The Non-Human
Night falls.
"Kyu, kyu~!"
Grey, appointed as the Food Procurement Captain, returns from the forest dragging a bundle of white threads just as Filmera-san begins preparing to leave.
It's only a slight adjustment of her appearance, but her subtle movements tell me she's about to go.
"Filmera-san, you're leaving?"
"Yes. I should've left already, but it was so comfortable here that I lingered. My apologies."
Filmera-san offers an apology with a polite bow.
But I never found her presence bothersome.
Quite the opposite.
"No, no. I was thrilled to meet you today, Filmera-san."
Yes, meeting Filmera-san was the best part of today.
Sure, I'm a guy. Life with Grey is fun, but spending time with a beautiful, refined woman like Filmera-san is something I love too.
Thanks to her, I confirmed my skills and learned about the Pure Magic Forest—its name and its place in the world.
My only regret is breaking the Crystal of Self-Reflection, but even so, I found the time with Filmera-san meaningful.
"Hehe, thank you. Hearing that makes me feel… saved."
"That's a bit dramatic! So, uh… if it's okay with you, Filmera-san, could you come back? Not necessarily tomorrow, but sometime?"
"! W-What… Is it really okay? For someone like me to visit this place again?"
Filmera-san looks at me with an upturned gaze, as if gauging my sincerity.
It's a look I often saw in my previous life.
Not exactly sizing me up, but checking if my words are genuine or just polite pleasantries.
But my answer to her question is already clear.
"Of course! I have so much more to talk about with you, Filmera-san. Since we've met like this, you know, they say every encounter is once-in-a-lifetime, but that feels like such a waste."
Yes, my words carry no trace of empty courtesy.
Though we've only spent a few hours together, the time with Filmera-san was meaningful and incredibly fun.
We've just started laughing and talking together. To part ways forever now? I don't want that.
"So, come back anytime. You're always welcome, Filmera-san."
I say with a smile.
Smiling… I didn't smile much in my previous life, so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.
But even if I'm not, I want my feelings to reach her.
"…I understand. Meeting and talking with you, Yukiya-sama, was so much fun for me too. And it made me happy."
"R-Really? That makes me happy too."
"Hehe, thank you so much for today. So… would it be alright if I came back tomorrow?"
"O-Of course! Honestly, you could come every day! I mean, if that's okay with you!"
"…! Hehe… Yukiya-sama, you're truly a mysterious person."
Filmera-san narrows her eyes and smiles elegantly.
Her smile draws an unconscious grin from me too.
"…Well, it's late, so I'll take my leave. Um… see you tomorrow."
Smiling, Filmera-san gives a small wave.
Then, muttering something softly, green butterfly-like wings appear behind her.
As the wings flutter, her body floats gently upward, like a fairy.
"Yukiya-sama, um…"
"…?"
"See you tomorrow!"
With those final words, Filmera-san soars into the sky and vanishes.
Her figure disappears instantly, leaving me wrapped in silence and a faint loneliness.
"Kyu, kyu?"
Grey tries to tell me something. Turning, I see it raising both front legs, forming a heart shape.
"N-No, it's not like that! Besides, I just met Filmera-san today."
"Kyu, kyu~!"
As if saying, "Don't be shy," Grey hops onto my shoulder, insistently showing off the heart shape.
No. This isn't romance.
I'm just happy to feel human warmth—something I lost in my previous life—and to meet someone kind, refined, and beautiful like Filmera-san.
I mustn't misunderstand. Someone like Filmera-san wouldn't even notice a plain, gloomy guy like me.
We're just acquaintances. At best, friends.
That's all our relationship is.
"A-Anyway, Grey, what kind of meat did you bring today?"
I'd asked Grey, the Food Procurement Captain, to bring back meat like last time.
Cutting open the thread bundle with a knife, I find the corpse of a bird with red wings, easily over two meters long.
Spreading its wings, they stretch over six meters wide.
I'm amazed that Grey, so small, can hunt creatures many times its size.
But Grey has no wounds and doesn't seem tired, so maybe this bird isn't as dangerous as it looks.
"Alright, let's stir-fry some chicken and tubers today! Grey, can you help a bit more?"
"Kyu! Kyu~!"
As if saying, "Leave it to me!" Grey puffs out its chest, and we resume cooking together.
This time, I'm sure we'll make something delicious too—
◆
Above the Land of Death, in the skies over the Pure Magic Forest.
A lone woman—Filmera—dances through the sky like a fairy.
"…Ha. Yukiya-sama, what a remarkable person."
From where Filmera floats, she can see the clearing where Yukiya and Grey live. But she's so high and far that Yukiya can't see her.
At this distance, human eyes shouldn't be able to see anything. Yet Filmera clearly sees Yukiya and Grey preparing to cook together.
How can she observe from so far?
Thanks to a magic eye skill activated in her right eye.
"Oh, I don't need the hood or mask anymore… Here we go…"
Filmera removes her mask and brown hood.
Long ears spring up, several times longer than a human's, slender and stretching sideways.
Yes, she is a non-human.
Unlike ordinary "humans," her soul's form and essence are slightly different—a being very close to human, yet distinct.
"Humans call us demons… And yet, and yet… Yukiya-sama said I'm beautiful, that he was happy to meet me, that he wants to see me again… Hehe, hehehe…"
Filmera touches her faintly flushed cheeks, gazing dreamily at the sky.
Tonight's sky is a full moon's, filled with countless twinkling stars and comets streaking blue-white trails.
"…No, I mustn't let my guard down. Yukiya-sama hasn't seen my true face yet, and he might've just said those things out of kindness. If I get carried away, I'll scare him. And worse, I might drive him mad because of me…"
Hugging her trembling body, Filmera cautiously observes Yukiya with her glowing green right eye.
Grey is on Yukiya's shoulder. When Filmera briefly meets Grey's gaze, Grey turns toward her and tilts its head.
"!?"
Filmera quickly looks away.
Sweat beads on her forehead.
A chill runs through her, goosebumps rising.
Tension and fear.
Even from a distance only visible with her [Far-Seeing Eye] magic eye skill, Grey reacted to her gaze.
In an instant—less than a second after she looked.
"As expected, that one is that… I need to report this and keep watch…"
Wiping her sweat, Filmera raises her palm to the sky.
"…Spell activation. Transfer Gate, initiate. Coordinates: Altsgran Kingdom—Demon King's Castle, top floor."
With a low, dull BWAM, a large hole—a warp gate called a Transfer Gate—appears before her.
"Transfer Gate, register new coordinates: Land of Death, Pure Magic Forest airspace."
Pointing her other hand downward, a magic circle forms clockwise around it, completing and blending into the air, becoming invisible.
"Ah… I can't wait for tomorrow. It's been centuries since my heart raced like this…!"
To confirm her rapidly beating heart, Filmera places a hand on her chest.
Thump, thump—her heart pounds loudly. To her, it's a sweet, blissful rhythm.
"Well then… Yukiya-sama, until we meet again."
With a quiet, yet somehow alluring smile, Filmera dives into the Transfer Gate.
Her graceful form melts into the dark night, vanishing.