On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

The voice that I have just heard behind me doesn't convey any specific emotion—it sounds bland and empty. The pressure the owner of the voice is exuding, however, makes me think that she is angry.

It seems to me that she can't express her emotion well, so she uses her Mana pressure to represent her emotion. I am not sure whether she is angry at Paulina or me and Vibiane, but her pressure is starting to annoy me.

Turning my body so I can look at the owner of the voice, I find a beautiful woman with a long, white hair; a pair of slightly curved, pointy horns on her forehead; an unblemished, bright skin; and emotionless green eyes.

With a height of 6"3', she has a lean but fit body. I can faintly see the toned muscles that are hidden under her tight clothing, but my attention is occupied by the necklace around her neck.

It is the same as mine, but it has eight more wings than mine. That means, she is a part of the Conquest Troop, who I have only seen now—I can't recall I have even seen her at the Barrack.

I don't know her at all, but judging by her Rank, I can somehow guess who she is: Eliseus, the strongest warrior in the troop, who Velucan talked about before we departed.

"Eliseus. I didn't expect you to be Paulina's mother." Vibiane faces Eliseus with surprise evident in her eyes.

I am a little bit surprised too. Not because of my correct guess however; because of Vibiane's daring guess. Paulina has indeed said her mother is a Demon, but assuming Eliseus is the one just because she knows Paulina is kind of stupid.

"So what if I am?"

"Mother!"

... Or maybe not.

I slightly blink my eyes in surprise when Paulina runs to Eliseus and jumps at her when she is already in front of her. Eliseus also returns the gesture in kind—although there is nothing changes from her expression, her pressure lessens quite significantly.

I can tell that she has a soft spot for Paulina, and that makes me wonder—why does a killer show that much care toward her victim's daughter?

It might just be my speculation that Eliseus was the one who killed Paulina's biological mother, but considering our relationship with Beastmen, that is highly likely to be the case.

Why else would a Beastman mother entrust her daughter to a Demon?

I have heard many stories about Demons from Valeria, but none of them is about the friendship between a Demon and someone from a pro-God race. There might be some of them out there, but they make up less than a percent of the whole population.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh, I was taking sister Vibiane and that grumpy Demon over there around the city. You know, I failed to ste—collect that grumpy Demon's money, so he enslaved me as a punishment."

"He enslaved you as a punishment?"

Eliseus turns her empty eyes to me, and for the first time, I see something in them. It is not very apparent, but I can see the rage they contain.

I slightly frown when I feel the pressure she is violently sending at me, then take out Rexorem when it is getting unbearable. Stabbing Rexorem in the ground, I channel my Mana into the Magic Stone on Rexorem's blade.

A thin barrier of Mana immediately surrounds me. Unlike what it did to Velucan's pressure, it greatly lessens Eliseus' bothersome pressure.

Eliseus slightly widens her eyes in surprise at my display—at this point, many people walking on the street have stopped to observe the situation. I honestly don't know what will happen next, but I feel slightly excited at the thought of fighting her.

"Enough, the two of you!" Just when the situation is about to get serious, Vibiane steps in. "We are in the middle of the city—we'll be punished heavily if we fight here. Losing our heads because of that is humiliating, don't you think so?"

As soon as Vibiane finished uttering those words, Eliseus immediately retracts her pressure. I, too, deactivate the Mana barrier Rexorem has produced and take Rexorem back to my Spatial Storage at the same time.

The place turns completely silent as we stare at each other, but the atmosphere remains unchanged—it is as tense as before. Vibiane is worried because of this—she is fidgeting uncomfortably—and Paulina looks like she knows she has fucked up.

"Mother!" She pulls on Eliseus' coat to attract her attention. "Although that grumpy Demon is irritating, he has treated me well. He is just too shy to admit that I am cute, so he has always given me the cold shoulder."

"He is?" Eliseus frowns lightly. "What a weirdo."

Eliseus relaxes her expression, and Paulina sighs in relief at that. I appreciate Paulina's effort to save my ass, but the way she has overestimated herself genuinely irks me.

Also, the way Eliseus called me weirdo as if she she is not one herself really stimulates my fist. I want to throw it at her quite badly, but I know it will only escalate the situation; I hold myself back in the end.

"Hmph! I will let the fact that you have enslaved my daughter slide just because you have treated her well."

"I have actually merely TEMPORARILY enslaved that midget over there as a PUNISHMENT for trying to steal from me," I emphasize. "I get that you love your daughter, but please, educate her well."

Scoffing lightly, Eliseus says, "I don't think I have educated her poorly. She already knows many things kids her age don't know about—what else should I teach her?"

"Manners. She doesn't have any respect toward other people. She takes things that aren't her, and that is not something a kid of her age should do. She acts the way she wants—that's the complete opposite of being well-behaved."

Eliseus frowns briefly before saying, "Have you ever seen anyone other than you mind that?"

I unconsciously scoff in ridicule as soon as I get what she is trying to say: the privilege of having a strong mother. She knows no one other than me has ever protested about what Paulina has done, and she is using that to justify it.

"What can a bunch of helpless Monsters, who have been saved by you, can do when your dearest daughter steals from them? They are too grateful for what you have done and too fearful of what you can do."

Eliseus frowns and I immediately put my hand up the moment she is about to say something.

"My point is, me and many others are not the people you have saved. The moment that midget steps her foot outside of this city, there will be many people like me, who are willing to take her head off for what she has done."

"... What is your purpose of telling me this?"

"To justify what I have done to her, and make you realize what kind of a failure you are as a mother."

Eliseus slightly recoils in surprise at my words and immediately frowns in thought. I genuinely think that she is going to come up with an argument to rebuke me, but she surprises me by bowing politely at me.

"You have made me realize something." Eliseus raises her head then looks at me neutrally. "You are right—I need to teach her better. I have spoiled her too much—I forgot that it is not good for her in the long run."

"As long as you got what I mean." I wave my hand lightly.

"Since you can easily see my mistake on my way of raising her up, can I ask you for some advices about parenting?"

"Hoh?" I quirk my eyebrow at Eliseus' unexpected request, then smirk evilly the moment I notice the dread on Paulina's face. "Let us talk about it when we have a free time."

"There is still some time before General Velucan calls us, so let's have the talk now." Eliseus stares at me quite adamantly. "I know a quiet place."

"... Okay."

I am a little bit baffled by Eliseus' enthusiasm about the way to fix her parenting method, so it takes me a few seconds to respond her. Vibiane and I immediately follow her to the quiet place she has mentioned, and arrive at said place after a minute of walk.

The place is a beautiful garden near the city hall. There are not many people there—coupled by the colorful flowers and the heavenly scent, the place is really calming.

"Let's sit over there." Eliseus points her finger at one of the benches in the garden.

I nod my head silently and walk alongside her to the bench. I sit down comfortably when I reach it, meanwhile the other two adult women sit themselves beside me, filling up the entire space the bench has to offer.

Glancing at the two neutrally, I say, "There is literally another bench in front of us."

"I need to sit beside you to hear you better," Eliseus reasons.

"I don't want to feel left out," Vibiane mutters.

Since it's not that big of a deal, I shrug lightly and say nothing. Turning my head to the midget on Eliseus' lap, I can't help smiling when I find her as rigid as a porcelain doll.