"W-what!?"

The stoic look on Yera's face instantly crumbled.

"You heard it right. I want to cross over to that side. Why, you don't know how to get me there?"

With a wide smile on my face, I asked her in a playful tone.

Her face immediately went pale as she slowly transitioned from shock to disbelief.

Quickly casting a wary glance at the distant table of rowdy scavengers, she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

'Hmm, why is she wary of them? Did I accidentally talk about something forbidden?'

My eyes narrowed a little, thinking about the possible implications of this.

Leaning slightly closer to me, Yera lowered her voice to a trembling whisper.

"Y-you can't p-possibly mean to go over t-there willingly, d-do you? There are better ways to commit suicide!"

"Why? It isn't impossible, right?"

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her exaggerated response.

She stared at me with wide eyes, before shaking her head.

"No, it isn't impossible. But once you go over there, you will be abandoned by the Demon Realm forever..."

"...If you go there, you become an exile."

My eyebrows instantly furrowed at her words.

"An exile? You don't mean to say that if I don't cross the dimensional gate, someone will send a rescue party to save me if the Etherians capture me?"

The entire notion of the demons treating one of them as an exile felt ridiculous to me.

Which demon wouldn't betray their kin if they knew that they could get away with it?

In a society where you didn't need any justification to kill and plunder, putting the label of an 'Exile' on someone was entirely meaningless.

But it seemed like there was more to this story than meets the eye, as Yera shot a perplexed look at me.

"No, they wouldn't. But if you willingly cross the dimensional gate, even if you later come back to the Demon Realm, you will be captured and handed over to 'The Church' from that side!"

'...what the hell?'

Now 'that' was some disturbing news for me.

Did the Demon Realm and Etheria form a secret alliance among themselves?

Previously, I assumed that the Four Heavenly Kings never showing up during the young Heroes' Academy growth period was just another cliche game scenario…

...but I never expected there to be an actual reason behind it.

Seems like this world wasn't just an ultra-realistic game created by a higher being, huh.

"...But, why does such a rule exist? And how would anyone know if I had been to that side or not?"

"Uhh..."

The Lycan woman showed an awkward look on her face, hesitating over what to say.

"Just say it. I won't mind anything you say, as long as you don't cross the line."

She nodded her head at my assurance, before continuing with a sigh.

"...yes. It's actually common knowledge for all demonkin, but these rules exist because of the ancient treaty between our worlds. Until our King doesn't return, or the warriors from that side aren't able to kill him, both sides will avoid getting into conflicts as much as possible."

"As for the way to determine if someone has been to the other side, I don't know anything about that. But the city guards will immediately know once they see someone like that."

'Ah, so that's why she was looking at me like that!'

Even now, she was looking at me with a slight hint of confusion on her face.

But if this 'ancient treaty' was known by every demonkin, then it would certainly make sense for her to be confused.

"Well, let's just say that I have lived under a rock my entire life."

But I simply shrugged off her weird gaze. There was no need for me to explain to her why I didn't know such basic things.

"Just tell me how I can get there in one piece. You don't need to concern yourself with anything more than that."

Clearly stating my stance on the matter, I stabbed the small blade in my hand into the piping-hot piece of meat in front of me, cutting out a sizable piece and putting it in my mouth.

'F*ck, it's disgusting!'

My face twisted in revulsion as I tasted the meat in my mouth, but I forced myself to gulp it down anyway.

I hadn't eaten for days now, and I didn't know when I would be able to get some proper food after we departed for Etheria tomorrow.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

So, I couldn't afford to not eat this food, no matter how disgusting it may taste.

Maybe because she thought that my warped expression was meant for her, Yera quickly started telling me what I needed to know.

"There are certain ways to end up on that side unharmed, it's just that...they are quite degrading. Not to mention, you would completely lose your freedom if you chose that path..."

'Honestly, I don't care as long as I can get out of this hell.'

"...Let's hear it then."

Trying my best to dull my taste buds, I asked her to continue.

"...You will need the help of slave traders."

"Slave traders?"

The Lycan woman nodded with a serious expression on her face.

"Yes. They kidnap many of the naive and powerless newcomers coming to the scavenger cities, and sell them on the other side. If you want to get there in one piece, you can only do so with the help of a slave trader like them."

"...Do you know why the other side needs demonkin slaves?"

"No. But there are rumors that powerful beings from that side like skinning and dissecting those demons for some sort of.....weird rituals."

"Hmm..."

Putting another piece of the disgusting meat in my mouth, I pondered on her words for a moment.

There was no mention of demon slaves in the game I played, so I was a little skeptical of that information.

It would make sense if all those demons were bought only to be killed immediately after buying them, but that kind of thing was too wasteful.

And about the powerful beings needing demons for some ritual, those must be the Etherian dark mages.

Only those lunatics could perform such harrowing rituals using live demons in the name of gaining knowledge and power.

For some time, only the sound of meat being torn apart and chewing filled our table, while Yera slowly started to become restless.

*clink*

Gulping down the last piece of meat, I dropped the short blade on my plate before finally addressing her.

"Do you know who these slavers are, or where I can meet them?"

"No, they operate outside the city. Their base is also somewhere in the barren lands. But they have some ties in every city."

"Hmm~ That makes it a little difficult. But you said that they kidnap the powerless newcomers, didn't you?"

"Uh....yes."

Yera hesitantly nodded in response to my question, as my lips curled up in satisfaction.

"Great. Seems like we got ourselves a plan then!"

"...What plan are you talking about?"

The Lycan shivered for a moment, the fur on her ears standing up.

'That's some insane level of instinct she has....'

I simply smiled in response.

"You will get to know tomorrow. Since you agreed to be my guide, you are coming along with me, right?"

"I....I-I guess so...?"

Under my smiling gaze, Yera managed to stutter out a reply.

"Nice! Now show me my room and get me some clean clothes. Make sure to buy the cheapest ones you can find."

"Eh...?"

"Where's my room?"

"I-It's...upstairs, second room on the left."

I nodded and got up, paying no attention to the distressed expression she was showing me.

It would have been a different story if she quietly disappeared after I spared her. But now that she sought protection from me, I had to make full use of her.

After all, my plan to safely get to Etheria heavily depended on her. She had no choice but to obediently assist me.

'Who told you to cling to me? Now suffer...'

As I made my way up the stairs, I saw her silently following after me.

"Hm? Why are you following me?"

"T-That....I-I don't know your size..."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Just get me something that would roughly fit me. Now get lost."

"Ye-yes..."

She lowered her head, while I quickly went up the creaky stairs and jumped into my room.

Closing the wooden door with a dull thud, I took off the stinky fur-coat covering my body and threw it in a corner.

I wasn't a professional butcher, so the inside of the wolf monster's hide began showing slight signs of decay after a few days.

In order to maintain my sanity, I had no choice but to block my sense of smell all this time.

"But, what kind of inn is this...?"

The room given to me looked more like a low-quality horse stable rather than a sleeping place meant for a person.

'I guess the demons won't care both ways.'

Shaking my head, I headed for the only other door I could find in the room.

'Ahh, finally some inner peace...'

Fortunately, the room came with a simple place to wash my body.

I quickly took off the ripped and torn piece of fabric that I once called my short-pants, before washing myself clean with the suspiciously red-tinted water kept in a bucket.

Returning back to my room buck naked, I decided to finally discard the pitifully torn cloth that covered my privates for the last few days.

'You have served your duty well, soldier.'

I had to show my respect where it was due.

As I walked over to the bed, I saw a hazy, cracked mirror placed on the left side of the bed reflecting my figure.

The figure in the reflection wasn't very clear, due to the cloudy glass of the mirror, but a few distinct features could easily be discerned.

A pale, yet lean and sturdy body. Raven black hair with two small black horns jutting out from it, a few mysterious patterns glowing with an ominous light on their surface.

Two piercing red eyes stared at me through the mirror, observing me in silence just like I was observing it.

My current appearance bore an eerie resemblance to the Demon King's figure I saw in the illusion conjured by him.

If that figure was his adult appearance, then my current one should be his younger one.

'Is it because of the game's premise? Tsk, just how far have you foreseen my actions, Vanir?'

The younger appearance would certainly help me in getting into the Academy, but I felt a certain unpleasantness well up within me at the thought of someone pulling my strings from the background.

*Sigh...*

'It doesn't matter...'

I cleared my mind with a small exhale and laid down on the coarse bed.

Be it the Devil who brought me into this world, or the unknown being who helped him, they had already set the stage for me.

No matter how I felt about it, it wasn't the time to rebel yet. I couldn't show them my fangs before I was certain about my victory.

'As long as I have the last laugh....nothing else...would...matter...'

I felt my eyelids drooping as exhaustion washed over me like a tidal wave.

The next thing I knew, I was already surrounded by darkness.