Ch.87The Demon Lord and Lilith (13)

# The Devil and Lilith (13)

Esmeralda felt like she was standing on the execution block.

After Millia and Eirene woke up, they held Esmeralda responsible for Lug’s disappearance.

‘Pay attention to me too… I need attention too…’

Esmeralda was troubled.

She was losing confidence in the face of the overwhelmingly powerful devil, feeling doubtful about her goals and wandering aimlessly.

Yet here they were, not caring about her suffering at all, fixated on one man and pressuring her. It was so unfair she could hardly bear it.

“So… you’re saying you just watched Lug leave without even trying to stop him?”

Eirene glared at Esmeralda with the most ferocious expression she’d shown so far. In her hand was a morning star, a weapon she rarely drew except in battle.

“No, I also fainted…”

“Didn’t you say you had a conversation with him before fainting?”

“At that time, I was also very weak…”

“Esmeralda.”

As Esmeralda was backing away from Eirene who was approaching her with determined steps, Millia approached from the side.

“Didn’t you think Lug might run away? That woman came here to take Lug away in the first place, didn’t she?”

“Lieutenant Lilith had already… before Lug left…”

“Don’t talk back.”

“…”

“Answer properly.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Esmeralda apologized with tears in her eyes, confused by Millia’s fierce attitude—first telling her not to talk back, then demanding an answer when she remained silent.

“Girls, calm down. We can’t say this is entirely Esmeralda’s fault. You both fainted too, so isn’t it unfair to blame only Esmeralda?”

“…”

“…”

Eirene and Millia closed their mouths and stared intently at Tina.

She was right. Not a single word was wrong. But that was that, and butting in was butting in.

As their aggression subtly shifted toward Tina, she—who had been the first to realize Esmeralda had lost Lug—comforted Esmeralda.

“Are you okay, Esmeralda?”

“Sob… Tina… you’re the only one who understands me.”

Esmeralda hugged Tina, who was comforting her. Despite Esmeralda’s strength being enough to suffocate her, Tina hugged her back and patted her on the back as if everything was fine.

Of course, Tina had her own thoughts.

“So…? Just tell me. Where did you hide Lug?”

“…”

Esmeralda had hidden Lug.

And she was making excuses to others that he had run away.

That’s what Tina thought.

Because that’s what she would have done herself!

Tina, whose mind was already deeply influenced by dragon ways, knew that treasures should naturally be hidden in one’s secret nest.

“You hid Lug…?”

“Esmeralda hid Lug?”

The other two, with their keen hearing, glared at Esmeralda with fierce eyes after hearing Tina’s words.

Seeing the two muttering as if it were already confirmed, Esmeralda could only sigh.

She was too tired to even feel wronged anymore.

“Stop! If you come any closer, I’ll burn this note that Lug presumably left behind! I can do it! I really can! Don’t come near me!”

Esmeralda threatened to burn the note while holding a match.

She looked like a criminal taking a hostage as a last resort.

It was far from the image of a hero.

And where there’s someone threatening with a hostage, there’s someone who deals with such people.

“Go ahead.”

Eirene was not one to negotiate with criminals. No, rather, she didn’t care about the note at all.

“Huh…?”

“As a hero, you’ve already checked the contents of that note, right?”

“…No, I haven’t.”

“Then I’ll check by searching through your head.”

She was a true cleric who knew various ways to extract truth from people’s mouths.

A model cleric who listens to confessions through all sorts of methods.

“Right, I learned that too.”

“…Millia, I think the way you learned to search through heads is different from Eirene’s.”

“As long as the result is the same, it doesn’t matter.”

Keeeeeeek!

A thin, hideous tentacle extended from the tip of Millia’s staff, wriggling.

What was she planning to do with that small tentacle to search through her head?

“…I’ll read it then.”

Esmeralda meekly gave in and read the note Lug had left.

-Thank you for everything. From Lug.

Such brief content.

It only confirmed that he had fled, with no clues about where he might have gone or what he might have been thinking—just a short message.

The content was plain.

Much cleaner than adding various things to a farewell.

But…

“…If we chase after him now, couldn’t we still catch him?”

For Esmeralda, the situation couldn’t be worse.

***

Piiiiiiiiiii───

Lilith opened her eyes to the ringing in her ears.

“Ah…”

And only then did Lilith realize she was back at the Devil’s Castle. Belphegor had come personally to save her.

And using his overwhelming force, he had swept away everything around.

Because someone had messed with her, a fellow clan member. For the Manmata clan, that reason was enough.

‘I couldn’t do anything.’

Piiiiiiiiiii───

The ringing in her ears became clearer.

Lug had protected her even in that critical moment.

He had thrown himself at her, embraced her, and endured the pouring lightning.

Why did he go that far?

What was she to him?

She was pretending to be his fiancée, but it was just an act.

At least for Lug, it was.

Besides that, the relationship between Lug and Lilith was nothing more than having exchanged a few communications.

She didn’t even know his face. This was the first time they had met in person.

And yet…

“Lug…”

And yet Lug had saved her.

He protected her at the risk of his life. What was clearly an act wasn’t an act at all. He consistently kept his word from beginning to end.

But what had she done?

What could she have done?

Even with an enemy clearly targeting her, she had just continued her act.

Worried about being discovered, concerned about her own safety.

So she couldn’t do anything. No, she chose not to do anything.

This was the result.

“If I… if I had acted with just a little more courage…”

Piiiiiiiiiii───

The ringing in her ears grew louder, threatening to tear them apart.

And tears began to pour from Lilith’s eyes.

Gratitude toward Lug who had protected her, and the love that sprouted from it.

Hatred for herself who couldn’t do anything when the man who had protected her so desperately was in danger, and guilt toward him.

All those emotions mixed and overflowed, pouring out as tears.

“I… I will… for you… all those damn dragons and Abaddon trash…!”

Just as Lilith was reaching an extreme conclusion…

Piiiiiiiiiii───

Lilith realized that the ringing in her ears that had been bothering her was actually a real sound.

“This… is…”

Communication magic.

And the only people Lilith had set for constant communication were the Devil, the Legion Commanders, and Lug.

As soon as Lilith realized this, she felt her heart beating fast.

And when she carefully answered the communication, what she heard was:

-Ah, Lieutenant Lilith. Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?

“Lug…?”

-Yes, it’s me. I’m glad to see you’re safe. I was worried you might have been reprimanded because of me, but I’m relieved to hear your voice.

“I’m fine… no, more importantly, are you okay?! Are you alright?!”

-Yes, I’m fine. So there’s no need to worry.

“How…”

Lilith fidgeted with her lips before speaking with emotion.

“How can I not worry…? Because of me… you… you… Lug…”

How he had blocked Belphegor’s attack. What he was doing now. Where he was and what he was thinking.

Numerous thoughts appeared and disappeared in Lilith’s mind.

There were many things she wanted to ask. But Lilith didn’t.

Right now, she just…

“I’m so glad you’re safe…”

She wanted to savor this sense of relief.

***

Lug had finally succeeded in escaping from the hero’s party.

It was about time, and the situation was favorable for escape, so there was no reason to hesitate.

After escaping, the first thing he did was communicate with the devil’s army.

“Well, it seems you’re fine. I’m not sure about my location, but it appears Lieutenant Lilith has returned safely without any issues.”

Lug had to end the communication after reassuring Lilith as much as possible, as she was sobbing to the point where her sentences weren’t coherent.

Lilith seemed to need rest.

Having lifted one burden from his mind, Lug turned to face the person who had been watching him with a blank expression.

“…Is this really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Separating from the hero’s party.”

“You know I’ve been wanting to leave all along.”

“Well… that’s true.”

The person accompanying Lug was Extra, who had collapsed there with him.

Lug decided to take him along when leaving, as there was a high probability that Extra would be killed by the hero’s party when he woke up if left behind.

And there was also a sense of kinship.

“After all, Major, you also have an awkward place to return to, don’t you?”

Extra had become uncomfortable returning to La•Pa for some reason. Or more precisely, to “The Eye of Truth” where many dragons were stationed.

“That’s true.”

Already tending to be an outsider as a demon, if he returned alone after the high dragon Indra died, he would not escape suspicious glances.

La•Pa might let it slide, but the dragons under his command would be the problem.

Unlike high dragons like Indra who showed absolute loyalty, mediocre dragons were likely to view Extra with hostility.

In other words, he would be in a very difficult situation if he returned to the Eye of Truth.

And the same was true for Lug.

Lug had already shown his abilities.

He had shown them several times before, but now he had openly displayed his power to the point where he could no longer gloss over it.

“No, but can’t you reconsider even now? No matter how I think about it, your plan is crazy.”

“But it’s also a necessary and inevitable task. Isn’t it?”

Lug and Extra weren’t heading straight to the demon realm.

If they were, there would be no reason for Extra to accompany Lug.

They had a place to stop by on the way, and they needed to replenish supplies and manpower for their own resolution.

Especially manpower was important.

With just the two of them now, they couldn’t accomplish anything.

Extra, who was also trying to return to the Abaddon region of the demon realm, thought the same. Nevertheless, the reason he continued to show an uncertain reaction was none other than:

“Even so, will that bitch Five cooperate with us?”

The two were now heading to the place where they had detained their former superior, the 5th Legion Commander, Five.