After taking a heavy blow to his right leg, the giant beastman finally slumped to the ground. The massive axe in his hand was now useless in the cramped space—any attempt to swing it would only end up smacking himself with the handle…
I used to do that all the time when I was messing around with a broom, and I’d end up with lumps on my head. All because I was such an idiot back then.
Haha, I even thought I looked like the “Great Sage Equal to Heaven” in full bloom back then.
I don’t know what expression I was wearing, but I could never forget the bitter smile on my face. I looked up at the sky that wasn’t really there, and a wave of indescribable emotion washed over me…
I brought the—no, wait, why am I even here in the first place? And why don’t I just leave right now? The exit’s not far behind me, and it’s not like—
As I glanced over there, I suddenly noticed that a few of those “people” had woken up. The moment they saw the teleportation gate flickering with light, they lunged at it.
They didn’t get out, though. Instead, they started making all sorts of clattering noises.
Uh-oh. This isn’t good. That gate was already looking pretty dim and shaky—getting it to light up again might be a real problem now.
“Human… Please don’t kill me… I mean you no harm.”
What’s this giant beastman suddenly saying? You’re the one who—ah, wait, I guess I did strike first, and for no real reason, just because it spotted me.
Even if it was planning to attack me afterward, that was probably just instinctive self-defense.
Right on cue, the teleportation gate behind me sputtered out under the assault of those “disciples.” Haha, perfect. Now getting back has become a real problem.
Did the designers of this place actually think, “Heh, can’t let the players leave too easily, now can we?” Well, thank you very much.
Since it’s come to this, let me try following a different branch—let’s hear what this giant beastman has to say. Hopefully, it’s not another favor they want me to do… unless the payoff’s worth it.
But I should stay on guard. Keeping my wits about me never hurts—I’ll keep my parry barrier up at all times.
【You—thanks, but I don’t need it at all.】
I knew what was coming, so I cut it off right away. Just staying fully focused is enough to interrupt low-level mental magic…
Well, I wouldn’t have been able to do that before—I used to get affected pretty easily.
“Since you said you mean no harm, why did you have them cast hypnosis on me?” I locked onto the few figures hiding behind the big guy and, almost naturally, used the Force to hoist them into the air.
They flew up—more like floated, really. It seems my new 【Force Manipulation】 skill has made my control finer and more precise… precise? Wow, I’m really at a loss for words.
I glanced at the shaman and a few other warriors floating in the air, then shifted my gaze back to the giant beastman.
“Go on. I’m listening. Give me your reason.” I could feel my restlessness building, and my toes started tapping, one after another, making an unbearable clicking sound.
Everyone’s the same… I’m neither cute nor likable—why waste your efforts on me? —No, why am I even thinking about this? How arrogant of me.
A minute passed. The giant beastman still had nothing to say, but he couldn’t exactly ignore me either. In the end, he just gave a nod, as if silently conceding.
Hey, I’m the one directly involved here, and I haven’t said a word yet—what the hell are you nodding for?
Since I’d released my Force hold, the airborne beastmen dropped and hit the ground. I didn’t bother worrying about their safety—I had no interest in that.
As if it were second nature, I poured a large amount of azure mana into the ground beneath me, then stood firm in front of the giant beastman.
“Go ahead. Say what you want to say.” Honestly, that line was a blow to myself too. If the old me could have said whatever needed to be said so easily, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
“Ugh… ugh. Human. We truly mean no harm.” The giant beastman said shakily, then released his now-useless axe. As it crashed to the ground with a loud thud, he shifted his body, planting both hands on the floor in a gesture that looked like a deep bow.
“Please. Spare us.”
After he’d made “intimate” contact with the ground several times—so much so that I could clearly see the fresh wounds on his forehead—I used the Force to force him to stop.
An instinctive act to protect his own life and his subordinates’? I suppose they really are sentient beings after all—
“…No. What makes you so sure I want to kill you?” This was actually important. Ever since I started living in the Glimmerwood Forest, even with adventurers barging in every few days, none of them had ever sensed any killing intent from me… hell, I even actively suppressed it.
Very suspicious, these beastmen.
“Stop playing dumb, you blue demon!” The beastman warrior beside the giant one roared at me. From the tone of his words, they seemed to hold a deep hostility toward me.
Blue demon? Where did that even come from?
First of all, I’ve never seen a beastman since I was born here. Second, I’ve never shown sudden hostility or directly attacked any stranger—let alone earned a terrible title like “demon.”
“How… how dare you speak like that!” As if scolding a misbehaving child, the giant beastman knocked the warrior on the head, reprimanded him, then bowed deeply to me again.
“I am… truly sorry.”
It suddenly felt like when a relative’s kid causes a ruckus, and the relative comes over to apologize—offering favors, spouting a ton of apologies, and generally steering the conversation away from the child or brushing things off… ugh, I suddenly feel so old. Disgusting.
With a sigh, I used the Force to bring that loose-lipped beastman right in front of me, staring straight into his pure-yellow, pupil-less eyes—
“What’s this ‘blue demon’ business?”
“Ugh, well…” Here we go again. He showed such fierce anger toward me just a moment ago, and now he’s chickening out? If that’s the case, don’t act so tough from the start.
My mouth twitched. I released the warrior and let him collapse to his knees… more like a goblin, actually? Long ears, deep-green skin.
“Whatever. If you don’t want to explain, fine. I’m not looking to add more corpses anyway. Whatever threat you pose has nothing to do with me—go ahead and cause all the destruction you want.” I waved my hand, turned around, and faced the now-extinct teleportation gate. “As long as you don’t cause me any trouble.”
A few moments later, I heard the sounds of gritted teeth, standing, running, and a blade slicing through the air. I’d expected this, so I sighed and sidestepped—
Sure enough, a blade and that goblin came crashing down right where I’d been standing. Seeing that he’d missed and that I was right beside him, he tried to press the attack…
Haha. How boring. Compared to the thrill of fighting the giant beastman, all that’s left now is an endless loop of emptiness.
“Guh! Kuh!” Every strike seemed packed with plenty of force—he really did want to take me down. Too bad he wasn’t fast enough.
If you want to teach a snot-nosed brat a lesson, you need to be quick, precise, and ruthless.
That’s what I think, and that’s what I do—just a little bit of force will do.
The moment he missed, I planted my feet and lunged at him. My left hand grabbed his throat, and my right hand clenched into a fist, slamming hard into his chest—after a crisp crack, I heard him yelp in pain and let go.
He dropped to one knee, left hand bracing the ground, right hand pressed against his chest, coughing and gasping for air—but that only brought him more agony.
“…Couldn’t you have gone a little easier?”
“Hah. If I went easy, you wouldn’t have learned your lesson.” I picked up the iron sword he’d discarded, gave it a quick once-over, and tossed it back by his hand.
Come to think of it, I noticed something green on my hand—the color and texture were a lot like paint, but without the pungent smell… plant-based pigment? It could last a while, but due to the nature of certain plants, this kind of pigment stays “fluid” for a long time—meaning it’s really easy to wipe off.
“Pigment, huh? Hah. You went this far just to disguise yourselves as goblins.” They must have layered it on thick—after all, they’d be interacting with other beastmen on a daily basis.
Another elf? How annoying…
Thankfully, the ears were droopy—otherwise, I might’ve been at a loss again…
Just kidding.
“Hey! Shh!”
“Stay away from me. I’m leaving.”
Walking away without another word—that’s not my style. But I needed to make some changes. After that incident.
“Hey! You’re just gonna leave like that?”
I brushed off the goblin’s hand and kept walking, only for him to step in front of me again.
And then I realized—just what kind of expression I was showing. Filled with disgust, brimming with rejection, helplessness and pity packed into every corner, and anger and unease spilling over the surface.
I wanted to avoid problems, nip trouble in the bud—as long as I didn’t get tangled up in anything.
That’s what I thought… I could do that a thousand times over, but I never did. Because I was too naive… being gentle and readily helping others isn’t always a good thing. If I could perfectly fix everything, I’d be willing—but there’s no option like that.
So I decided to push everyone away. That way, no more tragedies would happen.
To be precise, I’m a catalyst for trouble. Any problem that comes my way only gets messier when it meets me.
“(Gulp)… Kuh. Get the hell away from me.”
I never used to curse. But I needed to change—I needed to make everyone’s impression of me worse.
I can’t get close to anyone anymore—not Lord Laire, not Lady Cleriel.
“Yes. That’s the face. Just as I thought—you really are the blue demon.”
I have nothing—no grace, no manners, no depth, no eloquence. I’m a perfect reflection of a bunch of pigs scrambling for their next meal…
No, pigs are better than me. They have pure desires. In comparison—
I don’t even look forward to my next meal…
I’m just comforting myself—even if I have direction, it’s the same… I’m just indulging myself, thinking everything’s fun, then scoffing at it all…
“I hope you’ll teach me your combat skills, Master Demon!”
“…Huh? Hah?”
