CH 38

As expected, after I arrived at the western district, I followed a familiar road heading straight towards Jewel Inn as if I was being called by it.

The Inn Lady at the counter was surprised to see me entering the Inn alone, but then she probably remembered about the martial arts tournament and me being the winner, so she immediately lend me a room without asking about the circumstances.

There was nothing special that I had to do afterwards, so I took a shower, had a meal and talked to Helvetia while letting the food get digested.

「Now that I think about it, what is a demon?」

『……To ask a demon king, such a philosophical question like 《What is a demon》』

「Ah, well, that’s not it」

What I really want is a simple explanation. I wonder if I wasn’t able to ask the question properly. I am concerned about what I’ve heard from Hannou-san, so this topic just won’t get out of my head.

I was thinking about how I should ask it again while tilting my head in confusion, but Helvetia covered her mouth grinning, probably understanding my confusion and then she finally answered.

This person, she probably knows what I’m trying to ask, but is only playing around.

『Well, if you want a simple view on how humans think of us, the answer would be 《Thinking of our race as monsters having equal or even more intelligence than humans》. That is how they commonly recognize us, but it is not really a welcoming fact』

「Just like goblins?」

『Fufufu, if it’s not at least as smart as you, then that would only be recognized as a monster, and not a demon』

Fumu, so demons are not considered monsters, but it’s a really thin line of separation.

If that is how they are seen, then there are probably races of demons that are not similar to humans.

I’ve been hunting a lot of monsters for a while now, so I was wondering if it will be alright with the demons. But well, Helvetia has been with me since I was born and it seems like she is not angry about it, so it should be fine.

「If it’s monsters, is it alright for me to subjugate them?」

『Yup, those creatures lack intelligence and even we consider them as pests. There are some people that treat them as business partners or pets though, but those are rare cases』

「I see」

That’s probably the same way with humans. Just like in my previous world, there are pests and dangerous animals that are also treated as pets, so I don’t find it difficult to understand how those eccentric ones think.

After talking for a while with the topics at hand, I slowly became drowsy and then I tucked myself in the bed and went to sleep.

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Today, there are a lot of things that I have to do, so I want to get up early. First I have to buy extra clothes and underwear. After all, I will be staying in this place for a while.

After eating breakfast, I wander around the west district. The time right now is around 8 in the morning, but there are already a lot of shops that are open.

There are also a lot of people, but most of them are adventurers probably on their way to work outside of the city. There are only a few people who are similar to me.

While looking around for a good clothing store, I got distracted by merchants selling accessories place on a carpet in the ground.

After walking around until noon, I found three clothing shops where I could buy the clothes I liked. They were selling casual clothes for everyday wear and also clothes commonly used by adventurers. I’ve bought some cargo pants for adventuring along with other types of clothes, then bought new boots from a shoe store that I also found.

I would like to visit the adventurer’s guild as is, but I decided to leave all the clothes I bought at the Inn first.

I almost got lost several times returning to the Inn, but thanks to Helvetia I was able to return. After arriving, I changed my clothes to wear the new ones I’ve bought.

I bought a lot of clothes without realizing it, and when I changed into pants and short-sleeved shirt…… it felt windy and loose. I should have bought long sleeved ones instead.

Well, this is more suitable for work so it’s fine. After collecting the clothes that I previously worn, I put them in a laundry basket provided by the Inn. I can do the laundry later.

After I finished changing clothes, I headed out again. The destination this time is the adventurer’s guild, and this time I probably won’t get lost because I was properly informed by Ansel-san yesterday.

『You know, it looks like you are already quite used to this?』

「Eh? What is it this time?」

『Well, walking around complicated roads, checking out clothes and even changing and coordinating on your own. Even though you haven’t experienced something like this at the village, you leave the impression of 《Having done it many times before》』

「We, well, it’s just, ahaha……」

Ueh, that is certainly strange from other people’s point of view. As a child living all her life in a village, then suddenly moving to a new city, normally you wouldn’t be able to move around the city that easily, not to mention giving off a feeling of being familiar with shopping, and not just one but three stores. Even if I do say that I came to the capital before, it shouldn’t have been enough of an experience to be like this.

『It’s written all over your face, you know』

「Ueeeeh」

『Well, I don’t really like to pry, but you know, I may be able to help with things if an unforeseen situation occurs. I will also share more information about myself to you』

「That’s, that’s not it!」

Well I did say that Helvetia is Helvetia, but I still don’t know much about her. I don’t think that she’s lying, nor that she is just a delusion of mine. However, even though I also want to say 「I would also like to tell you……」, I actually don’t know anything about myself, and I’m certainly not just imagining it.

Well, she is currently trapped inside me, and I don’t really think that we would be separated immediately. Although, if we get separated I don’t know what will happen.

『Well you don’t have to think hard about it, it’s probably just a fragment of memory from your previous life. You don’t have to look that troubled about it』

「Sorry……」

『It was my bad opening such a topic so suddenly, however don’t you need to go to the adventurers guild right now? It shouldn’t be that far away from here』

「U, un」

Probably trying to reassure me, Helvetia walks by my side. It’s probably because she is worried about me that she doesn’t disappear from my sight right now.

Even though she is still a mysterious person, Helvetia will always be Helvetia. I don’t really know anything about my previous life, however Helvetia might be able to help me discover why this happened.

For now, what is clear is that I’m trying to understand my origins and the fact that me and Helvetia are connected as one, and we might find some answers later, like a way for us to separate.

We continued walking while thinking about some complicated things, then we finally reached the entrance of the guild. Even if I worry about it, it’s not really that important at the moment so I immediately switched gears as we arrived!

The adventurer’s guild is a really large building because it is used as a base by a lot of adventurers. It’s almost the same size as the building of the knight’s headquarters, and it also has a big double door at its entrance which now has one door open and we could see a bit of what’s inside the guild.

I slowly peeked inside the door to see more of what is inside. Hmmm, this somehow felt like I was trying to sneak inside. What I spotted was a reception counter at the back area, and a bulletin board on the right side, probably for quests. It is placed in a way that a request can be immediately processed after picking it up.

In the front area, there are tables and chairs lined up at regular intervals, and was probably a place to have a snack or drink.

「Oioi, this is not a place for little girls like you to enter」

While I was watching the adventurers chatting at a table, I heard a voice coming from behind me.

（Uwaaah, the template came out! But unfortunately for you, I have already prepared my heart for this!）

I turned to the side and surprise! There was a half-naked man with a big axe on his back, a skin-head macho. I didn’t even expect something like half naked man approaching me, and he’s standing with arms folded.

Well, he’s not exactly naked because two belts are crossed over his upper body in the shape of X… no, wait, that is still half naked.

「Bah……! Ah sorry about this, it seems like this one was not informed about you」

When I was about to retaliate, a person dressed in black came and apologized while pushing the skinhead macho down at a tremendous speed.

This second person is fully dressed, but it’s a gear set that was probably made for light movement, so he’s probably a thief or something.

「I don’t mind」

After turning my back and going inside, I could hear the all-black person talking about me while quietly dragging the skinhead man.

「That’s a monster class little girl who defeated Vanil Mirth in the tournament, you know?」

「Seriously, that little girl?」

There are people other than the two who set their sights on me, but turned away after meeting eyes with me, which is quite interesting.

Well, I don’t want to continue getting involved with others so I should head to the reception.