High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1469: Chapter 213: Guests in the Enchanting Mouse Village

Nikita was already past the age of valuing appearances.

To a Demon, a pretty face couldn’t compare to a pair of beautiful eyes. And this Ancient Leather Giant just happened to have a pair of beautifully colored eyes, which greatly alleviated the discomfort its fierce face caused the Female Demon.

The Female Demon walked in front of the Giant.

She reached out her hand, gently patting the scorched black hairs on the Ancient Leather Giant’s forearm, brushing away the remaining ashes.

The Ancient Leather Giant’s chest emitted a rumbling sound, its face cycling through a range of expressions, striving to convey to the being before it - the one who controlled its life and death - the idea of submission, the desire to do something for her.

”The more you do, the more mistakes you make.”

The Female Demon declined the submission of the supplicant, speaking to the Ancient Leather Giant in a gentle tone: ”Do you see those stars in the sky? They are there because they did too much, always wanting to live as they wished, and thus were expelled by the World.”

”The reason deities are deities is because They are far removed from the mortals. The spring water They casually dispense, after a long journey, falls upon the mortals’ heads, having become a light drizzle.”

”Time and distance can dilute all initial intentions, and can twist all goodwill.”

”Saints take no action because They know that at Their realm, They need not do anything deliberately. Their every move would cause the world to change its colors. By doing nothing, They do not inflict new harm upon the World. Hence, They control themselves, using certain rules to limit Their boundless power.”

”The reason Demons are Demons is that they refuse to constrain themselves. They wish to live freely, hoping that their True Forms are not confined within magic or some small world...thus, with their True Forms, they live willfully under this Starry Sky.”

No Face stood quietly behind the Female Demon, listening intently to every word she said. It knew that every sentence spoken by the Female Demon was her realization in the Dreamland.

For the understanding-deficient No Face, these realizations were extremely precious.

Unlike it, the Ancient Leather Giant listened with a perplexed face. This race was not known for its intelligence; their hearts preferred to supply fresh blood to the strong muscles upon their forearms, rather than to the scant remains of brain matter within their skulls.

After contemplating among the wind, rain, and Giants for a moment, Nikita felt a sense of boredom.

The foolish World, the foolish companions, the foolish self; what was the point of all this realization?

”Heal your wounds, and wait for my summoning.”

The Female Demon casually stuffed an Obsidian Rune Stone into the Ancient Leather Giant’s arm, watching the dark Rune spread all over its body before leaving with No Face, continuing her journey in search of fodder.

In her wake, several large shadows swept over the treetops, revealing long-obscured sunlight. Only after the shadows engulfing it had completely dissipated did the trembling muscles of the Ancient Leather Giant begin to relax. It lifted its head, glancing in the direction the two Female Demons had left, its pink pupils showing a tumultuous mix of agitation and fear. After some time, it slowly raised its claws and started crawling deeper into the heart of the Enchanting Forest.

Leaving the Ancient Leather Giant behind, Nikita, with No Face, continued walking through the gloomy Enchanting Forest.

Among pathways formed by the phosphorescent light of mushrooms and the towering branches, came the occasional strange slapping sounds, messages being passed between Enchanting Mice.

As the two Female Demons crossed a babbling brook, threading through a new tree hollow, the slapping sounds of the Enchanting Mice suddenly became much more frequent. As if in an instant, the spring drizzle had turned into a summer downpour.

Nikita paused in her steps, listening intently to the communication between the denizens of the dense woods.

”Is something happening?” No Face could not understand the slapping sounds of the Enchanting Mice, but it could read its companion’s expression, so it quietly asked, ”...Do you need me to call for some help?”

Nikita shook her head.

”An interesting guest has arrived at Zu Ge’s village, causing quite a stir among them.” Her face showed a hint of interest, her crimson eyes especially pure under the shifting sunlight of the Enchanting Forest: ”...Perhaps you’ll find it interesting.”

Zu Ge refers to the Enchanting Mice, the most numerous natives in the Enchanting Forest, with brown fur and rodent-like teeth, fond of brewing fine wine from the acorn family under oak trees.

The freshly painted mouth on No Face’s face puckered up prettily.

She loathed those mice. Since she entered the forest, she had crushed many Enchanting Mice underfoot. But she caught on to Nikita’s interest in the strange visitor to the Zu Ge’s village. So she pouted her lips.

She couldn’t object, nor could she show displeasure.

She could only pretend to be cute.

The Enchanting Mice’s village is located near the center of the Enchanting Forest, where many tall boulders circled around, the stones covered with green and yellow moss—this relic was once the domain of some even more terrifying creatures, but they have become extinct, and the Zu Ge have nested here, making it their own village.

The closer to the village, the fewer the oak trees, the more the mushrooms abound.

Especially in the areas where the Zu Ge had held rituals or Witch Rituals, the fungi grew exceptionally dense. Their scattered luminescence merged into streams that flowed along the roots of oak trees, twinkling with a disturbing grey-green light, casting an eerie and ominous aura over the forest.

As the two Female Demons crossed the boulder wall and entered the Zu Ge’s village, they felt the gaze of many eyes upon them. These gazes belonged to the masters of the village—No Face had to expend great effort to discern behind these eyes the fine and smooth brown silhouettes.

Unlike No Face, from the moment Nikita entered the village, her eyes didn’t catch even a glimpse of these mice.

All her attention was on the delicate stranger in the Zu Ge village.

It was a Witch.

A rather young Witch—about eight or nine years old in appearance—with thick brown hair and a round, chubby face.

But her complexion was pale, and her hair somewhat disheveled.

In her right hand she held a small mirror, and in her left, a blank sketchbook, a few leaves from the Mystical Grain tree without luster tied around her wrist, her robe a bit tattered, and her gaze empty and vacant.

A few bold Zu Ge were throwing pebbles at her while slapping their chests loudly, making threatening sounds.

”Shush! Be quiet!”

The Little Witch put her index finger to her lips, looking around sluggishly and whispered in a very soft voice: ”...Quiet down, don’t let the Fairies hear you... They eat people!”

Shadows in midair unfurled hundreds of slender tentacles, sweeping around, clearing the noisy Zu Ge out of their village.

Nikita approached the Little Witch.

She bent down, looking at her tousled brown hair and her pale skin, at her shoes with holes and the toes poking out from those holes.

The Female Demon’s nostrils flared slightly.

A faint sweet scent emanated from the Little Witch’s body.

She looked just like a beautiful soap bubble. The thought suddenly crossed No Face’s mind, who was standing behind Nikita, and at the same time, No Face took out its makeup box, beginning to dab and smear eyebrow pencil and lipstick on its own face.