Rebellious Grey: The Demon Girl Rises from Slavery
In the city of Granveld, where human greed turns flesh into currency, demons are born already condemned. Gurei—thirteen years old, horned, hungry, and utterly alone—has known nothing but the stinking gutters of the Ash Bottom slum. When a bounty hunter's iron grip drags her from the rain-soaked streets into the slave market's cold machinery, she is stripped of her name, her rags, and what little freedom she had left, reduced to nothing more than "property" to be priced and sold.
But something b
Rebellious Grey: The Demon Girl Rises from Slavery - Signs of the Tide
The smell of the tide was in the air.
It was the first time in her life Gurei had ever smelled it. Salt, and fish, and wet wood, and something else, all mingled into a scent that stung the back of her nose. For lungs that had spent their whole life in an inland arena, steeped in sweat and blood and dust, that air was far too alien.
When they crested the last hill of the highway, her field of view suddenly opened wide.
Gurei stopped in her tracks.
Before her eyes, there was blue.
Blue, stretching on and on. Not the blue of the sky — deeper, heavier, like a living thing. And there at the edge of the land, it melted into the sky.
(The sea.)
Gurei turned the word over in her mind. A word she'd only ever heard in stories, down in the slums at the bottom of the ash. The name of some far-off place that merchants bragged about in taverns. And now it was spread out right in front of her.
"Whoa...! Amazing! Gurei, look, it's the sea, the sea!"
Beside her, Yuuto was frolicking like a child. The boy tossed his pack aside and made to go charging down the hillside.
"Wait."
Gurei grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and yanked him back.
"Whoa...! Wh-what?"
"...You planning to leave the luggage behind?"
Gurei pointed at the leather bag he'd dropped. Inside were their travel funds and Yuuto's holy sword.
"Ah... s-sorry. I just got carried away."
Yuuto hurriedly scooped up his things. The tips of his ears were faintly red.
Gurei let out a single sigh.
(This one's always like this.)
(The moment I take my eyes off him, he wanders off somewhere.)
(...I don't like it.)
Gurei turned her gaze back to the sea.
The wind blew.
A lukewarm, damp wind. It seized her long gray hair and tousled it roughly. The hair she'd tied back in a ponytail thrashed behind her.
(It's vast.)
(How far does it go?)
The horizon. That was another word Gurei knew. But seeing it with her own eyes, it defied all imagination.
What lay beyond the sea?
Another country. Another city. Other people.
(Is there such a thing as freedom out there?)
Deep in Gurei's chest, something gave a sharp, stinging ache. It was a craving that bordered on pain. The brand beneath her collar seemed to flare hot, and Gurei unconsciously pressed a hand to her chest.
"...Gurei, is this your first time seeing the sea?"
Yuuto peered into her face and asked.
"...Yeah."
Gurei answered curtly.
"Me too! It's my first time seeing the real thing! Hey, let's go down to the beach later. Maybe we can find some seashells."
"...Do what you want."
With that, she started walking.
As they descended the hill, the streets of the port city of Norn spread out below them.
White stone buildings. Red and blue roofs. Tangled alleyways. And in the harbor, dozens of ships crowded together. Masts stood like a forest. Harbor cranes creaked as they loaded and unloaded cargo.
(So this is the port city.)
Gurei thought of Granveld, the city of the arena. That city had been big, too. But the air here was different.
Granveld was a city of slaves and money and violence. Its air was always stagnant, thick with the stench of blood and filth.
But Norn was more open. The wind off the sea constantly washed the city's smells away.
(A free city, huh.)
Gurei recalled the words of a merchant she'd met on the road. Norn was an autonomous city belonging to no particular kingdom. It was a waypoint for the slave trade, but at the same time an open city where all manner of races and travelers came and went.
(But a waypoint for the slave trade is still a waypoint for the slave trade.)
Gurei spotted a military policeman standing at the city entrance. Dark navy cloak, silver chest emblem. The Vermund Military Police. That uniform was the same no matter where on the continent you went.
Gurei unconsciously turned up the collar of her coat to hide her collar.
(I don't like it.)
They passed through the city gate.
Instantly, the bustle of the crowd swallowed them whole.
"Step right up, step right up! Fruit from the south!"
"Dried fish, anyone? Cheap!"
"Shoe repairs, right this way!"
The merchants' cries. The clatter of wagon wheels. Somewhere, a child was crying. Foreign tongues came at her from every direction.
Gurei furrowed her brow.
(So noisy.)
The crowd jostled against her body. Human warmth. The smell of sweat. The smell of liquor. The smell of perfume. All of it mixed together until she felt sick.
"What a crowd! Gurei, we'd better hold hands so we don't get separated!"
Yuuto said it innocently.
"...I'll kill you."
Gurei growled low in her throat.
"Eek... j-just kidding!"
Yuuto shrugged with exaggerated flair.
Gurei ignored him and kept walking.
(Information gathers in a city like this.)
(There should be plenty of bards and informants, too.)
Gurei sorted through their purpose in her mind. To deliver Yuuto to the holy land. And along the way, to find something that would satisfy her own craving.
(My freedom.)
(My strength.)
(My name.)
Gurei clenched her fist.
They came out into the harbor plaza.
The sea wind swept through, stronger than ever. In the center of the plaza stood an old stone fountain, and pigeons strutted in flocks around it.
And on the rim of that fountain sat a man.
He was a bard.
He wore a faded green cloak and a wide-brimmed hat pulled low. Somewhere in his mid-forties, perhaps. Deep wrinkles were carved into his face, and his long fingers slowly stroked the harp resting on his knee.
The harp strings trembled faintly in the wind.
With his eyes still closed, the man began to speak.
"...Beneath the ice of the far north, there lies the kingdom of those who were robbed."
A low, rasping voice. Yet somehow it cut through the clamor of the plaza and rang out clear.
Gurei stopped.
"The kingdom of caves — a hidden village of demons, blessed by rock and ice and the god of darkness. There, long ago, there was a jewel that shone with radiant light. A jewel that held the sunlight itself within it."
Gurei's heart gave a heavy thud.
(A kingdom of demons.)
"But one day, a dragon swooped down from the sky. Its scales were blacker than night, and the breath it exhaled was not flame but darkness itself. The evil dragon of darkness — it stole the jewel and sank the kingdom to the bottom of the ice."
The bard's fingers plucked hard at the strings.
Poron — a low note rang out.
"Those who were robbed still cry out beneath the ice, even now. Give us back our jewel, our kingdom, our pride, they cry. But their voices reach no one. The freezing north wind drowns them out."
The bard slowly opened his eyes.
"...And yet, the song remains. So that what was taken may be reclaimed. The song is passed down, sung on and on, in prayer for the return of the nameless king of the cave kingdom."
Pororon — the final note dissolved into the wind.
Silence descended on the plaza.
At some point, people had stopped in their tracks, caught up in the bard's song.
Gurei stood rooted to the spot.
(Reclaim what was taken.)
(The cave kingdom.)
(Give us back our pride.)
(So that what was taken may be reclaimed.)
Each verse of the song drove into the depths of Gurei's chest.
What was taken. Freedom. A name. Pride. Herself — robbed of everything.
(I don't like it.)
Deep in her chest, a mud-like emotion churned and swirled.
Gurei approached the bard.
At the sound of her footsteps, the bard looked up.
"...Where did you learn that song?"
Gurei looked straight down at him.
The bard glanced at the horns on her head and at her collar. But his expression didn't change.
"From an old poet born in the north. It was twenty years ago now. There can't be many left who know this song."
The bard answered quietly.
"Where in the north?"
"Who can say. The old poet said he was born in the northern wilds of Zelka, though."
(The Zelka wilds.)
Gurei carved the name into her memory.
She reached into her coat and drew out a single gold coin.
Then she tossed it at the bard's feet.
Chirin — the coin bounced on the stone paving.
"Th-this is... a gold coin!? Miss, are you sure about this?"
The bard's voice rose in surprise.
"Payment for the song."
That was all she said before turning her back.
"Gurei, that was amazing! Flipping a gold coin like it was nothing! So cool!"
Yuuto came chasing after her, eyes sparkling.
"...Shut up."
As she walked, Gurei turned the song's contents over in her mind.
(The cave kingdom. The evil dragon of darkness. The stolen jewel.)
(It might just be a fairy tale.)
(But if it's true...)
(Then there's something there.)
Gurei gazed at the northern sky beyond the sea.
Thick clouds hung low over the northern sky.
(Someday, I'll go.)
Gurei resolved it in her heart.
By afternoon, the two of them had made their way to the city center.
In the heart of Norn stood the great cathedral of the Sunlight Goddess. A colossal structure built of chalk-white stone. Its spires thrust high into the heavens as if to pierce the clouds.
"Wow... what a beautiful cathedral. Gurei, let's go in. I've never been inside a cathedral of the Sunlight Goddess before."
Yuuto was overwhelmed by the cathedral's sheer size, but his eyes shone.
"...You're a hero, aren't you? Do you need permission to enter a cathedral?"
Gurei said it while gazing up at the cathedral doors.
(I don't want to go in.)
(There's no way a demon like me could enter a place this holy.)
Gurei stopped.
"Come in with me, Gurei? It'll be fine. Nobody's going to chase you out."
Yuuto tugged at her hand.
"...Don't touch me."
Gurei shook off his hand.
But Yuuto didn't give up.
"Please. I'm a little nervous on my own. As a hero, I have to pay my respects at the cathedral. But I don't really know what I'm supposed to do."
Yuuto smiled helplessly.
Gurei stared at his face.
(This one treats me as an equal.)
(Not as a demon, not as a bodyguard — as a partner.)
(...I don't like it.)
"...Fine. But I'm not going in. I'll wait outside."
With that, Gurei tucked herself into the shadow of a stone pillar outside the cathedral doors.
"I see... okay, got it. I'll be right out."
Looking a little disappointed, Yuuto went inside.
Gurei leaned her back against the cathedral wall.
The cold of the stone seeped into her back.
(A holy place.)
(A place that has nothing to do with me.)
Gurei touched her collar.
The black-iron collar. The mark of a slave. The cold metal bit into her neck.
(I'm a foreign object.)
(No matter where I go, I'm a foreign object.)
Gurei closed her eyes.
From inside the cathedral, the faint singing of a choir drifted out.
A pure, clear song.
(There's light in there.)
(There's no light where I am.)
Gurei bit her lip.
How long had she stood like that?
"Gurei! I'm back!"
Yuuto came bursting out of the cathedral.
His face was a little pale.
"...What's wrong?"
Gurei noticed the change in him at once.
"...I talked to the priest. About my blessing."
Once outside the cathedral doors, Yuuto crouched down on the spot.
"My blessing is the Sunlight Goddess's blessing. Normal wounds heal right away. But... if I take a serious injury, like a broken bone, I won't be able to move for days. Even the blessing's healing has its limits."
Yuuto stared at his own hands.
"I'm supposed to be a hero, but I'm not strong at all. If Gurei hadn't been there, I'd have died in that ruined church. I can't get cocky just because I have a blessing. I have to get stronger."
Yuuto's voice was trembling.
Gurei crouched down beside him.
(This one has learned his own weakness.)
(And even so, he's trying to get stronger.)
(...I don't like it.)
(Why is he so straightforward?)
"...Stand up."
Gurei said it shortly.
"Huh?"
"If you want to get stronger, stand up first. Can someone who sits on the ground get stronger?"
Gurei stood and looked down at Yuuto.
Yuuto slowly rose to his feet.
"...Let's go. We're finding an inn."
Gurei started walking.
"...Yeah. Thanks, Gurei."
Yuuto followed after her.
Dusk was drawing ne
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