I silently look at the door of the worn down hut, and contemplate. 'Have I just gotten exiled? This Me, a Demon King Candidate? Alright, I sounded a little bit obnoxious, but I still can't just accept that I am left here alone!'
Knocking on the door a couple of times, I make sure that no one is inside and it is strong enough to accomplish its role as a door. Readying myself, I turn the doorknob, and push the door open.
Creak.
I can't see the inside of the hut yet, but the familiar dusty smell—the one that my unattended attic used to give off—assaulting my nose can already give me the picture of how fucked up the inside of the hut.
I move away from the doorway to avoid being attacked by the disgusting smell, and also the dust that is eventually flying at me like some kind of a lunatic swarm of bees. I stand on the side, and look ahead of me—the creepy ass forest—in melancholy.
"Why is the world only cruel to me? What have my parents—ah, so that motherfucker Josh was the cause of my misfortune." I blink my eyes slightly in surprise at the fact that I can recall the name of my late bastard of a father. "Geez. Now my mouth also feels dirty!"
Sighing to myself, I straighten my posture, and face the inside of the hut gallantly. "T-This is..." Though I didn't expect I would see something good, I also didn't expect to see a nightmare inside. "Even my attic looks like a hotel room compared to this!"
Clutching my hand to prevent my sanity from escaping, I stare at the ground silently for a few seconds to regain my composure. Sighing to myself again, I enter the hut with a heavy feeling.
It feels like the moment when your mom makes something she learned from the TV, and you are forced to eat it even though you know your mom has splendidly screwed it. I haven't experienced it, but now I know how it feels.
I need this hut to stay alive—as my resting place—but I have to clean the abomination decorating the inside of it in exchange. It is not that bad of a trade—it is only hard for the first time—but nightmare is nightmare nonetheless.
Hugging the book, the schedule paper, and the sophisticated hourglass Valeria gave me before she irresponsibly left me alone, I step my foot inside the hut. Upon doing so, I can now clearly feel the difference in atmosphere.
The air temperature is warmer than the outside, but it is less moist than the outside. It is honestly surprising, since the state of the room is not as bad as how it looks; it is just like any other normal room on earth.
'Feels like I have just entered a new world...' I look around, and notice that I have indeed just entered a new world. 'Why does the room look different?!' Compared to what I saw before entering—how it should have looked like—the room is significantly better and cleaner.
I slightly panic, and quickly turn my gaze to the door that I haven't closed yet. 'Phew. Thank goodness it's not a red door.' I am aware that I am fearing something that I shouldn't, but in my defense, it's a Magic world: anything can happen.
'I love horror movies, but I hate to experience it.' Closing the wooden door while entertaining a silly thought, I can't help a smile from forming when the door is perfectly shut. Turning my back on the door, I look around the room once again.
"Valeria, I love you! Kuuh... I'm sorry for misjudging you!" Don't get me wrong, everyone will say something they shouldn't whenever they feel happy—I am no different. "Now, let's organize this room a little bit."
I move to the only desk in the room, and put everything I am holding on it. I haven't figured out how to use the sophisticated hourglass yet, but I am glad to find it works just like a normal clock upon putting it on the desk.
The hourglass has two glass bulbs, just like any other hourglasses, with two different colors—white and black. The sand can change color—it looks black in the white bulb, and it looks white in the black bulb—for some magical reason.
While normally there is no top and bottom in hourglass, this sophisticated hourglass maintain the position of its bulbs even after I flipped it. The black bulb is currently on the top, and it always moves to the top whenever I flip the hourglass.
Looking to the middle of the hourglass, I can see numbers projected by light that signify what time currently is. It looks just like what I can see on a digital watch.
[04:48]
I hum to myself, as realization dawned upon me. "So, that's the case. White bulb for AM, and black bulb for PM." I caress my chin, satisfied of my analytical ability. "Nothing my intelligence can't beat ... Except Valeria."
I shake my head to clear my mind off the thought of how terrifying of an existence Valeria is, and remind myself that I have resolved myself to never remain stagnant.
'I will be strong enough to be able to spank Valeria's ass without fearing for my life!' Of course, it's just a side goal. My main goal is still to eliminate those bastards I failed to kill.
As the excitement from finding out the hut is habitable calms down, I start organizing the rather comfortable yet unorganized room.
...
[05:30]
"Phew... It took faster than I thought."
I look around the organized room, and nod my head in satisfaction. The bedsheet is no longer crumpled, there is no more miscellaneous things on the ground, the furnitures or lack thereof are already positioned to my liking, and the slight dust in the room is cleaned.
"Alright. Now, I just have to wait for dinner. According to the schedule, which Valeria kindly wrote in English," I look at the paper that I have attached to the wall, "it should be delivered at 6. So it's half an hour from now."
Since I don't want to fill my head with anything complicated yet—like knowing the full content of my schedule—I lie on my bed, and stare emptily at the ceiling. It's funny that I feel that I have nothing to do, while there are actually things to do.
What can I say? I have experienced so many crazy shit today, I don't want to burden my mind with yet a crazy shit.
Getting up from my bed, I look down on my clothes. "Damn, I must smell like garbage." Doing an inspection to prove my analysis, I soon find it is indeed true. "Whoa. I am sure I have never been this smelly before."
I look at the door hesitantly, and my clothes in contemplation. 'She said that there is a river nearby, right? It shouldn't be far but...' Considering where I am—nearby a wild Beasts infested forest—I am not really sure if it's safe to go outside.
—You can't die easily as long as you have the Demon King's Mark.
As soon as I recalled that particular word of Valeria however, my hesitation vanished entirely.
I don't like pain, but I am no stranger to it. If I go outside, sure the pain will be amplified due to not being able to die immediately when I am being attacked by a wild Beast, but I am sure I will remain alive; Valeria might save me before I die due to my status.
While that doesn't become a good reason to roam outside, Ihave decided to go outside. 'I have resolved myself to never be scared anymore, right?' A small smile quickly decorates my face as I open the door of the hut.
Creak.
The chilling wind from the outside immediately greets me, and I can't help but shiver at the cold welcome. Straightening my posture, I hold my bathing utensils that I found in the cupboard close to me.
I walk to the direction Valeria pointed at—the direction where the river is located—and thread the way cautiously. As the river is inside the forest, I can't let my guard down even for a second; just the aura it is giving off is enough indication that it is dangerous.
Although Valeria didn't tell me the exact location of the river, with my intelligence and spatial awareness, I can find the river not long after. It's just a few hundreds feet from my hut, which makes it really close.
"Damn... It looks better than any river I have seen on earth—not that I have seen that many."
The river is gorgeous: the water is as clear as glass, the rocks are varied in size, and they are positioned on a convenient place that makes them not annoying.
"There is a waterfall too, so it's a good place to take a bath."
I put my bathing utensils away from the water, and undress myself. Although I found out that the water is as cold as ice upon dipping my foot in it, it still doesn't stop me from entering it.
"What are you doing?"
At least, until I heard that familiar voice.
"Kyaa! Pervert!"
Valeria has magically appeared in front of me, standing on the surface of the water.