### Chapter Eleven: Onward to the Valen Empire
“Alright, no problem. But… I can’t help but be curious. Can I ask you a few questions?”
Carlos gently massaged my back, casually inquiring, but his eyelids occasionally fluttered up, cautiously watching my expression like a hawk.
“……What is it? Just ask.”
I shot back at him with little patience, taking in his demeanor.
“Your body… aside from being capable of using the Abyss’s chaotic power, it’s no different from a human in any aspect. You understand what I mean, right?”
“Yeah.”
I closed my eyes and settled into a comfortable position against the chair.
“So, which is your true form? This human body or the one from the Abyss that I killed?” Carlos pondered his words for a moment before continuing, “That might be a bit confusing, so let me rephrase: can you turn back into your original shape?”
“……I don’t know.”
I was being honest; I had no clear understanding of the connection between human bodies and monster forms. But… I had this nagging feeling—just a feeling!
That maybe I could revert back to my Abyss form; I just hadn’t figured out how yet.
And I definitely wasn’t going to try it. What if I turned back and couldn’t return? I’d rather keep living with this girl’s body, thank you very much.
I wasn’t planning on spilling this to Carlos.
“When you were fighting the Endless Abyss in the village, did you notice those blue arms? Didn’t you feel anything strange at that time?”
“Not really. It’s like… controlling my own arms.”
“That’s really weird…” Carlos stroked the stubble on his chin, lost in thought and muttering to himself, “I don’t get it… it makes no sense.”
“It is strange.”
“……Forget it. I was just curious. But if anything happens, you’ve got to tell me right away, okay?”
As he said this, Carlos’s expression relaxed, giving off a casual vibe, but his eyes radiated a sort of sincerity.
I nodded back at him.
Then Carlos went on to give me a few more reminders about my physical condition.
He didn’t really have much experience in this area; his advice was mostly along the lines of “don’t catch a chill,” which, while lacking in substance, definitely carried a sense of care.
It was heartwarming.
Carlos was probably the one who understood my situation best. He had seen my terrifying true form, witnessed me reap countless lives with a mere raise of my hand, then devour their souls… Well, he said it wasn’t souls but something he couldn’t quite grasp.
The first time we met, Carlos had his blade pointed right at me, not even leaving room for explanation.
I remember the look he gave me then.
Cold, disgusted, and with a hint of… hatred.
But at least at this moment, Carlos was subconsciously treating me like a human, not an Abyss monster.
Maybe he hadn’t even noticed that himself.
According to Carlos, he was confident that the two blades he wielded back then should’ve been enough to end my life. Just like those monsters he had killed before, turning to ash to disappear forever. There had never been a case where someone died only to turn into a human. I must be a very special existence.
But what does “special existence” even mean? Carlos’s information was severely lacking, and I believed his understanding was off.
For humans, everything about the Abyss was unknown. Despite the church naming various Abysses they encountered, like the one responsible for the Valen Incident two years ago, dubbed the “Gluttony Abyss,” or the unforeseen Endless Abyss that attacked the village, I was labeled the “White Night Abyss.” Still, people preferred to call them monsters. Their understanding was that Abysses were mindless, driven solely by instinct to devour all life.
But I knew that wasn’t the whole truth.
During the battle in the village, I had a brief conversation with the Endless Abyss. I knew it was incredibly intelligent, clearly possessing its own thoughts and logic—not entirely devoid of reason as humans often believed.
It was just… it seemed to be controlled by something. Or maybe its mind was shrouded by some force.
But why was I, coming from the same mire of the Abyss, not under control, and why had I transformed into this young girl’s appearance?
What was the so-called will of the gods it had mentioned… what was that?
Ultimately, what exactly is the Abyss? Why does this world have such a purely destructive form of life?
Even being a monster, I couldn’t explain these questions.
But I firmly believed that one day, the answers would become clear.
…………
Not long after Carlos left, two clerics came in to replace my sheets. I balled up the old ones and handed them over to them.
“Inside is something from the Abyss. Very dangerous. Don’t open it, and throw it away quickly.”
I urged them seriously, and the clerics looked stunned, their eyes wide.
“This… Miss Silvya? If it’s that dangerous, are you sure it’s okay to just throw it away like this?”
“Yeah. I’ve… handled it. Just toss it out.”
“Shouldn’t we have the Pope double-check…?”
“No need, hurry up and go.”
“Alright then, if you say so…”
The two clerics, glancing back nervously as if they were carrying a ticking time bomb, scurried out the door.
With a loud “bang,” the door shut, and I felt utterly exhausted, flopping back onto the bed and wrapping myself tightly in the blankets, drifting off for a nice little nap.
I slept right until afternoon.
When Carlos came back, he told me that the church’s clerics had found those kids. Besides the two boys and three girls I mentioned, over ten more children who lived by thievery were also discovered nearby. After a bit of education, the clerics sent all those kids to the orphanage in Emerald City, so now I wouldn’t have to worry about their well-being anymore.
Well, that settled a big worry of mine.
Now that I didn’t have to fret about those kids, I felt refreshed and ready to strategize dinner with Carlos.
We had nearly two days until Angel’s arranged departure time, and I intended to eat as many famous dishes from the Emerald City as I could before we left.
But when I asked Carlos, it turned out he wasn’t very familiar with the place either.
“My hometown is across the sea in the Eastern Continent. I grew up there until I came to the Western Continent after reaching adulthood. The past few years, I’ve mainly been moving around the Valen Empire, so I don’t know much about Silgaya.”
Carlos said this.
“Eastern Continent? Western Continent?”
“Yeah, we’re currently on the Western Continent, and across the ocean is the Eastern Continent, where one of the four major human kingdoms, Nogavi, is located… Didn’t anyone tell you any of this?”
I shook my head at his words.
The only people I had come into contact with were those villagers, most of whom, in their lifetimes, had only ever traveled as far as the next town over, having a painfully limited understanding of the world.
“Let me break it down for you,” Carlos sighed, pressing his temples, his face showing a painful expression, “…this world we live in is divided by the Ipos Sea into two continents, the Eastern and the Western Continent. Humans have established countless homes here, with the four largest countries being the Silgaria Republic, where we currently are, and our two destinations, the Valen Empire and the Ethansbel Kingdom. The last one is my hometown, the Ad Federation, which has the most land and people.
Then there are the four major cities: the capital city of Silgaria known for its agriculture, Emerald City; Winter City, famous for its industry, the central workshop of the Valen Empire; Order Royal City in Ethansbel, which used to be called Kanli, also the birthplace of the Power of Order; and lastly, the world trade capital, far in the Eastern Continent, Nogavi.
That’s about it. The history of human society spans a thousand years, with accomplishments far beyond this. There are countless large cities and small countries, and many interesting things—you’ll see and hear it all in due time. Of course, when you get to the Royal Academy, the teachers will also share a lot of knowledge with you. I hope you get to see more of the good sides… d*mn it, I’m terrible at explaining this stuff, my head hurts…”
But honestly, he was quite clear, and it gave me a whole new perspective on this world.
Only two continents… doesn’t seem that big after all.
I looked at Carlos’s roguish face.
He was young, perhaps in his early thirties at first glance, but if you ignored his stubble, he barely looked like he was in his twenties.
Suddenly, I got curious about his age.
“Carlos, how old are you?”
“Why do you want to know? Also, what’s with the Carlos? Is that some kind of flying war chariot?”
“Just curious.”
“But I don’t want to tell you! A man’s age is his biggest secret.”
“……” This guy was still as boring as ever—the conversation killer.
“By the way, Emerald City has a famous library that treasures renowned books from all over the world. Whatever you want to learn about, you can check it out—want to go look?”
“Nope.”
“Eh—why not?”
“I want to eat first.”
“……All you think about is food.”
“Uh-huh~”
…………
The two days passed with my lazy feasting lifestyle, and my condition had improved quite a bit.
On the afternoon of the third day, the weather was bright and sunny.
Carlos and I packed our luggage and once again boarded the Holy Church’s war chariot. This time, however, we would be accompanied by Church Knights.
A rough count put their numbers at around a hundred.
These knights belonged to the Holy Church’s Third Army’s fifty-sixth squad. I remember their commander… he was the one who had stabbed me back then. What was his name? He was supposedly in a coma; who knows how he’s doing now.
Carlos informed me that the Third Army mainly acted as the guards for the Saint George Currency Exchange. The purpose of this journey was to escort twenty carts of supplies to the Valen Empire’s currency exchange branch, most of which were Emerald Coins.
Apparently, this trip was confidential.
I guessed Angel thought, since Carlos and I were headed to the Valen Empire anyway, we might as well go together. With the two of us around, nothing could go wrong.
I initially thought the three-day wait had some unforeseen hurdles, but it turned out I was just a free bodyguard… but he left Emerald City the day after the award ceremony.
Tch, that guy.
Well, if it weren’t for this, I would have had no time to eat all that delicious food.
“Mr. Carlos, Miss Silvya, if you have no other business, we shall depart now?”
The knight commander, clad in golden armor, respectfully bowed to us.
“Yeah, let’s go. Thank you for your hard work.”
The knight commander shook his head, not saying anything more, and signaled the team.
“Departure!”
The war chariot slowly began to move forward, heading toward the Valen Empire.
