Hyde returned at around midday. The proprietor bombarded her with complaints about my behaviour. His face went red as he yelled about his losses. He demanded compensation for all the trouble I caused. After he finished saying everything he had to say, Hyde looked at him with disdain. “You forget your place,” she said with her hand on the hilt of her sword.
The man recoiled a little.
“The king is buying one hundred slaves from your establishment for these heroes, and you still have the audacity to complain.”
“Forgive me.” The proprietors attitude completely changed. “I was just agitated by the boy’s actions. I did not mean to overstep.”
“You think an apology is enough?” I decided to join in. “You gotta get down on your hands and knees and kowtow to both of us.”
“Why you little…” The proprietor said through clenched teeth.
“Now that I think of it, resign from your position! You should be ready to do that much, if you’re sincerely apologetic,” I said.
Hyde picked me up by the collar again. I was really getting tired of being carried by my neck like a kitten. At that moment, I considered eating a lot of food to get fat so she couldn’t lift me anymore.
“We’ll be on our way, now.” Hyde carried me through the streets.
I thrashed about in an attempt to escape her grasp. “Let me go!”
“I have put some thought into what to do with you. I’ve come to realise that you are unlike your comrades in one key faculty. You have no understanding of this world.”
“I understand that slavery is wrong.”
“Have it your way then.” Hyde took me through the city far to a secluded area that reeked of poverty. The houses here were made of wood, spare the occasional ruins of a stone house. “Welcome to the slums. If those slaves were freed, they would end up here or in jail.”
Hyde put me down. I walked with her through this new destitute district of the city. The people here were hungry and sick. They wore rags and were barefoot. “Are you saying it’s better to be a slave than to live here?” I asked.
“What I’m saying is that there is a battle for you to fight everywhere. Slavery is wrong, according to you. Then I assume you think it’s wrong for these people to be living like this too?”
“Of course!”
“Which takes priority? If you could free all the slaves at that fatso’s shop or elevate these people out of poverty, which would you choose?”
“I would free the slaves.” There was no question in my mind. For someone to have no freedom and live off the whims of their master was far worse.
“Good. Now, understand this: the Demon King seeks to slaughter every human in this kingdom. That’s not propaganda, it’s in their manifesto. Search it up in the library or go to the Demon Kingdom and ask them yourself. I’ll ask you the same question as before. Which takes priority? Would you rather save humanity, or free the slaves only for them to be killed by the Demon King?”
I stopped walking. She had led me into a trap with her words. “That’s a loaded question. I can’t answer.”
“We both know what the answer is,” she said.
An old, impoverished man limped towards us. “Spare some food?” he asked with his hands cupped in our direction.
“Move along, beggar.” Hyde scrunched her nose when she looked at him.
“Please?” he pleaded.
“If you want to keep those hands, you better get them out of my face, right now.” Hyde seriously looked ready to amputate the man.
The poor man shuffled away.
“These lowlifes aggravate me to no end. Always asking for handouts. Anyway, have you made your decision, boy?” She stared expectantly at me, obviously hoping I’d now be ready to go along with her to fight monsters.
“I suppose you’ve made it for me,” I responded. “If it means that you and that proprietor die, I don’t really mind if the Demon King kills everyone, including me.”
Hyde’s eyes widened.
Back on Earth, I once scorned people who just wanted to watch the world burn. Now, I felt like I had become one of them. “I don’t really care about saving this terrible world, even if innocent people die. I’ve decided, I’ll just live day by day, as I always have. Adios.” I turned to walk back towards the market.
“You don’t care if people die? What a terrible person you are.” I heard Hyde’s gauntlets clinking from her fists clenching.
It was brilliant irony for her to call me terrible. I would have retorted but I was done trying to convince anyone that they were wrong. No one wanted to hear it. If I couldn’t even persuade my fellow Earthlings that slavery was wrong, there was not a chance that I could convince anyone in this world.
I arrived at the market and entered a miscellaneous shop. Inside I picked up a basket to buy and went to the counter. The cashier was the most fascinating creature I had ever seen. She looked like a woman but the top of her head was a mushroom. The upperside had red spots, while the underside had long strands that hung like hair. Her skin was ivory white, but the texture did not seem human.
“Afternoon, sweetie. Is this basket all you want?” Her voice was high-pitched but soft.
“Erm, yes.” While handing her my payment, I looked above her head. “Thank you, Mushy.”
“Oh, wow. How do you know my name? Are you the child of one of my regulars?”
That settled it, the people of this world couldn’t see what I could. “I guess you could say that. Did your parents call you Mushy because you’re a mushroom? Seems kinda unimaginative.”
“No, silly. They named me Mushy because my favourite food is mushed potatoes.”
“You mean mashed? Actually, never mind. How would they even know that would be your favourite food when they named you?”
“They’re really good at guessing.” She giggled and some spores fell from her head.
“Oh.” Was she messing with me? I suppose it didn’t matter. “Can I ask you something that might sound rude?”
“The answer is yes. They’re real.” She put her forearms under her bosom and lifted her chest a little.
“Uh, no. That wasn’t the question. You’re a mushroom, right? Doesn’t that make you a monster in this world?”
“I’m half-mushroom!” She seemed offended. “Didn’t your parents teach you anything?”
A contemplative look washed over my face. “The truth is that my parents are in another place right now. They’re somewhere I can’t go.”
“Oh, you poor thing.” Her voice became gentler and trembled partially. “Losing your parents at such a young age.”
“Wait, no. They’re not dead. They’re—”
She put her finger on my lips. “You’re right. They’re not dead. They’re in a better place. You’ll get to see them again one day.”
I pushed her hand aside. I realised I should probably use this misunderstanding to my advantage. “Can you teach me in their place? Why are there so many half-people and what makes them different from monsters?”
“Well, there are monsters and humans in this world. When a human and a monster love each other very much they…” Red spots appeared on Mushy’s white cheeks. “They do some gymnastics together.”
I groaned internally. I didn’t need the birds and the bees explained to me.
“When they finish their gymnastics routine, they make a half-human baby.”
“Alright, it’s starting to make sense. So, one of your parents was a human and they had sex with a mushroom?”
Mushy cupped her cheeks. “Oh my, I didn’t realise children these days knew about the act of procreation. But you’re wrong. My father is half-mushroom, and my mother is half-centipede.”
“Eh? Wouldn’t that make you a quarter mushroom?”
“No. A person can only be either a pure monster, a pure human, or a half-human.”
I was never good at biology, but this was a whole ‘nother level. “Then what happens if a human and half-human have a child? Or if a monster and a half human have a child?”
“In either case, the child will always be a half-human.”
“Shouldn’t half-humans outnumber everyone then?”
“They already do. This kingdom is the only country where humans are the majority. For example, to the north is the Kingdom of Avians where the population is mainly half-birds. You won’t find many humans there.”
I struggled to intake all this information. “The offspring of a monster and a human is always a half-human, correct? Why aren’t they called half-monster? Since they’re fifty fifty of each.”
“If I lived in the Demon Kingdom, they would call me a half-monster. It’s just a difference of perspective.”
“Then are you ok with the King of Humans wanting to kill monsters? Half of you is monster, isn’t that so?”
“I have no allegiance to monsters. They wouldn’t think twice about killing me so why should I care about them?”
Were these monsters as vile as everyone was making them out to be? This discussion was making me believe so. If a person as tender as this mushroom lady didn’t care about them, then perhaps it was all true. I paid for the basket and bade Mushy farewell.
I bought enough food to fill the basket and headed towards the slums. I couldn’t abolish slavery. I couldn’t kill monsters. But I could feed the poor with the remaining money I was given. I fed as many people as I could.
I gave the last bit of food to the limping man from earlier.
“Thank you, boy.” He graciously accepted my offering and ate it. “It’s embarrassing for someone of my age to be fed by a child. Did you pay for this food with your pocket money?”
“I guess so.” I answered. It was too much of a pain to explain that it was a kind of subsidy from the state.
“You better hope your mother doesn’t find out. She seemed like a scary woman.”
“Mother?” Did he think that Hyde was my mother? “Ew! I am not related to that woman! She is not my mother.”
“Oh, I see.” The man stroked his chin. “You’re adopted and you don’t want to think of her as your real mother.”
“No! What is it with the people of this world just assuming things and making up random stories?”
“I’m sure she’s doing her best to raise you.”
“Stop stop stop.” I waved my hand frantically.
“Very well.” The man paused and studied my expression. “Is there something the matter? You’ve had quite the sad look on your face since earlier.”
“Yeah. Something is the matter.” I looked up at the sun and saw that time was nearing evening. “I was brought to this world to be a hero, but I don’t think I can do it. I can’t save the people I want to save. I can do nothing to prevent all the suffering I’ve seen.”
The man looked at me quizzically. “You’ve saved me, haven’t you? And the others too.”
“By bringing you food, you mean? What does it matter? I’m out of money so I can’t feed you anymore. You’re still living in poverty. You’ll have to worry about eating again tomorrow. It’s not like I accomplished anything worthwhile.”
“Nothing worthwhile you say? You’ve prevented me from suffering another hungry night. For that, I thank you again, my little hero.” The man ruffled my hair and ushered me away. “Don’t worry your mother by staying out too late.” He waved me goodbye fondly.
I strolled back towards what I suppose was my home. I deliberated over what to do. I could get a job and open up a soup kitchen. Feeding the poor and needy was about as much as I could do to fight the injustice of this world.
I entered the large building known as home once more. It was lively with discussion. In the main hall, everyone was talking about their Systems and classes and all sorts of other mumbo jumbo. Most ignored me except one group of people. The nineteen others in Hyde’s group all focused their attention to me. Loftus was with them. When he saw me, he got up and came directly over.
He opened his mouth. “Sorry for earlier.”
I wasn’t expecting that. I thought he was going to hate me for punching him. He must’ve realised that buying slaves was a contemptible action. He had come to his senses and understood he was wrong to treat people as if they were livestock.
“I shouldn’t have kicked you while you were tied up. Sorry.”
Was I a natural born optimist or just an idiot?
“Here.” Loftus handed me a vial with a red liquid inside. “It’s weak stuff but it will heal your bruise. It’s a lesser minor healing potion.”
What a redundant name. I accepted the potion and gulped it down. “Thanks,” I replied. “I’m sorry as well.” I was sorry that he was a psychopath that was fine with slavery, but I kept that part to myself.
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