As we ate the delicious barbecue and stunned at Ein-san's awesomeness, Acht-san spoke to me while holding a huge cup in his hand.
[Oh, Kaito. Have you been drinking?]
[Yeah, this alcohol is tasty, isn't it?]
[Hahaha, drinking tasty alcohol while looking at good scenery. I don't think there's anything more luxurious than that!]
In response to Acht-san's words who told me so with a lively laugh, I nodded without hesitation.
The setting sun shining on the gently flowing river, contrasting with the bright green trees. This spectacular scenery, which can be described as the great outdoors, provide a pleasant sense of freedom.
[However, you've got it rough yourself, don't you? I've heard some things from Kuromu-sama, but you came from the same world as the person who holds the role of the hero, right?]
[Yeah, well…]
[I'm not as smart as Lord Sechs, so I don't know what to think even if they said you came from another world, but if you get sent to a random place without any reason, it must have been rough, right?]
[There certainly are various things I'm surprised about.]
I guess Acht-san is acting like an older brother would, he talks to me over alcohol as if he's worried about me.
Maybe it's because I haven't had many opportunities to talk to the same sex since I came to this world, I shifted my gaze while feeling a bit solemn.
When I see these people of species I've never seen before on Earth feasting on food... I realized once again that I've come to another world.
[...Well, I know what it's like to be surprised by all this. The guy named Neun said earlier that he was the youngest person among this group, right? I'm also one of the youngest people in this group right now, and I was surprised at the beginning.]
[Is that so.]
[Even if I say that though, I've been alive for over a thousand years, so wouldn't Kaito still look at me like an old man? Hahaha.]
As I look at Acht-san who is laughing and drinking again, a question comes to my mind.
Come to think of it, the members here are, according to Kuro, her close friends... but by the looks of it, they're races were all over the place, and they don't seem to be her guardian nor siblings. In fact, Sechs-san just said he's a Lich and Acht-san said he was an Ogre, so what the hell does this have to do with anything?
(T/N: Kuro calls them 身内/miuchi, which means close friends, but it could also mean relatives.)
[Come to think of it, Kuro introduced everyone as her friends, but are all of you in the same family like her? I could see that your races were all over the place, but is it normal in the Demon Realm?]
[Ah, no, it's not like it's normal. How should I say this... You know that there are various races in the Demon Realm, right?]
[Yes.]
[There are some races like Humans who become parents and give birth to children, but there are also some children who don't have parents, they who are born from the gathering of magic power. It's basically like how Sister Raz and I, people of the Fairy race and the Ogre race, are from races where we gather together, while Kuromu-sama and Elder Sister Ein were stand-alone races that are mostly self-reliant. That's why it's so rare to see them.]
It's just as I imagined it would be, and I think I understand the gathering of the same races. However regarding Kuro's friends, or to sum it up, these people we are currently having barbecue with, it seems that something like this gathering is rare even in the Demon Realm.
What does that mean? I have my doubts, but is that really an area that I, an outsider, am allowed to step into?
As I was thinking about this, Acht-san seems to have sensed what I'm thinking and sat down on the ground instead of a chair and spoke while looking at the scenery with eyes that seemed to stare a little far away.
[...Well, why don't I tell you a few stupid stories about the old days instead of drinking?]
[Yes.]
[As I said before, I'm an Ogre—- a demon species with its own name. Except, in my case, I'm what they call a "Special Individual".]
[A Special Individual... is it?]
[Yeah, it's extremely rare that one like me is born. Basically, ogres are green or red-skinned demons with one horn, while I have blue skin and two horns. And that's why I'm called a Special Individual.]
Maybe it's a little different, but I guess they're like albinos or something like that? Anyway, it seems that Acht-san looks different compared to a normal ogre.
[It might sound nice being called special... but in the end, being special also means that you're different, and I received not only from the people around me, but even from my own race. Sympathy, fear, contempt... All of it was very annoying.]
[.....]
[I'm more powerful than most ogres, and I don't have the personality to skillfully fit in with the others. It didn't take much time for me to isolate myself from my own tribe and leave my village.]
Being special means you're different. I can understand that. It's the same for humans... Of course, there are some people which are still able to fit in with their surroundings, but Acht-san wasn't able to do it. As a result, he isolated himself from his own tribe and chose to live alone.
[Then, I did a lot of stupid things when I got annoyed, I fought, rioted and lived my life the way I wanted. I also found partner just like me. That fellow was a black wolf, but just like my case, he was born with silver hair, which made him isolated from the other black wolves, just like me.]
[...….]
[And so, we went on a rampage, drifting here and there as if to vent our anger. Fortunately, the wolf and I were both among the strong ones, and well, those days were certainly fun... but in the end, no matter where we went, it didn't change the way we treated others. Well, I should have known, we just turned into wounded beasts who bite on anyone we see, no matter who it is. It would be natural that we would be disliked wherever we may be.]
Acht-san bitterly smiled, as if he's mocking himself at that time. The expression on his face is somehow sad, as if to say why his old self didn't notice something so obvious, but I can't seen any emotion like regret on his face.
[Everyone's always looking at us like we're trash. And then, we would lash out in frustration, become isolated from others, lash out again towards them, I ended up just repeating that stupidity again and again... and before I knew it, I grew tired of it. I grew tired of the repeating, never-ending loop, so I changed, and did something even more stupid. But I screwed up, my partner and I fled for our lives to a ruins.]
[...…..]
[As my partner and I healed our battered bodies, I thought. In the end, what do we really want to do? What did we really want to acquire? And... I found no answer. The more I thought about it, the colder and heavier my heart became... It was as if the heat was drained out of my body. Isn't that funny? In the end, I may look large, but we still have the minds of childish brats... It took me over a hundred years to realize that I was just throwing a tantrum about things I didn't like and I'm just a total retard.]
I didn't know right away what to say. There was a wall in front of him called "difference" from the day he was born, he tried to go around it, but going through that route would only lead him to a dead end. It's easy to put it in words. However, cheap words like that may not be able to express some of the feelings that Acht-san and his partner had.
[...That's when I met Kuromu-sama. Honestly, it was the first time I felt that since I was born. With one look, I felt like my instinct, not my head, were being pressed down to yield in just an instant—- I was ready to die at that time. I will never win against her, the difference between us is so overwhelming that I can't even be allowed to resist, nor am I allowed to speak. It's just, ah, so this is where it ends. This high-level demon that appeared out of nowhere will be the "death itself" to us...]
[...….]
[In a way, I thought it was a fitting end to us who have been a bunch of idiots for a long time. However, it didn't happen. Kuromu-sama looked at us and laid out food that she took out of nowhere and said, "It must be something like fate that we met here. Come, eat with me." with a childish smile on her face.]
[...I don't know if I should say that's like Kuro... She too astounding.]
[Hahaha, that really makes me laugh! I mean, why wouldn't I? Kuromu-sama is a high-ranking demon that's far more powerful than us, you know? And yet, she talk as if we're just her friends that she coincidentally met.]
I can't help but laugh when the scene of the bewildered Acht-san and his partner after they saw Kuro's absurd actions came into my mind.
[...It was the first time I felt it in my life. No sympathy, contempt nor hostility, just a pure smile and fond glances without any hidden intents... Before I knew it, my partner and I were both crying as we eat. It felt warm—- it's like our cold heart is held tightly in her warm embrace, Kuromu-sama's smile was warm.]
[....]
[And then, we naturally began to follow Kuromu-sama. She never looked down on us and treated us as if we're equal. If something good happened to us, she was just as happy as us. If someone made fun of us, she would get really made for us. All of which made me inexplicably happy.]
Acht-san, speaking in a really happy voice, shifted his gaze to Kuro, who was talking to Ein-san.
[I don't know much about it, but I heard that the others were going through a lot of stuff when they met Kuromu-sama. However, the one thing we had in common with the others is that we're all charmed by Kuromu-sama.]
[...….]
[My partner and I vowed our absolute loyalty to Kuromu-sama. If Kuromu-sama told us to die, we'll gladly cut our own throats.]
Thereupon, Acht-san stops speaking and smiled after drinking his cup of alcohol in one go.
[Kuromu-sama is a high-ranking demon with incredible power. However, she doesn't look down on anyone else... Whether it's Elder Sister Ein, Lord Sechs, Sister Raz, Neun, and of course, my partner and I, all of us think Kuromu-sama as our one and only absolute master. However, Kuromu-sama has never called us subordinates, attendants, members of her household, or anything like that. She's calling us as her "family" and her "friends" as if it's obvious. We've never been ordered to do anything and all Kuromu asked us are just "entrust" or "request"... She's treating us as equals from the bottom of her heart when we should have been following her on our own. Even Elder Sister Ein acting as her maid is just something she's doing on her own.]
Kuro indeed called Acht-san and the others as her friends, and if I recalled correctly, she requested from her acquaintance to extend an invitation to me, she entrusted Ein-san about the preparations, and requested the others to bring ingredients. There certainly isn't anything like a command among them.
That's probably the best proof to Kuro that everyone is her family and there's no hierarchy.
[The reason we're all here with Kuromu-sama is simple. It's because we truly love her who is more powerful than anyone else, yet kinder than anyone else... Kuromu-sama's wish is our wish, and Kuromu-sama's smile is our best reward. And since Kuromu-sama calls us her family, then we would be her family even if we're of different races.]
[That's kind of nice. That kind of thing...]
[Oi oi, I've already told you, Kaito. Don't act like we're strangers, okay?]
[...Eh?]
[If you're Kuromu-sama's friend, then you're also our friend. So you don't have to speak so stiffly, you can also call me Acht too.]
[...I see, unn. Alright. Acht.]
[Ohh, that's the spirit! Now, let's have another drink!]
When I saw Acht with a smile on his face that reminded me of Kuro, I finally realized the true nature of the sense of security I had felt from Kuro.
Yes, Kuro sincerely thinks of me as her friend. It didn't matter if I'm an otherworlder or I'm in a peculiar situation, her smile tells me that the Miyama Kaito in front of her, is her friend and equal. I guess that's why I feel safe talking to Kuro and enjoyed being pushed around by her.
Thinking about this, I toast with my new "blue-skinned friend".
Dear Mother, Father—– I have made a friend in another world. Their appearance may have been all over the place, but I'm sure—- They were family.