Chapter 66 …
When Seydin hurriedly went to the temple with Luan, The Devil’s Book was struggling, barely holding on. Already unable to withstand the energy of this land, which was filled with holy power, it now could not endure the even stronger divine energy emanating from the temple.
As a result, The Devil’s Book, drained of strength but sharper in temperament, cried out.
“Maasteeer!”
“Ugh… my ears…”
Seydin peeked through the slightly open temple door, stepping in first and clearing her throat. Seeing The Devil’s Book flailing, bouncing up and down, and generally acting out, she thought nothing too terrible had happened. But that didn’t erase her own guilt for forgetting her subordinate.
Seydin, reflecting internally, stepped forward. As if to show its condition, The Devil’s Book immediately began to wail dramatically.
“Maasteeer! How could you come so late! What if I had died all alone in some corner of the evil goddess’s temple!”
“You weren’t that late. And now that you’re here, it’s fine.”
“If I had died, surely you would have been overwhelmed with guilt!”
“Are you threatening me right now?”
Sighing again, Seydin tried to pick up The Devil’s Book, who insisted it had been left alone in the temple as punishment for “failing to properly serve a heavenly master.” Naturally, it resisted her touch.
It was during this scuffle that Luan, watching the chaotic little demon, furrowed his brow. The sunlight streaming through the small window behind the goddess’s statue softly illuminated his face. Brushing the light away with a hand, he stepped back, letting shadows cloak his face again. In the darkness, only his eyes glimmered as he spoke.
“Princess. I usually dispose of subordinates who don’t listen to me.”
“……”
“Subordinates forget their place if you indulge their tantrums.”
His words were chilling, cold enough to make even a demon tremble.
Was the threat effective?
With a leap like a fish flopping out of water, The Devil’s Book surrendered into Seydin’s arms. Trembling, avoiding Luan’s gaze.
“Aghh! This is unfair! Maasteeer! I’ve done nothing but faithfully carry out your orders…”
Once again asserting, “I only followed orders,” it wailed loudly. Luan spoke before Seydin could respond.
“And I also dispose of talkative subordinates.”
“Sounds like disposal is always the answer,” Seydin muttered.
Perhaps due to Luan’s intimidation, The Devil’s Book quieted, swallowing its cries. Gently patting the little demon, Seydin nodded and continued.
“Anyway, Your Majesty, my familiar has calmed down, and we have a place to go. Perfect for rifling through The Devil’s Book on the way.”
At that moment, The Devil’s Book, still in Seydin’s arms, muttered.
“…Isn’t it too much that you saved me so late, yet all you care about is acquiring my knowledge!”
“Oh my. Maybe my hearing is bad. I can’t hear a familiar talking back to its master, can I?”
“……”
The Devil’s Book stopped grumbling. Seydin smiled faintly at Luan and looked up at the statue of the goddess on the small temple podium. She had ignited a tiny flame at her fingertip to see the statue more clearly in the shadows.
“Remember? The one I introduced personally.”
“…If you mean the crow, it’s in the enclosure. It was so angry that the fence wasn’t maintained properly that I’ve been personally fixing it.”
“Since it lived in such a vast forest, I suppose that’s why. By the way, I heard it didn’t see that person because I hadn’t awakened yet.”
Seydin hugged The Devil’s Book tightly and shrugged. She had many things to say, but not necessarily now. Luan likely wouldn’t actively meet the original heroine unless she mediated. Even if Seydin stabilized her divine energy and allowed communication, he would not consider the original heroine a source of salvation.
Seydin smiled lightly, looking once more at the goddess statue. Luan watched her silently. Meeting his gaze fully, she whispered:
“But it’s fine. We can go together.”
The salvation he had chosen was her—herself, possessing a mysterious power, wanting to save Luan simply because she cared for him.
Seydin prayed to the statue, modeled after the goddess who watches over all things.
For the happy ending of this story.
At the same time, while Seydin carried The Devil’s Book proudly toward the enclosure, the woman known as the leader of the monsters, or “that person,” sat deep in thought atop the Crow King’s back.
The imperial workers were busily fixing the enclosure, and in the midst of this chaos, the monsters already captured knelt submissively before her.
Whether or not Seydin’s named monsters like “Kkamaengi” or “Sunshine” looked up, she sighed again.
Had the contract failed?
She had planned to leave the Forest of Shadows for a safe place. Considering she had made a “negotiation” with a divine power she could never beat, she thought she had acted well. But after leaving the forest following the contracting party, she realized…
This contract might have failed.
The enclosure she would temporarily reside in was poorly maintained, already overcrowded with captured monsters.
Moreover, the artificial gardens scattered throughout the area made her frown. There was no sense of warmth here.
Additionally, though her friends did not rely on “Magic Energy” as food, the transformed friends from the “Gateway to the Demon World” weren’t thriving here. The overwhelming divine energy caused those who had been strong to shrink gradually.
She hadn’t noticed on the first day, but by the second, she realized her friends’ massive wings no longer fully shielded them from the sunlight—they were visibly getting smaller.
That alone was frustrating, but a greater crisis emerged.
At meal times, imperial servants began bringing out excellent food.
Was this not equivalent to keeping them as pet crows?
[Friend. Don’t you think so?]
[Craaaw!]
She spoke gloomily, but her longtime friend, a crow, could not understand and only cawed in response. The Crow King, having regained health thanks to a beautiful deer-human, cawed loudly, and the other crows followed suit.
Once the crows tasted the palace-served chicken, they became louder than usual.
Frustrated, she fell silent. Normally, she would have simply cawed along like her friends, without a thought.
Phew…
No matter what, one’s nature seemed impossible to erase. Once she recognized herself as human, she could not undo that awareness.
Damn it.
She muttered a curse in her mind.
Then, the sweet scent of the deer-human reached her nose. Already filled with resentment, she resolved: no matter where the deer-human had been, she would not acknowledge it now.
No matter how beautiful, it was impolite for a mediator of negotiations to be so absorbed.
Exactly.
Pulling herself together, she crossed her arms—a habit from childhood when angry in front of her parents. She had planned to abandon human behaviors entirely, but after arriving at the palace, she found herself repeating them, whether she liked it or not.
As she intentionally drew a deep breath, the Crow King atop her head tilted its head. At the same time, the crows, with chicken smeared around their beaks, simultaneously repeated the same behavior. The reason the busy crows widened their eyes…
They sensed the appearance of the “Deer-Human.” Just like her.
