Chapter 61: Chatting Under the Covers
At least for that instant, what Misha sensed was a fear bordering on oppression.
The Hero covered his mouth, rendering him speechless. In that moment, he seemed to have forgotten he could fight back with magic. It felt like encountering a creature hundreds of times stronger than oneself; all struggle and resistance seemed futile. Under such circumstances, he only wanted to flee.
Fortunately, this fear only lasted a moment.
Lance quickly returned to his usual expression. Although he still covered Misha’s mouth to prevent him from shouting and attracting others nearby, he stepped back slightly, no longer pressing close to Misha’s neck. He even chuckled in a low voice and said, “I have a hypothesis.”
Misha: “…”
“I feel you won’t resist.” Lance released the hand clamping Misha’s arm and took another step back. “And you won’t scream.”
Having said this, he removed his hand from Misha’s mouth, retreated to a safe distance, and raised his hands slightly to show he had no hostility toward Misha.
Misha: “…”
Misha didn’t want to talk, but he had to admit the Hero guessed right.
The moment the Hero grabbed him, he could have fought back with magic.
He wasn’t Zebrun, who was bad at fighting. When receiving Demon Lord training in the Divine Realm, his combat training scores were the highest among the Demon Lords of his cohort. After all, a qualified Demon Lord must possess strength rivaling or even exceeding the Hero’s. Only then could they unleash their full power in the final apocalyptic battle, allowing the Hero to win, but not too easily—becoming the ultimate test for the Hero.
He might not be as strong as this strange and terrifying Hero, but simple resistance to create some escape opportunities was something he could do.
But he felt there was no need to run.
He felt the Hero didn’t want to hurt him, and he had many questions he wanted to clear up with the Hero.
Besides, he was an immortal Demon Lord. Even if the Hero really killed him, he would just return to the Divine Realm. And… the Hero only knew that Ancient Magic could destroy the Gate; there was no concrete proof that the Hero was the one who destroyed it.
Still holding onto a sliver of hope, Misha asked carefully, “You…”
Lance: “It was me.”
Misha: “…”
Lance: “Not entirely Ancient Magic, but also some… micro-operations.”
Misha: “…”
Why is it really him!!!
Misha’s mind was in chaos, unable to make sense of what was happening.
The Savior Hero chosen by the gods.
Deliberately destroyed the Gate connecting the Divine Realm and the human world.
Misha really couldn’t understand why Lance would do this.
Now, Misha was clear on only one thing.
At least in the short term, Lance didn’t want this exposed.
He intended to maintain his identity as the Hero. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have needed to pretend to sleep beside Misha last night. That was purely to have Misha act as his alibi, making others believe he never left Misha’s side all night.
Thinking of this, Misha even felt his intermittent sleep during the night might not have been due to Arlo’s potion, but because of this Hero.
After all, if the Hero could use Ancient Magic to destroy the Gate, wouldn’t using some spell to put Misha to sleep be incredibly easy?
Misha finally couldn’t help asking, “Just now…”
“Yes,” Lance answered immediately. “I made you fall asleep.”
Misha: “…”
“Whatever else you want to know, I can tell you.” Lance added leisurely, “However, I also need your guarantee and assistance.”
Misha: “…”
It was over. The Hero was too honest, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
Misha already harbored some wariness toward Lance. He probed carefully, “What do you want me to do?”
Lance: “Come here first.”
Misha froze.
Lance: “Put out the light.”
Misha: “You…”
Lance: “Lie down.”
Misha felt a wave of panic.
He suddenly remembered his earlier speculation.
He felt the Hero might like him a little.
Yes, this could also be a pretense by the Hero to cover up what he was about to do. After all, only this way would ensure Misha wouldn’t turn to look at him too much while sharing the room.
But he had shown affection for Misha since long ago. Their trip to the Elven Holy Land was an “accident” Misha unintentionally caused; surely Lance couldn’t have been plotting this since way back then?
Misha quickly made a series of deductions in his mind.
The Hero likes him.
He is controlled by the Hero.
The Hero wants him to lie on the bed.
Damn it, this human Hero! What exactly does he want to do!
“If we keep standing off like this, passersby will get suspicious,” Lance said. “Lights out, lie down, and I’ll tell you.”
Misha: “…”
He stared at Lance warily. Lance made no further moves. He looked truly devoid of hostility, wearing that sincere expression. After a long while, Misha finally took a step closer and whispered carefully, “Don’t lie to me.”
Lance: “Hmm?”
Misha: “I will hit you.”
Lance: “…”
Evidently suppressing a smile, he nodded seriously at Misha. “I swear.”
Misha: “…”
Misha climbed onto the bed vigilantly and lay down stiffly on his back.
Showing his stance of guarding against the Hero, even after blowing out the nearby lamp, he cautiously grabbed the longsword Lance had placed at the head of the bed, keeping the weapon in his own hand.
Lance had no objections.
He lay down as well. Probably worried about being discovered by others, he lay on his side facing Misha, lowering his voice to a near-whisper. “Are you this defenseless with others too?”
Misha: “?”
Misha gripped the sword in his hand tighter.
“Why did you destroy the Gate to Another World?” Misha was so nervous his voice was tight to the point of trembling. “You are clearly the Hero chosen by the gods—”
Lance: “Although I didn’t want to be this Hero.”
Misha: “…”
Lance added, “Compared to the people from the Divine Realm I’ve met, you are a little different.”
Misha: “…”
Misha felt a layer of cold sweat forming on his palm gripping the sword hilt.
He grasped the key point of the Hero’s words almost instantly.
The Hero said “people from the Divine Realm.” That meant, besides him and Arlo, the Hero seemed to have met others from the Divine Realm.
Does the Hero know about the existence of the Divine Realm System?
Misha swallowed nervously and asked, “You… do you know…”
Lance: “I know everything.”
Misha: “…”
“On the contrary, it’s you guys.” Lance paused slightly. “Is the Divine Realm’s method of selecting and testing Heroes a bit too—”
Misha: “You know even that?!”
Lance paused.
Misha: “Then you stayed in the Blessed Land for three years without leaving!”
Lance: “…”
Speaking of this made Misha angry.
Leaving aside whether the Hero had other motives, since the Hero knew his identity from the start, how could he stay there peacefully for so many years without looking for the Divine Tower!
Lance inhaled slightly, looking somewhat surprised. “I thought you would know.”
Misha: “How could I possibly know!”
Lance felt he understood. “Oh, it seems your system doesn’t have the Hero’s photo.”
Misha: “…What is that?”
Lance: “A portrait.”
Misha: “…”
Misha couldn’t refute that.
Indeed, the Divine Realm’s system never had portraits of the Heroes.
After all, no Demon Lord or Divine Envoy would mistake the Hero. Most Heroes would find their own way to the Divine Tower quickly, and the system had general descriptions of the Hero’s appearance. Heroes were so outstanding in looks that one could distinguish them from a crowd at a glance.
For example, Lance. He had the type of Hero appearance most popular in the Divine Realm: blond hair, blue eyes, a standard handsome protagonist face. Even if Misha hadn’t met him, as long as he appeared outside the Demon Lord’s Castle, Misha believed he could recognize him instantly.
In this case, a portrait of the Hero was obviously unnecessary.
“If you had a portrait, you would have realized.” Lance curled his lips slightly. “Your Hero doesn’t look like me.”
Misha: “…”
Misha didn’t understand why he was smiling.
But indeed, after Lance said this, Misha couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on Lance’s face.
In the past, he only knew Lance looked like the type of Hero most Divine Race members liked—blond hair, blue eyes, standard handsome face. But he rarely looked at Lance’s appearance seriously. After all, in most cases, his attention on the Hero stopped at the strange things Lance did.
Just looking at the weird things Lance did, it was hard to imagine that the person doing them had such a handsome face.
But Misha also knew he definitely shouldn’t be dwelling on Lance’s face at a time like this.
The situation was tense. He hadn’t figured out what conspiracy this Hero had. He absolutely couldn’t be distracted by the Hero’s face.
“I… I know.” Misha feigned calmness. “You aren’t the Hero of this world.”
Lance raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“You came through the Gate to Another World,” Misha said seriously. “That’s why you have such terrifying abilities.”
This was a big reason why Misha hadn’t wanted to expose the Hero directly all this time.
He didn’t know what happened in Lance’s original world, nor why Lance didn’t trust the gods like he did now. But now he felt it probably wasn’t a very lighthearted story.
In the past, he just thought Lance wasn’t devout to the gods and used strange means to achieve his goals. But finding out today that Lance destroyed the Gate to Another World, cutting off the connection between this region and the Divine Realm, he vaguely sensed that Lance’s feelings toward the Divine Realm couldn’t simply be summarized by the word “undevout.”
He seemed to hate the Divine Realm. Just as he had described the omniscient and omnipotent God King as a “liar” several times, his experiences in the other world seemed to have caused his ill will toward the Divine Realm.
Misha could only lower his voice, speaking somewhat heavily, “…I don’t know what you’ve experienced, but I think what you are doing now might not be right.”
Lance didn’t pay attention to that sentence.
He just widened his eyes slightly in surprise, then curled his lips, as if unable to suppress a smile.
If Misha wasn’t gripping the sword vigilantly, looking like he wanted to whack him at any moment, Lance might not have been able to resist patting Misha’s head.
“You actually figured it out,” Lance said with a smile. “It seems you are smarter than I thought.”
Misha: “?”
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