ITSM 16

Chapter 16

Considering how much he disliked humans, Berette had still made me very fine clothes.

They wrapped my body in luxurious, high-quality fabrics I could never have dreamed of even when I was Liliana Walker.

Realizing this, a sudden fear gripped me.

What if I get used to this? What if I run away someday and end up longing for this life?

It was a rather trivial thought.

In a world where surviving day by day was already difficult, here I was, in the den of demons, worrying about such pointless things.

Once started, the useless thoughts refused to leave my head, floating around restlessly.

Even while changing into a few different outfits, my mind couldn’t settle.

“Hmm, this outfit suits you well too.”
“Does it?”

Because of that, my mood sank further, and a smile that had unknowingly lingered at the corners of my mouth vanished.

Good things were always followed by a string of misfortunes, so being cautious was natural.

“Is it hard for you?”
“No, not that… It’s just that these things are so nice, they feel a bit too much for me to have.”

Even saying something uncharacteristic was because of that feeling. Surely, I didn’t need to feel burdened by this.

For a moment, I clapped my hands against my cheeks. Perhaps the sound was a bit loud, because Loan looked startled and stammered.

“W-why… Why would you do that?”
“Oh, when I have pointless thoughts, doing this brings me back to my senses.”

Then, in an unexpected move, Loan grabbed my cheek.

“Don’t hurt yourself though. It makes anyone watching upset.”

He seemed slightly annoyed.

Loan held my chin and turned it around. I could feel the gazes of the surrounding demons. Carefully, I removed his hand and took a couple of steps back.

“It just made a loud sound, it didn’t really hurt. And I’ve come back to my senses. Thank you for the gift, I’ll accept it gratefully.”
“Ria.”
“Yes?”

The large-framed Loan pressed close to me.

All the pointless thoughts I had vanished instantly. I realized how insignificant my worries were.

“Right, Liliana. In a world where surviving itself is urgent, what kind of trivial worries are these?”

I lifted the corners of my mouth back to their place.

“I can try on more of these outfits, right?”

Stepping out of his shadow, I quickly grabbed the clothes hanging on the rack.

“Then I’ll go try them on.”

I thought I heard a faint sigh from behind, but I brushed it off as my imagination and hurried along.

Vasago lay in a sunlit field, humming to himself.

“How should I try using my powers on that human…”

Since the king had already given permission, there was no need to hesitate. The only problem was if she realized he was a demon.

Loan had allowed the use of his abilities, not the revealing of his demon nature.

“Ugh… what am I even doing lately?”

Vasago scratched his head. Using his brain, which he rarely used, was exhausting. Perhaps if it were Ammon or Zion, he could have figured it out more easily.

“Rather than ask those fools for help, I’ll figure it out even if it kills me.”

Vasago, fired up with frustration, exhaled deeply and closed his eyes.

“No, that aside…”

His eyes snapped open.

With a clearly irritated expression, he muttered coldly,

“Why have you been lurking around me all this time?”

In an instant, he approached the demon that kept hovering near him.

“When did demons start acting like flies?”
“V-Vasago-sama!”

He already had a splitting headache from thinking so hard, and yet these trivial pests kept bothering him.

Looking at its face, he recognized it as the demon he had encountered outside Liliana’s room not long ago. Vasago glanced at its toes.

The demon in his vision had been badly injured while wearing shoes that exposed its toes.

“Looks like the toes are fine.”

Of course, a prophecy only shows a part of the future—it doesn’t guarantee when something will happen. If the demon didn’t take care, its toes would eventually get destroyed.

Well, no need to explain that to such an insignificant being.

As long as it didn’t act out, it could keep its toes intact for a long time.

“If you came to thank me, then go around the mansion praising my powers instead.”

After a few steps and a wave of his hand, the low-ranking demon knelt and shouted,

“I want to deal with the human!”

Its steps began to slow.

Vasago finally realized the meaning behind the prophecy and muttered,

“So that’s what it meant…”

He turned his head to look at the insignificant being, glancing once at its toes, once at its bowed head, tilting his head.

That demon’s toes would probably be shattered—perhaps worse than from wearing the wrong shoes.

“Are you trying to defy the king’s decision?”

Liliana was someone Loan had brought directly. To show hostility toward her was effectively defying the king. He didn’t seem capable of such thought.

No matter how careless they were with words, their actions never crossed that line.

“Don’t these things even think?”

Well… it was understandable that negative emotions existed. Not only that low-ranking demon, but others were slowly revealing such feelings as well.

Vasago, too, found things he disliked, but he would not personally spill blood or do anything to provoke the king’s wrath.

“Hmph.”
“Our power is everything. Receiving protection from someone doesn’t place us above others.”
“True.”
“But humans, just because the king brought them, are breaking the demons’ rules, aren’t they?”

That was true. Beside Liliana were Gremory, Bael, Ammon, and Zion, staying close, some secretly.

Most importantly, Loan himself, the king, directly protected her.

“That’s frustrating, indeed.”

Still, they shouldn’t so openly reveal it foolishly.

Vasago gave a contemptuous glance at the low-ranking demon and warned,

“Enough.”
“But—”
“I don’t know what you’re worrying about, but don’t do anything that would upset the king. Not just you, everyone around sees and feels it.”

Vasago still disliked Liliana—not because of Loan’s favor—but because a strange sense told him to be cautious. When his powers recently failed to work on her, that suspicion became certainty.

Still, he had no intention of defying the king. Who would take all that anger?

Remembering an angry Loan, Vasago shivered. He hadn’t lived long yet—at least he wanted to survive as long as Bael.

“Hmm, I should probably inform the king of this situation.”

Scratching his cheek in thought, the low-ranking demon shouted again,

“I’ve been trapped in Winsphere for hundreds of years!”
“Right. So you want to go outside?”
“No! The problem is that an outsider entered the isolated Winsphere. We were fine on our own! Her presence alone will disrupt the demons!”

Vasago frowned at the demon’s words.

“What are you saying? You’re not exactly united yourselves.”

They were giving a trivial excuse.

In the sudden silence around him, Vasago thought he had made himself understood.

“…I didn’t expect Vasago-sama to use such words.”
“What?”
“Uh, no, that’s not it! Anyway, we cannot allow that impure human near us. Once she disappears from the king’s sight, he’ll just forget. She’s only a mere human.”

Only a mere human?

It felt strange. Of course, he had reasons to be cautious and disliked certain things about Liliana—but hearing such words from someone else made him inexplicably angry.

Why are you insulting her?

Vasago warned the low-ranking demon without hiding his aura.

“If you don’t want your head to explode along with your toes, stop meddling. If it bothers you that much, go live outside Winsphere for a while.”
“Hic!”

Startled, the low-ranking demon froze, and Vasago waved his hand dismissively.

To think it would try to defy the king at a mere gesture from him.

Tsk.

Vasago distanced himself from it, still wearing a look of disdain.