WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B

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◈ Whispers of a Scheming Demon ◈

Chapter 1: The Demon Whispers

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The farmers stirred at the sudden proposal.

"D-Don't listen to it."

"It's surely trying to beguile us!"

"But..."

They could not help being tempted. A deal with a demon brought prosperity to a household. If they paid the proper price, even this cramped granary could be filled as generously as a noble's storehouse.

"Don't be absurd. Do you all want to twist up, wither, and die?"

A man stepped out from the crowd of farmers. He did not look like a frontier villager. He resembled a trained soldier.

The farmers turned their eyes toward him.

The man spoke again.

"The moment we make a contract with that demon, we'll become living corpses. Our souls will be gnawed away until we're discarded like rags."

A demon's sorcery might aid farming, but it demanded human souls or lives as sacrifices.

In the end, it would lead to ruin.

The farmers watched the man carefully and nodded.

"R-Right. Making a deal with a demon... God would be angered as well."

"Of course. Let's deal with this wicked monster quickly."

"Before the Church notices."

There was no reason for the Church to dispatch holy knights to such a remote place. Normally, that was.

But what if an exception occurred? The village of Taharan might be destroyed not by a demon, but by humans.

Everyone flinched, their shoulders trembling in fear.

Johan was not entirely at ease either. The arrival of that massive man had completely turned public opinion against him. At this rate, Johan could not avoid death.

'Come on, brain. Work.'

The more urgent the situation, the calmer Johan had to be. He could not look lost or helpless. The moment the villagers saw Johan as weak, they would kill him.

Johan did not want to die unjustly without even knowing how he had come to possess this body.

He needed information. Johan thoroughly examined everything in sight.

Their shabby clothes, old rusted farming tools, stacks of straw, the crumbling storehouse... None of it had any value as information.

Most farms in this novel probably looked just like this.

To get out of this situation, Johan needed something that set this place apart.

As Johan quickly looked around, an old, hoarse voice came from the crowd.

"So, Gaf, what do you think we should do with this half-breed?"

An old man was sitting on a pile of straw. He lightly poked the soldier-like man with his cane.

...Gaf?

A flash went through Johan's mind. It was an extremely familiar name.

Gaf, captain of the Kandea Mercenary Company. He was a fairly important character in the novel.

After losing all his subordinates through his own mistake, he fell into despair and settled in a remote village.

That was how Johan remembered it.

It was probably a common enough premise. That was not why Gaf was a notable character.

The reason was his daughter.

Great Witch Ilea. She was the one who made Gaf significant.

The moment Johan heard Gaf's name, he fell into thought.

There had to be some way to use this.

While Johan considered it, the old man spoke again.

"Gaf, I asked what you thought."

Gaf looked at the old man.

"We should deal with it as soon as possible. Before it brings disaster upon us."

"Of course, but the problem is how, isn't it?"

One of the farmers joined their conversation.

"Let's burn it! Along with its mother!"

Gaf and the old man shook their heads at the same time.

The old man spoke.

"Foolish. Demons leave curses behind when they die. Nothing grows in land soaked with black blood, and the smoke rising from a burned demon draws other demons here. Everyone knows that."

The farmer looked puzzled.

"Village Chief, I know that too. But doesn't that only apply to high-ranking demons? That thing is just a newborn whelp that cannot even walk yet."

The village chief clicked his tongue.

"Tch. You have knots for eyes."

Then he pointed at Johan.

"Look at its forehead. A newborn whelp has a horn."

A pure white horn protruded from Johan's forehead. It was only the size of a fingernail, but a single horn was unmistakably a threatening symbol of demons.

The farmers began to stir the instant the village chief finished speaking.

"What horn...?"

"Look there! That tiny thing!"

Upon closer inspection, they really could see it.

Everyone took several steps back from Johan.

"I-If we can't kill it, then what are we supposed to do?!"

"Village Chief, please give us an answer!"

The village chief was one of the wiser people in the village and had some knowledge of demons.

All the villagers waited for his decision.

"We must abandon it in Death Gorge."

It was Gaf who answered instead.

The village chief nodded as though he agreed.

"That is the most suitable alternative."

The farmers swallowed uneasy groans.

"Death Gorge..."

"Are you serious?"

The village chief nodded.

"There is no other way. If we kill it, disaster will strike us. If we hide it, the Church will discover it. It will only be a matter of time."

He slowly looked over the farmers.

"We must leave it in Narak. Who will go?"

Everyone watched one another. No one volunteered.

Death Gorge, Narak, was a place more terrifying to humans than hell itself. It was a remnant of the Holy War. The echoes of the great war that had taken place five hundred years ago still lingered there.

Ordinary humans could not even approach it. They would suffocate on demonic energy before they got close.

One farmer muttered,

"...You're telling us to kill ourselves."

The village chief clicked his tongue.

"We only need to load it onto a boat and send it off at the right tide."

A small river ran near Death Gorge.

If someone set the baby afloat upstream and let it drift downstream, the village chief's solution would work.

Even so, no one stepped forward. Safety aside, simply accompanying a demon was unpleasant.

"Haven't you been idle lately? You could pick up work from the lord while you're there..."

"What are you talking about? My cowshed broke two days ago, and I need to repair it. Wouldn't you be better suited for it? You know the roads, after all."

"What roads do I know?"

Everyone passed the task on to someone else. An uncomfortable atmosphere settled over the gathering.

Johan, however, felt differently.

He felt hope.

The name Death Gorge supported the hypothesis Johan had been building.

This had to be the southern part of the kingdom.

Furthermore, judging from Gaf's visible age, Johan could roughly infer when he had possessed this body.

This was the opening of Ilea's arc in the novel.

It was enough information to solve this crisis.

Just as Johan reached that conclusion, Gaf stepped closer.

"I'll go."

The village chief slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

"You will?"

"Yes. I will abandon this half-breed."

The villagers looked embarrassed but secretly relieved.

"Gaf is trustworthy."

"Please do it. As you know, it's harvest season."

"We owe you one."

Ignoring the empty courtesies coming from all around him, Gaf looked down at the infant demon.

"Don't try to be clever. You cannot escape."

At this rate, Johan would be abandoned in Death Gorge. Even with the information from the novel, he had no way to survive that horrific land.

Johan was still a helpless infant.

The village chief, who had been watching, spoke.

"You should leave immediately. You will arrive in four days."

Gaf nodded and extended his large hand. Just as he was about to seize the baby's nape, Johan spoke with an utterly relaxed expression.

"You'll regret this."

Gaf furrowed his brow.

"What bullshit..."

"You haven't even heard my proposal yet."

"Shut up. We will not sell our souls for temporary gain."

With that, Gaf tore his shirt apart.

"We have a long way to go, and I don't intend to listen to your bullshit the whole time. I'll shut that disgusting mouth of yours."

He brought the torn cloth toward the demon's mouth.

Johan paid it no mind.

"Temporary, you say. Who told you that? Or is getting back a lost child only a momentary happiness to you?"

The farmers stirred the instant Johan finished speaking.

"W-What?!"

"What did that demon just say?!"

"It said something about children..."

Even Gaf's expression wavered.

The probe had worked. Johan stifled his relief.

Just as Johan had expected, children were disappearing from this village.

The Taharan village disappearance case. It was the same as the beginning of the original story.

Gaf clenched his fist.

"This wicked half-breed has peered into our hearts! Do not be deceived!"

Then he grabbed Johan by the nape and lifted him.

"If you say another word, I will tear out your tongue!"

The man before Johan was a mercenary who had made a living by killing. As a modern person, Johan could not help finding the murderous look in his eyes intimidating.

Honestly, Johan was afraid, but barely endured it.

Johan gave nothing away and simply said calmly,

"Ilea."

At the same time, Gaf's gaze wavered.

Johan did not miss his reaction. With a faint sneer, he continued.

"Yes, your daughter Ilea. She disappeared too, did she not?"

Gaf's entire body slowly began to tremble.

Johan added in a sinister voice,

"Now then, can you still tear out this tongue?"

If he did, Gaf would never learn where his daughter was.

"G-Gaf! That demon just spoke your daughter's name!"

"I heard it clearly too. Ilea!"

"How could that name come from its mouth...?"

Their reactions varied, but they all looked bewildered.

Held in Gaf's grasp, Johan slowly looked over the villagers.

"Many of you here are likely in the same position as Gaf. You have lost precious children. Have you believed they were dead? You are mistaken. Your daughters are alive and well."

Confusion appeared on the faces of everyone gathered there.

How could a newborn whelp know the village's circumstances, much less name Ilea? And the demon had declared that the missing children were alive.

The villagers were too stunned to close their mouths. Even the village chief's face was turning pale.

After watching their reactions, Johan spoke again.

"You can meet your children again. That should be enough reason to speak with me."

Then he looked directly at Gaf.

"Gaf, are you not curious where Ilea is?"

Gaf bit down on his lip. Red blood seeped out.

"...How do you know?"

Had this creature truly looked into his heart? Or else...

Someone shouted,

"L-Let's at least hear it out!"

"Yes! We have nothing to lose!"

Johan curled his lips into a grin.

"Nothing in this world is free."

Deals with demons always demanded a price.

"So let us exchange."

Eyes redder than blood stared directly at the villagers.

"What will you give me?"

Demons were creatures that beguiled humans. Enticing proposals and irresistible temptations. If people listened to their words, they would eventually find themselves walking toward a precipice.

Johan knew that nature of demons well, and he hated them too, but right now, Johan had no choice but to play the part of one.

Because he needed to live.

This was far more efficient than begging and pleading for his life.

Johan's lips formed a sinister arc. Open malice flowed from them.

Or at least, it appeared to.

"Now, answer me. What will you pay as the price?"

The villagers swallowed hard.

At some point, they had begun listening to the demon's whispers.

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