Chapter 61

“So, now that we’ve come out this far, shall we start collecting the Anima Crystals?”

With a smiling face, Dragon God said so.

The small Phoenix and Behemoth nodded in agreement.

“Then, I and Phoenix, who can fly, will return to our original forms and search for prey from the sky. Behemoth, please guard aunt’s body in the forest.”

“Roger that.”

“Ui~…”

Dragon God gave instructions to Phoenix and Behemoth, and then she began to act.

“Then I’m off.”

“I’ll leave you in charge.”

After saying this, Dragon God and Phoenix returned to their original forms.

Phoenix, is a giant bird of fire covered in golden feathers.

Then, Dragon God, who had transformed into an incarnation of the Eastern water god… with her entire body covered in deep indigo scales, soared into the sky, waving her two long beards.

They usually don’t return to their original forms very often, but lately, there haven’t been many demons in the area.

This is partly because the four powerful demons and the former heroes have hunted down a large number of demons, but it is also because the demons, threatened by their presence, have changed their homes, and their numbers have decreased.

As a result, it was difficult to find them by steadily searching for them from the ground.

Therefore, Dragon God decided to return to her demon form with Phoenix. The purpose of this was to search for the demon from the sky by spreading their vision over a wide area.

Their basic physical abilities were higher when they were in demon form. Their eyesight is also greatly enhanced, so they can find targets even from an altitude where the demons won’t notice them.

The only drawback is that when reverts to the original form, it consumes so much mana in her body that she cannot be active for a long time.

For them, the small human form is synonymous with energy-saving operations.

After finding the demon, they will probably return to their mimic human form to hunt.

“…go back…”

After watching the two fly away, Behemoth disappeared into the depths of the forest.

◆◇◆◇◆

I rubbed my eyes as I walked through the forest, which was now empty.

It’s not so bad when I’m in my original form, but for some reason, in this form, I can’t help but feel sleepy from day to day…

When I’m not paying attention, I often find myself falling asleep before I know it.

Even so, my sleepiness may be better than before, probably because the people around me have become noisier lately.

However, when I’m alone like this, the sleepiness comes over me instantly.

“Sleepy…”

The reason why I mimicked the form of a cat instead of a human was that this was the most comfortable form for me. I had tried to mimic a human once, but my ears and buttocks were all itchy and I couldn’t relax.

However, when I changed my form to that of a beastman, I felt much more comfortable. So, unlike everyone else, I mimic the form of a beastman instead of a human.

However, perhaps it’s a characteristic of cats and beasts, but I can’t help but feel sleepy during the daytime.

Thanks to this, I always feel like my head is not running half the time. Maybe it’s just my imagination, though.

I walked slowly to the flower garden where the sapling of the World Tree was located, just as Dragon God had told me to do.

On top of a small hill, the world tree is shining with a little light and its twin leaves are thickly growing.

Because it grows in an open space among the trees, sunlight pours down from the sky.

“This, perfect for sunbathing…”

In the forest, where the climate is mild, the sunlight is so warm that my eyelids start to droop.

“Ah… don’t sleep… have to stay… awake… sleepy, sleepy… wake up, up…”

“Ugh~… I’m sleepy. This sunny weather is too tempting for me right now…

Slumber is slowly invading my mind, and my consciousness is slowly sinking into soft darkness…

…………

……

◆◇◆◇◆

A few hundred years ago, roughly…

I’m in trouble…

I’m currently in the village of the Beastmen, receiving treatment for my injuries.

I was brought into the village after collapsing in their territory, and my body was wrapped in bandages.

“How are you feeling? Cat lady?”

The person who spoke to me was a woman with brown hair braided into a bun and a pair of angular eyes.

She introduced herself as a wolf beastman, with pointed beast ears and a big, bushy tail…

She is looking at me with her flaxen eyes.

“It hurts…”

I feel really, really bad.

I can’t believe I’ve been hurt so badly by a human being…

Oh, I’m so angry now that I remember.

It was only a short time before I was brought here.

I was subjected to a massive assault by a group of adventurers.

They had attacked the forest area where I was sleeping, weapons in hand.

Surrounded by a hundred adventurers, I was exposed to all kinds of attacks, including bows, swords, and magic, and I was badly injured.

They were very skilled adventurers, and I was forced to fight a hard battle.

To be honest, I admit that I was careless. Also, the fact that I have less mana in my body than I did in my prime was probably one of the factors that made me suffer.

Well, I still managed to destroy almost all of their adventurers.

It doesn’t matter how good they are, they can’t match my strength.

I’ve never been injured so badly in my life, and I’m still annoyed about it.

Also…

“I’m hungry…”

I was hungry, which made me even more irritated.

“Hahaha, I see. Well, you’re quite a stubborn fellow, aren’t you? Even with that injury. Well, wait a minute. I’ll make you something to eat.”

“Hurry up…”

“Okay.”

That’s all she said, and then she left the room.

I was left behind to check on my injuries.

“Tsk…I’m not going to be able to move… for a while.

As soon as I tried to move my arms and legs even a little, an intense pain pierced my brain.

“Blunder…”

There have been many times when humans have targeted me, but this was the first time I had been hurt this badly.

How many thousands of years has it been since the Lord created us…?

The humans are still enduring our attacks.

I’m so tired of their stubbornness.

“When I’m healed, I’ll pay them back…”

As I made up my mind to do so, a nice fragrance suddenly tickled my nostrils.

“Here you go. It’s vegetable soup. It’s not likely you’ll be able to eat it yourself… so open your mouth.”

“…Isn’t it, poisonous?”

“I don’t give it to girls who talk like that.”

“No, it’s a joke…”

“I think you’re being serious for a joke… Oh, well. Come on, open your mouth, and have a go.”

“Mm~m… Mmm, delicious…”

“Good.”

Then she took the time to feed me a wooden spoonful of soup.

Humans are the enemy, but she is a beastman. The Lord has not ordered me to kill any beasts, and this situation will not be a problem.

Besides, from the looks of it, this house doesn’t seem to have any mana-eating tools that humans would use.

So I don’t have to kill the girls.

Humans are mana-eating evil… so kill them. That’s what the Lord wants. I exist to carry out the orders I receive from the Lord.

“…You looked so happy and cute when you were eating.”

“Is that so…?”

“Yes.”

And, when we were having such an idle conversation.

The door to the room opened and a male wolf beastman, just like her, walked in.

“Hello. How’s the girl?”

“She’s still in pain, but she got a good appetite, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

“I see, that’s good to hear.”

She smiles a gentle smile, slightly different from the one she shows to me.

In response, the male beast conversed with her in an easygoing atmosphere.

“Tomorrow I’m going to pick up some herbs from the forest to use on her.”

“I’m sorry, I’d like to come too, but I can’t leave her alone.”

“It’s okay. I can’t take care of her. Let me take care of everything else.”

“Mmm, thanks, my love…”

“Yeah, I love you, too.”

The two of them smiled at each other, their noses to each other.

They seemed to have realized that I was watching them, and they seemed to have panicked and moved away, but there was a look of happiness on their faces.

I wondered briefly why these two were so happy together.

◆◇◆◇◆

“……nyu…… ah, I’ve fallen asleep…………”

The sun, which was supposed to be above my head when I came to the plaza, is now hidden behind a tree.

I couldn’t resist the temptation of the pleasant temperature and the sunshine, and I think I fell asleep.

“But I had a nostalgic dream…”

It was a dream about the first time I was given a hard time by humans and saved by a couple of beastmen.

Until that time, I had been working alone… just to kill humans.

But when I met the couple, I discovered the warmth of being with someone.

“……no one, not……”

In my dream world, I woke up to find them right in front of me.

A warm female beastman and a male beastman who devotedly nursed me when I was wounded and unable to move…

I can’t even remember their names anymore, but they’re still there in my memory.

But now, when I woke up from my sleep, there was no one there.

I’m the only one ……

“Somehow…… lonely……”

It’s been a while since I’ve seen my four strongest demon companions and the Lord.

The silence seemed to be even more noticeable since the surroundings had been so noisy lately.

The sun was setting and the area was dimly lit, which also made me aware that I was all alone.

“I haven’t felt this way, hundreds of years…”

It had been hundreds of years since I had lived with those mates.

It was only for a short time that I was exposed to the idea of family.

At first, I couldn’t understand why they looked so happy just being with each other.

But after living with them for a while, I began to envy the way they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

That’s why I thought that one day I would like to have my turn.

And the decisive moment was when they had a baby, and they smiled so much. The look on their faces when they welcomed a child was deeply etched in my memory.

But I mustn’t mate with weak beings. Only individuals stronger than me can mate with me. The instincts of the species, and the need to kill humans, led me to seek out strong males.

But such a being never appeared, and before I knew it, I was living my life to this day with only the hope of getting a stronger number.

Finally, I found the best male that could match me in strength…

And yet, that male was already on duty with the Lord.

Still, in the natural world, it is normal for a strong male to have multiple females. In other words, it’s a harem.

If that’s the case, then I can get myself added to that male’s harem.

The male instinct is to impregnate as many females as he can.

However, he resists my temptation and refuses to procreate. After all, he just runs away.

I could try to force myself on him, or even attack him at night, but there’s no point if he hates me and throws me out of the pack.

“…what should I do…?”

How can I become what he wants me to be?

Without an answer, I stare at the world tree.

It’s a small sapling that sprouted from my mana and Dragon God.

It still only has two leaves, but even those two leaves look more like a guardian than anything else, and I’m starting to envy them.