Old Man Isekai - Chapter 14

To hear more about the demons, the group and I headed toward my room. Cattleya was in the middle of cleaning it, so I decided to ask her right then and there.

"Lord Dai, good work today. And to the rest of you, welcome to mine and Lord Dai's room." 

"Sorry for bothering you while you're cleaning. Could you prepare some tea for everyone?" 

"Yes. Understood. ❤️" 

"Everyone, come on in."

I urged them to enter, but everyone had stern expressions on their faces. Maya’s brow was twitching.

"Cattleya, this is 'Dai's room', got it?" 

"My apologies. Since this room is already heavily infused with a blend of my scent and Lord Dai's, I got confused."

The look on everyone's faces grew even grimmer.

"Well... it’s fine, isn't it? Let's just get inside..." 

"Yes. Please, come in. ❤️"

I decided to start the conversation once everyone was settled.

"To get straight to the point, Cattleya, I want you to tell us what you know about the demons." 

"Whatever do you mean?" 

"The night before we left, when I brought up the demons, you looked like you had something to say. I figured the answer was with you." 

"I see... However, I am sorry, but I cannot answer that." 

"It's okay, Cattleya. With Maya's soundproofing magic, no one will overhear us." 

"How impressive. Very well, if there is no escape, I shall explain."

As suspected, a portion of the nobility and the wealthy have been enslaving demons. Behind the scenes, there is even a slave market. The inexplicable sums of money I saw in the ledgers must be from this... The demons had endured it all this time to protect the peace of the world. However, once the humans began brazenly kidnapping their children and forcing them into hard labor, it ignited this war.

"To be honest, we brought this upon ourselves. I am deeply sorry for dragging all of you into this." 

"I had a feeling after seeing the situation at the mine, but I didn't think it was this horrible." 

"But why do the people of this country have such an unnaturally strong loathing for demons?" 

"The religion of this country is the Order of Light, which worships the God of Light. The Order teaches children from a very young age to believe that dark-skinned demons are enemies of God." 

"Cattleya, why are you different from everyone else?" 

"I had a half-sister who was a demon. My father loved a demon slave and had a child with her, raising her as my attendant. She was despised by the other maids, the servants, and my mother—the legal wife—but to me, she was a kind sister who was always smiling. I loved her so much that her skin color never crossed my mind." 

"I see. Where is your sister now?" 

"She passed away..." 

"If you don't mind, could you tell us what happened?" 

"One day, I was kidnapped, and my sister was with me. I was terrified and clung to her. The culprit kidnapped us for ransom, but the knights found our location immediately and stormed in to arrest him. The culprit panicked and tried to kill me, but my sister shielded me and was killed instead." 

"That’s tragic..." 

"There is more to the story. Lord Dai, in your world, what would happen to such a criminal?" 

"For murder and kidnapping? Probably 20 to 25 years in prison." 

"That man received two years." 

"That's way too short!"

 "The charges were kidnapping and 'property damage'. My sister was treated as an object! Even though she was alive! This country is already morally bankrupt. Honestly, both my father and I believe there is no future for this nation."

Cattleya explained everything while through her tears.

"Thank you for telling us something so painful."

It seems that unless the relationship between humans and demons is fixed from the ground up, there’s no hope. Most people are brainwashed; Cattleya is a rare exception.

"I have a request for you all." 

"What is it?" 

"I do not wish to remain in this country. Please, take me on your journey." 

"It’s dangerous, you know?" 

"I will be fine. I graduated at the top of my class in both martial arts and academics at the aristocratic academy, so I have confidence. Also, being born into a merchant family, I am familiar with the surrounding areas and can act as your guide." 

"Understood. I won't object. Is everyone else okay with this?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, everyone. Also, I wish to contribute in ways other than guiding, so I look forward to working with you." 

"Thanks. By the way, what else can you do?" 

"Yes! I imagine Lord Dai will have trouble handling his sexual needs during the journey, so Cattleya will take care of everything for him! ♪" 

""''''......"""""

Maya couldn't take it anymore and exploded.

"Wait! I take it back, I object! If this girl comes along, public morals will go out the window!" 

"Lady Maya, how cruel!" 

"Who's the cruel one?! How can you ask for consent for something so weird right after such a serious conversation!" 

"She’s right! Besides, Lord Dai is not such a vulgar person!" 

"Yeah! Dai is cool, he wouldn't lose to his lust!"

At any rate, we learned the truth behind the demon conflict, gained a new traveling companion, and the women are... well, they're talking. That’s a win.

By the way—I totally lose to my lust!

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