Chapter 48: The Sleeping Knight and the Curious Demon Lord

The entire afternoon seemed to slip away in a daze.

Wade hadn’t truly recovered his senses, lingering in a somewhat bewildered state.

He realized he simply couldn’t work in such a state.

Deciding to set aside his current tasks, he sought out a leisurely novel from his bookshelf.

Of course, Wade read novels.

He was not so austere as to be devoid of human emotions; rather, perusing novels or attending operas served as his essential pastimes, never to be forsaken.

Yet, the recent whirlwind of activity had kept him away from the theater for too long.

Even when he did manage to attend, he would invariably lean back and drift into slumber, waking only when the performance concluded and the curtain calls began.

Sometimes, he’d even find streamers fluttering into his mouth as he roused himself.

Thus, novels became his preferred escape.

Unlike the theater, a book could be picked up and put down at a moment’s notice.

Should he doze off, he could simply restart from where he last remembered, confident he would eventually reach the end.

And so, Wade opened a novel, beginning from the very first page.

Truthfully, he wasn’t really reading; the stories had become an effective means of hypnosis for him.

Whenever worries kept him from peaceful sleep, he would simply cradle a book, and before long, he’d drift off.

Indeed, no sooner had he turned to the first page than drowsiness began to claim him.

He had long forgotten the book’s original promotional blurb.

All that mattered now was its uncanny ability to induce sleep, and by extension, to help him regain a measure of calm.

Perhaps other books would have served the same purpose, but this one had simply become his habit.

“Haaah…”

The book he held was a fantasy novel centered on knights.

It depicted a valiant knight and his beloved, who, undeterred by hardship, vanquished formidable foes.

After safeguarding world peace, they settled into a tranquil retirement, complete with a loving spouse, children, and a warm hearth.

This, perhaps, was the very life Wade yearned for: a first half spent in diligent toil.

Followed by a second half dedicated to repose, ideally alongside a wife, children, and the comforting warmth of a home.

Yet, despite the toil, his efforts were largely voluntary. He understood his immense power, far surpassing that of most humans.

‘With great power comes great responsibility, doesn’t it?’ he mused.

Leaning against the armrest of the sofa, Wade, solitary and drowsy, felt his heartbeat stabilize considerably. His breathing, once erratic from Lamia’s words, had also calmed.

‘Ah, speaking of which, what is Lamia doing?’

‘She must be eating,’ he thought. ‘After all, human life revolves around a simple rhythm: waking for breakfast, anticipating lunch at work, looking forward to dinner upon returning home, then sleeping only to begin the cycle anew.’

‘Is the Demon Lord’s life similar?’

‘No… I recall her mentioning she hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in quite some time…’

‘Hahaha… I can’t help it, can I? As her adversary, making her lose sleep only proves my competence, doesn’t it!’

‘Forget it… I shouldn’t concern myself. It’s not as if I get to sleep soundly either; with those scattered demons throughout the town, haven’t I also been living a life of rising early and retiring late?’

Having thus appeased his conscience, Wade chose to close his eyes. It was a rare day of rest, and he decided to indulge himself, allowing a moment of peaceful slumber.

****

‘Wade?’

He didn’t know how long his eyes had been closed when a familiar voice reached his ears.

The cushion beside the sofa dipped, and the solitary chill around him was suddenly displaced by another’s warmth.

[I wondered why there was no sound when I knocked on the door. So he was asleep.]

‘Asleep?’

‘Since I didn’t hear a knock… then that must be it. But what is Lamia here for?’

‘Never mind, I’ll pretend for a while. I’m curious to see what she intends to do.’

“Wade~ Wade~”

Seeing Wade remained still, Lamia didn’t dwell on it. From her perspective, there was no conceivable reason for him to feign sleep, so she simply assumed he was deeply unconscious.

“Wade~ *huff huff*~”

She even reached out to playfully poke Wade’s cheek, causing his head to sway slightly, yet he remained stubbornly asleep.

‘He’s truly fast asleep…’

Receiving no reaction from Wade, Lamia’s attention shifted to the book nestled in his grasp. As Wade was merely feigning sleep, he offered no resistance, allowing Lamia to effortlessly retrieve the volume from his arms.

Holding the book, she weighed its heft in her hand, then her gaze fell upon the prominent title emblazoned on its cover.

[‘…*The Silver Knight and the Sword that Guards the World*… ?’]

[‘What is this? A human storybook?’]

Just moments earlier, while bathing, Lamia had overheard the maids chattering about stage plays. Having never witnessed one herself, nor possessing the inclination for such cultured pursuits, she felt a flicker of curiosity about what exactly made those young women squeal with delight.

The peculiar gestures she had just performed for Wade were also oddities the maids had picked up from books. She wondered if they had any effect on him, especially since he hadn’t even followed her out, nor had he said a word.

[‘They said these gestures of affection would make Wade a little happier, perhaps even excited… but there was absolutely nothing, was there? Who gets so excited that they fall asleep?’]

Upon hearing this, Wade’s eyelashes fluttered in a moment of awkwardness.

‘In truth, it was primarily because he was *too* excited, so much so that he had to force himself to sleep to regain his composure.’

‘My reactions have always been overly intense… I constantly resist, yet I find myself hurtling in the opposite direction. This constant vacillation makes me feel as though I’m always hesitating, always wavering, hardly embodying the image of a true knight.’

[‘Hmph… Let me see what this storybook is about… Hmm—”The Silver Knight.” That sounds quite a bit like him. Could it be based on his story?’]

In human society, while White Knight rarely presented himself directly to the populace, his presence was nonetheless felt. Having ventured to the Demon Lord’s castle on numerous occasions, and having rescued soldiers who nearly met their demise there, aspects of his image had permeated folk tales.

It was not uncommon for people to draw inspiration from the White Knight, crafting hero novels around his legend.

Wade himself had naturally purchased a copy, simply out of curiosity to see how his own story was depicted.

Such narratives have always captivated audiences; people inherently gravitate towards heroic tales where justice prevails over evil. Thus, the inherent popularity of the hero genre, coupled with the White Knight’s legend, spurred a surge in hero novels recently.

While not every one of them was explicitly written about the White Knight, their core narratives were strikingly similar.

A handsome and powerful protagonist, a villain as despicable as a cockroach, a gentle heroine deeply devoted to the male lead, and a diverse array of companions joining the quest—these elements collectively wove the adventure of a hero, a knight.

[‘…’]

Lamia read the story, observing the knight’s struggle against malevolent demons, witnessing the blissful lives of his companions, and seeing the protagonist’s wife share in his happiness—

[‘Which character in this book am I?’]