Ryota’s POV
   “Think it through, mon ami. You don’t have to take things this far when you’ve barely started this.” Director Bouchard advises.

   Ryota shakes his head stubbornly.

   “I’m tired of taking things slow.” he says with a determined expression.

   “Is there nothing that could change your mind?”

   “None.”

   “...Very well. Bring it in.” Director Bouchard instructs his men.

   Ryota could hear the loud snarling of the creature from miles away. It’s being so loud the noise is probably enough to wake the dead. There it is. An ogre.

   It looks just like what Ryota imagined it to look after reading its description on a website. Huge, burly, humanoid, savage, and probably used to eat humans for breakfast until it got caught.

   Ryota still has a hard time in believing that these creatures are real, even though he saw them with his own eyes and even fought a few of them. He had only been seeing and hearing about them in websites, animes and games. As far as he knows, they weren’t real, until now. When he was watching the news, some newscasters are in the opinion that these creatures were experiment created by the government to be used as biological weapons.

   “THEY’RE DEFINITELY BEHIND ALL THESE ATTACKS! THEY SHOULD ALL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE!” one of them has shrieked hysterically.

   Naturally, all the interviewed government officials have denied this claim. Ryota finds it rather dubious. After all, politicians are a bunch of lying snakes. Then again, there’s no proof that they did do it.

   “Where do you suppose all these creatures came from, director?” he asked Director Bouchard once.

   The researcher only shrugged at the question.

   “Who knows? In any case, I’m grateful for their appearance. Alive or dead, they’re helping me a lot to further my research. If only that Silver Wolf could leave them to me instead of slaying them.”

   Ryota has never met this Silver Wolf in person, but a lot of people are speaking badly of him. They said that he’s too dangerous to be left alive and should be disposed of as soon as possible. Ryota only scoffed at those big-mouthed idiots. As if it’s that easy to take care of someone who could even control the weather.

   The ogre’s loud roar brought Ryota back to reality. While being bound to a huge trolley with rows and rows of thick iron chains, it’s being slowly pushed towards a special fenced ring where Ryota is standing right now. The fences are electrical, and Ryota was told that it’s current is strong enough to kill a human. Right before the ogre is brought inside the ring, the fence is temporarily disabled. Once the ogre is inside, the staffs who were responsible for bringing it in quickly leave the ring. The fences are then activated once more.

   “Last chance, Monsieur Ryota. Do you want to call it quits?” Director Bouchard asks Ryota one last time.

   “No.”

   “Very well.”

   All at once, the chains that were binding the ogre fall off. The ogre didn’t even bother to stretch its body and goes straight for Ryota, its extremely beefy arms stretched out and ready to grab Ryota. To fight this monstrosity, Ryota is only equipped with a steel pipe. He’s also wearing his gym uniform so as not to dirty his school ones.

   He was the one who requested the fight to be unfair. He fought eight goblins, then three orcs, then this single ogre. All in the course of three days. If he tries to take things step by step, it might take him too long to improve both psychically and mentally. He needs to toughen up as soon as possible. And toughens up means fighting enemies that are way stronger than him.

   The ogre is right in front of Ryota in an instant. Its hands are all prepared to rip him apart. Before it could grab him, he smashes its right kneecap with the steel pipe. The pipe got bent from the blow, making it useless. Great. He should have asked for a weapon with a sharp edge instead.

   Even though the blow to the ogre’s kneecap didn’t do a thing, it did stop charging and grunts in surprise. It’s already bent down so that it’s face is on eye level with Ryota. He wasted no time in driving the pipe into its left eye.

   The ogre roars in pain and starts to frail around hysterically. Ryota made sure to not stand in front of it and gets trampled on.

   The ogre uses its fingers to pull out the metal pipe from its eye and tosses it away. The pipe falls to the ground with a metallic sound reverberating around the ring.

   While the ogre is snarling and gasping painfully, Ryota picks up the bent pipe. It’s wet and sticky from the ogre’s blood, but Ryota ignored the moist sensation on his hand and concentrates on the fight.

   After being stabbed in the eye by the pipe, the ogre is glaring at it warily with its last remaining eye. It’s also all calmed down. A shame. Ryota was planning to lure it to get zapped by the electrical fence during its frenzy.

   The ogre walks towards Ryota slowly with both his hand stretched out wide just in case he tries to do something. Ryota waves the pole threateningly. The ogre snarls at him. The two of them circle around the ring while maintaining eye contact. This went on for a few minutes with neither side doing anything.

   Then, something strange starts to happen. Ryota’s stomach starts to rumble as he sees and smells all those blood trickling out of the ogre’s left eye. He has a sudden urge to devour the ogre…

   Ryota shakes his head vigorously. What on earth is he thinking? Just because he’s fighting a maneater it doesn’t mean that he has to start eating humanoids as well. While Ryota’s getting distracted by his absurd thought, the ogre chose the moment to strike.

   Ogres can be really fast and nimble should the situation calls for it. Ryota learned that the hard way. He merely spaced out for two seconds, and that was all the ogre needed to move right in front of him.

   Ryota tries to defend himself with the bent pipe, but it’s no use. The ogre swats it away with its left hand. At the next moment, the claws of its right hand slashes Ryota’s body diagonally. Blood gushes out from his body.

   Before Ryota could even cry out in pain, the ogre punches him with his right fist. Ryota could feel at least three of his rib bones break. The impact knocks him back, and he lands on the floor a few inches away from one side of the electrical fence. That blow really got him. Blood are gushing out from the corner of his mouth, and he has trouble with breathing. More importantly, the ogre is coming to deliver the finishing blow.

   Get up get up get up get up get up get up!

   Ryota got up effortlessly.

   Huh? What’s going on? He could tell that some of his rib bones are somehow healed. Thanks to that, his breathing has become slightly more normal. However, he didn’t have any time to register what just happened as the ogre is almost upon him. He rolls to one side as both the ogre’s hands crush the very floor he was at just seconds ago.

   That was too close. Ryota’s whole life literally flashed before his eyes. So this is what it feels like to be on the verge of death. While he’s contemplating on his next step, most of his wounds, have healed. Again, no time to think about it. Defeating the ogre comes first. But how? The only weapon that Ryota had is some distance away from him, and the ogre is making sure that he won’t be reaching it anytime soon.

   Urgh, so hungry… Wait. No no no. This really isn’t the time to be thinking about filling his stomach with food.

   Hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry hungry!

   Ryota charges ahead and grasps both of the ogre’s hands. He then rips them apart from their sockets.

   The ogre lets out a deafening roar of pain. Before it could do a single thing, Ryota drops its arms on the ground and grab its head. And then, he somehow found the strength to snap its neck.

   The ogre stops moving at once. The moment Ryota let goes of its head, it falls to the ground without making a single sound.

   Ryota did it. He won. He lets out a slow and tired sigh. However, he doesn’t feel happy at all. He does feel famished. It’s like he didn’t eat in a week. He stares at the ogre’s corpse. It would probably taste bad if it’s not cooked, but he can’t afford to be picky-

   “Are you okay, monsieur?”

   Director Bouchard’s interrupted Ryota’s gruesome thought.

   “Yes, sir. I’m fine. Somehow.” he replies.

   “Bien, bien. Wait. On second thought, it’s better for you to head to the infirmary to get yourself checked just in case.”

   “Yes, sir.”

   By the time Ryota reached the infirmary, his body is as good as new. It’s like he wasn’t hurt in the first place.

   “Is it normal for a serious wound to be healed this quickly?” he couldn’t help but ask the doctor who got stationed there.

   “Definitely not. It’s probably because of all the pills you ate.”

   “Does that mean everyone else has the same ability?”

   “Nope. As far as myself or my colleagues know, you’re the only one who has this regeneration ability.”

   While they’re talking, all of Ryota’s wounds have been healed. Not even scars remain.

   “Well, I guess you won’t have to come and see us anymore every time you got wounded.”

   “I guess not.”

   Ryota looks at the time. It’s way past the time he’s supposed to be back at his house. Normally, even his usually-cold parents would cause a ruckus if he was this late. Fortunately, they’re on a business trip, so there’s no one to nag at him once he gets back.

   “Um, there’s one more thing I want to ask you.”

   “Yes? What is it?”

   “...Um, never mind.”

   “...? Okay, if you say so.”

   Ryota really wanted to ask the doctor about his sudden appetite for flesh, but he’s too much of a coward to hear the answer, if the doctor even has any. He thanked the doctor for the check-up and leave the lab in order to get home.

   On his way back, he often goes through a small park since it’s a shortcut that saves him quite a lot of time. While he’s walking through the place, tonight, a man with ragged clothes appears out of nowhere while brandishing a switch knife.

   “Hand over your money!” the man demands from Ryota while pointing his knife at him.

   Ryota slowly puts up both his hands at the air.

   “Let’s talk about-”

   “Shut it! Just give me all the valuables that you have if you don’t want to see blood!”

   Ryota sighs. If this happened weeks ago, he would have been cowering in fear. Now, after defeating the ogre that could probably crush a boulder with its bare hands, a small knife means nothing to him.

   “Stop wasting my time and- ack!”

   The man got interrupted as Ryota punched his left jaws. The man was sent flying. As Ryota watches, blood start to come out from the corner of the man’s mouth.

   Blood…

   “My jaws… it hurts…” the man groans pitifully.

   Ryota slowly walks towards the man. For some reason, the man looks really terrified of Ryota after he took a look at his face. Ryota wanted to help the man up, but he somehow ended up grabbing the man’s left arm. It’s thin and bony and probably doesn’t have much meat in it, but it’ll have to do…

   “Wait, what are you doing?” the man asks fearfully.

   Instead of answering, Ryota opens his mouth real wide.

   “Hey!”

   The man tries to push Ryota away. The push was way too weak to actually do something to the boy, but it was enough to snap him back to reality. He let goes of the man’s arm and ran away. He ran and ran and ran until he’s back at his house.

   What in the world is happening to him?

Estyshana’s POV
   Esty loves the weekends. There’s no school, so she doesn’t have to wake up early in the morning just to go to a place that she doesn’t really want to go. She can sleep as long as she wants. Or so she thought.

   “Come on Esty, wake up already. It’s already ten in the morning!” Chifuyu tells her while shaking her shoulders.

   Esty covers her upper body with her blanket.

   “Ten more minutes. No, make it ten hours.” she mumbles.

   “It would be night by then!”

   “Good. Then I can continue to sleep.”

   “...Fine. Mother told me that we’re having apple pie tonight. I guess you’re not going to have any.”

   Esty woke up faster than lightning.

   “Good morning, Chifuyu-san. A wonderful morning we are having, is it not?” she asks Chifuyu with the grace of a lady.

   “Yes, good morning to you too. Now get up and get changed. Your breakfast is getting cold.”

   Esty did as she’s told and get up from her bed. She then takes off her sleepwear and get changed into her casual clothes.

   “Now go and brush your teeth.” Chifuyu instructs.

   “Yes, mother.” Esty mumbles while being half-asleep.

   “Who are you calling mother?”

   Currently, Esty is sharing a room with Chifuyu. To be more exact, Esty is occupying half of Chifuyu’s bedroom to be used as her own. They even had to buy a new bed just for Esty, as well as lots of other stuff.

   Once Esty is done brushing her teeth, she heads down and goes straight to the dining room. As for Chifuyu, she’s studying while sitting in front of her study desk. How diligent.

   When Esty passes by the living room, she sees Chinatsu sitting on the sofa playing video games.

   “About time you woke up.” Chinatsu mumbles.

   “Morning Chinatsu.”

   “Good morning. How about trying to wake up earlier every once in a while?”

   “After having to wake up really early five days in a row? No thanks.”

   “I guess you need all the recharge you need since you rarely use your brain.”

   “Well, you know what they say: the one who rests frequently grows. A fantastic idiom that I’m sure you know nothing about after considering the growth on your chest.”

   The two of them smile at each other, and then they continue with what they were doing. Esty goes to the dining room and see Mama Kana standing in front of the sink.

   “Good morning, Mama Kana.” she greets.

   Upon hearing her voice, Mama Kana turns around. She shows her a warm smile.

   “Good morning, Esty. You sure woke up late again.”

   “I can’t help it. The bed was so comfortable I have trouble waking up. If only Chifuyu didn’t wake me up, I would have just slept the day away.”

   Mama Kana chuckles heartily.

   “I’m sure that you would.”

   Esty sits down on her usual seat and starts eating the breakfast in front of her.

   “Where’s Uncle Shun, by the way?” Esty asks.

   “He’s out playing shogi with his friends.”

   “Again?”

   “Yes. He loves shogi a lot, after all.”

   Esty has tried to play the shogi a few times just to humor Uncle Shun. She knows the basic rules, but she could never play it well since it’s way too complicated. She couldn’t win even after he gave her an eight-piece handicap.

   As Esty watches, Mama Kana heads to the refrigerator and rummages through it.

   “Oh dear, we’re out of cinnamon powder.” she mumbles after a while.

   That got Esty’s attention.

   “That’s the thing you add into apple pie, right?” she asks.

   “That’s right. I guess I should go out and buy some.”

   “How about I buy them for you, Mama Kana?” Esty offers.

   “That’s really nice of you to offer, dear, but you don’t have to. You should enjoy your day off from school.”

   “It’s okay, Mama Kana. I don’t mind running errands every once in a while.”

   “Well, in that case, I’ll be counting on you.”

   Mama Kana hands Esty some money.

   “You can buy whatever you want with the remaining money.” she tells her.

   “Really? Thanks, Mama Kana!”

   When Esty passes by the living room again, she addresses Chinatsu.

   “Hey, Chinatsu. I’m going out to buy some cinnamon powder. Do you want something while I’m at it?” Esty asks her.
Chinatsu stares at her like she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

   “You’re actually running an errand? You? Did you hit your head somewhere?”

   “How rude! Even I’ll feel like helping out every once in a while, you know?”

   “Uh huh. In any case, no, there’s nothing I need. Thanks for asking.”

   “Okay. Just call me if you changed your mind.”

   “Sure. And be careful out there. You’ll never know when some monsters will come out of hiding and attack the place where you’re at.”

   “Yeah. I’ll be careful.” Esty promises.

   Esty finds Chinatsu’s concern to be completely pointless. If necessary, she can just fight her way out. She would risk revealing her true identity, of course, but the option is always available to her.

   Esty has come to this world for almost two months now. By now, she has already familiarized herself with the road around here. That’s why she could go to the supermarket all by herself without being accompanied.

   She managed to reach thee supermarket without getting lost and bought the necessary cinnamon powder. She got some change after buying it, and she decides to buy some potato chips and a bottle of ramune with the last of the money she got from Mama Kana. Truthfully, she wanted to buy some dagashi that she saw from a television program. Unfortunately for her, the shops that sell them only exists in rural area, and this city is anything but rural. Such a shame.

   And then she heard them. Lots and lots of screams. She exits the supermarket with her bought items and sees humans running around aimlessly. From their terrified expressions, she could tell that they’re running away from something. She sees some ogres up ahead. So those creatures are the ones responsible for causing the disturbance.

   She needs to keep up her act of being a normal human being, so she ran back to the supermarket while looking scared. Her father would look at her scornfully if he could see her right now. A daughter of the Demon Lord running away from mere ogres? How pathetic.

   “Yoko, no!”

   “Mommy!”

   Esty turns around and sees an ogre about to grab hold of a tiny human girl. Her mother, who’s just few feet away from her, tries to save her daughter but can’t since the ogre is in her way.

   Without thinking, Esty mutter some words under her breath. A tiny tornado appear out of nowhere and sweeps the ogre away. With the simple-minded creature gone, the mother quickly brings her daughter to safety.

   Esty sighs and goes inside the supermarket for real this time. Really, what is she thinking? She’s spending her time comfortably among groups of humans instead of searching for methods to kill the Hero, and now she just saved a human. This world is making her soft.

   Suddenly, her phone rings. It’s Chinatsu.

   “Hello?”

   “Where are you right now, Esty?”

   She sounds really urgent and worried.

   “I’m still inside the supermarket.”

   “Good. Stay there and don’t come out until I call you again, got it? The area where you’re at is kind of dangerous right now!”

   “Correct me if I’m wrong, Chinatsu, but are you actually worried for my safety?”

   “Of course I am! Just because I’m suspicious of you it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you!”

   Upon hearing that, Esty felt something warm swelling inside her. She has no idea what this emotion is.

   “Just stay inside the supermarket and stay safe, you hear me?” Chinatsu insists.

   “Yes yes, I hear you. You stay safe too, okay?”

   “No need to worry about me. Just focus on yourself.”

   The entire ruckus lasted for ten minutes. Esty’s guess is that the Hero had been busy, or it wouldn’t take this fast to be resolved. Eventually, Chinatsu called Esty again to inform her that she can go home now.

   “Are you hurt, Chinatsu?” Esty asks her.

   “No, I’m perfectly fine. In fact, I didn’t get to do a thing since Silver Wolf took care of everything.”

   “Aww, and here I thought I could get more slices of apple pie from now on.” Esty says jokingly.

   She hears Chinatsu chuckling on the other end of the phone.

   “Unfortunately for you, you won’t be getting rid of me that easily.” she says.