Chapter 49
"What in the..."Yoo Chae-rin.She felt momentarily bewildered by the scene before her.The reason for her visit today wasn't anything special. She just came to deliver information as usual. She happened to have some pretty important news today.Then suddenly, she heard a woman shouting near the forest and got curious, so she came here.She wondered what kind of crazy person would be yelling in this forest.But... she never expected to see this kind of scene.Her eyes fell on a woman who had her upper body exposed. Thank goodness the stream wasn't on. She almost got hit with a Terms of Service violation.Maybe she was trying to assault Yor like that time before...?No, both of their expressions seemed too calm for that.'Wait, could it be...?'For a moment her thoughts drifted 'that way.' No need to explain which 'way' that was.But those thoughts didn't last long as she shook her head.Looking at their atmosphere, they didn't seem close enough for anything like that.Yor noticed Chae-rin and asked:"Chae-rin? Why are you suddenly here?""Well, I heard some noise coming from here so...""Yor? Chae-rin? You two know each other?"And then Nicky cut into their conversation.A crooked smile hung on her lips."Aha... so this is why you said you couldn't come? You couldn't let go of just one lover?""L-lover?!""What nonsense is that..."Yor frowned in disbelief.It was too much of a stretch.There was no evidence or basis for it. The context didn't even make sense.Chae-rin had just happened to stumble into this place, that's all.But Nicky didn't care about any of that anymore.Her trigger had already been partially pulled.'Trusting someone who isn't your own kind. How stupid...'Actually, Nicky had lived among normal people for a while even after her 10th birthday.Her honor-obsessed family wanted to hide the fact that demon blood had appeared in their bloodline.So while she was kicked out of home, in exchange she was able to survive.As a Manifestor, she used her enhanced physical abilities to become an Adventurer.She had to make a living somehow. The Adventurers' Guild was perfect for her since they didn't care about someone's background.Things went quite smoothly.She made close comrades, had many juniors who looked up to her, and even dated a man who understood her.She thought maybe, just maybe, she could reveal to them that she had 'demon blood'...How stupid that thought was is explained by her current position in Lemegeton.-Shit! Get the axe!!-Damn! A demon's spawn was pretending to be human this whole time?!-Baby please, just spare my life...It's a sin for humans to trust humans.It's just greed for someone cursed from birth to wish for normalcy.Watching her own kind pretend to be normal humans, she felt something dark rising inside her."Hey, you don't even know what this guy really is, do you?""Huh, me?"That's why she did it. Why she so casually revealed Yor's identity."This guy is a Manifestor. One with demon blood.""Hey!"Horror flashed in Yor's eyes. Seeing that, Nicky grinned.Just to be clear, this was her acting alone.Lemegeton's stance was to keep information hidden as much as possible.But she couldn't understand that.Why should they have to? When they lose their place to live, they'll have no choice but to join Lemegeton anyway.Sure, they might be hostile at first, but living there, he would surely come to be satisfied."Yor, come to us! This is the only place you can belong! We can welcome you!"As she said this, she glanced at Chae-rin's face for a moment.Chae-rin was still watching the situation with a blank expression, seemingly unable to process what she'd heard.A strange anticipation welled up in Nicky.Soon that blank face would turn to shock, and then to terror.Just like she had experienced. Just thinking about it filled her with delight.Finally, Chae-rin opened her mouth."Ah... so that's what it was.""...What?"Nicky tilted her head at those words. This wasn't the reaction she wanted."Was that why you've been hiding it all this time? You could have just said so."Chae-rin said this while walking over to Yor's side.Yor seemed just as surprised, looking at Chae-rin with a bewildered expression."Well, it's not exactly how I would have wanted to find out, but at least I learned one secret."Chae-rin's face showed that she had already suspected something like this.
*
Yoo Chae-rin is not an idiot.While she wasn't the best student in school, she could at least tell that Yor was hiding something.From their first meeting, he seemed full of secrets.Living in this forest was strange enough, but he also severely avoided questions about himself.There was that time he made her log out during the fight, and that time he was covered in blood - there were plenty of suspicious points.She just held back asking because he clearly didn't want to talk about it.'Demon blood...'She knew about that term.It was a key setting that had stuck with her since the first Demonkin incident.She knew how dangerous it was, and how sensitively the NPCs here reacted to it.But separate from that... she felt pity.After all, they didn't choose to be born that way.'So that's why he's in this forest...'She looked at Yor with sympathetic eyes for a moment."This- this can't be!"That's when Nicky raised her voice. Her face was full of spite.She seemed quite displeased that things weren't going according to her expectations.Nicky demanded angrily:"I- I lost everything. How can you react so casually?!""...Why, you ask?"The one who answered wasn't Chae-rin but Yor.While he was also surprised by her calm reaction, he had some idea why.There could be many reasons.As an Otherworlder, this was just a game to her, or maybe.There could be differences in understanding between Gaians and Otherworlders.Or maybe she just didn't know enough about 'demon blood'.But instead of listing all those reasons, Yor went with a simpler, more provocative answer."Because I have a dick, and you don't.""...What?""Eh?"Question marks appeared above both women's heads at Yor's words. As if asking what nonsense that was.But he had no intention of backing down from his claim.Being born with a stick in this reversed world was an amazing thing.Just having that rod down there automatically increases likability!For humans, emotions are a very important criterion for judgment, and charm stats have a massive effect on those emotions!Therefore, having a dick was a very important fact."No, no way!""Jealous? Then you should have been born with a dick too.""That's impossible!""No! Accept reality! There's no value between your legs!"It's the fault of being born proudly hung in a reversed world.Or they shouldn't have lived in a reversed world to begin with.Yor's mockery made her snap.Being a Manifestor, her mental state didn't seem very stable either. Her reaction to such light provocation showed that."......"Chae-rin, who had suddenly become witness to this dick-measuring contest, could only stand there blankly.But the mockery didn't last long, as Yor soon regained his seriousness and spoke again."Well then, now I should tell you why I won't join you?"Nicky hadn't said anything wrong."Like you said, life might be more comfortable if I joined."The forest wasn't exactly a comfortable place after all.He could understand why she joined Lemegeton.While Lemegeton has many enemies, Manifestors have the whole world as their enemy.Joining a group is a rational choice, whether for survival or quality of life."But they worship demons there."He continued speaking. A strange heat rose from within."I just can't accept that. In the end, it was those demon bastards who fundamentally screwed up my life."He could deal with the locals' position. Though unfair, he could force himself to understand.After all, their lives are threatened when someone becomes a Demonkin.But not those demon bastards.Even now, thinking about the Rage Mode he faces once a month makes his teeth grind.Just what are they? What makes them so great that they need to push so many people into suffering?"But fuck... you want me to join a cult that worships them? Do I look like some idiot lapdog? I'm not some neighborhood mutt looking for an owner. Why should I do that? I'd rather bite my tongue and die."Pretty harsh words. Chae-rin looked at Yor for a moment after hearing that.And she could see it. Just how angry he was.She'd seen him get annoyed a few times before, but this was the first time she'd seen him emanate such a murderous atmosphere.It showed just how much resentment he had built up inside."If you understand, then get lost. The only reason I haven't killed you yet is out of maximum courtesy to a fellow kind.""...Damn it."At those words, the other party left silently.She realized there was no point trying to persuade him further.
That left just Yor and Chae-rin in a somewhat awkward atmosphere."......""......"Silence fell for a moment.Hah, sighing, Yor gathered his courage to speak to Chae-rin."Sorry, you saw something unpleasant. About what you learned today...""You want me to keep it secret? Don't worry, of course I will.""...Thanks."Yor's lips quivered several times.Various emotions like anxiety and worry rippled near his chest.He wanted to emphasize it a few more times but decided against it.It felt like he'd just look more pathetic if he kept talking.One thing had definitely changed though - the number of people who shared his secret had grown.But well, contrary to his expectations... it didn't feel so bad.