Yurian was pacing back and forth, sighing.
He was in front of Shekina’s room.
He hesitated to knock, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He tried to knock again, but still couldn’t do it.
This went on for an hour.
He questioned whether he even had the right to see Shekina’s face. After all, he had tried to kill Shekina. If Didi hadn’t arrived at that moment, he would have undoubtedly killed her.
If Shekina hadn’t informed him about black magic, if he hadn’t learned about black magic, he would have surely killed Shekina.
He knew that it’s useless to think about hypothetical situations now that everything is over, but Yurian still felt guilty and sorry.
That’s why he was even more afraid to meet Shekina.
Just conveying his apology might burden her. She might not want to receive his apology.
“Haaah…”
Yurian sighed deeply and lowered his head.
At that moment.
“Meow.”
A cat walked out from the room next to Shekina’s.
Yurian gasped as soon as he saw the cat.
This was the cat that had protected Shekina when he tried to kill her. Of course, it had been beaten and thrown aside by Yurian in the process.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Yurian slowly approached the cat.
“Uh… um. Hello?”
The cat tilted its head and looked at Yurian.
“I’m sorry about yesterday. Are you hurt?”
He knew the cat wouldn’t understand his words, but apologizing was the least he could do to atone for his actions.
“I’m sorry. To you, and to Shekina.”
The cat’s pupils narrowed.
What is this?
Did it understand my words?
Yurian unknowingly felt a slight hope.
“Oh dear, Cat! How can you go out like that!”
At this moment, someone burst through the door.
“…Calvin?”
It was Calvin, the commander of the 4th corps.
“Oh, Yurian. It’s been a while. Please wait a moment. I need to catch the cat.”
“Meow!”
Calvin raised his voice as he tried to catch the escaping cat.
Yurian, watching this, seriously wondered if he was seeing things.
After all, this was Calvin. His cleanliness and phobia were very well-known. That’s why Yurian avoided being near Calvin. Calvin would scream about dirt just by having someone close to him.
“No! Today you must, you absolutely must take a bath. You’re emitting a very strange smell!”
“Meow!”
But the current Calvin… well…
“Just once! Just once!”
He seemed like a completely different person. His cleanliness and phobia seemed to have disappeared entirely.
Yurian stared blankly at Calvin, and Calvin, who finally caught the cat, awkwardly smiled at Yurian.
“Haha… my cat is a bit sensitive.”
Yurian saw the scratches all over Calvin’s face and arms. The cat must have just scratched him recklessly.
“Um, Calvin. Doesn’t it hurt?”
“It does. But it’s all a sign of love.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It is. My cat only scratches those he loves.”
“………..”
Maybe this wasn’t Calvin, but something using Calvin’s shell. Yurian was curious about what had happened while he was away from the demon castle.
At that moment.
“Meow!”
“Cat!”
The cat, which had been caught by Calvin, struggled free and leaped into Yurian’s arms.
Caught off guard, Yurian unconsciously petted the cat, bewildered.
“Why, why… Why Yurian…?”
Calvin murmured with a look of despair.
“The cat has never cuddled with me… and now it’s even grooming…?”
“Well, Calvin. Animals usually like me. It’s just my unique trait…”
“Don’t console me! I’m not sad!”
“…………”
But you are. Anyone can see you’re crying.
Seeing the tears hanging on Calvin’s eyes, Yurian tried to read the room.
“I’ll take the cat away now. He really needs to take a bath today. Seriously.”
“Meow!”
“No! You can’t cry so cutely while clinging to Yurian! Do you think I’ll give up?”
“Meow!”
“Can’t you two just fight without involving me?”
Caught in the middle, Yurian tried to intervene, but no one listened to him.
“Cat!”
“Meow!”
“……….”
Why did I come here?
Maybe I should just leave.
Yurian’s shoulders slumped.
At that moment, the firmly closed door to Shekina’s room suddenly opened with a bang.
“Ah!”
And Shekina rushed out.
“What are you doing, being so noisy? Do you really want to die?”
In an instant, the cat suddenly became quiet, and Calvin stood at attention, returning to his normal demeanor as if nothing had happened.
It was as if he had never been hysterical.
“I’ll count to three, and both of you better be gone. One, two…”
“Meow!”
“We’re leaving!”
And they disappeared immediately.
Yurian watched Calvin and the cat, who were running away with their tails between their legs, half-open-mouthed.
He thought to himself.
It must be Shekina.
She’s the one who turned this demon castle into such a strange place.
***
“Why did you come?”
Shekina asked, letting Yurian inside.
Yurian, who had been slightly dazed by the strange sight he had just witnessed, quickly regained his senses. He carefully began to speak.
“Uh, um. Just…”
He wrung his hands and fidgeted as he spoke.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
He hurriedly added.
“And I also wanted to know what you plan to do next.”
Shekina stared intently at Yurian.
Seeing how haggard he looked after just one day, it was clear he had been through a lot of emotional turmoil overnight.
Shekina shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, you should be sorry for trying to kill me.”
“Uh…..”
“But in the end, I didn’t die, and the reason you did it was because of that crazy guy, so I’ll get mad at him.”
“Uh, uh…?”
“It’s fine. So don’t say such things anymore.”
Yurian’s eyes wavered.
He had expected her to be angry. He thought she would say it was ridiculous to apologize now after trying to kill her.
But she didn’t. Shekina’s face was sincere as she said she forgave him.
“You are…”
Yurian gave a bitter smile.
“Mature. While I’m still so childish.”
“……….”
Well, that’s because I’ve lived for nearly a hundred years. At this age, if I wasn’t mature, I might as well drown myself in a plate of water.
Shekina sniffed and clicked her tongue.
“And first, I need to find out more about black magic. Even though the boss said he would take care of it, I need to be sure.”
“Do you have a way?”
Yurian’s eyes widened.
He was surprised that black magic still existed and even more surprised that there was a way to find out about it.
How does Shekina know all this?
Yurian looked at Shekina in astonishment.
Shekina looked back at him quietly.
She hadn’t told the demons about black magic. Even though they liked and cared for her to some extent, she was still a different species from their perspective.
That’s why she hadn’t revealed all her cards to them.
But…
What if it was a fellow homunculus?
And one who felt guilty?
‘Wouldn’t it be useful?’
Shekina’s eyes sparkled.
“You’re good at healing magic, right?”
“Probably?”
“Can you heal me immediately if I get hurt?”
“Of course! I can do that!”
Shekina’s lips curled into a sly smile.
“Then let’s go together.”
“Where to?”
“To dig through monster corpses.”
“…What?”
Shekina stood up. She spoke to Yurian, who was still confused and unable to grasp the situation.
“Let’s go, Yurian.”
At that moment.
Boom!
“Eek! What is this! Why are you with Yurian again!”
Didi appeared.
Ah…
I had forgotten about this one.
