As night fell, the dazzling stars emerged one by one on the night’s curtain. The trio found a nearby inn to stay for the night.
“Boss, three rooms,” said Ziyuan, leaning against the counter. He also casually requested a few books from the innkeeper. Since Ziyuan rarely needed sleep, he would often borrow some books to read when staying at an inn during his travels.
Not many demons had a love for reading, and this used to make Ziyuan feel quite inferior. However, after learning that the Demon King had spent ten years continuously reading in the library, Ziyuan never thought about it the same way again. Although this event was witnessed by only one person, Queen Lily, its credibility was uncertain.
“Ah, two rooms will do,” Thrett hinted at Ellyad with a smile. The latter could only sigh in resignation.
Since the town where they encountered Lofisso, the two of them almost always shared a room. The main reason was to save money, and considering practicalities, Ellyad eventually compromised.
Ziyuan was unaware of this and assumed that the Demon King only rented two rooms, intending to share one with his assistant and acquaintance (himself). So, he gladly accepted the room key, walked upstairs, and Ellyad randomly picked a key, opened the door, and entered. Thrett followed Ellyad into the room.
Ziyuan quickly called out, “Thrett, it’s this one.”
“Huh?” Ellyad curiously poked his head out, thinking that Ziyuan had discovered something.
“What’s wrong with this room?” Thrett asked, also puzzled.
“You’re not planning to share the room with me?” This time, Ziyuan was taken aback. Firstly, he adamantly refused to believe that the Demon King would choose the human hero over his trusted subordinate to share a room unless he intended to assassinate the hero. Unfortunately, the logic of the Demon King, or rather, the normal demon logic, didn’t apply to Thrett.
“Of course not. Ell and I will share one room, and you’ll have your own,” Thrett answered matter-of-factly.
The Demon King’s behavior, which transcended the norms of demonkind and showcased an extreme sense of self, was not something new to Ziyuan, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last time. Still, he felt quite displeased about it. He suddenly felt like a fool and, without saying a word, slammed the door shut as he entered his room.
Ellyad and Thrett also entered their room, found a place for their luggage, and opened the window for some ventilation. The simple room only had a single bed, two short cabinets, a set of table and chairs, and a few basic decorations. There was also an annoying empty flower vase on the table.
‘Let’s go down for dinner later.’ Ellyad took off his leaf-colored cloak. However, Thrett remained standing, unmoving.
‘What’s wrong?’ Realizing he was currently mute and shouting wouldn’t help, Ellyad walked over to him. Just as he was about to check Thrett’s expression hidden beneath the cloak, Thrett unexpectedly fell forward onto Ellyad. Startled, Ellyad quickly supported him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
‘Ktgfaa, Ktgfaa.’ Llr yftjnlbg kjr ecereji. Siisjv mbeivc’a rqfjx, yea tf mbcalceberis mjiifv Ktgfaa’r cjwf. Fcjyif ab wjxf jcs rbecv, tf gfrbgafv ab rtjxlcu Ktgfaa’r rtbeivfgr nlubgberis. Oemxlis, joafg j ktlif, Ktgfaa mjwf ab tlr rfcrfr. Ycmf tf rabbv olgw, tf qgfrrfv tlr obgftfjv klat tlr tjcv, wjrrjulcu atf rqjmf yfakffc tlr ygbkr, jcv mbwobgafv Siisjv, “Vbggs obg rmjglcu sbe; P revvfcis ofia nfgs algfv.”
‘Go lie down on the bed; I won’t disturb you. You can have the bed tonight.’
Ellyad dragged the barely awake Thrett to the bed, pulled his cloak open, revealing a fatigued expression that Ellyad had never seen throughout their journey. Thrett closed his eyes wearily, and his complexion appeared somewhat pale. As soon as he sat on the bed, he slumped down at the head of the bed, completely drained of energy.
Ellyad took off Thrett’s cloak and even removed the leather belt around his waist. During this process, Thrett showed no reaction, confirming that he was indeed exhausted.
‘Is Thrett okay?’ It was the first time Ellyad had seen Thrett so tired. He expressed his concern in a low voice, though he didn’t intend for anyone else to hear it. It was just his inner thoughts.
“I’m fine. It’s probably because of my bad temper all day,” Thrett responded with a magnetic voice full of weariness. However, he resisted the urge to sleep.
‘Just go to sleep!’ Ellyad, who was about to leave the bedside, noticed that Thrett was still awake and immediately turned back. Mimicking Thrett’s previous actions, he covered Thrett’s eyes with his hands.
‘Is it common for demons to have such low body temperature?’ Ellyad couldn’t help but wonder. Earlier at the Merfolk Palace, Thrett, uncommonly, had a tense expression and spoke with a malicious tone, radiating a serious killing intent throughout his body. Although Ellyad wasn’t sure about the reason behind Thrett’s anger, he assumed it had something to do with the troubles caused by himself, Ziyuan, and Wei Yu, even if it was an accidental situation. Ellyad felt a sense of guilt.
“No matter what, we must retrieve your voice. I don’t care about that little brat, but your voice is yours, and no one has the right to take it away… just like you.” Thrett spoke intermittently, and while Ellyad understood most of what he said, the last sentence, “just like you,” confused him.
‘Does it mean I also don’t have the right to take away my own voice?’ Ellyad swallowed his question and decided not to disturb Thrett, who had finally fallen asleep. He planned to go downstairs to have dinner on his own.
As he opened the door, a handsome demon with long purple hair was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as if he had been waiting for Ellyad to come out of the room.
“Where’s Thrett?”
‘He seems really tired and is sleeping.’ Ellyad gently closed the door.
“Tired? Sleeping? Whatever. I have something to discuss with you. Please come into my room.” The Demon King, not being a true living being but a convergence of power, was easily affected by emotions. This was an observation made by Ziyuan and Thrett during their nearly hundred years of interaction, although such phenomena rarely occurred.
Ellyad nodded and entered Ziyuan’s room. Once inside, Ziyuan immediately closed the door. He didn’t invite Ellyad to sit but had him stand by the door, speaking frankly, “How much longer do you intend to travel with Thrett?”
Ziyuan was not aware of Thrett’s plan to take Ellyad to the Demon King’s castle or the purpose of their journey. He had no right to interfere or inquire about these matters, nor did he intend to. He only wanted to know when the Demon King would finally end this “journey” with the human hero. How much longer would it take for the Demon King to grow tired of this human, kill him, and return to the proud identity of the Demon King among the demon kind?
Ziyuan’s attitude was aggressive. Though his tone was respectful, his eyes were filled with disdain and annoyance. He detested heroes and despised humans who occupied the position of the Demon King. This sentiment was shared by all demons; Ziyuan was just more vocal about it.
“You don’t need to give me an answer. I’m just here to tell you that your journey will not last much longer.”
‘What do you mean?’ Ellyad could sense Ziyuan’s unfriendly attitude, so he needed to clarify.
However, Ziyuan didn’t look at Ellyad and deliberately avoided reading Ellyad’s lip movements. He continued speaking on his own:
“Perhaps your willingness to travel with him stems from seeking convenience or a strong shield, but you’ve chosen the wrong person. Thrett is considered a high-ranking figure among demons, and you should be aware of his unique strength. Demons inherently have strong self-esteem, and even contracted demons won’t easily be at someone’s beck and call. In my eyes, Thrett seems to have been forced to yield to someone like you, a human. Though I’m unclear about the reasons, I believe he’ll soon find it unbearable.”
“I’m just giving you a piece of advice. Don’t think demons are like humans; we can’t comprehend complex emotions or the dull things like friendship and love. Especially for Thrett, as long as he finds someone uninteresting, that person could become a meaningless existence in the next moment.”
Ziyuan swallowed a bit and continued, “But rest assured, I won’t forcibly take Thrett away or ask you to leave. Your journey is your freedom, and I have no right to interfere. That’s all I wanted to say. You can leave now; I apologize for delaying your mealtime.”
‘Why are you suddenly telling me all this?’ Ellyad stood before Ziyuan, staring directly at him.
Ziyuan made it clear that he was dissatisfied with Ellyad, and his words carried an implicit intention to drive him away from Thrett. If that were the case, Ellyad couldn’t back down now.
“From a demon’s perspective, or rather, from the standpoint of Thrett’s friend, seeing the trouble you caused him today without any sign of reflection, I felt the need to give you a warning. That’s all. You can leave now. I apologize for taking up your dining time.”
Ellyad suddenly found himself at a loss for words to defend himself. This time, he didn’t linger and silently left Ziyuan’s room, walking alone downstairs.
Inside the room, Thrett gazed at the ceiling with heavy eyelids. He kept staring until the footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away. Then, he closed his tired eyes again and fell back into a deep sleep.
—
Alone in the corner of the inn’s bar, surrounded by people who were already drunk, Ellyad sat there, absentmindedly toying with a full bottle of beer on the table. The drink wasn’t ordered by him but was a gesture of sympathy from a drunken uncle next to the bar. Seeing Ellyad sitting alone in the corner for a long time, the uncle, out of pity, offered him the drink. The uncle was already completely unconscious, not aware of what he was doing, so Ellyad decided to pay for the bottle of beer himself.
Suddenly, he didn’t dare to return to the room upstairs. Ziyuan’s words kept echoing in his mind, and he felt deeply affected by them.
Ziyuan’s implication was that he believed Ellyad would only bring trouble to Thrett. The reason being the vast gap between humans and demons. Demons and humans had vastly different styles of behavior. Many things could be resolved by demons using magic or violence, without the need to consider moral or human constraints. However, humans tended to lean towards a more artificial surface of peace, like today’s mermaid incident. Perhaps causing chaos in the lake bottom with Thrett might have smoothly concluded the matter. Ellyad wouldn’t lose his voice, Wei Yu wouldn’t be detained in the lake, and they wouldn’t have to come to this town specifically to find the mermaids and bring them back.
Choosing a long and exhausting route, opting for the most tiring way to solve the problem, that’s why Thrett was so tired, maybe that’s what Ziyuan was referring to. He didn’t agree with Ellyad’s way of doing things.
“Thrett… should still be asleep, right?”
Not wanting to go back and face him yet, Ellyad looked at the beer bottle in his hand again. He wasn’t ready to confront these facts: that he was a burden to Thrett and that there were inherent barriers between humans and demons.
After returning to the room in the middle of the night, Ellyad sat at the table until dawn. The misty morning light drifted into the room from the window, and Thrett continued to sleep deeply, his breathing steady and slow.
Ellyad dared not make a sound or approach, not even daring to look at Thrett’s face. The vexing questions still lacked answers, and after much contemplation, he found himself unable to close his eyes. The words of Ziyuan seemed to be like a quagmire, slowly engulfing him. Ziyuan’s words weren’t entirely baseless; indeed, there were significant differences between humans and demons. Undertaking a long-term journey together might be a difficult endeavor. Ellyad had never heard rumors of contracted demons traveling together with humans. Even if they were contracted demons, they were still demons. Even if they liked humans, they couldn’t spend all their time with them, let alone adhere to human moral principles. Demons could kill and destroy at will, and their abilities were their highest doctrine.
When Thrett forcefully struck the water tank, Ellyad firmly stopped him, and Thrett obediently ceased the attack. Thrett could have ignored Ellyad’s dissuasion.
“So, is it abnormal for Thrett?”
Still, there was no answer in his heart. He raised his left hand to his forehead, and his ring and little fingers felt a bit chilly.
“This question is crucial, but the immediate issue is the mermaids.”
Ellyad exhaled a breath from his lungs and put on his cape, walking out alone.
“In any case, let’s deal with the current problem first.”
In the end, he still didn’t have the courage to look Thrett in the eye.
Thrett is insanely possessive…Ell, you haven’t noticed? 🤭 I believe that was what Thrett wanted to say with “just like you”. That nobody has the right to keep Ell away. If Ziyuan carries on like this, he’s in for some rough time 😮💨
Noooo my babies 😭😭 I love you Ziyuan but please!
<3