Entha

Chapter 14: Town of Ilig

According to map of the territory of De Val, the town of Ilig formed a centrifugal shape with the duchy at its center, not because of the demon’s fixation of circles but instead of economic reasons, beneath the town is a magic circle spanning for 3 kilometers of end, with the purpose of supplying mana to the common demons(formerly humans who are rendered unable to use mana) to power the tools needed for their daily necessities, such as the mana powered chandelier, street lamps, stove, etc. I noticed that the Demon world lags behind humans in terms of technology, but this is due to the demons simply following their Overlord's will, one of which is to focus on the study of mana and the life force of humans, which gave birth to the demons' unique technology, magic circles, while based on previous contacts on earth from contract holders, demons believed that the angels, on the other hand, had been adapting the humans' innovations and had been modifying it to be powered through mana, yet this didn’t give the demons a sense of danger, they had this unbending faith of their Overlord, which greatly worries me.

We are now in the crop fields near the town of Ilig, which spanned endlessly following the circle shaped figure of the town, which is tended by common demons with black lifeless eyes serving the repayment of the demon's service, though in the midst of it there were also those who were happily taking care of the crops,  these are the people who had already served their repayment and were now free, but still preferred to work as farmers perhaps due to their love of plants. After a short distance, we arrived in the town of Ilig, which had a crescent-shaped stone entrance but had no guards because the town was relatively peaceful anyway. In the center of town, there were two sets of road running in opposite directions, with houses and stores lining the sides, similar to those of railway industries, but instead of tracks and shabby stalls, the road was 3 meters wide, with stores the size of two-story modern houses. The town was largely occupied by liberated common demons, and the atmosphere around the town was not as gloomy as I had expected, instead it was like a city in modern times, with demons chatting freely on the roads or in the shops, and there were even those enjoying a cup of coffee at the second floor veranda of their houses, though the houses and shops resembled those of the victorian era, and because the demon world had no form of currency, trading was the norm.

“By the way, Esteroth how would you even pay for that?”

I asked, showing me around town is a lie, this woman just wanted to shop a clothing of her own, that said I was still curious as to how Esteroth would pay the owner taking in mind that she didn’t brought a single thing with her,

“Its simple”

She said, and made her way to the counter where the owner was waiting, I watched her whisper with the owner for a bit before casting a magic, confusing as it was, the owner smiled brightly and even thanked Esteroth,

“Don’t tell me you casted an illusion to trick her?”

“It was not to trick her, it was something she yearned for”

“Is that so”

It occurred to me that even demons have things they cherish, such as the presence of someone they ached for, which was why the owners were so hospitable to those who could utilize magic.

“Aren’t you getting something?”

Esteroth asked, but the black coats provided by the duchy were more than enough for me; they were plain, but they were much better than what I wore back on Earth; thus, we explored more of the town, getting escorted to several shops,  turning me into a baggage holder; I made up my mind not to be dragged out by this woman ever again; the rest of the trip was peaceful, but I had noticed that the demons around seemed to be mostly in their 20s, and so the question of age resurfaced in my mind.

“Yeah I’m not getting anything, by the way Esteroth, how long is a demon’s lifespan”

Esteroth, who was busy selecting clothes at the 18th tailoring shop we visited, paused for a moment and turned to my direction

“Pure demons lived almost infinitely as long as there is a supply of mana, but common demons lived for at most 500 years which is the limit of the vessel made for them in the process of Ingrol”

“Then, shouldn’t they look older as they are teleported at the time of their death on Earth?”

“Not really, a child would grow up normally till the age of 20 and those that had died old slowly revert back to their prime, which is a result of Ingrol, so they would be able to attend normally to any task provided to them”

I suppose, Ingrol is not just a magic for converting humans but has those purpose too, but what about me? Do I die in 500 years or live infinitely? I don’t know what’s better though,

“I see, so where do I belong?”

“I don’t know, since you’re the first common demon to have an eye of the pure demons and we don’t have a magic to determine what you are”

Explained Esteroth, I guess I’ll have to find out in 500 years, still that’s a long time to live,

“Is that so, then how old are you Esteroth?”

I inquired out of curiosity, because demons stopped aging at the age of 20, and Esteroth's appearance is old enough for someone in her 20s, but she may be older than she appears, considering her childish behavior, I'm guessing she wouldn't be that much older than I am.

“Still as suicidal as ever you thickhead, I’m quite young for a demon, you know”

Grumbled Esteroth, with her lips twitching, There are quotes on not asking a woman's age back on earth because it is rude, or so they say, but I didn't expect that to hold true for the demon world, or maybe Esteroth had adapted some of the values of Earth since she is so absorbed in learning about the humans,

“Ain’t that obvious, of course you are young, with your childishness and such”

“Humans are taught to respect their elders don’t they, Im 43 year’s old in terms of human years”

Ohhh, wow she’s old, more than twice my age, but I wont accept it, respect this immature demon? Over my dead body, I strongly refuse,

“Well in terms of demon years that would make you young won’t it, 43 years old my ass, you act like a  child, aren’t you glad Anna could be your playmate”

I teased, but her hypness vanished in an instant, and she returned to her shopping, turning her back on me. She paused for a moment, coughed, and asked in a serious tone,

“Right, still planning to let Anna out after a mere 2 years?”

“No, I guess I’ll keep her close until she knows what she would want to do”

Most of the common demons residing in the town had their own motivation for living, some had passions for tailoring, baking, farming, etc. jobs you could find back on Earth, though there are no engineers and scientists as the physics surrounding hellium differed greatly back on Earth, which is why the use of magic provided by demons was much more productive, that said a child like Anna with no sets of skills would find it difficult to live here, which is why I have decided to keep her close for now and educate her of the demon world before setting her free to roam Helliun.

“Shouldn’t we start going back now, it’s my turn for a summon after all”

I continued, since Esteroth had remained silent and Halen would be returning at this time, it was my turn to wait for a summon at the mansion and seal another contract, another one that would be kept hidden in the Duchie's fault in preparation for the War between demons and the birds with lights on their heads.