1.
Ria.
The free nun who took in and saved Peter, who had been abandoned even in the sewers.
A young woman who always ran the orphanage with a faint smile.
She was so compassionate she was called a Saint, but she had one secret—
“Why… maggots!?”
“Ugh…!! Uweeegh!!”
“G-Get away from me, you monster…!!”
She, too, was an Evil Spirit.
Were even their destinies tied because they were both Evil Spirits?
Like Peter, Ria had once been abandoned and had barely clung to a miserable life.
But if there was one difference between her and Peter, it was that the one who took her in from the back alleys was not an Evil Spirit — but an ordinary human.
When they first met—
“Child. Would you like to live with grandma from today?”
Back then, Ria asked the old woman who had reached out to her so kindly.
“Why?”
“Hmm? Why what?”
“I’m strange, aren’t I?”
There were rumors in the village.
– Somewhere in the back alleys lives a little demon who gnaws on rotting animal corpses.
There were even whispers that Inquisitors — who would beat to death any Evil Spirit they found — were headed to this village.
“If you take me in, it’s dangerous. It’ll cost you more money. Life will be harder.”
Because she had no emotions, her reason was sharply honed; even as a child, Ria knew everything.
Filled with curiosity, she asked the old woman again:
“Then why did you reach out your hand?”
“Does there need to be a reason?”
The old woman answered immediately, without a trace of hesitation, and pulled Ria into a hug, gently stroking her head.
“You stopped my steps, child, and so I reached out to you.”
“And?”
“There is no ‘and,’ child. It’s just… that’s all there is to it.”
She couldn’t understand it, but even if she were abandoned again, following the old woman was the better choice for survival, so Ria followed.
In the corner of the small village—
Earning meager wages by sewing, cultivating a small field to make ends meet.
Though she was poorer than average, the old woman devoted everything she had to raising little Ria with utmost sincerity.
At first, Ria kept silent, afraid she would be abandoned again. But after realizing there was no such danger, she started asking countless questions.
“Why do you give me your share of food even when you’re hungry yourself?”
“Why do you say I’m pretty even when I wake up all messy?”
“Why do you get angry on my behalf when people call me a monster?”
To these questions, the old woman always answered with the same faint smile.
“Why don’t you think about it yourself?”
Over the decade or so she spent with the old woman, Ria came up with many answers.
“Maybe your stomach was upset?”
“Maybe I’m actually quite pretty?”
“Maybe you thought they were insulting you?”
Sometimes she found an answer in a few seconds, sometimes it took years.
Unfortunately—
“Everything except that ‘our Ria is the prettiest in the world’ is wrong.”
Whenever Ria saw that faint smile, her chest would tighten.
“I feel like I almost understand.”
It was as if, if she just stretched her hand a tiny bit more, she could reach the answer.
‘Why can’t I reach it?’
If the old woman had just told her the answer, her curiosity would have been satisfied.
“Should I just ask? If I threatened her, saying I’d kill her if she didn’t tell me, she’d probably tell me right away.”
That thought crossed her mind, briefly.
‘No. I’ll find it out myself.’
Driven by a stubbornness that had built up like a fortress over the years, Ria resolved to find the answer on her own.
And the next day—
Ria started imitating the old woman’s actions.
“You need to eat more, child.”
“No, I’m full. Grandma, you eat.”
She gave up her own food,
“Mm… Maybe it’s going to rain today…?”
“Rest at home. I’ll do the work.”
She took over all sorts of chores.
“Tsk. She’s got nothing to eat herself, and she even picked up a monster… That old hag’s crazy.”
“Shut up. If you insult grandma, I’ll kill you.”
“H-Hiiik?! M-Monster!!”
“Not a monster. I’m Ria.”
“Uh…?”
“Whatever. Get lost.”
“J-Just you wait!”
She even chased away those who came to insult the old woman deep in the corners of the village.
It was such a small act.
“How’s that monster doing?”
“…She’s called Ria.”
“What?”
“She’s not a monster. Her name’s Ria.”
The rumors that had deeply settled into the village began to slowly change.
“She’s living well, taking care of the old lady.”
“Evil Spirits aren’t supposed to have emotions, right…?”
“I don’t know, you idiot. Last time I secretly peeked into their house, and even though she said she was full, she gave her food away. …Just like a real person.”
The rumors about Ria, the only one who stood out in the otherwise boring and peaceful village.
“Maybe she wasn’t an Evil Spirit after all?”
“Yeah! And she’s pretty too!”
“That’s got nothing to do with it, you moron!”
Her every action spread faster than any news, and eventually, a year later—
“I’m off to work, Grandma.”
“Work?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you, my sewing skills have gotten better. They said they’d pay me.”
Ria blended into the village where the rumors had disappeared and began living an ordinary life.
“…You’ve learned how to smile too.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing, my dear. Be careful out there.”
The Evil Spirit who once lived off rotting animal corpses in the back alleys was now called a beautiful girl who served the old woman who had taken her in.
However, Ria was still the same.
“Ria, would it be alright if I asked a slightly different favor tomorrow? I need some berries from the forest outside the village for dyeing materials.”
“Please, leave it to me.”
Always purely rational.
“Hey! About all the stuff I said before… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I don’t care. Just don’t badmouth Grandma.”
Only ever showing that emotionless faint smile.
“Oh my, Ria, would you like to take this and share it with your grandma for dinner?”
“Potatoes? Grandma loves these.”
Her essence was still that of an Evil Spirit; the only thing that had changed was the mask-like smile. Even so, people accepted her.
“So, have you found the answer yet, child?”
“No. But I’ve realized a few things.”
That not having emotions was strange.
That it was easier to survive if she pretended to have them and blended in.
And—
“That if I copy Grandma’s words and actions, everyone will like me.”
Finishing her words, Ria smiled faintly and proudly gave a thumbs-up.
“Just wait. I’ll figure out the answer to Grandma’s question soon too.”
In that spirit—
“Let’s go on an outing tomorrow.”
“An outing?”
“The only thing I haven’t managed to copy from you yet is that.”
“Puhaha. So you think if you copy that too, you’ll find the answer, child?”
“Yup. So just accept it and wait.”
Just like the old woman used to, Ria took her hand and handed over a few silver coins, and the old woman accepted them gratefully and pulled Ria into a hug.
“…I love you, Ria.”
Words whose meaning she still couldn’t understand.
“I love you too, Grandma.”
Still, Ria, as always, imitated her exactly.
In the village where the rumors had disappeared—
The adopted child and the old woman hugged each other for a long time before quietly falling asleep.
‘The action I couldn’t copy, the rumors that got in the way — now they’re all gone, so by tomorrow…’
Surely, she would finally be able to completely shake off the curiosity that had clung to her for so many years.
However, Ria didn’t know—
That unlike false rumors built on lies and misunderstandings, rumors born from truth are not so easily erased.
And—
– There were whispers that Inquisitors — who beat to death any Evil Spirit they found — were headed to this village.
That such rumors were sometimes true.
“Just one basket is enough, so don’t overdo it!”
“I’ll be back soon!”
Just like she had said the day before, Ria had gone outside the village to gather dye materials.
KWAANG…!!
An explosion thundered from the direction of the village.
Even though she was far away, the ground shook with the force of the blast.
“…An explosion?”
Thunk.
Without realizing it, Ria dropped her basket and immediately ran toward the village — but it was hard to find any signs of life.
Only a man who had once called her pretty managed to relay what had happened before he died.
“We… we said we weren’t…”
“What?”
“We said… it wasn’t true, just rumors… but they framed us to build their records…”
“Records?”
“Ah, Mother……”
Thunk.
What had happened?
Was it magic — the kind she’d only heard about in stories?
But why here, in our village?
Leaving her flood of questions behind, Ria ran toward the old woman — and just before the old woman’s last breath, she found her.
The old woman’s body was so battered it was almost unrecognizable, gasping for breath as she whispered:
“That’s right… you bastards… I… I am… I am an Evil Spirit…!!”
Ria immediately grasped the situation.
‘Inquisitors.’
They had come after hearing rumors about an Evil Spirit, and had punished the village.
Grandma had declared herself the Evil Spirit to protect me — and they killed the villagers for hiding her.
Ria grabbed the old woman’s flailing hand and gently pulled her into a hug, asking.
“Why did you do it?”
“I… am an Evil Spirit…”
“It’s me. Ria, Grandma. I’m okay, so please, get a hold of yourself.”
Her voice was calm and emotionless.
“Ri…a?”
“Yeah.”
“A…ga… safe… thank… goodness…”
Finally a little clearer, the old woman stretched her crushed hand toward Ria’s cheek and stroked it, and Ria asked her.
“What am I supposed to do now?”
She could guess, roughly.
Like a mother holding her dead child until the end.
Like a young man who knelt and begged, only to be beheaded.
Like the old woman now before her.
“Should I cry? If it’s for you, Grandma, I should cry, right?”
In response to Ria’s quiet question, the old woman used the last of her strength to hold Ria’s hand and smiled.
“Smile, my child. Smile so you can live a happy life.”
And that was the old woman’s last—
“I… love… you… my child…”
Her final whisper.
-Why do you give me your share of food even when you’re hungry?
-Why do you say I’m pretty even when I wake up messy? -Why do you get angry on my behalf when people call me a monster?
Only then did Ria finally realize the answer to the questions that had always followed her.
“…It was love.”
Something so precious — something a twisted being like me could never give or receive in a lifetime—
“Grandma gave it to me every single day without missing a moment…”
For the first time in her life—
Ria shed tears.
