As the red-haired man takes a step toward me, his fingers coil around the hilt of his sword, and a powerful qi fluctuation explodes out from within him. Gusts blow dust off the ground into eddies, and flags, hung atop poles at the corners of the stocky towers on each side of the city gates, snap in the wind.

I think I’m supposed to be intimidated.

It’s not working so well, though.

Probably because this idiot is vastly inferior to me, in sheer power if nothing else. But I doubt it would work any better even if I were the weaker one. This sort of thing never had the slightest effect on any demon I’ve ever fought in the Planar Tower. No matter how much I tried to threaten them or coerce them to keep their distance, they still always rushed at me fearlessly, jaws snapping at my face. And while I may not be as mindlessly aggressive as those beasts, I am, after all, still a demon. The only fear I remember experiencing is that of actually dying. If that memory hadn’t been carved indelibly into my mind, I probably would have already long forgotten what fear even is.Continue reading

For nearly 160 years, Mira lived in human territory, despite being an elf. It wasn’t always easy, but it wasn’t so bad, either.

After some time, she even found another elf. They wandered around together for a while, living here and there as they willed. Until that man gave her a daughter. When little Silica was born, both Mira and her lover agreed that they should settle down for at least a while, until their precious child grew up.

They built a house on the outskirts of a small, nameless village in the country of Rigonn and lived there for a few years, peacefully enough.

An influential noble from this kingdom worked hard so that slavery would be outlawed, so they believed that they could continue through these kinds of days, without having to worry about whether or not they would survive until tomorrow. The other villagers were a bit cold and a bit suspicious toward the majin family that lived near them, but they didn’t throw stones at them or persecute them in any great way, so it was fine. At least in part, this was probably because elves look quite similar to humans. The village would most likely not have been so welcoming toward werewolves – reputed to eat human flesh – or rhuths – so alien that even majin sometimes discriminate against them.Continue reading

[…First question. Where else can I find other elves?]

“Ma–Majin territory!” the manager says immediately.

[…Where else?]

“I… I don’t know!”Continue reading

The rude man, whose name I still don’t know, leads his two female companions through the streets of Kohln, and I follow a few steps behind them.

I’m not entirely certain he’s indeed heading for the Blackwood Chamber of Commerce, like he promised he would. I suspect he might be leading me into some sort of trap designed to kill me, or something of the sort.

Even if that’s the case, though, that will only result in his immediate death, along with that of anyone else involved in his plan. And then, it will also result in me asking for directions from someone else on the street. It’s not like he’s the only human in the world who knows where this Blackwood Chamber of Commerce is located, after all. His usefulness is limited enough that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill him for even an instant.

Fortunately enough, however, it looks like my fears are unfounded. Soon, we arrive in front of a rather large building, a wide sign hung above its gate. Written on this sign is the name ‘Blackwood’ bracketed by drawings of two black pine trees. Two majin stand on either side of the gate. They’re both male rakshasa, almost two and a half meters tall, with long and thick curling ram-like horns growing from their foreheads. Their entire bodies are covered in bulging, powerful muscles, their sheer size bringing an intimidating oppression down on anyone passing near them. Even the amount of qi sleeping inside them is on the high side of what I’ve seen of Caldera. The two are only wearing simple, white, tattered robes, along with a rough, metallic collar around their necks, countless small runes etched all over its surface.Continue reading

The road extends through the forest, soon disappearing from view as large, luxuriant trees border it on both sides. Fallen leaves that crack and crumble when I step onto them litter the ground everywhere and almost hide the road from view, letting it merge with the forest itself, but whether there is a visible road or not doesn’t actually matter all that much to me. My years of wandering around the gigantic floors of the Planar Tower have given me a good sense of direction.

Glancing at a map once is enough for me to be able to reach my destination without problem.

This destination was given to me by Solaire, on the morning I left.

…Well, noon, actually, because the morning itself was spent fending off Lilly’s repeated attempts to convince me to remain with her in the Springfields’ house.Continue reading

Leading a normal life is not as easy as it sounds.

There are quite a lot of complicated yet meaningless rituals one has to go through. It’s all rather tedious.

Incidentally, since murdering people isn’t conducive to leading such a ‘normal life’ – I think – I’ve provisionally decided to spare Finram, for now, despite his threat against me. I suppose I’ll just kill him when he actually acts on his threats.

But yes. While sparing people’s lives when I otherwise would not is quite easy, it’s unfortunately not enough to consider myself as someone leading a normal life. And the other stuff is quite a lot more difficult.Continue reading

Leaving my training room, I slowly walk through the hallways of the imperial palace. All the people I cross paths with, servants and ministers alike, stop and greet and display their respect for me when they see me.

But I barely even notice any of them.

Milla is dead.

Those animals killed her.Continue reading

“Here, this is our house!” Lilly says, tugging on my hand to drive me forward and gesturing toward the large building in front of us.

I don’t know much about architecture – I’ve spent most of my life without encountering the slightest man-built structure, so the concept of a ‘house’ for me consists mostly of what I remember of my own – but even to me, this one looks quite good.

“So?” Lilly asks me with a bright smile. “What do you think?”

[…Defensible. Probably.]Continue reading

A cold, dark, dank cell.

The walls are smooth, solid, dirty stone. The door is made out of plain metal, and slides to the side when it opens, instead of swinging. A narrow hatch can open in the middle of the door, to pass food, but when it’s closed, no seams betray its position. There is no small grate designed to take a look inside the cell before opening it, though, because the door itself is magically see-through – from the outside only, of course.

This is a high-security prison cell.

The Major is probably worried that I’d escape, if she put me anywhere else, that I’d come up with some kind of devious plan that would see me free in under an hour.Continue reading