Demonic System: Harem in Medieval World

13. Tutor

It was another day in the forest unfamiliar for Devon and Francesca. Both of them woke up at almost the same time, but with their own expressions. While Francesca acted like nothing was wrong and being her usual self, Devon still couldn’t bring himself to look at Francesca in the eyes, thanks to what he did to her previously. The guilt kept consuming his mind as he remembered how he managed to bring danger to the huntress all the time. Even when he was asleep, he still posed the threat to everyone around him.

“Morning, Dev!” greeted Francesca. “How was your sleep last night? A bit more peaceful, eh?”

All Devon could respond was simply a nod with his head hung down, subconsciously avoiding eye contact with Francesca. He even turned his back on her afterwards, leaving the maiden bewildered and wondering what was wrong with him.

“Dev, are you okay? You don’t look like you’re awake yet,” worried Francesca while trying to approach Devon. “Are you hungry or something? Want to head out for some munchies?”

Devon shook his head without even facing Francesca, making her more confused and slightly irritated. This kind of behaviour was not something she would expect from a grown man with etiquette.

“Dev, what’s your problem? You want to start our day with this kind of attitude?” confronted Francesca who seemed unable to take it any more. “Is it me? Have I done something not according to your liking?”

That sudden burst of emotion finally succeeded to make Devon turned his body around to face Francesca. With a serious look, he stepped closer.

“It’s never about you, it’s about me!” replied Devon, voicing out his concern. “Don’t tell me you already forgot how I almost strangled you! It happened in my sleep, nevertheless. Oh, and let’s not forget about what happened before that. I’m still sorry about what happened to your father and I will always be. That town full of innocent people, too. My heart aches whenever I remember that incident. It seemed everywhere I stepped, I always spelled trouble to everyone around me!”

Francesca was a little bit taken aback by the barrage of emotions that Devon displayed. But it didn’t take her long to finally breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that it was normal thing for a human being to feel that way. Though still bitter of what happened to his father, Francesca couldn’t bring herself to hate Devon completely.

“That’s it, Devon. Let it out. Let it all out,” consoled Francesca gently like a mother calming her child down while patting his head and shoulders. “You’ve been acting tough for a while now. I still remember how you convinced me just after my father’s death. Your words were heroic and inspiring, making me able to be back on my feet again. Where did all of your optimism go, by the way?”

Devon was flustered to hear that. While it was true that he did say that to cheer up the sobbing orphan then, it was not a ruse. He really meant it when he said he wanted to redeem himself but it was a crying shame that Devon found himself in this pathetic condition, being mocked by the situation that revealed how powerless he was to stop the rampage of his demons.

Overtaken by his emotion, Devon couldn’t help but to hug Francesca out of the blue. The storm of feelings raging in his mind left him acting on impulse. Guilt and confusion tried to invade his sanity but the sense of justice welling up within his chest, motivating him even more to protect the orphan huntress. But at the same time, he also felt so fragile for being a puppet of those damned demons.

Under normal condition, Francesca would push Devon away, but not this time. She somehow got moved as well by this touching moments, so he embraced Devon back.

“Morning, guys! Look what I bring for you!” shouted someone in the cave entrance. It was Arwen. Wasting no time, she rushed inside just to see his human guests were at each other’s embrace.

“Uh, sorry for interrupting, but I think it’s a little bit too early for this stuff?” wondered Arwen with a puzzled look and a hint of jealousy. “Or maybe it’s normal for humans?”

Realizing they got a visitor, Francesca and Devon immediately released their arms and nervously tried to look normal.

“It’s, it’s not what it looks like! This crybaby just got a nightmare and I had no choice but to calm him down!” reasoned Francesca who made up a story as natural as she breathed. “Yeah, that’s it! Isn’t that right, Devon?”

“Y, yeah! But I’m not a crybaby!” argued Devon who missed the point. Francesca quickly gave her a kick to his shin to notify him to get along with the story. “Well, it’s true that I had a nightmare, though.”

“Oh, is that so? And here I thought you humans had no moral decency!” laughed Arwen off while handing over her fruit basket to them. “Anyway, gobble up! Nothing beats fresh fruits in the morning!”

Hungry as she was, but Francesca had another thing in mind after she glanced at the content.

“Fruit again, huh?” scoffed Francesca. “I really itch for some meats for my carnivorous belly.”

“Well, if you like, I can show you the part of this forest where you could hunt for some games,” offered Arwen full of hospitality, taking no offense from Francesca’s remark. “Come, let me show you!”

That invitation boosted Francesca’s appetite for a bit. After her hunger was alleviated, she got up and followed Arwen to the forest.

“So, as you can see, this forest is quite vast. The area we’re walking through now is the area where I usually took the fruits for you,” explained Arwen. “If we go further straight, then we will find ourselves in the place where the wild animals occasionally show up. There is also a river nearby, perfect spot for fishing.”

“You heard that, Dev? That’s where we will go,” said Francesca while turning back only to find out that Devon was no longer with them. “Devon?”

“I thought he was with us all this time?” wondered Arwen curiously. “Or maybe he was still in the cave?”

Those two girls paced their steps back to figure out the answer inside the deep forest.

Frantically, Francesca and Arwen went back on their trail solely to discover the whereabouts of Devon. They looked around the lush trees of the forest, hoping to see at least a clue of Devon’s location.

“Devon! Where are you?”

“Bro Devon! Is this what you humans call hide and seek?”

Francesca looked at Arwen with a reprimanding look, as if telling her to stop playing around. Arwen just stared back at her gullibly.

“What, Sis Fran? Why are you looking at me funny like that?” asked Arwen.

“No, forget it,” answered Francesca with a sigh, unwilling to take this debate further. She judged it well that it was not the correct situation and time for this useless banter.

“Look, Sis Fran! Something is moving beyond that bushes!” pointed Arwen to the thick shrubberies a little bit farther in front of him.

Francesca focused his sight back to the direction Arwen was talking about. And she was right, there must be something behind that, which she hoped it would lead them closer to Devon. They sneakily approached those bushes.

Beyond that, they could see Devon’s body was enveloped by the vines of a colourful plant. The victim looked like he lost consciousness as he didn’t even respond to their calling.

“Devon! Are you still with us?” asked Francesca. “Hang on there!”

“It’s useless, Sis. He won’t answer as long as he is still trapped there,” said Arwen who looked like she knew a thing or two about this monstrous vegetation. “First, we must break Bro Devon free from these slimy tentacles.”

After that, Arwen borrowed Francesca’s dagger to carefully cut the vines that entangled Devon. Delicately as not to hurt Devon, she managed to take Devon back.

Devon squirmed as if he just had an exhausting experience. He opened his eyes to see Francesca and Arwen looking at him full of worries.

“Uh, where am I again?” asked Devon confused.

“Bro Devon, that was a close call. We just saved you from being the snack of that man-eating plant. Be careful when you step next time, okay?” lectured Arwen.

“You could at least struggle to break free, you weakling!” scolded Francesca who got so worried she turned it into anger.

“Sis Fran, cut him some slack. That plant was infamous for its mind-numbing effect, rendering him unable to fight back,” said Arwen to defend Devon. “He will be fine for now, but for safety measures, let me grab an antidote from my village.”

Waiting for no answer, the elf bolted back to her village, leaving the two humans all by themselves.

“What now? You’re back to your senses now?” interrogated Francesca.

“I suppose,” replied Devon shortly while trying to stand up. “In fact, I feel even lighter than before.”

“Strange, perhaps that’s the side effect of the poison?” hypothesized Francesca. “Anyhow, since I already know the hunting ground, I will head there. I’m craving for some good old barbeque. You be a good boy and wait here!”

Francesca could only walk a few steps ahead before she finally stopped and turned back to where Devon was.

“On second thought, you’re coming with me,” ordered Francesca. “Who knows what kind of trouble you will walk into when I leave you alone,”

“So, have you ever used a bow before?” asked Francesca while striding through the forest. “Or maybe you have another preference of weapon to hunt?”

“Couldn’t say I have. I was born and raised by a family of farmers, so the animals around was the tame livestock that didn’t have to be hunted,” answered Devon. “Closest thing to hunting I ever did was fishing.”

Francesca rolled her eyes. It seemed she would need lots of time with this kid.

“Ssshh!”

Suddenly Francesca paused her steps and signalized Devon to do the same. The huntress had found her prey, a herd of deers grazing at the grass. She walked quietly, trying to get to the place without giving out his position.

CRACK!

That noise was enough to break the silence which gave the deers a false sense of security. Faster than the wind, they leapt away to escape from the potential threat. Francesca looked at the culprit, Devon who stepped on the fallen branch that alerted the deers to run away.

“This won’t do,” Francesca shook her head with despair. “Once the deer has made its escape, it will be extremely difficult to catch up, even for seasoned hunters.”

As she finished her remark, a rabbit passed by in front of them, sparking a brilliant idea in Francesca’s head.

“Let’s change our target. Different with deer, a rabbit has a hole as their nest and they will always go back to their hole whenever they sense danger,” stated Francesca. “We will track that nest and narrow down their means of escape. It’s a good chance for you to train your hunting skill too. What do you say, Dev?”

[NEW MISSION]

[HUNT 10 RABBITS]

[REWARD: 100 DC]

[PENALTY: LOST CONSCIOUSNESS]

Suddenly Devon could see the floating screen in his field of vision. It was the same thing that he saw back in the mansion. Compared to that mission, this one should be nothing challenging to him at all.

“Yeah, if you say so, then I go with you,” agreed Devon. “Go easy on me since I’m new to this.”

Francesca nodded and guided Devon to track that rabbit from afar. Just like Francesca said, it didn’t take long until that rabbit went back to its hole. They were also lucky for spotting other holes nearby.

Assisted by Francesca, Devon finally managed to keep his hands on the rabbits. But no matter how many times he counted, he was still one rabbit short. Devon sweated bullets, it wouldn’t be funny if he lost consciousness here and let his demons loose just for the sake of a single rabbit.