Despite all my worries and not getting a wink of sleep all night, no one attacked me.

Had I grown paranoid?

I guess there was no denying it now. I was always on guard against anything. Even the harmless old man could secretly be a dangerous beast in my eyes.

For an Exorcist this was good since there were many special abilities that could hide people's presence and powers. But I was no longer on a battlefield.

I knew that as long as I had Carpy around, there was barely anything that could get through his senses. If something could deceive his senses, then we probably wouldn't be able to survive against such a stealthy threat anyway.

But despite my mind knowing that the anxiety was pointless, I couldn’t turn my instincts off. I already mapped out every corner of the room in my mind, and my eyes couldn’t stop scanning the room as if trying to find some hidden passage or place an enemy could attack from.

I got up frustrated from the rough bed, which was just a wooden frame, futon, and blanket to cover myself with. The pillow looked like a rolled-up carpet and was so rough my neck almost hurt.

Though I got out of my room before the sun was fully up, by then the village was still active, and everyone was working in their own fields. The old man and his daughter were no different.

Should I just leave now? But I didn't feel like running off anywhere.

There were no secrets or schemes here. I could finally get a breather and maybe think a couple of things over now that I had the opportunity to relax for the first time in months.

"Can I help you guys?" I asked.

The old man and his daughter looked at me, and he scratched his head. "We don't have another hoe. The other villagers are also working at this time, so we can't ask them for one either."

I approached the young lady, and she narrowed her eyes at me.

Did I look that suspicious? These Dark Sword Clan genetics definitely make me look like it.

"Go and rest, and maybe make us some food. If you need help with the cooking, call me,” I reassured her.

"Wha-"

Before she could retort, I pried her hoe out of her hands and got to work.

The girl frowned and opened her mouth to say something. But then she closed it back up and walked home.

Was I maybe a bit too forceful? I was used to dealing with women like Delia and Ellen. They were the kind of people that if I gave them a finger, would take my entire arm.

I will make it up to her later. She seemed like a normal girl.

When was the last time I spoke to a normal girl? I couldn’t even remember. Had I ever met a normal girl in this world?

Still, I started working, and the job was simple. We were supposed to till at the ground to make it softer for the corn the old man wanted to plant.

I felt the sun on my skin, and the smell of dirt was strangely comforting. If exorcism didn't play out well, I could become a farmer.

With Ord, most physical labors were easy to do, and maybe living a life of minimalism would be good for me. Maybe I could open an inn and listen to the stories of travelers passing by.

"Have you always lived here?" I tried to make some conversation while working only a bit faster than the old man. I didn't want to make it obvious that my physical powers were beyond a normal human's.

"Born, raised, and will probably die here," the old man answered.

"Die? I wouldn’t worry about death,” I said. That was a bit hypocritical of me, but I was trying to make some simple conversation and not discuss philosophy. “Who knows where life will take someone. I also thought I would spend my life doing nothing but working."

"Meh, I have a couple of years left at most," the old man chuckled, but his gaze turned sour. He stopped working and looked at the ground. "It would be better if I died sooner."

It seemed like I hit something sad. Better change the conversation. "C'mon, your daughter would be sad if that were to happen. Anyways, do you have any animals on the farm?"

"She might be sad, but at least she could finally start living her life. Instead of being stuck here, taking care of an old man like me," he ignored the latter part of my words completely, as if he hadn't even heard them at all. The old man looked to the side and wiped his cheek. "What kind of father am I? Destroying his daughter's future."

Ah, shit! How the hell did the talk end up turning this way? I was just trying to make a casual conversation!

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"Girls her age are already married," the old father looked worried. "Amongst her friends in the village, only another girl isn't married, and it is only because she has a bad reputation."

Wait, how old even was his daughter? She didn't look anything past twenty. If I were to guess, she should be around eighteen.

Though seeing how most people my age already had arranged marriages, people here usually got married in their teens.

Was divorce even a thing here? I had a lot to learn about this world.

We worked till mid-day, and I learned a lot about the life of an average person in this world.

Essentially, it was that traveling and going anywhere outside of civilized places was very dangerous. Also, don't mess around with exorcists or try and act brave by going to the graveyard at night just because your friends dared you.

These things weren't just monster stories; they actually existed in this world. It was like living in a horror movie.

Wait. Was the horror genre of movies and books popular here? They lived in what was essentially a world of horror for normal people. So do they have horror movies, or do they consider it a bit distasteful? Most people knew someone who died horribly due to demons, which might affect their opinion.

"You should go and get a pair of my clothes. Your pants and shirt look well made. It would be a shame to dirty them," the old man said. "Go ask Rose for some clothes."

Rose? So that was his daughter's name.

Though I didn't think my clothes were that expensive, I didn't want to look snobbish and expose my identity. So I followed the old man's advice.

Entering the house, Rose was using a gas stove and turned toward me as soon as I entered.

I put out the best friendly smile I could muster. "Sorry, your father told me to ask you for a pair of his clothes. He apparently thinks that my clothes are too fancy."

Rose nodded and walked toward a room. She stopped and turned toward me. "What're you waiting for? I'm not going to let you undress in the kitchen."

"Right," I followed along and asked. "Is it just me, or do you seem mad at me?"

"Well, some guy who I just met yesterday suddenly ripped the farming tool out of my hand and acted as if that was normal." She said.

"Oh, sorry if it appeared like that. I had the best intentions," I apologized.

Despite spending most of my time recently with women like Delia and Ellen, it didn't mean I had to treat every girl out there like them. "I have a sister who is very strong-headed, and she always likes to play rough."

She glanced at me, and her lip tilted upward into a smile. "Ah. A boastful sibling, I know what you mean. I also had some annoying siblings."

Had?

So something happened to them. For non-exorcists, the world was cruel, and they couldn't defend themselves. Even low class demons could decimate villages.

She took out a new pair of clothes from a closet and put them on a rough bed.

I immediately took my shirt off, and she frowned. "Around these parts, you don't just take off your shirt in front of a maiden."

Why did I feel she looked at me the same way I looked at weirdos like Ellen and Delia?

"Right," I picked up my new shirt and put it on.

Had I become like the weirdos I had criticized?

The girl said nothing and just walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Well, that was a bit awkward.

Have I been spending too much time around Anika, Ellen, and Delia? One was an annoying tsundere, the other was a predator (probably), and the last was likely a serial killer.

They were all beautiful women by any standard appearance-wise and were what most would call waifu material. But there was no doubt that they were nightmares to be with.

Compared to them, Rose was plain-looking, with brown hair and brown eyes, a thin body, and no curves. She was average by every standard. But she was more attractive than the other women in my current life by sheer virtue of normalcy.

I had learned how to deal with crazy girls, but my communication skills with ordinary people deteriorated in the process.

For every great power, an equally great sacrifice must be made…

Okay, I was being a bit dramatic. This was what I needed, just a wake-up call to relax and spend time amongst normal people.

***

Carpy floated toward a nearby river while ensuring he never went far enough where master Kon would be out of his sensory range.

Though this place was the backwaters no one cared about with no demons strong enough to even injure Kon, Carpy remained cautious. If master Kon had taught him one thing, it was that even weaklings could be dangerous.

There were many times when master Kon had been overpowered in every aspect. But by using his Special Ability he had been able to turn the tides of the battle.

Carpy floated down the river and then changed the river's course and went upward again. He was like a child running up and down a slide.

As soon as any demon dared to approach him to try and think they had a chance to devour a stronger creature, Carpy would simply flex his power, and they would scatter away.

'Hopefully, master Kon takes this chance to properly rest. There will be a lot of problems he will have to deal with in the future.'

Carpy didn't know how, but having spent so much time around master Kon, he had learned a couple of things about him.

By now, there was no doubt in his mind that master Kon somehow knew the future.

Otherwise, how could he have predicted that the final battle against the Demonic Exorcist would happen in the Colosseum, and order him to gather the water there?

Around the 10th time he slid down the river, he noticed something approaching. No, it was two things.

One of them was a humanoid frog that had a turtle shell. That was a Kappa, a type of demon that drowned humans in rivers. They weren't too dangerous since any adult could fight them off on land.

But the other presence the Kappa was approaching wasn't an adult. It was a kid gathering some weeds along the river's shores. He looked thin, and his presence was weaker than normal too.

A human…

With respect to his master Kon, Carpy would never kill an innocent human.

But not intervening and letting things play out like they would have if he hadn't been here at all… Now that was something to think about.