Published: March 21, 2026
This one's a bit long!
The children who had been speaking to us as equals left the basement, and the intense presence that rivaled one of the Ten Demon Lords completely vanished.
“Was it really okay to hand over our information so readily, Ringa, Sonora?”
The moment the presence disappeared, Sena — who’d apparently been holding it in — slammed his trembling hand on the back of the chair next to the master and grumbled his dissatisfaction.
I took Sonora’s hand and sat in the chair where Akira had been sitting until a while ago. My limbs had gone numb from the dense magical power and killing intent that had been directed at me. It was terrifying to think that child had only been alive for about ten years.
“Brothers, here’s some water.”
I let Sonora fuss over me as she always does, and drank down the cold water produced by everyday magic in one go.
Not only did the magic power press down on me, but the killing intent that leaked out repeatedly even while they were speaking made cold sweat run down my spine, leaving me thoroughly parched. I wondered if it was unconscious.
“We don’t have time. You know that too. Right now the priority is to leave this continent with Sonora as soon as possible. For that, I’d live in the same space as the nation that fell to ‘Adrea’s Nightmare’ and even obey a Human child.”
I licked my water-moistened lips and said to Sena.
Sena looked a bit dissatisfied but fell silent in apparent acceptance.
“Still, are they really ‘humans’? Especially that boy who was talking with Rin-brother — even if his magical capacity doesn’t match mine or Lady Lattice Nail’s, that presence and killing intent… he’s not ordinary.”
“Ah, that one with the title ‘dark assassin’… When we teamed up for a moment during the Brute Labyrinth flood he seemed like a normal kid, but now my impression might’ve changed. Maybe because he killed Gram?”
“Who knows? But despite having that much power at such a young age and not showing any arrogance while staying wary of us — I liked that. He spoke rudely, but I’m broad-minded, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Eh, ah—tough luck, Akira. Even though she’s our sister, of all people to be liked by her… Also, a truly broad-minded person wouldn’t scream about a little taste-testing.”
“Sena-brother??”
“Nothing~”
Sensing the loosened mood, the younger ones began to tease and play. I poured the liquor the master was tilting into his glass into the glass that had held my water.
Alcohol and tobacco are luxury indulgences. Drink when you can. Especially if it’s free.
The strong liquor burned down my water-lubricated throat.
“This isn’t certain and there’s no proof left… but—”
The master muttered, idly swirling the liquor in his glass.
His long-lived, peculiar air silenced Sena and Sonora instantly.
“They say the race described as ‘human’ in the status of those summoned from another world is literally written as ‘human’. Not Human race, not Demon Clan, not Beastmen, not Elf race — just ‘human’.”
In this world the word “human” is now used collectively for the four races, but the master said that wasn’t always the case.
“A long time ago, when this continent hadn’t yet split into four and was one land, it’s said the ones who lived in the world called Morrigan were ‘humans’. To survive in this world, those who prioritized species propagation became the Human race, those who prioritized strengthening the body and moved closer to beasts became the Beastmen, those who lived alongside spirits and fairies and moved closer to them became the Elf race, and those particularly suited to magic and magical power evolved into the Demon Clan.”
The commonly known myth credits the one and only god Divine Aitel with creating the four races, but Linga, intrigued, straightened his posture. Perhaps different versions circulate among the Demon Clan.
“And so, every person who’s been summoned from another world until now has been of the ‘human’ race. Not the Human race. In fact, all twenty-eight people who came in the fifth interworld summoning this time were confirmed to be the ‘human’ race.”