episode_0015

Episode 15

“How about it, Bell’s daughter? Are you going to run away again today?”

In the Remen Forest, which can be considered the entrance to the demon world, Raila, in response to Perronica, one of the three demon generals, raised her sword and spat out blood-mixed saliva as she struggled to stand up.

“You’re the one who doesn’t know what to do because you want to run away, so don’t make me laugh.”

“Haha. Truly Bell’s bloodline. Even though you look like you’re dying, you’re still alive.”

Honestly, Perronica raised her sword, thinking about what would have happened if the conditions were the same. A week ago, Raila, who had been disheartened after losing the man she had been eyeing to the Demon King and had wandered into the forest for training before sneaking into the demon world, met Perronica.

For the past week, the two had been fighting fiercely every day.

“Come on, what’s wrong? Did you decide to die everywhere except your mouth?”

“Tch, shut up!”

Compared to Perronica, who attacked aggressively, Raila was focused on defense. Even blocking became difficult, slowly reaching her limit.

It was inevitable.

While both of their basic skills were similar, after each day’s battles, Perronica could return to the Demon Army to have a proper meal and rest, unlike Raila, who was hungry and exhausted.

Moreover, due to the incessant attacks by monsters, Raila had not been able to sleep properly for over a week.

Considering this, just maintaining enough movement to block Perronica’s sword was remarkably impressive.

However, Perronica did not show mercy, and Raila did not seek sympathy.

In the world of life and death struggles, such emotions were disgraceful.

As long as they acknowledged each other as strong, blaming external factors was unacceptable for warriors.

Therefore, at the end of the week, the battle was nearing its conclusion.

“My body… feels heavy…!”

Since their first encounter when they fought fiercely like tearing each other apart, the balance of power had gradually shifted. The current situation was an expected outcome. It was not surprising.

But it couldn’t happen. Raila thought it couldn’t happen.

“It can’t! If I lose here, I won’t be able to save Edward, who is waiting for me!”

Crossing the forest would quickly lead to the Demon King’s castle. Unlike humans, demons always stood on the front lines.

The belief that those in high positions should be at the forefront was ironically similar to the adversarial Bell family.

So all she had to do was get out of the forest. But the demon she was fighting against was too strong.

There was no room for excuses. Realizing that she could not win in her current exhausted state, Raila decided with a sense of intuition.

“No! It can’t happen!”

That’s right. It couldn’t happen. It just couldn’t. If she lost here, she wouldn’t be able to save her beloved husband.

Her determination, fueled by strong attachment, kept Raila moving, who originally couldn’t move.

She was tired. She felt like she might collapse at any moment. Her condition was not good; she felt hot all over, as if thorns were entwined around her legs and arms.

It was heavy. Terribly so. Right now, she felt like she could give up everything and just collapse into sleep.

Except for one thing, her beloved husband’s presence.

“Aaaah!”

She screamed, not towards the enemy in front of her but at herself. She told herself not to collapse from this level of pain. She said not to disgracefully crumble while her husband was waiting. She scolded herself, questioning how she could be so exhausted, hungry, feverish, heavy, and unable to move, knowing that her husband was waiting.

“What?!”

Perronica took a few steps back. It wasn’t just being pushed back by force. It was clear that Raila’s speed and strength had increased.

“I can’t afford to be complacent with this…!”

She had not been fighting with all her might, but Peronica, who had been restraining herself for the sake of capturing alive, revealed her full power.

Nevertheless, as the situation where she was falling behind did not change, Peronica’s face began to distort gradually.

“What on earth is this guy!”

There is often a metaphorical wall between transcendent strong individuals and those who are not.

Opinions vary among people about this wall, but the consensus is that it is an abstract concept signifying a kind of realm.

Due to its ambiguity, there was no definite or unified answer on how to overcome this wall. Therefore, if asked how she had dealt with it, there was a high chance that even Peronica herself would not be able to answer.

Nevertheless, one thing was certain.

“Edward!”

It was a fact that Leila von Bell had just crossed one wall.

—

Returning earlier than usual, Lumaniel handed me a black bead I had seen before and said, “This is Mahwah. If you eat this, Edward can also become a demon.”

“That’s strange. When did I ever say I wanted to become a demon?”

Revealing a sense of caution, I retorted sarcastically, causing Lumaniel to hesitate slightly. However, the hesitation was brief, and he pushed Mahwah towards me again.

“Eat it.”

“I don’t want to.”

Even though I said I didn’t want to, I knew that I didn’t really have a choice in the matter.

Seeing him suddenly bring something like that and tell me to eat it, someone among Lumaniel’s aides or subordinates must have warned him about me.

Lumaniel coming over to me might not notice, but it was natural to be suspicious when observing from the side.

I didn’t know the name of that bead was Mahwah, but it was within the expected range that he would try to feed it to me.

Considering humanity’s perception of demon existence, there was no other way as effective as feeding it to me to quickly align me with their side.

I knew I couldn’t resist. It wouldn’t kill me to eat it, so I could just pick it up and eat it, but if I didn’t remain cautious here, there was a high possibility of arousing suspicion.

So, well, I should probably show that I dislike it to some extent.

“If you want me to eat it, force-feed me, Lumaniel. I won’t eat it on my own.”

I said provocatively on purpose. I thought it would be fine if she forced me to eat it, but something unexpected happened.

Lumaniel shook his head as if truly sad.

“…Do you hate becoming the same species as me that much?”

This is a bit perplexing. I looked closely just in case, but it didn’t seem like he was acting.

What should I do? Should I say I dislike it here as the answer, or should I truthfully answer?

As I pondered, I decided to give a conventional response.

“It’s about becoming a different species from what I am now. It’s scary.”

“Becoming a demon isn’t bad. You become stronger and faster. So, become a demon, Edward.”

Now she almost pleaded like a child.

It was awkward. Seeing Lumaniel, who seemed like she would cry, made me feel most awkward about thinking to let her eat it at this point.

Already feeling a strange sense of guilt about deceiving her… Why do I have to think like this when I’m the victim?

“Sigh.”

“Edward?”

As I sighed, she looked at me with worried eyes. If Lumaniel had been the evil and cruel demon king mentioned in stories, I wouldn’t have felt these emotions.

In reality, she was always striving as a diligent effort-maker to fulfill her duties as a demon king, dealing with unfamiliar tasks and laughing brightly at trivial things—a pure woman.

At least, from what I had seen of her for two weeks. A meaningless assumption, but if I hadn’t met Leila, I might have happily married her.

However, I already have a beloved wife. Because I couldn’t betray her, I had to say this.

“Feed me.”

“…Are you okay?”

“There’s no way I’d be okay. I’ve said it before, but what resistance can I have in this situation? Since I’ll stay still, make sure to feed me.”

From the side, it would probably look like a rather strange picture. A conversation where the roles of the bound person and the one who bound them have reversed is all that can be seen from the outside.

Ah, since I’m going to eat anyway, I should ask about it once.

“I’m not in a position to say this, but I hope you grant me one request as a reward for eating that quietly.”

“A request? Asking me to leave?”

“If I say that, will you agree?”

“No.”

I was slightly surprised. It was the strongest answer with determination I had heard so far.

“Then something else instead of that.”

“Hmm. What is it?”

“I want to talk to Chris.”

“Why.”

She got angry right away. I knew it, but she was a woman as jealous as our wife.

“I told you, she’s my wife’s sister. From my perspective, shouldn’t we talk about why she became a demon and devoted herself to the Demon King’s army at least once?”

“……”

Just by sitting on the bed and looking, you could tell. That Lumaniel was currently experiencing tremendous inner conflict.

After thinking for a while, she nodded slightly. It seemed like the desire to turn me into a demon was winning.

“I’ll stay by your side instead. Don’t misunderstand. I’m just worried that Chris might tell Edward important information about the Demon King’s army, so I want to be there with you.”

Lumaniel’s efforts to speak as calmly as possible were cute and almost made me laugh. It probably wasn’t true, but if it was intentional, it was remarkable.

“Then.”

“Yeah.”

Hoping that I could still be myself even after eating that.

I took the bead Lumaniel handed me and ate it.

Immediately after.

Agony rushed in.

—

“Aisha-!”

The Demon King, who had barely fallen asleep on a corner bed in the research lab after repeating overnight work for recent research, sat up abruptly at the voice of Professor Aisha, his friend.

Not knowing who might see him, Lumaniel couldn’t relax for a moment until he met someone or returned to his room after finishing work. If someone called out with such a loud voice, it was definitely not a normal occurrence. Aisha immediately went out, wondering if something had happened to Edward, the man who might have taken the Mahwahwan.

There was no one outside. It seemed like someone was calling from their room at the top of the Demon Castle.

“Aisha-!”

“I’m coming now-!”

Aisha, who concentrated most of her abilities in her head since birth and possessed an extremely frail body despite being a demon, hurriedly went up and opened the door.

Then she tilted her head.

“What’s wrong, everything seems fine?”

Standing next to the bed was her friend, the Demon King. And sitting on the bed, looking at her with round, watery eyes, was the husband of a friend brought by her friend.

Both of them looked healthy enough that she didn’t feel any particular abnormalities no matter where she looked.

“I thought something happened because of the Mahwahwan…”

“I fed him.”

“Huh?”

“I fed him, but his horns haven’t grown out.”

“…What?”

What came out of her friend’s mouth was news that woke her up completely.