The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 365: There’s a reason why game systems use numbers as parameters

Chapter 365: There’s a reason why game systems use numbers as parameters

Hmm...Natha was right; these soldiers couldn’t hurt me.

Despite getting a bit rusty from skipping cold weapon training these days, I didn’t feel threatened during the mock battle. At first, I tried hard to trace back Valmeier’s muscle memory, for the first time ever since our soul merging, I pulled him out to invade our cells. But the guard regiment that sparred with me ended up sprawling on the floor one after another before I could even feel any sweat rolling down my back.

I didn’t even release Alveitya’s power, just using it as a simple spear.

[Boring...]

Even my cheerleader stopped cheering after seeing that I didn’t need one. Jade simply perched on one of the Colosseum’s pillars to wait for the training to be over.

"Haikal..."

"Yes, Young Master?" the guard commander replied while staring at the soldiers who were still helping each other to get off the ground with cold eyes.

"Umm...were you being careful not to hurt me?"

I mean...it was possible, right? Perhaps they were worried that Natha would punish them if they put even a scratch on me, so they deliberately used weak attacks. Or perhaps they wanted to coddle me, so they didn’t want to give me a hard time.

I wouldn’t blame them if they did, but I needed to have a hard time right now!

Haikal, however, just looked at me while blinking slowly, and the soldiers were making pitiful faces. "Young Master..."

"Yes?"

"I feel this sometimes, but you seem to forget quite often that you were once the spearhead of the human kingdom," Haikal told me. "You seem to think that we just give everyone the moniker of slaughterer."

...oh. Oh. Right. I had considered the demon realm to be my home and country when I was actually a war veteran who had never been absent from the battlefield since I was sixteen. Honestly, Valmeier had never bothered to compare himself with other people, because what was important for him was fulfilling his duty, which was to fight in the war until the King told him to stop. Since I was inheriting his memory, I also had no concept of power scaling.

Well, it wasn’t like I ever needed to fight after I met Natha.

I used to spar with the soldiers before, but...since I was only doing it as a light exercise, I didn’t take it too seriously.

"And I think you don’t understand that you’ve gotten even stronger than before," Haikal added.

"I do?"

"Stupid Valen," Ignis chimed in from the pillar where Jade was perching. "You’ve completely healed now, and you’ve made a contract with me. You’ve also started to take a proper lesson with that druid, so of course you’re stronger now."

Ah...

Behind me, the hovering Alveitya also buzzed in agreement. Hmm...now that I think about it, at the time I was diligently sparring with the soldiers, I was still trying to accustom myself to handling the spear, recalling Valmeier’s muscle memory. But now, our soul was already fused, so it was no longer a mere ’memory’.

"I see..."

"Yes," Haikal nodded.

"Oh, but what to do..." I clasped my cheek in confusion. "I wanted to spar to train my focus in a high-stakes situation."

This was my current challenge. I could train my focus in a meditative state with the breathing exercises I did every day, and by following Eruha’s lecture--which I did not dare to be tardy about or he would give me a deadly headmaster stare. But I still couldn’t do much in a situation where my brain had to experience all kinds of things at once.

"Hmm...would you like to take a walk with me, Young Master?" Haikal unexpectedly responded to my lament.

"Oh? Sure..." I let Alveitya hover around and play with Jade and Ignis while I followed him.

He led me down the arena and out of the Colosseum after telling his lieutenants to increase the training portion of the soldiers--oops. It seemed like he wanted to tell me something that might be too sensitive for ordinary soldiers’ ears. He started to speak when we walked through the park separating the barracks and the research tower area.

"It’s hard for me to say this, but the Realm of Greed had been known to not possess a great military power," Haikal said with a tone that I could only infer as a lament. "At least, if we’re talking about general demon resources."

Ah, he meant the soldiers’ levels were low. I did recall hearing Natha talk about it.

"To compensate for it, His Lordship provided us with great armaments," he continued. "Although thankfully, we hadn’t seen the need to use it so far."

Understandable. The way for the wealthy was to be overgeared after all. Just looking at the formation barrier carved all over the Castle and its wall, the place was basically a fortress. And such formation barriers that needed the employment of dozens--or even hundreds--of formation masters could only be achieved by a realm that was rolling in dough from taxes gained by the commercial activity alone.

But...what did Haikal tell me all of this? It had nothing to do with my current problem.

"That being said, Young Master, it’s not like we don’t have an elite few whose abilities are on par with the warriors from Wrath," he said.

"Oh, you mean...like special forces?" I suddenly get excited.

Right--Natha used to have a group of dedicated guards hiding in the shadows to protect me before. And there was also the company of shapeshifters that acted as his spies--although...they were probably more of his people than the realm’s assets.

"Yes; someone as meticulous as Natha would always prepare some hidden cards," I nodded in agreement, and Haikal put on a prideful expression as if I was praising him instead of Natha. This loyalist.

And then, something suddenly clicked, and I stopped walking, looking at the guard commander with widened eyes.

"Wait, you mean..." I parted my lips, and Haikal’s stiff lips stretched into a subtle smile as if he knew what I wanted to say. I lowered my voice and ended up asking in a whisper. "You mean...I could try to fight them?"

"Yes," he confirmed it with a nod.

Oh! That’s right! If fighting with mere foot soldiers was not enough, I could just fight with the ones above them!

Wait!

"What about you? Or Caba?" I unconsciously stepped closer to him, and Haikal stepped back in reflex, even lowering his head. Oops. I stopped and took a deep breath to control my excitement, but I still couldn’t help but wait for his response while staring keenly.

"That’s..." his reply was delayed for a few seconds. "I don’t exactly mind, Young Master. But.."

"But?"

"Whether it’s with me or the others, you would need His Lordship’s permission first."

Oh...

And just like that, my excitement deflated like a popped balloon.

* * *

Natha said before that he knew the soldiers wouldn’t be able to hurt me. Perhaps that was why he easily gave me permission to train.

But what about fighting his vassals? Would he still be so generous?

I used to just waltz into his office when I visited the Castle before, but this time, I sneaked into the Lord’s quarters to take a shower, even though I wasn’t sweaty. I changed my dusty outfit, and asked Panne to fix my hair so I looked presentable enough. As a bonus, I even begged Izzi to birdsit Jade while I visited Natha’s office.

This time, I fully intended to seduce the Demon Lord.

Only after I was sure I looked good did I walk to Natha’s office. It was close to luncheon, so the timing was rather perfect. Before I reached his office, however, I saw him walking through the corridor--probably to visit me in the training area.

"Nat!"

I ran to him without hesitation and gave him a tight hug, long enough for him to question it. "Hmm...seems like my bride wants something?"

I looked up and pretended to be offended while his aides walked away to leave us alone. "Why do you say that?"

"Because you’re being clingy in a place where people can see," he smirked and lifted me in his arms. "Not that I mind. In fact, you should do it more often."

Ugh--no way. I was already embarrassed enough as it was.

"So? What is it?" he asked while resuming his walk with me in his arms--this time heading to the garden. He stroked my cheek and brushed away a stray hair that stuck to my face when I was running earlier. "You even make sure you look prettier than usual."

Hehe...so he noticed. Didn’t matter--what important was the effort. Holding onto his shoulder, I bit my lips and asked carefully. "Nat, I have a request..."

"Yes, what is it?" he smiled brightly, as if he was gaining pleasure from fulfilling my desire.

I wasn’t sure he would still smiling after he heard what I wanted.

"Umm...so..." nervously, my hand ended up fiddling with the line of his lapel. "You know how I want to train my focus by fighting the soldiers?"

"Isn’t that what you’re doing today?"

I nodded and, as my heart started to beat loudly, I lowered my face. "But, you know...they are kind of...weak? So I didn’t even need to concentrate," I bit my lips unconsciously. "So...I wonder if it’s alright for me to fight someone more powerful--you know, like your elite troop or your vassals..."

I finished my request without looking up, and for a while, I didn’t hear his response. I was too scared to look at his face, so I just kept my gaze down and held him tightly while he continued to walk toward the garden.

When I felt like my heart would burst from worry, he finally spoke. "Is there no other way?"

"Well...I don’t know any," I replied quietly.

"Hmm..."

Carefully, I looked up to see his face. Contrary to my expectations, he didn’t seem to be that angry. The silver eyes didn’t look cold or hard, just full of thought.

"Nat?"

He continued to walk toward the lake and stopped at the edge, looking at the cold water in silent contemplation. I didn’t even have enough courage to ask him to put me down.

And then, I heard him mumble. "I guess...it’s better to do it in a controlled environment rather than on the battlefield."

Huh? Huh?!

"Is it alright?" I swiftly asked. "I can do it?"

He finally looked at me; His gaze was solemn and there was a wry smile on his lips. "As long as there’s a healer present."

"Yes!" I grasped his face and kissed his cheek hard, before pulling away and tilting my head. "But, Nat...I am a healer..."

"Ah," he blinked. "I forget."

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