Butcher Demon - Chapter 305

Ogre ↔️ Oni ↔️ Demon

“You’re good at origami.”

Kyo exclaimed, her voice filled with admiration.

Her gaze was fixed on Yakumo’s hands. He was folding a crane, but it was modified to be a combat crane with four wings.

We were camping by the river, spending the night around a campfire. After leaving the city, I towed the pickup truck into the woods as planned.

This car had an active suspension, which absorbed the bumps in the road, keeping the vehicle level as smooth as we forward slowly. It was truly amazing. So, as long as Kyo held the wheel, I didn’t have to worry about the rough terrain causing the truck to flip. The interior was always comfortable thanks to the air conditioning, and the hybrid engine had excellent fuel efficiency. High-tech cars proved to be extremely powerful for adventures. Now all we had to do was hope it wouldn’t break down. I had to trust Yakonen.

We knew the way to the cave. This time, with no need to escort the girls, our pace quickened, and we reached the cave in just one day.

As a precaution, I peeked into the cave and found that someone had entered after I had rescued the girls. It was probably Gofrat the grave robber. What a cunning thief, he had already long gone.

Kyo’s claim of being experienced in traveling was indeed true. When I started preparing for camping, she volunteered to help with the setup and quickly helped me with the ropes and other tasks.

“I know my way around a rope and string stuff.”

She said.

Indeed, Kyo’s rope work was far above the level of an amateur. She also helps with dinner preparations. Judging by her willingness to cooperate, I concluded that she was no longer a threat.

“Here.”

“Ah, my magic weapon!”

When I handed her the whip I had recovered from the cave, it turned out to be hers after all. It was the whip that had restrained her deep in the cave. Worried that Kyo might turn hostile, I keep it in a sack.

“Thank you! It’s the only thing I have left. Thank goodness!”

Kyo’s expression brightened as she nuzzled the whip.

“First time, seeing, magic whip.”

“Yeah, Whip magic tool is certainly rare. I’ve been using this for a long time, so my rope-handling skills have improved to match it.”

Saying that Kyo playfully pulled on the whip.

Magical tools, as I would describe them, were magical catalysts that amplified the power of Mifosis people when they used their abilities. They were their lifelines.

“Whip, strong?”

“Moderately. I can handle even ordinary magic beasts on my own with this.”

“But, lost, goblin.”

“Goblin?”

Kyo tilted her head.

“You, get attacked, Little creatures.”

“Huh, those were goblin?”

She furrowed her brows and looked around as if searching for memories.

“No?”

“Well…? I was quite desperate, so I didn’t get a good look. I was immediately knocked unconscious by that horse-headed monster… It’s not that I was weak. that horse-headed creature was just abnormally strong…”

“Horse, strong. Goblin, weak.”

“But were there really goblins living around here…?”

“Here?”

“Think about where this is, Gevaudan-san?”

“Australia.”

“Yes, Australia. That’s the continent of Earth you mentioned earlier, right? The continent where I was from is ‘Hyperborea.'”

“Hyperborea?”

“<Beyond the northern winds>. Or simply <the Northern Land>. It’s an ancient continent with vast taiga forests. It’s a harsh, cold land where dangerous magical beasts roam, and it’s not suitable for habitation due to the sudden appearance of wild dungeons. Very few people live there. It has an especially harsh environment in the middle of it known as the <Ancient Grove> and nearby, there’s a bustling called <Meteor Lake>, the city where skilled adventurers gather to seek treasure.

After saying that, Kyo grimaced as if in deep thought.

“Well… I don’t think goblins can survive in Hyperborea’s environment. And not only that, we couldn’t communicate at all.”

“You?”

“Huh?”

“You, different race?”

“Oh, I’m an oni. Don’t you know?”

“No.”

I felt like I had heard it somewhere before.

“Oni is… Do I really have to explain this?”

“Please.”

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it…”

Reluctantly, Kyo took off her hat.

“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Kyo.”

“Unusual, name.”

It was a rare name that I didn’t hear often, or so I thought.

“Oni-kin are ‘parentless.’ So, Oni instinctively takes the first thing they see as their name. In my case, my earliest memory was Oleander(Kyochikuto). So I use that as my name.”

“No parents? Dead?”

“Not dead. Just do not have one at all. Oni are all born in the moonlight. Crying while looking up at the moon, bearing the world’s woes on their shoulders. The cry of an oni’s birth is feared as an omen of misfortune. Even though we’re more like spirits, because we can talk and we’re definitely living creatures, they classify us as humans, more or less.”

“Rejected?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t say it so directly…”

Kyo sighed and continued.

“People believe Oni can bring trouble just by being close, so they avoid us in Mifosis. Even though the previous Demon Lord accepted us as humans.”

“I see.”

“But then, Gevaudan-san, you mean you have ‘that’ without knowing what it is?”

With that, Kyo pointed at the horn Yakumo was blowing.

“Man. Raised me. Horn. Give.”

“Hmm. And that person was an oni?”

“Yes.”

I remembered. I’m pretty sure Yasmin mentioned something like that.

“I see… Then, I guess I should be grateful for this encounter after all.”

“Why?”

“Because our horns are blessed. I believe that our meeting is guided by the divine spirit.”

Kyo tapped her horns on her forehead.

“We oni are born alone, wander alone, and eventually disappear alone, burdened with the karma of our existence, The divine spirit lights our path, helping us find the people we should be with so we don’t get lost.”

“Spirit?”

“Aides”

Kyo adjusted her hat and said,

“An ancient god, also called <Aides, The Lost Oni>. Aides-sama was apparently a compassionate deity who, despite disappearing long ago, still accepts and blesses all of us outcasts like ourselves who have no parents. It is believed that this blessing resides in our horns. That’s why the horns left behind by Oni are called the ‘Demon(Oni) Compass’. With it, anyone can head straight to their destined partner. Because of this, there was a period when we were hunted for this blessing.”

“That’s awful.”

“Yes, it is… That’s why I try to hide my Oni heritage as much as possible.”

So, those horns are like a dating app in the Mifosis realm?

By the way, I actually got a smartphone and thought about giving Online dating a try. I’ll use fake pictures and fully exploit the horrors of the digital world.

“Well, there aren’t many kind folks who are into Oni nowadays, to be honest.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well, you see… those who approach us—”

Kyo smirked and locked onto Yakumo, who was munching on his fish.

“Will face misfortune~!”

She sticks out her tongue and makes a scary pose!

She probably put all the best she could into it, but Yakumo simply looked at her without saying a word. Faced with his impervious defense, she gave up and, in an awkward moment, cleared her throat before going back to grilling fish by the campfire.

――What was that just now?

I want to see it again. Sticking your tongue like that? My heart went “thump” for a bit. Is this love? Or maybe just plain embarrassment?

“Compass, use, how to, show, direction?”

If it’s called a demon compass, then this horn should show a direction, but I was curious about how to use it.

“Oh, that’s for us to decide. The horn is really just a needle. The one who holds it becomes the compass. We have to decide our destination ourselves after all. Compass needles only point to fixed directions. Fate isn’t just one path. I don’t think people understand that.”

“Complicated.”

The horn in my hands is the needle. I am the compass. I didn’t quite get the meaning and inadvertently groaned at the somewhat poetic conclusion. So, how do you use it?

“This must be fate, too. Surely, Aides-sama has brought Gevaudan-san and me together. From now on, please allow me to accompany you for a while. I’ll be in your care.”

With this, Kyo bowed politely.

Touching sleeves can lead to connections in life. From the moment our private parts rubbed together, it became a significant connection. I want to cherish this encounter.

“I can’t believe it. You’re the worst.”

Oops, I was stared at with unbelieving eyes. It seemed like my inner thoughts had slipped out. I need to be careful with this device, sometimes it lets your thoughts come out.

After we finished our meal, Yakumo started to doze off, so I asked Kyo to take him to sleep.

――Having a hunk of steel like this around was reassuring.

I folded down the back seats of the pickup truck to make a bed, wrapped him in a sleeping bag, and laid him down. The sense of security was something else.

With this, heavy rain and snowstorms were nothing to worry about. Snakes and bugs were kept out, too. Most importantly, it protected against surprise attacks by magical beasts I didn’t know. This was the main reason I wanted a car. I felt so much at ease. Thank you, the wonders of civilization.

Kyo came back after putting Yakumo to sleep and stood in front of me with a somewhat uncertain expression.

Frowning slightly and hesitating, she tightened her expression just a bit and said, “Yakumo-san seems to have a fever.”

Eeeeeeeh!?

I unintentionally opened my mouth wide, letting out a deep voice. Even a lion would be surprised by my low rumble. Although Kyo was taken aback by my roar with an “eep,” she quickly composed herself and pointedly asked me,

“Did you take care of him properly?”

“I did.”

So, I detailed my dedicated care for him for the past few days. Isn’t it amazing that a butcher like me can do this much!?

“You’ve been dragging him around too much. Kids can easily get sick and collapse when they run out of energy, you know!”

However, I got scolded. *Sigh.*

It seems like I’ve been too active. How tiring.

But well, maybe she’s right. We’ve been on the move for a long time. Since we arrived in Base Town, Yakumo seemed unusually sleepy. I should reflect on that.

“I’m sorry.”

“Haaah, this is why men are so….. Well, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him. I’m used to taking care of children in the city, so you can relax.”

“Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you.”

“Fufun.”

When I praised her with a praying pose, she hummed good-naturedly.

While on the topic of Yakumo, I decided to ask about his third eye.

“Oh, the eye on his forehead I saw it earlier. I don’t know much about it, but it seems to have magical power, and he’s from Mifosis, right? If that’s the case, if you go to a big city and ask around in Tavern, you should be able to find out quickly.”

“No, Yakumo, magic, no. Earth, born. earthling.”

Yakumo is undoubtedly a Fort native from Earth, as I explained to her.

“Eh…?” Kyo tilted her head.

“What does that mean?…..but I can feel the magic…”

Kyo pondered for a while, nodding, but eventually gave up thinking and sighed.

“Worrying about things we have no way of knowing is a waste of time, isn’t it? Anyway, I don’t know any species with eyes on their foreheads, and I’ve never heard of the strange disease that makes eyes appear. I’m sorry I can’t be of help. If you go to a big city, I’ll introduce you to my regular doctor.”

The mystery surrounding Yakumo deepened.

After that, we chatted casually. When the conversation shifted to the machine gun mounted on the back of the car, it naturally led to a discussion about her whip and her weapon of choice. I loved weapons.

“Show me.”

“Sure.”

It was a whip, a brown whip made up of numerous fibers strung together. What was strange was the material——It looked like a combination of leather and synthetic fiber. It had a smooth and indescribable texture. You could tell it had been used for many years by the wear and tear on the handle.

As I observed the whip with great interest, Kyo grinned mischievously and grasped the whip’s handle.

“Ha――”

“…”

With a snap, the tip of the whip cracks open and becomes a loop. Interesting gimmick.

“Wow.”

“And this…”

Kyo demonstrated by placing the loop of the whip around her neck.

“With this loop, I can immobilize my enemies or calm down animals.”

“Cowboy. like.”

“Cowboy? What’s that?”

So, I demonstrated by looping the whip around my own neck. It’s what people who ride horses and catch cattle usually do. I always wanted to ride a horse and gallop to the horizon. It’s petty darn cool.

And then…

The loop tightened.

It squeezed around my neck.

“Uh…”

Kyo’s eyes widened, she appeared speechless with a look of astonishment on her face.

For a while, the two of us stared at each other. It was a scene of the cow (me) being roped, and the cowboy (Kyo) who had captured me.

“Uh, um…?”

Kyo scratched her head and then shook off her confusion and stood up.

“Ha, hahaha!”

Awkward laughter.

“To tell you the truth, I’m a Tamer!”

“Tamer?”

“It’s a person who has the skill that can capture and control wild animals!”

“Heh?”

“Honestly, I didn’t know Butcher could be tamed, but now that I’ve succeeded, Gevaudan-san, I hereby appoint you as my pet! It feels like I’ve ambushed you, but it’s your fault for showing weakness to the hyperborean! Welcome to the world of the survival of the fittest!”

Oh, a pet…

Suddenly, my heart raced.

I carefully observed Kyo.

Hips ―― Good.

Physique ―― Good.

Face ―― Perfect.

Yeah, quite doable. I can be her slave pet. I could play as much as she wanted. In fact, I’ve always wanted a beautiful woman to put a collar on me and drag me around.

“Taming Butcher will surely boost my rep when I report it to the Adventurer’s Insurance Association! With this, I can have my comfy life… Imagine bragging about it in the tavern, and those jerks who used to tease me will cower before Gevaudan-san! ‘――Please let me serve you, Kyo-sama.’ ‘――If the royal family heard about this…’ ‘――Is it true that “that” Kyo-sama is here?’ ‘――Please, marry me!’ ――kyaa! I’m so grateful for this encounter, Lord Aides! From today onwards, I’ll finally be a top-tier adventurer!”

Kyo offered her thanks and prayed to the moon. But what a snobbish prayer. Is she a jobber type?

——She’s getting carried away…

I stood up and grabbed her mushroom hat from behind and dragged her head back.