After Mare Triator left Rias Gremory and Tjetever-san, his elf friend, in Sagwon, the city closest to his village, he returned to the aforementioned without any eagerness, thoughtful about everything that happened in such a short time.
He's still somewhat surprised that a girl as young as Rias managed to do what he never dared to do... Put an end to his son's atrocities by taking his life...
Perhaps there was another way, surely, the old man thinks, his beloved late wife would have found him...
But ever since he met her, he knew she was smarter than him, and... That was the only thing he could think of to stop the evil man his son had become...
Mare has contemplated throughout this journey back what his beloved might have done... However, there's no point in dwelling on it.
Besides, constantly thinking about his late wife brings back memories of how that foolish son insulted her memory... So... So horribly... That and all the atrocities he committed against others...
For all these reasons, that man did not deserve to be considered the son of his beloved and himself.
While the man sincerely apologizes to the woman in his thoughts, he enters his room ready to rest for a while; after all, he still has some things to organize in the town with his brother, in addition to continuing to burn the remains of those bandits.
No one in the village wants to acknowledge them, and besides, no one wants to give them a proper grave, so the most sensible and simplest thing to do is burn the bodies so they won't be in the way or attract bears.
All of this wasn't told to Rias, covered up with a little white lie that they'd finished the matter a few days ago.
If she knew, the little redhead would only torture herself even more for what she did, offering her help for the elimination.
Besides the fact that only a few of the adults in the village know about this macabre and somewhat nauseating mission, preventing the few children from going there out of curiosity...
Suddenly, Mare laughs slightly.
For a few seconds, the crazy thought that the children would resist knowing about this whole mess crosses her mind, but... Not all of them are like that redhead.
Sighing, somewhat saddened by the thought of never seeing her again, the old man noticed a letter on his pillow.
It bore her name, written in handwriting that could only be described as delicate and beautiful...
Did the girl write her a letter?
But how does she know how to write at such a young age...?
Shaking her head slightly for asking questions where the answer is more than obvious, Mare opens the finely folded sheet of paper and prepares to read its contents.
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"Hello Mare-san, I hope you arrived home safely.
You'll probably see this letter after you leave Imot-chan ya mi in Sagwon, maybe you'll be resting, so I'm sorry to interrupt your rest.
First of all, I want to apologize to you. I didn't tell you the whole truth about myself, and, as if it were eating me up inside, it was presumptuous of me to give you a lecture about the truth when I wasn't even using it myself.
Anyway, I'm a Demon. I'm not from the same Clan as the guy your son was involved with; in fact, I'm sure they wanted to get rid of me.
I'm sorry I told you I was a cursed child—I don't even know if they exist—but if I'd told you the truth, I don't know how you would have reacted.
I can only sincerely apologize to you for this deception.
My real name is Rias Gremory. My ancestor, who shared my name, was framed for something, and that brought many bad things to my family, though only I have the theory that she was framed.
Even after saying all this, I imagine you're wondering about my intelligence... And I assure you the explanation is even more outlandish than the previous one, so I'll just say that I'm considered a genius.
Thank you for helping us, and I apologize again for lying to you about myself, as well as for murdering your son.
I know that the Bible and common knowledge say that demons are evil incarnate... But not all of us are like that... My mother and father are living proof of that.
And if you're wondering why I said they were good or why I trusted the compass of good and evil... Well, they're very similar to you, and I learned from their moral compasses... Or at least from what they showed me.
Thank you for reading this letter, and I wish you good health.
I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did, and perhaps you won't fully understand my writing style.
I've always been rather bad at apologizing and expressing my feelings. So, I can only wish you luck and many blessings.
Eternally grateful,
Rias Gremory.
P.S.: I don't know how to write informal letters, so I apologize if it's a bit confusing."
---------------₡---------------
After finishing the letter, Mare Triator didn't know what to feel. When they said goodbye in the village, Rias had looked very distressed, almost as if she were begging him for something... Now the old man knew what that something was: forgiveness.
Mare thinks he might be furious that this "evil" being tricked him and simply played with him for her own benefit, leaving this letter to mock him. But if that redhead had truly wanted to mock him, she wouldn't have written any of this and would have simply let him continue believing she was a cursed child.
Furthermore, it is very likely that if Rias had said that she was a Demon from the beginning, the old man would surely have killed her or simply taken her out of the village as soon as the two little girls had recovered.
Moreover, Mare can say with certainty that if he had read this letter before meeting her, he would have jumped on his cart and gone to Sagwon to find them and kill them for toying with him and his people. However, contrary to all this, the old man contemplates the letter with a surprising serenity, even to himself.
It's true she lied to him, but it's clear she wasn't a bad person, judging by Mare's experience in assessing people. Besides, his brother, Yokufu, wouldn't have approved of any of the little redhead's crazy plan if she'd been as wicked and vile as that demon who just corrupted his son...
Either she's a very good actress or Rias is telling the truth... Not all demons are as bad as they're made out to be.
With a heavy sigh, Mare Triator lay down on her bed and thought about what she had just read... The postscript to the letter was right, that's not a good structure if you wanted to apologize.
Chuckling a little at this, the old man envisions the little girl's impossible and unattainable return to the village. He's about to scold her severely for lying to him, but then...
He should tell her that it doesn't matter if she's Lucifer himself, she's a great woman, just like his wife was, doing what needs to be done at the right time, and that simply brings a smile to his face, remembering that mischievous look his beloved used to give him...
His beloved wife, Jacqueline.
---------------₪---------------
In a mansion so spectacular and sophisticated that more than one expert in the field of construction or decoration would be amazed by its beauty, a handsome, well-dressed man has his morning coffee while being attended to by beautiful maids dressed in impeccable purple uniforms with slight touches of white, these being the favorite colors of their master, whom they serve with speed, promptness and utmost elegance.
Satisfied with the delicious coffee made from the finest beans grown on his land, the man feels someone coming to disturb his peace... It always has to be that idiot.
Hearing hurried footsteps, they begin to approach the door of his room for coffee. The man and all his servants hear as these footsteps stop abruptly and a delicate knock on the elegant door is the next sound, completely contrary to the harsh sounds that were heard just a few seconds ago.
Opening the door after announcing the unpleasant subject after this unpleasant show, the man, still drinking his coffee, glances sideways at the newcomer and the latter only kneels down in a sign of respect towards him, in a very vulgar manner for his taste.
"Tell me, Topu-kun... What brings you here?... Interrupting my relaxing coffee break." With a hint of annoyance in his tone, the man said this, making a small gesture with his hand for the other to stand up.
"I'm so sorry for the trouble, Naku-sama." Reacting nervously to his master's annoyance, Topu Bael timidly stood up, trembling slightly. Trying to keep his tone from betraying his nervousness, he promptly replied to his master. "However, some complications arose... regarding what I was entrusted with..." Swallowing loudly, the vulgar man repeatedly rubbed his hands.
"Oh... You have quite the nerve to come here yourself and tell me you failed at what I asked you to do... Knowing how much trouble that thing causes me..." Placing the fine porcelain cup on the designated saucer, an intense pressure filled the room, barely tolerable for everyone present and concentrated on a single person. "But I suppose this is better than me finding out about your failure through other means, isn't it?... Yes, I'll give you points for that." Letting out a small laugh, Naku Bael smiled fleetingly and ceased to express the tremendous fury caused by his pawn's audacity.
• T-T-Everything was because of that human's ineptitude... Finding the perfect excuse to protect himself, the pawn's mind conjures up an image of that man with whom he established a supposed partnership based on an empty promise.
"No, no, no." This time looking directly at his servant, Naku made a gesture with his finger, moving it from side to side, a childish dismissive gesture. "The flaw shown by each of those who serve you is your flaw... It is because of this display of ineptitude that you will never be a High-Class Demon, Topu-kun."
Rising from his chair and placing his hand on the aforementioned's shoulder, the refined man said this in a kind tone, leaving everyone present speechless.
That just shows how annoyed he is. However, the person most affected is unaware of his master's actions, demonstrating, once again, his ineptitude.
"So, after this explanation, can you deduce what you did to me? What you did to my good name..." Naku's tone gradually deepened, and his grip on Topu's shoulder tightened. He watched as his pawn began to sag and return to his knees. "Now, I'll have to inform our esteemed associates that thanks to a stupid human with delusions of grandeur and my inept pawn, that abomination of nature is still alive... How do you think that will leave me...?"
Cracking a bone in the useless sack of meat, Naku glared with a menacing intensity that forced Topu, who had been struggling to stay upright, to his knees.
It wouldn't be such a big deal if it were something else, but we're talking about that abhorrent creature...
"I can't apologize enough... Na-Naku-sama..." Crying from the intense pain, which had already broken the bones in his shoulder, the pawn tried to maintain a respectful enough posture to speak to his master, barely managing. "B-But... The land where that disgusting thing is will take care of it..." Pulling out the most logical thought his busy brain could muster, Topu said this on the verge of abandoning the posture he had managed to achieve.
"I hate to admit it, but you have a point, Topu-kun..." After a few seconds of staring intently at the idiot he'd chosen as a pawn, Naku sighed wearily. "Even though she survived that filthy human of yours, the climate of that land is far too harsh for a two- or three-year-old brat to survive... However... I don't want that thing to get the chance by some strange twist of fate... After all, if she has that name, she's surely got her share of bad luck."
Thinking carefully about what he wanted to eliminate, Naku decided not to leave all the work to Mother Nature...
In fact, a good idea comes to mind.
"Well, Topu-kun. Since it was the humans who ruined your plan, you're going to use humans to fix your little fiasco and eliminate that disgusting Rias Gremory."
Giving a sinister smile at having such a brilliant idea, Naku releases his pawn's shoulder, and he falls to the ground, writhing in pain.
He's not going to bother explaining the meaning of these words to this intellectually disabled man; in fact, he's tired of talking to this inept fool. What did he see in him that made him part of his peerage? Not even Naku Bael himself knows...
Well, it's a pawn, what more can you expect from a disposable and useless piece?
The elegant man only hopes that the Dragon and the Purple Monster will stop causing trouble in their search for the Crimson Dog; this annoying matter needs to be settled soon...
But it's not so important as to warrant your personal intervention, after all. How hard is it to make a disgusting little girl die?
---------------₹---------------
It's been a week and a half since Mare-san left us in Sagwon. She left us at a small inn for two days, and the next day we left the city. According to the man driving the cart we were in, we'll reach Wiseman, another city, in about two days, depending on the weather.
According to the plan, we'll be traveling in different carts with people from villages like Mare-san, since, as the woodcutter himself said, it would be easier to blend in that way. Besides, I have to admit I like these people better; they don't ask too many questions and they care about our well-being. What more could I ask for?
While in Sagwon, I remembered that there are relatively modern forms of transportation like buses, seeing one, or airplanes... Well, I can only say that it was a small mistake on my part to think that we were in medieval times or something like that... But, that's how it felt haha :v.
During those two days in Sagwon, going in and out of the inn, we looked for information and got most of the details of the person Mare-san sent us with for transport, who is the same person we are currently traveling with.
The first thing I did was figure out the date, and I was incredibly surprised: 2001... If my calculations are correct, I was born in 1998 in this world, which is funny since that was the year I was born in my original reality... I don't know if it's the work of the Goddess of Shit or just a coincidence, but I'm inclined to think it's the former...
He seriously doesn't know how to mess with that damn bitch... Calm down... Calm down... He won't gain anything by insulting her here, without being able to do anything more, he'd only be giving her the satisfaction...
Anyway, we also researched food prices and other things, although the old man we were traveling with said we shouldn't worry about that, since we're just girls, which didn't bother me much and I found out the prices anyway.
You have to know everything in these cases; you never know what might happen.
As an added bonus, I think we're lucky because it's January and if my memory serves me right, the September 11 attacks happened in 2001, so for now, our mobility will be relatively easy, without so many security checks that will surely come after the big incident.
Regarding the person we traveled with, she is somewhat older, like Mare-san, so we stopped to rest every evening and slept all night.
Once on the road, he told us that in his younger days he used to take four-day trips, but now, after an accident a year ago, he takes these breaks every day for safety. He also argued that traveling at a steady, medium speed is better than driving fast and quickly becoming tiring, something I somewhat agree with.
I want to get to the capital as soon as possible; maybe they can help me there. But I feel this old man is right, since he also has to take care of his health and the condition of the cargo he's transporting, so for the moment I'll take things easy, or rather, I'll make the most of the time until Wiseman, which, according to this man, is halfway through his transport journey.
During the time we've spent with this person, we learned that they live in a town near Wiseman, so they'll be visiting their family for a few days, making some small deliveries in this town, and then we'll continue our journey to their final destination.
He told us he makes a living transporting items that trucking companies transport at a high cost for some local businesses. His service takes a little longer than the official companies, but it's cheaper and the cargo arrives in better condition, according to him.
At this moment, Imot-chan and I listened to the story of the driver and owner of the cart, named Michael, who has worked in this trade for a long time and has been saving money for a small truck for some time now so that he can transport a greater variety of things around the state, and thus be able to give greater comfort to his wife and his son, who is a lumberjack in his town.
Well, actually, I'm the one listening to Michael-san's story since Imot-chan doesn't understand him and is training her magical ability, as I suggested, by making a small sphere of light between her hands and camouflaging it so that Michael-san doesn't notice it, while still maintaining camouflage on her ears making them look normal.
The poor blonde would faint easily after 40 minutes during the first four days of training and would still keep going even after an hour's rest; today she's holding up like a champion. It's around 10:00 AM and we started hiking at 8:30 AM.
I'm surprised it's held up so long, especially since it only started when we resumed our journey. By Imot-chan's standards, this is a huge improvement. I should add that it's very interesting that my own theory of magical growth also applies to races other than humans or demons.
Honestly, I didn't think it would work, but, contrary to my prediction, Imot-chan says she feels like she can endure more and more... Although maybe that's just her impression.
This whole training started when we began our journey with Michael-san, since I proposed a training program to Imot-chan, and after her typical internal debate, she agreed, saying that since I would provide her with a way to increase her magical power, the blonde would teach me Illusion Magic, which I accepted knowing I'm compatible with all elements.
In addition to outlining his training plan, I created a schedule for our daily workout.
I divided the day, first having Imot-chan train her magical abilities and then training my sense of presences. After lunch with Michael-san, we both rested all afternoon, playing some traditional games I suggested and the traditional elf games, which aren't many, so Imot-chan insists on playing the ones I suggest.
And finally, at night, while the man sleeps, we practice Illusion Magic for two hours, and the rest of the night, Imot-chan sleeps soundly. At that point, secretly, I continue training my magical abilities on my own until I get tired and collapse next to the blonde, who immediately hugs me like a koala hugs its baby...
It's so funny how quickly I became her stuffed animal... Almost literally, since she's a head taller than me... It would bother meing me, but I'm kind of used to it thanks to Mother and Kushimi-Okassan... Maybe the latter will be relieved that the girl who was bothering her is gone... Ugh, this isn't the time to dwell on my depression!!
Returning to the topic of training, after this short time maintaining it daily, I believe that I can now sense the intentions of the people around us, that is, I can sense if they are good or bad towards me, in addition to sensing presences in a slightly larger range than I am used to, being, by quick calculation, almost half of the entire town of Mare-san, if I were in the center of it.
Something very curious always happens to me. The first time I do something, I do it perfectly and wonderfully, like sensing all the presences in Mare-san's village and being able to distinguish between good and bad. And after that first time, I do it in a very... ordinary way...
I experienced this upon arriving in Sagwon, as I tried to sense the entire neighborhood we were in, which Mare-san said was the same size as the town, but I could barely sense a few presences around me, and they felt exactly the same and very diffuse, even though we had a guy who almost mugged us from behind...
Anyway, this week I'm reaching the level I showed in the village, and I hope to continue improving at this pace with more time. Regarding my magical abilities, I feel like they're increasing just like they did at the beginning of that training in my crib, since I found a method that leaves me terribly tired, causing me to fall into a deep sleep.
It turns out that what Odelix said about the quality of my Destruction really messed with my head, with the word "immature" being the one I remember most. Putting it in perspective, this might be possible; I mean, I don't think Destruction can manifest in all its glory in my small, childlike body. I suppose the more time you have with this power, the better it gets, like fine wine...
Now that I think about it more... I wonder what Venelana-sama's capabilities are... Wait a minute, I don't think Mother is as ancient as Venelana-sama, so that monstrous power she seems to have based on her name doesn't make sense... I suppose it also depends on innate talent and how much you manipulate Destruction... How much you make it a part of yourself... Something I'm still struggling with myself.
Putting my ramblings aside, the method for training my mana and ending up exhausted is simple. Create a large sphere of Destruction and begin condensing it into a smaller sphere, increasing its destructive power or intensity by concentrating so much power into something smaller.
For now, I'm able to make one sphere in each hand, but it's difficult to keep them so compact, so to speak. The first few days, I burned my hands a bit trying to properly mold this Sphere of Destruction X, or with the leaks that happened when I got distracted...
Uh, I like the name... Although, thinking about it, I'm still getting a little burned handling them, not as much as at first, but still a little... The aura they generate is more intense; after all, they're much stronger than normal ones... And the problem is that I need to handle them up close to fully control them... I'll need to improve that.
When I get tired of this Destruction X, I try my Destruction Aura, but it's not working as well. It's barely visible when I try it, very small, I'd say. In my defense, I feel like the mana cost to produce it is quite high... And don't even get me started on the time I tried to do Destruction X and the Aura at the same time... I only lasted a couple of minutes and collapsed, completely exhausted...
However, I don't want to give up on the Aura of Destruction just yet, since, based on what I experienced in Mare-san Village, Destruction is just as good at defense as it is at offense. I'll continue on my path to producing that Aura, or even think of better methods to mold my Destruction so it protects me... Of course!... Why the heck didn't I think of that before?
Well, putting that aside for now, this secret training leaves me completely exhausted after 1.5 or 2 hours holding an X Sphere of Destruction in each hand, which I believe are equivalent to the size of a Sphere of Destruction as big as a small house, just like Mare-san's.
I'd like to have Odelix's axe to test if the intensity of this Sphere of Destruction X is enough to make it at least not so easy to cut... But Mare-san kept it, I suppose she'll use it to help the villagers and repair all the damage done with it.
Speaking of Mare-san, I'm a little worried that she hates me now for lying to her... I mean, she has every right to, after all, a Demon influenced his son to the "Dark Side," and that's exactly what I am... I just hope she understands my situation a little... I did what I had to do and tried to make it up to her by... Well, by getting that slave-owning organization off her back, who knows what other atrocities they committed in the village.
Even if he also murders his son... That which was all he had left of his beloved wife... Besides... Did you understand what I meant? I think the letter got very convoluted; I'm not good at personal writing. Even though Midori-san taught me the letter structure and I could explain it right now... Those things only apply to official letters and such, not to those written from the heart...
Anyway, I'm getting too sidetracked. Getting back to the point, I feel like my mana or aura capacity, as my parents call it, is growing daily. However, another little problem has arisen in my mind... I need to know exactly how much mana I have.
It was a real problem in Mare Village, so named because I'm tired of writing "Mare-san's village." During the Crimson Rain, I felt like I'd spent a lot of my mana, but how much? I don't know. I can't keep doing this, measuring my mana expenditure as: I spent a little, I spent more than a little, or I spent a lot of mana.
I never understood how these protagonists, without a way to quantify their magical power, could know exactly how much of it to spend so as not to end up exhausted or half-dead. I know that's the norm, but... I just don't like it. I prefer a number that tells me; I suppose it gives me a sense of security.
The same thing happens to me with strength. How on earth do you measure "half your strength"? I never understood it. How do you know you're giving half and not 75% or 80%? It's exactly the same as with magic power.
I'm trying to figure this out, and the only thing I can think of is thinking in terms of numbers... Although there's also the idea of sensing presences... I can't quite grasp the logic, but I'm processing it... Ahh... This whole thing about powers is more complicated than you'd imagine. Anyway, I'll try thinking in terms of numbers tonight and see how it goes.
Regarding Illusion Magic, I have to confess it's incredibly difficult. Imot-chan's explanations aren't very clear, to say the least... It's obvious she learned through trial and error, and she's a genius at it. She just tells me, "Let it manifest, feel it, and then just let it out with a puff."
I'd get angry at her for not understanding the Chinese guy's explanations, but that pretty blonde's worried face relaxes me, making me question my MILF preferences... Maybe a loli once in a while wouldn't hurt...
Oh, speaking of the devil, Imot-chan has already fainted. I have to give her points for holding out all this time. I put her head in my lap and cover her ear helplessly with her cute hair. Luckily, we're riding in the back seat behind the driver.
Michael-san can't see us from here, but I'm covering Imot-chan's ear just in case. I'm still surprised that I can train myself to sense presences and hear Michael-san in detail; this new brain of mine is wonderful. Having lateral thinking is really cool.
Anyway, getting back to the subject of Illusion Magic, I have barely been able to do a few small tricks on myself, such as changing the color of my eyes, my hair, my skin, the color of the clothes I am wearing and the color of small things near me.
I had to think about it a lot to achieve this, all based on the superficial color theory I remember, the one that says the color you see is anything but that color... or something like that. I visualized that the color blocking the thing I want to change is the one I have in my head...
I don't know if this makes sense, but that's what I'm trying to do, and for now it works with the things I mentioned. However, on larger objects, like trees or anything bigger than me, some patches of the original color remain, I don't know why...
I think I have enough mana to cover them completely. I guess all I have to do is keep practicing under Imot-chan's supervision.
Learning this was much more difficult since it goes against everything I know about magic, starting with the fact that elves don't use a magic circle and only do it in the common way, by reciting a magic spell.
Imot-chan tells me that she is one of the few who can conjure silently, visualizing the effect of the spell and reproducing it with the help of her magic power, but her master taught her that everyone can do it with enough training, so she doesn't consider it anything special.
I imagine they have complicated words for each spell... So I'm really grateful that Imot-chan is a silly genius and that her master, whose name I don't want to remember... Just kidding, I don't remember. Right now, Michael-san stopped talking to catch his breath; I suppose he's going to talk about his son and how proud he is of him...
It's good to hear that at least someone's life isn't as disastrous as your own... Although they must have their problems too, like everyone else.
I was lucky that Mare-san spoke to him before leaving for her village because, if the woodcutter hadn't, this man would now be treating me like a retard—I mean, like a normal little girl, and I don't like that very much, unless it's Counterpart-chan, or Mother, or Kushimi-Okassan (Although I don't know if she'll ever speak to me again... Ouch...), or Midori-san... And recently added, Mare-san.
They're the only ones with that permit. Now that I think about it, what did the lumberjack say to him? Because Michael-san speaks to me with such ease, almost naturally, as if I were a lifelong friend... Oh well, what does it matter? He's treating us very well, and I suppose that's what's most important...
Although maybe I should worry more about this... Nah... For the moment I won't push my luck any further, lest the wretched thing decide to run out.
The rest of the day passed peacefully. Imot-chan woke up after a while and continued training, just like me. Michael-san continued talking about his family and his village, and basically his entire life, which was very interesting but boring in some parts, but mostly interesting.
In the afternoon we stopped for lunch at a small roadside restaurant, and it was magnificent, which reminds me that I still haven't asked Imot-chan about meat, since at lunch she ordered chicken wings and ate them with gusto. I guess not all elves are the same... Or maybe Imot-chan is just very strange.
The rest of the afternoon we played guessing games and included Michael-san. After a while, we played counting cars and trucks, which were mostly trucks, and as night fell we stopped in a small clearing, taking the cart a little deeper into the forest, always keeping in mind where the road was.
Yesterday we were lucky because we stumbled upon a quaint, inexpensive hotel, and we all shared a room, saving money. Today, Michael-san is setting up two shops, one for himself and one for Imot-chan and me. I'm helping him a bit by handing him tools and anything else he might need to set up the shops, as long as it's something I can reach...
Some of the tools are too heavy for me, which is odd since I'm supposed to be a Demon and they have superhuman strength... I don't really understand this body of mine.
Anyway, after a quiet meal and a little scary story, Michael-san went to sleep (obviously I translated this story for Imot-chan and it seems she got really scared). Then, we went into our tent, with the blonde girl holding tightly to my arm... Hehe, what can I say? It's fun teasing her a little.
After we confirmed for the fourth time that Michael-san was asleep, we started the Illusion Magic class. There I improved the quality of my color-changing spell a little more, its duration, and practiced a little of what Imot-chan does in her morning training, the most basic movement of the Theory of Light.
So, after the blonde's tender and nonsensical explanation, I made a small sphere of light between my hands, the size of a marble, with a brutal effort.
Obviously, I burned my hands badly, and Imot-chan had to heal my palms. For a moment, I forgot I was a Demon and was thrilled with all this new knowledge. Just as the sphere of light formed, I felt intense chills again, exactly like the ones I felt in the church, proving how dangerous light is to me.
Well, that theory's out now. I'll have to learn the Theory of Darkness, which the blonde mentioned after talking about the Theory of Light. Although I'm not really sure what she means by "Darkness." Maybe it's shadows or something? As soon as she mentioned the Darkness option, I pressed her a bit to start that very night, but she scolded me, saying I can't take my injuries lightly.
This forced me to go to sleep with her right then and there, preventing me from doing my magical ability training and from even trying the method for measuring magical ability. I would argue with her, but as much as it pains me to admit it, she's right. I need to pay more attention to my injuries; fortunately, the scar where Odelix took a piece of my arm is barely noticeable.
With a slight sigh, I lay down beside her, covering us with a thick blanket, almost like Mare-san's, and began to let my mind wander... I barely had time to think. I could remember the faces of those I killed; most were blurry, but they were there. I suppose they were the ones I killed with the Crimson Rain...
They left me no choice, that's what I tell myself every time I see them, even though I still regret it, like any good Catholic. Sighing slightly, I turn a little and can see Imot-chan's half-asleep face, still snuggled up to me. In my previous world, I wasn't used to physical contact with other people; these displays of affection feel strange even after all the time we've been living together... I don't know, I guess some habits never die.
Now that I think about it, why don't I feel that discomfort with Mother, Kushimi-Okassan, or Father...? I guess the answer is that they're family, bitch! Wait a minute, now that I have her here, and we're alone, I want to resolve a question I have for this Elf-sama.
• Anone, Anone, Imot-dono. - Imitating a certain loli plaque, I poke the aforementioned girl's right cheek and she makes a funny face. - Can I ask you a question? - Seeing how the blonde opens her eyes while laughing a little at how I called her, I stop my attack.
For now I'm going to try to ignore the closeness of our faces, since it still makes me a little uncomfortable when someone violates my personal space, but it's just Imot-chan, not that damn Goddess.
• What do you want to ask me, Rias-dono? - With a small smile, Imot-chan answers me while looking into my eyes and adjusting herself a little.
I don't understand this girl's character. If you're shy, how can you talk to me so closely? Oh well, whatever.
"How old are you?" I blurted out, finally wanting to ask something I'd been meaning to do for a while. I saw her look confused, just like when I'd asked if she could teach me how to sense presences. "Well, I'm asking because you already know I'm three years old, and I hardly know anything about you..." Feeling a bit nervous because of the blonde's expression, I tried to give a proper explanation, but that was all I could manage. I should have just told her I was curious.
"Yes, I understand, Rias-chan." Laughing at the display of weakness I let slip, Imot-chan smiles at me, and I think she blushes... though perhaps it's just my imagination. "Counting in human years, I think I'm 20." After a moment's thought, she drops this bombshell on me.
Holy shit, that's what I was going to be the year I died in my original world... Elves are definitely the longest-living creatures I've ever known. This girl looks and acts like a 10-year-old, but she's the age I used to be.
As a brief aside, I've noticed that many Isekai protagonists add their previous years to the years they spend in the new worlds. At first, I considered not following this rule since this is a new life, but—and this is a big but—experience is experience, and for now, it's what has helped me progress to this very moment... End of aside.
Imot-chan is surely watching my reaction closely because when I come to, I see her staring at me intensely... I can only say "Amazing" while laughing a little, somewhat awkwardly.
I don't know how she wants me to respond... Why do women like to do this to me?
• Now I want to ask you a question, Rias-chan... - Pinching my cheek, the blonde says this to me and I just look at her like she did at the beginning of this.
I guess she's poking my cheek since my answer wasn't what she expected... Nodding, I let Imot-chan continue.
"Why are you so clever?" I ask, tilting my head. Imot-chan asks, and now it's my turn to look completely confused. "W-Well, I've never seen any of the village children make a plan like yours... They would just worry a lot and only think about running... B-But you didn't, despite your young age. You even managed to do something against those who kidnapped us..." Adding this last part, completely nervous, much more so than I was, the blonde buries her face like a tomato in my shoulder and gives me fleeting glances...
Oh... A loli doesn't hurt once in a while... No, get rid of impure thoughts! I can't do that to her!
• I-I don't think I have an explanation for that, Imot-chan... I just know what to do... But don't consider me a genius either, I don't fall into that category... - Ignoring all my lolicon thoughts, I say this to the blonde; these are my true thoughts.
I cannot tell you that thanks to my reincarnation I have the sagacity of an adult, as well as the knowledge of what may possibly happen in this world, in addition to knowing perfectly the attitude of the Pure Demons towards me.
I mean, it's obvious they're going to try to assassinate me. I expected them to make some move in two or three attacks against my health, but I didn't expect it so soon.
Besides, Imot-chan might think I'm being modest, but I'm not. I've never been a genius, I just have a good memory and retention... Besides, I'm just following what the generic character from any Isekai would do.
I think I can almost read what's going to happen on this trip...
"Rias-chan, silly... You're just being very modest." - Giggled a little, Imot-chan just pinched my cheek again and settled back down to sleep.
It seems she didn't believe me... Besides, I guess it won't burn my hands as much if I can just poke Imot-chan's cheek...
I would have liked to start with the Theory of Darkness...