Chapter 4- Carry On Wayward Child

Three weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Maou-mama taught me many

things about the Dominion, the nation of demonkind that spans the entire

continent of Ceogath, which the humans simply refer to as the Demon

Continent. The most important thing she hammered into my mind is the fact

that to be a good ruler one needs a heart that can hold love for more souls

than one can count. She cherishes every single one of her citizens, and she

tried to teach me to do the same.

I didn't really understand what she meant until she took me on a walk

through the streets of Arkaim, the capital of the Dominion, while in disguise.

The bustling life of the city, despite the dark architecture and tinted windows,

showed me that there were many different kinds of demons. Some possess an

otherworldly beauty and grace, while others appear malformed and hideous.

And I could see that Maou-mama didn't discriminate when speaking to any of

them.

Maybe I won't be able to gain the same kind of open-heartedness so

quickly, but seeing her overflowing kindness as she watched her citizens, I

felt inspired to at least try to do so. I must have been seeing the signs of a

good ruler in her at the time.

It's clear that she intends for me to become her successor, as all rulers do

for their children. Leaving aside the matter of older siblings, who don't seem

to be living in the castle, I feel like our kind is exceptionally long-lived or

even outright immortal. I have no metabolism, after all.

I don't tire, sweat, or produce any waste even when I eat a lot. When I

morph into any of the templates from humans and animals consumed, I can

allow myself to copy their body plan to perfection. At the same time, I can

also make partial transformations on the inside, which enables me to change

only my outward appearance while keeping my interior that of a Crawling

Chaos.

Therefore, I believe that we should be virtually immortal, as long as we

have access to food. According to Maou-mama, that also appears to be our

kind's only weakness, since overwhelming hunger can come to control our actions. It depends on the mass we have in us, with less causing a more

intense craving when hungry, but with more requiring much more to sustain

the mass.

Sometimes I wonder how much mass Maou-mama has since she seems to

eat about the same amount as I do.

There is another thing I learned about myself, not in the physiological but

psychological sense. Even though I had already started to become aware of it

in my previous life, it took my death and this new beginning to realize one

fact about my psyche. And it took this new body and the altered perspective

on life that comes with it to completely embrace it.

I'm not interested in the other sex. And I have never been.

The Maid Corps in the castle are all incredible beauties - or cuties - without

exception. Maou-mama told me they were chosen for various qualities, but

the one all of them had to have in common was having uniquely good looks.

I think she saw through my preferences and is hinting at the fact that as her

successor, I will be able to create my very own Maid Corps just like that. It

makes sense that a person in the position of the demon queen should be able

to choose the most beautiful subjects in the nation for herself.

Though I have to wonder, does that mean Maou-mama also swings that

way?

"Good morning, Chaos-chan." When I enter the dining hall in the morning,

Maou-mama sits at the end of the table and greets me with a smile unlike any

I've seen before.

For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this.

Well, that 'some reason' also derives from the fact that Mithra is standing

next to the demon queen in his usual mummy-like appearance. He has been

the one to transport us from place to place so that a repetition of my trip to

Yagrath wouldn't happen again. So whenever I see him, I have to look

forward to going somewhere.

But the atmosphere in the hall seems different from usual. Many members

of the Maid Corps are gathered, and Rewera appears to be carrying

something in her hands. It looks like a crude leather backpack.

"Today is the day for you to go on your journey." Maou-mama speaks in a

happy voice as she stands up from her chair.

My journey? It sounds like I'll be alone on this one, and it makes it seem like something more long-term than everything we've done so far. I haven't

even had breakfast, and you're telling me to leave?

"It is a pilgrimage to prove your worth." Her gentle gaze seems to suggest

that she expects me to pass with flying colors, just like I have in almost every

test I've been subjected to so far.

"Where will I be going to?" That wording makes me think of a journey

with religious undertones, and my destination will be a temple or ancestral

catacombs, where I have to overcome some kind of trial that will feel like a

dream sequence.

"Not to, but from." She corrects me. When she sees my confusion, she

stands up from her chair and walks over to me, while gesturing for Rewera

and Mithra to come forward. "You will be sent to a location chosen at

random, and your goal is to return to this palace within three years."

"... three years?" I ask cautiously. Is she expecting me to travel across the

world and perform some specific feat during that time? I mean, I don't know

how big this planet is, but I've heard of a story in which people traveled

around the world in eighty days. Then again, apparently they used trains and

cars. Those most definitely don't exist in this world. "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do. All who aspire to sit on the Dominion's throne are required to

undergo this final test." Maou-mama puts her arms on my shoulders and

looks me deep in the eyes, the piercing yellow irises on her black sclera fixed

onto me in a warm expression.

It would require for the current demon queen to abdicate from old age or

die, before I could ascend to the throne, though. The former feels highly

unlikely if my theory about our kind's potentially infinite lifespan is right; the

latter is something I don't ever want to happen. While being able to create my

own harem is tempting, I don't want that in exchange for my new mother's

death.

"I don't want-" Before I can finish, Maou-mama puts her index finger to

my lips and shakes her head with her eyes closed. It seems she knows what

I'm thinking.

"Do not worry. You should be able to return much faster than that, but this

gives you time to see more of the world." Chuckling to herself, Maou-mama

separates from me and speaks with a hint of mischief. I understand what she

wants me to do with all that time I've been given. It's what she has been

teaching me for the past three weeks. "I am sure nothing will be able to bring you down along the way. After all, you are my child."

Her confidence in me is astonishing, but at the same time, I can feel pride

well up inside me. It makes me want to affirm her trust in my abilities.

Rewera hands me the backpack and lists the things contained in it. My

breakfast has been packed, as well as some dried meat for along the way.

There are some basic tools and a magic map which automatically shows the

position I'm in. That last one should come in really handy.

Alright, I guess I'm ready to depart... not really, but there are no two ways

around this. As long as I get sent to a place that isn't as dangerous as Yagrath,

and have a map to orientate myself with, I should be fine getting back here.

I'll just treat this as an adventure trip.

"See you soon, Chaos-chan." Waving to me just as Mithra steps forward

and tips his gnarled staff in my direction, Maou-mama gives me a reassuring

smile.

"See you, mama..." I'm not entirely confident in myself, but I'll just have to

grit my teeth and get this over with.

Oh wait, in all this time it came so naturally to me that I completely forgot.

The use of Japanese honorifics despite the fact that the language we speak

isn't actually Japanese. What's up with that? Does this mean Maou-mama was

reincarnated into that body, too?

Before I can ask her about it, the familiar stream of light envelops me and

cuts off my vision of her.

When my surroundings return to those of the normal world, the first thing I

notice is that the temperature dropped by quite a bit. Looking around, I find

greenery all around me. Lush grassy plains with rolling hills extend into the

distance before me, just past some mossy trees at the edge of a forest.

Well, my question in regards to whether Maou-mama is a reincarnated

person just like me, or picked up Japanese from someone else in this world,

will have to wait until I get back to her side then.

In either case, a choice is presented to me right away: Forest or plains?

I've been in a forest before, so no thank you. It's easy to get lost, and the

atmosphere can become quite oppressive when you know that behind each

tree could be monster that might attack you on sight. I have a better view of

my surroundings on the plains and will be able to see if something dangerous

approaches. Also, I will be able to spot settlements from afar.

Ah, now that I see the towering clouds in the distance, I remember

something else I seem to have banished from my thoughts for a long time. I

forgot to ask Maou-mama about the giant cloud monster in Yagrath.

There are several things I wanted to talk to her about that slipped my mind

so inconveniently, it seems...

Well, it's not like it'll affect me for the time being, since I'm surely not in

Yagrath again this time. Considering this is my world now, I'll eventually

learn a lot of its mysteries sooner or later anyway. And I intend to live for a

long time, so either is fine for me.

For now, let's start with getting my bearings by looking at the map. I could

just walk in the rough direction of Arkaim, which is undoubtedly marked as

my destination on the map if I really only wanted to get back right away. But

as Maou-mama said, I should take this opportunity to see more of this world.

I look through my backpack and check the items Rewera listed one by one.

When I think about it, a lot of these are things you would find in a disaster

survival kit in Japan. Obviously, the pieces of technology they don't have

here aren't included, such as a flashlight.

When I take note of the inventory, I find that there are things I don't really

need. For example, there's a knife and a small saw, which I can recreate using

my body; I already managed to create sharp blades out of bone on my very

first day of being in this new body.

Bandages are also pointless since this body can fill out any wounds with

matter from the inside. In other words, as long as I don't get scattered into

many tiny pieces or ground to dust completely, I can regenerate fully.

There's also a rope, which I should be able to create from my matter as

well. Though I don't know whether my body or this material here is stronger

or this material here is. I'll still go with what I'm more familiar with, which is

my body at this point.

There is one sizeable sheet of white cloth, most likely for making a tent

from, and a piece of tanned leather about the size of a small poster.

But there's no map.

I go through everything again, then empty the contents of the bag on the

ground and search the insides for hidden compartments, before putting things

back inside one by one to make sure I didn't miss anything.

But there's still no map.

Maou-mama?

No map means that I have no idea where I am. While I've been to various

places in the Dominion with Maou-mama, when she showed me the kingdom

I might someday rule, no place looked like the scenery before me. In other

words, I don't think this is even the Dominion anymore...

While Maou-mama didn't specify where I'd start my journey from, I

expected it to be somewhere on the Ceogath continent. Considering Mithra

was the one to teleport me, I couldn't have taken a wrong turn somewhere. So

this is really my intended start line, then?

If this isn't the Demon Continent, then the only possible explanation is that

this is the human continent - if there even is something like that. It would put

me smack in the middle of enemy territory.

Appearance-wise, I should be able to pass as a normal human being, as

long as I don't absorb things through my skin for all to see. I can eat

normally, but after using the very convenient Crawling Chaos way for the

past weeks, I don't feel like chewing and swallowing anymore. I'll only do it

if I really have to.

I don't have any clothes on me right now since Maou-mama has embraced

my body paint-like solution and even started trying it out for herself. When it

comes to it, and I have to enter a human town, I can wrap myself in the tent

sheet as a stopgap solution. I'll have to come up with a reason for that, or

people will think I'm a pervert.

But I have to say, starting out in such an idyllic looking place is more like

it for the beginning of an adventure. This looks like a starting area in a

fantasy role-playing game now. Then again, I think I'm strong enough to

challenge harder content, although I'd rather not do something like Yagrath

again for the time being.

I guess this is a good way for a ruler to test their children to see whether

they are worthy to be a ruler or not. Being thrown into an unknown place and

having to find their way back while overcoming all kinds of trials will

strengthen a person's character. After all, power breeds complacency, and a

king who doesn't know the hardships of life will drive his kingdom into ruin.

For the first time since returning from the Dark Continent, I'm completely

alone again. There are no maids a call away, or Maou-mama whom I could

talk to here. While I walk across the plains, I have plenty of time to think

about all the things I've experienced so far.

The sun is slowly approaching the horizon, and I'll have to find a place to

sleep soon. Even if my body never tires, my mind is still that of a human's -

which means that I need sleep to process all the experiences I make

throughout a day.

Wait, the sun is going down already? It was morning in the demon palace,

and within a short teleportation journey, it's become late afternoon already? I

didn't arrive here so long ago, it's maybe only been an hour or two, so I

haven't been absentmindedly walking for a whole day either.

In other words, this place is in a different time zone from Arkaim, and most

likely ahead by half a day. Does that mean I'm on the other side of the planet

right now? I guess my idea of a world trip is actually becoming a reality.

So on top of being all alone in a foreign place, I'll have to deal with jetlag,

too?

And it is now I realize my tactical blunder. These plains have no trees, and

it's quite windy. In other words, where do I pitch my tent and seek shelter

from the elements when I go to sleep? While it doesn't look like it'll rain, I

feel like I'll catch a cold if I sleep out in the open - even though my

constitution doesn't really allow me to get sick, I think. In either case, I'll

have to find a solution to this problem sometime soon.

Ah, I know what to do.

I transform into a vularen. The fur covering my body retains body heat

well, and I can feel myself warming up already. I didn't pay attention to it

before when I took this shape to run from the quakemaws, but these wolf-like

monsters have pretty soft fur. This is quite comfortable, and I should be able

to get through the night without a problem. And if I'm to believe Maoumama's words in regards to vularen being considerably dangerous beasts,

then other wild animals should keep away from me.

With this issue out of the way, I continue on my trek across the plains until

it becomes too dark to proceed. I have a highly efficient version of night

vision, but it feels quite alien to me. It's somewhat stressful when I'm in

almost complete darkness but can still see as if it was a very cloudy day, so I

prefer not to use it. Must be human nature to dislike the dark, or maybe it's

just me.

In either case, I should be able to sleep rather well and safely while in this

form.

I wake up to the sound of thunder.

Why am I not surprised? Of course, when I sleep out in the open, there will

be a lightning storm.

Ah, I just felt a drop.

It's starting to rain.

And within seconds, it intensifies into a full-blown downpour.

Luckily, I stored the backpack inside my body. I tested the theory during

my training with Maou-mama and found that I can consciously will a part

inside me to not dissolve its contents. Doesn't mean it will keep things alive,

though.

Thinking back to the vularen that I experimented on by testing how long it

could stay alive inside me, I feel like apologizing.

While thinking such idle thoughts, I'm becoming more and more soaked.

I'm feeling heavier by the second because my fur isn't the water-repellant

type and is soaking in the rain.

When I look around, I don't see anything I could use as shelter. I'm

thoroughly awake now, so I might as well start moving again. Having no

clock is quite inconvenient since I can't tell how long I've slept, or how long

it'll be until sunrise. The clouds and rain make it impossible to tell whether a

moon is out or not, too.

Then again, I don't really need to know, I guess. I have nothing planned for

the next day, after all. No school, no club activities...

Damn, I'm starting to think about my previous life again. It's still hard to

come to terms with the fact that my life as a high school student, and the

track and field ace, is over. And without being able to recall how it happened,

too. I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to all the people I cared

about.

The rain is only weighing me down with such depressing thoughts, so I

shake my head to get rid of them. In the same move, I also shake my body of

the water clinging to my fur.

I transform back into my human form and remain naked without bringing

out the sheets to cover myself with. They would become thoroughly soaked

anyway since I'm already wet. Furthermore, there's no point in practicing

modesty out here in the wilderness where nobody can see me.

Turning my hair into something like a single skin flap in the form of a

makeshift hood, I let it hang over my shoulders and cover them from the rain.

This is something else I learned from that certain alien parasite that takes

over a human's head. This way I don't have to deal with wet hair falling over

my eyes.

I see a gigantic lone tree on a hill, reminiscent of some famous oil painting.

I'm sure I can find shelter from the rain there, so I quicken my pace and run

towards it. I guess it's a lucky break.

When I arrive, I find that someone is already here. Not just someone, but a

lot of living beings surround the trunk of the tree, huddled together against

the winds. They look and sound like sheep, but one detail sets them apart

from those I know from my previous life. Their fur grows in various colors,

including rather unnatural ones, such as pink and dark blue. There is even a

rainbow-colored one among them.

In the center of them is a boy, sitting with his back against the tree and

looking asleep. He's wearing a wide-brimmed leather hat and a cloak most

likely made from sheep wool. Unlike me, he's well-dressed for the cold

weather.

Some of the sheep-like creatures bleat at me when I approach, and it wakes

up the boy who is most likely their shepherd. He looks around cautiously,

before spotting me in all of my barely covered and wet glory. I've already

gotten used to being seen naked in the demon castle, and if I can get some

shelter here, I don't care if he sees me like this.

The boy looks at me with round eyes, as if he saw a ghost. Never seen a

naked girl before, huh? I'm mostly in my appearance from before my death,

be it due to nostalgia or a lingering regret, but the important bits have been

erased since they only get in the way. And I have a flesh-colored sheet

covering my shoulders, in place of hair.

I walk towards him, and he tries to back away fearfully, but since he's

already leaning against the tree, he can't get any distance. I go straight past

him and sit down on the other side of the tree.

Just when I prepare to change into a vularen again to regain some body

heat, I stop to reconsider my position; I'm surrounded by these sheep and

their shepherd, so if I turn into something that very clearly looks like their

predator, it will cause them to panic. At least I assume that there's such a

relation between wolves and sheep in this world. Guess I'll have to wrap

myself in a blanket and spend the night like this. It's not like I feel especially

cold or something, but it's for my peace of mind.

I just hope the boy will leave me alone... but obviously, he doesn't leave me

alone as I hoped he would.

"Are you... a fairy?" He asks me in a shaking voice. I can understand his

language, but he has a distinct accent. Some words and intonations are

different from the language I've been speaking in the Dominion so far. While

this world does seem to have something like a universal language, it's not to

the degree where completely different cultures speak the same dialect. I

assume it's a dialect.

What part of me looks like a fairy? I'm naked and hugging my knees, wet

from head to toe. My hair could be seen as wings, so maybe that's what he's

referring to? Do fairies have head-wings in this world?

"You must be cold. Here, take this." I look up to see that the boy is holding

out his coat towards me. Oh, what a nice kid.

I'm not really cold though, so I shake my head.

"But you're... n-naked." Now he's bothering me. I just want to sleep.

I look at him in silence. He's blond and has blue eyes. Everything about

him seems human, even though I can't tell with absolute certainty due to his

thick clothes. Still, a demon wouldn't ask what I am, since there are all kinds

of appearances. It practically confirms my suspicion that this isn't the

Dominion anymore.

He seems entranced by my appearance, and I hear him swallow as his eyes

swim all across my body, not knowing where to look. If only you knew my

real appearance, you'd run away screaming, kiddo.

Putting my head on my knees, I ignore him. I'm too tired to start a

conversation now. He continues to stand around, unsure of what to do, but

soon I hear his footsteps as he rounds the tree and sits down on the other side

again. Good, I'll have my peace now.

I wake up to the sound of birds. The first thing I notice is that a small coat

is covering my shoulders. Somehow, I didn't notice that the boy apparently

gathered his courage again sometime later and snuck over to place it on me

while I was asleep.

When I look around, the sheep are still there. It seems I didn't sleep for

very long, as the sun still hasn't risen over the horizon, yet. I get up and walk

around the tree, to find that the shepherd boy is asleep in the spot I first

encountered him in, his hat pulled deeply into his face. His undercoat is most likely too thin for this weather, but he still chose to be a gentleman.

That's quite commendable.

I cover him with his coat and quickly take my leave, hoping that I didn't

wake him up. Hopefully, it'll somehow make him think I was literally just a

wet dream.

Choosing to walk in the direction of the sun, where its first rays are

peeking over the horizon, I pass over the ridge of a hill and change my shape

into that of a vularen.

I would only learn much later that the shepherd boy must have been awake

and seen my transformation, as a legend formed around this encounter. A

beautiful naked woman visits a lonely shepherd and spends the night with

him, then runs away just before dawn and transforms into a wolf in the

sunlight.

Nothing of the sort of 'spending a night together' - in the sexual meaning

it's most likely intended to sound like - happened, though!

I messed up!

I should have asked the shepherd boy for directions to the nearest town or

something. He couldn't have been that far away from a human habitat in the

first place, even if it's only a farm. But I already walked quite a bit and was

swept away by a river for a pretty long distance. I'm not a bad swimmer, but I

underestimated how strong the current was.

Thus, I don't even know the way back to that tree under which I met him.

Also, he most likely already left, now that the sun is on the rise.

Well, I'll just enjoy the adventure into the unknown then. It's not like this

could turn out badly or anything, right?

No, wait! I take it back! Everything can turn worse, and when you're too

optimistic, that's when fate strikes you even harder. I can only hope that I'm

not going deeper into untouched nature and the wilderness where I'll get lost

for the next decade.

And it seems that I'm getting a lucky break. When I get to the top of a hill,

I spot a village in the distance. No walls, only one street, a collection of a few

houses. People are working in the golden wheat fields, harvesting the

bountiful crops. They look like regular humans, all with hair in shades of

blond and light brown.

I color my hair blond and grow it out to around shoulder-length. Then I turn my irises blue - or at least I will them to become blue, even though I'm

not sure whether it actually happens or not, since I have no mirror. This way I

should look more like a human from this country.

As for clothing, I can only wrap myself into the tent sheets from inside my

backpack. There's a sewing kit in the backpack, but I can't sew at all, so it's

not really useful.

I think about it for a moment, before deciding to give it a try. It should be

better than going in basically naked.

"Look at that girl; she's in rags."

"Did something happen to her? Those clothes look like she was attacked..."

I can hear you, you know. Your pitiful gazes and words of suspicion hurt

my heart. Even though it looks like this, I tried my best!

"Hey, are you alright?" A handsome young man with light brown hair and

blue eyes approaches me with a concerned expression. I almost do a doubletake when I find that he looks just like the stereotypical protagonist of a

fantasy anime.

"I'm... fine..." I can't even bring myself to talk straight since I have to

suppress the urge to laugh about his appearance.

Wait, this is my chance to get information about this place. In fact, if I play

on my vulnerability and female charm, I should be able to get men to do all

kinds of things for me.

Ah, this thought wouldn't even have crossed my mind before, but it came to

me so naturally just now. Is this the effect of this body on my mind? It

certainly wasn't Maou-mama's training, that's for sure.

"You don't look fine to me. Your clothes are completely ragged, and you're

barefoot. Were you robbed?" He looks me up and down.

Leave me alone about my outfit already! And I've been barefoot for a

pretty long time now. There's nothing wrong with that.

But he just gave me a story that I can run with. Alright, I'll play the damsel

in distress and act like I've been robbed of everything, including the clothes

on my body.

"I... was attacked by bandits... I managed to escape my captors... during the

night." I try to put some despair in my voice, though I don't think I'm a good

actress.

"I see, you poor thing... My name is Rolan Helt. Come with me. I'll give you a warm meal and some clothes at least." Showing a thoughtful

expression, he extends his hand towards me and smiles in a naturally

charming and reassuring manner.

Success!