Can Someone (Anyone!) Please Turn Off the Auto-Skill Setting?! - Chapter 67
“W-Would you like to try one?”
Before anyone could respond, the boy picked the largest radish from the freshly harvested bunch. With his tiny hands, he scrubbed it clean in the water and wiped it dry with his sleeve before handing it over. After a brief hesitation between Nancy and Aaron, he decided to give it to Nancy.
Nancy accepted it with a thanks and took a bite. Since entering demon territory, fresh vegetables had been hard to come by. The radish was refreshing and crisp, lifting her spirits.
To her surprise, it was even sweet.
“Nancy, you shouldn’t eat something a demon gives you so carelessly. It might be poisoned.”
“Hmm? But it tastes good,” Nancy replied nonchalantly, savoring the flavor.
Aaron frowned at her carefree attitude.
This village felt alien to him. Demons, living like humans and even farming? It was deeply unsettling. Demons were evil beings, wholly different from humans, and needed to be exterminated like pests on sight. If they weren’t eradicated, innocent people would suffer.
Killing might not be righteous, but subjugating demons was a just act for the sake of humanity.
Yet, seeing a demon village living so ordinarily blurred the line between human and demon, making Aaron deeply uncomfortable.
No, they’re deceiving us, trying to make us believe they’re harmless.
Aaron was a former paladin who had sworn to slay every demon, regardless of age or appearance. Even if they looked like children, they were still seeds of evil. The high priest had made it clear: no exceptions.
“Now that you’ve guided us, we’re done here.”
Aaron drew his sword, making the boy who had just offered the radish flinch. The father Ferron rushed forward, placing himself between Aaron and his son.
The brave Ferron instinctively knew that, even if he fought with all his might, he couldn’t defeat this human. Despite his resolve, his ears and tail drooped. In the end, he fell to his knees and begged Aaron for mercy.
“If you’re going to kill my child, kill me first.”
“Good. That’s easier for me.”
Despite his words, Aaron found his hand hesitating. His hero’s sword was heavy, but had it always been this heavy? A sword he usually wielded with ease now felt cumbersome. Just as he tried to lift the weight and strike, Nancy called out to him.
“Let’s hear them out a little more.”
“You want to listen to a demon? They’re just going to lie to save themselves. Why bother?”
“And how would you know if they’re lying?”
Demons always lied, tricking humans—that was common knowledge for anyone living in Verus or on the human continent. Questioning that seemed absurd.
Aaron looked at her, perplexed, unable to understand her reasoning. Nancy gently lowered his sword hand, which had struggled to lift just a moment ago.
“If you don’t want to, fine. I’ll talk to them myself.”
Nancy helped the kneeling Ferron to his feet and led the father and son away from Aaron.
“You should’ve run away the moment you saw us in the forest. First, you attack us, and now you beg for mercy? Aaron isn’t the type to let a demon go just because they plead. He’s a former paladin, you know.”
Nancy whispered to the father Ferron, careful to keep her voice low so Aaron wouldn’t overhear.
At the mention of a paladin, both father and son gasped in fear.
“B-but we gave you the radish for free. Doesn’t that count for something? Can’t you spare us?”
The boy asked Nancy in a small voice, looking up at her with a pitiful expression, as if he knew that showing vulnerability might win over adults.
Nancy sighed, thinking to herself that she had eaten the radish out of curiosity, and now the boy was trying to use that to his advantage. The kid was innocent but shrewd.
“Do you really think that scary man will listen to me and just let you go?”
Nancy waved her hand dismissively.
“But he listened when you told him to wait, didn’t he? Maybe he’ll listen to you again,” the boy said, his eyes sparkling with hope.
Nancy felt a bit awkward. In the boy’s eyes, she probably looked like someone powerful and influential. The reality, however, was that she’d be lucky to last 30 seconds in a fight with Aaron.
“If you’re living so peacefully here, why are you troubling the little demons?”
Instead of making a promise she couldn’t keep, Nancy brought up the topic she originally intended to ask about.
