On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"You know... I have actually donated them a huge amount of fruit. It will, at least, take the kids three years to eat all of them. They don't actually need anymore money."

We are on our way to the gathering point where Velucan is waiting for us. Vibiane has been talking about how helpful the fruits she has donated to the orphanage will be; she believes they will be beneficial to the kids' growth.

After telling her that humans need much more than vitamins to grow, I ignore her entirely. She still insists her fruit can give everything that the kids need, so I quickly deem her a lost cause.

"... That's why they are enough, you know. Fruits can do much more things than you can think of!"

"Now that I think about it, Vibiane, why do you look okay?" I ask, waving off her explanation. "I thought you were going to molest some kids at the orphanage."

Gasping in horror, Vibiane waves her hands frantically. "How can I do such a thing to children? I am half-Spirit—I am not as easily aroused as the others!"

"Ah, that explains it." I nod my head in acceptance. "You don't have to react that way, by the way. I wouldn't frown at you even if you did that. They are, after all, human kids; you don't need to be considerate of them."

Vibiane immediately smiles bitterly and shakes her head faintly. I have just told her something that every Cursed Creation knows, but I must have made her remember about something she has been trying to forget.

We cease our conversation afterwards, and the walk to the gathering point is silent ever since. Eliseus looks at me and Vibiane alternatingly in curiosity, but she is not nosy enough to ask what happened.

Just like that, we exit the village. The gathering point is in the north of the village, which is the direction where Amizanima Forest is located.

We change our outfit midway by merely tapping our Spatial Storage once and take out our battle outfit. Our current outfit is then automatically replaced with our battle outfit.

I have only learned to change clothes this way after Eliseus did it in front of me. I could see her naked body for a few milliseconds when she did it, but I was too fascinated by what she did to mind it; thus why I asked her to teach me.

I feel slightly cooler than before now that I have learned how to do it, but I still keep Eliseus' warning in my mind: only do it at times or when I am alone.

The reason why she warns me about that is because there is a chance that I might choose the wrong item to take out of my Spatial Storage, and end up being completely naked.

It is actually not that big of a deal—I can just immediately take out my clothes and put it on instantly—but it is not something I, as a normal individual, want to happen in public.

"Oh, they look refreshed," I remark as I look at the faces of my troop mates at the gathering point. "They really needed to vent their pent up frustration, didn't they?"

"I am sure they were just tired from the prior fight with the humans," Eliseus states. "They had enough rest, and that is what is happening here."

"Are you not tired?" I ask in curiosity.

"It's been hundreds of years—I am already used to it." Eliseus shrugs. "We are always aroused anyway. Not relieving myself doesn't affect me at all."

Treating what happened at the bar a few moments ago as if it had never happened in respect of Eliseus, I nod in agreement. She must be tired too, but I am sure she is just too shy to admit it.

Joining the others, we immediately line ourselves up when Velucan shows up out of nowhere. It is no longer my first time of seeing it, so I am not as amazed as I used to.

I still wonder, however, how a guy of his size can suddenly go undetected. With that overwhelming presence of his, it must be hard to immediately conceal his presence.

"Well, it seems you already have your fun?" Velucan looks at us one by one. "Some of you didn't have the fun, but I think it's because they don't need it since the very beginning."

Velucan's eyes land on me, Eliseus, and Vibiane. My other troop mates turn to us, and smile knowingly with their eyes.

My birdbrain of troop mates have just arrived at another one of their ridiculous conclusions, and I don't know whether I should laugh or lament at the fact how easy they misunderstand things.

Like usual, of course, none of us pays any attention to them ... At least, that is the case for Eliseus and me. Vibiane is blushing for whatever reason; it makes me wonder whether she is just too pure or dirty minded.

"Kuhum! From my source of information, I heard that there would also be a group of Adventurers departing to Amizanima Forest tonight. We might encounter them in our way, so... I beg you to kill as little as possible."

Blinking my eyes in surprise at Velucan's request, I wonder why he considers that request worthy enough to take the time of his speech. I know—we all know how much he loves his speech.

"The human he has slept with must be from that group."

"Yes?" I quirk my eyebrow at Eliseus' words.

"Garous can get familiar more easily with humans. They are, after all, technically half-human, so they can relate with humans better than we ever can."

Nodding lightly at the trivia, I return my attention to Velucan. He surprises me by concluding his speech, which means he really values the request more than his speech.

I am actually surprised that our tough General is such a softhearted guy, but I am immediately reminded of what he did at the village we have ravaged. He spared not only one, but two human kids.

Although one of them was eventually killed by me, the fact that he had saved a human life still stands.

There are also humans who do the same to Cursed Creations, but I am sure they don't have a high rank in the military. No one likes a leader who has the heart to spare the enemy they have been trying to kill after all.

"To the north, and march!" Velucan shouts loudly.

As he dashes ahead of everyone else, we immediately follow suit by running as fast as we can, but still at a speed that we can maintain for hours. We also maintain our rank, so everything is kept in order.

The air is cool—the night is silent. After 4 hours spent running, we finally arrive at Amizanima Forest.

...

It is now around two in the morning. This world's temperature is a lot cooler than Earth's, but the temperature in the area of Amizanima Forest is a loot cooler than the temperature of any other places in this world.

I am sure it is, at least, 10° F here, so I am wondering how the forest is not covered in ice. I can't even see any snowflake falling from the sky, which makes me curious about how low the freezing point of the water around here.

"It doesn't look good—the forest," Velucan remarks audibly. "I was wondering why there was not a single obstacle on our way here, but now my question is answered. This is the obstacle!"

Looking at the forest, which is completely filled with 350 feet tall trees, I gulp unconsciously. One of these trees can be the tallest tree in the world if I bring them to Earth, but Eliseus says they are considered small in this forest.

Whoosh!

A chilling wind that carries a faint aura of terror crashes into me. I immediately look as far as I can into the forest to see what is inside, but all I can see is a cold, endless darkness.

I wonder how dangerous this forest originally is, and how dangerous it is now that Velucan has said the weather is not good. Honestly speaking, I am excited to explore this forest, but my logic tells me I shouldn't risk my life here.

"You will protect me." I suddenly turn to Eliseus.

"What?"

"I trust you."

Nodding my head surely at the still confused Eliseus, I turn my gaze back to the forest. Velucan stops pondering not long after, and commands us to follow behind his back.

Cursed Creations are instinctually better than humans. For Velucan to even ponder before entering the forest, I wonder how the humans will survive in this forest.

"Watch your step! Be sure to always coat yourself with Mana, and don't panic!"

"Understood!"

As the warriors in front of us enter the forest, we immediately lose sight of them. That is how dark Amizanima Forest is—it makes my heart beat faster.

When my turn to enter the forest comes, Luxia warns, "Be careful. I don't have any power here." This slightly turns me off, but I keep myself calm.

The moment I enter the forest, I instantly lose my vision. It is as if someone suddenly pours a bottle of black ink into my eyes.

I still keep myself calm, but at the moment, I hear someone whisper behind me. "Welcome to Amizanima Forest, where the pathfinders lose their way."

I don't need to be a pathfinder. At that moment, I immediately know I have lost.