The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 204: Look at me living my Live Love Laugh life

Chapter 204: Look at me living my Live Love Laugh life

"Ah, there’s something I forgot to ask you!" I clapped my hand as I looked at the river that got further and further away from the airship.

"Hmm? What is it? Is it about the druid?" Natha tilted his head.

Ah, yes, it was too bad that Amarein couldn’t board the airship in the end. She felt it would be impolite for her to impose on the request after offending Natha, so she said she would look for another chance in the future.

But that wasn’t it.

"Hey, do you know where the hidden passage leading to?" I asked Natha. I had forgotten about the passage all this time--I even forgot to mention that I found the passage.

"Hmm..." Natha tapped on his arm as he dug his memories, before pointing to a cliff on the hill beside the river. "It should be somewhere around that, if I recall correctly. There should be boats and provisions in a room protected by a preservation barrier near the exit point."

"So people could run away through the river?"

Natha nodded, looking at me with a smile. "Seems like your adventure was a success?"

A success...should I call it that? Well, despite all the problems and angst that followed, it resulted in us ending all the misunderstanding and me gaining my name--myself--again, so...

"Mm, it’s a success!"

Natha smiled and ruffled my head as I laughed, staring one last time at the port city that now became a very important place for me. A place where I found my place again in this world. A place where I realized Natha truly loved me.

Yeah, he was right--a journey was very helpful to discovering oneself.

From finding out I could do good for people by purifying the environment, meeting Ignis, and finding out the truth about me and Valmeier, even getting our souls merged...

It was so eventful that I could hardly believe we were only halfway through the inspection. That being said, there was nothing much happening during the rest of the journey. We would stop in towns and cities, going around the regions, and talking to the citizens--well, Natha did.

I spent days going around sightseeing the towns with Arta, Panne, and the guards. We’d go to shops selling crafts to look for souvenirs, candy stores for Jade, and snacks for the rest of us--including Ignis who liked spicy things. And then we would visit a nice cafe to have afternoon tea before getting back to our lodging, enjoying snacks we didn’t usually get in L’Anaak Eed.

"Jade, try eating this," I took a skewer of candied fruit, three green-colored berries covered in melted sugar that looked like sparkling gems.

[Weird] Jade tilted its head, but still inching closer, looking at the candid fruit suspiciously. [Look like fruit, but Jade smell candy]

"Right?" I giggled at the way Jade’s green head looked almost similar to the candied green berries. "It’s a fruit inside a candy, fascinating, right?"

"That red one looks better," Ignis remarked, pointing at another skewer even though the Salamander decided it wouldn’t like sweet--because Ignis was an adult, the little gecko said.

Narrowing its green eyes skeptically, Jade pecked on the topmost piece and put it inside its mouth. We could hear a crunchy sound and Jade jumped, eyes widened and blinking in surprise. [Juicy fruit! Sweet candy! Weird!]

Ah, the water inside the fruit exploding after the crunchy sugar must have been a strange experience. I felt the same too when I took a bite before this. As Jade decided to hound the rest of the candied fruit for itself, I wondered if there was a popping candy in this world. If there was, it would finish the candy bucket list I had in my previous life.

Wasn’t it fascinating that I could still check them out one by one even in another world?

Flamed with curiosity, Ignis hopped into the table and approached the candied fruit’s plate. The Salamander was finally able to control its external flame so Ignis was no longer a fire hazard to the environment now. But when it bit into the red candied berries, the sugar immediately melted.

"Ah, Valen! What is this?" the little gecko--the mighty Salamander--flailing as the sticky sweet liquid slathered all over its snout, and I had to stifle my laugh while helping the gecko wipe the sugar off its face. "Ugh--annoying thing!"

"It’s because your internal temperature is still too high," I explained with a laugh.

"Then give me that yummy ball again!" Ignis stomped away in annoyance, probably feeling embarrassed that its dignity failed with this clumsy event.

"Yes, yes--we’ll get one when we passed the other volcano in the south, okay?" I patted the gecko’s no longer flaming head. It was too bad for Ignis, but natural fire elemental mana was hard to come by. Fire from the hearth did not have a sustainable life force after all. Aside from volcanoes, the best option would probably extract it from lightning.

As I mulled over this lack of fire elemental mana, Arta finally opened her mouth after merely watching us in silence.

"Young Master, may I ask something?"

"Mm?"

"Why is His Lordship and Sir Salamander calling you ’Valen’?"

I looked up and blinked, only then realizing that people must have been confused that Natha called me Valen instead of Valmeier. I wondered if they thought I wasn’t the Priest of Judgment they knew me as all this time. But even if they had that thought, they knew I had Alveitya, and the exact same face as Valmeier.

Even so, it wasn’t something that they could just ask, especially in front of Natha. The servants probably chose to not think about it too much, because it got nothing to do with them. But the vassals were probably madly confused and curious, and from the look on Arta’s face, she had been wanting to ask me about it for a long time already. The only reason she held this long--until the last town before we get back home--was probably because Lesta told her not to.

"What are you talking about?" the one who replied first was actually Ignis. "Because that’s his name, of course. What else should I call him with?"

Ignis used to call me ’Master’ or ’New Master’, but after hearing Natha called me Valen a lot, the Salamander started to call me that too. Because for the mighty legendary beast, a name was the most important thing a person should have.

So...yeah, what else should I reply with?

"...because it’s my name," I copied the Salamander.

"Yes?" Arta tilted her head.

I repeated again with a sigh, "Because it’s my name,"

Now, even Panne and the guards looked at me with inquisitive eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek, and after mulling about it for a few seconds, looked at them with a smile.

"Let me introduce myself," I put my hand in front of my chest, looking into their eyes one by one, straightened my back and firmed my voice. "I used to be Valmeier, but now you may call me Valen."

Arta blinked, probably more because of my demeanor rather than my words. "Young Master...Valen?" she said slowly, carefully, accentuating every syllable.

"Yes," I nodded firmly, for the first time hearing my name coming out of her mouth.

And it felt nice.

Arta looked at me silently for a while. "Alright," she nodded, the corner of her eyes softened as she smiled widely and reached out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Young Master Valen,"

"Nice to meet you too!"

I shook her hand above the table, and we ended up laughing out loud for our silliness. It wasn’t like they would use my name when addressing me--they couldn’t, more like, culturally--but now I knew they would use that name when they talked about me or something with other people.

"Hmm...is this why Young Master seems different these days?" she leaned forward and looked at me with more interest than usual.

"Really?" I tilted my head. I did feel different, considering everything that happened. But I didn’t think I projected it much--unlike Natha who was comparably smothering me every time he got back from his inspection routine.

"Mmm...how should I say this?" Arta looked up to ponder while tapping on the table to gather her thoughts. "Ah--Lesta said you seem more confident,"

"Oh?"

"Like...you seem more sure about yourself," she looked into my eyes and smiled. "You don’t mind looking into the other’s eyes now, and you seem to be more at ease."

Huh...was that how I was before? I didn’t realize it until now, but if I thought about it, I probably hid behind Natha too much every time we were in a public setting. I got nervous easily in front of people, and it might have a lot to do with the fact that I had something I vehemently hide; that I wasn’t actually Valmeier, and I wasn’t originally part of this world.

But now that I didn’t have those burdens anymore, it lessened my nervousness--or rather, uncertainty.

The hem of my clothes rarely got crumpled now, and Arta was so happy seeing my pristine clothes.

"Ah...well," I smiled sheepishly. "I do feel more...settled."

"Hmm," Arta leaned forward even more, her dark eyes narrowed and she spoke quietly. "Is this because..."

My own eyes narrowed at this reaction as I responded confusedly. "What?"

"You know..."

Her smile and the look in her eyes started to feel so much like what Rubha and the other courtesans gave me. "...What?"

"Because you and His Lordship had--"

"Lalalalalala! Look Jade--that store looks interesting! See what they sell!" I ordered my companions and sent the little bird away before turning back to Arta and hissing. "Are you crazy? In front of my child?!"

Arta playfully covered her mouth with her fingers. "Oops?"

"And that’s not the case!" I told her with pursed lips. Me feeling settled was definitely not because I finally wasn’t a virgin--maiden?--anymore!

Well...maybe a little bit?

But that definitely wasn’t all! Is it even possible in the first place to gain confidence from having sex?

Or is it?

"Pfft--fine," Arta chuckled again, still smiling amusedly at my response, before adding with a shrug. "What’s there to get embarrassed about when you’re already sleeping in the same bed all the time?"

"Well..." I bit my cheek to quell the seeping embarrassment, more because Panne and the guards were deliberately averting their gaze from our table. "Ugh--anyway, that’s not it!"

"Yes, yes~"

Aaaagh!

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