Chapter 107 – Family

Sophia met Canir again, and the two talked about all sorts of things. Maya and the blonde's boosts that might be a little imbalanced were a favorite topic. At some point, the mood had gotten a little awkward, though, because Sophia asked an unexpected question.

"You want to know how your family's doing...?"

"Y-Yes... I feel awful that I couldn't say goodbye... For them, it must be ten times worse... Because they have no idea what happened... I just vanished..." Judging by the sadness in her voice and the heavy feel around the girl, it really affected her. "Also, if they don't, I might still cry..." Them not being sad would hurt in an entirely different way.

"I'm sorry." Canir simply apologized.

"W-What?!" It was responded to with instant panic.

"No, I just have no idea how they are doing."

"D-Don't ever scare me like that again!" She got angry. "I'll end you!" Very angry.

"It wasn't my intention. My powers on Earth are somewhat limited. I can't watch over specific people without randomly spotting them first. That's how I found you, too. I was simply looking around and decided to follow you for a while. I got pretty interested and continued to watch you before you surprised the heck out of me by suddenly running in front of a bus..."

"A-Ah..." Sophia wasn't sure how to react to this.

"That's why, I'm sorry. I have no information on them."

"..."

"Want me to look out for them?"

"E-Eh...?"

"If you tell me some places they frequent, and I've been there before, I might be able to spot them eventually. It might take a while because I can't really work with addresses as I don't have street names when I look from above. Still, once I see them with my own eyes, I can peek at them whenever I want."

"W-Would you do that for me...?"

"If you keep doing interesting things in the new world, I'll gladly help you out." His ulterior motives of wanting to be entertained were more than clear.

"I have the feeling that all sorts of things will continue to happen even without me trying."

"Even better."

"Thank you." It was one of the most heartfelt thanking she ever did.

"Having faith in me now?"

"Maybe a little."

"You..."

"Hehe." A small chuckle escaped Sophia's lips. Her mood had increased ever so slightly.

"Time for a different topic?"

"Yes, please."

"Do you already have some plans for your new human friends?"

"Aaaand my mood went from depressed to disgusted..." It, unfortunately, wasn't a topic she's going to enjoy very much, either. "The beast king asked me to wait. He wants to try a diplomatic approach first and talk to them..."

"Not wanting to spoil anything, but that's not going to work."

"It's not me you have to tell that. It would be nice, but I'm certain that angry Sophia is going to visit the human capital in the future."

"That has a much higher chance of success. It also might end their capital." Canir didn't sound particularly concerned.

"I'll try not to get too aggressive, as a part of my, uhh, anger management. I do plan to talk with the human king. It's just not going to be diplomatic whatsoever. I will demand things, and he'll consent to absolutely everything. Whether he wants to or not doesn't matter. Everyone gives up sooner or later if one's persuasive enough."

"Your definition of anger management is pretty interesting."

"I don't want to become an angel, you know? Well, maybe one with a shotgun, but that's a different story." Sophia got a little sidetracked. "I don't want to avoid violence at all costs, just become more reasonable. If one hurts the ones dear to me, I'll still make hell look like heaven when compared to their life."

"In a way, I guess that's indeed reasonable."

"Really now, what is going on with the humans here?" It was impossible for her to understand them. "I don't believe it when you say you have no idea. I know, people in my old world also had the tendency to be conceited or presumptuous... Still, compared to them, we actually were, technology included, on the top of the food chain, at least."

"A long time ago, the humans lived on a secluded continent where they actually were the strongest."

"Ehh...? So, it was just them, some weaker insects and a couple of chickens...?"

"More or less." Canir actually nodded. "Doing as humans do, they multiplied like crazy while also making their continent uninhabitable by destroying its nature."

"Somehow... I'm sorry..." Even though she had no relation to it, the girl still felt guilty about something.

"Eventually, they relocated to the main continent while still being under the delusion of being the mightiest. Even though they never won a fight against the beastfolk and got curb stomped by the demons before they decided to leave, the humans never stopped thinking they're the best."

"That doesn't make any sense." She looked confused. "How can they not notice that they aren't the strongest? As in, not even close? Okay, humanity rarely learns from their mistakes, but this much?"

"Quite honestly, I stopped paying attention to them a long time ago. It wasn't entertaining at all, just pure, rage-inducing frustration... Especially when the other races, first and foremost the beastkin and demons, are really enjoyable to watch. From the glances I did get lately, meaning the last 1000 years or so, they live in their own little fantasy world."

"Yeah, no kidding." She had already realized that herself.

"They delude themselves. Whenever a war is lost, it gets hushed up by the higher-ups and the royalty especially to save face. Soldiers get brainwashed and are forbidden to talk about whatever happens on the front lines. Furthermore, only people with some margin of power, calling themselves adventurers, leave the cities and come in contact with other races or individuals that have more power than them. Thanks to their questionable upbringing and education, they can't help but get cocky. Most of the time, it will result in their deaths, and dead men tell no tales. Those who do survive will just get laughed at back at home. The common people rarely leave their cities, making them pretty ignorant of the outside world. They basically get oppressed by knowledgeable people or higher-ups who talk them into thinking they are the best. Not knowing it any better, they have no reason to disbelieve the stories."

"Wow..." Sophia needed to let this sink in first. "And here I thought they're just stupid..."

"Well, that's also definitely a factor."

"It's much worse than I thought... Huh? Wait a moment…" It seemed like she suddenly got an idea.

"Hmm?"

"If the common humans simply don't know any better because they get oppressed and or brainwashed... If I put up a nice show for them, I wonder what would happen~. They can't hush me up, trust me."

"Maybe, but if the humans are good at one thing, it's twisting facts. I wouldn't be surprised if they find a way." Canir had really lost all faith in them.

"Nope, I won't let that happen. I'm more surprised that no one else thought about it before... If the beastfolk is capable of doing that, I'm sure those demons would've had no problems with invading their capital and show those humans who really is the boss..."

"That's easy. Why would they? Would you proactively attack an insect nest that can't harm you just because it's a little annoying?"

"That's... That's actually a good point." Sophia had no comeback. "Well, they threatened me personally and the people I like. I guess it's time that someone finally takes care of it. Unfortunately, for them, they barked at the wrong tree this time."

"I won't stop you, and I'll definitely watch it with great interest." Canir was looking forward to seeing something entertaining. "All the power to you, girl."

"Oh, speaking of which," She had enough about humans being the topic and changed the subject. "I've been going kinda crazy with magic lately... Is it really okay for me to use it without any restrictions?"

"Absolutely!"

"'Cause it's entertaining?" Sophia figured out how he thinks.

"Yep." He had no intention to hide it. "Well, it would be great if you'd avoid using magic that could destroy the world or make it uninhabitable with things like nuclear magic."

"I'm not that much of a maniac!"

"Well then, go nuts with it~."

"Great! I wanted to experiment with magic that lets me fast travel from one place to another by creating portals in different areas and connecting them in another dimension."

"Err... Sure, have fun." He seemed a little perplexed for a moment. "It's a fascinating idea, I would say."

"Yes, I hope it works."

"Alright, is there anything else you want to talk about, or should we wrap it up for today?" Canir thought it was enough for the time being.

"Hmm... Oh, Fen mentioned he knows you and how you've met from time to time in the past. Do you plan on coming down again at some point? I think it would be kinda nice for all to get together. Not only so I can boast with Maya to you in person, either." Her real motivation leaked out for a second.

"Fen, huh? We did have some nice evenings together while enjoying a couple of drinks. You know what, I might give it some thought."

"Cool!"

"Alright, I guess that's it for the time being. Oh, there's a shrine in the beastfolk capital, too. If you're bored or something comes up, feel free to swing by."

"I doubt I'll be bored any time soon, but I don't think that'll stop me."

"Okay. In the meanwhile, I'll look out for your family. Maybe I'll see them and can give you an update the next time."

"T-Thank you..."

"Then, I guess I'll see you next time."

"Yeah, see you..." While Sophia was thinking about her family again, she was eventually swallowed by the white light once more. A few moments later, she was back at the shrine in the city of Talaga, where Maya was already waiting for her.