“This is amazing!”

Yuzuki and I ate our meal with tears streaming down our faces. I used to think those scenes in isekai novels where characters cried over their food were exaggerated… but it’s real. I take back all my doubts. This meal is actually so good it’s moving.

We hadn’t eaten for over a full day, we were attacked by beasts, ambushed by hostile berries, and reached the brink of death. Now, I felt alive for the first time since we arrived here.

“This is delicious!”

“Heh, a bit dramatic, aren’t you?”

I didn’t know what kind of meat this steak was, but it was juicy and flavorful. It wasn’t especially tender, but it was substantial and filling. The soup was made with the same meat and some vegetables, with a light flavor that balanced the richness of the meat.

“Ahh, thank you for the meal!”

“Glad you liked it. You two really tore through that food,” said Welter as he brought out some herbal tea.

“Thank you so much. I don’t even know how to express our gratitude…”

Right now, words are all we can offer. We really have nothing else. We have a bit of money, but it’s nowhere near enough to repay him for saving our lives.

“Bah, don’t worry about it, kid.”

Despite his blunt tone, Welter wore a slight smile as he took a sip of his tea, its refreshing aroma filling the air. His rough speech was a contrast to the keen attentiveness he’d shown us.

“Let me formally introduce myself… I’m Mizumoto Shu.”

“A-And I’m Yuzuki Rio.”

The three of us sat around a table that could comfortably seat two, with Welter himself seated on a crate instead of a chair, saying he’d never make his guests sit there.

“Hmm. Mizumoto Shu, huh? Quite a tongue-twister of a name.”

“Oh, actually, ‘Shu’ is my given name, and ‘Mizumoto’ is my family name.”

“Ah, so you’ve got a family name. Are you a noble or something, kid?”

“No, not at all…”

“In our country, everyone has a family name,” Yuzuki explained.

“That’s impressive.”

Welter seemed intrigued, mentioning that in his world, only nobles had family names—same for both demon and human territories.

“Is that so…?”

Yuzuki and I exchanged looks. I wondered how much a demon like Welter even knew about human countries.

“Demons are adept at magic, so many of us use spells to hide our horns and blend in with humans,” Welter explained, and his horns began to fade from view.

“Incredible…”

“Wait, so you have a first name too?” Welter turned to Yuzuki.

“Yes, it’s Rio,” she replied.

Welter’s brow furrowed, and his expression grew grim.

“So, who’s the heartless person who would throw kids into the Devil’s Forest?”

It looked like he was genuinely angry that we had been sent into the forest… even though he was a demon.

“Huh? What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen something strange…”

“Well, um… I heard in the human kingdom that the Demon King led the demons to attack.”

At this, Welter’s face twisted bitterly.

“And who told you that story?”

The air grew heavy as we truthfully recounted our journey to Welter. After all, we owed him our lives, so hiding anything from him didn’t feel right. I explained how we had been summoned from another world. I hoped this would make it clear that we were different from the humans in this world.

“Is that so…”

After listening, Welter crossed his arms, nodding thoughtfully.

“But at sixteen, you’re awfully small for your age, aren’t you? Or is that a common trait among otherworlders?”

“That’s what you take away from all that!?” Yuzuki’s immediate reaction surprised me. It almost seemed like they had become friends while I’d been unconscious.

Sure, I’m short, but hearing it out loud still stings. I’m even shorter than Yuzuki; there’s no need to rub it in.

“Ha! Don’t take it so hard. I get that you two have been through a lot.”

Though his words were light, Welter’s following explanation of demon affairs painted a vastly different picture from what we’d heard from the princess who summoned us.

“There is a Demon King, but he’s just the ruler of the demon territories. He’s not someone who would wage war on human nations.”

“Then… it really was…”

“Yeah, just as you’re thinking—they probably summoned a hero for one reason: to use them as a weapon to attack demon lands.”

“If that’s what they intend, we definitely believe you,” I said, and he raised his cup in a mock salute.

“Glad to hear it.”

After a brief pause, Welter added, “Now that I have the details… it’s time to talk business.”

His gaze settled on us. We straightened up, knowing this was the crucial part: it could decide our future.

“You don’t have anywhere to go, right?”

We looked at each other and nodded, realizing we were about to discuss what came next with this demon who had saved our lives.