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Chapter 6 …
Joshua knew at least one thing: Titia was kind. Other humans usually gave off a disgusting smell, but Titia’s scent was fresh, almost fruity.
Usually, humans who smelled that good were kindhearted.
Above all, Titia was remarkably tolerant, even while being bullied. She never once tried to look for who was behind it. Even when she got stung by bees—something that should have made her furious—she just wandered around with swollen eyes as if nothing had happened.
She didn’t care how her face looked to others.
She even seemed to like the beard. Joshua couldn’t resist showing himself, but instead of being startled, she calmly made him confess to what he’d been doing.
And instead of scolding him for it, she just leisurely asked for his name…
No matter how petty the bullying had been!
“Why don’t you get angry?! Are you stupid? Do you not even think?!”
“She’s just kind.”
“Yeah.”
“……”
Joshua’s shoulders slumped. The twins squatted down in front of him, watching him droop.
As their muscles shifted with the movement, Joshua looked on with envy.
“If I had grown up a little more, Zere wouldn’t have had to live like a cripple.”
“It’s not your fault, Joshua.”
“Mm.”
“It’s my fault! That’s why even the Saintess kicked me away…!”
“That’s not it. The cripple—no, Boss—just wasn’t the Saintess’s type.”
The unfamiliar voice slipped in naturally, and Joshua’s fur bristled in shock. He couldn’t even scream, just stared at Titia as she slid out from behind Jessica.
“Whatever the case, I don’t think little Joshua here could influence Boss’s love life that much.”
“Y-you, y-you, h-how did you…?!”
“Jessica’s back is really broad and warm. I dozed off a bit.”
“Jessicaaa!”
“I don’t like it when Joshua gets gloomy.”
“But I didn’t tell her everything. I only said where you were.”
“As if that makes it better! Bringing her here is the problem!”
“Nice to meet you. My name is—”
“Shut up, blegh!”
“Then should I whisper it softly?”
In a voice that somehow didn’t sound unpleasant at all, Titia whispered and then offered him a handkerchief. Joshua snatched it and pressed it against his eyes.
For some reason, he suddenly felt miserable.
She didn’t know anything…
She didn’t understand why Zere was like that, and yet she just shone so brightly. Joshua hated seeing her hovering around Zerevant.
But then she said something identical to what Zerevant had once told Joshua when he was blaming himself:
“You don’t have enough influence over my love life to make me fail or succeed.”
The cold memory of Zerevant’s voice overlapped with Titia’s gentle tone, and Joshua couldn’t hold back anymore—he burst into sobs.
“Waaaah! You’re so annoying! You don’t know Zere’s pain, and yet you barge in, turning everything upside down just to save yourself—I hate you so, so much!”
“Ah… so that’s why you bullied me.”
Titia nodded as if she finally understood. But she didn’t make excuses.
She simply listened to Joshua’s resentment in silence… until she dozed off.
“I really hate her!!”
Joshua clenched his fist and smacked Titia’s forehead. A lump rose, and she muttered:
“Stay with Boss a while. For some reason, he drains your stamina like crazy. At first I thought I was just tired, but no. If I let my guard down even a little, I black out.”
“……”
Joshua couldn’t say anything. Instead, he quietly rubbed her forehead and muttered:
“…Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I was wrong to fall asleep in front of someone crying.”
“No, it’s not your fault. When you’re next to Zere, he really does drain your strength.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Then can you at least tell me who you are?”
Joshua hesitated, then clasped his hands tight and shut his eyes. In the smallest voice, he confessed:
“…A minion of the ‘Demon of Serael.’”
She should have screamed at that—after all, he was admitting to being the servant of the demon that nearly destroyed the continent. But Titia, in the same calm tone as before, simply asked:
“Purified by the Saintess?”
The unexpected reaction left Joshua stammering before answering belatedly:
“…Half.”
“Even half-purified, wouldn’t that be fatal to a demon? How are you still alive?”
“The one sealed was the Demon of Serael, not me. And I’m not so weak as to die from one purification. I’m incredibly strong!”
“I suppose so. After all, you’re a minion of the Demon of Serael.”
What was the Demon of Serael?
Once, it had been a great archangel who nearly destroyed Heaven itself, only to fall and be reborn in darkness.
When it fell to the human world, it pushed the continent to the brink of ruin. Its power was so great that even a crack in its seal corrupted the land and filled it with rampaging beasts.
But even more dangerous was the demon’s authority: the Labyrinth.
If the Labyrinth appeared, the continent’s destruction was inevitable.
So when the Demon of Serael broke free and tried to open the Labyrinth, three people closed the rift and resealed it. Naturally, they were hailed as heroes who had saved the world.
“It’s because unlucky me stayed by Zere that he ended up that way.”
“Huh?”
“I can’t tell you more.”
Joshua shut his mouth. Honestly, even revealing that he was a demon’s minion was something he should never have done.
He had laid bare his own weakness to Titia.
If the Saintess, the Crown Prince, or Zerevant found out, they would insist Titia be killed immediately. But Joshua didn’t care.
Not because it doesn’t affect me…
Perhaps now that he’d told someone, he would vanish at the Saintess’s hands.
But it wasn’t a rash decision. Joshua had felt something from Titia—something like mana, but cleaner, holier, even if faint. It had vanished quickly, but…
It felt like it could become a powerful help to Zere.
And demons’ instincts were rarely wrong.
Besides, he was certain about one more thing: Titia wouldn’t go around spreading this. Why?
“Hey, how long have you lived? I’m Titia, and I’ve lived 21 years.”
Because she was busy asking the servant of the Demon of Serael such trivial things.
In the pitch-black darkness, Zerevant cradled his throbbing head.
Just then, the door creaked open and Joshua slipped inside.
Seeing him, Zerevant instantly remembered Titia admiring his beard and clamped a hand over his mouth to stifle the laugh threatening to burst out.
Joshua misread his effort, mistaking it for pain, and whimpered:
“Does it hurt a lot?”
Zerevant shook his head silently. Joshua’s eyes welled with tears.
He wasn’t supposed to be like this—mumbling like a fool! Joshua missed the playful, mischievous Zere so much it hurt. Sniffling, he said:
“I… I just met Titia.”
Zerevant’s lips twitched again. He ducked his head, struggling not to laugh, while Joshua—oblivious—bowed guiltily and confessed:
“I even told her I’m a demon’s minion…”
Zerevant’s lips pressed into a hard line. He snapped his head up, his eyes suddenly lethal behind his glasses.
“You told her that…? Why?”
“……”
He shot up and gripped Joshua’s shoulders tightly, eyes half-mad.
“Why not just announce to the world, ‘I’m a demon’s servant, please kill me’?”
The sarcasm made Joshua bristle.
“Don’t say that! Titia can be trusted!”
“And how long have you even known her to say that?”
Joshua rolled his wide eyes nervously and murmured:
“…Instinct?”
Zerevant let go of his shoulders, biting his lip until it bled. His eyes reddened with strain.
“She has to die. I can’t let her live.”
He looked ready to summon her on the spot. Joshua clung to him desperately.
“Don’t! Titia’s not that kind of person!”
“Joshua!”
His shout made the air heavy, thick with killing intent that stung Joshua’s skin. But Joshua raised his own voice, refusing to back down.
“It’s true! Jessica and Lynette didn’t stop me either! If anything happens, they’ll deal with it—so just leave Titia alone!”
“What, did you form some kind of short-lived bug-friendship?”
“I don’t know. I don’t! I just feel it—her aura will help you somehow… damn it, I don’t even know myself!”
Unable to explain, Joshua stormed out. He was still more child than demon.
Still, he rarely made mistakes with his words…
Should I kill her?
Zerevant bit his lip. If someone learned the truth, would he have to destroy Joshua?
If that happened, Joshua would…
And he would…
Would I be completely alone?
He collapsed onto his knees, arms limp on his thighs, head bowed.
Her image filled his mind unbidden. Black hair, thick lashes, a slender frame, a delicate, beautiful face.
Even the tiny beauty mark beneath her lower lip.
A beauty who could turn heads anywhere, and yet one who wasn’t afraid to look ridiculous.
“Why aren’t you laughing? How could you not blink at my masterpiece?”
Remembering Titia’s disappointed face, Zerevant finally pulled off his glasses and rubbed his face.
“…Hah.”
He knew full well he should eliminate her without hesitation. Yet he hesitated.
For the first time in nearly two years, he had laughed.
Zerevant knew better than anyone how heavy a single life could be. That was why he was trapped here in the first place.
That was why he hesitated.
And not only because of that.
He had felt that aura too.
If it had been ordinary strength, he would have ignored it. But when Titia entered, something inside him stirred.
His own energy had reacted to hers.
It had been fleeting and faint, so he thought he imagined it. But if Joshua felt it too, then it meant something.
That tight-lipped Joshua had revealed his secret, and Zerevant—who guarded himself more than anyone—had found himself accepting her more easily than others.
That alone was reason enough to keep watching Titia.
