On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

As I silently walk beside Valeria on our way back to my hut, I think about the possible reasons of why she is coming to my hut again. Judging by how quirky she is, I consider messing with me as one of the possibilities.

Anyway, I am still not amused by whatever her reason is. Today's events are still fresh in my mind, and I want to be as far away from her. I have heard stories and read fictions about a crazy mentor, but Valeria easily takes the cake.

I can't deny the result, but I can't accept her method. Who could easily accept the fact that their mentor is killing them almost all the time for the sake of training anyway? None! My situation is even worse since I can't escape it—I need to do it.

Luckily, I have determined myself to face everything the world gives me like a champ, so I am willingly undergoing all of the sufferings. Still though, I can't just prevent myself from hating the people who let me go through the pain.

Of course, I am aware that this is all done for my sake ... Or that is what I like to believe. I haven't quite grasped this world yet, so I don't really know my importance in Verniculos Kingdom—whether I am dispensable or indispensable.

"I have disregarded this matter due to how torturous my day was, but now I can't help but wonder about why Millonia can understand me."

"I thought you didn't even realize it."

We have arrived in front of my hut, and as I open the door, Valeria unsurprisingly shows her intention to come in. As I am still mad at her for today's events, I decided to be petty, so I enter before her and leave her outside.

"I thought you were a gentleman."

"I believe nonsense like ladies first doesn't work in this world."

By the work of Magic, Valeria is already inside my hut the moment I enter it. I am honestly not surprised as I have expected something like that would happen, but I am still slightly disappointed.

"Regarding your question, Millonia is one of the special individuals I have mentioned about. That's why she can understand you."

"These special individuals—is their level of mastery the one that allows them to understand me?"

"Not necessarily. Most of them just like to learn new things."

"So, which type of a person Millonia is?"

"Who knows?"

I look at Valeria who has just shrugged lightly for a few seconds, before standing in front of the mirror. I want to style my hair with my hand to look slightly more presentable, since I am not provided with a hair comb.

As I look into the mirror, I notice a few visible changes about my appearance: my hair has gotten darker, I am now 5'9" tall, my skin has gotten paler, and the figurative light in my eyes has gotten dull.

I am happy that I have gotten drastically taller in just a day of training, but I don't care much about my physical appearance. I am more attracted to the way my eyes look at my own reflection—they are so cold, I can barely recognize they are mine.

As I recall about what has happened to me, and the sufferings I have undergone today, realization dawned upon me. "Oh... I have experienced too many death. No wonder this look is familiar, yet feels so foreign."

It is laughable, but I have seen many suffering fictional characters having the same eyes as the current me. I am familiar with the way they look at the world, but I am still baffled to see the same look on my face.

"Have you had enough admiring your appearance?"

"No, my hair is still wet, so it will take a little bit more time to style it."

"You have a towel, don't you?"

"It's not enough. I think you know how hard it is to have a long hair."

"Why don't you—"

"My hair reminds me of my late mother. She was the only person I can confidently say I hold dear, so I want to keep this hair, at least, until I can eventually move on from her death."

"..."

One thing I realized about Valeria is, she is not emotionally gifted, so whenever things get emotional, she often stays silent as she doesn't know how to respond—just like now.

Of course, she always finds a way to get out of the awkward situation everytime. Still Most of the time, she avoids any subject that will potentially lead to an emotional talk.

"Let me dry it for you."

Valeria waves her hand lightly, and I can suddenly feel a fairly strong wind blowing on my hair.

Whoosh.

"No wonder you have no difficulty dealing with wet long hair—you have Magic. How enviable."

"I want you to know that I will only do this once."

I quirk my eyebrow. "Are you implying that you are going to come here everyday around this time?"

"Yes. Is it a surprise?"

I am actually a little bit surprised, but not because of Valeria's decision to come to my hut everyday; I am surprised at how enthusiastic she seems about it. Nonetheless, I just nod my head, and pretend I don't see anything.

"Do you have any special reason to be with me around this time?"

"Of course." Valeria nods simply. "I am here to teach you about the outside world, so you can survive once you are released outside."

"First of all, let me ask you about this releasing thing. Are you going to strip me off of my status then leave me suffering outside someday?"

"We won't strip you off of your status as a Demon King Candidate, but you got the latter part right."

Valeria answers me with a straight face as if she is saying something I should've known, and I am speechless because of it. I have suffered enough inside the castle—I can't even imagine what kind of a hell awaits me outside.

"Life is a struggle; you are not living your life if you don't." Valeria extends her hand to the side, making this world's language book on the table flies into her hand. "Instead of thinking about that, why don't we proceed to the next session of your training?"

'Easy for you to say, Valeria,' is what I am telling her with my eyes, but then I realized my eyes probably don't convey as much as they used to anymore. Shaking my head lightly, I sit on the bed, right beside Valeria.

Flash!

She has just wordlessly opened the book, and a white light suddenly comes out of it, momentarily blinding me. I regain my vision not long after, and find her looking at me in faint amusement from the side.

"What?"

"It seems you don't need to learn how to speak in our language anymore."

"Because I am not talented?"

"It is the opposite actually."

Valeria smiles slightly then writes something in the air with her finger. Some foreign characters glowing in white immediately appear in the air, and I can surprisingly understand them.

"You have successfully learnt our language."

"Is that your name?"

"Yes."

"Cool... Did you just cast a Spell on me?"

Although I instinctively know the white light earlier must have been the cause of it, I believe it is something Valeria has done. She wouldn't have said I am talented if it was something the book had done after all.

"No, I didn't." Valeria shakes her head faintly, much to my surprise. "Someone has done this for you. Anyway, have you finally realized that you are speaking in a foreign language now?"

I am about to ask about who this someone is, but her next sentence completely catches me off guard. I now realized that I am no longer speaking in English, but I do a good job in keeping my cool.

Thud.

Valeria closes the book and stands from the bed. "This is the the end of today's session. Make sure to wake up on time tomorrow, and don't skip your Mana rich dinner."

She puts the book on the table, moves toward the door, then stops abruptly as if she has just remembered something. Turning to me, she gives me a small, mysterious smile.

"Tonight's dose of Mana is higher than the night before, so prepare yourself."

I merely shrug, and Valeria disappears into thin air in the next moment. I am sure it will be another painful experience, but I am not that afraid of pain at this point.

Knock. Knock.

"I am here to deliver your food."

"Thank you."

I open the door of my gut, and like the night before, I am only met with a tray filled with foods; I don't get to see the face of the monotonous voice's owner. I am quick to carry on however, so I immediately pick the tray up and close the door.

"Huuh... This is it."

I stare at the the food that I have put on the table, and heave a deep breath. Bringing a slice of a well-cooked steak to my mouth, I immediately pass out the moment I gulp it down.

It's not a really cool one, but this is my new life.