READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 19
“What’s with those wide eyes?”
For a moment, I thought I misheard.
But no matter how much I thought about it, that word kept echoing in my head, refusing to be ignored.
It kept tugging at me, making me uneasy.
“Say what you just said again.”
“When you live long enough, you see all sorts of things.”
“No, not that.”
“…The situation is different, but I can still understand your position.”
I frowned slightly at Can’s mechanical tone, but the strange word I heard clearly made my eyes widen.
“What do you mean by ‘the same position’? Did I understand that correctly?”
“What did you understand?”
“That you’re not human either, right?”
“Oh, that? Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
I was being serious, but Can seemed completely unfazed, speaking as if it were no big deal.
Can, who clearly had no intention of hiding his identity, began to calmly remove his helmet.
Swish
“…!”
My suspicion turned into certainty in that moment.
But to my shock, even after removing the helmet, there was no head inside. Just empty space, as if it had never existed.
“I thought you knew.”
“What… what is going on…?”
His voice came from the removed helmet.
It was definitely Can’s voice, but there was no trace of life behind it—just a cold, monotonous echo.
“As you can see, this entire suit of armor is my body.”
“It’s really empty inside…?”
“It’s embarrassing, so please don’t stare too much.”
Finally realizing Can’s true nature, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Because I had never once thought of Can as a Demon Tribe member. All his actions up until now had been so human-like.
So, along with the confusion, I felt an inexplicable sense of betrayal.
“What the… so you’ve been deceiving me all this time?!”
“I never hid it or deceived you.”
“If I had known you were a Demon Tribe member from the start, I would never have brought you here…!”
“That’s just because you weren’t paying attention.”
“Shut up!”
The shock wouldn’t fade.
No matter how much I tried to calm down, the thunderous shock that had spread throughout my body wouldn’t go away easily.
“This is unbelievable… how could you hide it so well…”
“Is it really that shocking?”
With that, Can put his helmet back on.
“Of course it is! There are three children living here!”
“So what? Nothing’s happened so far.”
“The fact that you’re a Demon Tribe member is the problem. Do I really need to spell it out for you?”
Honestly, if I thought about it calmly, it might not be such a big deal.
After all, if Can had bad intentions, he would have acted on them by now.
But Can didn’t. Despite being a Demon Tribe member, he never harmed us.
In fact, he grilled meat for us during picnics and played well with the children.
“…By that logic, you’re a Demon Tribe member too.”
“I’m obviously an exception. I’m the children’s guardian.”
“Heh, then think of me as just staying here temporarily for something similar…”
Even though I knew it was just a casual remark, my expression twisted involuntarily.
“Don’t cross the line. You can only stay here until sunrise.”
“So strict.”
No matter the situation, the fact that Can is a Demon Tribe member doesn’t change.
I don’t want to keep a potentially dangerous element here and cause unnecessary chaos.
“Sigh… I thought you were human… I never expected you to literally be an empty can…”
“Calling me a can is a bit harsh.”
“Anyway, don’t tell anyone about your true identity. Just stay quiet and disappear like dust.”
“At least let me say goodbye to the kids.”
“Why are you, a Demon Tribe member, so friendly with human children? That’s what confused me.”
Even though I’ve only seen two Demon Tribe members so far, I could somewhat grasp their nature and characteristics.
One of those characteristics is that Demon Tribe members dislike humans.
So seeing Can play so freely with the children made it nearly impossible to conclude he was a Demon Tribe member.
“I don’t think being a Demon Tribe member means I have to hate all humans.”
“…What?”
“There’s no reason to, and I don’t like wasting emotions unnecessarily.”
With that, Can slowly walked toward the window.
“No matter the race, if we can get along, that’s all that matters.”
There was a strangely poetic vibe to his quiet words.
The faint moonlight streaming through the window reflected softly off Can’s body, heightening the atmosphere.
“Well, even though I say that… if orders come from above, my personal thoughts won’t matter at all.”
The sudden serene atmosphere made my mind go blank for a moment.
But Can’s calm words somehow felt genuine.
I never expected a Demon Tribe member to have such sentimental thoughts.
“…For someone who’s empty inside, you’re quite emotional, huh?”
Tilting my head slightly in confusion, Can suddenly began tapping his left chest with a dull thud.
“Even though I don’t have a body like yours, everything about me is contained in this Demon Stone. Think of it like a human heart.”
I was about to brush it off as unimportant, but I suddenly noticed a strange energy in Can’s last words.
“…Wasn’t that a fatal weakness you just revealed?”
“Yep! If this Demon Stone is destroyed, I die, so it’s definitely a fatal weakness!”
“But why would you just tell me that…?”
“I already know your weakness. It wouldn’t be fair if only I knew, right?”
“Even so…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
I have no idea what he’s so confident about.
Does he think I’m just a pushover because I’m a vampire?
“Tch, I just don’t get you.”
“It’s partly because we’re both Demon Tribe members, but also because I’ve gotten a sense of your personality by now.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“In short, as long as I don’t harm the children, we won’t become enemies.”
Despite appearances, Can’s pretty sharp.
It seems he didn’t reveal his weakness because he underestimated me.
“I guess so.”
An inexplicable unease crept over me, but in the end, it was a fairly heartwarming conclusion.
After all, he’ll disappear at sunrise anyway.
As Can said, there’s no immediate problem.
“You seem to understand the situation well, so I don’t need to say more.”
“Heading back to your room?”
“Well, is there anything else to talk about?”
“No, nothing.”
As soon as the somewhat chaotic conversation ended, I turned my back on Can, who was still standing by the window, and headed straight for my room without hesitation.
Then—.
“Oh, right. I forgot to ask earlier, but did you see anyone else in the forest besides me?”
Can’s calm voice echoed quietly from behind me.
“Huh?”
“I told you earlier. I was on a mission with a mid-level member heading to our destination.”
“Oh, right. You did.”
I paused to think.
But since I hadn’t seen anyone else in the forest besides Can, there was no need to dwell on it.
“Well, no one else besides you…”
“He had an old face and wore weird round glasses.”
Can’s sudden description left me momentarily speechless, my expression blank.
Normally, I would have frowned in discomfort, but something about the description felt oddly familiar.
An old face, round glasses, neat attire, and a Demon Tribe member.
As I pieced together the clues Can gave me, a scene began to form in my mind.
“……”
“I was just asking out of curiosity. Why do you look so angry?”
Despite my intentions, my brows were furrowed deeply.
This wasn’t out of anger.
“Or did something come to mind?”
Despite Can’s continued questions, I remained silent, only blinking slowly.
“……”
Something was clicking, but…
No, it was almost certain—.
But I couldn’t bring myself to tell Can my thoughts.
Despite his rational demeanor, he’s still a Demon Tribe member after all.
“I don’t know.”
“…Something’s off. Can’t you think about it a bit more?”
“I don’t know.”
“……”
Unintentionally, another reason to get rid of him quickly had emerged.