Chapter 3: Human Village and Human Interaction
Regulus Corneas P.O.V
After the world started to move again, I also started to move as well through the forest with a purpose in mind, and that said purpose, which wasn't really a purpose as I didn't desire anything for I am already perfect, is to simply walk out of this forest. But that doesn't mean that I don't like this forest though as the scenery in this forest is filled with serenity unlike any other common human settlement out there where it is only filled with violence. And the only sound I heard in this forest canopy was only my own footsteps which are kind of peaceful to hear unlike those annoying whines of a selfish individual, which can only increase my liking toward this environment even more.
You can even say that even if I decided to stay in this forest, I would be satisfied either way as I did not need something as foolish as love and affection to have the need to find civilization for my own comfort. But, I cannot simply go and live off my life as a hermit now could I? And don't get me wrong, it is not because I'm not satisfied with that kind of life to decide such, but it is because as a human being, I still have some obligation, no matter how small, to help out another human being who is in need. And so as generous as I am, I will not take my independence and live alone, instead out of concern for others, I will help out those of my preference that fate had led me into so that they do not get caught on to the idea of love, as with love they would be unable to become independent, which is not a way for people to live their lives as independent is linked to satisfaction of a person. And so to save them from such a fate of being unable to become independent, I would have them as my wife, not out of love, but out of my generosity as I will give them their framework of living so that they would be able to be fully satisfied with their own respected life with me as their lovely husband.
And as I was thinking about how it's a good idea to go out of this forest for the reason I just described previously, I eventually saw a light peeking through the many trees before me after a long time of pondering, causing me to end my internal dialogue short even if I had something more to add for the thought.
Seeing the light, I quickly made a decision, and I began to walk toward the light as my decision was now set on going to find civilization for the reason I had generously thought earlier. After I stepped through the light, what I walked into was a clearing without anything in sight except a large village surrounded by a wall, which is not far from where I'm standing. If I were to describe the village, I would describe it as a smaller Kararagi as I could see its unique architecture even from here. And after that observation, I now believed that I was somewhere on the Kararagi border, which wasn't that far from Priestella city, the place I had previously 'died'.
Knowing that I began to curse those who killed me when I did nothing wrong. The only thing I did at that moment was my job, and who can wrong me for simply doing my job? It turned out to be that bastard, that bitch, and that knight, when I was working, those three dickheads just popped up and killed me. But since I am now alive and kicking due to fate reviving me to continue my duty as a living being, I can't simply let them go now, could I? And so this time I will definitely not show my mercy on them like last time. Now let's see if their pathetic self can survive me now! All I have to do now to get to their greedy self is to cross the Tigracy River, and I'll swear that their karma will be paid! But lucky for them that justice would not be served for a little later as I don't know where the Tigracy River is from my current location, but that is okay as for a patient man like I am, I can wait. So I will take a resident in the village I saw first before fate guides me to them eventually.
With that decision made, I began to walk calmly toward the village in front of me. While I was doing that, I began to think about what kind of people I would meet and hope that they are not rude. If they are rude then I will get rid of them accordingly like how I exterminate that excuse of a village that once called my birthplace. If I do decide to get rid of it in the end, however, then I will not complain about not having a place to stay throughout the night either as I don't need something like sleep as I don't need anything.
Actually I was beginning to be curious if there is actually a person who is not violating my right as there is none I could remember so far in my lifetime that did not once disrespect my rights, my wives included. It is sad actually that most people in the world are either rude or don't understand something as basic as common courtesy. And so with a little hope, I began to walk toward the village.
...
The walk between the outskirts of the forest and the entrance to the village did not take long, an hour at most. And of course, I can travel through those two distances in a blink, but I chose not to do it as I am satisfied. To live in satisfaction is to savor every moment of my continuation, meaning that those who rush things like they don't have much time left would never be satisfied as they wouldn't have time to savor every moment of it, so I will not do such a disgusting thing.
Anyways, when I was at the gate of the village, I saw that there was a single guard standing in front of the gate, with a spear in hand, who was seemingly there to specifically guard for any intruder or dangerous individual. Naturally, I wasn't worried as I am neither of those, for I am a respectable young man, saying otherwise is like a lie to my character and individuality, which can be said to be a violation of my right.
The moment I was in front of the gate, the guard saw me, and a few seconds later, he began to look at me with suspicion... Just how dare this bastard judge me?! It would be understandable if he judged me after I did something suspicious, but this is an entirely different matter as he had judged me, looking at me like I am someone that needed to be wary of, when I practically did nothing to ward off this suspicion. He is practically painting a wrong image on my person, which is beyond disrespectful!
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Guard P.O.V
Working as a guard is a dangerous job.
By being a guard, not only do I have a high risk of meeting a youkai, I also have to fight against one if they have bad intentions. Though luckily those bad intentions youkai are mostly unintelligent ones, however that doesn't mean that intelligent youkai are not dangerous though, as there is some youkai, like that one particular green-haired youkai, who often visit the village to buy flowers, that will not hesitate to kill someone... or that is what I heard from the rumor about her anyway, which I don't believe in that rumor one bit due to the fact that if she really not hesitate to kill someone like the rumor said, she wouldn't be allowed to step even a foot inside the village (courtesy to the guardian of the human village) as those who are allowed inside the human village are only those who are without a doubt not dangerous, like oni who often visit the village at night to drink sake with the villager.
And so knowing that, I began looking at the man, who was approaching the gate of the human village, in both wary and suspicion, as any normal person would react the same when seeing someone coming from the direction of a youkai forest, where most youkai live.
The man who I saw approaching was unremarkable in every sense. He is so unassuming that if you were to throw him into a sea of crowd, he would be lost in it almost immediately. Another thing about his appearance is that he is just... too white in a sense of the word. His white long sleeve shirt, his white pants, his white hair, and his pale corpse-like complexion, just make him look like someone sickly or someone who is not from the land of living, and so when I saw his appearance, it made me quite a bit wary as he might as well be a ghost, but that is just my speculation, so I might as well be wrong with him being a ghost... But some wariness does not hurt, right?
And so when I saw a ghost-like man walking up the gate of the human village, I began to warily exclaim, "Halt, state your business here and show me your identification!"
After I had exclaimed that, the man in white began to speak, "Now, even if you are a guard, judging by your attire and posture, don't you think that butting into other people's business is a breach of their privacy? I believe that it is also within the realm of common sense that unless you are directly affected by whatever my business is, you don't have the right to know what my business is, no? And, did you really ask for my identification? How dare you! Asking for my identification like that is an invasion of privacy! It is also a violation of my right as it is very intrusive and disrespectful!" The man in white spoke in a fashion that made everything sound so reasonable, even when it wasn't.
You can say that I was speechless after hearing that, after all, it wasn't everyday to hear someone question your job and tell you why the way you were doing your job is wrong in a sound argument that somehow feels unreasonable.
It is unreasonable because as a guard, it is tied into my duty to ensure that the people who are coming into the village are not dangerous, and so for that reason, I need to see people's identification, or any kind of permit if possible, so that I can identify any potential security risks, and because of that, it is unreasonable to deny me to do just that.
The feeling I'm having right now is comparable to the annoyance when talking to an entitled person, and so, I began to repeat what I exclaimed earlier, but in a more harsher tone, to the sickly man, to indicate that I wasn't joking around and wouldn't tolerate anymore excuses, "I will not say twice! State your business here and show me your identification. If not then I'll assume that you're a malevolent youkai and I will have no choice but to force you out of the premises of the village!" After I said that, the man in white seemed to be progressively getting angrier and angrier by the second from the look on his face, which started to give me quite a chill for some reason.
"Tck, don't you hold any respect for other people's rights? As a guard, don't you know that upholding people's rights is important because it ensures that everyone is treated fairly and with respect. But from what I see of you readily assume that I am this 'youkai' without any proof nor evidence and accusing me of being one when I didn't do anything to ward off those suspicions, you had already proven to me enough that you didn't care about the rights of others individuals. Rights are important because they are a fundamental part of what it means to be human and they are the cornerstone of a just and peaceful society, you know? As that is why they must be protected, so as a guard, you should know that as it is within your responsibility to keep conflict from spillin—."
Seeing the man keep talking and talking, spewing out a bunch of unreasonable faults in me and a bunch of absurdity, that are seriously driving me up the wall, I decided to cutted in right there and then as I couldn't deal with this person anymore, "I don't know what you're getting at, so stop trying to avoid—." But before I could even tell him to screw off and stop being annoying and give me what I needed already so that I can get it over with, in a polite way of course (as I don't want to get fired from my job now have I?) the man in white cut me off mercilessly, which I'll say to be very annoying as he's now also started to become very hypocritical.
"Now, how dare you prevent me from making a valid argument! You, not only did you violate my right to my privacy, my justification, and my freedom, you also violated my right to my free speech by preventing me from communicating my messages! Just how dare you not allow me to finish my sentence making it seem like my thoughts and opinions do not matter!? Do you have anything to say for your aggression against me?!" A frenzied look started to form on the man's expression, which rang many alarm bells in my head for some reason.
I don't know what that reason are, but I will trust my gut instinct for now as it had help me survive multiple youkai encounters in the past, and so I started to ready my spear to protect myself from this bad feeling I'm having, then I began to exclaim once more to the man whom all my bad premonition had designated from, and also whom I now seriously thought to be a youkai judging by his uncooperative nature, "This is enough! You are a malevolent youkai ain't you? Leave the premises of the village immediately as I couldn't risk someone as dangerous as you walking around the village without any permit and without knowing your intention!!"
"Enough you said? Don't you think that you had missed reading the situation a bit as in my point of view, It is supposed to be me who should have said 'enough'! You have no right to end the conversation abruptly, and silencing me from expressing my thoughts and opinions. This is a clear violation of the other person's right to freedom of expression! You also keep insisting that I'm dangerous when I don't show that I am, and you keep insisting that I'm this 'youkai' when I didn't even show any kind of indication of being one! You really are not fit to be a guard, so just die will you?" He said while radiating off quite a dangerous aura that made me shiver a little.
Just what is this man? He seems to be unremarkable in every sense, but his vibes betray that unexceptional nature and give me a sense of dread as he continues talking in a dizzying amount. As I was thinking that, my grip on my weapon tightened, but before I could do anything, the man spoke once more.
"Don't you think that when someone violates the rights of another person, it is only right that they are punished for their actions as it is completely unfair for one person to be able to violate the rights of another person without any consequences? I think that it is completely unfair so now accept your punishment for the crime you caused, and accept your death as that is the words of fate!" After he said that, he began his motion of raising one of his arms up vertically.
When that action came to pass, my field of vision started to split apart, and it wasn't until I felt the cold and painful sensation between my spine, my sternum, my neck, and in the middle of my face that I had finally realized that I had been cleanly cutted into two pieces.
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A/N: For those who are wondering, the timeline is shortly before Immaterial and Missing Power.