The Stupid Devil’s Slave’s Travelogue

Chapter 1. Something More Frightening Than Death

Courtesy, duty, and patience.

These three things are what make a person human.

That’s what my father always used to say.

Whenever he drank, he would explain the meaning behind those words.

‘Courtesy is the social grace one must show others; it’s what separates humans from beasts.’

‘Duty is the sunny path that one must walk as a person.’

‘Patience is the bitterest medicine that matures and strengthens a person.’

‘Anything beyond that is not essential to life but merely supplementary.’

Some might call it nonsensical philosophy, but I believe it’s true. My father was my giant, after all.

His words became my way of life.

I’ve always lived by that old counsel.

But now, here I am, having abandoned it all.

Father would call me a wayward beast.

Mother would scream at me. She’d tell me to stop. But what can I do? For the first time since I was born, I’ve found something more frightening than death.

“I would like to accept the deal you proposed.”

But nothing happened.

Was this not the right way?

“Um… excuse me?”

─In that moment.

I found myself sitting in a soft chair.

A small round table stood in front of me, and opposite me sat a man dressed neatly in a suit.

“Nice to see you again.”

Even to a man like me, he looked as beautiful as a sculpture, almost to the point of heartache. Like a devil.

Of course, he was a real devil.

The devil smiled at me.

Seeing his polite demeanor, he looked more like a human than a devil.

Even now, I’m still confused, but he introduced himself as a devil.

This is my second consultation with him.

Though I’ve been here twice, I still can’t make sense of this place no matter how much I look around.

There’s nothing around us.

No walls, no floor, no ceiling, no sun, no moon. Just darkness. Yet, the furniture and the devil were clearly visible.

I had no idea how I was sitting here with no visible floor.

The floor felt like a magic trick, so I cautiously stepped on it.

But there was no ground beneath me.

‘What would happen if I fell from here?’

Would I plunge forever into that bottomless abyss?

Gripped by fear, I clung tightly to my chair.

The man in the suit, sitting up straight, wore a gentle smile on his slightly pale face.

Strangely enough, there was no malice in that smile.

He’s a devil who deserves condemnation.

The pen moved on its own, writing something.

“Is that the contract?”

“Yes.”

A distrust flared up like a candle.

‘He’s a devil.’

Contracts are supposed to be readable by the signatory.

Was he trying to trick me like a devil should?

“Not at all.”

“Pardon?”

The devil was suddenly looking into my eyes.

Those deep, dark eyes were hard to look away from once caught in them.

They had a captivating power that made it impossible to pull my gaze away, almost as if I was slipping into sleep.

Before I knew it, I found myself staring into his eyes. When I learned he could read the minds of those he made eye contact with, I was stunned.

It was unsettling knowing I couldn’t even complain internally.

It’s not just me; no one in this world is polite even within their own thoughts.

“How will you decide on your wish?”

“Just as we discussed during the first consultation.”

The devil smiled softly.

Seeing his pale, sickly face smile gently made him appear almost pitiful. Then he spoke.

“No.”

“…What?”

“There’s more, isn’t there?”

My heart sank.

“…More?”

“Beyond curing your mother’s illness, there’s something else you desire.”

His gentle tone, like that of a counselor, was easy to listen to.

I wondered if he was setting me up, but under the devil’s watchful eyes, I couldn’t even muster the strength to doubt him. How long did I agonize over it?

Eventually, I gave up.

From the start, the other party was a devil.

‘A humane devil, huh.’

I let out a low, ironic laugh.

If someone hadn’t peeked into my heart, if they hadn’t given form to those thoughts with words, I probably would never have said them.

I didn’t even know myself.

At the same time, it was something I should have said.

“I wish for no one to remember me.”

This was the most necessary thing at this point.

Now that I knew the truth about death, I was no longer afraid of dying.

It just left my chest feeling tight.

But the thought of the people I’d spent my life with forgetting me—that was terrifying.

True death comes when you’re forgotten from memory.

I could finally understand those words I once heard in passing.

“Being forgotten is frightening for anyone. It’s even more so if it’s by family. Your feelings are perfectly normal.”

He was right.

The pen moved on its own, scribbling something down.

“What I will receive from the contractor is your current body and your dimensional residence rights. There are two things I must notify you of first.”

The pen stopped.

His black eyes, previously fixed on the contract, were now staring at me.

“You lose too much compared to what I receive.”

Heh! A louder laugh burst out this time.

There is certainly an inhuman side to him.

Nobody else would consider such a thing.

“You’re saying I’m at a disadvantage?”

The devil nodded.

“You may not realize it, but you’ve spent an eternity on Earth. You have been here until now, and you were meant to continue.”

His words embedded themselves in my mind.

“Death is not the end. Even if you can’t remember, you’ve formed countless connections with other souls, and your current family is not just a fleeting family but eternal companions.”

There’s a belief in Korea that enemies from past lives meet as parents and children or as married couples, and if that’s true, then I’m enacting the ultimate revenge.

“You’re about to lose all of that.”

The devil’s earnest gaze triggered a reflection.

I remembered something he said during our first consultation. He told me that even after people die, a force of attraction keeps souls connected, maintaining their interactions into the next life.

I had asked if there was any way to recognize these connections.

The devil told me to always be kind to those around me because you wouldn’t know.

But what value does a bond have if it isn’t remembered?

In other words, it’s all just wishful thinking.

This devil has been like that from the beginning.

He places value on things that are hard to understand.

“There are perspectives beyond the subjective. Thoughts, judgments, and feelings about people and objects don’t simply arise from chemical algorithms imprinted in the brain.”

It was as if he was pleading with me.

As if urging me to reconsider this contract.

“Especially if you encounter someone or a soul you were connected to in a previous life. This is the force of attraction I mentioned before.”

“I understand what you mean. You’re saying the soul remembers, right?”

But do you think I really want this?

No. I want to stay in my home, next to my family, living my life. That’s why I’m here. Because I can no longer do that.

I am sacrificing my life in exchange for curing my mother’s illness.

The price? Being transferred to some unknown alien world.

My true feelings? I want to go back right now.

But I have something I want to accomplish, even if it means dying.

So, shouldn’t I struggle as much as I can?

The devil’s black eyes stared intently into mine.

Eventually, his gaze shifted away.

“…To conclude, your presence will become faint compared to others. The attraction force you’ve built over an eternity will vanish. This is the burden you must bear as the contractor.”

Jeon Si-hyeon nodded.

It meant that in a completely unfamiliar place, no one would recognize me.

Considering I’m an introvert, it’s more of a blessing.

“Being noticed just makes life harder.”

“That’s fortunate. I believe that the endless twists and turns of life are what drive us forward…”

Once again, I felt that his values differed from mine. This devil might be what people call the ultimate ‘social butterfly.’

For some reason, I envied him.

The devil smiled gently and handed me the contract and pen.

“For the legitimacy of the contract, your memories won’t be erased, even after countless reincarnations. Since the price isn’t sufficient, I’ll provide assistance in this area. Health, talent, appearance—whatever you wish for, you’ll be reborn with it.”

Reborn.

That means death is not the end.

It’s the statement that puts to rest the age-old debate over whether the afterlife exists or not.

‘If I’m not born with a silver spoon, should I just kill myself?’

It was a playful thought, but it was persuasive.

This secret of the world should never be known by others.

Otherwise, people would start killing themselves for all sorts of reasons.

I found solace in knowing that I was the only one privy to this truth.

I took the pen from the devil and pulled the contract closer.

First, I skimmed over the contents.

“…”

It wasn’t in Korean.

The devil’s script looked like a blend of Latin and Arabic.

Both languages flow like water, but mixed together, it looked like nothing more than a child’s scribble.

Or maybe it really was just scribbles.

Only the spacing indicated that these were words.

At this point, it was too late to ask him to rewrite it or to start probing questions.

“I don’t have any specific wishes. I just… want to live peacefully. Do I sign my name here?”

“Yes. But no one knows what the future holds. You must secure the peaceful life you desire yourself.”

The devil’s words were perfectly reasonable.

I had hoped he’d offer some ingenious solution, given that he was an impossible being, but I was only testing him.

I signed where the devil indicated and handed back the contract and pen.

“The second issue is the angels.”

Angels?

“Angels from Heaven?”

The devil burst into laughter.

“No. It’s different from the common concept. They aren’t the angels who guide the dead; it’s more accurate to call them servants of the gods. You must not be discovered by them. Avoid religions.”

“Is it because you’re a devil?”

The devil chuckled, rolling his eyes before looking at me.

“There’s no conflict between angels, gods, and devils as you think. It’s simply that they dislike variables disrupting their meticulously crafted works. Imagine you find a strange, unfamiliar mold growing on your carefully aged cheese.”

Obviously.

“You’d… scrape it off, right?”

“Exactly. That’s the standard approach. The gods of the world you’ll live in are no different. If you act dangerously, they’ll try to eliminate you.”

Despite the danger, I couldn’t feel tense.

Oh, I see. That was all I could think.

It was pitiful how I felt relieved that a minor misfortune replaced a greater one.

But what else could I do?

Until now, I believed death was like a light going out—vanishing and fading away forever. And now, reincarnation in another world?

“Is there anything else I need to be cautious of?”

“Nothing else. Just avoid actions that might draw the attention of angels.”

I had no idea what actions would catch an angel’s eye.

“What exactly would draw the attention of an angel?”

“Hmm… Simple examples include attempting to destroy the world, committing mass murder, or rejecting religions.”

So just avoid crazy things.

I understood everything except the last part.

“…Do they want us to believe in them?”

“Not exactly, but angels live off faith.”

Then it doesn’t concern me.

I’ve been a skeptic to the bone, and even while making this deal with the devil, I’ve felt not a shred of reverence for some creator that might exist somewhere.

“Isn’t there a lot of world-destroying and mass-murdering happening even there?”

“They are not variables. You are.”

Since I had no intention of doing any of that, it seems there’s no need to worry about the angels. If they do take notice of me, I’d try my best to become a beneficial cheese mold.

“Do you have any further questions?”

“No.”

There were many questions.

However, I didn’t know how to organize them, and I didn’t have the time to do so.

If I were to carefully ask all my questions, it would probably take a whole day.

Even though this involved my own safety, I found myself wanting to brush over it.

I didn’t want to show weakness.

It was incredibly uncomfortable knowing my thoughts could be read.

“If that’s the case, do you, Contractor Jeon Si-hyeon, ultimately agree to this contract with me, ──────?”

His name was barely audible, like a silent whisper.

Beyond that, my mouth wouldn’t open.

“Take your time to think.”

I didn’t refuse the devil’s offered respite.

Was this the right thing to do?

No, it wasn’t.

─This was an unforgivable act.

As a child, you should endure any pain and be there to witness your parents’ final moments.

But what’s the point if someone dies?

You have to do right by them before they die.

I abandoned duty, lost courtesy, and gave up patience.

But to me, my parents’ well-being and the rest of their days mattered more than any human duty or dignity.

This is my last selfish act of filial piety.

“I agree.”