Translating a copy of anything was hard, but translating an actual magical language was even harder. It was hard enough with just Sarah working at it, but she insisted on teaching me the language which slowed the process by a lot.
Ruth was helping by taking care of Loki while we worked and once in every few hours one of us went to check on them.
So far I could read extremely simple sentences and some singular words. Whenever Sarah left I would reread the note that Mori attached to see if we were reading it right.
To whoever is reading this:
If anyone were to open this and not be a monster or a resistance member, destroy it. If you are a monster or resistance member, see that it makes it to either a queen or Y/N L/N, he might not know the language but he is resourceful. I only ask for one thing in return for getting this book to them, when they translate the page, I would like to know what the satyros section says.
-Mori
I banged my head on the table and let out a groan. I felt a fluffy hand that was roughly the size of mine on my back and sat up.
"What are you working on?" Dawn asked.
"I'm working with Sarah to translate the original copy of the monster girl encyclopedia" I answered.
Dawn looked at the paper I was writing on.
"Are these magic runes? My entire prison block knew basic runes in order to communicate in a way that couldn't be translated. I don't know half of these though." Dawn stated.
"Wait... how did you learn?" I asked.
"Back in the early days of the monster soldier project, various individuals were allowed to buy monsters in order to train them. One man came in and I thought he was just a pervert looking to take advantage of our natural biology. Once the order left us alone he began to talk to me. Our visits were between 20 and 30 minutes as he visited every girl in my prison block. Eventually he gained the trust of most of us and the order allowed him to control our bonds. The man, however, had to flee after a soldier walked in on him petting a werewolf's ears and showing affection rather than showing blind rage. Rumor is that he escaped but we can never know for a fact." Dawn explained.
Sarah walked into the room and yawned.
"What's going on?" She asked.
Dawn repeated what she just told me and her jaw hit the floor.
"Only one human has been able to teach that language, and coincidentally the same human is the only human who is able to gain the trust of any monster so quickly without getting raped." Sarah began. "But that's impossible... the wondering scholar dropped off the face of the earth in 1944. Everyone assumed he died in a concentration camp but a body was never located nor had anyone seen him. He was fifty-two then and the monster soldier project started in 2025. He would be the oldest human on record! This has to be impossible." Sarah exclaimed.
Dawn shrugged.
"Maybe he became an incubus." Dawn suggested.
"The closest thing he had to a wife was a Leanan Sidhe, nothing would think of attacking, let alone corrupting, him." Sarah argued.
"I don't know why we're arguing about this, why not just ask your mother?" I asked.
Sarah sighed. "That is a fair point."
We found the demon queen relentlessly teasing a man who looked no older than twenty, I couldn't hear much of what she was saying because most of it was whispers, however based on what I could hear I could see why the man was blushing mess.
"Mom, we need to talk about something." Sarah said as if this wasn't at all awkward.
"What do you need?" She asked as if this was a casual conversation.
"Do you know the fate of the Leanan Sidhe that assisted the wandering scholar?" She asked.
The queen stopped moving and shifted her position to hug the man closer to her. Just the name alone made her tense up.
"I-I don't know... it's been so long... where did this come from?" She asked.
"Dawn here claims to have learned basic demon runes from him." Sarah stated.
The queen stared at Dawn violently and the werewolf did her best to keep up her tough attitude.
"The last known location of the fairy was somewhere in the mountains that separates the demon realm from unknown territories. They had a camp there, you can't miss it." She answered.
Sarah thanked her and we left.
We decided that it would be a good idea to take Isabel along because we were going into the mountains. The lamia happily obliged.
Despite much protest Sarah staid behind in order to take care of Loki. It seemed that the instinct suppressing aspects of the chosen spell was weakening around Sarah for the time being. She was being a lot more clingy than she usually was and leaving her to go to the mountains made me feel awful, but there was no way I was about to take a newborn into a place where the order had no issue patrolling in.
As we traveled Isabel had her tail wrapped around my arm. The lamia continued to nervously glance towards me before looking away blushing. After what felt like hours, Isabel stopped and yanked me back.
"The ground here is unnaturally moist, it's not like something from the cold nights or groundwater. I can feel the water under me and it's the perfect environment for just about anything a human would need to survive." She said.
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because my entire bottom half is a sensitive mass of scales that act as both hands and feet with the amount of control and feeling I have." She answered.
Dawn chuckled. "Y/N if you think this is cool we should go camping some time, how about next full moon? I can give you the real werewolf husband experience."
"I'll think about it." I said.
"Whether you want it or not, if you say know I'll drag you there after the war is over." Dawn stated.
I nodded.
Dawn's ears suddenly twitched and she pointed towards a bush. I approached the bush slowly and shot my hand into it and felt a warm object roughly the size of a paintbrush. I lifted my hand up and a small body appeared out of the bushes.
"P-p-put me down!" She shouted.
Dawn walked to my side and looked at the small fairy who seemed to calm down upon seeing her.
"Wait... I remember you. The old man and I were checking on the captured monsters... you didn't see me but I definitely saw you. He was impressed by how quickly you used the runes to communicate." The Leanan Sidhe said.
"Where is he?" I asked.
"Why do you want to know?" She replied defensively.
"I'm going to let you go, but please don't fly away I have to show you something." I said.
I released her and she drifted to the ground and crossed her legs. I pulled the encyclopedia from my bag and laid it on the ground next to her. Upon seeing the cover her eyes immediately lit up and she quickly began to flip through the pages with childlike delight.
"I remember painting these pictures! It's been so long I thought I wouldn't ever see it again!" She cried.
"We need the scholar to help us translate, we don't have time to completely reread through the book and translate. Every minute wasted is another minute the order is in control." I replied.
The Leanan Sidhe suddenly became serious. "Maybe... maybe this was his final calling..." she whispered. "Follow me!" She exclaimed.
We followed her for ten minutes until we ducked into a cave. The Leanan Sidhe flew into a crack in the cave wall and it suddenly cracked and opened. A man with long white hair looked up from a scroll that he was writing on.
"I figured that it was only a matter of time before one of the many monsters I've helped managed to find me." The man said in a raspy voice.
I took a step forwards and placed the book in front of him. The man turned the book to face him and looked at the cover. Upon flipping through the pages his eyes filled with light and he smiled.
"Gods... it feels like a lifetime ago... how is everyone? I heard that the queen was recently brought back from the dead." The man commented.
"She's doing fine, the princesses are working together and Sarah found a husband, me."
"That's great news, but why do you need me, now of all times?" The scholar asked.
"We don't have time to translate the book, we figured that if we could find you, it would speed up the process." I answered.
"Indeed. Sophie, you are relieved of your duties unless you want to follow this man, he seems to be doing much more than I am." The scholar whispered.
The Leanan Sidhe extended her arm and was about to say something. It was clear that she knew something we didn't. The scholar dipped his quill into some ink and put the tip to the page. There was a flash of light and the words transformed into words I could understand.
The scholar stood up and slowly made his way to the bed before lying down and taking a deep breath.
"I have one request... tell Sarah that her godfather loves her." He whispered.
I nodded and the scholar closed his eyes and breathed slowly. Dawn walked up to the scholar and sank to her knees. People say that animals could sense things, I assumed that that applied to monsters resembling animals as well. Seconds later the scholar stopped breathing and Dawn's ears drooped and she let out a low whimper that I never expected to hear from her.
I approached Dawn and she quickly turned and wrapped her arms around me and began to cry.
"H-he saved my life." She whispered. "Without him I would've never learned that language and I wouldn't have ever gotten myself transferred to avoid the plan to execute me... I wanted to repay him... but now it's too late."
Loyalty was a natural instinct when it came to werewolves, most of them remembered debts but even more remembered those who they were in debt to.
I kissed her forehead and gently scratched her ears.
"Let's get out of here, you can hold my hand on the way back down if you want." I offered.
Dawn sniffles and gave a weak smile. "I'd like that."
Mori's POV
I received the translation from Y/N like I requested, it was honestly quicker than I first assumed.
I sat next to the satyr in bed as we shared a bottle of wine. We were both slightly buzzed and we agreed not to go too far in case someone entered the room. The satyr clung to me with a look of glee on face. For the first time in a long time my dark heart felt a warm light inside of it.
The door opened and Madam Mori stepped into the room with a simple pistol in her hands.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you dare lie! I can sense the demonic magic from here." She snapped.
Without thinking I forced the satyr behind me.
"You traitor of a son! You're no better than your brother! Step aside and maybe I won't make your life hell!"
I stood up. "No, for the first time my life isn't hell! Put the gun down and open your eyes you hag!" I shouted.
Bang Bang
I hit the ground hard and found myself unable to move. Two soldiers entered the room and lifted my head up so I had a view of my mother ripping the satyr out of the bed.
"A satyr? I could've gotten you a goat if I knew you were into that." She joked. "You know what? I can fix this."
She bolstered her pistol and pulled a large knife from her belt.
She began to cut through the satyr's legs just above where human met monster. I wanted to look away, her screams cut through me and tears fell from my eyes.
I heard the sound of blood hitting the floor, a knife cutting through flesh, and a bone snapping under the inhuman pressure my mother put on them and I was forced to watch all of it. The satyr looked at me the whole time which made me feel even worse.
My mother changed positions and slammed the butt of her knife down on her horns. She twisted and pulled but the satyr no longer screamed. Her eyes were dull and her skin pale.
I shouted and I felt as blood trickled down my back. The two soldiers who held me down fell with pools of blood forming around them. My mother stepped away from the satyr with a smug grin on her face.
I fell to the satyr's side and looked into her eyes.
"Juniper... that's my name..." she whispered weakly.
"I'm sorry!" I cried.
"Don't be... I know that your soul is salvageable... s-stay strong M-Mori. Remember what she did to..." she trailed off and went limp before she could finish her sentence.
A rage that I had never felt in my life coursed through me like a violent hurricane. I looked towards that bitch, she might have given birth to me but she was no longer my mother.
"I know that you won't kill me, I'm too useful for you to dispose of yet not whole enough for you to recycle. You can torture me and wipe my memory but know this: one day I will see an opportunity and on that day the order will fall." I growled.
"Until then get changed and get ready, I plan to put you through hell until you're needed again."
"Get the fuck out of my room you WITHERED OLD HAG!" I shouted.
She left and I wall all alone with the hollow husk of the only thing that had given my life meaning.