Chapter 36 – Extra Story — Thoughts of a Boy in the Village of Beginning  

「I’m not asking you to trust me wholeheartedly. But I want you to know that if I ask you to do something for me, you will be well compensated.」

When the human woman at the end of the line that Thorne-san brought me to said that, I thought,「Of course, I’m not going to trust her wholeheartedly.」

I trusted Thorne-san, but I always had a fear that the woman was successfully deceiving him.

If it had gone on like that, we would all just die, so I just relied on Thorne-san’s story one way or another, and I talked with everyone about running away if it was bad. It’s not so much that it’s harder than living as a beggar in that city, scared to death at any moment, better than starving to death.

I heard that they are going to put me to work in a new village, but I will be well fed. Because if that were true, it would be a lot better than it has been.

I had been suspicious of them since I arrived at the village.

Because she was such a beautiful human being, with such beautiful hair, face, skin and fingers. She’s a much nicer looking person than the ones we’ve been trying to stay away from while we’ve been living our filthy lives off the grid. How could this woman really save us? It was scary.

I’ve always suspected it.

She might be trying to trick us into collecting demon children and selling them off. Or she might use them for something else, something bad. Because there must be something behind the scenes if they give you food every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner, proper clothes to wear, and even a house with walls and a roof.

They offer me food in exchange for working, but it’s all so simple that I think it’s a lie, and yes, I’m exhausted at the end of the day, but that’s it. This is too suspicious.

Even their work is just working in the fields using「body strengthening magic」that any demon tribe can do, or even too weak for a demon tribe, and power that can’t even be called「magic」that only moves things. And yet, every time I do, that woman,「Remilia-sama」praises me to the point of disgust.

「That’s amazing. Even a human adult can’t plow such a large field in half a day.」

「This… This isn’t great at all. I can’t even defeat monsters and protect everyone like the Demon Lords… I’m a failure as someone from the demon tribe.」

In fact, it was. It takes talent to use「magic」that can kill monsters. Without it, even if we have greater magical power than humans… at best they can only use「body enhancement」or weak magic like me.

Even the body enhancement is not something that can be dexterously applied when fighting monsters. If you use body enhancement in front of the demons, they will kill you first.

The older demons over here who are adventurers seem to manage to use that to their advantage and defeat the monsters, too…

When I heard that she was going to use this weak magical power to dig up the soil and work the fields, I thought,「Wow, there was a use for something that can’t even defeat a monster like this,」but that was it.

「That’s not true. There are just people who are good at defeating monsters and protecting everyone, and people who are good at plowing the fields and making food for everyone. Neither is better or more important than the other.」

…In the demon realm, from the time I was born, I couldn’t live properly in the miasma of the demon realm. I came to this country by way of the transfer of Misery-sama, and although I am able to move as much as a normal human being, I still have to get help from other older demons, Thorne-san and others, or someone else to survive.

So… I thought I was happy because it was the first time in my life that I had been praised… acknowledged, but I told myself over and over again,「I shouldn’t think this way.」

Lately I’ve been thinking,「Well, it looks like she’s not going to sell us out.」And my friends who came here with me said so, too.

I know that Thorne-san lectured us, saying,「If Remilia-sama were the kind of person who thinks like that, she wouldn’t spend so much money and effort on you guys.」

Sure, there’s… good food, a decent place to live, and clothes to feed the kids who are selling out. It’s strange how she teach us how to read and write and do math while she’s working in the fields because「it will help you when you grow up and choose a job!」

.

So I came to think that this person… Remilia-sama can be trusted. This person doesn’t try to sell us out just because we are demons. She don’t look at me because I was an orphan and make me do dangerous or hard work with「a handful of wheat.」 She thinks about what shd can do with 「body enhancement」which had no use, and create work that even I can be of use to everyone.

So again, I need to continue to make people think of me as a usable guy so I can get work and food.

So when the little guy was sick, I was scared that I had to do something about it. What should I do? If I bother her with this…「I’m from the demon tribe, so I can use magic to work in the fields,」 this little bit I have now, if she think it’s too much trouble, she’ll throw it away immediately. Because if you can live in such a nice village, there are plenty of people who want to take your place.

Lady Remilia could have chosen any number of more hassle-free villagers.

I was horrified.

If I am evicted from this village, I will have to go back to that life of living in fear of dying.

Oh, no, what am going to I do? Time passed while I was lost, and I prayed that he would get better in the meantime, but the little guy kept coughing. He became more and more limp.

So I couldn’t help myself, and because I moved after I got scared that the little guy might die, I had to go to the head of the line after the worst thing happened.

If only I could have told everyone in the morning. If I had said,「I don’t think this is a normal cold after all, I’ll ask Thorne-san and Remilia-sama to do something about it,」this could have been solved before it got this bad.

I’m sorry about the little guy, too. I was the bad one for scaring you, but you all went with me to ask for help. I hate myself for being a useless piece of baggage again, and I can’t think of any other words than「I’m sorry, I’m sorry.」

「Begging for help from『that person』must have been so terrifying that you would have given your life.」

「Thank you for relying on me.」

So when they say that without being offended by a single word.

I didn’t know what she said, I heard her but I didn’t know. But after I realized that「she wasn’t mad」at me and that「she wouldn’t throw me away for being useless,」I cried so hard I couldn’t even thank her properly.

Remilia-sama didn’t look at me whether I was useful or not from the beginning.

When I apologized, Remilia-sama just said,「You didn’t do anything to me to make you apologize,」but she really meant it, so I stopped apologizing.

So instead, I thought,「I’ll try to be useful to Remilia-sama.」With my apologies for that day, I am learning every day and doing the best job I can.

Not the impassioned「I have to be useful so I won’t be abandoned」feeling I had when I first came to the village. I was so proud of myself for being able to truly think,「I want to be useful for that person.」