It Is a Tool of Humanity

"Why did you do it?"  

The Count asked his son.  

Guilt was the main reason.  

He had thought of it as something similar to a person.  

He had to.  

Because it was a being raised like livestock.  

"...I granted a request."  

"Richard, did you try to converse with this?"  

This was a girl with horns, tied to a chair.  

A cloth covered her eyes.  

A gag was placed in her mouth.  

In the end, she was recaptured.  

"No, my lord."  

The man standing before him was Count Rhinefield.  

Richard had the blood of Count Rhinefield as well, but he could not call him father.  

Such was the limit of a bastard child.  

"Then?"  

"I wavered... when she said she wanted to live with her family."  

"I see. Did you want to let her see her family?"  

"I... felt like she was human."  

Slavery had been abolished.  

There were no human slaves.  

"Family is a good thing, but then, aren’t we family too? That’s what I’d like to ask you. Your sister’s treatment is difficult without this thing’s horns. You knew that, and yet?"  

"I was told the treatment was complete."  

He barely managed to answer.  

Richard could not lift his head under the pressure emanating from the Count.  

"Disease can always relapse. And rare species like this are not easy to obtain."  

The Count tapped the girl's head lightly with his fingers.  

She was a rare species he had bought at a high price.  

"...Yes, that's right. I understand. If the subject were human, this act would be a problem. But this is not human. It’s a demon merely imitating one."  

Imitating a human.  

Perhaps that was true.  

But Richard couldn’t help but be shaken.  

Every time he saw her bow in gratitude even as her horns were severed, guilt weighed on him.  

So, to ease his guilt, he thought up excuses.  

That she was no different from a parrot, merely trained to say thank you.  

-...I... have a request...  

It had been fine until she made that request.  

It was then that Richard realized she could say words beyond simple thanks.  

- I... my family... with my family...  

She stammered as she spoke.  

She only had horns.  

Yet she was clearly a sentient being.  

- T-to... live... together...  

The moment he recognized her as a sentient being, he could no longer turn back.  

Like everyone else, she had a family.  

Yet they had torn her from them and were raising her like livestock.  

If he ignored her plea and pretended nothing had happened... Richard felt like his very soul would die.  

"Demon..."  

He could not forget how she had brightly replied "Yes" when he told her to run.  

He no longer knew who the real demon was.  

He knew the church regarded some of the other races as demons.  

But why?  

Perhaps he should have planned the escape better.  

The Count had reacted too quickly, leaving him no time to do anything.  

In the end, his actions had been worse than doing nothing at all.  

"My daughter, Clea, still doesn’t know about this thing’s existence. She’s too innocent, so I couldn’t tell her."  

"......"  

You must have known, deep down, that this was wrong.  

If Clea found out, she would be hurt.  

Richard muttered to himself in his mind.  

"But you, of all people, shouldn’t be like this. I even kept the number of guards to a minimum to control the flow of information, yet you still let yourself be swayed by a demon’s trickery. Disappointing."  

"I am sorry."  

"Remove the blindfold and gag. I’ll show you why it is called a demon."  

***  

I was dragged here with my eyes covered.  

A cloth was stuffed in my mouth.  

I apologize for inconveniencing those escorting me.  

It seems the noble’s son truly intended to help me escape.  

What a foolish act.  

Does he not know how vile the other races are?  

I am a special case, so I’m fine, but the others are truly dangerous.  

What would he have done if I had accidentally escaped all the way out of the city?  

The blindfold was removed.  

I saw Richard’s face, filled with guilt.  

I just learned his name from their conversation.  

I no longer felt the same respect I once had.  

Even if my gaze toward Richard was not kind, he would have to understand.  

He deserved condemnation.  

Releasing an inferior species at his own discretion.  

If I were the Count, I would have been furious too.  

The cloth gag was removed.  

Richard’s hand passed in front of my mouth.  

Chomp.  

I bit down.  

I apologize, but this was necessary.  

"Ugh!?"  

Did I really have to go through such troublesome measures?  

Escape? What escape?  

Releasing a lowly species like me was nothing short of—  

"...Traitor..."  

Treason.  

Did he really want to become a traitor to humanity?  

Wasn’t it because of complacent people like him that other races still roamed this world freely?  

At a time when even if all of us united, it still wouldn’t be enough.  

"Kh...!"  

Richard clutched his hand.  

It seemed he hadn’t expected this.  

I had thought I was merely running for humanity’s amusement.  

But I never expected him to feel sympathy for me.  

How insulting.  

All my efforts, my wish to contribute to humanity’s happiness—he sought to trample on them.  

"So, it calls you a traitor."  

Richard averted his eyes.  

Had he realized his mistake?  

With such weakness, he was unfit to be treated as nobility of humankind.  

"Richard, this demon has not even the slightest gratitude toward you."

I do appreciate the effort you've put into grinding down my horns.  

But this time, I am disappointed.  

That complacent attitude, devoid of any sense of humanity.  

How could you possibly think of letting something like me escape?  

"I..."  

Richard started to speak but trailed off.  

"The only reason this demon is still alive is because it has value. No other reason at all."  

The Count tapped the horns atop my head.  

They were valuable—perhaps more so than my entire body.  

If I were a plant, then I suppose I would be a potted one.  

The reason they didn’t cut my horns off all at once was to preserve their freshness.  

They kept feeding me and raising me because my horns needed to grow back.  

That was the extent of my worth.  

Perfect, wasn’t it?  

For now, it was all done by hand, but someday, they might set up a factory.  

A breeding farm for inferior species.  

To be of even greater use to humanity.  

"Seeing as you seek your family... Yes, I suppose even something like you has a family. But..."  

The Count sneered as he slowly lifted the tip of my horn.  

"Don't be under the illusion that your family is waiting for you. They're just like you—crushed under humanity's feet."  

Ah, I see.  

So that’s how it is.  

I had been arrogant.  

I had allowed myself to believe that my kin had not been captured like I was.  

There was no way an inferior species could hold out for long.  

"Ah... surely..."  

I wished they were suffering the same fate as I was.  

May all of my kin share this fate.  

"Serving... serving humanity... my family too..."  

A hopeful thought, really.  

Then again, I supposed there was no need to live together with my family.  

They must be of service to humanity somewhere else.  

This was merely my personal wish.  

Deep inside me, my sadistic nature longed for all non-human species to suffer until they were wiped out.  

I wanted to witness it.  

"There is a reason I told you not to converse with it."  

The Count let go of my horn.  

I could sense his hatred and hostility.  

"Demons only say what their listeners want to hear. They are exceptionally skilled at manipulating emotions."  

Richard remained silent.  

"Look at it—earlier, it was condemning you in rage, and now it smiles in satisfaction. Do you still think this is human?"  

How could he possibly look at me and think I was human?  

Richard needed to reflect on this.  

Perhaps his eyesight was too poor.  

"...No."  

He hung his head low as he answered.  

It seemed he had finally realized.  

There was no way I was human.  

"I was willing to overlook one mistake. But if something like this happens again... I will consider it an act of treason."  

"Yes, thank you."  

Richard's expression darkened.  

Everyone makes mistakes.  

But mistakes were not permitted for an inferior species like me.  

And just now, I had made one.  

Though, rather than a mistake, it had been intentional.  

Calling him a traitor.  

And biting him, too.  

It wasn’t just because I was angry at Richard.  

I did it to erase the pity he felt for me.  

A monster should be seen as a monster—what good was there in viewing it as human?  

"And a demon must be punished. Richard, you were the one who got hurt. You were also the one who tried to help it."  

So it turned out that way.  

This time, the Count looked at me as he spoke.  

"Attacking a member of the Rhinefield family is a grave crime, cursed demon."  

"...I... apologize."  

I hadn’t wanted to attack a human.  

I only wished to help Richard.  

For Richard, for all of humanity, I needed to make them aware of the dangers of inferior species.  

I would accept my punishment.  

"So, Richard, you will deliver the punishment yourself. With your own hands."  

I fully agreed with the Count’s opinion.  

Not even a shred of sympathy or pity should remain in Richard toward me.  

He needed to learn how to treat demi-human species.  

If I were Richard, I would have snapped my own neck on the spot.  

Or beaten myself half to death.  

The only reason they wouldn’t kill me was because my horns fetched a high price.  

The Count must have felt the same.  

An inferior creature had dared to wound a human.  

"...Yes."  

Richard’s eyes showed a faint resolve.  

I wondered what punishment he would choose.  

I would watch and learn well.