Demonkin.
Humans transformed into demonkin.
Just as their causes vary wildly, so do their appearances and abilities.
Some sprout animal ears, horns, or tails.
Others have webbed fingers or joints bent like an animal's.
Kati was a demonkin who looked completely human except for her eyes.
She had ears and a tail, but she could hide them.
The eyepatch covered her unhideable cat eyes.
Her senses were keen enough to let her live and fight even with her eyes covered.
"Kati. Stop."
She was my personal bodyguard and the party's solo scout.
Charging in like a shadow was child's play for her.
"...Yes. Master."
Kati gave a short reply and stealthily withdrew.
It was a wary stance, on guard against the guard captain getting back up.
"I told you not to call me Master."
There had once been attempts to brainwash demonkin and turn them into soldiers.
The Demonkin Soldier Cultivation Project.
No one had ever succeeded.
Kati was one of the victims of those attempts.
I'd stumbled upon her while searching for hidden pieces to use, saved her by chance, and afterward, this clingy one had trailed after me.
Once she learned to speak, she'd called me Master ever since.
No matter how many times I told her that the master of her life was herself, she stayed the same.
"Yes. Understood."
"You say that every time."
The toppled guard captain staggered to his feet.
The other two guards, slow to grasp the situation, stood in awkward poses—half-drawing their weapons, half-unsure.
"How dare you lay hands on village guards?! You...!"
His dislocated shoulder dangled uselessly, robbing his words of any menace.
Just as the guard captain reached for his sword with his remaining arm...
"What's all this commotion?"
An elderly man emerged from inside, smiling kindly.
"Village chief..."
The guard captain hurriedly bowed his head.
The other two followed suit.
"He says he's a manager, here looking for aspirants."
"Aspirants?"
The village chief slowly nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"Must've heard some nonsense rumor. We'll chase him off right—"
"No. We have an honored guest. We must receive him properly."
"Y-Yes?"
Ignoring the baffled guard captain, the village chief addressed me.
"Please, allow me to escort you inside."
"So there are aspirants here? They were denying it up until a moment ago."
"It seems there was some mix-up within the village. Forgive this old man's incompetence."
Suspicious, but no reason to refuse.
"Lead the way."
The village chief took the lead.
The guard captain alternated confused glances between me and him.
Whatever.
Kati and I passed him without a care.
The other two guards stared at Kati, entranced, as if they'd forgotten the earlier scuffle.
A wide skirt reaching her knees, adorned with cute frills—a maid outfit.
A pair of daggers at her waist contrasted with the modest, wrist-covering attire.
This one who used to wear sleek leather armor...
What the hell is this?
"Kati. What's with the outfit? First time seeing it."
I whispered as I followed the village chief.
"If you don't like it, I'll take it off."
Demonkin thinking isn't exactly normal.
"No, don't. Please. It suits you... really suits you. Why the sudden change?"
"You said I could spend my money freely, Ian."
Taking my words literally, huh?
It was something I often said.
It's your money and your life—do what you want without minding me.
True, but...
"Hee hee hee..."
A strange sound came from my pocket.
I looked down to see Mercy stifling laughter and murmuring softly.
"Doesn't it suit her?"
"You dressed her up?"
"Yeah. She kept going 'Master this, Master that.' Thought it'd suit her."
...Fine. She can wear what she wants.
No point worrying about it.
The 'Master' thing was burdensome, but after years, it wasn't changing.
Telling her not to every time was practically our greeting.
More than that, even after all this time, Kati still startled me sometimes.
This mysterious woman with her expressionless face and covered eyes, rolling around biting my fingers like a cat.
Her personality shifted between cat and human form, enough to make me forget sometimes.
"Are you from the Managers' Guild, by any chance?"
The village chief walking ahead asked.
Managers' Guild? First I'd heard of it.
"No."
"I see. That's a relief."
Relief? About what?
And what was this Managers' Guild anyway?
My third playthrough time had been entirely sunk into the 1st Hero Party.
No spare moments to check what was happening elsewhere.
I'd look into it properly once back in the capital.
More importantly, why had a mana explosion happened in this peaceful village?
The village chief led us to a spacious meeting hall.
I barely restrained Kati, who was ready to charge in case it was a trap, and entered.
"By the way, Manager, have you ever managed other heroes or aspirants before?"
"Passed a few through my hands. Thinking of taking on a proper one this time."
"Excellent timing, then. We have just the prepared candidate."
Candidate?
25 wasn't a kid.
Best to see what happens first.
"Let's have a look."
The village chief smiled and beckoned a subordinate.
Soon, the man brought out a girl.
She hadn't shed her adolescent features yet, but her eyes burned with malice.
Her long sleeves hid it mostly, but bruises marred her visible wrists and hands.
I knew her type at a glance.
This one's no aspirant.
"I'm here for aspirants."
"Sharp eyes. But hear her story—you won't regret it."
The village chief then spun a long tale.
Most promising next-hero candidate in the village, village backing, and so on.
Unnecessary words.
I knew exactly what this was.
There are those who believe knights or archers can be forged through training alone, without spells or miracles.
I'd stake my third-playthrough life on it: they're wrong.
Sadly, the qualifications to become a hero—the superhuman awakening—is determined solely by luck.
Knights and archers use mana too, even if they don't rely on magic or miracles.
Mastering mana isn't something ordinary people can practice into.
"Though ordinary now, she'll soon awaken as a superhuman..."
"Enough."
The moment I cut him off...
"Village chief!"
Someone burst through the door.
"We have a guest right—"
"Sorry! But... Vivian's at it again with the kids..."
Vivian?
The kindly village chief's face hardened.
The name surprised me too, but I didn't show it.
"Apologies. If you'll excuse me for a moment..."
"Go ahead."
The village chief hurried out after a quick bow.
The girl before me fidgeted anxiously.
She glanced at me like she had something to say.
Vivian's name had already come up, so maybe probe a bit.
"Do you know who Vivian is?"
"...!"
At my question, the girl lunged forward, hand outstretched.
But Kati snatched her wrist, blocking her.
It wasn't remotely threatening...
"Kati, you're making it hard for me to do anything. Let her go."
"...Sorry."
The released girl eyed Kati warily before stepping before me.
She squirmed, clearly wanting to speak.
But even watching her gestures, I couldn't make sense of them.
"Can't speak?"
She shook her head and pointed to her mouth.
No way...
"Excuse me a sec."
I grasped her small chin and pulled her jaw down.
Her tongue bore the Seal of Silence.
Not a hard spell—takes time to cast, that's all.
No way Vivian...
"Might sting a bit."
I pressed my thumb to her tongue hard.
This much I could do.
"...!"
The girl squeezed her eyes shut and endured for seconds.
I pulled my finger away; the seal vanished.
"Ah, ah. Ah...!"
Startled by her own voice, she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Then she looked at me and spoke.
"A-Are you... a manager?"
"That's right."
"D-Did you come for Vivian sis?"
She knows something.
And seems willing to talk.
Come to think of it, Vivian's profile mentioned something about an orphanage teacher.
"Yeah. Know where she is?"
"Yes! I-I do! Please save Vivian sis!"
I recalled the line in Vivian's intro.
Save me. Short and to the point.
What the hell was going on in this village?
Vivian didn't seem to be the one who'd carved the seal, at least.
"Lead the way."
The girl rushed out of the meeting hall ahead of me, but a guard at the door blocked us.
"If you're leaving..."
No time to humor him—I knocked him out.
The startled girl paused only briefly before sprinting ahead again.
"This way!"
I followed, ignoring the villagers' stares.
In a corner of the village stood a large, rundown wooden mansion.
Several armed guards stood watch before it.
The atmosphere was tense.
"She's in there! Sis has to be!"
Commotion stirred inside the mansion.
Shouts like a fight echoed out.
I slowed a few steps away, observing.
One of the guards recognized me.
The pair who'd blocked me at the entrance.
"Turn back! You're not allowed here!"
No time for tussling.
"Kati."
At my call, the two guards crumpled forward.
Kati stood between them in an instant, drawing their swords and hurling them away.
"Wha-wha...?"
The girl gaped at the sight.
Kati had gone from right beside her to there in a blink—worthy of shock.
I'd been the same at first.
"Stay here with Mercy and guard the entrance."
"Yes. Be careful."
"You too."
Mercy, who'd shifted to Kati, added her piece.
I nodded lightly and opened the door.
The girl stuck close behind me as we entered.
"You fucking bitch! How many times is this?!"
Harsh curses flew at us.
Inside was dim and musty.
No dust, but the stale smell of an old house lingered.
I flung the door wide, revealing the people within.
All kids.
Even younger than the girl behind me.
Grimy clothes, filth-smeared faces, skinny limbs.
The crying, terrified children all stared one way.
"Tell me where you sent them right now!"
A slap rang out with the shout.
Thud—someone collapsed.
The striker was that guard captain from before.
A burly, rough-looking man.
A few watching kids grabbed his legs.
"Don't hit her...!"
"Ugh, you bug-like brats!"
Others clung to the fallen figure.
Long red hair—that was all I could see.
The girl who'd been hiding stepped forward.
"What are you doing to Vivian sis?!"
Vivian? The redhead?
"You little shits... Huh? Why's that here?"
The guard captain muttered upon spotting me.
Meanwhile, the girl drew a wooden sword and charged.
The village chief hadn't been exaggerating after all.
Her form wasn't bad.
Everything else was.
Malnourished, injured body, poor equipment.
Her wooden sword jabbed the guard captain—but to no effect.
An ordinary person with a wooden sword, no matter the training.
Not even a scratch on his leather armor.
"Guh!"
The girl tumbled away from the hit.
The guard captain drew his sword and glared at me.
"Here for this woman, right?"
"Seems like it. If she's Vivian."
The redheaded woman slightly lifted her head.
Seemed to look this way, but messy hair hid her eyes.
"Don't know what you want with trash like this, but she's not yours."
"Hm. Did I need your permission?"
"You cocky little shit—!"
The guard captain charged.
Hiding my identity had upsides—like avoiding big incidents.
Downside: getting dragged into petty squabbles like this.
I leisurely observed his slow approach.
A thrusting stance.
His left arm, broken by Kati earlier, hung unstable.
Still three steps away.
Having once been a hero, surrounded daily by Kati and the 1st Hero Party...
Ordinary folk just moved slow.
As the guard captain thrust his sword out straight...
I slapped the flat of the blade with my palm.
Crack! The sword snapped.
The broken tip stabbed into the floor.
"..."
The guard captain froze mid-thrust.
Only his eyes shook like there was an earthquake.
"Told you not to draw it."
*
For the children's mental health, I didn't do anything more damaging.
Handed him off to Kati outside; she'd handle it.
I wove through the kids, their gazes a mix of fear and curiosity, and approached the redheaded woman.
Her once-lustrous hair was now dry and brittle.
Her exposed limbs resembled rotten twigs.
Fragile enough to snap at a touch.
Beneath her dirt-blackened face, grass-green eyes looked up at me.
Faint freckles across her nose made her seem younger.
Red hair, freckles, green eyes.
Like a strawberry.
"Thank you..."
She bowed her head in greeting.
"Vivian?"
She nodded.
A few kids circled her protectively, wary I might harm her.
That wariness was a good sign.
Looked like an orphanage. Earning trust from kids in this harsh environment...
Only a good person could manage that.
So someone else must've carved the Seal of Silence.
Anyone could cast it with a scroll.
Still, in this situation, bringing up 'manager' felt off.
"Um..."
"Hungry, right?"
I cut her off.
"Let's eat first."
She blinked in surprise at the out-of-left-field suggestion.
Too surprised, maybe.
Was 'let's eat' that shocking?
She blinked in disbelief, then slowly spoke.
"Are you, perhaps..."
At that moment, noise erupted from outside.