On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

“Are you here to mock me?” Eryn the Light Elf Princess says through her gritted teeth.

“Do I need to do that? The fact that I let you live is already an insult enough, no?” I retort blandly.

Eryn stomps the ground like a child throwing a tantrum. She keeps clenching and unclenching her hands. She must be frustrated that she can’t do anything to me. If it was up to her, she would have strangled me the moment I entered the cell. Unfortunately, the Geas I put on her makes it impossible for her to do that.

“You healed quickly.”

“My gene is superior—what did you expect?”

Eryn scoffs as she tosses her hair. The princess is incredibly stuck-up. She must have grown up with people who keep stroking her ego at any chance they get. That doesn’t matter, of course. I have full control over her. Her personality is meaningless when she will do what I ask her.

Though, I am quite skeptical about how useful she is. The reason why she is still alive is solely Haletha’s request. She is quite powerful but nowhere near exceptional. Arieda can easily surpass her with half the time she spent to get to her level. If it wasn’t for Haletha’s request, she would have been worth no more than a punching bag.

Ah, I might have been too harsh with my evaluation. Although I won’t retract my words about her being worth no more than a punching bag, she is not that useless. Her status is still worth something. She is the daughter of the Light Elf Emperor. Her father seems to pamper her a lot, so I can use her against her father.

That is my purpose for coming here.

“Want to do your first task as my slave?”

Eryn’s body immediately goes rigid as she looks at me nervously. The concealed Geas on her forehead shows itself and glows brightly for a moment before calming down.

“What do you want me to do?”

“What do I want you to do?” I quirk an eyebrow and hum to myself as I inch closer, causing her to step back. “I wonder…. Say, which do you prefer: hard labor or sleepless nights?”

“S-Stop! You are too close.”

I do what Eryn asked, but she doesn’t behave like how she sounds. I was a step before her when she asked me to stop inching closer and now there is practically no distance between us because she willingly presses her body on me.

I can safely say the Light Elf Princess is still innocent, which is not surprising. I am not even actively secreting my pheromone but she still can’t control her biological reaction. Though, I am not blaming her. My pheromone has become more ‘unstoppable’ ever since my Dragon blood was awakened. It must be her first time being exposed to a pheromone of this caliber, so her reaction is understandable.

“You are pretty eager for sounding so unwilling.”

“What—ah! W-What have you done to me!?”

My remark awakens the innocent Light Elf within Eryn. She immediately distances herself and looks at me in horror as if I have defiled her. It is very bold of her to assume that I am even interested to pull her pants down. I want to smack the soul out of her, but I hold myself back for I will only end up killing her.

“You know that you would have been sprawled naked on the ground ages ago if ‘that’ was my intention, don’t you? Don’t view yourself too highly. You are not even half as attractive as my pet Dragon.” I scoff disdainfully, earning an offended look from her. “Anyway, make your choice. Hard labor or sleepless nights?”

Eryn immediately shows me the look of a constipated person. She mulls over her answer for a few seconds and then sighs in despair.

“S-Sleepless nights. I choose sleepless nights.”

“Very well. Then, I will make you Haletha’s assistant.”

“What?”

A look of disappointment flashes on Eryn’s face. I shoot her a weird look as I didn’t expect the Light Elf Princess to have such a dirty mind. I wonder if she is a closeted pervert. Maybe, she is not so innocent after all.

“You have been on your father’s side for years. The Light Elf Empire is far more advanced than Lysimork. My knowledge is limited only to the governing system. You know how to utilize resources in the Elven way better than I do. Therefore, I need you to help Haletha make Lysimork better.”

Eryn develops a pondering look, so I immediately remind her, “You don’t have a choice in this matter. You have to do it.”

“I know!” she exclaims irately. “It is just…are you not afraid of my planting something dangerous in Lysimork that will destroy it at once one day? I can’t help but find the proposal fishy.”

“You won’t be able to do that, Eryn. I can assure you.”

I am not even threatening her. I am merely stating a fact, but Eryn’s pupils dilated so wide as if she is going to get killed. She slowly nods her head and then relaxes her body. She is trying to look unfazed, but her trembling feet make her effort useless.

“I want you to do another thing for me, Eryn.”

𝒩𝐎𝑽𝗅xt.𝑪𝗈𝓜

“Yes…?”

“Call your father and tell him you managed to infiltrate Lysimork.”

The Light Elf Emperor must be worried sick about the safety of his daughter, the sole heir to his throne. The news about God being forced to retreat must have reached his ears. As much as he wants to rush here to save his daughter, he won’t do that. He wouldn’t want to risk his life to save his daughter which has practically become a lost cause.

However, knowing that his daughter managed to do the unthinkable will make him more willing to take the risk. He will think frontal confrontation won’t bear any fruit but strategic dismantling will bear the results that he wants.

Eryn’s ‘infiltration’ will become his gateway to shoot down two birds with one stone. Not only can he take his mortal enemy down but also save his daughter along the way. Therefore, the thing that Eryn will say to him will be the greatest news that he will receive. Of course, it is but his misconception.

“You…I see. You are not planning to let us go, are you?”

The people share their leader’s view. To change their view, killing their leader alone won’t suffice. You have to rule them and beat the view that they have been adopting their entire life out of their heads. The only way to eliminate the grudge between the Dark Elf and the Light Elf is to herd them all.

Eryn gets what I am planning to do and she doesn’t know how to react. She will become the most hated person of the two sides. Neither the Light Elf nor the Dark Elf will like her. At least, that is until the two sides are united. Nonetheless, she will have many sleepless nights before it happens. The hatred she gets from the Elven race will always haunt her dream.

Knowing that fact; Eryn fishes out her Sound Crystal. Standing in front of her, I watch and listen as she speaks with her worried sick father who becomes ecstatic soon.

….

After finishing my business with Eryn, I go to Haletha’s room. I want to say my farewell. I am leaving soon for Verniculos. As predictable as it is what Ilschevar will tell me, I need to grasp the complete situation. Who knows if there is political discourse in the Kingdom? The other Demon King Candidates may have been killing each other at the moment.

That might also end up being my paranoid thought, but it doesn’t hurt to be careful. I don’t mind giving up the throne but I will never give up my life.

“After three months of no contact, we can only ‘hang out’ for three hours, huh?” Haletha says with a chuckle. “What a busy man you are, Layland.”

“Lord Ilschevar is expecting my audience. I won’t mind putting it off if it was related to formality stuff, but it is not. It concerns my future as a living being in a way, so I need to hear what he has to say.”

“That is quite serious,” Haletha remarks, her tone laced with concern. “Have you done something that displeased him? Did your helping us get you in trouble?”

“No. It has nothing to do with that at all.” I wave my hand lightly, prompting her to stop talking about it further. “Everything will come to light one day. It is not and will never be something that you should be concerned about.”

“We trust you, Layland,” Arieda states, breaking her ten-minute-long silence. “You always know what you are doing.”

I nod my head and pat Arieda’s head for her smart comment. I tell Haletha that I have told the Warriors to help the Dark Elf repair Lysimork before leaving. I ended up not telling her anything about Eryn. Telling Haletha about my plan with Eryn will make her immediately release Eryn. Eryn needs to spend some time in her cell before being released.

Although I don’t care about the Dark Elf throwing Eryn under the bus, letting her socialize with Haletha so soon won’t be good for her image. Everyone still needs time to calm down before they can think rationally. It wouldn’t be surprising if they directed their hatred for Eryn to Haletha should she get out so soon.

Anyway, I soon put the matter to the back of my head as walk through the Teleportation Gate. When I arrived at the Verniculos Kingdom, the seven Demon King’s Generals who are rarely in the same place together greet me.