Myrilla didn’t come at breakfast, so at the very least, we could have a relatively peaceful meal early in the morning, even if my tongue couldn’t really taste anything Mother had cooked. I noticed that Sherry was just as nervous as me, just from the fact that she didn’t ask for an extra omelette like she usually did.
Just after we finished, the demoness arrived. She told us to all gather outside, refusing to say anything else until we did.
“Alright, now that we’re all here…”
Dammit, she really knows how to put the tension, isn’t she?
“Sherry, step forward please.”
I could easily tell that she was the most nervous out of all of us. Her entire small frame was practically shaking, with her hands balled up into fists.
Gulp. Just tell us already goddamnit!
“Congratulations, Sherry.” She smiled a little. “Or, should I say, Sherry Izurdia.”
Sherry’s expression then was an expression I would never forget for the rest of my life.
—–
She then explained everything there was to know about the Izurd race. About how they were a demon race feared for their monstrous physical strength and their rage-filled bloodlust. They would cut and skewer their opponents without mercy. At their peak, you could send other monsters running just from the knowledge of you being an Izurd. But over the years, they had declined severely in numbers, after the knowledge of their weakness, their Kryptonite, so to speak, was spread all over the Demon Continent.
Humiliation, especially that of a sexual nature.
If rage increased their strength, sexual humiliation decreased it, to the point that they would just be like a normal human.
Once the other demons knew that fact, the Izurd stood no chance. The pride they once had in their power disappeared overnight, and they were humiliated to the ground, figuratively and literally. Demons skilled in that kind of stuff like the incubi and the succubi were key to their destruction.
And now, they had to live under the protection of the Fey, with their numbers so much lower from where it used to.
My mind immediately went to an image of Sherry being wrapped around by black tentacles, helpless as her strength had left her. And then, an incubi would stand in front of her. With a lecherous grin, he would—
Aaah! T-that’s bad! Really bad! Ooh, I have to make sure to make her stay away from perverted monsters like that as far as possible!
It didn’t help that their hair was a prized item. Apparently, you could use it as material to forge powerful swords and armors. And they said that the hair of the strongest Izurds was even better than the legendary Mythril at the job.
It was all thanks to the fact that an Izurd could use their hair as a weapon. They could manipulate it at will, using it as sharp blades that could cut even steel.
Their hair was their horns and tails. It was their demonic trait; a smooth and glossy black hair that could move on its own.
When Myrilla finished her explanation, Sherry was completely silent. She was staring at the ends of her hair that she had bunched up together with her hands.
“I can take you there. To the Demon Continent, and to the hidden village where most of the remaining Izurd live. They’re a long-lived race. 500 years isn’t odd for them. You would surely find your relatives there, even if your father and mother aren’t there.”
And there it was. The offer.
Sherry looked up—fear, confusion, and disbelief drawn on her young face.
“T-truly?”
“Yes, truly. The Nerthus, the race I belong to, we’re quite good friends with the Izurd. So I know the way there, and the way through the Fey enchantment protecting the village.”
“I wouldn’t say it would be an easy journey though. It would be a long and tiresome one, especially for someone as inexperienced and young as you. We would have to cross to the Holy Continent first, then take another ship from there to go to the Demon Continent. And after that, it’s another long walk to where the village is.”
“You wouldn’t return here for years to be sure.”
Sherry’s eyes widened. And me as well.
Years of not seeing her? That’s…
“Of course, that is, if you still prefer living here amongst the humans instead of there with your own flesh and blood. I’m sure once you’re there, they would take care of you really well. Their numbers are small after all, so every new Izurd child is precious to them.”
“I have no idea how you could end up in a human orphanage all the way out here. And it wouldn’t be in my place to speculate. Ask your relatives there. They would surely have some insight to give you on the matter. Oh, and they would also be able to train you to control your hair. You still can’t do it, can you? Most Izurdian kids your age are already able to do it by the way. Alan certainly wouldn’t be able to teach you in the matter.”
She paused, seemingly judging Sherry’s reaction to her words.
“Think about it. If you still want to live with humans after you meet with your relatives, then I’ll be willing to take you back here straight away. It’s not like I got anything better to do after all,” she added with a wry smile.
To my surprise however, she looked at me afterwards. “So, you’re the boy she likes.”
Wait, how did she—
“Oh, don’t look so surprised. Being a Nerthus, I can also read the minds around me.” As she said that, her antennae lit up. “And I certainly sense a strong adoration radiating from her towards you. And a terrible feeling of guilt and fear when she thought about leaving you behind to go with me to the Demon Continent.” Looking back at her, she continued, “You don’t want to be separated from him, do you? And you’re afraid of being seen as ungrateful if you just leave the family that has adopted you?”
Sherry nodded to both.
“And yet, I also sense a feeling of desire. And exasperation as well. You want to be strong, don’t you? You hate how the gap between you and the boy you like is only growing more and more as the days pass.”
Sherry nodded again.
“Hah, to think a little girl such as you could already possess such a feeling… This world truly is getting more absurd at each passing day.”
“I-it’s not absurd at all!” Sherry suddenly yelled. It seemed she thought Myrilla was mocking her. “Hugo saved me! It’s not odd at all for me to like him for it, is it?!”
“…Saved you, huh?” Myrilla replied, now with a full-blown smirk. “I too saved your adopted father a long time ago yet he never fell in love with me for it.” She gave a look towards Father, who only responded with a regretful look on his face.
At this point, she had transformed into a completely different person than the one I had met yesterday.
“Then all the more reason to go there. Who else is better to teach an Izurd like you to control her hair than another Izurd after all?”
Sherry remained silent, looking away from her. I couldn’t tell what her expression was.
“I will wait for your answer. A week from now, I shall pay another visit before I depart back to the Demon Continent.”
And with that offer, she ended her speech. She turned and began to walk away, but not before Mother stopped her with a furious look on her face, pulling at her shoulder with her right hand, forcing her to turn around.
“You! What are you trying to pull off?”
“Oh, is it wrong for her to be with her family? I simply gave her the opportunity, that’s all. It is up to her whether she would take it or not,” she replied, returning once more to her calm demeanor, though I could still definitely sense the cheekiness behind her words.
“Are you saying that we’re not her family? She might be an Izurd but she’s still my daughter! All these years I’ve taken care of her as if she’s my own and now you’re telling her that she should leave on a dangerous, godforsaken journey with you just so she can be with her distant relatives that she knows nothing about? Have you lost your senses, Myrilla?”
“You’re the one that has lost your senses, Renee,” she replied coolly. “She’s a demon. She can never truly get along with your kind. Even if she gains their respect and adoration, or even love, she will eventually realize how different she is from them. As her husband and children and neighbor grow old and die, she would still be as youthful as ever. She would have to suffer many separations, breaking her heart to little pieces in the process. No, it would be much better for her if she lives with her own kind.”
The “Tragedy of Long Life” trope… It’s something that keeps popping up in various fantasy romances, though naturally only in the more serious and drama-oriented works.
I used to be somewhat of a fan of it. There’s just something deliciously tragic about being separated by time, having to watch your lover die wrinkled and old while you’re still young. Or even the tragedy of being a mother who has to bury her own aging child.
But now—now I’m actually in a fantasy world where it can very much happen…
I-I don’t know… And I don’t want to think about it…
What would I do if I were in Sherry’s position… if I was a long-lived demon and I had fallen in love with a human woman… Would I avoid her and keep my love only for my own kind? Or would I start a family with her anyways, even knowing the unavoidable tragedy that waits at the end?
Before I could finish my thoughts, I was brought back to reality by Mother replying to Myrilla with another shout.
“Ah, I see it now! This is because of Alan, isn’t in? You think he rejected you over me because you’re a demon? Don’t project your own close-mindedness into him! It’s exactly this sour, somber personality of yours that he dislikes!”
Mom! You can’t just—
Too late. Just as I feared, Myrilla immediately snapped the moment Mother finished her speech. She slapped her with her left hand, leaving a notable redness on Mother’s right cheek.
“How dare you! You know nothing about Alan! I traveled with him far longer than you! It’s only because of you that he… he…”
Her voice trailed off. The always composed woman… was now crying. Her tears dripped down her cheeks, as she looked away, trying to hide it from everyone, especially Mother.
Quickly, she wiped herself with her robe. Looking towards Father, she said with a bitter smile, “This is why I am so reluctant to come. For a demon, twelve years is just a blink of an eye. The ache in my heart… it still refuses to heal.”
With another glance towards Sherry, she left for real this time. Using a wind spell, she blasted herself away from the scene. Wait, isn’t that my spell she’s using, only she’s better at it?
I turned back and saw Father putting his hand on Mother’s shoulder. My attention then switched to Sherry, who was clearly still shocked by all that information that she just received.
I have to comfort her!
Before I could do so however, our eyes crossed, and immediately, she bolted, not to chase after Myrilla, but to another direction entirely.
Goddamnit she’s running away again!
I had enough of this! I decided to chase after her. Using my own Wind spell, I should be able to keep up with her speed.
I didn’t say anything as I left Father and Mother, only giving them the look that pretty much told her that I was going to chase after her.
—–
Sherry eventually led me to the nearby forest. She was even faster than I thought. I couldn’t catch up to her, only able to tail her from behind.
Thanks to the thick woods, I immediately lost her. Not for long however, I heard a familiar yell coming from right in front of me between the trees.
When I arrived, Sherry put the last finishing blow to a giant wolf with her sword, decapitating its head from its body with a single swing. Around her were several other giant wolves in a similar state.
Blood. She was covered with blood from top to bottom. I could only imagine that it all came from the wolves she just killed. Her black hair was stained with it as well, making her bangs fall forward.
When she noticed me, she turned to face and let out a dry laugh.
“Hello, Hugo! Like how I look? This is how demons should look, aren’t they?”
I couldn’t help but flinch. The sight in front of me… was it even the Sherry I knew?
“Oh, I never told you, have I? Whenever I got really angry, I would come here and slaughter the monsters here. Like this. I haven’t done it in a long while though. Not ever since you kindly took me in.” She now smiled wryly, before looking at her bloodied sword. “Ah, I need to clean this. Your father always told me to take care of my sword well. Can’t sheathe it when it’s all bloody like this.”
Using the remaining clean part of her skirt, she rubbed the blood from the sword. “Well, I have to clean it better later. But for now, this will have to do.” She then put it back on its sheath at last.
“You know, I always think it’s odd for me to like killing monsters like this. But now I know that there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m a demon after all. An Izurd. Monstrous beings that enjoy slaughter and carnage.”
“T-that’s not true, you’re not—”
“What am I not?” She interrupted me. “My violent temper. It’s also part of my heritage. I grow stronger because of it, so I should have been cultivating it, instead of trying to dam it inside my heart.”
She paused, now looking away from me.
“I am not the poor, unfortunate girl that you think I am, Hugo. I am a demon child, abandoned by my own parents at birth. If you ask me, they should’ve just thrown me into a river instead.”
Hearing her say that, for some reason, my blood immediately boiled.
I walked up to her without hesitation, and slapped her right on her face.
“Don’t you ever say that again!”
Anger had completely overtaken me. Tears were starting to fall from my eyes.
“Your life doesn’t just belong to you, you know! So don’t you ever say you’re going to just throw it away like that! So what if you’re a demon? You’re still my friend and family! You’re Sherry! And nothing will ever change that!”
I now knew why I was so angry—she talking about wanting her parents to drown her like that, it reminded me of my own attempt at taking my own life. How many times I hoped I hadn’t been born when I was still in that pit of despair?
Sherry was nothing like my pathetic old self. She’s just a nine year old kid with a bright future ahead of her. To hear her talking like that, I couldn’t forgive her for it. I couldn’t just let it slide.
If she starts to think like that, then she will slide into the same hole that I couldn’t escape from.
“Uuuu-uwaahhhh!”
She threw herself onto me, hugging me as she sobbed on my chest.
I didn’t let go until she did. I didn’t care that she was covered in monster blood, or that she smelled absolutely terrible. I even gently rubbed the back of her head.
Even when covered in blood, her hair remains as smooth as ever.
She needed me, and I would be here for her.
Really, a kid like her shouldn’t act so tough. So let it all out, Sherry, let it all out.
—–
When she finished, it must have been a good ten minutes or so. She really could cry a lot when she let go of her tough facade.
“Now, let’s go back, shall we? We both clearly need to take a bath now.” I let out a chuckle.
“S-sorry about that…” She smiled sheepishly in return. “I really shouldn’t have hugged you like that.
“Oh, don’t worry,” I returned. “If you need a hug, I’ll always be willing to give one.” I grinned. “Who wouldn’t be happy receiving a hug from a cute girl like you after all?” I decided to add a little flirting to lighten the mood.
“C-cute?” Yep! She immediately blushed. “Y-you still think I’m cute, even after knowing I’m not a human like you?”
“Of course! Cuteness isn’t bound by race after all!” I grinned. “In fact, it’s your demon heritage that makes you even cuter, Sherry. Your silky smooth long hair that always looks and feels good no matter the situation… many girls would kill to have such a hair on their heads, you know.”
“R-really?”
“Yes, really! Many guys would love to play with such hair! Including me!” I admitted proudly.
Now that I think about it, I’m kinda starting to sound like a hair fetishist here…
It’s not a lie though. Her hair really is pleasant to play with…
“H-hmph! Alright then! If you like my hair so much, then I’ll let you play it with more! So come! We’ll take a bath together!”
She took my hand and dragged me back home, all with a blush on her cheeks.
I smiled once more. Now this is more like the Sherry I know!
Still, I feel bad for slapping her like that. I’m certainly not into doing that to girls! I just feel I need to do it to send the message to her, you know.
I just hope that this would be the last time I did it to her.
