The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 337: Be generous; give home to your local mythical beast, and get your own guardian contract!

Chapter 337: Be generous; give home to your local mythical beast, and get your own guardian contract!

When I woke up, my pillow was stiff from dried tears. Jade was caressing my cheek, and Ignis had come back from its cave to curl its tail around my wrist.

I reached out to stroke their head and sighed. "I’m sorry," I whispered, and they scooted closer to my neck, nuzzling me. "I’ll be better tomorrow, promise."

At that time, the bedroom door opened softly, revealing Angwi who held a mug of herbal drink in one hand, a tray of biscuits with another, and a plate of jelly with another hand. She paused for a short few seconds, eyes trained on my face, before finally resuming her steps.

She put everything in her hands on top of the bedside table, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. And then, gently, she patted me rhythmically as if she was singing a silent nursery song. I rolled to my side and scooted closer to her like an automatic reaction. She caressed my hair then, and while she was no Natha, I felt better already.

Yeah, this place was safe. This was my first home, where I knew everyone who lived here, and trusted them with all my heart. Angwi was the one whom Natha tasked to take care of me and take me away if Natha--for whatever crazy reason--were to lose his mind and try to harm me. We might not see each other much lately, but Angwi would always be my first caretaker in this world.

"Sorry for being so childish," I muttered against the blanket. Haa...how could I still be like this when I was about to get married?

But right away, my sigh turned into a pained whine as I felt Angwi’s finger flicking my forehead. And Angwi had a mean finger flicking, I tell you--Jade had tasted it before, which was why the little bird jumped in fright.

"Ouch..."

Wordlessly--obviously--Angwi took the herbal drink and hovered it above my head, prompting me to get up with a sheepish grin as I received it.

As I sipped on my drink and Jade tiptoed toward the plate of jelly, we heard the sound of the suite door creaking open, followed by a series of soft footsteps. Not long after, the bedroom door opened slightly wider, and we could see a succubus’s head peeking into the room carefully.

"Is Val--oh, you’re awake!"

She perked up, and as I stretched out my arms, she dashed toward the bed and hugged me with cheerful laughter. "I don’t know you can wake up this early."

Zia pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "I can do it if I want to. I just don’t see why I have to."

I laughed and squeezed her cheeks. "Did Natha tell you to check on me?"

She flinched and turned her gaze away in a fluster, which was enough for confirmation. I smiled and ruffled her hair. "Thank you, Zia."

She looked at me again and asked while grabbing my hand. "Are you okay, though?"

"I’m okay now," I nodded, looking at Angwi too so she knew I meant it. "It’s not like in the druid tribe; I have you all here, so I’ll get used to it in no time--you know, just like before."

Zia narrowed her scrutinizing eyes, as if she wanted to check all the way to my soul to confirm my words. But I guessed she decided I wasn’t lying, because she soon smiled sweetly. "Okay! What do you want to do today?"

What--was she going to chaperone me all day? Well...it wasn’t a bad distraction. I glanced at the little gecko that had scurried away and perched on top of the fireplace when Angwi came earlier. "I want to see Ignis’s cave."

The Salamander had been busy ever since we came back to the Lord Castle, immediately going over to the Lair ahead of me to create its own nest. It wouldn’t be a real cave, much less a real volcano. But it would be better than the artificial one inside my training chamber.

"It’s only half done," Ignis remarked from the fireplace.

"It’s fine," I stretched out and took my drink again. "I want to compare it to how good it would look after you finish it."

"Mm,"

That was all Ignis said, along with a flicking of its tail. Cute. But before we could go on the fun excursion, we still needed to refill our fuel with Angwi’s hearty breakfast first. Afterward, I put on one of my adventuring uniforms--I mean, the forest hiking outfit that Arta prepared for me to be used in the realm of nature--and we headed to...

The basement.

No, no--the cave wasn’t in the basement. But there was a secret passage--one of the many--which Natha had given Ignis permission to be connected to the Salamander’s cave. The passage went all the way to the cliffside of the mountain where Ignis’s cave was, and ended in an opening on the tall cliff that was only accessible through rock climbing.

"Wouldn’t it be dangerous? Leaving a path to the tower in an open cave..." Zia muttered as we--me, Zia, and my two companions--turned toward the new path.

"Well..." I understood her concern. The old path was an enforced tunnel with a smooth pavement road leading to the base of the mountain, with an exit that was hidden by a barrier and locked by a certain mechanism.

The new path, however, was made by Ignis, and it looked more like a natural cave that was created through the force of rushing magma. A few parts of the walls were still steaming or blackened, so sometimes, it felt like we were on a horror site.

So exciting!

But anyway, the end of the path would be an open cavemouth that someone might just stroll into someday. But!

"The entrance is in a high place, so it’s hard to access it in the first place," I said while ducking through a lower ceiling region. Apparently, my salamander wasn’t making the path for a human when it made it--and that was why Ignis said the place was only half-done.

Even more exciting! The uneven terrain and rawness made the cave seem organic. It reminded me of those cave-diving videos I sometimes watched in the hospital.

"Also," I paused to exercise my breath as the path was climbing slightly, circulating my mana to rejuvenate my stamina and strengthen my muscles. "It works as a trap."

"A trap?" I could hear Zia’s panting breath behind me. "What--huff--what do you mean?"

I heaved myself up as the climbing path ended in a wider area, glancing back at the succubus who had heavy breaths even though she was using her wings instead of her limbs. "Why are you even tired?"

"What? You think using wings is not tiring?" she scowled and pouted. "This is a combination of using muscle and circulating mana--it needs effort, okay?"

"...okay?" I grinned and pulled her up from the crevice I just climbed through. "Anyway, about the trap; it’s better if they think the cave is an entrance, because then, those infiltrators of whatever will likely use it, rather than going through the forest or the river."

"Oh, you mean focusing on the entrance point?" Zia snapped her fingers. "Like making a door in a wall so people would try to come through it instead of climbing over or making a hole?"

"Yep," I nodded. Well, that was what Natha said anyway. "And then they would come, expecting for a pathway leading to the Lair."

[Master! It’s hot!]

"However, after they walked for a while," we stepped onto a stone platform above a cliff, "they would instead be welcomed by this!"

The stone platform, as if it were a viewing balcony, had a railing on the edge, made by the greatest salamander Ignis who was perching on top of it at the moment. Together, we looked down at a pond--and when I said pond, I meant it was like the pond at a big fishing farm, with at least thirty meters in diameter and five meters in depth--filled with bubbling magma. For now, however, the magma was only in the bottom center, probably around ten meters wide and half a meter deep.

"Are you going to fill everything?"

"Of course!" Ignis nodded proudly.

I could see the path leading to the cave entrance on the other side of the pond--or should I say it was a pool? Between that side and this side, there was no other way, unless someone could scale the wall or the ceiling--which, mind you, was pretty darn hot. The only reason we were fine was because I was Ignis’s contractor and Ignis was enveloping Zia in barrier.

So it would be hard for anyone to come through the pool of magma--and if Ignis was there? Well...that was a whole other problem.

See why Natha gave permission so easily? He was basically employing another guardian for the Lair.

"Whew..." Zia’s short remark summarized our reaction.

"It’ll look pretty similar to your old home," I told the perching little gecko.

Ignis flicked its tail in silent delight at my remark before jumping off the railing. The little gecko’s body was blazing, the flame swirled and enveloped Ignis, growing bigger and bigger until it became the size of a teenage salamander. With a little splashing sound, Ignis landed on the shallow magma and waddled around, melting the rock beneath its feet little by little.

[What about Jade?]

As we watched the Salamander happily making its home, my little bird suddenly asked.

[Jade have no room here...]

"Oh, don’t you want to be with your seniors while you’re here?" I stroked the green head that lowered in dejection.

[Mm...] the answer came out with only half the usual energy. The little bird lifted its head and looked at me with serious beady eyes. [But Jade want room too! Seniors only fly around or sleep, not like Jade]

I laughed and patted the bird which was not like other birds. "Indeed, Jade is different," what kind of bird was eating jelly for meals and candy for snacks? And yes, elemental birds usually roam around their territory or meditate--you know, just be a part of nature, like how Ignis stayed in the volcano and swam all day. Not like Jade. "You play and eat a lot."

[Because Jade is Master’s!] the little bird said cheerfully.

What? Are you saying you play and eat a lot because all I do is play and eat? I poked the round cheek of the bird who stood up proudly as it said that.

"Well, let’s call Natha when we get back inside and ask him for it."

[Yay! Call Nightmare!]

For the first time ever, Jade was getting excited about calling our Demon Lord.