The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 78: Whatever the world is, going against religion is a bad idea

Chapter 78: Whatever the world is, going against religion is a bad idea

Making these tools got someone banned from their own land??

That information got me to sit down and turned my body to face him with full attention. He played with the revolver—or what was intended to be—while explaining further.

"The one who made this—and the black one over there—is an elf," Natha said with a playful smile. "It seems like these devices were intended to be something better than a bow," he made a gesture of shooting with the revolver in his hand. With how he dressed in his black uniform, it felt very fitting—although the notion of Natha shooting a gun somehow felt funny and sexy at the same time.

Ugh—my mind was in a silly gutter these days.

Natha lowered his hand and looked at me. "Do you see why it could be a problem?"

Oh, a sudden quiz? I thought about it for a bit, closing my eyes and swaying habitually—just like when I was being home...err, hospital-schooled in the past. "Because...elf put a great deal on bows?" I tilted my head and gave an answer that came to my mind.

"You got it," I felt a large, cold hand pat my head softly, and opened my eyes to see Natha smiling like a proud teacher. "Good boy."

I pressed my lips then, so I wouldn’t let out any embarrassing sound—like a hiccup, for example. He put the revolver in my hand and explained further.

"Just like how there are societies that emphasized ’martial art’ as a way of life, so are the elves with their bow. It is considered a sacred weapon because it was the first weapon the God of Nature bestowed upon the elves."

"Oh, like my spear?"

He chuckled at my reaction, pinching my cheek gently. "Look at you calling it ’yours’ now," he scratched my jaw when I grinned sheepishly at his words. "But yeah, among the races of their realm, the elves were the most conservative ones, so it would be considered blasphemous to try creating a weapon that meant to ’surpass’ the bow."

Wow—that sounded more serious than I thought. But then again, sometimes new inventions or paradigms went against societal or religious norms even on Earth, so it might have happened here too.

It gave me more insight, however, about how the possible candidate of transmigrator/reincarnator wasn’t always part of the human race.

"So...what happened to him?" I asked with caution, unintentionally lowering my voice as if we were talking about some scandalous topic. "Was he imprisoned? Or...you know..." I made a swinging motion at my neck, which got Natha to laugh while ruffling my hair.

"If that was the case, I wouldn’t be able to get these things, would I?" he pointed at the prototype magic revolver in my hand, as well as the one still in the chest. "I met the elf when he was on the run, selling things at the slum side of the black market."

"Ooh..."

"And after running away from the elven territory, he seemed to get the taste of traveling around the world with the money he got from me, while looking for more materials,"

"So he still up and about?"

Natha nodded in affirmation. "I don’t know where he is right now, but I still get some reports about his progress from time to time, always sent from different regions."

Oh, I was glad that at least one of the inventors was still alive. After all, for all I knew, this stuff was probably made decades ago already. If the inventors were humans, there was no guarantee they were still alive.

That being said, even Natha said he had no idea where the runaway elf was at the moment. I already asked Heraz to observe the Hero’s movement, so I felt like it would be too much if I asked for the whereabouts of the elf inventor too.

"Do you want to meet them?" Natha asked in the middle of my pondering. I didn’t realize it, but apparently, I had been biting on my nails while my mind was swirling.

At his question, I looked up, and stared at the inquisitive silver orbs. Natha looked at me patiently, as my lips parted without any words, his cold fingers brushing my fringe and slipping the strands behind my ears.

"...can I?" I asked him back.

"If you want," he answered with a smile. "It’ll need some time, but we can arrange that."

"Really?" I tried not to gulp too loudly, although he could probably hear my drumming heartbeats. I felt nervous, somehow, and I wondered why.

If it was just about the invention, there was no need for me to feel nervous. What then? Was it because I was curious about the existence of otherworlders like me? But even then, even if they were...

Would that change anything? It wasn’t like I was trying to find a way back. And if I thought about it more thoroughly, I had no way of confirming their origin without revealing myself, too.

And then, it would be my disaster.

But still...I wanted to meet them. Perhaps...perhaps I wanted to see someone who knew about Earth, so I didn’t have to feel like an intruder, so I could act a bit more honest and relaxed, without fear of something slipping out of my mouth.

"Can I really meet them?" I asked again, staring at him while holding my breath. "Can I have this stuff too? I mean...you don’t have to give them to me, just...let me borrow them?"

He tilted his head, watching me with a pleasant smile. "You want to play with them? Do you want to see if you can make them work?"

"Well..." my fingers fidgeted above the revolver. I did want that, but it was too embarrassing to say it while not knowing whether I could succeed or not.

He pinched my chin, and brought my bowed face up. "Sure you can, sweetheart. I told you, you may ask for anything—or did you doubt me?"

"...no?" I answered with an instinctual hiccup as his silver eyes gleamed.

"Good, because you shouldn’t," he smiled, and the glint in his eyes made it feel like a warning.

And then he let me go and leaned back on the couch, tapping his arms in ponder, leaving me swallowing down my dread. "Let’s see...I can send someone to look the elf up, and bring him here once found. For the other, however..."

Natha looked at the chest and the stuff peeking out from the inside. He leaned forward and picked out the smartphone-like tablet. "This one was sent through my proxy in the human realm about two years ago. You can go there, but..."

"...but?" I asked when he paused in contemplation.

"The maker is in Feruza," he turned his face to look at me with a wry smile. "It’s right beside your kingdom."

Ah...right. It was also where the Hero was supposed to be at this point of the story. While there was no guarantee that I would cross paths with him even if I went there, it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. After all, if the inventor, whoever they were, was intended to be a part of the second volume, then they might meet the Hero one way or another.

But...

"It’s not my kingdom!" I hissed in annoyance at his choice of words and turned away, crossing my arms as a form of protest. How could it be my kingdom, if I was only there to get shit upon for two months? It was the kingdom of the shitty royal family which I didn’t mind getting trampled over.

Natha let out a strangely mirthful laugh and scooted closer, pulling my face back to face him and pressing his smiling lips softly on my pouting ones.

"I’m not telling you not to go, but it would be wise to wait until the kingdom’s order stopped looking for you, yeah?"

Ah, yes, there was that too. I nodded then, and he kissed me again while chuckling until my knotted brows were unraveled.

But why was it so difficult, to meet with these inventors?

"As for the last one, it’s easier than the other two," finally, Natha told me something hopeful. At my perked-up reaction, he added immediately. "This one’s a demon from the realm of envy. He refused to move out of his bunker, so we need to go there ourselves."

"...we?"

He tilted his head slightly, a deep smile carved on his lips. "You don’t think I’ll let you roam this land alone, do you?"

"But...do you even have the time to?"

At that, he paused, and then let out a long sigh. "Yeah, I don’t have it. I used all my leave of absence already," he smiled wryly, and then looked at me, cold fingers caressing my cheek lightly. "Do you mind waiting for a bit? I’ll find time to bring you there, mm?"

"Oh—no, I didn’t mean to force you to make time," I responded quickly, grasping his hand. Looking at his rather dejected face, as if he was disappointed in himself for not fulfilling my wish as soon as possible, made my heart clench for a bit. "It’s fine, it’s not like this is urgent or anything. I’m already happy you let me have the inventions at all..."

His eyes curled into a pair of crescents, before he leaned down to lay his head on my shoulder. "Ah, sweetheart..." he chuckled while circling one arm on my waist. "You make it hard for me to go back to work."

Ah...I forgot this was supposed to be a lunch break.