The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 376: Everything is chaotic, and not everything is fun

Chapter 376: Everything is chaotic, and not everything is fun

"Introduce..."

The humans seemed to be hesitating, so I told them straight. "I mean, shouldn’t I have the right to know the identity of the people who barge into my home?"

Again, they flinched and flustered, especially the Hero and the Elementalist. Gosh--it was so easy to utilize their righteous conscience.

In the end, the one who started first was the oldest among them; Miss Elementalist. "You’re right, we’ve been discourteous," she sighed and straightened her unbent back as she looked at me and bowed her head slightly with a hand over her chest. "My name is Fatia Indria; the daughter of the current Dailamy regent."

"Aha!" I clapped my hands once; so she was the daughter of the revolution leader in the Hero’s last hero-ing activity. I could see now that she had the mannerisms of an aristocratic family. "Does it mean you’re the one with the biggest stake in this...thievery?"

After all, it was her land that needed purification.

She pressed her lips and closed her eyes in shame. "Yes, you could say so."

My gaze shifted to the bulky-costumed girl, who instantly dipped her head deeply. "I...you can call me Aina, umm, Sir..." she sounded uncertain of what she should use to call me. Perhaps she was being careful of my relationship with Natha, who was essentially her sponsor.

"Sure, Aina," I nodded and glanced at Ceci, who stood up and curtsy playfully. There was still a trace of her tears on her cheek, which was now stretched by her grin.

"And I am the daughter of Midas’s Guildmaster, Zarfa Goldbell," she said. "But you may call me whatever you want."

"Hmm...calling you by your old name would be confusing, so I shall use your current name in front of others, Zarfa."

"As you wish, Sir."

Finally, my gaze landed on the Hero--who was less talkative than I thought. Well, it wasn’t like Valmeier knew this man well, so I had no information of his habit or personality, to be honest.

"Oh, my name is Jin," he said, rather awkwardly, I should say. His usually sharp eyes darted everywhere except in my direction.

Hmm...was he perhaps feeling guilty for what happened to Valmeier?

"Is that all?" I tilted my head and couldn’t help but ask him teasingly. I could guess that telling me he was a summoned ’hero’ probably felt too awkward or well... too cringe to do.

"Uh...yeah," he avoided my gaze even more, like someone caught doing something bad.

Oh well; let’s stop teasing this poor guy, who had started to gain weird stares from his three friends.

So I put a hand in front of my chest. "My name was already uttered before, but let me introduce myself once again. I am Valen Valmeier Sil Seahl, and--"

"What?"

Before I could finish my introduction, a new voice emerged from the side. We turned to look at a young man in a set of armor, surrounded by flames that propelled him into the room.

"You’re...are you really...Brother Valmeier?"

Ah...this was rather complicated.

"Illian..." his name spilled out of my mouth before I realized it; soft and filled with fondness. The genuine smile I had before when I was looking at Cecilia belonged to me; but this new reaction belonged to Valmeier.

"No, but--you’re...you were..." Illian looked at me with widened eyes full of shock and distrust--which I didn’t blame him one bit. "Y-you look so different," he stood in place awkwardly, as if he wanted to step closer, but was too afraid to do so. "Your hair and...you look...you look like..."

"Like what?" I smiled wryly.

"Like you’re not...human," the one who replied was Fatia, looking at me and Jade who was already flying to my shoulder to nuzzle my cheek after sensing my slight distress. "Like a druid."

Their gazes shifted from the fumbling paladin to me, and I replied casually. "Well...that’s because I am."

Even Ceci--I mean Zarfa--looked at me in surprise. I guessed that wasn’t included in the vision that the Goddess gave her. After all, she only wrote that Valmeier was dying at the end of the war because of the explosion that the Hero’s companions did without dwelling too much into the details.

"To be precise, I’m a half-druid," I explained, shifting my gaze to the Hero. "That was why I was dying after the explosion that your friends made."

"They’re not my friends..."

"Used to," I quipped; my annoyance at the Hero’s old companions persisted, it seemed. I might not know them personally, but it was their action that made me miserable for the first two months I was here. "Their abomination of a spell was the one causing my circuits to overdrive and rupture. My gates were all closed and I couldn’t circulate my mana."

Fatia, who should know a thing or two about druids because she was an Elementalist, covered her gasping mouth with her hands.

"Mm," I chuckled bitterly. "As a druid, it’s a death sentence," I leaned back and looked at the Hero sharply. Personally, I didn’t mind it if he felt even more guilty. "I was saved by the fact that I was also a half-human, but it only prolonged the day I lived--prolonged the pain, honestly."

"Oh, Val--I’m sorry!" Zarfa moved from her seat and suddenly on her knees beside my chair, grabbing my hand and pressing it to her forehead.

"No, no--it’s not your fault," I stroked her cheek which started to get wet again and pulled her up. She did not sit again, though, just standing beside my chair and holding my hand. "It was truly not your fault, so don’t cry."

"But--"

"Sush; I’ll explain it to you later," I turned to the front again, to address the others’ confusion. "Anyway, this should answer your question about why I’m here now," I swept my gaze across the guests’ faces. "I’m here for the same reason as yours; to get the all-cure elixir, Amrita."

Fatia, the one with the biggest stake in this mission, widened her eyes. "So...so it’s real? Right? The Demon Lord really has the Amrita?"

I shrugged, opening my arms to show exhibit one. "Well, I’m well and alive, so..."

"B-but...how do you know about that?" she frowned and shifted to the edge of her seat. "I mean...how do you know that we’re here for Amrita--no, before that; how do you know where the Amrita is?"

I looked at Zarfa then; very much tempted to give her a wink, but I held myself. "From the revelation--or should I say, the vision of the Goddess?"

"...huh?"

Zarfa blinked, lowering her dazed gaze as her mind whirred to mull over my words.

"You mean...you also received her foresight?" the Hero tilted his head.

"Hmm...you can say that? She used to tell me about it in the past," I glanced at her.

And then we heard the inventor girl’s made another squeaking sound. "When...when she was still Cecilia?"

Again, I glanced at Cecilia--or Zarfa--because this secret was also hers.

"Ah..." Zarfa lifted her face to address the curious gazes pointed at her. "Umm..." she looked at me, perhaps to seek courage, so I smiled and held her hand. I knew it needed as much courage as possible to decide.

I also knew not everyone in my new life knew the whole truth about me either, so she had the right to decide whether she wanted to explain it or not to the people who were probably her friends in this new life.

But it seemed like she was braver than I was.

"Well...Jin, you know how you came from another world?"

"You didn’t..."

Fatia gasped and Aina squeaked again, whereas Jin...well, he just made this complicated face.

"Well...yeah, I did," Zarfa shrugged. "Not by being summoned or anything like that. More like...reincarnated, I guessed? I was born into this world with a memory of my past life."

"Your memory..." the Hero blinked.

"And well...in that memory, I was writing about things that happened--what was happened and about to happen," Zarfa continued with a sigh. "That’s the source of my foresight."

I rubbed her hand, which had been grabbing mine tightly, to praise her for her courage. And also her wit--for not mentioning that it was a novel, because it might cause bitter misunderstanding that this world was not real. Just to strengthen her stance, I added.

"It was the Goddess’ foresight that she bestowed upon you through your dream and subconsciousness," I told her the truth that she was yet to find out. "The Demon God told me."

Zarfa raised her brows. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Oh, my Goddess..." Fatia clasped her mouth, and then, as if suddenly recalled something, she turned to look at Aina. "Did you know?"

The girl squirmed in her seat and fiddled with her toolbelt. "Umm...no, but...I think...I think I’m the same as her? I mean...I was also waking up remembering my past life one day, hehe..."

See? This girl is fascinating. What do you mean by ’you think’, girl? And ending such bombshell information with a giggle...

I couldn’t help but chuckle, and Fatia turned her flabbergasted face to me. "Wait...when you said she told you about the revelation..." her lips parted even more. "Does it mean, you’re also..."

"Hmm...well, in my case, I woke up in this body at the end of the war," I told them, slowly shifting my gaze to the young paladin. "When this body was dying."

I watched the barely adult man shift from confusion to anger, and waited for the inevitable.

"What?" the gloved fingers curled, and the gaze that was thrown at me filled with loathing. "Are you saying that...you stole Brother Valmeier’s body?!"

Yep. I thought so.

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