Chapter 52 - In Another's Shoes

A week flew by. The weather had grown sharply colder over the past few days. The fallen leaves had scattered on the biting wind, leaving none in sight.

Winter was just around the corner.

Even bundling up would hardly have kept out the cold, yet Yohan was completely bare. Despite the chilly air, sweat poured off him.

"... That damned mercenary. All I asked was for him to teach me spearmanship."

His elbows bent. His upper body touched the ground. His entire body trembled.

Push-ups.

For the past week, he had been doing nothing but working himself to death with bodyweight exercises on the training grounds.

["You need to build strength and stamina first. I'll give you some homework. Meet your quota every day, without fail."]

After saying that, Gaf had left the castle and never shown his face again. At Yohan's request, he was tailing Maira and Kembel.

Left all alone, Yohan was the one suffering.

He collapsed facedown on the training grounds, panting raggedly.

Twenty laps of the grounds at a fast jog, four hundred push-ups, three hundred sit-ups, three hundred squats, and hanging from a bar for as long as he could. Having completed today's quota, he was an utter wreck.

He hadn't missed a single day of training, so the accumulated fatigue was considerable.

He honestly felt as though he might die, but he had no intention of quitting.

Hadn't the southwestern quarantine zone taught him just how helpless he was? Somehow, he had to develop his human body too, at least enough to fend for himself.

He had no choice if he wanted to survive in this goddamned world.

Yohan ground his teeth and raised his upper body.

'One more set.'

He drove his exhausted body onward once more.

Everything ached, but he felt better than he had expected.

* * *

Gaf leaned against a large pine tree and watched the training grounds.

His impassive gaze kept following the small boy.

'... Looks like he's serious.'

Anyone could see Yohan was desperate. Even after completing his quota, he didn't rest for a moment. He was pushing his scrawny body to its limits. It almost looked as though he had been cornered and was struggling to escape.

Gaf knew that determination well.

The drive to survive. The struggle to stay alive that one saw among mercenaries.

Yohan was fighting for his survival.

'But against what?'

That half-demon had manipulated even Apostle Beris to suit his purposes. No matter the situation, he had never lost his composure. Even when Gaf first met him, back when he was an imp at his most powerless, Yohan had known no fear. He had simply dominated everyone present with his unhurried manner.

Now he was different. There was no composure or ease about him. Only fierce determination.

Watching him, Gaf found himself gripped by questions and unfamiliar emotions.

What on earth was he guarding against to drive himself so hard? Was that very human effort proof that red blood truly flowed through his veins too? Gaf could find no answers, but he knew exactly where these sudden questions had come from.

It must have been the slight change in his feelings toward Yohan.

During his week of tailing the knights, Gaf had encountered countless people of the domain.

Their faces were visibly brighter. Shadows still lingered, but there was unmistakable hope mixed into the darkness.

The atmosphere in the domain had changed considerably.

The daughters who had been taken away had returned, and the fear of war had vanished. With no conscription, the harvest work had been completed as normal. Even taxes had been reduced this year.

The oppression weighing on the common people had eased.

Much as he hated to admit it, all of this had happened under Yohan's rule.

Thanks to a Demon.

At that thought, Gaf gave a hollow chuckle.

'I've really hit rock bottom.'

The way Demons beguiled humans was simple.

They used immediate gains and fleeting happiness as bait to steal away one's sound judgment.

He mustn't fall for those sweet whispers. The moment he began feeling fond of a Demon, it was over.

'Get a grip.'

Gaf fixed Yohan with a wide-eyed stare.

Their eyes met at that very moment.

Yohan was dragging his exhausted body toward him.

"You haven't shown your face once. Have you been spying on me from there every day?"

As always, Yohan opened with a provocation.

Gaf answered with his usual brusqueness.

"Unlike someone I know, I don't have two bodies. How could I? I've been busy enough cleaning up after you."

Tailing the Count's knights had left Gaf with no time to visit the castle.

"Too busy to report in, apparently. For an entire week."

"What could I do? The bastards are tireless. They were going around the village without a moment's rest. Every night, they gathered the locals and bought them drinks."

"Find someone to use as a messenger. As you know, progress reports are essential."

"I'm already looking for someone."

"We'll set that aside for now. So, did you work out what they're after?"

"They mean to dig up every last detail about the domain's internal affairs. Everything from rumors about you to all the petty gossip from the castle."

That was more or less what Yohan had expected.

"They must have found a few things that didn't add up."

Gaf nodded.

"Betra's sudden disappearance, Grian's change in attitude, and the horror stories about the knight Reil. Those could deal you a fatal blow."

Betra was the prostitute used as a sacrifice for the Unhallowed Array, and Reil was the knight Yohan had turned into a scarecrow.

If the truth behind those incidents came to light, Yohan would be ruined. Both were evidence that he was a Demon.

Of course, they would never get close to the truth, but the very fact that someone harbored suspicions posed a serious risk to him.

Those circumstances might also serve as a pretext to launch an investigation into the Miyatro domain.

Hadn't an Inquisitor from the Church already infiltrated the domain? The Book of Doom incident had broken out at just the right time to divert the Inquisitor's attention, but the same thing could happen again at any moment.

He needed to prepare, and he already had something in mind.

'The kingdom's attention is already focused on the south. Lying low will only slow my growth. It won't get me out of their sights anyway.'

Instead, he intended to press forward. Since he had already attracted attention, he simply needed to make more active use of it.

Yohan spoke.

"They're only suspicions for now. Before they grow into a fatal blow, all I need to do is bury them under a bigger incident."

"I'm sure you'll handle it."

"Obviously. I'm not particularly worried, but there's one thing I should check. How much have they found out about me?"

"Nothing, of course."

To everyone else, Yohan was shrouded in mystery. A bastard who had appeared out of nowhere. His birth, his upbringing, his relationships... Barely a handful of information about him had ever come to light.

"That will only make them more suspicious."

As Yohan said, the utter secrecy surrounding him had only deepened their suspicions.

Dig into anything long enough, and at least a thread was bound to emerge. With Yohan, they hadn't found so much as a speck.

Gaf spoke.

"It's worse than that. They're fixated on you. They'll probably keep digging to the bitter end."

"... They're still in the domain?"

Gaf shook his head.

"They've left the demesne. But they're planning to look around the other villages instead."

The demesne meant Forn village, which belonged directly to the lord's castle. All the other villages were called dependent territories, including Taharan, where Yohan had first arrived after possessing this body.

House Miyatro had many other dependent territories as well. In terms of size alone, it was no mere baronial house.

In fact, until two hundred years ago, the Barony of Miyatro had been called a duchy, and the Watcher of the Abyss had been recognized as a sovereign duke.

Now he was merely a noble of the kingdom.

Yohan murmured.

"... Visiting every dependent territory, are they? More persistent than I expected."

Taharan village held evidence that Yohan was a half-demon: witnesses who had seen him. He had ensured their silence, but unforeseen complications could arise at any time.

Gaf spoke.

"Are you going to leave those two knights alone?"

"I'll have to deal with them."

"How?"

"Just keep track of their movements for now. I have a rough plan in mind."

"All right, then."

"Is that everything you have to report?"

Gaf abruptly spoke up, as though something had just occurred to him.

"Oh, right. Some fellow was skulking around the castle gate. He made a scene, insisting he had to see you. Reeked of blood. Everything about him felt off. I've locked him in the dungeon for now. Go down and take a look."

There wasn't anyone in particular who would come looking for Yohan right now. And a bloody smell and an unsettling air weren't enough for him to readily guess his visitor's identity.

He frowned and thought for a moment.

After that brief consideration, something suddenly flashed through his mind.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

"Things may work out sooner than I expected."

Gaf was simply puzzled.

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"Drag him down to the basement. No need to handle him gently. He'll be a vicious bastard."

It seemed the imp had completed his mission.

Yohan headed straight for the basement.

* * *

"The murder of a slash-and-burn farmer and his daughter, mutilation and disposal of corpses, desecration of scripture, habitual robbery, and even the rape of four boys! O great End! I have captured a Demon in human skin! Just as you commanded, he is a man even the Great Saint would forsake!"

A young man knelt in restraints at the center of the underground study. Yohan, Ilea, Gaf, Raguel, and the imp stood around him.

Yohan spoke.

"There must be no mistake. Have these facts been properly verified?"

He couldn't use an innocent human as a sacrifice for the Unhallowed Array.

The imp answered with a confident expression.

"Would you hear it from the man himself?"

At Yohan's gesture, Gaf removed the young man's gag. He had already been given a rough account of what had happened and understood the situation fully.

With his mouth free, the young man cried out.

"Trusted servants of the thirteenth end, it is an honor to meet you! Please call me Got! I have come to serve the End, just as you do!"

No one answered him. They all simply stared.

The young man looked around as he spoke.

"But where is the End? I would like to offer my formal greetings."

Yohan gave a faint chuckle.

"First, prove you're worthy. What have you contributed to bringing about the end of the world?"

A sinister smile spread across the young man's face.

"An excellent question. The lives I have taken alone number beyond the double digits, and most of them screamed and pleaded right up until their deaths. I added harmonies to the requiem of the End. Not long ago, after raping a boy, I did something to his buttocks—"

Yohan clicked his tongue.

"That's enough."

There was no need to hear any more. Gaf ground his teeth.

"You deserve to be torn limb from limb."

"Gaf, insert this into him."

Yohan handed Gaf a lump of milky-white flesh: the Great Saint's intestines.

Clutching the intestines, Gaf strode toward the young man.

The man seemed not to realize what was about to happen to him.

"What is that in your hand?"

Yohan spoke.

"Something we're going to insert into you. Just as you violated that boy, this big fellow is going to show you some affection. I'm very much looking forward to the requiem that comes out of your mouth."

The young man's expression darkened a little.

"Wh-what do you..."

Before he could finish, Gaf seized him firmly by the hair and shouted.

"Let's see your back!"

The young man struggled, but he couldn't escape Gaf's grip.

Ilea gently covered her eyes. Raguel clamped his hands over his ears.

The imp danced with glee. To a Demon, human cries and screams were sustenance.

A hideous requiem echoed through the basement.

'The Great Saint's eyes were a relatively easy sacred relic to transplant, then.'

Yohan was very thankful for that.