52 Can I call it my home?

Note: The novel has been stopped for a while, sorry about that. This is not a note trying to make excuses for the hiatus, but a lot happened last year and the translation can't be continued as before. Anyway a new translator will take the novel from now on and also slowly edit the previous messed up chapters.

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“Well, back to the topic at hand. Legend or not, it became some sort of unwritten rule to destroy any and all dungeon cores. The heroes of old did not manage to lock away every single demon, so those of them who remain free are attempting to track down dungeon cores and use them to set their kin free once again. Most dungeons are currently under the control of demons. Surprisingly enough, demons seem to be gifted when it comes to managing dungeons, hence the widespread theory that it was a demon who created the first artificial dungeon core. Try as they may, no other species is anywhere near close to accomplishing such an achievement… Even though that’s probably a good thing….”

“Are demons some sort of humanlike red-ish creatures with horns and a tail?”

“Some of them are. Demons are the species with the widest array of subraces amongst their ranks. They do really come in all colours and flavours. Not even I know for a fact how many of them exist.”

The conversation quickly turned into an onslaught of questions aimed at Aeldrya. I learnt that this world was called Kabtiaf. Its inhabitants fell into two large groups: those that possessed a magic core, and those who didn’t. The latter group was formed by common animals, and the so-called Lyudnens, which would be this planet’s equivalent of “people”.

Lyudnens were further divided into smaller groups: humans, elves, dwarfs, beastkind, fairies, fishmen, lizardmen, and finally endomorphs. This last group was formed by insects with a somewhat human-like shape. Not very pleasant to the eye, I must admit, especially considering that some of them had no qualms eating humans, elves, or whatever else was unfortunate enough to cross their path. Why those are considered to be in the same category is anyone’s guess...

Demons are creatures halfway between monsters and Lyudnens. They don’t quite fit into the monster category, but they do have a magic core of sorts in their body. Because of this, they are known simply as demons.

Undead fall into a completely different category. Beings that despite having died already refused to leave the realm of the living, or lifeless bodies controlled through necromancy. Definitely not something you want to run into while you are out for a stroll.

I was also curious about the geography of this world. Aeldrya was kind enough to fetch a map, unfold it in the table for us to see, and briefed us on the matter.

We found ourselves in the great Empire of Aurusia, which is divided into several smaller regions. Right now, we were in the county of Talucay, whose capital city was Cerbalon.

“Alright then, now you know a little about this world and what your situation looks like. I’d advice you to get away from here, create your own dungeon and hide as best you can.”

“Are you telling me I should leave the city?”

“I am. The sooner the better. I will hit the adventurer's guild tomorrow first thing in the morning to let them know that Limy is no longer my apprentice. After that, be a good stone and leave without making a ruckus.”

“I don’t want to give up on being an adventurer.” Limy complained bitterly

“If anyone figures out what you really are, they will hunt you down. This is no place for a monster.”

“I can’t see much difference between monsters and Lyudnens to tell you the truth…” I replied

“Did you hear a word I said?”

“Of course I did. You said it yourself: the only difference is that core nonsense. Look closely, isn’t Limy just like any other ordinary kid? Besides, she stood shoulder to shoulder with you fighting monsters just the other day. Not all monsters have to be evil. For example, if humans attacked Silrasel and monsters took the elves side defending it, wouldn’t you accept their help?”

“Humans would never attack Silrasel” Aeldrya cut me short

“How can you be so sure of that?!”

“Silrasel no longer exists. It fell 200 years ago… there’s nothing left to attack.”

“Oh, sorry about that…”

“Don’t mind it. I was barely 50 years old at the time. I’ll admit that I didn't feel particularly attached to the country, but Sabnuria was one impressive city, I’ll give you that. Magic crystals filled with their colours and shining brightness the streets where impressive buildings stood proudly over 30 meters high. The roads were completely paved with perfectly shaped cobblestones for all sorts of magnificent chariots to drive…“

Looks like she got lost on another trip down memory lane. I had to pull her back to reality or she would have gone on for hours on end.

“Despite what you said earlier, you seem to remember it pretty clearly. So then, what happened? Did the country fall to an undead attack?”

“Please do not speak out of your ass. Of course it did not. If fell due to… internal strife…”

“Well… But you see where I’m getting at with this, right?!”

“Of course I do!” She smacked the table once again “But whatever the case, I cannot let a monster roam free in the streets of Cerbalon.”

“Limy won’t hurt the inhabitants. Tell her yourself Limy, don’t you love humans?”

“Yes, they are tasty.” Limy nodded.

“That’s not what you shoud say here!”

“And I must trust you after hearing this?!”

“Ahhhhhhh, come on! You’ve spent long enough with her to realise she poses no threat to anyone… probably…”

“I have known her for less than a week!”

“That’s long enough!”

Just like that, we were back to square one. Limy watched silently our bickering, which went on for a good while, until I finally figured a sure-fire way to force her hand into letting us stay.

“If you kick us out, then you miss out on the tentacles!”

“What nonsense are you saying now!”

“No Limy, no tentacles.”

“What does that even mean?”

“No more tentacles for you!”

This absurd exchange went on for a few more minutes until she finally gave up and tearily collapsed into the table again.

“I… I just wanted to live a normal and quiet life, without standing out. What did I ever do to deserve this?”

“Be an erofu.”

“I don’t want to hear you anymore, do whatever you want!”

I gave Limy an imaginary thumbs up, and she silently nodded. No one can beat me in an argument.

“Fine, you can stay. But if anyone finds out what you are, you are on your own. You better leave me out of it!”

Aeldrya stood up and headed for the stairs. Just as she reached the first step, she turned back and stared at Limy for a couple seconds, before continuing to walk towards her room.

“She just had to be a slime…” I barely heard the words she muttered.

Seemingly with a bad case of migraine, the erofu retreated to her bedroom to get some sleep, leaving Limy and me alone in the room.

“Follow me Limy, there’s something I want to check out.”

“Understood.”

We made for the stairs. Not the ones leading for the upper floor where Aeldrya slept, but for the ones that descended into the basement. Here, the elf kept all kind of junk and gadgets, most of which I had no clue as to what they were. Limy lit the way holding a small candle.

“I bet this place must get flooded when it rains…”

It did not seem like the place had any kind of foundations, so behind the stone walls was nothing but the ground upon which the streets of the city were built

“This is a good place.”

“What for, master?”

“She said that I should build a dungeon, didn’t she? Well, I’m going to do just that, and I am going to do it right here!”