My name is Aaron Gaderia. I am 28 years old. My home is at the Gaderia Lord's Manor, and I have been single since birth.
Because I have two disappointing younger brothers—one who only knows how to eat, and another who only knows how to pick up girls and screw around—I have to work from morning till night. I don't smoke, though I do occasionally drink a little wine.
After waking up, I like to have a cup of piping hot coffee and then do thirty minutes of morning exercise. This allows me to start my work with a calm and steady mindset.
The Gaderia clan was originally a group formed of refugees and bandits. When my old man was still alive, we had friction and even wars with those nobles over territory.
That was until the all-out offensive of the Demon Race arrived. The nobles, unable to look after themselves, wanted to hire us as a combat force to resist the Demons. My old man only said one word at the time: "Scram."
Many people died in that war, and quite a few nobles even fell from power. I witnessed the power and cruelty of the Demon Race with my own eyes. In the end, we managed to preserve our foundation. My old man was promoted and ennobled, and we no longer had to care about the opinions of those nobles.
It is laughable, but I actually want to thank those Demons who were killed. It was precisely because of those hateful wretches that we had the chance to accumulate merit. I must be a strange person, too.
The stability of life gradually wore away our wild nature; we were no longer that group of bandits wandering everywhere.
But good times don't last long. With the strike of the dragon disaster, my old man, my territory, and my hair all left me.
I led the surviving subjects to flee, not knowing where to go.
On the very first day of becoming bandits, I was extremely lucky, yet also unlucky, to encounter that Demon.
At first, I thought she was a cruel and heartless fellow. She spoke expressionlessly about disliking senseless slaughter, yet she still used our lives to coerce us into a trade.
This trade must be a lie. The moment I hand the territory over to her, she will definitely kill me.
I really was crazy to actually agree to make a deal with a Demon.
However, it was still better than dying right then and there.
Later, that Demon with the broken horn killed the Red Mirror Dragon with terrifying strength and moved into my Lord's Manor. It truly made me unable to sleep or eat in peace.
How long would she toy with us before killing us?
I once asked her, "Why give the territory to me to manage?"
She said something that left me not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Because it's very troublesome."
Indeed, the reconstruction after the disaster and the planning of food supplies were all headaches.
Could it be that she wants to wait until the town is repaired before destroying it all over again? That would be truly terrifying.
The naive Yuna often tells me that the Demon big sister is a good person.
"Child, you are too naive. We are sheep, and she is a shepherding wolf. Demons eat people."
As someone who had truly seen Demons in war, I always lectured this child.
Yes, Demons kill and eat humans.
I was convinced once again. That purple Demon named Aura who follows Nanoda—the look in her eyes when she looks at humans holds killing intent. It couldn't be more familiar; that is the look only Demons on the battlefield have. Why hasn't she made a move? Is she waiting for the other one's command? Realizing this, the little bit of hope I had raised vanished into smoke.
"Uncle Aaron, Lady Nanoda is amazing! She robbed a subject of a wild pheasant, and then chopped down all the timber needed for building houses!"
"Lady Nanoda saved a drowning child today. When she returned to town, she asked his parents for a wild pheasant, saying it was a life for a life."
...
"I'm going to learn magic! Lady Nanoda finally agreed to teach me!"
Why? Is this a disguised kindness to confuse humans, or is this strange Demon really different?
Compared to Aura, Nanoda really gives off the illusion of being human. To actually coexist peacefully with Demons for a year—who is the one that has gone crazy?
"I want to build a bronze statue for Lady Nanoda! Although her temper is a bit odd, she really helped us a lot."
A foolish fellow actually proposed this to her.
"Why help us?"
"Just helping a fool fulfill a dying wish, that's all. And incidentally repaying some debts from a past life."
"Are you joking?"
"No. You lot are a group of not-so-bad fellows. If you were the type of people I hate, I would have killed you all long ago."
This really is the strangest fellow I have ever met in my life. I can't bring myself to hate her even if I wanted to.
————
"It is a token of the subjects' appreciation, after all. Think about it, this means your name will go down in history."
"That still doesn't justify making it into such a shameful pose."
It was truly unexpected. This Demon actually has a sense of shame. Even if it's feigned, she is really too familiar with humans.
"Hmm?"
"What's wrong?"
Nanoda's expression suddenly became grave.
"An incredible guy has arrived."
Inside the dining room, Aura was leisurely drinking black tea. Although she instinctively hated humans very much, she had to admit that the tea beverages made by humans tasted quite good.
Sensitive to mana, she captured a wave of quite familiar mana.
The hand that had just lifted the teacup began to tremble violently. Tea splashed out from the beautifully patterned cup.
He has come. That existence which is a nightmare for the Demon Race. The Hero—Himmel.
At the same time, the servants in the Lord's Manor also reported the news of the Hero's arrival to Baron Aaron.
"What do you plan to do?"
Knowing that Nanoda was a Demon, Baron Aaron was extremely worried. He did not think Nanoda would be a match for the Hero Himmel. That was the existence who killed the Demon King and was currently the strongest among humans. If the Hero saw her and wanted to exorcise the Demon, how could he stop it?
"Have a chat with him?"
"Are you crazy? You are a Demon; he will kill you! The Demon Race is the enemy of humanity! I am tolerating you because I owe you a life! Take your companion and flee right now! I will think of a way to stall for you."
Aaron slapped the table in anger. Is this fellow's brain broken? She still wants to coexist peacefully at a time like this?
"It's fine. Even if I exchange two moves with him, I shouldn't die. I am very strong."
"That is the Hero! Even the Demon King was killed by him! Who do you think you are? One of the surviving Seven Sages of Destruction of the Demon Race? And you want to exchange two moves with him? I'm begging you, run away quickly."
"No. Yuna still needs me to teach her magic."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade Nanoda no matter what, Baron Aaron sighed.
"How about this: you two hide in the basement of the Lord's Manor first, and I will deal with the Hero."
"You are quite loyal, aren't you?"
Although Baron Aaron was usually a bit cowardly, he was quite heroic at critical moments.
Before Nanoda could reply, the door to the office was smashed open.
"Nanoda, take me and run! The Hero is here to kill me!"
A fellow even more frantic than Aaron arrived.
"I've got it all planned out. We run north right now, find a mountain ditch to hide in for a hundred years or so, and wait until he dies of old age before we come out!"
Aura directly grabbed Nanoda's hand, wanting to drag her along to run away.
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