CHAPTER 23 – HUMAN (2)

December 27, 2022 — 4 Comments

I discovered one thing while living at the academy. Cecily was a mischievous, mean-spirited person when she sensed someone’s weakness. She was a model of a polite princess when using respectful words to me, but once she let go of those, she was always good at pulling pranks.

“You can be honest. You know I’m pretty. That’s why you stared at my face earlier, right?”

“…that’s not it.”

“Then why is your face red?” 

It was the same even after the Anthropology lecture was over. Cecily’s mischief continued all the way to the school cafeteria. She urged me in a persistent voice, determined to hear my ruffled response with my own mouth. I denied it as much as I could, even as I vividly felt my face turning red again with every word she spoke. It was because I couldn’t predict what kind of prank would occur if I simply affirmed it.

When I denied it until the end, Cecily made a puzzled expression. “You called me big sister (Noona) the other day, so why aren’t you answering now? I don’t understand.”

“It’s not the same now as it was then. And there are others who are watching.” Even as I said that, there were students whispering around us. 

I’m not exaggerating, but just by looking around, I could feel many students’ gazes directed toward us. Naturally, it was because of the beautiful Cecily, who was friendly with me. Cecily was the princess of Helium, and coupled with her striking appearance, she had been a hot topic since the entrance ceremony, so many people are naturally curious about her.

Naturally they all wondered why such a person got along with an unknown male student like myself. Rumors spreading within a school setting were a natural occurrence, however. Because it’s been about three weeks since the entrance ceremony and there weren’t many Literature students as there are Martial Arts students, gossip about Cecily and myself must have already spread as quickly as it could.

‘I don’t have a big problem yet, but…’ I also have ears, so I vaguely know what my current reputation is. A red-haired person of interest to the professors and at the same time, an unlucky redhead to the very same students. These are all stories I heard by chance in a restaurant the other day. 

Right now, they seem to be watching because of Cecily and Rina, but you never know when it might explode. The students enrolled in Halo Academy are emotionally imperfect teenagers and there are many children from high-nosed aristocratic families. Even if they don’t go overboard with their petty jealousies and dislike right now, a guy named Jackson was already displeased with me.

When I finally became honest about it and explained the situation to Cecily, her reaction was:

“…Really?” Cecily seemed to grasp the true atmosphere only after hearing my words. Seeing her slightly frowning face, it was clear that she didn’t like it. As Cecily also looked around, the whispers died away abruptly.

I glanced at her and, in a cautious voice, suggested to Cecily, “If you’re uncomfortable, let’s part ways.”

“No. There’s no problem with this. It’s always been the case in Helium.”

“Helium doesn’t have any nobility except for the king, right?”

She replied with a soft smile, “Even if there are no nobles, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to keep the king in check.” It was probably something I didn’t know about. Of course, it’s not that I don’t get it. I nodded my head as if I Knew it, and she smiled faintly. It was close to saying thank you for not asking, but after a while, her smile deepened and her playfulness began to show through again.
I wanted to see that, but it was already too late.

“So what’s the answer to my question from before? When are you going to admit it?”

“……”

“If you keep your mouth shut, I’ll do something weird and probably embarrassing to you.”

In the end, I had no choice but to surrender. I covered my face with one hand and opened my lips as if giving up.

“Okay, yes. You’re very pretty. Of all the people I’ve seen so far, Ms.
Cecily is the prettiest.”

“Shouldn’t you call me Cecily noona?”

“…Cecily Noona.”

“Huhu. Thank you. It feels like I’m always being bowed down to, but hearing words like that from Isaac is new and refreshing.”

“Hufff…” Now I’m so red, it looks like my face was going to explode. I took a deep breath to get rid of the heat rising from within. Even so, I was embarrassed because I didn’t think I would go down without a fight.

Either way, Cecily giggled like a girl and tickled my ears. Is teasing me so much fun for you? It was difficult for me to understand. “I’m sorry. Your reactions are so funny that I can’t stop.”

“…My reactions are funny?”

“Yes.”

“Then it won’t be fun if I don’t react to anything, right?”

“Heh. Try it once.”

“…Sorry.” In addition, I lacked initiative. Cecily smiled slightly as I lowered my tail and spoke softly like before.

“Isaac.”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you curious about the demons?”

“Why do you ask?”

When I threw this question back at her, Cecily spoke of what had happened during Anthropology class. “Before, you asked why the elves had a small population. I thought you weren’t curious about the demons.”

“No. I have a lot of questions.”

“Then why don’t you ask?” Cecily tilted her head and asked me that in a tone as if she didn’t understand.

I answered quietly while looking at her face. “I’m afraid I’ll make a mistake.”

“You are afraid you’ll make a mistake?”

“Yeah.” 

For hundreds of years, demons were persecuted regardless of whichever race they interacted with. So I was a little hesitant to ask questions about demons to Cecily. It will be awkward for both Cecily and myself if I touch upon a painful or taboo subject. It wasn’t because I lacked courage; it was just out of consideration. That way, at least I can have an amicable relationship with her by not digging up the other person’s wounds. That’s why, like Cecily, I don’t joke around and accept it quietly.

“…Yeah. Isaac is very caring.” She muttered that with a happy smile as if she understood my feelings. Then she told me that I was kind. She added, “It’s fine. You can ask me anything.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You aren’t just anyone, you’re Isaac. I know there won’t be any malice at all.”

“If that’s the case…” I muttered and looked around. As we talked, we arrived at the cafeteria before we knew it, but there weren’t many students there. The majority of them eat out. In response, I picked up an empty bowl from the small stack and asked Cecily a question. It’s something I’ve always been curious about, so I was a little excited. “What do those horns do?”

“Huh? Horns?”

“Yeah.”

Cecily heard my question and fiddled with the horns rising from her temples. The horns became redder as they reached their tips. Horns, along with black mana, were a characteristic that could be considered the demons’ symbol. However, there was no proper research on demon horns and only strange rumors abounded.

For example, is mana gathered in demon horns, or is it simply a symbol of the devil? And so on. As a result, even in Xenon’s Saga, I rarely mentioned demons’ horns.

“Ummm…” Cecily took a moment to organize her thoughts and began to put food into her empty bowl bit by bit. I also put food in mine bit by bit, waiting for her to provide an answer. Eventually, when we found empty seats and sat down, Cecily, who was sitting across from me, answered. “Did I tell you about our menstrual cycle?”

“…Huh?”

Tuk—

It’s an embarrassing answer enough to miss the fork that I used to lift up my food. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if she was serious or just joking. Contrary to my feelings, however, Cecily’s face remained calm. Through this, I could see that she was sincere and not joking.

Even though I looked at her with a puzzled expression on my face, Cecily continued speaking as if it was not a big deal. “As you know, demons are descendants of the Great Devil. And demons are literally the crystallization of ‘desire.’ Because of this, we demons have a difficult time controlling our desires in certain cycles. This phenomenon is referred to as the ‘Evil Cycle,’ but only our men say that while demon women tend to just use the term ‘menstruation.’ Ironically, it overlaps with our true menstrual period.”

“……”

So that’s how it is.
As a result, the tense mind gradually relaxed.
Instead, I couldn’t stop the heat from rising to my face.

I coughed out all the thoughts in my head and asked another question. “Then how do you endure it? I don’t know the details since I’m a human male, but women also say that every time they menstruate, their stomach hurts.”

“I usually calm down through meditation. As for the pain from menstruation itself, recently medicine has been invented so there is no major issue.”

“What if someone, um, touches you during the Evil Cycle? Will you become a…a devil?”

“No. I don’t become a devil just because of that. Most demons become devils after they experience a terrible tragedy. Either they’ve lost their loved ones in front of their eyes, or they were betrayed by a trusted friend,” Cecily explained as she picked up minced meat with a fork from her bowl and put it in her mouth.

She went on after taking a bite, “Well, like you already suspect, we can be as violent as devils. Our women especially tend to become like that.”

“It’s the same with humans.”

“Is that so? I heard earlier that human females menstruate once a month? It must be very difficult.
Demons only do it once every six months.”

Are the long-lived races on the long side of the menstrual cycle? Elves and demons have a very long menstrual cycle then. Or it could be that humans and beastmen have an abnormally short one.

With growing curiosity, I hurriedly moved on to the next question. What kind of race the demons were was more important than the meal.

“So, does that mean that as a demon’s horn grows, their cycle approaches?”

“No. The horns don’t grow and this red part covers the entire horn.” Cecily tapped the tip of her horn, which was dyed red as if painted over. Approximately a quarter of the area was currently covered in red.

‘If the horns are all dyed red, you must never touch them, right?’ That’s what she implied after explaining the Evil Cycle. I don’t know what kind of disaster will happen if I just touch one of them.

I chewed the food in my mouth and asked other questions in succession. “What if the horn is cut off?”

“It will be restored quickly. And even if it is cut off, there is no sensation.”

“Is the horn itself numb?”

“Yes.”

“Excuse me then, but can I touch it?”

“…Eh? Pu, touching the horns?” Cecily’s reaction to my question was very strange. She stuttered with her eyes wide, and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. It clearly shows that she was embarrassed again. I tilted my head at her unexpected reaction but quickly realized that it was another sensitive topic. If it’s that embarrassing, it must have an unusual meaning.

And my expectations were met precisely when she explained, “That…ah, sorry. Touching the horns of demons is an act of affection between lovers. It means that I will love you even if you were to become a devil.”

“Oh…so it’s romantic.”

“Really? It’s romantic…?” She stared at me. “It’s the first time I’ve heard someone call it that who’s not a demon.” Cecily scratched her cheek in embarrassment.

It was completely different from how she usually played pranks on me, so it came to me anew. ‘Thanks to that, I was able to put one in.’. 

It was also information that could add bone and flesh to the story of Jin and Lily, who are riding a heartbreaking love line in Xenon’s Saga.

Jin is a knight only for Lily, and Lily strokes his horns as he kneels down on one knee. Because of that, Jin looks up at Lily, startled. There is no story in this world as sad as the love between a demon and a priest.

Of course, in the final half of the novel series, Jin will appear as the Final Boss. I’m sorry, Mother, but it’s hard to change the ending because there are so many lines filled with double meaning and other hints scattered throughout the story. If it’s really hard, I’ll release a side story.

Shoving everything in my mouth just as the atmosphere became awkward, I swallowed and told Cecily, “Cecily, do you have any questions about humans?”

“Uh…huh? Questions about humans?”

“Yes. It’s kind of weird when I’m the only one asking. If you have any questions of your own, please ask.”

“Humans, you say…”

Fortunately, somehow, the awkward atmosphere seems to have cooled off. I quietly put more food in my mouth until Cecily was ready. Cecily, as if organizing her thoughts, continued eating while thinking.

Jerk-jerk-jerk-

Then a familiar face came into my sight. When I shifted my gaze a bit while munching, Leona, a beautiful girl with a hard impression, was walking far in the distance. I didn’t notice at first because I wasn’t normally interested, but Leona was wearing pants, unlike the other girls. Despite her pretty face, her expressions were usually so hard and sharp that she looked more like a schoolboy from a distance. ‘Doesn’t she have any friends? Why is she sitting so far away?’

Even though there weren’t many students in the dining room, Leona sat particularly far away in an empty corner. Rather, she stood out even more because there was no one around her. As I was muttering to myself while resting my chin, Leona sighed deeply as if she were worried about something. And then…

Prick- {*T/N: A word describing the motion of sticking out one’s lips or making one’s ears stand erect.}

Suddenly, something pricked up on the top of her head. And not just one, but two. Unfortunately, my eyesight was not that good so it was impossible to make an accurate guess. But I could tell that something had risen above her head at that moment.

“…!” Leona also hurriedly put her hand to her head, perhaps realizing that something had risen above her head there. That hard impression of hers vanished without a trace, leaving only her bewilderment.

I blinked and rubbed my eyes to see if I had seen something wrong. I rubbed my eyes and looked at Leona again, and as if she had gotten over some embarrassment, she started eating as usual, expressionless again.

It happened while I was staring at Leona. Cecily called my name in the meantime now that she seemed to have organized her thoughts. “Isaac?”

“…Oh, yes. Noona.”

“Looks like you’ve been dazed for a while. I just remembered a question I wanted to ask, so can I?”

“Yes, certainly.”

After I gave permission, Cecily asked in a really curious tone, “What do you think is the reason that humans are currently considered the center of the world?”

“The center of the world?”

“Yeah, I know how it sounds. I heard it in lecture, so I’m curious about your opinion.”

“Well…” It was a fairly complex question to answer. Even on an Earth where there were only humans, we are a race that can’t be judged prematurely. Because the ones judging humans as a whole are also humans.

But, ironically, that’s why an objective explanation was possible. In this case, I’m sure of one thing. A human being can become supremely good, but he can also become supremely evil. You can think of the fierce battle between the theory of goodness and the theory of evil. However, that was the standard often used on Earth, and this world should be viewed from a slightly different perspective. As I habitually rubbed the pen-hook with my thumb, I glanced at Cecily. Cecily was staring at me as if waiting for my answer.

At this, I stopped my thumb and spoke quietly. “I’ll tell you in advance: this is my subjective opinion only, so you don’t need to listen carefully. There are many professors with more experience of the world than me.”

“It’s okay. You can tell me what you think.”

“Yes. That…” I stopped talking and glanced past Cecily. Leona, who was eating alone, was looking straight at me. I wondered if she had heard our discussion from a distance, but decided that she didn’t. Our voices were not that loud, and the distance was very far.

Anyway, I didn’t care and continued what I was saying. “…The reason humans could be considered the ‘center of the world’ is simple: humans are overly stupid, reckless, and foolish.”

Prick-

As soon as I said those words, strange things popped out of Leona’s head once again.