Chapter 339: Learnings
"So... what’s your name? Do you have one? Or did Evelyn-sama give you one?" The girl Evelyn said is called Eve — and who will now be my "tutor" — asks as she hands me some clothes. They’re a bit big and way too loose for my current size, but I just take them since it’s what I have and it’s better than staying naked.
"I-I’m Shizuka... a-and that’s my real name, E-Evelyn didn’t give it to me," I murmur, finding everything a little strange. I didn’t expect my new body to feel so odd, but I’m glad the devil didn’t lie — after all, I now have a healthy body, and I feel really strong.
Though this body somehow feels kind of lewd, and my reddish skin really does make me think of actual demons.
’...I-I’m turned on...’ I look at Eve and hate feeling this way. Because of everything Evelyn put me through, I developed a disgusting feeling of "excitement" tied to Evelyn’s image, and Eve carries that same image — minus the horns, wings, and tail.
Of course it’s not love. Evelyn isn’t someone I love, but having her make me masturbate so many times in such a short span using only her image and nothing else made me see pleasure as something that only happens if it’s with her image. And now there’s a girl in front of me who is literally her spitting image.
’I shouldn’t let Eve know what I’m thinking... and I have so many curses too...’ The curses I carry are heavier than I imagined, but luckily my powers really are incredible!!
And most of the curses are manageable and pretty much measures to stop me from betraying Evelyn — something I wasn’t planning to do!! After all, she’s the devil. Who would be crazy enough to betray the devil?
"So, Shizuka, let me make a few things clear. You now serve Evelyn-sama, and if you try to betray her, I swear I’ll kill you. ’Soul from another world,’ I don’t trust you, so if you want my trust, earn it. Understood?" She speaks to me in a harsh tone.
And she makes it clear she knows I’m from another world — at least in the sense that my soul is from another world. After all, bodies like the one I have now didn’t exist in my world.
"I-I won’t betray her... I’ve never, ever thought about it," I answer quickly. I would never betray Evelyn — first, because she really did hold up her end of the deal; second, because I’m scared of her; and third, because I’m addicted to her image and can’t get her out of my head.
Besides, the reality is that I was the one afraid of being deceived. When she told me I had to kill myself to complete the deal, I was sure it was all a lie — that she was tricking me to take my life and send me to hell.
"Well, you don’t seem to understand anything about this world, so I’ll teach you the basics—"
"E-Eve, can I call you Eve, right? So, Eve, why is Evelyn... why did she get so weird?" I end up interrupting her with a question. When I "woke up" in this world and saw Evelyn talking to that Esther person, she seemed kind of... weak? Completely different from the image she gave off before.
"...What are you referring to? And yes, you can call me Eve, even though it sounds disrespectful for you to call Evelyn just by her name. Did you get that close to her in the other world?" When she says that, I blush with shame and feel a little disgusted with myself over everything, but I take a deep breath and get straight to the point.
"...W-When she arrived, she seemed scared?" Eve stares at me as if trying to figure me out before sighing.
"It’s a complicated situation. It has to do with her wife, but don’t think too much about it. Besides, Evelyn-sama has more than one body, so the Evelyn-sama you’ll generally see will be the one outside right now giving orders to the soldiers," she says in an explanatory tone.
"O-Okay... s-so it’s Mana, right? How do you use Mana? I want to use magic, so how do I manipulate Mana?" I ask excitedly, trying to use magic. I just try to leave the past behind and focus on the wonderful present — a new life without being a victim of bullying and abusive parents.
"Mana? What’s Mana?" she asks, confused, leaving me equally confused.
"Mana, like, the energy you use to cast magic, right?" I say, trying to understand why she seems not to know what it is.
"No, I don’t know what Mana is. What we use to do magic is an ’energy’ called Hikishin. Also, some of your abilities probably won’t use Hikishin directly from the environment but from your own body. But since you have a lot, you won’t need to worry," she says while I get dressed quickly, a little embarrassed.
Since I had been talking to her this entire time completely naked. The lack of awareness that this is my body now is really frightening.
"E-Eve, you’re... really pretty," I say, getting a little distracted by the situation as I try not to leave anything exposed — even though the clothes make some things that shouldn’t be obvious, like my nipples, blatantly obvious because they’re way too loose.
"...?..." Eve just looks confused by what I suddenly said and shrugs.
"Let’s just get on with what matters, which is training you. Evelyn-sama will give you a set of clothes that fit soon. Since you’re important for us to defeat the Queen of Angels, I’ll teach you what I know about magic," she says, noticing my discomfort with the clothing situation.
"Obviously I’ll see how useful you are, since I haven’t seen you fight yet, nor have I seen how you work when it comes to teamwork," she says while looking outside the hut.
"Today the troops are going to stand down. Evelyn-sama said her body in the castle isn’t feeling well because she’s pregnant, so her body that’s here decided to give the soldiers a rest."
"That’s why I believe it would be best to teach you a little about our current situation. Please, sit over there," she says, gesturing to a chair as she pulls up another and sits down. I sit in front of her, staying quiet to listen and trying not to get distracted by her appearance.
"Shizuka, I don’t know much about you. I can’t say how... useful you’ll be when it comes to killing enemies, but what I do know is that if Evelyn-sama chose your soul, then you must be fit for the job."
"We’re currently in the middle of the angelic continent. The Angel Kingdom is more or less at the center of the continent — a very good strategic position — while several cities and fortresses exist along the way."
"What caused the war?" I ask her, curious.
"Does that really matter? That kind of question is for people who think about good or evil. It doesn’t matter what caused the war. What matters is that we’re at war. Angels are our enemies, humans are allies, and beastmen are staying out of the war."
"O-Okay, I understand."
"Currently the plan is simple. Since the angels were never prepared for a direct battle on their territory, they had major disadvantages at the start. Of course they’ve adjusted by now, but we’re still just pushing forward."
"Several checkpoints have been set up using the old, already-conquered cities for supply shipments, and troops always end up arriving when ready through the [Bridge] — a ’teleportation’ magic, so to speak."
"But that’s command business. You’re not a commander. You’re our trump card. Your duty will be to assist in dangerous battles until we reach the main Angel Kingdom, and there your duty will be to fight the Queen of Angels. I’ll probably be in the fight too, and maybe Evelyn-sama will also be there to provide support," she says, and I get confused.
"The Devil... I mean, isn’t Evelyn powerful? Why does she need help?"
"Evelyn-sama is strong, but she’s not a combatant. She doesn’t have much to offer in a fight. She’s just extremely resilient and hard to kill!! Evelyn-sama is incredible! And she’s also immortal, but she’s not strong enough to kill the Queen of Angels."
"Because her power isn’t focused on fighting. That’s what puppets like me and you are for — we’re her power," she explains while I keep staring at her face. It really is identical to Evelyn’s. The only thing that changes is the expression. While Evelyn truly reminded me of a sweet, manipulative devil, Eve seems more centered and kind of like a veteran soldier or something.
"So I just need to kill this so-called Queen of Angels and I’ll get money and fame, right?" I ask her, and she rolls her eyes like I just said something stupid.
"In a way, yes. I don’t know what Evelyn-sama promised you, but if you kill the Queen of Angels, you’ll obviously be decorated in a special and noteworthy way. After all, Evelyn-sama has done more for us puppets — I even rose to relevant military ranks through merit."
"So as long as you have merit, even being a puppet, you’ll become an important person. Now be quiet, because we have a lot to learn. Once I’m done telling you all this, we can move on to learning magic from basic to advanced," she tells me in a very authoritative tone.
I just pay attention. After all, Evelyn promised me a better life, but with very clear conditions, so I have to do my best to get the better life she promised me.