Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Maybe it’s because Hirpus is a fragile mutant that even a baby’s strength like mine causes him pain. Unlike me, who was trying to understand him, Hirpus’s whining only grew worse. Worried Morus might come back while I was sneaking around, so I pressed a finger to my lips.
“Shh! Stay still.”
Then, as if truly exhausted, his red eyes blinked slowly, and his shoulders sagged. He looked a little pitiful, so I scratched his soft fur with my fingers. When I peeked at his face, Hirpus’s eyes were blazing with fire.
He glared at me so fiercely it almost felt like he was saying, ‘Are you seriously playing nice after hurting me?’
‘Nah, I must be imagining it.’
Sweet and gentle Hirpus would never look at me like that. As I suppressed a giggle, I stepped out the door. The corridor was as dark as Lucifer’s bedroom usually was. The only difference was that, unlike the warm air in his room, this hallway was cold and sterile.
‘Was it always this big and wide?’
My small footsteps echoed loudly against the floors. Maybe it was the high ceiling or the spacious width, but everything sounded louder here. When Lucifer carried me through it, I’d never noticed any of this.
Despite the darkness, the faint red moonlight seeping through the gaps in the curtain-covered windows made it possible to distinguish shapes. I should probably ask someone to install a lamp out here next time.
‘This kind of feels like an adventure.’
My cheeks twitched with excitement. I was so thrilled that I even started to hum. Hirpus stared at me like I’d lost it, but unlike before, he didn’t try to drag me back or block my path.
The whining and groaning stopped completely as if it had all been an act.
See? I knew it was just a drama.
“Ahaha!”
After passing through several corridors that all looked the same, I spotted a massive door leading outside. It was nothing like the one I usually passed through when Lucifer and I went to the hot springs.
‘Is this even a door?’
If anything, it looked like a magical portal to another place rather than an exit to the outside world. I could see through it, but the scenery beyond wasn’t familiar and looked hazy, like water reflecting an image.
A burst of curiosity exploded in my chest.
As I walked toward it, Hirpus, who had been quietly following, suddenly ran ahead to block my path.
“Why?”
He usually didn’t care what I did, but today he seemed particularly stubborn. I blinked at him, waiting for a response, but he just let out a long sigh and whimpered like he was trying to say something.
“C’mon, let’s gooo!”
Even though his actions clearly said ‘Don’t go,’ I chose to interpret it however I wanted. I didn’t know where the portal led, but since it was near Lucifer’s bedroom, it probably wasn’t too dangerous.
“Yay!”
Driven by curiosity, I made my decision in an instant. As I pressed forward again, Hirpus growled and blocked me more aggressively.
He looked at me like he knew I wasn’t listening and even seemed to scowl.
Bark!
He barked, his first bark ever. Was he afraid I’d leave him behind?
‘Don’t worry! I’ll take you with me!’
It was the first adventure I was setting off on since being reborn. No way I’d leave a friend behind. With a bold laugh, I planted my hands on my hips.
“Ahahaha!”
As I beamed with confidence, I grabbed Hirpus around the neck in a big hug. I wanted to carry him, but he was still dragging his feet behind me. The growling stopped, replaced by wheezing as he squirmed.
“Let’s gooo.”
I soothed him as I stepped through the magical portal. It’s been a year since I arrived in this world, and today felt like a special day. A short adventure would be forgiven, right?
It felt like just yesterday I was as small as a fingernail, and now I had no problem acting on impulse like I was born for it.
Maybe it was because I trusted Lucifer so deeply.
No matter what happened, I believed he’d protect me so I could afford to be reckless. Come to think of it, now that I was alone, maybe this was the perfect time to give Hirpus a name.
‘I’ve already got the perfect one!’
Just the thought of giving him a name during our first adventure made my heart race.
“Heehee.”
Outwardly, though, I just looked like a baby grinning mischievously, not very fitting for the occasion.
***
Hirpus was a mutant born with white fur, the first of his kind among a species known only for gray and black. Even among beastfolk, he was an anomaly. No other Hirpus in demon realm history had ever been born a mutant.
He was the first. An unprecedented mutation. He had no name. He was just a toy, a pet for the Demon King’s daughter to play with. But he didn’t think it was all bad. It was painful, sure. But it beats struggling to survive in the brutal outside world.
He hadn’t even resented being abandoned right after birth. Regnator, the one who first found him, had looked at him with a flicker of sympathy.
Thanks to that, he learned the truth and with that came not resentment, but anger.
[“Hirpus grow by drinking their mother’s blood. For a larva like you to become an adolescent, you’ll need that blood.”]
That meant he could never grow. He didn’t even know who his mother was. And even if he found her, would she give her blood to the child she abandoned? What if she was already dead?
[“Besides, white is considered an ominous color in the demon realm. Red is for luck, black is sacred. But white? White is cursed. I’ve never seen such a pure white mutation, you were born that way.”]
Regnator examined him like a specimen. He took his blood, and inspected his body. Hirpus hated it, but Regnator was a high-ranking demon, he was unable to resist.
[“The longer you remain in your larval form, the more your lifespan shrinks. Same with the transformation. The longer it takes, the more painful it becomes.”]
[“I don’t want Lady Bella to be sad. But I can’t do anything about your growth. Just live quietly and try not to hurt her when you die.”]
He didn’t want to die. Regnator only ever did things for Bellatrix, and he didn’t genuinely care. When Hirpus accidentally ate food with Lepton’s whiskers in it, he felt the same dread.
He wouldn’t grow but when the transformation began, the pain would be unbearable. The excess energy from the whiskers would boil inside him with no way to escape.
He hadn’t known it before, but after Regnator told him about ‘blood growth,’ instincts buried in his blood began to awaken.
‘I’ll explode and die, won’t I?’
And yet, he was told to die quietly, without leaving a mess.
‘Who does she think she is, just a human…’
That’s what he thought at first. Just a fragile, weak human girl. But as time passed, his heart began to change. The tiny hand that stroked his head, those warm fingers that scratched his back.
He used to desperately want to live, but now… even if death came, he would disappear quietly, just like Regnator said. That’s how far he’d fallen.
His desire to survive faded.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to enjoy this happiness while it lasted and then close his eyes for good. There was no will to live. What was the point, when he’d never grow?
Bellatrix was truly strange. Fragile enough to tear apart with a bite, yet every day she tried to strangle him to death. Hirpus was a strong species.
Though he couldn’t grow, a full-grown Hirpus could evolve from beast to demon. That made them unique. Even in his infant form, he was still stronger than a human. And yet, when Bellatrix caught him, he couldn’t break free.
‘Could she not be human?’
He suspected that, since she definitely didn’t smell like a demon. She had a crisp, pure scent and clear eyes. Bellatrix was wild, yet strange. Raised by Lucifer and the corpse-like demon Regnator, she was still alive and well.
She babbled nonsense and pouted her lips.
Sometimes, she beat him up until he was covered in dust.
When she choked him and rolled him on the floor, his insides turned upside down. When she slapped his back, whatever that meant, his heart almost stopped. Considering how tough beastfolk skin was, Bellatrix’s strength surpassed that of most demons.
‘She’s not human.’
Bellatrix was the Demon King’s daughter. No way she was normal. And he had let his guard down. What’s worse, she always smiled while beating him. He’d survived near-death battles in the western forest, but even then, he’d never been beaten up this often.
His beastly pride was shattered. He almost cried more than once. He had no idea what he’d done to deserve such beatings. The scariest part was that she smiled while doing it.
==
(TN: So our cutey Hirpus has… fallen in love? Hm, very suspicious.)
