“All correspondence related to this matter has been reviewed. Nothing’s been missed.”
Liya began putting her things back in order.
At her level, a Pupu could control its liquid body with extreme precision, mimicking all sorts of shapes.
Combined with her experience manipulating Blood Magic back when she was the Demon Lord, Liya could split into dozens of tentacles and perform highly intricate operations.
In the past, she’d just used that ability outright.
But this time, for some reason, a strange, shy, and embarrassed feeling welled up inside her.
Her mind couldn’t stop racing—
‘Will this scare Joen? Will he think I’m a monster? Should I be acting more ladylike?’
She tried to block it out, but her thoughts were like a spring—the more she suppressed them, the stronger they bounced back.
In the end, Liya had to grab her skirt with her little hands, her cheeks red as a fresh peach after rain, and urge Joen to turn around and not look at her.
“Don’t… don’t you dare look back, okay?” she warned very seriously.
“Yeah, yeah!”
Joen nodded hurriedly.
That’s when Joen secretly peeked.
But he didn’t mind—he didn’t mind that she was a monster who could turn into fluid, or even…
But when she actually started working, a strange sense of anticipation arose in Liya—
He didn’t care.
He didn’t care that she was the Demon Lord.
He didn’t care that she…
He still stroked her head like before, smiling and saying:
“It’s okay no matter what. No matter what Lily is, I still like Lily.”
Desperately hiding her little secrets, yet timidly hoping he’d discover them and show acceptance—was this the anxiety of “love”?
Liya was going crazy.
She felt once again that love, that emotion which made people stupid, was absolutely the worst.
Though… occasionally, she’d have a fleeting thought of “life isn’t so bad” and feel a bit of happiness.
Love is poison, is a lie, is an unreachable dream, is a wheat ear when locusts pass…
She kept warning herself in her heart, clinging to her crumbling sanity.
Finally, Liya finished cleaning up.
Nervously and full of anticipation, she turned around—only to find that Joen had actually listened to her and hadn’t looked back at all.
First she felt disappointed, then she breathed a sigh of relief.
At least it hadn’t turned into the worst-case scenario.
Even if she scorned love, she understood that being despised and looked down upon by the one you “love” could completely break a person.
Born Strong, Most Demon of Demons, Most Riya of Riya…
Countless praises and titles—they were proof that she could dominate everything.
With such immense control, how could she tolerate being controlled by someone else?
This wasn’t the reason she scorned love, but it certainly served as a convenient excuse.
Slipping back into Joen’s collar, his gentle hand lightly stroked over her body.
Liya squinted, enjoying it, while giving Joen directions:
“Hey, friend. The letters mentioned that the people Lage bought would all be sent to the Brotherhood. If we sneak into that gang, we should be able to find a clue.”
Joen opened the study window, swung his leg onto the windowsill, and looked down at the sparse, dilapidated streets below. Suddenly he laughed self-deprecatingly:
“First I’ve seen high society, then I’ve seen the Church. Now it’s the turn of a gang. I’m afraid I’ll end up seeing the entire Imperial Capital, and in the end, only be left with anger.”
“Hey~ friend, if this city only leaves you feeling disappointed, would you raise your sword against it?”
Joen was silent for a few seconds.
Liya asked with interest.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“Oh~ Because your Duke’s Mansion is still here~”
Liya chimed in with feigned innocence.
Joen started to say something, but before it came out, he suddenly went quiet.
He smiled shyly and didn’t argue.
Before leaping out of the window, Joen subconsciously reached out, shielding the little one at his chest.
He thought:
‘With Lily by my side, how could I do such terrible things?’
He could endure all the hateful looks in the world—except Lily’s.
In his heart, Lily was like a child born because of him.
If even this “child” started to hate him and fear him… then his life would be a complete failure.
A short while later.
13th Lane, Mork Street—few knew that this was also the headquarters of the Brotherhood.
But in the end, no matter how loud a gang was, it was just a gang.
It couldn’t compare to the “regular armies.”
What they called their headquarters, in Joen’s experienced eyes, wasn’t even as grand and imposing as the Inquisition Court built underground by the Chapel.
So this was a gang.
Joen looked at the burly men at the entrance of the Brotherhood headquarters not far away—their martial skills were sloppy, and most likely their magic wasn’t much better.
He showed subtle disappointment.
“Silly friend~ This is just a gang~ What were you thinking?”
Liya giggled, covering her mouth.
This kind of civilian organization that hovered on the edge of the law and infiltrated the gray areas of power was hard to eradicate, but rarely did it actually step onto the stage.
Unless the local official order had collapsed to a certain degree.
“I thought there’d be a heart-pounding fight.”
Joen looked at his right hand, which he was slowly clenching.
Since defeating Demon King Lia, he hadn’t enjoyed a true battle anymore.
This boring, monotonous daily life even made him feel like his body was rotting.
“Tone it down a bit.”
While observing, Liya soothed him:
“Friend, if you want to save people, we first need to find out where those people were taken and what the purpose behind it is.”
As she spoke, Liya’s peripheral vision suddenly caught two familiar faces in a street-side shop window.
They had changed their clothes, tossing aside their patched, ragged linen shirts for middle-class, light luxury imitation noble attire.
But Liya still recognized them at a glance—that pair of goofy siblings from the street fundraiser.
Back then, Joen had even donated five gold coins to them.
“Friend~! Friend~! Look at them.”
Liya pointed them out to Joen at once.
“Look at who?”
Joen followed Liya’s tiny, pink little finger.
At first, he suffered from face-blindness and didn’t quite recognize them.
“The street fundraiser siblings, remember?”
After Liya’s reminder, Joen finally caught on.
He cast a simple detection spell and sure enough, found the magic mark he’d left on them earlier.
“They’re probably connected to the gang here.”
Liya examined the brother, who was sitting up straight, and whispered to Joen.
“How can you tell?”
Joen was curious.
“In the time it took to eat a meal, that boy looked toward the Brotherhood headquarters at least ten times.”
“How strange.”
Joen’s mood was complicated, a look of suspicion mixed with scrutiny appearing on his face.
“Last time we saw them, they were wearing patched clothes. Now, hmm… they’re dressed so spiffy, like they suddenly hit it rich.”
The many things he’d been through recently made him tend to think the worst of people.
Had those two embezzled the gold coins he’d donated? Was their “charity” just a catchy slogan to rake in money?
“Friend, let’s go in too and hear what they’re saying.”
Liya suggested.
“Mm.”
Joen nodded.
As soon as they stepped into the elegantly decorated restaurant, a waiter immediately came up to them.
Joen chose an inconspicuous spot, dismissed the waiter, and then focused on listening to the siblings’ conversation.
At the same time, the brother among the siblings was chattering away in a lively voice, holding back his joy and excitement.
“Sis… this time we’re going to make a fortune!”
“Lord Lage said a bigshot wants to invest in my fundraising project. Soon enough, we’re sure to grow bigger and stronger, and make history!”
“Rise to the peak of life!”