Chapter 1
The Most Terrifying
Villain (as a Child)
Translator : PolterGlast
This world is made of
five leaves.
I was reminded of this
when a stone was thrown at me with all its force. The impact of the hit made
everything in front of my eyes go bright red, and I felt dizzy. But it was my
pupils that were truly red, and the villagers screamed and collapsed every time
they met my gaze.
"No, um..."
Wait a minute, my
flustered hands were surprisingly small. "El, you..." The one slumped
on the ground was my childhood friend, a boy. El is my name. It's actually a
bit longer, but everyone usually shortens it. Just a moment ago, we were
holding hands as friends, but now there was a shockingly large distance between
us.
The sky was always
cloudy, with hardly any sunshine. It was a village with only gloomy skies. But
for a brief moment, there would be a day when light shone through. Every year,
everyone diligently prepared for the festival on that day. And today was that
day, so the few villagers had gathered in the hall, their voices cheerful, but
when one of them looked at my face, they let out a small scream and dropped the
mandarin oranges they were carrying. Mandarin oranges were a specialty of our
village.
The scream spread
further. My childhood friend, who had been holding my hand, slumped down,
trembling.
Everyone was staring
at me from a distance.
"A demon..."
Someone murmured
quietly.
"El has turned
into a demon...!!"
Along with the thrown
stones, I remembered the name and structure of this country. This country,
called Cloudy, was one of the leaves.
Sometimes, people turn
into demons.
It is said that either
demons and humans switch places, or that they were originally born as demons,
and no one knows for sure. But that's a lie, because, in reality, demons and
humans were born from the same source. So, like atavism, demons are
occasionally born from humans.
But since no one knows
such a thing, people despise demons with rare powers. It's truly hard mode. I
stood on my short, childish legs, my face twitching.
"Love love,
prism, magic power..."
No, this isn't the
time to recite the opening. A strange voice escaped my lips, and the
surroundings became even more agitated. They probably thought I had gone mad.
It would be better if they thought so.
I know this world.
It's a simulation RPG
with a tough worldview called [The Tale of the Five-Leaf Country]. Since the
main character is a girl, it also falls into the genre of romance otome games.
While I was holding my
head, stones were simply thrown at me, telling me to disappear. "Hiwa,
hihi, hiekk!" I was beyond bewildered and completely confused, but the
villagers showed no mercy. Get out, kill her. All they said was enough to make
me shiver. I was chased, running around in a panic, and then I ran out to a
cliff.
"Uwa, a, a, a, aーーーー!!!!"
This is the
Demon-Dropping Cliff.
Those who turn from
human to demon are pushed off to be dealt with. Since no one knows what kind of
abilities demons possess, they must be killed immediately upon discovery. And
laying hands on them directly is far too dangerous. That's why they are dropped.
"El!!" My childhood friend's voice could be heard in the raging wind.
The wind slammed against my body repeatedly, making it hard to breathe.
I simply kept my body
facing the sky, flailing my short arms and legs. It should have only been a
moment in time, but the gloomy clouds didn't recede no matter how long it
seemed. It felt like a long time. During that time, I gradually remembered
things from the past.
There was a country
called Japan.
Memories of that
mysterious country exist within me. Iron that flies in the sky. Vehicles that
run faster than horses. People in small boxes deliver a lot of news to people,
and you can even learn about stories from faraway places. And that box was
filled with many stories. There were anime, movies, dramas, and of course,
games, which were called amusements. The past me occasionally played them and
enjoyed them.
I don't know if I was
a boy or a girl, but I always sat in front of the TV with excitement. I must
have been a child who loved games very much. Assuming she was a girl for now,
she still loved games even when she grew up and played many of them. She might
have been what's called a gamer, but I don't remember her being very good, so
she was probably just someone who liked them despite being bad at them.
One of the games she
played a lot was [The Tale of the Five-Leaf Country].
Centered around a
large world tree, the countries, divided like leaves, were constantly at war,
and a girl summoned as a saint would end the conflict. Which of the five-leaf
countries the main character would be summoned to was random, and the
characters that appeared were also different for each. Some stories escalated
the war, but basically, they aimed for a happy ending. And one of the countries
that appeared was Cloudy. It was a stagnant country with only cloudy skies and
no sunshine, and the small village where I was born and raised was just a part
of Cloudy.
Demons and humans were
in constant conflict. Since I was little, the old woman next door had taught me
that demons were terrifying, and even if they could speak, it was just on the
surface, and they were different creatures whose thoughts couldn't even be
understood.
"Scary, isn't
it?" I had once snuggled under a thin blanket with my childhood friend,
holding hands as we slept, but I never imagined that I would become one myself.
I recalled the pandemonium when I turned into a demon during the festival and
couldn't help but laugh. Even while I was laughing hysterically, the people on
the cliff had become tiny specks.
Were the strange
memories I recalled from my past life? There was no need to confirm such a
thing, as I was approaching death with each passing moment. Demons are meant to
die. It can't be helped if I'm killed. I understand that, so there's a feeling
of resignation, but also resentment for being pushed off by the people I was
laughing with just yesterday, swirling in the pit of my stomach.
I was the only one who
fell while running around in a panic, but they were definitely heading this
way. The adults had all come out to chase me, to push me off. The back of my
head felt tingly. The incomprehensible emotions were so strong that I felt like
I was going to be swallowed by them. If I didn't have the memories of being an
adult, the child I was would have been unable to process these emotions and
would have just clenched her teeth, leaving behind only the round tears that
spilled out.
Beyond the too-high
cliff, I couldn't see anything anymore.
It can't be helped.
This is just how it is. The arm I tried to extend went limp, and I didn't mean
to point it forward with resentment; it just flailed and stretched straight out
towards the sky on its own. The wind whistled past my body. Before I knew it, I
had spun around and was falling headfirst. It can't be helped. It really can't.
I hope it doesn't hurt. Ah, really...
I don't want to die.
The words that spilled
out were muttered from within me. Of course. I don't want to die. I don't want
to die. It's scary. Unbearable. I hate it. Absolutely. I don't want to die.
Uwaa, a scream was involuntarily overflowing from my mouth. Even though I knew
it was pointless, I desperately shielded my head. I wanted to survive even a
little longer. Help me, someone help me. God. Please, God. Since there is a God
in this world, please, I beg you. Someone.
【Flight Skill Acquired】
A pop-up appeared even
though my eyes should have been closed, and I let out a strange cry,
"Hiuiii!?" But I didn't have time to do that, and I repeatedly tapped
the window in front of me while flailing around meaninglessly. No explanation.
Just information. No usage items, passive skill, or negation.
"Uwaa, uwaa,
uwaa, uwaa, uwaaaaa!!!!"
My face was a mess of
tears and snot as I flapped the wings that had grown on my back. The always
cloudy sky shimmered for just a moment. Those wings, the symbol of a jet-black
demon, should not have been there just a moment ago, but now it was as if they
had always been there. The unreliable wings, like those of a newborn chick,
that had sprung out, fluttering my dress, gave out in an instant, and I floated
for only a moment. Immediately, I plunged into the branches of a tree, crashing
to the ground while snapping the branches. But, I'm alive.
I had some minor cuts,
but that was it. I repeatedly made fists and opened my hands to check if my
limbs were okay. "Ha, haa, haaaaaa..." I tried to sigh, but I
couldn't even breathe properly because of the overwhelming fear. When I finally
managed to, my breathing was terribly painful, and I was so thirsty.
I crawled to a water
source and stared at my face reflected in the water. It was dirty and tattered,
but still the face of a young girl not even ten years old. Her plump lips were
cute, and looking at her again, I thought she was very lovely. Her silky blonde
hair and translucent skin, despite not being well-cared for, were like an
angel's, or so I thought, but she was a demon.
And then I pursed my
lips tightly. My eye color, El's eye color, should have been as deep blue as
this lake. But now, it had changed to a blood-red color.
Sometimes, people turn
into demons.
The major difference
between humans and demons is their unique powers, but there are also a few
humans who awaken skills. So, the main difference between demons and humans is
their bright red eyes and the devil-like wings on their backs. Slowly, I moved
my wings. They creaked and didn't move smoothly. If I were a normal demon, it
would be impossible to fly immediately. That's why they push you off the cliff
before you awaken. Luckily or unluckily, I seemed to have a bit of talent. No,
it must be luck.
I suddenly changed the
color of my eyes to red in front of the villagers. My wings hadn't grown yet at
that time, but according to their common sense, I had already become a demon.
Someone they could speak to, but who they believed they couldn't truly
understand, something that was no longer human.
I wiped the tears that
had been spilling out on their own, out of frustration. El would be eight years
old this year. If I hadn't remembered my past life and was just the child I
appeared to be, I would have hated and resented the villagers who had turned on
me so easily. But because I had the half-baked memories of an adult mixed in, I
just felt resigned, and the only emotion left was the desire to immediately run
far away and disappear. It's extremely difficult to change ingrained values.
It's definitely better to run away than to confront something like that.
I slowly closed my
eyes as if swallowing the many emotions, and when I looked at the water's
surface again after a long sigh, I suddenly felt a sense of déjàvu beyond the
swaying ripples. A girl who became a demon and was banished from her village.
The country's name was Cloudy. The lovely appearance of the blonde, red-eyed
girl felt somehow familiar, yet not quite.
"Hmm...?"
I moved closer to
check. My name is El. It's actually a bit longer, but everyone called me El.
The name Eldorado was a little hard to say, so they shortened it. "Hmm,
hmm, hmmm~~?" I thought, shaking my newly grown wings. I put my index
finger to my head. Ah-ha-ha! I pictured the figure of a woman of a certain age
laughing with a wide-open mouth.
The most terrifying
witch, Eldorado of Cloudy Country.
She is a phantom witch
who tormented the protagonist, a saint who was an ally of mankind, out of
resentment for being banished by humans in the past, and who made players bite
their lips many times in battle. She has a nice body and wears revealing
outfits that have captivated numerous men.
I just couldn't stop
sweating profusely.
I recalled the
present. This country changes the name of the year when the king dies. So even
though I lived in a remote village, even as a child, I understood the calendar.
One, two, three, I counted and tried to backtrack through the history of the
game I remembered. There was no doubt, this was the past of the game's main
story.
The saint, the
protagonist, will be summoned several years from now. In other words, this
means...
"I've been reincarnated
as the villain in the game...?"
――――Unbelievably, it
seemed I had been reincarnated into the childhood of the most terrifying witch.
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