.”

“…Ian.”

That was a little cheesy.

Still…

It showed just how precious the sword was to him.

So I simply smiled quietly.

“My goodness!”

“And to think such a wonderful human exists!”

Verity looked deeply moved.

…Now that I think about it…

That really was the kind of speech a dramatic middle-schooler would love.

He looked about fifteen.

Maybe he really is in middle school.

That probably explains why he’s so strong.

Since we’d already started talking about it…

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

That evening I ate a hearty dinner and went to bed early.

But sleep wouldn’t come.

So…

I’m really Hebenia.

I’d believed all this time that I’d transmigrated.

Even though my thoughts were a mess…

My heart gradually became peaceful.

That’s a relief.

The guilt I’d carried…

The guilt of stealing someone else’s body…

Disappeared.

Now I finally felt free.

As though I no longer had to hesitate about anything.

Still…

One question remained.

If being Hebenia is my real life…

Then what exactly was the life I lived as Cha Habin in the other world?

“Mmm…”

I thought until I groaned aloud.

But no answer came.

“Oh well.”

“I’ll just forget about it!”

My curiosity wasn’t urgent.

The most important thing now…

Was living happily here.

To do that…

I needed to learn how to properly use my powers.

Of course it still feels unfair.

If this life was always mine…

Then what was the point of all the suffering I went through over there?

But compared to the happiness and relief I felt now…

That sadness seemed insignificant.

Right.

Forget it for now.

Get some sleep.

Complaining about the life that had been even worse than exile wouldn’t change anything.

Just as everyone else was reclaiming their own lives…

I would simply reclaim mine.

Looks like I have a wonderful new goal.

Thinking that…

My heart finally relaxed.

As though praising me…

Someone gently stroked my hair.

“…”

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.

Without thinking…

I quietly touched my own hair.

It was a pleasant morning.

One that left me feeling strangely shy.

* * *

Wearing a navy-blue school tracksuit…

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

“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…

And a first-aid kit.

No way…

A chill ran down my spine.

I quickly looked back at Verity.

Still smiling innocently…

He said something horrifying.

“The best training…”

“…is real combat!”

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

“You evil demon!”

“I mean…”

“I am a demon.”

“Are you out of your mind?!”

I was about to protest.

Then I noticed Ian beside me.

He was strangely quiet.

I slowly turned toward him.

His eyes sparkled with determination.

Like someone who had already accepted death.

As if entering a forest filled with monsters to become stronger…

Was his destiny.

Has this guy gone crazy?!

Look beside you!

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

Perhaps noticing how upset I was…

Verity smiled as usual.

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

“As Lady Hebenia already knows…”

“This forest is the exercise yard for our Lord’s familiars.”

“And monsters are merely food for those familiars.”

Exilium belonged to the familiars.

Familiars belonged to demons.

In other words…

This was demon territory.

“Inside the territory of beings stronger than themselves…”

“Monsters don’t dare act recklessly.”

“R-Really?”

Maybe training won’t be so difficult after all…

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.”

“The two of you can hunt them.”

“You demon!”

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

That was the last thing I wanted to hear.

“So…”

“Are you refusing?”

“I-I’ll do it…”

“But still…”

“I thought so.”

Verity smiled knowingly.

Now…

Only Ian’s decision remained.

“Ian.”

“What about you?”

“I want to become stronger.”

His lowered eyes quietly burned with determination.

“I was weak.”

“I couldn’t even protect myself.”

“That’s why I was framed.”

“My family…”

“…is probably suffering because of me right now.”

“…”

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

Considering everything we’d experienced…

Their situation was probably terrible too.

The families of supposed criminals rarely receive protection.

As a former Imperial Knight…

Ian knew that better than anyone.

He looked calm on the outside.

But inside…

He was burning.

The others from the exile camp were probably the same.

“…Alright.”

Before entering the forest…

I made one wish to Verity.

“Please create a way for us to communicate with everyone back home.”

“What exactly do you have in mind?”

“Hmm…”

I glanced at the watch on my wrist.

I’d read in Everything About the Clavis Family in One Book that it had a phone function.

“Make another one exactly like this.”

“One with the phone feature.”

Verity immediately created another watch and handed it to me.

Just then…

Everyone came to see us off.

I fastened the new watch onto Ribi’s wrist.

Then I immediately showed her how to make a call.

The watch had two calling modes.

Voice calls.

And video calls.

Voice calls transmitted only sound.

Video calls displayed a small live image of the other person on the screen.

“Oh my!”

When my face appeared on the tiny display…

Ribi and everyone else gasped.

Wow.

The picture quality is really good.

While I was admiring it…

Someone gently tapped my shoulder.

Turning around…

I smiled brightly.

“Mrs. Dallis!”

She was my fellow life prisoner.

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

Even now…

Her mind still wasn’t completely clear.

The others had told me her hair had originally been brown.

It had turned completely white…

In just a single day after arriving at the exile camp.

Mrs. Dallis stared blankly at me.

Then slowly opened her arms and hugged me tightly.

I hugged her back.

“Listen to Ribi while I’m gone.”

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

* * *

We decided to wait until everyone had returned to the village before entering the forest.

I stared at the dark woods.

“How do we get inside?”

Verity looked at me.

“You open it.”

“…Me?”

“Then should I open it?”

“But you’re my butler.”

“You can’t even open a barrier?”

“Lady…”

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

“You’re being a little harsh.”

Putting both hands on his hips…

Verity proudly declared,

“I’m basically just the errand boy!”

“There are things I can’t do!”

“…Wouldn’t that make me the errand boy?”

“I’m the one paying for the bread…”

“…and the delivery fee.”