Book 6} Chapter 47
An Old Tale
古い物語

Reader's POV

"Tell us. What happened to the humans 30 years ago? What is going on in the world right now?" Emma said. I could tell her heart was beating fast by how she shook.

"Nothing," he said simply as he leaned against the wall.
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"Nothing happened. I don't know... Where you got 30 years from... but the world has been like this for a long time," he explained.

Emma and Ray looked shocked. I'm sure I did too.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked.
"Could it be... that we're not on earth?" Ray suggested. I looked at him as if he was crazy.

"This isn't earth, but a different planet. And that's why this crazy ecosystem exists..." he rambled.

"No," Sonju responded.
"Then the calendar? Is the calendar a lie?! It's not the year 2046, but a different..." Ray continued.
"No. We are on Earth, and this is indeed 2046. According to one of the human calendars," Sonju told him.

My brain went crazy as I thought. Then what was going on?!

"Then what exactly..." Emma muttered.
"Let me tell you an old tale. About when the world used to be bigger than it is now," Sonju started.

"Before, the world was vast.
Back then, farms didn't exist yet.
In an extensive world there were abundant humans... that the demons could hunt and eat.
The demons were the predators.
And the humans were prey.
There were humans who surrendered to the demons out of fear.
And there were humans who detested the demons and instead hunted and killed them.
Eventually, the humans started killing more demons, more than the humans who were eaten.
So then the demons started to resent humans as well.
Endless killing.
Constant fear.
When both sides got sick of the situation, the humans proposed a situation.
"Let's come to an agreement. Humans won't hurt demons, and demons won't hurt humans. Let's segregate our worlds."

Everything began with this promise.
The promise that humans and demons exchanged a long time ago.
And the promise split the world in two.
The two worlds became separated.This area is the demon side of the word.It's not the humans' to begin with," Sonju told us.

 I listened, engaged to the story.

"In addition, your ancestors... were left behind as a gift to the demon world at the time of this promise," Sonju continued.
"Left behind?" Ray asked.
"The demons won't hunt humans. To keep that promise, humans are managed and bred. The breeding system is the farm. Grace Field is one of the top farms among them. The top class of many and various farms that exist. It's been about 1,000 years since the agreement. The world hasn't changed much since then. Unfortunately, that is... the world you were born in and escaped to," Sonju told us.

{ That explains everything... how this is an ecosystem. But, are we even allowed to go to the Human World? } My thoughts continued as I looked down.

"Ray... Y/n," Emma said.
"Yeah..." Ray muttered.
I didn't respond, too lost in my thoughts.

"All right!! I'm so glad!!" she exclaimed. I looked up with a raised brow.
"What?" Sonju and I both asked.
"It's the worst case!! It is, but... there's something beyond!!" Emma said happily.
 "Yeah! I don't really get it, but it's better than we thought!"  Ray said, also happy.

"There's a separate world for humans. A world without demons!" Emma told him. I just sat down. I wasn't part of their excitement, there was too many cons of that.

"Yeah! Now we can go back and get Phil and everyone else!" Ray smiled.
"Oh, actually... this is hard to say, but... you can't cross over to the human world," Sonju said. I knew it. That was the con.

"The path is completely blocked. "There will be no coming and going between the worlds." That was part of the agreement." he told us.

"It's fine. We'll find it," Emma said. Damn optimist.
I sighed, laying my head in my knees.

"We'll search and find the way to the human world. Do you don't have to worry about us not being able to cross over," she gulped down her drink.
"Thank you, Sonju. I feel much better!"

{ Why couldn't we just stay here with Sonju and Mujika...? I feel safer with them. Plus, this is just being on the run all over again! }
"I see. Well, if that's true... good. It's late. You should go to sleep," Sonju told us.
"Okay!" Emma agreed.

"Starting tomorrow... I'll show you the way out of this forest. We'll escort you to the exit. Leave that to us," Sonju said.
{ Tomorrow. Great. }

"Thank you. Good night," Emma smiled. They then went back to their sleeping bags.
I stayed in my spot.

"You're not going to sleep?" Sonju questioned.
"I'll stay here for a while... it's warm," I replied.

He nodded and let me be. He didn't move either.

{A thousand years since the agreement... There is no coming and going between the world. Then, the books, toys, clothes, tableware, furniture, architecture, machines, and everything else was made by demons. No, no, they were made by humans. Made by humans... in the human world. So of course, there's a way to go back and forth. Emma and Ray probably figured that out. Like Sister Krone said, humans on equal footing are delivering human culture to us. Most of all, then William Minerva is the one coming and going between the separate worlds... } I let out a heavy sigh.

"What's troubling you?" Sonju spoke up.
"Life," I muttered in response.
He patted my head, "You'll get through it."

"So helpful," I said sarcastically.
He stayed quiet after that.
"Sorry," I sighed.

"I just... I want to stay with Mujika and you," I admitted.
"It's not safe for you here," he told me.

"I know. But it seems like it. I'm tired of running. This place seems like home. Plus, you guys are nice. That's kinda rare for us now," I said calmly.

"You'll be better off in the human world," he told me, I chuckled.
"Stop telling me the truth... please," I muttered.

He nodded and looked back at the pot.

I did the same.

I then stood up after a while, "Goodnight," I muttered, walking off.
"Goodnight," he responded.

~
3/20/2020
Word Count: 1009