Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

The faint glow of the dying fire cast long shadows on the wooden beams above. The smell of burning wood lingered in the air, mixing with the earthy scent of moss and damp stone. Schlacht blinked rapidly, his vision still blurred from the disorienting transition between dreams and reality. The soft crackle of embers was the first sound he registered, followed by the faint scent of something... cooking?

He froze, his senses sharpening. His body jerked upright with panic, but his limbs felt sluggish, as if weighed down by something heavier than exhaustion. He was no longer in the wild. No longer running from his pursuer.

Where am I?

He looked around quickly, his heart pounding as he took in the scene. He was lying on a bamboo mat, its woven fibers arranged in a distinct, human-made pattern. The room was simple—more like a small hut than a demon's place. The walls were constructed from rough-hewn wooden planks, the ceiling low and shadowed, with no signs of the typical demonic architecture he had become accustomed to. The unmistakable scent of food hung in the air, adding to his confusion.

"I... I... was captured by humans?!" Schlacht whispered to himself, his voice shaky with disbelief. Panic flared in his chest as he scanned the room for any sign of restraint, any magic seals or marks that might have been placed on him while he slept. His fingers rushed over his clothes, feeling for any sign of disturbance, any alteration that might suggest he'd been manipulated while unconscious.

But there was nothing.

Nothing out of the ordinary. His body was still intact, unmarked. He hadn't been bound, he hadn't been restrained. There was no magic brand or glyph carved into his flesh. No sign of the kind of magic that humans often used to control their captives.

He exhaled sharply, trying to calm his racing thoughts. It was odd. Too odd. Was he really... safe? 

As he sat up fully, his gaze darted to the entrance of the room. The sound of a door creaking open made him tense, every muscle in his body coiling in readiness.

Then, she appeared.

"You finally wake up?"

When Schlacht looked up and saw the person coming, all the doubts in his heart disappeared.

It was a demon.

Although part of her purple hair was missing, it was unmistakably a demon.

Schlacht was about to sigh in relief, but when he thought of the previous experience of being hunted down by his compatriots, his nerves immediately tensed up again.

Right! Even if she was a demon, he couldn't lower his guard! Demons had no concept of sibling bonds. Even if they shared similar appearances or voices, that wouldn't inspire any sympathy from one demon to another.

"What... what do you want?"

"Eat something, little dwarf - You look malnourished, like a poor orphan with no parents to care for you."

"..."

Schlacht was a demon who understood a bit of human culture. He could recognize the mocking tone in the purple-haired demon's words, but when he looked into her eyes, he saw no hostility there—just clear, untainted purple irises.

It was as though the words she had spoken were nothing more than a passing remark.

He lowered his guard, albeit slightly. It wasn't much, but it was something. "Thank you..." he muttered under his breath, reaching for the bowl she had placed in front of him. His fingers trembled as he took the bowl, but the hunger gnawing at his stomach won out.

The food was mushy, pale, and unappetizing. It looked like a rudimentary porridge, bland and unappealing. 

"Guluru... guluru..." He took a sip, but immediately his grimace twisted with distaste. The taste was horrid, an unspeakable blend of blandness and bitterness that made his stomach churn.

He turned his eyes back to her. "You didn't poison this, did you?"

"Of course not!"

"Then…" He sighed, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease, though his wariness hadn't entirely lifted. "You're really something."

"Unpalatable?"

"It tastes terrible!"

"You're picky for someone so malnourished." Aura smirked, folding her arms across her chest, her tone laced with dry humor. "A kid with no parents should be grateful to even have a meal—yet you're being picky about it?"

"..."

Although that was technically true, Schlacht still felt something was off.

Ordinary demons cannot detect the strangeness in these words.

But then again, most demons wouldn't say such strange things either.

Schlacht carefully studied Aura for several moments, and then, with much difficulty, finished the porridge.

He coughed, the last of the porridge rising in his throat. "Cough, cough—" He cleared his throat and passed the bowl back to her, his voice slightly strained.

"Why are you giving me the bowl?" Aura asked, raising an eyebrow as she took it from him.

"Isn't it for you?" Schlacht shot back, his brow furrowing slightly in confusion.

"Am I supposed to cook and wash up?" she asked, her tone light but tinged with something like mockery.

"… Fair enough."

No matter how one judged the flavor or quality of the food, Aura's insistence on fairness in such small matters earned Schlacht's quiet admiration.

Most of the demons are greedy and selfish. They don't follow the rules and find it difficult to abide by the fair system issued by the Demon King.

But this demon before him was clearly different. Even in something as simple as cooking and washing the dishes, Schlacht could sense a sense of fairness in Aura's actions.

She must be the type of demon who values fairness, upholds equivalent exchanges, and follows principles!

After washing the bowl, Schlacht returned to Aura's side, where she handed him a magical contract.

Looking it over carefully, Schlacht furrowed his brows and asked, confused:

"This is a slave contract, isn't it?"

Aura gave a small, almost indifferent shrug. "Yes."

Schlacht blinked, a wave of disbelief washing over him. "Why do I need to sign this?"

"Didn't you eat the meal I cooked?" she asked, as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

Schlacht stared at her, stunned by the sheer audacity of the proposition. "You think... a bowl of food is enough to buy my life?" he asked, incredulous. He could feel his temper flare, but when he met her eyes—those crystal-clear, non-hostile eyes—it became clear that she wasn't trying to deceive him, at least not in the way he'd expected. She wasn't trying to manipulate him for sport or trick him into servitude. It was as though she truly thought this was a fair exchange.

Aura tilted her head, looking at him with mild amusement. "Uh, isn't that how it works?"

Schlacht could feel his blood pressure rise. He opened his mouth to protest, to argue that this was a joke, that she couldn't possibly be serious about such a ridiculous offer. But something in her expression held him back. She wasn't mocking him. She wasn't playing some twisted game.

No, this demon—this strange purple-haired demon—actually thought this was fair.

"Eh, what a greedy midget. Let me revise it."

She took the contract back from him, making a small adjustment with a flick of her finger, and handed it back to him.

Schlacht stared at her, stunned by the change. His mind was reeling. "What does it mean that you are responsible for my three meals?"

Aura's eyes glinted mischievously. "It's the reward. Your reward for being my slave."

Schlacht blinked twice, trying to process what she was saying. "Still not accepting?" 

Aura tilted her head, giving Schlacht a new understanding of his greed.

Aura gave him a look of pity. "Forget it then," she crumpled the contract in her hands and tore it up in front of him. "I was planning to take you in as my subordinate. But since you're so determined to be difficult…"

The sound of the paper tearing was sharp, almost final. As she tossed the remains of the contract into the fire, the flames flickered, eating it up hungrily.

Schlacht was left standing there, still reeling from the strange exchange. He could hardly believe what had just happened.

When it came to her attitude toward fellow demons, Aura was one of the friendliest. Most powerful demons lived solitary lives and didn't care for weaker members of their race. But even as one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, Aura allowed weaker demons to stay by her side.

Though demons who lived with Aura did have to serve her and received no payment, the mere fact that they are protected by powerful demons and have magical guidance by their side is enough to attract weaker demons. Aura and the weaker demons also have a symbiotic relationship.

"I actually had high hopes for you. I even offered you extra rewards in the contract. I've never written rewards in contracts before. With such favorable conditions, if you don't accept, I guess there's nothing I can do..."

When Aura tore up the contract, Schlacht was ready for battle, thinking she would either kill him for not complying or force him to sign the slave contract. But instead, Aura simply patted him on the head.

It's so humiliating.

Schlacht had never met a demon like this.

So friendly, yet so shameless. The most confusing part was that this purple-haired demon didn't even realize it. The pity in her gaze made her genuinely believe that he was missing out on a great opportunity by refusing to become her subordinate.

Schlacht's fist clenched. "Why... don't you force me to sign?" he demanded, his voice rough with frustration. His pride was stinging at the edges, the anger bubbling up inside him.

"Why should I force you to?" Aura's voice was light, almost playful, as though the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Am I not a demon worthy of being enslaved?" Schlacht shot back, each word laced with insult. "Isn't that what you want? To have complete control over me?"

Aura's eyes narrowed slightly, and she shook her head, the faintest hint of disdain creeping into her expression. "You're too greedy. I don't want you."

"Greedy?!" Schlacht's voice rose in disbelief. "You think drinking a few bowls of porridge makes me greedy? Do you have any idea how awful that tasted? That was torture! Torture, do you hear me?!"

"You see, you're getting worked up again…"

Aura shook her head, a bit of disdain creeping into her expression.

Aura did not have the habit of forcing her own kind to obey. Her obedience magic was only used on humans. Aura was happy to accept the demons who were willing to follow her, but she would not use obedience magic to force those who were unwilling to follow her.

—The demons who had worked for her before didn't ask for anything. They just did their work, and they took care of their own food. But now, Aura had gone out of her way to offer food to this young demon and was rejected.

And this midget was emotionally unstable, a serious flaw for a demon. Luckily, she hadn't taken him as a subordinate.

"Ha—ha—"

'What is this feeling? Why do I feel like this?'

Schlacht covered his face, trying to calm his erratically beating heart.

All demons lacked emotions. Most demons didn't experience any feelings. But a rare few did have emotions, like joy, anger, or sadness. The problem was that they lacked empathy, so they couldn't sense others' emotions or feel things like love, attachment, or longing.

Schlacht was one of those demons who had a limited capacity for emotion, but not for empathy.

Yet, today, for some reason, his "limited" emotions had been stirred to the point where they interfered with his ability to think properly.

Why was he so angry?