“Why are you still standing here? Go find that kid immediately.” Lena forcefully pushed Thrett out of the alley.
As the Sword of the Hero, even though for certain reasons she doesn’t acknowledge Ell.
“I’ve never said that I dislike him.” So please, this time, don’t let him get hurt again, even if the one appearing by his side this time is the Demon King, the archenemy of the Hero’s destiny.
While praying, the elf silently disappeared on the spot.
“Ell.” Finally catching up to Ellyad at a relatively open street end, as he ran too fast in the crowd making it hard to catch him.
“So you’re here.” Upon seeing Thrett, Ell immediately regained composure and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
“I saw you running so urgently. Did you think I left you behind?” Thrett smiled, wiping the sweat off Ell’s forehead with the back of his hand, deliberately asking.
“Because you said, ‘Once you get tired, you’ll leave immediately,’ so I thought…” Ell didn’t finish his sentence. Although he knew he misunderstood, he couldn’t help but wave away Thrett’s hand wiping his sweat, feeling embarrassed about his groundless worry.
“That was referring to before.”
“What?”
“You’re different. I never get tired of being with you. It makes me want to keep traveling with you.”
“Is that so?”
“Besides, didn’t we agree to go find the Demon King together?”
“Yeah.” Ell answered softly. Unable to deny the warmth and joy that welled up in his heart after hearing Thrett’s words.
“Did you buy what you were looking for?”
“Yes.” Ell opened the leather bag in his arms, and a rich, sweet fragrance immediately filled the air. Inside were plump, rosy-red apples.
“I thought you said you didn’t have a favorite food? You can try this. Apples taste great.” Though the tone was calm, you could still sense Ell’s happiness, as if he really enjoyed eating them.
“For you.” Ellyad took out one and handed it to Thrett’s chest, a faint smile on his face.
In an instant, a familiar feeling flashed through Thrett’s mind, but he couldn’t recall it. Instead of forcing himself to remember, he found it more genuine to capture Ell’s current expression. He took the apple; its tempting fragrance and Ell’s gentle smile held a certain allure…
Swoosh—Clang!
Suddenly, a red figure with a murderous aura descended from the sky and violently pierced the ground just before Thrett’s toes, shaving off a few strands of his bangs.
From the broad-bladed sword, a platinum-haired elven girl manifested herself, intentionally standing between the Demon King and the Hero.
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.
“Do you still love eating apples so much?”
“Ofcj.” Sii ugffafv atf finfc ulgi klat jc fzqgfrrlbc vfnblv bo jcs vfofcrf, jr lo tf tjv rffc j ojwlis wfwyfg.
“…,” Ktgfaa rajgfv kbgvifrris ja Ofcj.
“Ktgfaa, rtf’r Ofcj, atf nfrrfi rqlgla bo atf ‘Dibbv Efv Xbvvfrr Sifcj.’ Vtf’r ws oglfcv. Ofcj, atlr lr Ktgfaa, atf mbcagjma vfwbc ktb rajgafv agjnfilcu klat wf cba ibcu jub,” Siisjv lcagbvemfv atf akb, mbwqifafis ecjkjgf atja atfs tjv jigfjvs wfa lc qglnjaf fjgilfg.
“Oh, a contract demon?” Lena deliberately repeated, making it clear to the Demon King in front of her.
“Be careful not to get your hair in the mud.”
Completely oblivious to the potentially hostile relationship between the two, Ell focused on the friendly reminder and casually tied up Lena’s long hair.
“This child is very well-behaved. I hope you’ll take care of him,” Lena thanked Ellyad and then turned to Thrett, smiling brightly. Seizing the opportunity, she shifted her expression, and with subtle lip movements, Lena said word by word to Thrett: ‘Go…die…you…perverted…deceptive…Demon…King.’
Thrett furrowed his brows for a moment but followed with a smile, saying, “Please teach me a lot too, Pink Love Goddess.”
“You!” Lena glared at Thrett with gritted teeth, and Thrett responded with a wicked smile. In the moments when Ell wasn’t paying attention, an undercurrent of hostility had already sparked between the two.
—
The Wings of His Royal Highness
—
The majestic city walls winding around the entire plain, upon entering the gate, statues stood tall in the plazas under the blue sky.
Some depicted the heroic poses of the brave wielding giant swords, while others showed figures kneeling with outstretched wings. The largest and most revered statue stood directly in front of the palace, a colossal figure gleaming with golden plating.
Clad in armor, one hand raised high with a broadsword pointing towards the sky, the other gripping a large piece of tattered black cloth. The cloth seemed to have been fixed in the statue’s hand from the beginning, weathered and worn, presenting a pitiful sight.
“I’ll take a look— ‘Dedicated to the Great Hero Hodenton,’ and then a bunch of irrelevant chatter, so I’ll skip that,” Treth nonchalantly examined the inscription on the statue, displaying an attitude of disdain.
“Hehe~ Let me introduce him properly! He is the great hero ‘Hodenton Polon,’ the first to kill the Demon King and establish a country. The flourishing and prosperous country he built, the Green Kingdom, is the most prosperous on the Sipistole Continent. That piece of cloth he’s holding was actually the cloak worn by the Demon King at that time. Scared, aren’t you?” Lena proudly exclaimed.
“Hmm? Oh, oh! Ellyad, the parade is about to start. Do you want to go see?” Trett naturally ignored Leta’s boasting.
“You stinky demon! Listen to me!”
—
As the clock struck two in the afternoon, the crowd in the square suddenly surged. The three of them couldn’t even step back in time before being engulfed by the crowd.
This time, with one hero, one demon, and a sword, they happened to pass through the most prosperous country on the Sipistole Continent, the Green Kingdom. Coincidentally, they encountered the national celebration week of the country. Starting today, the entire nation would celebrate with a lively festival for a full seven days.
And now, it was the prelude to the parade, where the procession would circle the entire palace. Unfortunately, the three of them couldn’t find a high vantage point in time to watch and got caught up in the crowd.
“Wahh! It’s so crowded!” Petite Lena was almost pushed to the ground and trampled. Luckily, elves could semi-manifest, appearing half-transparent like ghosts. Ellyad, however, grunted uncomfortably.
Seeing that they were about to be dispersed by the crowd, Trett suddenly lifted Ellyad from the crowd and sat him on his arm, saying, “Would this be better?”
“Eh!”
“You looked a bit pale just now. Seems like you really don’t like crowded places, huh?”
“Pervert! Stupid demon!” Lena delivered a solid smack to the back of Trett’s head, while Ellyad covered his face with one hand, desperately trying to hide his thoroughly blushing face.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” Trett rubbed the back of his head in confusion. That elf really didn’t hold back at all.
“Trett, this is embarrassing…”
Ellyad blushed so much that he could hardly speak. A grown man being lifted high by another man already attracted the attention of many, and even though it was chaotic now, it didn’t mean nobody saw.
“Let’s get out of the crowd then.”
“No, please put me down first.”
After managing to squeeze out of the crowd, honestly, halfway through, Thrett wanted to clear a path by force. However, the hero and the sword of demon slaying were right behind him, and he was afraid that after clearing the way, he would be eliminated with a single slash.
“There aren’t many people there; let’s go quickly!” Lena, who was floating at the front, pointed to a small restaurant.
After the three sat down, they casually ordered some snacks, pastries, and apple dishes. Recently, Thrett had started getting used to eating human food, but usually, he didn’t eat much; it was just to taste the flavors.
“Do possessing spirits need to eat too?” Thrett was somewhat puzzled; he had never seen the one at his home eat anything. Well, maybe, she ate something unknown in some unknown place.
“You didn’t listen to me finishing my sentence just now; I don’t want to tell you.” Lena knew that saying this was childish, but she deliberately wanted to get back at being ignored.
“What are you drinking, Ell?”
“Fruit tea.”
“Don’t ignore me!” Lena was furious.
Thrett casually lifted the cup labeled as “fruit tea,” and the floral fragrance made him uncomfortable, so he only wanted to take a sip.
“Aren’t you going to take off your cloak, Thrett?” It was currently a slightly stuffy afternoon, and it should be quite warm to still wear a cloak indoors.
“Yeah, yeah, why are you still wearing the hat to cover your face even indoors? You act like some kind of pervert.”
“Lena, that’s not what I mean.” Ell quickly stopped her from continuing the insults.
“I don’t mind taking off the cloak, but—”
In this free country, contract demons could be seen everywhere, and they had no need to hide their identities. After all, they carried genuine contract certificates. There were few mysterious travelers like Thrett, who consistently wore a cloak. However, if Thrett were to take off his hat in the crowd, his appearance would immediately become the center of attention, attracting everyone’s gaze. In the end, he decided not to remove the cloak.
“It’s okay, you can continue wearing it if you want.” Understanding Thrett’s dilemma, Ell nodded and continued with his meal.
The restaurant was quiet, with only a few people eating. One of them was a demon with long purple-red hair covering the left eye—
“Cough, cough, cough!” Thrett snorted, snapping the delicate tea cup handle, spilling the tea on the table, accompanied by the sound of his choked cough.
“Are you okay?” Ell reached out to pat his back.
“Cough, I’m fine.” Could it be that he was seeing things? Why would Ziyuan, the assistant to the Demon King, appear here?
In theory, Ziyuan should be staying in the Demon King’s castle to take care of all matters for the demon race in Thrett’s absence. Seeing him here now meant that something significant must have happened.
“Could it be that Ziyuan resigned from being a pet sitter? Then where am I going to find someone so efficient to replace him?” Thrett wondered.
Initially, Ziyuan had volunteered to be the assistant to the Demon King. He was proactive, took on a lot of responsibilities, and was a reliable caretaker. Both the Demon King and Queen Lily valued him highly.
It seemed like Ziyuan completely ignored Thrett as he finished his meal and left the restaurant. Thrett quickly followed, telling Ell to wait for him.
Once outside the restaurant, Thrett immediately caught up with Ziyuan.
“Ziyuan.”
“Your M-Majesty! Why are you here?”
“That’s what I should be asking. Also, don’t call me that here. Just call me Thrett.”
“I understand, but why are you here?”
“I’m currently traveling with a human and an elf. Now, why did you leave the castle?” Thrett asked, noticing that Ziyuan had his right hand in a cast and bandaged around his neck.
“From the second week after you left, all the pets in the castle rebelled,” Ziyuan referred to hellhounds, gates of sages, fire-breathing dragons, and the Beautiful King, using a derogatory term he only used when he was angry.
“What did they do?” That they could rebel to the point of driving away their caretaker of several hundred years surprised him.
Thank you for the chapter ♡