This is strange.
So very strange.
Strange, you say...?
Every being here is a Demon.
Ninjas, swordsmen, a martial artist who just finished a game of Go, an apothecary—even the martial artist’s wife.
They all look human, but in truth, they are Demons who fear the sunlight and prey on people.
Yet, they do not eat humans.
On the contrary, they hunt other Demons.
And they told me not to eat humans, either.
Why?
Why are these Demons—symbols of greed, destined to thirst for human blood—saving people instead?
A Demon’s life, as I conceived it, was nothing like this...
One thing is certain, however.
I watched Ume with her cheeks puffed out, stuffing meat into her mouth.
"Munch munch. Brother...?"
She’s so bloated she might just burst.
My dim-witted sister seems to have already been won over by the food.
But why is this meat so delicious...?
It’s just grilled, yet why does it taste so good...?
Three wives, too—all so skilled at cooking, and so strong.
Haaah.
Ume seems to like it here, too...
He saved our lives, so I don’t dislike this place, and I have no intention of defying his orders.
.....
Still, it doesn't feel right.
‘A family that will share a pot of rice from now on.’
Family.
A revolting, unfamiliar echo.
Because the only one I could ever call family was Ume.
I knew nothing of the man who fathered me.
The woman I called mother tried to kill me and resorted to violence against Ume, even trying to cut her hair.
Thus, I had no such thing as a family.
The only person I ever made a promise to was Ume.
To me, the term “family” rang hollow.
And.
We do not eat humans.
We do not kill humans.
We do not take what belongs to humans.
Then where am I to pour out this seething emotion?
I am Gyutaro.
I am Gyutaro, the one who tracks down every debt to the ends of the earth to exact payment.
Weren’t Demons originally creatures that preyed upon the weak, greedily seizing everything?
Thus, one must plunder.
Thus, one must collect.
I intended to claim back more than I had suffered, more than was stolen from me.
But why must I save the very beings I once stripped bare?
I just...
This does not sit right with me.
I cannot understand that gentleman grilling meat before my eyes, either.
Perhaps he simply wants to play house.
Or maybe he’s rearing us as tools to harvest other Demons.
It is all beyond my comprehension.
@@@
"You look like you’re deep in thought."
After being soundly beaten in a so-called sparring match by the ninja named Uzui, I lay sprawled on the ground when Nari approached me.
Why are ninjas so strong, jeez!
Every attack... has these little flourishes.
By the way, thoughts.
....
Life here isn’t so bad.
The food is good, the house is warm, and all we have to do is beat Demons to a pulp.
It’s far better than the pleasure district.
Even if my simple-minded sister says something rude or shirks her duties, no one strikes her or scolds her here.
All we must refrain from is eating humans or Demons; Nari’s grilled meat and blood sausage stew are enough to sustain us.
So.
That’s how it is.
That is why I feel strange.
That is why I feel odd.
Can I say it aloud?
This feeling seething deep in my chest.
Can I speak of it to this man?
Even if I unleash my complaints, he wouldn’t harm Ume anyway.
That is why these feelings are so unpleasant.
When I look at how he treats us here...
When I see that face of his, my emotions become strangely altered.
For in our world, no such thing as kindness existed.
"That’s just how I am..."
I sat up and looked at him.
"Since Nari saved us, I haven’t said much..."
I do not like this.
Not this situation.
Nor my own position.
I am Gyutaro.
"I am Gyutaro! The one who collects his due from those who’ve wronged him!"
I am the Gyutaro who collects every debt owed.
But why must I save humans, and refrain from devouring them?
Those humans—creatures who never once lent us a hand.
Why are we to save them?
"To be honest... I don’t want to save people!"
I don’t want to save them.
They laugh as if to say they’re happy while we are miserable.
I cannot forgive those who appear happier than us.
That is why I became a Demon.
To claim everything from those happier than us.
To make them as miserable as we were.
"Nari will hate this, I’m sure. We cannot abide those happier than us!"
I spoke to him like a petulant child.
He is, at the very least, on the humans’ side.
Surely he would take offense at my thoughts.
Yet half the reason I broached the subject was to vent, and the other half was to gauge the man before me.
I simply cannot fathom his mind.
Why does he show us such favor?
In our world, no kindness came without a price.
People bestowed favors only because they wanted something—Ume’s looks, or my strength—there was always a hidden motive.
It’s not as if he wants nothing from us, but other than his one command not to eat humans, there is nothing else.
I wondered if it was for Ume’s beauty, but there was no hint of lust in his gaze or in the way he treated her.
Then, for what reason does he show us such favor?
He is the one who saved our lives, and he is far stronger than we are—he could do as he pleased.
Yet whenever I look at him,
I am filled only with a baffling irritation.
If his kindness is mere hypocrisy and he plans to kill me,
I would seize Ume and bolt at once.
For humans do not tolerate those whose thoughts differ from their own.
At least, that is how the people I’ve known were.
Though whether I could actually escape is another matter entirely.
However.
"Is that so?"
His response was unexpected.
"Then what is it that you desire?"
Desire?
It felt like a completely random question.
"Is it simply that you wish to claim everything from those happier than you?"
I nodded.
"Because I am Gyutaro...!"
At my words, he chuckled softly.
"What a greedy creature you are."
There was no anger in his tone.
It felt as though he were watching a child’s antics.
A look I could never have seen in my human days.
The sensation was even stranger.
Those eyes of his.
Watching them made my irritation surge.
No one in our world had ever looked at me that way.
It made me feel so uncomfortable.
"I do not know what sort of lives you’ve led. From the state in which I found you, I can guess enough, but I will not pity you—that is surely not what you desire."
Then, with measured steps, he moved to the wooden floor and sat down.
I followed and sat beside him.
"Where does that greed of yours end?"
My greed, he meant.
"Everywhere."
All of it.
"Until I can no longer see another person happier than us, my greed will not cease."
I want to snatch it all away.
I want to claim it all.
For we were so miserable.
I wished to take everything from those who seemed happy.
"Is that so?"
He nodded in acknowledgment.
I could not read this man’s mind at all.
If he truly cares for humans, should I not be disposed of for having such thoughts?
Wait, why am I spilling all my thoughts to this man?
I only meant to probe his mind.
"But tell me: this boundless greed you possess—is it for your own sake?"
.....
Is the greed I have truly for myself?
Of course.
This boundless greed is for me.
For me alone.
Until now, I have only been robbed; I will claim everything from others and make it mine...
But.
Those words would not come.
Truly, the greed that I have...
This desire to seize everything...
‘If it’s just the two of us, we’re unstoppable. No cold, no hunger can touch us. I promise we’re together forever. We’ll never part. Now, nothing can scare us, right?’
This greed I carried as Gyutaro...
Was it really for myself...?
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