The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 388: Be careful about saying other people’s name in front of your fiance

Chapter 388: Be careful about saying other people’s name in front of your fiance

I wouldn’t say I knew magic scrolls or formations well, but Eruha gave me a passing score in identifying them, at least. And with this passing score, I could tell that the spell was meant for limited people.

It made sense, though. The amount of mana needed to be absorbed from the environment to activate the scroll would increase with each participant involved. It might also be a safety net to make sure none but the five humans could use it.

At any rate, it means my initial plan faced its first crisis.

"Uhh...what to do?" Zarfa scratched her neck while we were huddling in the drawing room, staring at the scroll.

Fatia let out a sigh. "I’m terribly sorry about this, Sir..."

"We can leave someone behind for a bit," Jin said. "It’ll be too dangerous to go back alone, but staying here is safe enough. Once the land is purified, we can make the journey again."

When he said it, all of our gaze fell on two people; who were also looking at each other; Illian and Aina. There was no way Fatia would stay, and it would be weird if the Hero did not come back. As the sponsor, of course, Zarfa should be there to move the logistics during the purification. That left the young paladin and the young inventor.

"I can’t stay," Aina swiftly argued. "I mean...I didn’t mind staying, honestly, but once the land is purified, you’ll need me to operate the excavator and such."

"...you build an excavator?"

"Kind of like a crude golem that plows the land, but yeah!" she grinned. Damn, this girl was really something. "Anyway, I can’t stay, so Ian should."

We were all looking at the young paladin, who was fidgeting nervously. "M-must I?"

"Why? You don’t want to? It’s just for a week at most, and we’ll come pick you up again."

"Uhh...it’s just..." he glanced at me, before adding as he scratched his cheek. "Staying here without Brother Valen is rather..."

Ah-ah, I understood. He would have to stay by himself with no one he knew in a place that he thought was an enemy lair just yesterday. I would have felt awkward too. At least, Aina already befriended the residents of this Lair, and she was also a transmigrator, so she had more connection to the people staying here.

"Huh? ’Brother Valen’? When did you get so close with the Boss?" Aina tilted her head.

You called me ’boss’ suddenly too, girl.

"W-why? I can’t?!"

Don’t get aggressive, boy.

"Conquering people is Valen’s specialty," Zia muttered from the side.

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?" I pinched her, but she just giggled and inched away from me.

"It’s true," she laughed. "I’m the succubus, but sometimes I wonder if you’re actually one of us."

"Hey!"

"Especially with your bed activit--"

"Shut up!" I clasped her mouth shut, although she just kept laughing as we almost wrestled on the rug.

Ugh--well, it kind of lessened the tension and confusion. I let out a sigh and looked at the humans again, who still couldn’t decide who was to be left behind. By the look of it, Ian was still their best choice, though.

"Hmm...or, if you don’t mind, I can ask a few demons to escort you to the border," I patted my lips in contemplation.

"Uhh..."

The young paladin averted his eyes awkwardly. Alright, alright--I know you still felt weird around demons. In the end, though, he sighed and spoke dejectedly. "But it seems like we have no choice, so..."

Jin patted the boy on the back, but Izzi suddenly muttered when he glanced at the scroll. "Can’t you just, like... modify it?"

This time, we all looked at him. Aside from me, Izzi was the one with more knowledge about magic formation.

"Can you?"

"Obviously not," Izzi rolled his eyes. "You would need a formation master above the fifth rank to tamper with a magic scroll of this level."

"Ugh--that kind of formation masters only lived in the magic tower’s high floor. Can we even call one in a day?" Fatia bit her lips.

She was right about that, but she forgot that we were in the demon realm, and that I was the soon-to-be consort of the Demon Lord. I clapped my hand and took out the communication orb from my storage ring.

"Don’t worry; we have a formation master in the house."

* * *

[Blacky!] Jade flew toward our in-house formation master that came thirty minutes after the call.

"You know that I’m not someone idle, right, Young Master?"

That was the first thing Lesta said when he arrived at the drawing room. He said that, but he still came. Actually, he came in a package; with Eruha and Natha. Even more perfect.

"I know, but I also know you’re the master of finding time to be idle," I raised my thumb with a wide grin, hiding behind Natha for added safety.

He rolled his eyes and turned toward the scroll, which was in the middle of the table. His rather annoyed gaze made the human surrounding the table flinched and stepped back. They were barely used to Angwi, and now they had to face Natha again, along with his two powerful subordinates.

From the way Jin and Fatia’s complexion gradually turned pale, I knew they finally realized how impossible it was to win against Natha--especially if he also moved his vassals. Lesta and Eruha were already giving out massive energy, and they weren’t even his strongest warrior.

Hell, they weren’t ’warriors’ at all.

But the humans’ reaction toward Lesta also had something to do with his appearance, which, like Angwi, looked very different from them. They had already seen Natha and had a night to digest his presence, while Eruha looked like a human, except for his blood-red eyes.

Well, Lesta’s annoyed gaze also did not help. The dark eyes narrowed as he tilted his head, observing the scroll.

"So?" I asked after he let out a simple humm.

"I can’t copy the scroll," he said. "The maker made it so the coordinate of the teleportation is set to the maker’s mana. Even if I redraw it, it won’t bring you to the intended place."

"What? So you can’t modify it?"

He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Who do you think I am?"

"Stop bragging and do it," I pursed my lips and rolled my eyes at his meaningful gaze. "I’ll get you nice housewarming gifts, okay? Natha will furnish your home or something."

"Me?"

Lesta smirked and took out the mana engraving pen. "Write that down, Eru."

As he grabbed the scroll and started to work on it, I turned to look at the vampire, who was in the middle of looking over the homework I left on the side table near the window. He paused to write something on a note, however.

"Are you here to make his contract or something?"

"Why, I’m here to check on your progress, Young Master," he said without looking up from his note. "I never said you can neglect your studies just because you have some personal mission."

"Ugh..."

With a sigh, I looked away from him just to see my fiance was staring coldly at the humans--no, at...Jin? Belatedly, I realized the flaming head of the Salamander near his ear, whispering something.

Wait. Did Ignis just tattle on me?!

...about what, though? That I agreed to be Jin’s friend?

While I was wondering about it, Natha turned toward me, and I unconsciously flinched. He reached out his hand, but not at me, poking the little bird perching on my shoulder.

"You said you’ll keep watch," he squeezed Jade’s cheek. "Why are you playing on your own, huh?"

[What? What Nightmare mean? Master say Jade should play with Master’s friend!]

"Don’t tease my bird," I took Jade away from him, and he poked my cheek next. "Ouch?"

"You really have no defense, huh?"

"What is this again?" I puffed my cheeks, and he just shook his head exasperatedly, stroking the cheek he just poked.

Ignoring my question, he just sat on the windowsill and pulled me gently over that the only thing I could see was him.

"What are you doing while your subordinate was working?" I whispered and pinched his cheek, feeling the heat creeping into my cheek. That being said, I also didn’t want to move away.

He looked up and stared at my eyes deeply. "I’m getting worried about letting you go away.’

"Hey, you promised!" I hissed, before adding with a softer voice. "It’s just two days. Didn’t I say you can follow me after that if you want?"

He looked sideways and sighed simultaneously with Ignis. Ugh--I started to think that the Salamander was contracted to him instead. Was this because he let the Salamander make the cave beneath the Lair?

"Thinking you’ll spend two days and nights with someone who’s eyeing you doesn’t sit well with me," he said with narrowed eyes, glancing over the human group on the other side of the room.

"This again?" I frowned and then looked at Ignis. Huh...this reaction...I had no idea who Natha meant this morning, but...could it be...

"Wait--" I blinked and tilted my head, whispering amusedly. "Did you mean...Jin?"

His grip on my waist tightened suddenly. "You call him by name, now?"

...uh-oh.