Chapter 6

IF ONLY IT WAS A DREAM

Many days had passed since Riku came to live in the garrison .

There were no problems regarding basic life necessities . Her life style improved in all the ways comparing to the time she was at Perikka city .

But this place still didn´t feel like home to her .

She would always notice many gazes onto her when she would go to the dining hall .

While looking with a cold and disapproving gaze, they would come near one another and start a talk between only themselves . But there wasn´t anyone that would talk to Riku . Of course, there was an exception . It was only Vrusto, who was tasked with taking care of her, that talked to her . But it seemed that it was all because of her position, since because she was his subordinate, Vrusto was ordered to let her be beside him .

Riku got used to Vrusto´s strict training . She could bear the pain from the training without problems, but even so, she still couldn´t get used to the looks of complete despise she would be given .

“Humans are very much hated…”

As she was moving the spoon with soup to her mouth, she casually muttered .

Vrusto, who was sitting next to Riku, seemingly having heard her murmurs, he let out a long sigh while he was playing with his knife .

“Well, that´s obvious . Until now, they´ve been oppressing us demons . Besides, you are from that spiritualist family, right? It would be much stranger if they actually didn´t hate you… By me, if it weren´t for the captain´s orders, I wouldn´t be babysitting you . ”

“Babysitting…I´m already seven years old . ”

“Seven years old is just a brat . Don´t worry about it and just finish eating . After that, it will be training . ”

“…Yes . ”

Riku moved the spoon to her mouth once again .

Bit by bit, she was becoming able to land hits on Vrusto, but there still was the experience gap . Things weren´t going that well . Every time Riku would press forward for an attack, Vrusto would answer her with the double or triple of what her offensive would be . It would inevitably become a one-sided defensive battle that only if Vrusto was to get careless or if Riku was able to properly do a feint that she would be able to land a hit .

Leivein said that she had talent, but recently, Riku had been a bit uneasy about that . She would wonder whether she really did have talent .

“Your spoon stopped moving… Properly eat up . If you faint during the training, it will be only problems to me, you know? Or what? Do you hate this soup?”

“No…That´s not it…”

Riku used her spoon to touch the very thin chunk of meat in her soup .

At her time when she was still living at the Barusak household, she had never seen such a meat and vegetables only soup like that . There were a bit more vegetables in it and the meat pieces were a bit bigger . As she would take a bite of it, the meat juices would perfectly fit the soup and be very delicious .

She accepted that as long as she had something to eat, it was enough . But to the still seven years old Riku, this made her miss how her life used to be before .

“Then, what is it? Ah, that´s it . Are you bothered about the meat?”

Vrusto laughed .

The fangs, that were like they were looking at her, were shining . Riku kind of felt a chill .

“If you don´t want it, then give it to me . Meat is the thing we demons most love anyhow . ”

Riku warily looked at the meat .

The thin piece of meat that was reflecting on the spoon .

“Demons…Most love…?”

The thing demons most love .

The thing demons most cherished .

In other words, it was something appreciated by demons and it was something to eat .

If one were to ask about a meat that they would boil, roast and eat, it would be…

“Ugh!!”

At this exact moment, deep in her throat, something sour was welling up .

The real identity of the meat came to her mind . Putting her hands onto her mouth, she tried to repress herself from crying . If that was the thing demons liked the most, then this would be none other than a certain something . Since she had come here, from all these days, there wasn´t one day she didn´t eat meat . This meant that all this time, she had been eating…

“He-hey, don´t be so startled like that! This is only pork meat . The part more to the interior of the training place there is a pig farm, you know . ”

“Eh, pig?”

“Yes, pig . If you are so much bothered by that, what about going there to take a look before training?”

Vrusto was showing a shocked expression . Absentminded, Riku opened her mouth . The nausea slowly settled out . She was certain she ended up eating someone of her same race and was falling into self-hatred, but fortunately for her, it seemed this wasn´t the case . Finally at ease, she ate the meat .

“You are too biased about demons . We hate humans, but we don´t just go eat them, you know?…Actually…Brat, have you ever eaten a demon?”

“…No . ”

“Right? That´s the same case . There is no way for us to go eat either demons or humans . ”

As she was drinking her soup with her spoon, she started to think about all he said .

On text books and picture books, it was written that demons ate humans . Many times, she had read this on them and her father would tell her that as well .

But the reality was different . Riku also thought about the possibility of Vrusto lying, but thinking about his behavior, it didn´t look like he was doing so .

Then, would that mean both her father and the textbooks were lying?

She didn´t want to doubt her father, and also didn´t want to think he was lying . Riku felt like she didn´t know anything anymore . She was opening her mouth, about to ask a question to Vrusto, but right at that moment, a sharp voice sounded through the dining hall .

“Hear it out!!”

The door was widely left open .

Because of the angle of the light, she wasn´t able to see the person well, but there was a small shadow and a big shadow made by the people standing there . She wasn´t able to see their faces, but by the voice, she knew who it was . As she was about to look at the owner of the voice, she felt an impact on the back of her head .

“Stupid! Lower down your head already!”

Vrusto forcibly pressed her head down .

Looking with the edge of her eyes, she noticed all the demons gathered in the dining hall were bowing down to those shadows . All the demons that were forged into having good physiques all at once bowed their head to the small shadow . Although the shadow was small, the presence given by it was by far much greater than the big shadow behind .

The small shadow… Leivein, with a step, entered the dining hall . Then, Leivein opened his mouth .

“Everybody lift up your heads . We are moving out . ”

————————————————————-

The Shiidoru kingdom at its best splendor .

With the outstanding power of the four spiritualist families, they were able to quickly uproot the sprout of evil called demons before it grew .

Everybody showing a smile and nobody suffering from unhappiness . The marvelous kingdom as a flower in its full blossom, and its sole flaw could be said to be the clock bomb the demon lord that have been sealed there was .

In this Shiidoru kingdom, every year once, there was a event done as a custom .

It was called the [Demon cleaning campaign] .

The absolutely wicked demons; its remaints would affect the peace by their certain questionable actions . Many villages and cities would be invaded, things would be set on fire and food would be stolen . For men, they would be used as slaves, for women, they would be raped, and for children, they would be thrown into their soup and ultimately end up killed . At the time when the fires of war spread, the spiritualists employed by the royalty would specifically advance to their bases and all at once launch an attack .

And then, they would dignifiedly come back to the capital victorious .

…Carrying many demon heads .

Riku has seen this parade before .

In its center, she would see her father . Standing in a carriage covered in flowers, the figure of him majestically waving his hands to the public was something she aspired for . She could only wonder how many necks the halberd in his hand had cut . It was haughty just to imagine . It was something that really soathed her heart . She decided to become an renowned spiritualist just like how her father was .

That vow she made herself… She would always remember it well; it was a very bright memory .

It was supposed to be a good memory .

“Could it be that… All that were only schemes of the kingdom?”

Riku muttered surprised .

The place the Dragon Demon Garrison are sending five hundred soldiers is already expected to fall by the attacks of the spiritualists . Without the spiritualists knowing, they were to secretly get to that village . And so, the Dragon Demon Battalion separated itself, each part consisting of about a hundred soldiers, and were marching through the forest .

“In the back-story of a heroic tale, there are a lot of dirty stuff . ”

As Vrusto was carrying his weapon, he bluntly said .

With a sidelong glance, looking at Riku, whose mood was sinking, he kept talking .

“This time we are lucky, you know? We got to get that village that is being invaded now the priority to them . ”(Tl note: It is not stated why that specific village getting the priority being a good thing…)

“But isn´t better to just evacuate everyone instead? In case they attack, then… just make it look like the village had been abandoned…”

“Stupid . If you do that, they will just look for another village to attack . To get the least amount of causalities, it is better for us, who are experienced in combat, to fight and give time for the villagers to run away . What? When the captain sees a good opportunity, he will immediately send the order to retreat . The thing those guys really want is only prestige . They only want to get a proper demon head to say that it was the one of a general to their people and want to show off with the reality that they destroyed a village, even if it just a shabby and negligible one . ”

Riku looked downwards .

Looking down at her black shadow and keeping her heavy legs from stopping .

That what she had always believed was proved to be all lies… It was as if she was inside a bad dream .

Ever since she was driven away from the Barusak household, maybe she was lost within a dream . While thinking that, she fixed the posture she was carrying her halberd .

“Humans are very much hated, right?”

“How many times have you already said that??”

With Vrusto´s howl, Riku´s feelings

Now she was going to fight a war, but even though it was the battlefield she so much yearned for, she didn´t feel excited about that .

It was all only a profound melancholy . Seeing Riku like that, he started scratching his cheek with his pointed nail .

“Brat, don´t die . ”

“…Yes . ”

“Ah, what is it . If you die, all the time I had to spend on you would be wasted . It would be a waste, right? And then, people would think it was because I didn´t instruct you well . If it affects my career, then what am I supposed to do? If possible, then you should even go get some achievements . ”

“…Yes . ”

“Get a grip on yourself!”

Vrusto firmly slapped Riku´s back .

Because of how much strength it was put on the slap, Riku was sent a bit forward, seeming to be almost falling down, but she was able to hold her feet . Because of that, she sent a protesting gaze to Vrusto .

“I, I know that! I don´t want to die yet… But… Is the source of the information even reliable? It could be a false alarm, right?”

“Apparently, it is reliable . I´ve heard it was an information a demon infiltrated in the capital got hold of after great pains . Well, I don´t really know the details . ”

“Hey, Vrusto! Come here for a sec!”

Coming from the front, a demon that was shaking hands with Vrusto . It was a demon that a these days was often having conversations with both seemingly being friendly to each other . Riku thought that one from before should be his friend .

And to confirm her thoughts, Vrusto was showing a broad smile .

“Brat, you keep marching there, alright? What is it, Sejji? Oh, Frank was there too . ”

Leaving Riku alone, looking like he was having fun, he started to run and went more to the front .

Getting next to the demons he called Sejji and Frank, they started to talk, looking like very intimate friends . Riku wasn´t able to hear what they were talking about .

Going with the flow of her surroundings, she kept the march .

Now that Vrusto was gone, there wasn´t anyone she could talk to . If Leivein was nearby, maybe she could go next to him . But he was commanding another squad, so he wasn´t around . And even if she were to go next to him, Leivein was still the captain of the Dragon Demon Division . There was no way a recently recruited soldier would be able to so casually do so .

“It would be nice if all that was only a dream . ”

She knew she couldn´t be all the time thinking back about the life she used to have . She understood she was thrown away by her father . But…

“Hey, are we going to kill that human brat?”

“Not really . ”

“She smells like human anyway, so it can´t be helped if I mistake her with the enemy . ”

“Are you killing her during all the turmoil?”

“You should give up on that . Right now the captain isn´t here, but if he finds out later, he will get really mad . ”

“What was the captain even thinking back then?”

With the cold glares together with all the talks she would here, the feeling she shouldn´t be living there only became even clearer .

The doubt she had of whether it was fine if she kept living together with the demons only increased .

She running away as a deserter during the turmoil of the war could be a possibility .

But, before she would even consider running away, at the moment, there was not even a way for her to be assured she would have food to keep living on . Riku gave a very deep sigh .

“Fire the exorcising arrows!!”

From the trees left and right, an arrow shower rained down .