The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 250: Birds of a feather flock together

Chapter 250: Birds of a feather flock together

Stroking the soft, fair cheek, Natha couldn’t help but smile at the steady movement of Valen’s chest. He never forgot how hard it was for Valen to fall asleep soundly without painkillers in the past, how irregular his heartbeat was as he closed his eyes. It was hard to see it when he looked so healthy, so lovely, but Natha never forgot.

Because he swore to never let Valen experience such pain and hardship again.

Here, every night, he would stare at his beloved sleeping face, listening to the steady sound of heartbeat and soft breathing, and send his prayer and gratitude that Valen could sleep peacefully.

Only then would he fall asleep, making sure Valen was safe in his embrace.

But not tonight. Not yet.

He leaned down and kissed the ebony hair, lingering for a few seconds as he inhaled the scent of spring and summer which never failed to warm his cold body. "Sleep tight, sweetheart."

He climbed out the bed and put on his coat. "Keep him safe," he said to the darkness, and came out of the bedroom.

"He’s asleep?" Zia looked up from the couch, closed her notebook and stood up as her Lord Uncle climbed down the stairs.

"He might be fine physically, but today’s event would have tired his heart and mind," the Lord said, signaling to the servant for a cup of coffee.

Zia sighed and plopped down on the couch again. "Figures. It couldn’t be easy facing people who want him dead..."

A loud sound of crackling fire came from the hearth, as two blazing pale blue eyes glowed from within the orange glow. "You should have let me burn them."

Natha smiled at the fiery Salamander. "I would’ve, but Valen wouldn’t like it, would he?" he took a seat on the armchair and looked at the pair of glowing eyes. "And the fire coming out of a Salamander is hard to cover."

Another sound of crackling fire could be heard, and Natha chuckled lowly, before shifting his gaze to the succubus. "I have a mission for you."

Zia let out a sigh and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Well, it’s due," she muttered against her knees. She still owed her Lord Uncle for his hospitality and eternal spot in the Lair he made for his beloved; three orders she needed to fulfill. "You want me to go back, right?"

Natha smiled in satisfaction at his niece’s quick uptake. He fished out a letter from thin air, and sent it flying to the succubus’s palm. It was plain, a blank page. Or rather, it was only a blank page in others hand.

Zia immediately knew what it was, and sent her mana into the paper. Rows of glowing letters formed atop the paper, that could only be activated by those designated by the sender. The purple eyes quickly scanned the letter, getting wider with each row. By the time she reached the end, however, those eyes had narrowed and firmed.

"Sister..." she muttered in the end, after finishing the letter. She let go of the paper, and it flew to the fireplace, eaten by the mighty flame of the Salamander.

"Now that we take care of the rats inside, I have to clean the worm outside," Natha said casually, as if he didn’t talk about his kin and Zia’s family. "It’s time for her to make a move, and she will need support."

Eating a letter made of soul print apparently sent the information straight to its mind. The bright fiery eyes narrowed and turned toward the Demon Lord. "Should I help, Nightmare?"

Natha raised his brow in surprise. "I wouldn’t say no to that. Zidoa could use some protection."

"I can protect myself just fine," the succubus pursed her lips, before smiling at the Salamander. "But a friend would be nice. What are you going to say to Valen, though?"

"I can just say I have a personal training session," the Salamander said. "I’m not a familiar like Jade, I can go wherever I want. Valen just needs to summon me back if he needs me."

"Alright. When should I go?"

"When I took Valen to my teacher’s abode," the Lord said while standing up. Now that his business was done, he wanted to get back to bed with his sweetheart. "He doesn’t need to know the hard part."

Zia nodded, picked up her notebook and got ready to get back to the guest quarter. "I agree. He should only walk in a flower path."

"I’ll send you detailed instructions nearer the time," Natha said with a smile, patting the succubus’s head lightly before getting back to his bedroom; his sweetheart. "Goodnight Zidoa."

"Good night, Lord Uncle," Zia curtsied politely, before walking out of the Lord’s quarters with determined eyes.

She hated the thought of getting back to her homeland, but for Valen, she didn’t mind doing it. Well, who knows, perhaps she could destroy a castle or two as a bonus. That would be fun.

* * *

"You’re going to stay?" I gasped in delight when Zia said she wouldn’t go back to the Lair.

"Just until you’re on your way to Gluttony," she grinned, and we giggled together as we walked to the breakfast hall. Jade chirped happily too, jumping up and down on my shoulder with the joy of having someone to play with when I was busy frolicking with Natha.

She wrapped her arms around mine and leaned on my shoulder. "My book is finished so I want to have some fun now," she said, sighing contentedly. "Oh, I know. Should we go around the town, now? It should be safe enough, right?"

We turned toward Natha with sparkling eyes, because yes, I still hadn’t explored this city where I had been staying for a few months, and where I would be staying for the foreseeable future. Do you know how ridiculous it was that I knew nothing about this city aside from the Temple and the courthouse?

Thankfully, Natha easily gave his permission, and since teacher Eruha gave me days off, I could leisurely explore the city with Zia and my two companions. Well, along with Panne and four guards--but they were so good and tried their best to not make me feel like being shadowed.

"Must have been nice having a vacation, Boss."

Izzi grumbled while rubbing his wrist when we visited him the next day. He’d been busy making the real laser engraver--the one that wasn’t just a prototype--because Lesta had come with a big list of customers. This time, we were also going to bring a batch to the Realm of Gluttony, so he was getting even busier.

"Should we look for an assistant?" I tilted my head, looking at the assembly line in the production room.

While I could help him with the spell and the circuits, I knew nothing about smithing, so I wouldn’t be able to do much.

"Not now," Izzi shook his head, despite looking as if I worked him like a black company. "Later, after I finish standardizing the production line and putting it in a more understandable manual."

"Whoa~" I clapped my hands, and Jade followed me by clapping its wings, producing a gust of wind inside the room. "Look at you being a professional."

Izzi winced at the wind and frowned in annoyance. "I am a professional!"

"And in debt," Zia smirked, and the golden eyes narrowed at her. I felt like they would start bickering again if I didn’t do something, so I showed Izzi the paper Lesta composed for me, about the income from the order that already coming in and Izzi’s cut as the maker.

It definitely gave the golden eyes a bit of a glazed look. For the first time, finally, he made money from his invention--although most of that money would be used to pay for his debt. Because Natha might be helpful, but he was not generous. He was strict about his contract, just like any other demon.

"Thanks to the Magic Tower’s positive review, we got a lot of orders, so cheer up!" I patted his back. "The more work you have, the closer you are to paying all of your debt!"

Izzi did cheer up for a few seconds, before Zia deflated the elf’s happiness again. "Just your debt to Lord Uncle, though. You still have the debt to your kingdom."

"Aagh!"

Whoa, Sister, so merciless. Izzi jutted out his lower lips and grumbled while laying his head on the table. "It’s fine. I only need to pay that debt if I want to come back..."

"Don’t you want to come back?"

The elf fell silent for a while, before replying in a mumble. "I don’t know. It’s not like anyone cares about me there."

Aww, poor thing...he sounded so sad. Even though he didn’t like how the authorities abhorred his passion for guns, he still had family members there, since he was reincarnated as a baby. I was sure he missed them to some extent. And just like how I longed for a lush forest because of my druid gene, he must have longed for the sunlight of the elven kingdom.

Wait...

"Hey, you know..." I leaned forward to the table, looking at the elf and the succubus. "It’s kind of funny, but...don’t you realize that all of us are runaways?"

The half-druid who ran from the human realm, the succubus who ran from the realm of lust, and the elf who ran from the elven kingdom. All of us had different reasons and circumstances but we, who were close in mental age, ended up together here, tied by our connection to the Lord of Greed.

Zia and Izzi raised their brows; it seemed like they also only realized it now. "How is it? Isn’t this like how the hero companions met each other in stories?" I nudged Izzi, who couldn’t help but grin. "We even have a magical rainbow bird and legendary beast!"

[Jade? Jade magic rainbow bird?]

"Of course! Look at your tail!" I laughed and flicked the colorful feathers of the little bird in the middle of the table, and even though Jade did not quite understand it, it let out a crisp chirping laughter.

"You’re right, all we need now is a mount," Izzi stroked his chin while nodding enthusiastically, finally finding his action fantasy groove.

Zia leaned forward too, and whispered in a conspirational tone. "Like a dragon?"

I looked at Izzi with widened eyes, and we asked in unison. "There’s a dragon in this