On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

Two minutes have passed since Vibiane started dragging me around. I have honestly thought we had already explored the entire market due to how fast we move, but in fact, we haven’t explored even a third of the market.

Like what Vibiane has stated in the beginning, our purpose is finding fruits to buy. Since, apparently, fruits are the least things people want to buy, fruit sellers are located deep inside the market, which is why we haven’t found them yet.

Vibiane finds it slightly annoying that fruit sellers are so far inside the market, but I am grateful that they are. Because of them, after all, I can observe the interactions between the Monsters in the market and slowly learn about them.

While you may find it weird that I am more fascinated with the Monster’s behaviours than the unique goods being sold there, I find learning more about them crucial for my integration into the society.

I have learned quite many things about Demons even though I haven’t had any Demon friend other than Ilschevar, but I haven’t learned anything about Monsters yet, since Valeria didn’t teach me anything about them.

She said their behaviour was too complex to be learned, so I need to figure them out myself. I am doing it now, and I immediately find myself strongly agreeing with Valeria: Monsters’ behaviours are really hard to understand.𝗈𝒱𝓵xt.𝗇𝓔t

Just like humans who have different personalities, Monsters are the same. They are naturally straightforward and simple-minded, however, it doesn’t make them easy to understand at all.

There are many occasions where I wonder whether this random Monster I am observing is bright or stupid from the equally stupid but smart decision they have made. Monsters are just that complicated, but all of them are nice with Demons.

“Ohoho… I haven’t seen your face or your mask before, so you must be a newborn. Here, take this slab of mutton with you. You must have nothing on you, right?”

… Just like the seller who has has just given me a giant slab of mutton.

I didn’t even say anything about myself needing something to eat nor do I look like someone that is poor enough to not be able to purchase anything—I look quite impressive in my opinion—but he still decided to give me one.

He knows I am a newborn Demon just because he has never seen me before, and that is something to be amazed at. After all, it shows how much he pays attention to every warrior who has visited the market.

“Thank you.”

“Nah, I should be the one thanking you.” The meat seller waves his hand nonchalantly. “I thank you for being a Demon Warrior, who is willing to fight for our well-being.”

“… I still have to thank you in spite of that.” I bow my head politely.

I have intentionally paused for a couple of seconds before answering to make me look like a really decent Demon Warrior. In truth, I don’t really care about anything other than having my revenge after all, so keeping a façade is important.

The seller, which is a scary looking, 9 feet tall Ogre with big teeth and grey skin, gives me a smile that doesn’t really suit his fierce face, along with Vibiane at the way I behave.

Vibiane says her farewell to the kind Ogre afterwards, and drags me with her again to continue our journey to find fruit vendors. We have only stopped since the meat selling Ogre has called us after all, so Vibiane doesn’t want to waste our time any longer.

Velucan has only given us roughly an hour to explore the city, and she wants to really make a good use of the time. Buying fruits is her main goal today, so she is really determined to get them.

“Oh, hey newborn Demon! Come here and get your supply! I can only give you some medicinal herbs, but they are still better than nothing. Hahaha!”

“Young one, take this home-made cheap potion with you! It may not help you much, but it is still better than nothing.”

“What a fine-looking young Demon! I will be sad if this becomes the last time you visit this city, so take these babies with you. My daggers might not be comparable to Relics, but they will do better than your barehands.”

… Unfortunately for Vibiane, we are stopped quite a lot by the random sellers in the market.

The attention these sellers give me moves me as much as it is making me sad. They, after all, show more care than what my caretakers have shown me.

Of course, I know that compared to what they have given me, what Valeria, Ilschevar, and Millonia have given me are still hundreds of times better, but I still feel more care from them, since they are showing it openly, unlike the three.

‘Well, at least, I am grateful that there are already people who care about me … Or should I say, I am already useful enough for people to care about me?’ I laugh at the sceptical thought, and discard it immediately.

It hasn’t even been a day since I Awakened my Origin, so that means I haven’t had enough time to get used to it. My Origin: Pride, although it does nothing that hugely affects me, it is slowly changing me by each passing second.

It is not changing the way I look; it is changing the way I think and see things. I can vividly feel the gradual change of my mindset, and it always baffles me from time to time how hard it is to revert back to my original mindset.

While I have been a sceptical bloke ever since I was on Earth, I do believe that there are still good people out there that will treat me genuinely. Ever since I Awakened my Origin however, it is getting harder to think that way.

From some of Lucifer’s memories that I have briefly seen, I could see that the previous owner of Pride was a narcissistic bastard who thought he was higher than the heavens.

Although he did have the power that allowed him to behave like that, I, for one, don’t ever want to become such a jerk. From the occasional narcissistic fleeting thoughts I have had however, I am afraid I am slowly becoming him, and it freaks me out dearly.

“Gah! Layland, stop answering everyone’s call! We only have another half an hour to buy the fruits, but you are so eager to take everything everyone is giving you,” Vibiane exclaims in frustration with teary eyes.

“Well… I was spacing out—sorry.” I am being honest here, since I didn’t really know that I had been answering to each of the vendors’ call for the past minutes. “I will stop doing it from now on.”

“Just what kind of person who can interact with people just fine while spacing out? Are you playing with me?! You are playing with me, aren’t you?!”

Vibiane is pulling on my coat due to her frustration. I slightly pity her, but she is too annoying to receive my complete pity, so I slap her head to awaken her from her rampaging state.

Slap!

“Ouch! That was rude!”

“I don’t want to hear it from someone that has been attracting everyone’s attention by screaming like a lunatic in the middle of the market.”

“O-Oh… I… I am sorry…”

Vibiane looks at her surrounding in embarrassment before eventually lowering her head as she can’t bear the people’s bewildered look any longer.

I then pat her head to tell her not to mind, but she really does not mind at all, as she immediately regains her spirit.

“Like I care! I still need to buy fruits! Let’s go, Layland!”

Ignoring the people’s gaze she storms away while still holding my hand. Fortunately for her, we find the fruit vendor she has been looking for not long after, and it almost brings her to tears.

“We are here… We are finally here!”

While she is busy muttering about how glad she is that we are finally there, I look at the fruits that the stall has. Like the meat and any other foods of this world that I have eaten, the fruits look just as weird.

Some of them resemble some exotic fruits from Earth, and some of them look like they are not something to be eaten. Nonetheless, I get why Vibiane is so excited to buy them—they smell heavenly.

“Huuh… Haah…” Vibiane takes a deep breath before releasing it with a sigh of satisfaction. “Can you smell it? They taste as heavenly as they smell, you know.”

She looks at me with a bright smile, and I immediately nod my head, since she has just expressed her bias that I, for once, can agree with.

She then turns to the the fruit seller, who happens to be an Ogre, and says something that slightly bewilders both me and the Ogre.

“Mr. Fruit selling Ogre, please sell me all your fruits!”

“… All of them?”

“Yup!”

“Are you sure?”

“You ask too many questions, so I will find—”

“No, no, no. I’ll give you all of them with 25% discount!”

“Uwah… Thank you so much!”

I don’t know what kind of a psychological game she had played with the Ogre, but I am impressed by her negotiation skill … If it can even be considered a negotiation.