CH 8.1

The sun was soothingly slanting the road.

Cotton candy-like clouds are slowly changing shape in the western sky. Trees with thorny leaves lined the road, and huge four-legged animals can be seen, probably cows are grazing on the fence. On the side of the road, windmills keep spinning in the wind, and houses made of wood can be seen from a distance.

A magnificent and regular scene created by the power of nature and man.

The dense atmosphere of the whispering forest disappeared, and instead, we were surrounded by a warm atmosphere where we could see the activity of people.

Hmm, it’s so pleasant.

The place at the end of the road must be the village of Parose.

"Finally, we made it.”

"...Y-yes."

Spica's voice was a little stiff as she answered.

For Spica, going into a human town is like walking alone into enemy territory.

"Are you okay?"

I look at Spica as I call out to her.

"Nevermind. I'm the one who decided to follow you on your journey. I'm fine."

“...Sure."

She sounds brave and dependable, but...

However, it was actually a line she said while holding out her right hand and right foot at the same time, stiffening her body.

I was planning to spend the night in the village, but from the looks of her, we might as well camp on the outskirts of the village. I wanted to sleep away from the hard ground at least tonight, but I'll give up.

Gvvvoooooooooooooooooo!!!...

Suddenly, there is a low rumbling sound coming from a huge hole nearby.

The sound, which seemed to be impossible to imagine from the quiet and simple landscape, seemed to disapprove of our visit.

So, this is the scream of the devil.

What I felt before my surprise was a strong sense of discomfort. It could be described as a sense of déjà vu. I raised my brow and listened carefully to the sound.

...Doesn’t this sound quite familiar? Where did I hear it?

The heavy bass sound made several shock waves causing my body to tremble. It’s so loud, yet the sound that does not seem to come from a living thing

From the depths of my faded memory, I felt a sense of déjà vu rising in my mind.

"..."

But my thoughts were interrupted when Spica came to my side and started to pinch the hem of my cloak with her index finger and thumb.

My and Spica's eyes meet.

She must have been startled by the sound and acted quickly.

When she noticed what she was doing, she quickly let go of my hand. 

Soon, her cheeks turned red, the corners of her eyebrows lowered and her eyes turned moist. She twisted her mouth into a smile, but tears continued to well up in her eyes.

Spica, who has few facial expressions other than anger, is now embarrassed to the core.

Naturally, seeing the expression on her face stopped me from thinking.

...Something, I must say something.

"Oh, my God, that was so scary!"

My voice sounded so intentional that even I was surprised. I tried to follow her, but it seems I don't have any talent for acting.

...Instead of helping her, I made the matter even worse.

Because of that, Spica's white skin turned red all the way up to her neck.

...I'm so sorry, I had to do something to catch up.

In the blink of an eye, Spica distances me and pulls her hood up deeper.

"...Let's go.”

"... O-okay."

We start walking with a little more distance between us than before.

As we walk away, we hear the distracting cries of cows passing between us. They seem tired of hearing the demon roars from the huge hole. They are now munching on the grass, making a cow-like mewing sound.

A man who seemed to watch the cows must have noticed us walking and came running as he called out to us.

“Who are you? I don't see any luggage…. Are you merchants? You've come a long way, haven't you?”

The man wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel around his neck.

I'm not sure how old he is. But the smile on his face gave us the impression of a young man, but the deep wrinkles on his forehead gave away his age.

"Oh, no, We are travelers. I heard rumors of the Devil's Mouth, so I came here to take a look.

"...I see. You look like strange people, aren't you?"

As he said this, his gaze shifted to me and to Spica, who had snuggled up against my back to hide from the man's gaze.

"Are you two couples? There's a height difference between you for that… You don't look like a brother and sister as well."

"We're traveling companions. She is my acquaintance.”

"I suppose there is such a thing."

He stroked the tip of his beard as he said this.

"My name is Sanson, you can call me Sun. May I ask what your name is?”

"It’s Lark. Nice to meet you.”