On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"Why is a child like you playing in this kind of place?"

"First of all, I am not a child. I am 18 years old, and I am already old enough to marry by human standard." Arieda waves her hand while she is explaining. "Second of all, who, in their right mind, will play here?"

As I am rightfully surprised by the things I have heard, I can't immediately respond Arieda.

"We, Dark Elves, may live in the darkness, but like anyone else, we can't see anything in this forest. Naturally, I am not here because I am playing here," Arieda states.

"So, what are you doing here?"

"I got lost." Arieda shrugs lightly. "I made a wrong turn while running away from my assassin, and here I am."

When things suddenly escalate from 0 to 100, I can't help blinking my eyes in bewilderment. Arieda acts like it happens all the time, so I wonder what kind of dangerous life Dark Elves are living.

,m Turning to Eliseus while hoping it really is something normal, I find her frowning lightly. This indicates that something is going on, and we have to avoid getting ourselves involved in the matter at all cost.

"We can help you return to your parents if you want to."

"Oh, really?! That will be great!"

'Eliseus!' My mind screams as soon as I hear what Eliseus says. I don't know what she has in her mind currently, but I am inclined to believe that she has completely forgot we still have a mission.

I understand it is fine to interact with Dark Elves due to their high tolerance for Demons, but I am sure her good will won't be considered as such by Arieda's parents. They will surely think we have purposely kidnapped the kid to curry favor.

Noticing my gaze, Eliseus waves her hand nonchalantly. "Don't worry. I know Envenaddle Family well."

"You didn't even know the kid until she introduced herself."

"Have you forgotten how old I am?" Eliseus quirks her eyebrow. "I have been living in this world for more than a hundred years. My last encounter with Envenaddle Family was twenty years ago—Arieda wasn't born yet."

"Oh, are you that Demon who rescued my mother from the humans?!" Arieda asks excitedly. "How small the world is!"

"I guess that is me." Shrugging, Eliseus adds, "I was actually just killing the humans instead of rescuing your mother though. She was badly injured that time, and since I didn't have anything to do, I carried your mother with me."

"Oh my..." Arieda covers her mouth in astonishment. "You said the same thing to my mother too! I heard it from her story about you!"

Sighing lightly at how familiar the two have become, I ponder about what will await us for our decision. I hope things will go well, since, apparently, Eliseus has put a Dark Elf Queen in debt to her.

I also wonder why I have been encountering kids lately. 'Is this the world's way to tell me I should have a kid on my own?' A crazy thought flashes across my mind, but I immediately forget it in the next second.

'This may be the world's way to tell me that I have just accidentally got a kid.' An even crazier thought, however, pops up in the next second. 'Oh, fuck! Did I accidentally impregnate Valeria?'

I am honestly scared at that being the case; I don't know what she will do to me. I am, however, more responsible than I thought, as I suddenly become determined. I am determined to raise the kid with everything I got.

"You look like you are missing the wife you have left at home."

I am immediately awakened from my thought as soon as I hear Eliseus' remark. "... Kuhum! I was just thinking about what we will do from now on—it was nothing of the sort."

"Well, you also looked like you want a baby." Eliseus shrugs, meanwhile I widen my eyes. "I can lend you my womb, but it'll be a tough work. Demons don't get pregnant easily."

"... Are you serious?" I ask, dumbfounded.

"Of course, not—I was joking." Eliseus shakes her head. "I won't allow you to impregnate me until you marry me."

Blinking my eyes in bewilderment and astonishment, I shake my head at how quirky of a person Eliseus is. I turn to Arieda afterwards, and find her looking at us alternatingly in confusion.

She looks like a really clueless kid. It is hard to believe that she is actually 18 years old.

"You say that you are 18 years old?"

"Yes, I do. Do I look like I am not an 18 year old?"

"Well, here is the thing, kid. You look like a kid."

Expecting Arieda to explode, she surprises me by nodding her head calmly.

"That is understandable." She points her index finger at me. "I can assure you, however, in two years, I will look mature enough to make you swoon over me. I will be able to make you fall in love with me by merely winking my eyes."

"... Okay, kid. It's alright." I pat Arieda's head. "I won't call you a kid anymore, so you don't have to fantasize that much."

"I—I am not joking! You will see it! Hmph!"

Retracting my hand, I chuckle softly at Arieda's reaction. I know that she is not lying, but it is just hard to treat a child looking 18 year old seriously.

The Elven race has a really weird growth phase. They spend the first twenty years of their life looking like a child, just because they will spend the rest of their life looking in their late twenties.

It was initially something that didn't happen naturally. It was something that the progenitors of the Elven race had decided to do after understanding the meaning of life.

They had seen how hard it was to keep looking young while their human friends kept growing older and how hard it was to keep being treated like a youth despite being a really old person.

Because of that, the progenitors decided to make their descendants spend their time as a child a little longer than the others just so they can enjoy the simple life of a child before facing the hardships as an eternally young individual.

It is a quite philosophical reason, but I can't get the reason why they wanted to have their descendants go through a massive growth spurt.

When they reach 20 years old, after all, Elves suddenly turn into an adult. Their physique and brain are developed in a night; they mature physically and mentally in a night.

The process turns a lollipop sucking kid into a frightening warrior overnight, and I think it is scary.

"Well, whatever." I shake my head faintly to clear my mind off any of the thoughts. "What are we going to do next?" I ask as soon I turn to Eliseus.

"Arieda lives around here. She knows the forest better than any of us, so..."

"She is going to lead the way?"

"That is correct." Eliseus nods her head simply.

Turning to the kid, I say, "Well, we will go to wherever you lead us to, Arieda. We will protect you from any danger, so you can focus on guiding us to your parents."

"Leave it to me!" Arieda pats her chest confidently.

I am immediately convinced upon seeing the confident look on her face. I often saw that look on great lawyers, and they never lost a case once.

I believe she will be able to guide us back to her parents, but I still wonder why we are doing this. I am inclined to believe it is an attempt to curry favor from Arieda's parents, but I have a suspicion that Eliseus just doesn't want to leave the kid behind.

"Ah, Mr. Layland." Arieda raises her hand politely.

"Yes?"

"Can you let me ride on your shoulders? I don't have that great of a view given my small body, so I hope you will be kind enough to—"

"Here you go!" I swiftly put Arieda on my shoulders. "Do you like the view?"

"A-Ah, yes. It somehow feels scarier than riding the Pantherapid despite you being the shorter one though."

Shrugging lightly as I don't feel enough fear in Arieda's voice, I ask her to immediately guide us. She instantly agrees, and tells us where we should go.

Eliseus walks beside me, and converses with Arieda from time to time. It honestly boggles me how talkative she can become, but I am too concerned about Arieda leading us to the wrong way to mind that.

Arieda has, after all, been talking to Eliseus ever since we started walking, so, at one point, I am afraid that she lost her concentration and chose the wrong way.

"Can you even focus on the road while talking?"

"Oh, don't worry, Mr. Layland. I don't have to focus on the road—I can't even see anything," Arieda answers convincingly.

"... Tell me you are joking."

"Haha. No I am not, Mr. Layland, I am not joking. In fact, we are already lost. That's why I keep talking to Miss. Eliseus—I am afraid you will get mad at me."

As my eyes darken, I feel a great urge to strangle the kid. I can feel the fear on her trembling voice however, so I gulp down my rage, and let her guide us back to the correct way.

Luckily, she manages to do it.

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