Mother always said:

"The world is made of black, white, and gray."

White is harmless. It doesn't affect me. It's irrelevant.

Gray is uncertain—could be an enemy or not. Leave it alone. Gray eventually turns into black or white, and when that happens, make your decision then.

Black, however, is an enemy.

"Those who approach you with the intent to kill, they are black. You must eliminate black. Maybe, someday, it could turn into gray or even white, but if, at this very moment, black stands before you, show no mercy. Strike it down."

This was the law of a warrior, something Mother repeated to me ever since I was a child.

Before I remembered my past life, I thought this philosophy was incredibly noble.

After recalling my previous life on Earth, the words didn’t seem as admirable, but I still believed that it was a necessary guide for surviving in this world—a brutal world where Earth's sensibilities had no place.

This was how things worked here—a savage age where Earth's norms simply didn’t apply.

But, deep inside, I held a kernel of doubt.

Living in a place like the Demon Forest was strange, even for this world. Perhaps, I thought, my parents had a mindset slightly different from the ordinary folk of this land. I couldn’t just accept all of Mother's words without some caution.

I thought it wise not to take every word my mother said as absolute truth.

But it seems I was wrong.

This world truly was exactly as Mother had described.

Survival of the fittest, the law of the jungle.

Deception and theft, killing without remorse.

Strength ruled, just like a lawless jungle.

Even in a village as ordinary-looking as this one, travelers were targeted and killed for their belongings. Ha, I was wrong to doubt my mother.

I could hear the men whispering in the dark.

"Do you think he's asleep now?"

"Yeah."

"Let's get started."

"Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer? We didn't give him the stew."

"That’s your fault."

"Well, what could I do? Trying to offer stew at that hour would have looked suspicious—even to a savage."

The men bickered in hushed voices.

I knew from the earlier whispers that they intended to kill me, but really? They wanted to drug me first to make sure I'd be asleep when they did it.

'I nearly ended up dying again without even knowing why.'

These men were black.

Pitch black.

I tightened my grip on my axe.

The smooth, familiar touch of the wooden handle calmed me, stilling my rage into a tranquil lake.

"Don’t be angry."

Mother had always said this too.

"The world beyond our home is just colors, nothing more."

Until now, I hadn’t fully understood her words.

But now, in this moment, I did.

Mother meant to say this:

People who aren’t my family, who aren't precious to me—they are simply colors. Black, gray, or white, nothing more.

No one gets angry at a color.

There’s no need for anger.

All I needed to do was distinguish if something was black, and that’s all there was to it.

‘Hoo…’

I drew a small breath.

Amidst the sounds coming from beyond the barn wall, I could hear the unmistakable clinks of metal weapons.

The rattle of chains, the sound of metal scraping against the ground.

They were preparing.

Someone, feeling confident that I had fallen asleep, lit a fire.

Now, the holes in the barn wall—holes I hadn’t noticed earlier—became visible.

Judging by the dimness, it wasn’t a torch, but a small oil lamp.

The light moved quietly across the wall, heading for the entrance.

‘No need to wait for them to come in quietly.’

I swung my axe in the direction of the light.

Crash.

The axe split the fragile wooden wall of the barn and broke through.

"Gah!"

The man holding the lamp took a blow to the head.

Compared to a beast, he seemed far more fragile, but the human skull was tougher than I expected.

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The sensation of the axe cutting through the hard bone reverberated through the handle.

A moment of silence passed.

As I pulled my axe free, blood spattered through the broken gap in the wall.

The wall still blocked my line of sight.

I pulled back my axe and swung it again.

With a loud crack, the wooden wall collapsed, and time, which had seemed to stop, began to move once more.

A man standing right behind the now-dead one trembled violently and screamed.

“Ahhhhh!”

Fear is contagious.

His scream sparked others.

“Arrggghhh!”

“Monster! He’s a monster!”

Monster? What nonsense.

Then, someone shouted.

“You idiots! There are five of us! Don’t be scared!”

The one rallying the others was the middle-aged man who had let me into the village.

“You… you filthy savage!”

My gaze turned towards him.

He pointed his chipped sword at me, shouting again.

“All of you, attack! Kill him!”

Despite his brave words, his sword shook as if it were dancing.

He was terrified.

“…”

Come to think of it, this man was the biggest culprit here.

I didn’t know whether this village had always been a den of thieves, but it was this man who first showed greed over my fox fur.

If it weren’t for him, I might have quietly spent a night here, leaving with a pleasant memory.

According to Mother's philosophy, this man was pitch black. Pure black.

I swung my arm wide toward the man.

The blade of the axe sliced through the air, heading straight for the top of his head.

There was a momentary resistance as it connected, but it was over in an instant.

The man's head split cleanly in two, and he collapsed to the ground.

The others nearby could no longer even scream.

They simply gasped, making strange noises, before suddenly snapping awake and fleeing in all directions like startled frogs.

Four backs vanished into the darkness.

The faint light from the fallen lamp cast flickering shadows of their retreating forms.

I chased after the nearest one.

With a slicing sound, his head flew off, rolling to a stop at another man's feet.

The fleeing man stumbled over it, losing his footing.

I swung my axe, cleaving his torso in half, before chasing down the next target.

“P-please! Spare me! Spare me!”

The third man cried out desperately as he ran.

If you’re going to beg for your life, shouldn’t you at least look back?

Begging while showing your back—that’s not very polite.

At any rate, in this world, anyone who tries to kill you gets their due.

That was Mother’s law.

After slicing through the back of the man's neck, I looked for the last one.

He was sprinting into the darkness.

Under the moonlight, I could faintly see his dark figure.

You think you can get away?

I started running after him.

The commotion had woken the villagers, and torches began to light up here and there, people stepping out of their homes.

Thanks to that, I could see the fleeing man more clearly.

“Help! Someone, help me!”

He ran towards the villagers.

Some of the village men had weapons, but none stepped forward.

Maybe this whole village wasn't a den of thieves. Or perhaps, seeing me, they decided it was best to abandon their fellow villager.

The villagers stared at me and the fleeing man with frozen expressions.

‘They’re gray.’

I murmured internally, and then brought the axe down on the back of the man running towards the torchlight.

He fell forward, and I stepped on his body.

“P-please, spare me! I didn’t do anything. I was just standing there! Please, have mercy.”

“What are you talking about? Your voice is unique—I remember it.”

There was no need to tell him this, but I figured it wasn’t right for him to die thinking he was innocent.

I lifted my axe high.

“You were the one who said, ‘Let’s get started,’ weren’t you?”

“Huh! Th-that’s—”

I pressed down on his back as he squirmed.

“Guh!”

I could feel bones breaking beneath my foot.

Though I had resolved to kill my enemies, inflicting prolonged suffering wasn’t my style.

I swung the axe down hard.

His flailing arms went limp.

I stood over the body, looking around.

As my eyes met those of the villagers, a few gasped.

“These men tried to kill me and steal my belongings. Are you with them?”

I asked, and a white-bearded old man staggered forward.

“N-no, sir. These men were indeed from our village, but we had nothing to do with what they did.”

“…”

When I remained silent, the old man, looking pale as if he might collapse, shook his head vigorously.

“Please, believe me, warrior. We have nothing to do with them. It was just those men acting alone. I swear it.”

They could be lying, or they could be telling the truth.

According to Mother’s theory, they were gray.

Leave them alone unless they try to kill me.

“…”

Hmm. Mother's theory of colors really is remarkable.

If I follow it, I can make decisions in any situation without hesitation.

No need to think deeply or deliberate.

If they try to kill me, kill them. If not, leave them alone.

Simple.

No room for doubts to creep in.

Alright, let’s stick to that.

As I pondered Mother's color theory for a moment, the old man exchanged glances with a few others and then bowed to me.

“W-warrior, it may not be much, but as an apology for the terrible behavior you’ve endured, may we offer you some food and drink—”

“No, that's alright.”

I shook my head before he could finish.

They had tried to put something in my food earlier to put me to sleep before killing me, so there was no way I’d accept anything they offered.

If I fall asleep, I wouldn't even be able to tell if someone was black or gray.

After a moment of thought, I spoke again.

“If you feel sorry, buy my belongings at a good price.”

I led the old man and a few of the others to the barn.

When I showed them the fox fur, the old man hesitated, stealing glances at my face.

“U-um… warrior… That fox fur… it’s from the Demon Forest, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

When I answered, the old man fell to his knees.

“Warrior… Forgive us. Such an expensive item—our village can't afford it. The most we could offer is a couple of silver coins…”

He glanced at my expression before bowing again, tears welling up.

“…At most… maybe two gold coins… but please, forgive us. I know our men were at fault, but we truly cannot afford such a valuable thing. Please, two gold coins is all we can offer. And you can keep the fur, of course. Please… I beg you… We have nothing more.”

“Warrior, please forgive us. If we give you two gold coins, we’ll starve. We won't make it through the coming winter. We’d have to sell our wives and children. Please… have mercy.”

The other men began to kneel and beg too.

So the fox fur was really that valuable.

That must be why the men I killed had wanted it.

But since they couldn’t afford it, they chose to take it by force.

Maybe they initially considered trading a couple of silver coins for it, thinking I looked naive—just some savage.

But later, they probably decided even silver coins were too much.

Who knows what would happen if I found out I’d been swindled and came back seeking revenge.

They chose the safer route.

Somewhere nearby, I could hear the cry of a child.

Perhaps an early-rising child had seen the bodies.

There was also the faint sound of a woman sobbing.

“…Haa.”

I had no intention of seeking revenge on this village.

Nor was I trying to extort money.

I hadn’t even planned to sell the fox fur here. I just wanted to know its approximate value so I wouldn’t get swindled elsewhere.

But it seemed the villagers assumed I was trying to exploit the situation to take their money.

I sighed again and waved my hand dismissively.

“Forget it. I’m not selling the fox fur. Get up.”

With the mood dampened, my speech lost its harsh edge and returned to normal.

The old man whispered frantically to a young man standing far away.

“Bring the money, quickly! Before the warrior changes his mind!”

I sighed once more, shaking my head at the young man.

“I don’t need the gold either.”

“…Warrior…”

The old man looked up at me as if trying to gauge my sincerity.

“Peep-peep-peep!”

Rella hopped towards me.

I held out my hand, and she jumped onto it.

Placing her gently on my head, I spoke to the old man in a softer voice.

“Just tell me which direction to take to reach the city. How far is it?”

Mother's law was to kill enemies who sought to harm you.

Extortion wasn't part of that.

There were also rules about taking possession of enemies’ belongings, but they didn’t apply here.

And above all, extortion just wasn't my style.

The old man, earnest in his desire to help, used a stick to draw a map on the ground, showing me which direction to take to reach the city and what route would pass through decent villages.

The distant sky began to pale.

It was still dark, but the sun would soon rise.

As I was about to leave the village, the old man handed me a small bundle.

It had been hastily prepared by one of the villagers.

Inside were a few dried fish.

“It’s not much, but please, take it for your journey. I’m sorry we don’t have anything better.”

I accepted the fish.

It wasn’t much, so there was no reason to refuse. They looked a lot like herring, a fish I had often eaten on Earth, and I missed it.

The old man bowed repeatedly.

“Thank you… Thank you, warrior, for sparing us.”

Leaving the endlessly bowing old man behind, I departed from the village.