Chapter 33: A Palace in the Oasis part 1
With a sense of utter humiliation, Ashby pulled on the pants.
Damn it.
Damn it all!!!
His dignity as the King of Incubi had been completely trampled underfoot by this human Hero.
No one had ever forced him to wear pants before. His perfect, elegant, demonic aesthetic was being crushed by a human. Yet, he absolutely did not want to experience that terrifying sensation of “holiness” again. He could only submit, trying his best to convince himself—this is just a stopgap measure. Just a temporary setback.
Sob.
Misha looked at the now-clothed stranger that was Ashby, then turned to look at the Hero, whose brow was finally unfurrowing.
So weird. This whole thing is so weird.
They looked like a pair of tackily designed pajama pants. They were loose and baggy, and there was a strange symbol on the butt. It was too dark, and they were still outdoors with no lighting around; by the dim light of the altar’s torches, Misha really couldn’t see clearly.
It wasn’t polite to stare at an Incubus’s butt for too long, so Misha shifted his gaze and whispered to Lance, “Lord Lance, are those your pants?”
Lance frowned and countered, “Why would you think those are my pants?”
Misha: “…”
Misha turned his head again. He happened to catch the agonizingly miserable Ashby turning his back to them and slowly squatting down. He looked devastated, refusing to look at the human Hero’s hateful face again. This posture, however, perfectly displayed the pattern on his pants.
Misha saw it clearly now.
The pattern on the pajama pants… looked like the emblem of the Holy See.
Among all of them, the only person who would have pants with this emblem was Samuel.
But would a normal believer… really print the Holy See’s emblem on the butt of their pants?
Wouldn’t that mean every time he sat down, he was sitting on the Church?
Misha’s feelings were complicated.
He knew he would never understand Samuel’s aesthetic or his world. All he knew was that looking at the pitiful Incubus Ashby squatting in the corner, wearing pants with the Church’s logo on the rear, gave him an indescribably bizarre feeling.
This whole situation was just too strange.
Misha tried his best not to let his gaze linger on Ashby. He carefully looked away, sat in a daze for a while, and then couldn’t help but turn to Lance asking, “You…”
Lance answered before the question was fully asked. “I didn’t hurt him.”
Misha: “Eh?”
Lance: “I just let him experience thirty minutes of a life free from desire and filled with purity.”
He paused, then corrected himself. “Demon life.”
Misha: “…”
Misha finally understood. Lance was referring to the punishment he had just inflicted on Ashby.
He wanted to tell Misha that he hadn’t harmed Ashby, nor had he done anything too excessive; he simply let an Incubus experience a bit of an ascetic demon life.
But…
Misha scratched his head, unsure why the Hero felt the need to explain this to him.
With Lance there, Misha didn’t dare sleep. He sat hugging his knees below the altar, staring at the tips of his shoes. After a long while, he heard Lance ask, “Your wings… are they okay?”
Misha paused, then nodded.
Lance seemed to breathe a slight sigh of relief, but then he fell silent again, lifting his head to look at the night sky, which felt a little too quiet.
When Lance didn’t speak, Misha felt nervous. He looked at the sulking Ashby not far away, then remembered that Lance had asked about the other Incubi in the Demon Domain earlier. He couldn’t help but worry that Lance might do something strange to the other demons too.
Misha finally gathered his courage and asked, “Lord Lance, tomorrow you are going to Ashby’s domain.”
Lance nodded.
Misha: “Aside from retrieving Prince Deventer, do you plan to do anything else?”
Lance: “…”
He didn’t answer Misha directly.
He withdrew his gaze from the sky and looked at the shivering Ashby along with Misha.
“In his domain, there should be quite a few Incubi like him, right?” Lance frowned slightly. “If that’s the case, I think we’d better stay there for a few days.”
Misha: “…”
Misha was starting to get scared.
This Hero definitely wants to do something terrible!
Trembling, he tried to put in a good word for the poor little Incubi.
Misha: “Actually… actually, Incubi… they haven’t really done anything too bad.”
Lance: “Mm.”
Misha: “They’re just… a little bit indulgent.”
Lance: “Right.”
Misha: “It’s their nature, so actually… you can’t really blame them, right?”
Lance: “Yes.”
Misha: “…”
Misha: “???”
Did the Hero take the wrong medicine today?
Why is he agreeing with me so readily?
Misha cleared his throat and said seriously, “Actually, Ashby… really isn’t a bad person.”
Lance: “If we exclude the part about trading with humans.”
Misha: “…”
No, seriously, the demon trading part is really rare.
Misha had been the Demon King for three years. He had received so many monthly and annual reports from the Four Great Demons in the Demon King’s Castle, and the ‘Demon Transactions’ column was mostly zeros. Demons these days were living bleak lives. Aside from a few black mages who maintained strange relationships with Great Demons for their own amusement, no humans ever came to trade with demons.
Misha couldn’t help but want to explain on behalf of the demons. He cleared his throat and whispered, “Actually, apart from you, no one trades with demons anymore.”
Lance turned his gaze, frowning at Misha.
Misha felt a little guilty. He realized he probably shouldn’t know so much about this. He could only brace himself and spin a lie, “Divine Envoys should always know the enemy’s movements.”
Lance nodded, then added, “Then we still have to exclude the part where Ashby kidnapped a human prince.”
Misha: “…”
Here it is!
The time to clear Ashby’s name has come.
Misha coughed loudly, trying to attract the attention of the sulking Ashby. His hint worked; although Ashby was struggling to control his fear of the human Hero, he managed to conquer his own demons. He turned his head pitifully to look at Misha and Lance.
With tears in the corners of his eyes, Ashby said, “…Actually, we are truly in love.”
Lance: “…”
Lance was visibly shocked.
It was rare to see such a surprised expression on his face, as if he couldn’t fathom how the story had taken this turn. A human prince and… a strangely exhibitionist Incubus? Uh, while love is free, a “love” that alarmed the entire kingdom and mobilized an army…
So weird.
Ashby interpreted Lance’s silence as distrust. He knew the reputation of Incubi among humans wasn’t good; most people associated them with promiscuity and lust. He understood Lance’s thoughts, but he could explain his actions.
“I loved him the moment I saw him,” Ashby poured out his feelings for Prince Deventer earnestly. “It was at—”
Lance: “Skip.”
Ashby: “But our statuses—”
Lance: “Skip.”
Ashby: “So I planned—”
Lance: “Skip.”
Misha: “…”
Ah, so this is the power of the contract?
As long as he says “skip,” Ashby won’t tell those cheesy love stories. Misha wanted that ability too.
But after skipping so much, Ashby seemed to run out of words.
He tried to offer proof. Since Deventer wasn’t here, he couldn’t show Lance his love directly. Fortunately, he remembered that he carried symbols of his love for the Prince on his own body.
Ashby stood up and showed Lance the jingling rings on his hands. “His name is engraved here.”
Lance: “…”
Ashby patted his waist, showing Lance the gold waist chain. “His name is here too.”
Lance frowned, remaining silent.
“I also have a tattoo of his name,” Ashby said. “And here—”
Lance: “…Put your pants back on before you speak!”
Misha: “…”
Thank goodness. Lance had stopped Ashby’s strange behavior in time. Misha didn’t have to suffer visual trauma from the Incubus again. But the situation was clear: to have the other person’s name all over one’s body… even if it wasn’t true mutual love, it was definitely the mark of a clear pervert.
As for the rest, they just had to wait until tomorrow when they went to Ashby’s domain to get further confirmation.
“Although some Incubi find humans to feed on,” Ashby whispered, “no Incubus has ever killed anyone.”
Lance: “…”
Ashby: “Tomorrow… can you let—”
Lance: “Skip.”
Ashby: “…”
Lance didn’t seem interested in listening to Ashby’s explanations. Ashby could only squat back in his shivering little corner. Misha, however, intended to try again.
For monsters, death wasn’t a huge deal; the gods would eventually resurrect them. But if the Hero insisted on doing strange things, it would cause unnecessary trouble.
“For them, this is just their way of life,” Misha said earnestly. “They were born this way.”
Lance listened to Misha’s words in full.
“I understand.” Lance looked up at the quiet, windless night sky again. “Born this way.”
Misha felt there was a hidden metaphor in Lance’s words.
He frowned, waiting for Lance to continue. Lance shook his head gently and asked, “Have you read the myths in the Holy Scripture?”
Misha: “…”
Eh? What does this have to do with myths?
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