On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

It was said that Niles would take a walk around his territory to observe its development. He was known as a very generous person, so he would always converse with the citizens, regardless of their status, whenever he did that.

Such a thing wasn\'t learnt in the two months Layland had spent learning under Valeria. He had only learnt it after strolling around the Dukedom and listened to the talk of the citizens about their ruler.

Using that knowledge, he initially wanted to observe Niles from the crowd to gauge Niles\' personality. Considering Niles\' status as a veteran however, he decided that not playing with fire was the wisest decision.

Instead of sneakily observing Niles, he concluded that it was better to handicap Niles from the get go, which was why he came to the slum area to look for a sacrifice.

He had expected a bold and daring adult to take up on his offer, however what he had gotten was an innocent little girl who just wanted the best for her brother.

He was slightly conflicted about it, but he eventually came to terms with it after convincing himself that as a Demon, he shouldn\'t sympathize with humans. Still, he decided to honor the little girl for her sacrifice ... In his own way.

He cast the Curse when he first hugged the little girl and patted her back. Before he gave her the pouch filled with gold, he whispered her a command to come up to Niles and shake hands with Niles before casting his Sealing Spell.

The command was fairly simple; however, it was the trigger for the Curse to take effect. Upon coming up to Niles and asking to shake Niles\' hand, the little girl would explode, splattering her blood at Niles, which was the media of his Sealing Spell.

The Sealing Spell would greatly hinder Niles\' sense when they fought later, and also allowed him to track wherever Niles was.

The tactic he used was wicked and dirty, but instead of feeling shame, he took pride in the fact that he could think of such method.

That, after all, indicated that he had successfully adopted the mentality of a Demon and fully accepted the fact that he was no longer a human.

That was a good news for him, since there was a huge chance he would need to exterminate every human in this world in the future.

"Well... It has been three hours by the time we know it," Winerva remarked. "Your arm is very comforting, you know? I can even walk for days and nights without feeling tired if I can hug your arm."

"Is that a new way of flirting or are you just saying I make a good pillow?"

"Well... Being a husband requires you to be your wife\'s pillow, so... You can consider it both." She grinned.

"I have a wife—don\'t flirt with me," Layland said dryly.

"I am your wife... For today, at least."

"Touché."

Winerva tilted her head as she couldn\'t understand what Layland had just said, but immediately shrugged it off since it wasn\'t his first time saying something or doing something she didn\'t understand.

For the three hours they had spent exploring the Dukedom, while she had been busy tasting each of the delicacies the street vendors sold, he had been mapping out the escape route.

He drew the map on a piece of paper and wrote down the details about it in English. He had also been muttering in English from to time, so anyone would think he was just practicing a Spell when they looked at what he was doing.

He couldn\'t bother to really practice a Spell just to look genuine due to how bothersome it was. The language that Spells used, luckily, had something in common with English, which was the fact that none of the people in this world understood.

Because of that, no one would really know if he was just minding his own business, not practicing Spells.

"There are still two more hours before sunset—should we go back to the hotel and wait until the banquet?" Winerva asked.

"Well..."

Layland couldn\'t immediately answer. He had also finished his business, so technically, there was no need for him to explore the Dukedom anymore.

"Let\'s go to a clothing store first," he suggested. "We have to look presentable tonight, so no one will give us the eyes when we attend the banquet."

"Oh, that\'s a good idea! Coincidentally, the clothing store is the only place in this Dukedom that we haven\'t visited." Her eyes lit up before sinking down calmly. "Ah... I don\'t have the necessary money to buy the clothes."

"Why are you acting as if you have been paying for yourself?"

"Well... You know, all those foods and accessories you have bought me didn\'t cost you much, did them? I mean, clothes are an entirely different matter. None of them are cheap!"

"I have spent 300 Peculias for all of those foods and accessories," he retorted dryly.

"T-That much?"

"You don\'t need to widen your eyes in shock; I won\'t ask you to pay for them. I will also pay for your dress later, so consider yourself lucky that you have been chosen as my one day wife."

Cackling mischievously, she drew a circle on his back. "Just tell me that you want it. You don\'t need to bribe me with all of these luxuries just to—"

"Stop before I change my mind."

Winerva grinned and stuck out her tongue playfully. Layland faintly snorted in amusement at that as he wondered if she would be able to act like that when he revealed his identity later in the future.

Clink-clank!

Upon entering the fancy clothing store that they found, the bell that was put right above the door of the store chimed. Everyone\'s attention went to the door due to that, and many of them couldn\'t take their eyes off the couple.

Winerva was by no means bad looking. Together with Layland, who was extremely charming in everyone\'s eyes, they made an eye catching couple that evoked envy to those who looked at them.

Winerva enjoyed the look people gave them, but Layland didn\'t like that at all. He was intending to be just a normal couple after all, so being the center of attention annoyed him.

"Winerva... Is that you?"

At the familiar voice, Winerva turned her head to the direction the sound had come from in slight surprise. She found Yule, who was looking at her in confusion and scepticism.

"Yule? Where are the others? I have been exploring the Dukedom with my husband for the past hours, but I couldn\'t find all of you. Great to see you here!"

"Woah woah... What the heck is this husband crap?" Xenon showed herself, joining the conversation.

"W-What?! Winerva has only gone for three hours, but she has already married?!" Zoela chimed in.

Sighing lightly, Layland looked at Winerva emptily. That prompted her to smile nervously and explained the situation to her friends.

Her friends nodded their head in understanding after hearing her explanation, but they still found it absurd that she had just instantly agreed to Layland\'s offer.

When they considered how he looked however, they were convinced they would also do the same in her position, so they didn\'t say much.

...

On the other part of the Dukedom, Duke Niles Brontes, who had just finished talking to the Kingdom\'s Court, walked out of his private residence.

He had been discussing about the plan to give Demon King Ilschevar Verniculos one of the Kingdom\'s Holy Swords in exchange for his daughter\'s freedom.

The discussion hadn\'t been going well for the past two months. The Court was still reluctant to trade the Kingdom\'s Holy Sword with his daughter even though he had promised to give them many things in return.

Because of that, he needed some fresh air to clear his mind.

"Should I regret sacrificing my career as a Swordmaster for the Kingdom?" He mused. "I promise them my wealth for that Holy Sword that no one can even use so I can save my daughter, but none of them has shown me any sympathy so far."

Chuckling ironically, he muttered, "So much for the country that hails its Heroes. Oh, wait... I am not a Hero."

Smiling bitterly as he walked around his territory, by the time he knew it, he was already close to the least developed part of his territory—the slum area.

His daughter hated the place so much, she refused to come there before he did something to it. A small smile appeared on his face as he recalled how much his daughter hated him for not doing anything to help the people living there.

"Hello, little girl." Before long, he noticed a little girl watching him from the dark and smelly alley, which was the way to the slum area. "Do you need something from me?"

"... Handshake."

He could see the little girl was nervous and hesitating. She looked like she knew him, but she was unsure if he would be willing to shake hands with her.

Smiling softly at that, he approached the girl and extended his hand. The little girl fidgeted her scruffy feet for a few seconds, but eventually grasped his hand.

As soon as he shook the girl\'s hand, something that he could never forget happened.