Chapter 40: An Unwilling Stay and a Shocking Revelation

He recalled having journeyed a considerable distance, until the pink silhouette beneath the massive city gates dwindled to the size of a grain of rice.

Qiaolun glanced back repeatedly, yet the Demon Lord lingered, refusing to depart. This left him no opportunity to abandon “Dawn’s Hymn” beneath the Demon Lord’s City.

A soft sensation brushed against his palm, wiggling and nuzzling between his fingers.

As if triggering a conditioned reflex, Qiaolun instinctively snatched at it.

“Eep!”

—’Next time… next time I absolutely mustn’t tease him with my tail!’

A tingling sensation surged rapidly from her tail, coursing through her entire body. Yunajin seemed to have forgotten Almilina’s warning; though not a weakness, that spot possessed an exceptionally strong sensitivity.

Qiaolun blinked hazily, bringing the small black arrow in his hand closer. It was still playfully greeting him.

“Qiaolun, are you alright?”

“Am I still alive?” Qiaolun countered, releasing Yunajin’s tail and sitting up on the bed.

“What are you saying? With me here, nothing will happen to you!”

A confident expression bloomed on Yunajin’s flushed cheeks. Qiaolun’s face darkened, but he chose to remain silent.

—’Don’t you even consider who knocked me flying?!’

“No, I can’t stay near this person. If things continue like this, she’ll be the death of me.”

Gazing at the blushing maiden, her eyes sparkling with flirtatious allure, Qiaolun felt a surge of fear. All thoughts and regrets from his wandering days in the wilderness vanished instantly. Madal City, after all, was close to Aldelit’s border, devoid of dangerous magical beasts or natural disasters. Now, he just needed an opportunity to slip away…

“What are you talking about?” Yunajin asked, bewildered.

“No, no, no, nothing, I was just thinking…” Qiaolun, fearing Yunajin had overheard his murmuring, quickly changed the subject. He inquired, “How is Duke Madal? You didn’t kill her, did you?”

“What do you mean! Am I savage? Am I cruel?” Yunajin puffed out her small chest, startling Qiaolun into shifting back. His gaze fell to her waist, then drifted downwards.

She still wore black suspender stockings of the same style, though the pattern now seemed to be roses. Above them was a short, red plaid skirt, which accentuated the maiden’s youthful, adorable, and vibrant legs.

—’Wait, where was I looking?’

This time, Qiaolun clearly saw the sword Yunajin wore, “Twilight’s Elegy,” used to suppress her power.

“I’m sorry, Qiaolun. Once I learn to control my power better, you won’t get hurt even if I touch you without this sword!”

“No need, thank you,” Qiaolun replied with a polite smile. “May I go home now?”

Whatever had transpired between the Demon Lord and Duke Madal during his unconsciousness, judging by her demeanor, nothing unpleasant seemed to have occurred.

“It seems not, Qiaolun. I promised Her Grace the Duke that we would stay here together for a while.”

“What did you say?! Didn’t that fortune cookie stand upright?” Hearing that he couldn’t leave, Qiaolun excitedly gripped Yunajin’s shoulders.

“That’s true, but it was only what we saw with our eyes. I didn’t realize it was an illusion.”

Just as Yunajin was about to lead Qiaolun away, Ramola, her expression serene, called out to her.

“Your Majesty the Demon Lord, according to our wager, you are to remain in Madal City for a few days.”

“What? Stay here? You saw it yourself, I shattered your domain, and the upright cookie wasn’t this option!” Yunajin, believing the Duke intended to renege, prepared to order Meredith to use direct magic to open a passage to Prometheus, hoping to prevent relations between Madal City and Demonkind from reaching an impasse.

“Meredith, open the portal. We’re returning to the Demon Lord’s City.”

“Your Majesty, please wait. I ask you to re-examine the outcome.”

Yunajin turned her head to look at the cookie on the ground. It was not standing upright as it had been within the domain; instead, it lay flat, blank side up.

“You…”

“My Lady Demon Lord, I believe we have fallen into her illusion. Whether it was the frozen world just now, or the fortune cookie you struck, the game’s outcome still unfolded precisely as she intended.”

Meredith could discern the illusion cast by the opponent, but she possessed no corresponding magic to dispel it. Of course, besides eliminating the caster, nullifying her magic was another crude but effective method.

“Tch, an illusion, was it?”

Unable to use magic, Yunajin lacked the ability to discern Ramola’s illusionary spell. For magic that didn’t directly affect her, Yunajin’s “Magic Immunity” talent simply couldn’t take effect.

Staying posed no harm, especially since Lord Hero was also here. If he insisted on returning to Aldelit, then the plan to borrow his identity would still be worth discussing.

“So, that’s how it is. It’s fine, the Duke promised to treat us well. I even thought she was going to do *that*…”

Yunajin mimed a gesture by drawing her hand across her throat as she spoke.

Qiaolun, apparently not comprehending the gesture, asked, “Why did you put your hand on your neck, and what does sticking out your tongue mean?”

“You don’t know this either?”

It seemed such a gesture truly hadn’t appeared in this world. The first time she had made that motion to Meredith, even she had looked utterly bewildered.

“Meredith, for Your King, take him and…” Yunajin gestured across her throat.

“Uh…” The seemingly omniscient Meredith froze. “Are you asking me to put my hand on that person’s neck?”

Such was the interpretation of the esteemed Demonkind High Priestess.

“It means, kill him!” Yunajin declared fiercely.

“I… I’m still alive?”

Qiaolun patted himself all over, confirming his continued existence once more.

“What’s wrong, Qiaolun? You’re the Hero; don’t act like a mere minion now.” Yunajin crossed her arms, longing for the days when Hero Qiaolun had charged all the way to the Demon Lord’s grand hall, his eyes resolute, his mouth roaring, “Kill the Demon Lord!”

“Hero… I merely acknowledge reality.”

****

Madal Castle, Duke’s Grand Hall.

“The reality is that the voice constantly filling my mind has vanished, much like my silenced magic back then.”

“A hunger for consumption?” Meredith asked, having just finished repairing the last fragment of the wall for Ramola. She picked up a fallen blue rose and returned it to the vase.

“Life, soul, flesh—all consumed by the Abyss Seeds, leaving not even a speck of bone. Yet, regrettably, I was the worst among them.”

“You and your mother are both extremely ‘picky eaters.’ You should know that even now, having fallen to the demons, she constantly seeks out ‘suffering souls of the world.'”

Hearing this, Ramola offered a self-deprecating smile. “Regrettably, as one afflicted with ‘anorexia,’ I can only consume ‘willing souls.’ I thought you knew this, Meredith.”

“What are you and that succubus-like Demon Lord doing here? You’re not planning to wage war against humanity, are you? Do you want me to return and serve as a combatant? The border hasn’t been very peaceful lately.”

Meredith slowly shook her head, her lowered eyelids betraying her hesitation as she pondered how to explain to Ramola.

With her violet lips slightly parted, Meredith stated, “My Lady Demon Lord, she has fallen in love with a human.”