Ch.164Helium’s Night (1)

I wondered if I could have maintained my composure if I had gone to Helium without receiving divine power from Mora. The thought suddenly occurred to me.

Cecilly walked slowly to the palace without using teleport and never let go of my arm. Like lovers who had just started dating, we walked while having pleasant conversations.

I also calmed my pounding heart with the divine power I received from Mora. Besides, I was already accustomed to Cecilly’s skinship, so I could handle it to some extent.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t excited. Her deeply exposed cleavage constantly stole my gaze, and the aura emanating from her was unusual.

Whether it should be called a kind of pheromone or sensuality, the atmosphere was several times more intense than usual and also sticky.

I had a strong feeling that if I fell in, I would never be able to escape.

‘Now her horns have completely turned red.’

Except for the tips, Cecilly’s horns were filled with red. It meant that soon she would not be able to properly control her desires due to her evil cycle.

Would she be able to exercise self-restraint until tonight? She was wearing the old necklace I had seen at the exhibition last time, but you never know. This time it might not be able to stop her, so caution is essential.

How much time had passed as I walked with Cecilly? Somehow, we had already reached the front of Helium’s royal palace.

“We’re already here. I wanted to walk a bit more.”

“Yeah. It’s a shame.”

“If you feel that way, shall we walk a bit more?”

Cecilly pressed her chest more closely against my arm and suggested in a subtle voice. I was tempted for a moment but exercised self-restraint.

As much as I wanted to talk more with Cecilly, it was already late at night, and there would be plenty of time inside the palace.

“No. Your parents must be waiting, so let’s go inside.”

“Tch. Alright.”

At first, Cecilly clicked her tongue and expressed regret.

“The night is long anyway, right?”

“…”

“And we don’t necessarily need to talk outside.”

As I whispered softly with my lips close to her ear, the corners of her mouth rose. Then she hugged my arm tightly.

I looked adoringly at Cecilly, whose ears had turned bright red even in the dark night, and then took in the sight of Helium’s palace. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I could make out its general appearance.

First of all, the imperial palace of the Empire of Minerva was so dazzling, as if coated with gold, that it was visible even at night, but Helium’s royal palace was ordinary.

Historically, a “king” appeared in Helium exactly 2000 years ago. Unlike humans, they have steadfastly maintained their place from that time until now, so perhaps it’s natural for it to be ordinary.

However, it looked solid, having endured for over 1000 years. In the first place, it looked more like a royal fortress combined with a “castle” rather than a palace.

‘But are there no guards?’

Even as we approached the main gate, no guards on duty were visible. Or maybe it was too dark for me to see them.

Only the lamps laid out on the path beyond the gate shed light, while Helium’s royal fortress was generally dark and gloomy. It wouldn’t be strange if a ghost jumped out right now.

“Why are you looking around? Is it strange that there are no guards?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t it normally be heavily guarded?”

“Don’t worry. They’re just hiding in the darkness, so you can’t see them. In reality, it’s very heavily guarded.”

“Hiding in the darkness? Like stealth?”

“Not stealth, they’re just wearing black clothes so they’re hard to see. If they unnecessarily carried lamps, it would be like advertising ‘I’m here,’ right? Lamps are only carried when you can’t see ahead, darkness means nothing to us demons.”

As I always think, demons are an overpowered race comparable to elves. In some aspects, they are even more outstanding than elves, making humans seem infinitely insignificant.

It’s fortunate that demons are friendly to humans; if they were to wage war deliberately, wouldn’t we be utterly defeated? It’s a blessing that such a thing doesn’t happen.

Creeeeak-

As we approached the main gate, the iron gate opened wide like an automatic door. I looked around to see if there was someone opening the door, but I only saw pitch-black darkness.

While I was tilting my head in confusion, Cecilly explained from beside me.

“This is a magic door. You can’t see it well now because it’s night, but there’s a device attached to the center of the gate. It recognizes me and opens the door.”

“Then what about other people?”

“People who reside in the palace or frequently come and go usually show a token. You can think of it as a key.”

Magic is truly boundless. This is why some inventions are unbalanced and don’t match the times.

I was watching the slowly closing door when I suddenly realized that Gartz Balack had disappeared. It seems he hid his appearance for a while since Cecilly was here.

After that, we started heading towards the main entrance, using the lamps laid out on the path as our only light. I didn’t forget to ask questions along the way.

“Can demons hide in the darkness like dark elves?”

“It’s possible, but it consumes a lot of mana and isn’t as perfect as dark elves. The stealth used by dark elves completely blends with the surrounding environment, making it hard to detect even with presence sensing.”

“I see. I thought both could do it since both worship Mora.”

“There’s a reason why elves are the chosen race of the gods. Instead, they give us comfortable nights and rest, so I’m not jealous.”

“You pray every day, right? Once when you wake up in the morning. And once before going to bed.”

“Yes. You remember well. Originally, before going to bed, I would offer a prayer thanking for the peaceful rest given tonight, but this time it might be a little different.”

“What content?”

“Hmm~”

When I asked, Cecilly looked at me with a seductive moan. Her eyes, curved like a crescent moon, were tinged with redness.

Then she licked her lips seductively and said in a voice mixed with sensuality.

“Should I tell you now? Or should I show you later tonight?”

“Hmm… show me later. It’s no fun if I know in advance.”

“Alright. You can look forward to it.”

What kind of prayer is it that I should look forward to? I looked at Cecilly with a wry smile, as if she was incorrigible.

Cecilly, as if she was really looking forward to that moment, smiled broadly and leaned her face on my shoulder.

Poke!

“Ouch!”

“Oh, oh my. I-I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“Ow ow ow… No, it’s fine. The tip is surprisingly sharp.”

A minor mishap occurred when she accidentally poked my arm with her horn. Fortunately, I was wearing thick clothes, so no injury occurred.

I reassured Cecilly, who was looking very apologetic. As I was comforting her, we reached the main entrance of the palace at the end of the path.

Befitting the demons who have a deep appreciation for art, the palace door was also beautifully carved. At the very top was a woman presumed to be Mora ascending to heaven, and below her were demons praying.

The lamps faintly illuminated the main entrance, allowing me to examine it in more detail.

Clunk-

As I stood still, looking at the picture carved on the door, the main entrance began to open slowly with a clunk sound. It was my first time being invited to a royal palace rather than a mansion, so I was a bit nervous.

Above all, I would soon have to meet Cecilly’s parents. Although Cecilly had said earlier that she would speak well of me, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

No matter that I am the author of Biography of Xenon, meeting a lover’s parents is still a first meeting.

Creeeeak-

Finally, the main entrance of the palace opened wide. The first thing that caught my eye was the color red. A red carpet was spread across the entire floor.

Behind it were stairs leading to the upper floor and various corridors, but there was one person waiting behind the main entrance.

Not a maid, but a woman in a neat red dress with a gentle smile.

Her beautiful appearance and figure, evident despite being covered by the dress, caught my eye, but the most striking thing was undoubtedly her face, which looked exactly like Cecilly’s.

While Cecilly had bangs, the woman before me had her forehead clearly exposed and was wearing a silver circlet.

“Welcome. You must have had a hard journey.”

Just as I was guessing who she might be, the woman bowed politely and greeted me. If Cecilly had a seductive and sexy voice, the demon woman before me had maturity mixed in.

Then she straightened her back and introduced herself in a calm tone.

“My name is Isillia Draught Vin. I am the queen of Helium. It is an honor to host the benefactor of the demon race.”

As expected, she was Cecilly’s mother and the queen of Helium. Actually, it wasn’t difficult to guess since she looked so much like Cecilly, almost like a twin. Cecilly had mentioned before that she was an only child.

“I am Issac Dukar Mayshall from the Empire of Minerva. It is an honor to meet the queen of Helium.”

I greeted her politely according to etiquette after her introduction. Judging by the fact that she called me the benefactor of the demon race and there were no attendants by the queen’s side, it seems she had already been informed.

Queen Isillia nodded at my greeting and then spoke in a gentle tone.

“As I heard, you have charming red hair and golden eyes.”

“Thank you. You are beautiful too, Your Majesty.”

“Hoho. Thank you. Have you had dinner yet?”

“No, I haven’t had dinner yet.”

“That’s perfect. Let’s meet my husband first.”

Seeing that she referred to him as “husband” rather than “king,” it seemed closer to meeting on a personal basis. Well, even if I was formally invited, I was here as Cecilly’s lover after all.

Cecilly and I began to slowly follow Isillia as she started to guide the way. Cecilly seemed to have no intention of letting go of my arm even after entering the palace, as she continued to hold it even in front of Isillia.

“I heard from my daughter. You’ve been helping her a lot at Halo Academy?”

“I don’t think I’ve helped her much…”

“Usually, good people don’t remember their own good deeds. Only the recipients remember.”

When have I ever helped Cecilly? Honestly, I don’t remember well. Until I revealed that I was Xenon, we were just like a playful older sister and a younger brother who was fun to tease.

I could only think that Cecilly had spoken well of me. Even if she told me, I probably wouldn’t know.

While following Isillia, I carefully examined the interior of the palace. Unlike the somewhat plain and shabby exterior, the interior fully reflected the unique atmosphere of the demon race.

The floor was uniformly covered with red carpet, and now that evening had fallen, it relied only on candlelight, giving it a somewhat eerie feeling. It seemed that they had become so accustomed to darkness that they could discern what was ahead even with a small light.

I don’t know how it would look to demons, but to a human like me, it was enough to feel a bit scary. The deep and thick silence that had settled made it seem like something could jump out at any moment.

Even the paintings installed on the corridor walls seemed like they might wriggle and come alive.

“By the way, Issac. I’m curious about something, may I ask?”

“Yes? Oh, yes, yes. Please go ahead.”

“You said you had no connection with demons before meeting Cecilly, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I wonder why you portrayed them that way in Biography of Xenon. As you know, before Biography of Xenon appeared, demons were nothing more or less than devils.”

Isillia asked that while slightly turning her head. In fact, I’ve received similar questions countless times.

I first received it from my parents, then from Marie, and finally from Cecilly. Especially Cecilly, being a demon, asked more detailed questions from what I remember.

The problem is that I don’t remember well what I said then. I thought for a moment and then tried to answer honestly and straightforwardly.

No. More precisely, I was about to.

“Perhaps…”

“Yes?”

“As the rumors say, are you a person from the future?”

“…”

I never expected to hear those words from Cecilly’s mother. I was so dumbfounded that I was wondering what to say when Isillia calmly spoke.

“Actually, without that, it’s almost impossible for someone not even 20 years old like Issac to have such thoughts. It was about 50 years ago, I think, I’ve even seen a 5-year-old human child pointing at demons and calling them devils. Original prejudices are terrifying.”

“That’s true.”

“But you saw us demons with a different perspective. Especially, Biography of Xenon Volume 5 was published when you were 16 years old. That means you wrote it during your ‘little devil’ phase, which would be the puberty period for humans. I can’t help but wonder if it’s possible to write such text during a period of emotional confusion.”

Indeed, until the three consecutive revelations, the world had presumed Xenon to be a worldly-wise sage. Not only the writing style but also the incidents in Biography of Xenon would be almost impossible to write without diverse experiences.

However, I have the memories of my previous life clearly imprinted in my mind. A soul that crossed over from another dimension due to a mistake here.

I lived in the sea of information called the internet and indirectly experienced various civilizations. It’s natural that my perspective would be more diverse than the people here.

Of course, I can’t tell this fact straightforwardly. After listening to Isillia’s story and thinking for a while, I asked back.

“I see. Then do you think I came from the future, Your Majesty?”

“I’m considering that possibility. Of course, only you and the gods know the truth.”

“For now, I can definitely tell you that’s not the case.”

“I understand. Then what do you think, Cecilly?”

Isillia then asked Cecilly for her opinion. Cecilly, who was still arm in arm with me, lifted her face from my shoulder and looked up at me.

I also directly met her eyes, which were as red as blood. Her cheeks, tinged with a subtle red glow, and her bright eyes exuded a charm that seemed to draw me in.

Then, after staring at me for a long time, she smiled brightly and hugged my arm tightly, answering vigorously.

“I don’t care whatever it is, Mom.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. There’s no need to think about it in a complicated way, right?”

After saying that, Cecilly continued in a sticky voice.

“He’s going to be my man soon anyway.”

“…”

“I don’t want to think complicated thoughts right now.”

She’s really been consumed by desire. As I was giving a wry smile while looking at Cecilly’s eyes, which had started to glow with heart-shaped light, Isillia muttered softly in front.

“Is Lilith really our daughter…”

No, she’s not.