After the Fall of the Demon Race, Reincarnated as a Demon Girl - Chapter 32

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the dilapidated wooden door was rhythmically knocked.

Vista, curled up on the sofa, had fallen into a deep sleep at some point. The sudden knocking jolted him awake. Blinking sleep from his eyes, he glanced at the clock on the wall before hurriedly slipping on his shoes and rushing to the door in a few quick strides.

Before he could even reach for the handle, the door was pulled open a crack from the outside.

“I thought nobody was home,” came a somewhat weathered voice from outside.

Vista looked closely and saw an old man standing there, dressed in dark blue overalls, his hair graying. A wooden frame the size of a head was attached to his waist, filled with an assortment of parts. Behind him stood a flatbed cart piled high with heavy cardboard boxes.

Vista understood immediately. This must be the door repairman Roja had called. Although they weren’t exactly familiar, Vista had seen him a few times before.

The old man lived just a couple of streets away, at the mouth of an alley, running a hardware store. Fixing doors and windows fell naturally within his line of work.

He was the one who had repaired this very door the last time it was damaged.

“Ah, it’s you, Vista. Like I told you last time, this door was long overdue for a replacement. It’s a thirty or forty-year-old relic; a good knock or two and it would shatter,” the old repairman said as he set down his parts and pulled the cart closer.

Vista hurried forward to help, and together they unloaded the heavy metal door from the cardboard boxes.

“Hey, I could’ve managed this myself… just set it down here,” the repairman said.

“Where’s your apprentice? I remember he used to work with you often,” Vista asked, glancing around and suddenly sensing something amiss. Where was the familiar figure usually trailing the old man?

The old repairman seemed to notice Vista’s puzzlement. As he sorted through his parts, he spoke slowly, “That kid? Said he didn’t want to be a repairman anymore, insists on becoming an official. We had a big argument. I can understand his ambition, but… I just can’t bring myself to support it.”

As he spoke, he dragged the metal door over, used pliers to snip the wire binding the cardboard, and stripped away the outer packaging, revealing a warm, glossy brown paint finish.

“Not bad, eh?” the old repairman said with a laugh.

“Of course, I picked it out carefully myself.”

He gave the door a firm, proud pat, as if demonstrating its quality. But soon, his smile faded.

“My family has been craftsmen for generations. No one ever went to school. Everyone knows you need reading and writing to be an official… Even a simple man like me can see that folks in the royal city will surely set up obstacles. And these days… the world is in such turmoil…”

Vista could understand the first part well enough—without formal qualifications, it was tough to get by in the royal city, let alone become an official. The place was undoubtedly rife with scheming. But the latter part left him confused.

The world in turmoil?

Honestly, he hadn’t noticed.

In Vista’s eyes, everything seemed prosperous, peaceful, everything was on an upward trajectory.

“To be honest… is it really that chaotic? I don’t quite get that part,” Vista asked, perplexed.

The old repairman, squatting by the wooden door and continuing to remove the old lock, didn’t look up as he replied, “How could it not be? Just the other day, over at the eastern breeding farms, the workers went on strike… You didn’t know, did you? I was there fixing pipes, saw it with my own eyes.”

“And remember the border clashes between the beast-folk and humans a few months back? The newspapers mentioned it, but just a few lines tucked away in a corner. Easy to miss… and not many people read the papers anyway.”

“A few years back—probably when you were still in school—I heard the Empire seized control of some mineral resources. That’s what drove the prices of many things up.”

…

The old repairman listed off many such things, all news to Vista. He had always been immersed in the world of books, reading day in and day out, oblivious to the world outside.

It seemed everything taught in school was about how prosperous and mighty the Empire was, and how students like him should devote themselves, sacrifice for the Empire.

It seemed the daily indoctrination in school was about the supreme, inviolable greatness of the deity, earnestly teaching students how to piously and unreservedly revere the divine will as the ultimate, unopposable truth.

It seemed the school painted a picture of a rich, fulfilling, flourishing future. Yet students were never guided to confront the broken, messy reality.

“Hard to imagine, I know… There’s a saying, isn’t there? You’re just a flower raised in a greenhouse, though I don’t really know what a greenhouse is,” the old repairman said.

With practiced ease, he removed the dilapidated wooden door. Instantly, brilliant sunlight flooded into the office like a bursting dam, illuminating the once dim and damp space, setting dust motes dancing wildly in the beams of light.

Vista stood frozen, his mind filled with confusion.

He began to doubt everything school had taught him, to question his own beliefs.

The words Renith and Antina discussed last night echoed in his mind, hammering at his heart—

“Why resist?”

In his understanding, school had always taught that everything in the world was steadily progressing on the right track. All current turmoil and unrest were merely unavoidable growing pains of development. One only needed to wait patiently, and soon everything would return to normal.

Moreover, in his experience, Mobius City was safe, economically thriving, its streets bustling with traffic, shops filled with a dazzling array of goods. In his innocent eyes, the whole world was like this—beautiful and full of hope, everywhere brimming with an upward spirit.

Why resist such a wonderful society?

Why?

For what?

Vista clutched his head tightly, as if he could stop the overwhelming wave of agony. A splitting headache threatened to shatter him, every nerve twitching madly.

In his mind, it seemed two different voices were whispering, clashing.

“Believe… believe…” one voice murmured softly, yet with an undeniable allure, trying to pull him back into that whitewashed world of peace.

“False… false…” another voice, sharp and piercing like a blade, ruthlessly punctured the illusory facade.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling well,” Vista managed, fighting through both physical and mental discomfort as he helped the old repairman move the broken wooden door onto the cart.

“Oh, that’s too bad, young man. You need to get some proper rest…”

Staggering, the old repairman’s voice growing distant as if pulled away by invisible threads, Vista stumbled to Antina’s door and lightly knocked.

“Teacher Antina, the repairman is here. I’m feeling unwell, so I’ll head back to my room now,” Vista said, his voice tinged with exhaustion.

Half-asleep, Antina mumbled an “Mhm” in response.

Vista fled back to his room as if escaping. He tried to close the door gently, but his body seemed beyond control. In the end, he swung it shut with a sharp “bang.”

He could hold on no longer, collapsing limply onto his bed, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

Instinctively, his hand tightened around the locket on his neck, his gaze falling on the black-and-white photo inside. It showed a family of four, all smiling brightly—his once warm home.

“Father, Mother… Oh God, what is actually right?” Vista murmured, his voice full of confusion. With inner exhaustion, he unknowingly closed his eyes.

When Vista opened his eyes again, he found himself in a familiar classroom. The teacher stood before the blackboard, holding a heavy theology book, passionately praising the deity named Enldos.

“The deity brought light, enlightened the wisdom of all things in the world. Humanity is His most beloved favorite.
He brought forth the ‘Chosen Ones’ to save this world, propelling it ever forward.
He sent His attendant, the Priestess Alegia, to overthrow the tyrannical rule of the demon tribe.
Order was established because of Him, the Empire rose because of Him.
Everyone should strive to end the world’s evils, for the deity, for the Empire…”

The teacher’s voice echoed through the classroom, each word seeming to carry an irresistible force.

The scene shifted dreamlike. Vista found himself in the library. He casually opened a law book; its pages were densely filled with the Empire’s statutes:

“Article One: All persons shall respect the deity. The deity’s majesty is not to be profaned.
Article Two: The Empire’s glory is supreme. No one may defame, spread falsehoods about, or belittle the Empire’s honor.”
…

The scene changed again. Vista stood before his mentor, earnestly asking about the recent rise in crime rates.

The mentor wore a gentle smile, lightly patting Vista’s shoulder as he said:

“Lately, the ‘Chosen Ones’ are vigorously promoting technological and economic development, extensively reorganizing factories, developing resources, and managing manpower. During this process, many who are dissatisfied with the status quo or affected by the reassignments have instigated riots, even threatening the ‘Chosen Ones’ who contribute to society. Hence, the crime rate has naturally risen.”

Everything shattered, returning to darkness.

Vista cried out helplessly in the darkness:

“Right!… Or wrong?”

He seemed to see:

A phantom of Antina stood before Vista, telling him the Empire imprisoned people’s minds.
A phantom of Lance stood before Vista, emphasizing the atrocities of nobles and landlords.
The old repairman’s phantom stood in a corner, lamenting the hardships of ordinary people.
The figures of his teachers surrounded him, repeating over and over the righteousness of the Empire, the correctness of the ‘Chosen Ones.’

Abruptly, a beam of light pierced through, scattering all the figures in the darkness. As time seemed to pass, this light slowly coalesced into a faint silhouette. A clear, crisp female voice resonated through the empty space.

“Why not go see for yourself? Right and wrong, truth and falsehood aren’t things others can fully explain with just a few words.”

The darkness shattered. Vista opened his eyes, his gaze falling upon the locket.

He remained silent, lost in thought.

In the next room, Renith withdrew her staff and went to wash up.