Alberto Begins to Move
Ten minutes after the war between the demon king’s Rannu and Beria ended…
The me, after being freed from the slave magic, was walking through a forest near the demon lord Rannu’s castle.
Although the war ended, it ended recently, so most of Beria’s forces still are near the castle.
In order not to get involved in troubles, it’s better if I move away a little.
Even from the forest you can still see the smoke rising from the burning castle.
The survivors must be fighting the fire.
I appreciate your effort.
Even so…
Although I should be used to such sight, it feels very fresh.
It should be a slightly gloomy forest you can find anywhere, but now that my mind is clear, it feels brighter than usual.
(Freedom sure is wonderful)
I’m enjoying the elasticity feeling of stepping on wet soil.
Since I’m naked, the sensation of the soil is transmitted to me directly.
(Uhaa~ Sticky, super sticky, but… it’s not a bad feeling. )
I continue walking in a good humor.
But just when it seemed as if I had walked almost two hundred meters into the forest…
「…Right」
「Yes, I think it’s the safest option」
Upon hearing voices, I tried to approach…
(Eh? They are not…?)
A mass of gray things were in front.
Gargoyles, the same race as me, had gathered.
Everyone has a serious expression.
It seems that they were discussing something.
They have yet to notice me.
(Wait… It’s no use observing them. )
It’s not fun at all to observe my own race.
Let’s try talking with them.
This is a good opportunity, after all, I have regained my freedom.
If I think about the future, it’s important to have connections with other members of my race.
Also, I will be able to improve my communication skills.
I try to arm myself with courage when trying to enter their circle.
My heart starts beating and beating faster. But the other party is a junior, everything’s alright, let’s get going.
Wait… If I try to overact like a senior, they may feel intimidated.
I have to be friendly but with enough attitude so they don’t make light of me.
…So difficult.
I’ve already came out, now it’s all or nothing.
「H-Hey guys, what are you talking about?」
I bit my tongue.
It can’t be helped, it’s been 1,500 years since I’ve talked to someone.
The gargoyles realize my presence and look at me.
Afterwards, for some reason the gargoyles frowns.
What’s with that attitude, and after I tried my best to talk to them. What a rude bunch of people.
Are they wary of me because I’m an old type of gargoyle?
（I didn’t say anything strange, right? Okay, I bit my tongue when talking, but you all don’t have to be so mean… I’m a little shocked now. ）
No matter how much I see them, I can’t distinguish one from the other.
They all have the same size and the same face.
All the gargoyles in front of me were almost the same height as me, almost two meters tall, but unlike me they had thicker limbs and their skin tone was a grey almost reaching black.
But unlike them, I have a slender figure and my skin is a gray almost reaching white, and those differences stand out.
Their bodies which seemed like a black ore already worn-out, gave the impression of being rusty and rough.
The silence continued for a while, but the one who seems to be the leader thought that it was a bad idea to ignore me and came to talk me.
「Yeah, we are talking about moving all together towards the town Fara. It’s pointless to stay here now that the demon lord Rannu’s slave magic has dissipated」
The town of Fara is a town located south of Rannu territory and is being ruled by another demon king.
It’s true, it’s useless to stay a second longer here.
I also think it’s the safest option.
「It will be easy to cross the mountains that are on the way to Fara, since we gargoyles can fly in the air. The only obstacle that we will have is the wyverns, the only other creature out there flying. Although the possibility is low, the danger is still there, so I thought it would be better to travel in a group, just in case」
「I see, the danger will diminish if we travel in groups」
Although we gargoyles are not that weak, the wyvern, although a low-class monster, continues to be a dragon.
It’s impossible for a gargoyle to defeat a wyvern in a one-to-one battle, even to escape will be difficult.
But if we go in groups, we can fight and even escape even if we find members of other factions.
Good! Since the opportunity presented itself, I will take advantage of their plan and go with them.
After all, I’m not against a relaxed journey.
「In other words, what you are saying is, the more gargoyles traveling together, the safer it will be」
「Yeeah… If you think about it, normally that would be the answer」
After having heard about the leader’s plan, the other gargoyles began to gather around.
It seems that they thought just like me, take advantage of the plan.
There are seven gargoyles including me.
An omen of good luck, this time, luck will be with us..
「Then, even if we wait, nobody else will come. It’s time to depart」
「Roger! I’m always ready, and you guys, are you all ready!?」
After confirming that I was, the gargoyles spread their wings, preparing to take off.
Little by little the gargoyles are rising to the sky…
Aah,… How long have I waited for this day? I finally got fellow friends of my same race.My story is finally going to start.
Or so I thought…
「Hey… let go!」
「Eh?」
「Don’t “Eh?” me, and let go!」
And when finally I got myself in a good mood, thinking about my future, he had to…
The gargoyle leader’s face suddenly changed to an angry one and shouted.
Overwhelmed by the leader’s angry look, I accidentally let the leader go.
Leader’s right foot that is…
When separated from me, the gargoyle began to take flight again.
「Bye bye」
That gargoyle told me something unthinkable.
Eh? 「Bye Bye」you said…? …Eh?
Why? Why? Why? Why are you saying goodbye?
D-Don’t tell me! They are trying to let me behind! Surely they never planned to take me with them! I have a bad feeling…
「Wai! Wait wait! I’m begging you! Why are you leaving me behind? Are you not taking too far this little joke of yours? Being left out hurts a lot!」
Already knowing that I would be left behind, I tried desperately to grab the leader’s feet with both hands, but already aware of what I was going to do, I was easily avoided.
Being dodged, I lost my balance and fell down.
Seeing my unshapely figure from the sky, the gargoyles speak to me.
「What is blabling this guy about?」
「Unbelievable, he thought he could come with us?」
「I’m sorry, but I can’t afford to bring trash along」
We only meet and you are already calling me trash.
My life just started and I am already experiencing this kind of feeling of being casted away…
「Why! Why… Why… Why I’m the only one being left out! What have I done to you all? Have I hurt any of you!? The demon lord is dead.. and now we should strive all of us… This is the time to be helping each other! No matter what, this is too much!!」
No matter how pathetic my face covered in tears is, nobody turns around.
What a bunch of unbelievable guys! What with that treatment! This was the time to be helping each other after at last we became free!
「Why! Why…」
「…………」
「Turn around and answer me! Give me a reason so that I can understand it!」
「「「After all, you can’t fly」」」
Still unable to recover from the shock of the betrayal of my own race, I was assaulted by a merciless word.
Eh, I can’t fly, and so what?
It seems that my plan to take advantage of the confusion has failed…
My perfect plan to grab the leader’s foot and go with them has…
You only had to sympathize with my act and help me, you know?
If they had, in the future I could have returned the favor.
Well, I had a feeling that they would do that. When the leader spoke, he was not looking at me but them…
I had to use force after all?
Well, let’s leave it at that.
In the end, I saw the other gargoyles of my own race off (Though I believe I was casted away).
For a moment I had the idea of shooting magic at their helpless backs and rob them of their bright future, but since I’m an adult I decided to endure it.
（Seriously, I don’t know what I’m going to do now…）
The tension that until recently was high fell down a little.
