-- Belphegor’s Perspective --

I traverse the abundant forest alone. As I walk towards my destination, I sense the different life forms around me. I could hear their heartbeats. Some ran away or flew off, others growled but they never attacked. I noticed that some species around here have evolved already yet their numbers have immensely decreased.

I could hear and feel the dry leaves cracking as I stepped on them. I carefully swayed away the tree branches blocking my path with my staff. The warmth of the sun feels refreshing to my skin, added with the cold wind that cools my body along the way. Even though I traveled the whole world and saw different kinds of things before, this sensation I’m having right now is quite new to me. 

As I continued towards my path without much conflict, I ended up on a forest road. The ground here is much better than the path I went through, though there are still some leaves and branches on the side of the road. 

“Uhmm, Mr... Are you lost?”

A woman appeared beside me. I wasn’t able to notice her presence as I got overwhelmed by this new sensation around me. She has an average height, brown hair, brown eyes, and a beautiful face. She wears a green dress reaching almost the tip of her heels, along with a brown apron.   

“Yes, I’m a bit lost… Can you tell me where I am?” 

“S-sure, you’re currently in the Forest of Fero. And right now, you have reached one of the main roads of it.”

“I see...”

I scratched my chin with my left hand. 

“... … Where do you wanna go?” 

I thought about the blue haired girl. Even though I could sense her location, I still couldn’t describe where she is, so I should first gather some information. I might be able to get there faster after that.  

“Is there a tavern nearby?”

“Yes, there is one, I’m currently heading there right now.”

“Thank you. I’ll follow you along the way.”

“Oh! Let me hold your arm, so you won’t get lost again.”

She’s concerned about me being blind. 

** boing **

Her melons are grinding my upper arm. She’s too close. I’m starting to sense another new feeling somewhere in my body. 

“By the way, my name is Clara… What’s your name?”

She tilted her head sideways looking at me.

“Bel..”

“Mh? Bel…?”

“You can call me Belial.” 

“I-I see.”

During the walk, all I could hear is her melons making a ** boing, boing, boing ** sound. My only complaint was I couldn’t enjoy the birds chirping around me. 

She suddenly closed her eyes and inhaled close to me.

“I’m sorry, do I smell?”

“!!... you noticed that?! I’m so sorry!”

She blushed.

Now that she did it, I just remembered I haven't taken a bath yet, so I might have smelled bad. 

We paused for a moment, I held on my shirt and took a sniff.

“P-Please don’t worry much about it, you don’t smell bad at all!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you actually smell like a bunch of flowers - you smell nice!” 

She raised her heels as she said those words. 

“Thank you.”

“No problem!”

Her smile beamed at me. 

Several wagons passed by us along the way, carrying their goods towards their destination. I noticed most of the merchants were looking at the girl beside me. 

I sensed more people around us as we got closer to the village. We’re still in the Forest of Fero. We stopped by a noisy establishment. I could hear the beer mugs being passed around. It’s early in the morning yet people here are lively.   

“We’re here! Are you sure you can handle it alone there?”

“Yes.”

“Really?!” 

She raised her heels getting closer to me, still holding on to my arm. 

“Yes, I may be blind, but I could manage.” 

I said with confidence and smiled at her. 

“That’s reassuring! If you need some help...”

She pointed her hands somewhere else, even though I’m wearing a blindfold.

“I own an inn not far from here, you can find me there.” 

“I will. Thank you.”

“Okay then, bye!”

I nodded. She smiled and waved at me before leaving.