[SYSTEM]
Warning!
You cannot summon the connection portal with your current magic power.
‘Tsk.’
I pouted as I watched the illusion disappear.
I was going crazy with curiosity about what this connection portal was, but I still couldn’t use it. I had enough magic power, so why wasn’t it working?
‘Is there something else?’
Maybe I needed to create a magic circle first. I frowned slightly.
‘Hey, System. How long are you going to leave me hanging without giving me anything?’
No response, even when I called out.
‘If I can’t complete the quest because of this, it’ll be your fault.’
Even when I tried to shift the blame, there was no answer.
‘Hmm.’
Ever since that fast-forward incident, the system hadn’t given me any significant quests. For two and a half years now.
I had no idea what it was thinking, but for me, it was actually a good thing. Living in constant fear, not knowing when the death flag might trigger, was something I wanted to avoid.
‘I still have some time before I die…’
The hero should be about six years old by now.
He should be living well and eating well in the temple. He probably even received blessings after catching the attention of the high priest there.
‘But two years from now, a monster attack will wipe everyone out, and the hero will be the only survivor.’
As the last one standing after the fierce battle with the monsters, the hero will be taken by the Holy Church and raised as the adopted child of a cardinal. Later, they’ll be invited to the royal ball and meet me…
‘Wait, no. That only happened in the first life.’
Once I found out I had become the hero’s lover or whatever, I tried to avoid the hero at all costs. That’s why, starting in the second life, I stopped attending balls and social gatherings altogether.
But no matter what, I kept dying at the age of fifteen, and the hero always appeared out of nowhere, holding my lifeless body and crying.
‘I never even met him. How did he know?’
Ugh, it’s so frustrating.
‘And every time, I was poisoned.’
Even when I was a grand mage or a top-tier summoner, I was poisoned.
Who could’ve been responsible for that poison?
‘I get that it’s part of the game system, but…’
There was no logic, no context.
It felt like the more I learned, the more questions I had. I wanted to run away from the Demon King’s castle right now and uncover all the secrets. But…
“Aww, my feet hurt after just a little walking.”
I was three years old.
A three-year-old without the strength to escape over these rugged ice mountains.
‘I need to grow more. Just a bit more.’
I decided to drink more milk today, thinking of how I needed to get bigger, as I slowly placed my hand on the door at the end of the hallway.
Now that my birthday had passed and I was officially three, I could finally start receiving ‘education’ along with the other homunculus.
This education was meant to prepare us for living in the human world when we eventually left the Demon King’s castle, so that we could blend into human society without revealing our demonic nature.
‘I’ve already lived over 90 years as a human, so I don’t really need to learn…’
But since I was already barely passing the ‘tests,’ skipping out on education might lead to me being discarded entirely, so I resolved to attend the lessons diligently.
Screeeech―
I carefully opened the door and stepped into the classroom.
The first thing I saw was a large chalkboard mounted on the opposite wall.
What was written on the chalkboard was…
<Q: What is the staple food of humans?
1. Tree bark
2. Insects
3. Mud balls
4. Flowers>
“What the heck is that?”
It was nonsense.
***
“The correct answer is number 4, flowers.”
Five-year-old Pardes lifted his glasses and declared confidently.
“Flowers? They have no nutritional value whatsoever. They’re just garbage.”
Nisha, who was standing nearby, narrowed her eyes and questioned him.
But Pardes did not back down.
“That’s why humans eat them. Humans are inferior and stupid, right? They don’t know it’s useless, and just because it’s pretty, they consume it.”
“Hmm. And how are you so sure about that?”
Pardes lifted his chin proudly as he responded.
“I saw humans exchanging flowers. Both the one giving the flowers and the one receiving them were happy. They even buried their faces in the bouquets. So, they must be eating them.”
“…If you saw it yourself, it’s plausible.”
Nisha raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. Pardes’ face lit up with joy. For the first time, he had convinced Nisha, the smartest homunculus in the class!
“I think the answer is number 1, tree bark, and number 3, mud balls!”
Pardes’ twin brother, Merdes, shouted.
“Why? I saw it the other day on the icy cliff over there. They were peeling off bits of bark from a tree and eating it. They were also forming mud into balls, freezing them, and eating them.”
If it was something he had seen firsthand, it had credibility. Nisha stroked her chin thoughtfully.
“So, everything except bugs could be the answer?”
“Hah, these kinds of questions are too basic for us. Right?”
“Yeah, they should give us something more challenging.”
The twins were both wearing smug expressions. It made sense since they were skilled homunculus, unlike the insignificant humans. Being special made them feel superior, leading them to believe there was something beneath them. Even though they weren’t in a position to look down on others.
‘Fools.’
Nisha clicked her tongue and muttered under her breath.
Just then—
Slam!
Someone burst through the door.
“Hey!”
The one entering was Shekina.
“What kind of nonsense are you guys talking about? You’re all wrong!”
Her light purple hair was tied loosely, and her eyes were sparkling. As soon as the twins saw her, their faces lit up with joy, while Nisha’s face soured.
“Shekinaaa!”
“It’s been so long! We missed you!”
The twins jumped up and ran toward her, but Shekina swiftly ignored their hugs and ran over to the chalkboard.
“Why would humans eat things like that! Are you crazy? I mean, haven’t demons lived in the human world for a long time? How can you not figure this out?!”
Shekina was on the verge of pulling her hair out in frustration.
Demons or not, even if they were a different species, how could they know so little about humans?
Was this even possible? Shekina felt dizzy from their ridiculous ignorance.
“But I’ve seen humans eating those things outside.”
“They eat those things because there’s nothing else to eat!”
“No! I saw them burying their faces in flower bouquets. Isn’t that a special delicacy?”
“That’s because they were smelling the flowers! They received them as gifts!”
The twins tilted their heads in confusion.
“Gifts?”
“Why would flowers be a gift?”
“What do you get when you receive them? Are flowers luxury items in the human world?”
“…….”
Shekina stared blankly into space for a moment.
“Because of you all, I’ve been eating nothing but tasteless food…”
Because they were talking about flowers and mud, all sorts of strange food was ending up on the dining table.
“And this is why the Demon King’s castle is so gloomy…”
Since they couldn’t even understand the aesthetic value of having flowers, no wonder the Demon King’s castle was so dark and dreary.
“Damn, this is so frustrating…”
Shekina hung her head low.
Then, she recalled the conversation between Arthur and Lyat from the previous fast-forward event.
– It’s been two years since the pope woke up. Looks like they’re starting to turn their attention to our territory now.
– We need to intensify the training of the 1st legion. Just in case those priests decide to invade.
– We should, but… It’s strange. How could they even suspect we’re demons? We’ve suppressed our demonic energy so much that even the gods can’t detect it, and we blend in perfectly with the humans.
At the time, I thought it was because the priests had sharp instincts or maybe had some artifact that could detect demons.
So, I was determined to be as cautious as possible when I entered the human world.
But seeing the way this education was being handled now, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
Are you kidding me?
Do you really think we won’t get caught living like this?
This is ridiculous!
***
Lyat was walking down the hallway with heavy steps.
Although he was only half the height of others, his stomping didn’t intimidate anyone, but his fierce expression was enough to make the demons passing by stick to the walls and wait for him to pass.
‘Damn. Damn it!’
Lyat gritted his teeth as he squeezed the papers in his hand tightly.
The contents of the document were something Lyat had never, ever, wanted to receive!
[Notice of Cardinal’s Visit Schedule]
“Ugh, damn it!”
Lyat finally cursed out loud, pulling at his hair and grinding his teeth.
“Those damn priests. Should I just wipe them all out? Kill them all?”
But this was all just bravado.
With the Demon King’s power sealed, and the demons unable to fully use their strength in the human world, they couldn’t possibly stand against the widespread temples throughout the continent.
“No, no. We won’t get caught. We’ve stayed hidden until now, so we can keep hiding. We can do it…”
But why did he feel so uneasy?
Lyat bit his nails and glared around nervously.
Then, he heard something.
“You’ve been studying humans for years, and yet why is your knowledge so terrible? Haven’t you read the books? If you read the books, it’s all laid out there!”
“I didn’t want to read books written by humans.”
“You said you wanted to know about the human world! Then why didn’t you read them? Why! What kind of crazy species would have tree bark as their main food source?”
Lyat unconsciously began listening to the voices coming from the half-open classroom door.
“Alright, let me explain again. Listen carefully.”
Inside the classroom, Nisha, the twins, and Shekina, who hadn’t been seen in a while, were present.
Shekina took a deep breath and said in a serious tone:
“Humans eat bread.”
“!”
Lyat didn’t know this either.
He had never cared about how humans lived.
“They also eat meat. They cook it, steam it, and sometimes eat it raw. Bread and meat! Just remember those two. Got it?”
“Then what about tree bark?”
“They don’t eat that!”
“Got it.”
The other children nodded and began writing notes as Shekina shouted in frustration.
“…Do you have knowledge about humans?”
Lyat’s eyes sparkled with interest.
