Welp. That goes to show what kind of family I have. In any case, though it may be shitty annoying at times, I’m grateful for the shit memories that would forever become etched in my mind. It’s hella annoying but fun at the same time. 

I have no idea how Liliath feels about it though..

I could only wonder.

I mean.. isn’t it justifiable? I had been hiding the fact about Liliath from my father.. and I don’t think I’ve properly discussed it with my mom. Liliath just became a part of the family so suddenly. And I wasn’t the one paying for her expenses.

Though my mom was kind enough to not dive too deep into this matter— I realized that I would eventually have to confront her about Liliath. We needed a family meeting. But my father was absent, it would be another week before he came back from work.

So.. I guess I could forgive my mother for plotting revenge? Could it be called revenge? I was inclined to think that my mom had always wanted to tease me together with my wife someday..

The hell am I thinking?

Liliath as my wife?

Nonononono.. we aren’t even a couple yet. And I’m thinking about marriage? Oh, what did Liliath say about becoming a demon queen again? Matrimony?

Does that mean Liliath would be promoted as a queen once she marries? Or does it need to be a specific person, the demon lord?

One more thing, about Liliath’s identity. She’s my familiar right? But the truth is that there isn’t any sort of connection between us. Back then, it was a lie she made to convince the principal. Liliath doesn’t have a birth certificate and wasn’t listed as a citizen of Gilgamesh. An immigrant from another world, basically speaking. She needs an identity certificate. The question was how to get one. Through the summoning department? 

The summoning department was made for people who acquired the summoning TALENT. Summoned creatures had to be registered for documentation purposes— by law. Could Liliath be counted as my summoned creature?

There’s a lot I need to figure out.

Hm.. maybe that’s why Principal Rachel was so skeptical.. wait. I should probably ask her about this matter. It’s the school’s duty to help the student manage their TALENTS.

“Noel, would you mind explaining why chrolpl is required to make food? How does chrolpl make food? It doesn’t sound too right.”

“Ah? Um.. about that, the process of making food— I’m not too sure myself. All I know is that chlorophyll is like a factory that changes chemicals with the aid of sunlight to create food. And it’s chloro-phyll, not chrolpl.”

“I still don’t understand,” Liliath dropped her head on the table. Her hair overlapped each other, covering the books.

“It’s alright. You’ll eventually understand it someday..”

Fortunately, Liliath acted as normal after yesterday night’s incident. The difference was that she had been keeping a distance between us. And she would glare in a specific direction every now and then. She told me that she had a perception skill that allowed her to sense the vague location of a target without the need of eyesight.

Wow. Now that’s fantasy-like.

If anything.. I feel that Liliath had opened up somewhat. I was surprised to learn that it was my mom who she’d glare at. Of course, my mom laughed it off.

I wonder if Liliath had any sort of bloodlust skill? That was a possibility though.. my mom didn’t seem too deterred.

“Noel.. if I told you that magic requires that understanding of rune hexes, what would be your remark?” Liliath raised her head a little to look at me.

“Come again?”

“See?! Like me, you lack foundational understanding of my world!”

“Uh..”

Seeing Liliath lament in this sort of way.. very unlike her calm demeanor.. Did she become drunk or something?

“No.. I shan’t give up. I will pursue this world’s knowledge at its highest,” she straightened her posture.

“I think you should take a break Liliath.. sometimes a break is all you need for the dots to connect.”

“Noel. It’s necessary that I learn as much of this world as I can as soon as possible— for the sake of survival.”

Survival? What the hell is Liliath saying. I know she came from a world where life and death were determined by a fine line but.. the point is.. when did she become this talkative? Or was this her usual personality?

“Liliath.. do you have a fever?” I noticed that her face was slightly redder than usual.

A complex expression surfaced to my question.

I raised my hands to touch her forehead, she was hesitant but still leaned forward, closing her eyes..

Huh? She’s not resisting.. seriously what the hell.. no. It can’t be right. She’s alright with me touching her?? No.. heck, why am I even trying to test her for a fever? This kind of development.. no, it’s odd..

My hand was about to come into contact with her delicate skin when she suddenly turned her head towards the kitchen and glared at the entrance.

I saw a glimpse of the little devil retreating.

“Oh my.. Liliath is amazing,” my mom who was working on her laptop in the living room chuckled and sighed. 

My mom was a real estate buyer— or something like that. She invests in property and stuff— I'm too sure what she does but it’s for the sake of building assets.

“Can you stop already?“ 

I seriously wanted my mom and little devil duo to stop taking photos of us together. Father has already gotten plenty of our photos. It’s straight-up embarrassing.. I pleaded with them to delete those photos.. but it’s impossible after all..

“Ah, how about we go to the shopping mall today? I need to get some household items.” 

Great job.. she dodged the question.

Liliath, who gave up pleading a long time ago asked, “What is a shopping mall?”

“Um.. how to put it, it’s a place where a large number of different stores congregate in a building.”

What.. since when have I started using such complex language? Must be influenced by Liliath. 

“Thank you for the explanation. Um. Noel, regarding the quests..”

I swallowed.

“Ah.. right..”

Quests. I knew how important and interesting it was to see the quest board update but I seriously tried avoiding it.. I haven’t checked it this morning, scared to find anything inappropriate listed inside. I know it’s an irrational fear but my conscience was telling me that engaging these quests together with Liliath was a no go.

Ah fuck. I can’t make up my mind. Didn’t I tell Liliath that I needed her cooperation to complete the quests? She agreed, didn't she?! Why did I need to be such a wimp?

I checked the quest board for today.

Huh..

Allow Liliath to speak with another guy.

The fuck.. oh wait. That would make sense wouldn’t it now? Most of the time, I’m surrounded by females. My mom, my sister, Liliath, even some of the more closely related classmates in school. Not to mention the nurse and the school principal.

But seriously? That quest just had to be part of the gaining trust category? It’s like saying I’m afraid of Liliath falling for another guy, or cheating on me or something..

That’s wrong.. wrong..

Ugh..

But the quests were for the most part.. quite simple. I think I have an idea on how I could complete two quests in one go.

Liliath wasn’t surprised by the new tasks. If anything.. she looked excited?

Her reaction was an electric shock to my heart. 

100 DMG points— ouch.

Then a knot was formed in my mind.

There was a barrier. I was still denying something. Something was wrong.

“Noel? Is there something wrong?” Liliath turned to me, her face barely inches away from mine.

“No. nothing,” I averted her gaze.

Really now. What should I do?

[23]

“Alright, You get on first Liliath.”

“This carriage.. could it be powered by a science engine?” She asked, holding onto a cute little bottle filled with water especially for her use.

“Um..”

Seriously though. How did Liliath become so talkative? Was it because of yesterday? Did mom or Novelle break a circuit in her somewhere?

In any case, I think I like Liliath better this way. She’s the curious kind of person— or not. I could imagine the confusion I’d face if I were to suddenly move between different worlds containing unusual technology.

“Big brother sits at the back, my turn to sit in front!” The little devil declared.

Ah you little fucker.

Novelle would almost always fight for the front seat. It was a given that she would win. She didn’t need to tell me that she’s occupying the ‘queen’s’ seat as if she were declaring her enthronement or engagement to some big shot.

My mom locked the door of the house and came to the car. I pulled the garage door open.

We all got in the car, Liliath scanned the interior with an inquisitive look while the devil peeked at her, holding back her laughter. I wasn’t too sure if it was because of the fact that Liliath looked like a kid who had never seen a flower or that I’m sitting together with Liliath. Of course.. I took some distance. 

The car pulled out of the garage and came to the driveway.

And we set forth towards the shopping mall.

The sky was blue, ominous clouds billowing in the sky— I have a feeling that it would rain later in the afternoon. 

“Noel, what means of science did the people here replace ice circuits to create this cool air?”

“Uh.. I’m not too sure myself? The cool air comes from the air-conditioner built into the car and the components that make it up— I'm not too knowledgeable about it myself..”

Seriously what? Ice circuits? Wait.. could I get Liliath to create magic tools or something for utility purposes? Wow.. that would be so cool!

“Similar to magic knowledge, there is a complex system for science after all..” Liliath came to a conclusion.

“I don’t think it works that way..”

Ah crap.. common sense.. common sense. Thinking about it only scares me. How am I going to teach someone like Liliath..

“Liliath, you see. Unlike magic, science is dependent on knowledge rather than skill. It’s more like creating plans for forging equipment,” my mom remarked.

Wow, great. What an otaku-like answer mom, great job!

“So the difference is in that regard. Magic and blacksmithing are two different things after all..”

“It’s the skill and knowledge behind building the machine, a lot of time, trial and error is required to temper the product to perfection.”

Liliath nodded as if understanding.

But I’m confused as heck. Like.. wha.. what did language did my mom just speak? Forging as a reference to creating machines? Heck, there’s a huge disparity between the two of them.

Seeing my perplexed expression my mom chuckled while Liliath tilted her head.

Speaking of Liliath, her hair was tied to a ponytail and she was wearing a yellow shirt and a pleated knee-length dark-blue skirt. Because her hair was tied, her beautiful neck was exposed. I don’t even know why I’m paying so much attention to her ugh... she’s so cute.

Novelle noticed something wrong then tampered with the radio. Ah— that’s why it was so quiet. Music played, sending Liliath into confusion.

“A recorder? How could there be music?“ Liliath tried searching around the entire interior of the car for an orchestra— I suppose..

“It’s a radio. The radio is a communication device that allows sound to be transmitted. In this case, it.. is transmitting music from somewhere..”

Fuck. I don’t even know how I should explain something as simple and complex as a radio. Do I need to go all the way and explain radio waves? Ah, I didn’t think it would be this hard to answer Liliath’s questions... okay, I take my words back, I prefer the quiet Liliath.. but the inquisitive Liliath also had her good points.

“A communication device that allows sound to transfer.. it’s an incredibly novel idea to utilize such a technology to share music to the world,“ Liliath remarked, “I would’ve never imagined such an application for such a ma— science tool.” 

“I suppose.”

I have no idea how I should answer that.. magic tool.. science tool.. what the hell.

Liliath was sharp to notice my difficulty in explaining the function of certain everyday objects such as the car window glass, traffic jam, three coloured boxes of red, yellow and green, and the honking of cars so she eventually stopped asking and silently stared out the window.

I felt kind of hurt and disappointed that I didn’t have the proper skills and knowledge to explain to Liliath about the things in this world. I can only hope that Liliath gets used to how things are and sorta piece to gather the gist of what does what.

That said.. the little devil was sneaking a few pictures of us with her phone that she ‘pretended’ to play games with. I know she doesn’t have a habit of using her phone in the car, so it’s clear what she was trying to pull.

Liliath sat at one end, I sat at the other. So good luck finding your chances little sister— you wouldn’t get one anytime soon.

The car pulled up to a toll, my mom pushed a button and a parking ticket came spitting out.

Liliath was bewildered.

Yeah.. I believe she’s thinking: a paper spitting creature.

The parking lot was a multi-tier complex above the underground parking zone.

Liliath made a difficult to describe expression whenever my mom would drive up the inclined road to the upper floors.

A parking spot was found and we got out of the car.

“That was the most pleasant carriage ride I’ve ever experienced, thank you Diana,” Liliath bowed.

“No problem,” my mom smiled. I wanted to puke blood.

Common sense.. common sense. I need to discuss with Liliath about getting the skill book Common Sense I, ASAP.

We entered the shopping mall, two sliding doors broke apart to allow a path for us, Liliath jumped. The cool breeze of the air conditioning slammed into my face, I had no words to describe Liliath’s shuddering figure. 

This is an automatic sliding door.. for gosh sake..

I could hear the couple behind us laugh at her reaction.

“Novelle, can you hold Liliath’s hand so that she doesn’t get lost?” I requested the little devil while my mom consoled Liliath.

“Why me? You do it big brother!” Ah duck you. Seriously, I’m really worried something might happen to Liliath. 

“Come on.. stop it with us being together... just help her alright?”

We entered the shopping complex, stepping foot into the atrium that split into two wide paths. It was bustling with people. Shops lined the sides of the walking path. The avenue-like path opened up, revealing the upper and lower floors.

Liliath’s eyes darted around, a myriad of never before seen things to her I suppose.

Our main goal was to get some household items and more groceries. That said, groceries were usually the last agenda on the list, done just before we headed back home.

And so, we first went to the bookstore as usual.

But to get there..

“Why are there so many teeth!” Liliath exclaimed, shivering.

“Big sister Liliath.. it hurts, it hurts,” tears spilling out of the little devil’s eyes as she tried desperately to pull her hands away.

Oh hell.. seriously?

We came to our first major obstacle— the escalator. The terrifying-for-kids-cause-its-scary-sounding-and-can-kill-people-esca- later. Oh and to explain why my sister was tearing up, it was because she, in the end, decided to hold Liliath’s hand. And Liliath’s hand was crushing her due to fear. I’m guessing her superhuman strength was because she was a demon lord candidate, no joke. The little devil was desperate.

“Hey Liliath, please let go.. um.”

And she did. Novelle held her almost broken hand to her face.

“How should we deal with this,” my mom contemplated. If anything, her expression was one that seemed to tell me that we were treating this as an escort mission... seriously. “How about the elevator?”

“An alternate path sounds good to me,” Liliath said, cold sweat down her face.

“No. Big brother, you hold her hand.”

“Huh. No,” I refused.

“Hm! I did what you told me to, now it’s your turn!”

The puzzled stare of the people that boarded the escalator was unnecessary.. really.. if anything, please don’t mind us and return to your shopping experience while we discuss our options in delivering the frightened Princess to the bookstore on the second floor.

“I-If so then I would like to try..” Liliath spoke in a bashful voice.

I turned to her with a shocked expression.

Wut?!

[24]

“Settled then. Noel, please hold Liliath’s hand,” my mom said, all smiles and held Novelle’s hand before rushing up the escalator.

Oh damn you two.. ugh.. did they have this planned all along or was this on a whim.. grr..

“N-Noel?”

“Fine.”

I held her hand.

I really don’t get it. Why did Liliath become so proactive all of a sudden? She shouldn’t force herself onto me just because I saved her or anything. I know it’s very cliché-like for me and Liliath to fall for each other but it only happens in stories. And this isn’t a story— this is the real world.

She could very well find herself another person.. she could very well only be treating me in this way because I’m the ‘guy’ in her vicinity..

Hey wait.. did I just sound like some shitty protagonist that refuses to acknowledge the fact that Liliath is taking the lead?

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The platform shuttered, bringing my thoughts back to reality, I felt Liliath’s grip tighten. Really, really tighten.. oh fuck, it really does hurt.. her super-human strength is no joke.. as expected of a demon queen.

“I count to three and we step forward.”

“U-understood.”

I’m sorry for blocking the other’s behind us wanting to use the escalator too.. but there’s nothing I can do about it..

“One.. two.. now!”

I took a step forward, Liliath’s footing was late by a beat. Our balance shifted due to the momentum.

Success!

Liliath wobbled, hands holding onto the conveyor belt rails.

“I-I did it,” she was panting.

“Yeah, congratulations, you did it,” I didn’t know how or why but I smiled.

That said.. I could feel the glares behind us all the way until we reached the top. And about jumping off the escalator.. Liliath was scared but since we had no option to retreat, she pushed herself and we managed to get off without any issues.

My mom and the little devil applauded our victory.

That said...

We have another escalator to go...

Since Liliath was adamant about not going up the escalator again, my mom decided that we give Liliath a little break before attempting the second escalator.

Clothing store— I wasn’t really into clothing but I followed anyways. We came out holding a bag— all of which were Liliath’s clothes. A number of them were dresses.. and having the opportunity to see Liliath try on these that she picked out herself made my heart skip a beat. 

And then escalator number two.. I had to hold Liliath’s hand again..

But we succeeded after a tiring battle of persuading Liliath.

“So with this could we assume the quest as complete?” Liliath whispered into my ears just as we stepped off the escalator.

“Huh?!” I turned to look at her, then looked at our hands that made contact.

“5 minutes,” she smiled, then let go.

What?

No.. what.. so that was an act?

Liliath wasn’t shivering nor scared— she had an expression of triumph.

I was tricked? No.. what?

Liliath acted all scared in front of my mom and Novelle, as if it had been a hard-earned achievement. Then she turned to me.. and winked.

I was speechless. Was this planned or...

We ended up in the book store. Liliath accompanied me while Novelle went to the stationary section, my mom went to the business section.

I picked up a book— a light novel from the shelf and flipped it to the back to read the summary.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Liliath looking around everywhere. I had no idea what she was looking at. Her gaze landed on the counter beside the bookshelf where I took the light novel from.

“How come I could tell that these are different languages?”

“Hm?”

Liliath said something weird.

“What do you mean?”

“These two, I can read the words but I also know that they are different,” Liliath pointed at the two books.

One was in Japanese, the other was in Chinese.. wait huh?

“You can read these?”

Liliath nodded. “Sword Art Master in an Alternate World, The Devil’s Cohorts— is what these two titles are.”

After which she repeated the titles in their respective languages— as if she were fluent in both Chinese and Japanese..

Does that mean...

I reached over and passed her a novel translated in Korean.

“No More Second Death for the Princess?”

Liliath looked at me, a surprised expression on her face.

French, Indonesian, Vietnamese, German, Malay... she could read, speak and understand them all.

How in the FUCK?!

THIS IS CRAZY?!

“I can speak and understand all languages in this world.” Liliath said with unfocused eyes.

“Broken.. totally broken.. I should invest in a language comprehension spell book myself..”

A 200 point language comprehension skill book that could allow one to understand every single language in the world— that’s like the most broken thing ever— it’s so stupid, it’s not even funny anymore.

If I could understand every language in the world...

“Ah! That’s it!”

“Did you notice something?”

“Liliath, how good is your literature?”

“My proficiency in literature? Could you specify what you mean by that?”

“I’m thinking maybe you could become a translator or writer in the future?”

And that was the train of thoughts that happened to cross my mind. If anything, Liliath’s future was uncertain. She still had to earn a wage, eat and sleep like any other normal person. And taking into account this ability of her’s to comprehend every language on Earth, she could utilize this ‘artificial TALENT’ she had to survive.

At least.. that’s what I thought.

“A translator and writer?”

“Liliath, do you read often?”

She thought for a while before replying, “Before I learnt that I was a candidate, I spent the majority of my time indulging in works of highly regarded authors..”

“I’m just saying this from my own opinion but I think you should try to become an author.. of course, it’s just my suggestion. If anything, it’ll still depend on whether or not you like writing.”

“I’ll consider it,” Liliath nodded.

“Ah, you two are here,” Novelle suddenly called out.

“Yeah, good to meet you again so what did you get?” I spoke sarcastically.

“I didn’t get anything, I came for big sister,” the little devil tugged on Liliath’s hand, “I want to show you something.”

Liliath nodded, gave me a questioning look that asked if she could leave, I gave her consent with a nod. She placed the book she had in hand back to its original position before leaving with the little devil.

With Liliath gone, I felt a sense of emptiness.

Liliath.. just who is she? This is reality, not some novel or virtual world. Liliath said she was a demon lord, and judging by her own description of her world, it’s suspicious how her attitude lacked any cunning or vicious nature. If she had been tempered through slavery, bloodshed, corruption, betrayal and war.. her inner thinking should’ve been altered in a way that helped her adapt to the environment.

For all I know.. Liliath could be putting up an act all this time.. she could be trying to manipulate me in one way or another.

This is just speculation on my end. Whatever it may be, I need to be careful not to be too carried away.

I followed after the two— 

— My hypothesis about Liliath was shattered in an instant..

Was it just me or did I forget that Liliath wasn’t from this world? Their habits and knowledge might be different, resulting in certain unexplainable actions..

“I can’t believe they sell these here!” Liliath held the packaging and lifted it into the air.

“Of course, it’s a common item in the stationary station,” the devil giggled.

So what item were they talking about you ask?

Super Glue.

That same one in the television advertisements I saw them discuss the other day.

“…”

“Noel, it was said that super glue is like a superior version of gum— such used in sealing letters, is that correct?” Liliath threw me a question.

Gum..

Letter.. sealing wax? Was that what she was comparing super glue to?

I didn’t know what to think anymore. This— acting? The innocent girl named Liliath— a supposed demon queen— holding a super glue packaging in ecstasy..

An act?

Or was I being fooled again..?

Liliath trying to manipulate me?

Am I bullshiting myself?

“Novelle, did I do something wrong?” Liliath asked.

“You did nothing wrong big sister. Big brother is just like that,” the little devil shook her head.

[25]

A succubus— that’s the conclusion I came to. Velvety hair that flowed down her shoulders, ruby eyes that glimmered in a bewitching shine, her sensual neckline plus an almost perfect-proportioned body— if we ruled out the fact that she was only 14 years old. Just imagine how voluptuous she would look when she comes of age.

Ponk.

A plastic fork attacked my head

“Ouch.”

The little devil smirked.

“Don’t play around with the utensils, Novelle, it’s bad table manners,” my mom advised.

“Big brother is playing around with his phone though!”

“Noel, you heard her,” she turned to me and looked at me with a serious expression. 

Yeah. When my mom is serious— it’s no fun to poke around. Nodding, I hid my phone away.

“Sorry.”

In any case, I couldn’t help that my hands were itching to peek at a glimpse of the quest board. 

The convenient thing was that there was no need for WiFi to open up the application— the downside was that my manga reader was missing.

The quest board updates automatically. And I have no idea how exactly it detects the completion of the tasks. I want to exploit it if possible

Oh right.. where was I? About Liliath, right? 

A succubus.

I think?

If you think about it clearly, there are some novels that talk about demon queens either being demons, fallen angels or succubus’. I’m thinking of option three— I don’t know if my hypothesis is right.

I was wary. Liliath’s attitude took a 180 turn from the Liliath I knew yesterday. I had no idea what triggered her sudden change but it could be because she was slowly familiarizing herself with the environment.

Or it could be that she’s just an obedient child who wishes to do her best in helping me complete the quests..

I’m overthinking things, aren’t I?

Liliath had a plastic fork in her right hand and a plastic knife in the other, she gently— she was having a hard time though— dragged the soft, wiggling white blade across the rock-hard chicken drumstick.

Her hands holding the knife traced the same spot ever so delicately in a repetitive motion— much like cutting a perfectly marbled steak cooked to a medium-rare.

With the meat separated from the rest, she drew a beautiful arc with her fork, before bringing it up to her mouth. She chewed slowly, savouring every flavour— her act of eating was pretty much an art form in itself, beautiful, majestic.

“So this is the legendary fried chicken the heroes coveted,” she commented as she chewed.

One of the most dramatic ways to eat a chicken drumstick. Heck, I doubt that movie actors who practised etiquette in preparation for medieval eating scenes could compare to what I was seeing. The top-notch eating techniques Liliath possessed— freaking world-class.

Fuck.

Liliath can’t be a succubus, can she?!

No fucking way— no damn way someone eating a chicken drumstick with a plastic fork and knife could be a succubus candidate.

No damn fucking—

And my food came, or more accurately, mine and my sister’s burger. Freshly made.

Oh, if anyone is confused with the current setting, I’m in a fast-food restaurant.

I opened the wrapping and took a big bite from my burger. The juiciness of the meat coupled with the white gravy that tasted of cheese sent me to cloud nine— sorta.

Downing that portion, I opened my mouth.

“Um, Liliath—“

“Noel, just let her be.”

My mom waved her free hand with a sympathetic smile, dabbing her mouth with a tissue.

“B-But..”

My mom shook her head. A denial.

I turned to my sister and sent her an SOS with my eyes.

She acted dumb and tilted her head in confusion— her cheeks stuffed full with the burger.

Seriously?

Do they really not mind? Liliath was eating a chicken drumstick with a fork and knife for fuck sake— PLASTIC ONES!

Every time Liliath placed the meat into her mouth, I could somehow sense spectators gasping in awe.

Fuck.

I took another bite of my burger. 

Just ignore it.. ignore it.

Yup. I should just repeat that mantra.. ignore it.. ignore it.

“Do you perhaps want some, Noel?” 

“Um.. no,” I said with my mouth stuffed so it came out muffled.

Liliath nodded, sliced a piece and then brought it in front of me. 

I froze. 

FUCK, CUFUDP, FUCK.

I didn’t pay attention to where my gaze was— right.. my line of sight when I was in my own head, mantra-ing myself about ignoring civilization— was directed at the drumstick. And because of that, I made her think I wanted some of her food.. was my hypothesis. But still— FUCK! 

I quickly downed the burger, almost choking.

“No, it’s alright Liliath.”

“Is that so?” She sounded disappointed..

And so did the spectators— I could sense a few glares..

Disappointed.. my heart fluttered.

Fuck.. what did I just do? I flat out rejected her, my once-in-a-lifetime offer! The hell in the world am I going to find a girl willing to feed me something.

AH FUCK, DUCK, DUCK!

I should just accept it..

Give it up already Noel. You totally want Liliath to feed you, don’t you. Just accept it, you were charmed by the bewitching demon queen in front of you. Just admit it and eat the damn food and accept her indirect kiss. 

“I—“

“Thank you!”

FUCK!

“Hm.. I feel chicken tastes better when big sister feeds me,” the little devil commented.

I realized that Liliath had changed her feeding target from me to my sister during brief seconds of precious time I spaced out.

“Is that so. Then I shall continue eating it in this way I suppose. Though, this isn’t the proper manner of eating meat in this restaurant?”

“It’s alright. Big sister’s way of eating is very elegant.”

“I do not deserve such praise,” Liliath chuckled before bringing another slice of meat to the devil’s mouth— which she gladly accepted with glee.

Hah.

I took a bite from my burger.

Ignore it.. ignore it..

Deep breaths, deep breaths. In— out— in— out—

I finally finished my burger after much hardship— not really, the burger tasted amazing but I think the meat Liliath wanted to serve me would’ve tasted better...

Moving on..

“Right. Mom. I just realized a problem about Liliath being a summoned person.”

“Hm?” My mom looked at me as she drank from a straw.

“She’s an immigrant.”

To cut short. Yes. Liliath could be said as an immigrant.

“I wonder what we should do about Liliath’s identity.. I was thinking something along the lines of registering her at the summoners guild but she’s a person, not a creature.”

As Liliath tuned in to my words, she looked at me with upturned eyes, seductively sucking away at the straw that to her, was a novel way to take in fluids. A very soft pop sound could be heard when her lips parted with the opening, an ephemeral silver string connected the two points.

Yeah.. 100 percent a succubus: confirmed.

“Hm.. the last time you brought Liliath to meet the principal, did she say anything?”

“Oh, that’s right!”

That explained why Principal Rachel wanted to meet Liliath. One of the responsibilities of the school was to accommodate the student to cope with their TALENTS, however troublesome it may be. So if students were to be found possessing TALENTS that troubled their lives, the school authorities may have to report it to the government TALENTS management department for review. Aid would be provided depending on the type and severity of the problematic TALENTS. 

Oh yeah. There are TALENTS that do more harm than good. Not everyone was blessed with beneficial TALENTS, some TALENTS came together with severe adverse effects.

I won’t go too deep— it’s scary to just think about the dark truth behind some of the most coveted TALENTS. Though 99 percent of the time, TALENTS that manifested in people were positive ones.

“No.. she didn’t say anything.”

“You should talk to her about it. I remember correctly, we have to visit the summoning department to register for a summoned creature, but we need a letter of introduction.”

“Huh, really?”

That's weird, but I guess that’s just how the system works?

I need to contact the principal when I have the chance.

“Noel, since I should be your familiar— s-should I call you m-master from now on?” Liliath spoke with a flustered tone.

Not again.

My eardrums bled. 

Not literally, I mean it in a figurative sense.

“No. I may be the one who summoned you but I’m not your master. There’s no contract between us like most normal summons and you’re a person with free will.”

I’m surprised I even said that much. Ain’t no way would I want Liliath to call me ‘master’.

“Is that so, master..?”

The little devil bawled out laughing.

What the fuck did I just hear?

“D-did I do something, master?”

“Liliath. Stop. Please.. this isn’t a joke.”

“Noel is right. Please have some self-respect for yourself Liliath,” my mom added.

It’s seriously unnerving for someone like Liliath to call me master.. seriously. This isn’t some kind of era where master and slave relationships were the norm.

Liliath nodded, a little sad.

I don’t get her logic at all..

“I understand. I will refrain from doing that— Noel.”

“Thanks..” I drank my carbonated drink, relieved I—

“T-then.. should I call you boss?”

—spat the drink back into the cup.

“Oh my.. I didn’t think Liliath had this sort of personality,” my mom chuckled while I choked on my drink.

My sister was wheezing whilst holding her stomach.

LILIATH SAID THAT ON PURPOSE!

[26]

‘Liliath may be a succubus.’

Back home, inside my room, I leaned against the splat of my chair.

Seriously though. Liliath is so confusing. 

Prune warned me about Liliath—I think I understood her sentiment somewhat now. That said— what if I was merely overthinking? What if Liliath was just opening up without any sort of ulterior motive? She is a demon lord, an uncomfortably cute one.

Ding.

Prune replied. That’s fast. I raised my face to face my laptop.

‘Are you alright?! Nothing weird happened right?’

‘No. So what do you think about my conclusion? From the sixth sense you felt back then, could she possibly be a succubus?’

‘I’m not too clear about that. What I felt was a lot of dark— bloodiness. A mess. It’s hard to describe.. what do you plan to do?’

‘I have no idea. My idea is that I should talk it out with her. I’m not sure if her current attitude is merely an act, but it’s worth a shot.’

I hadn’t mentioned to Prune about Liliath being a Demon Queen. It should be kept a secret, and I intend to respect that.

‘Are you crazy?! What if you were right?!’

... 

What if Liliath seduced me.. 

I think I’d accept..

Fucking shut up me.

‘I don’t think that’s the case. I doubt she’d do that, especially when she could really just barge into my room and push me down..’

I almost sent that.. 

‘She might not be a succubus though? If she was, I’d probably be dead already.’

Was what I replied instead.

‘Good point.’

Ding.

A notification appeared on screen. I switched to the principal’s chat log.

‘I’ve contacted the authorities regarding this matter. A letter of approval should be sent through your email in a few days, take note.’

Ah.. so she knew about it all along. No wonder she wanted to see Liliath in person, for me to summon a human— it’s as unbelievable as it gets. Though I do question if I was actually the person who summoned Liliath. I had the aid of the gacha app, and I’m not sure if the gacha application was an accidental thing that ended up on my phone or that it was my TALENT.

‘Got it. Thank you principal.’

With this, I suppose the issue regarding Liliath’s identity would be solved— no. This would become the start of more problems.

Remember how I talked about not wanting Liliath to be exposed? She’s a crazy powerful existence. And because of this, she would clearly become a sought-after individual by the government.

‘There’s no need to come over to the school office, head straight over to the government department. I’ll be there at the summoners registration department too since your case could be said to be rather unique.’

Unique huh?

Knock, knock.

Liliath again?

I opened the door— and there was Liliath— in her beautifully seductive black-laced nightgown. 

Ah— that would make sense. She’s the demon queen, and if anything, black-suited her well.

Seeing her face brought me back to the time when we were still at the shopping mall. After lunch, we went straight to the grocery store. And I found out that Liliath had been acting all along. She wasn’t scared of the escalator at all, but with such an excuse in hand, she took the opportunity to cling to me.

Other than the packet of super glue my mom agreed to buy for Liliath to quell her curiosity, Liliath also got herself a small box of instant tea. Of course, there were matcha powder and tea leaves that required a more complicated brewing process, but Liliath only had eyes for instant tea.

Buying groceries together with Liliath was fun— not. The horde of stares was sickening. I get how Liliath’s velvet hair stands out but can people not stare at her so obviously? And I’m surprised that I’m even mad about this. Liliath was unperturbed, I wonder why it wasn’t the same for me?

Ah— also. Liliath asked something that took me by surprise.

Here’s what happened:

“Noel, what is a mobile number?”

“Mobile number? Where did you get that from?”

“Someone asked me for my mobile number but I didn’t know what it was.”

From her narration, this random dude with a lean body build came up to her and asked for her contact.

And sure enough, she didn’t have one or rather— she didn’t even understand what he meant. 

Wouldn’t want to be that guy now huh?

And so was how Liliath managed to ‘perfect a 3-star clear’ on the ‘let Liliath talk to another guy’ quest by rejecting the said ‘guy’. 

Splendid.

Ah. That also reminded me that Liliath would need her own phone someday— but that’s another topic to discuss in the future. I can’t imagine what would happen if she got her hands on one.. she surely won’t exchange contacts with every other male she meets right?

Also, was it just me or was that Liliath didn’t understand love all that well? She didn’t even know why I laughed after she rejected the dude in the most innocent, subtle way possible. Liliath might be the kind of person who just wasn’t all too sensitive when it came to love.

— Which could explain why she was clinging to me the entire time.. perhaps she just didn’t understand how significant the act of different genders touching each other was.. that’s my second theory.

“Could we have a talk?”

Liliath’s request surprised me. I thought she would say ‘good night’ and then leave. I wonder what she wanted to talk about?

“Yeah. I also have something I need to say.”

Liliath entered my room.

Seeing that, I thought the chances of the second theory being the correct answer increased by one point.

That said, I don’t intend to lower my guard.

She sat on my bed, her hands traced the edge of the mattress.

“This was the bed I slept on the first night I was summoned here,” she spoke in a whisper.

I sat down beside her.

“You go first.”

“I want to apologize for all the trouble I brought to you and your family,” she lowered her head,“And there is nothing I can do to repay the debt with.”

“Hm? I told you before, right? I summoned you on a whim so it’s kinda my fault— my responsibility.”

My responsibility.. but I’m using my parent’s money ugh.. that just sounds unpleasant. I need to fix this.

“Noel. Are you really sure that there isn’t anything I’m destined to do? Perhaps there’s a duty I need to carry out that you still haven’t told me about?”

Again with this..

“Liliath. There are no enemies. Just enjoy your life— that’s it. Believe me. Of course eventually, when we become adults we would have to earn our own money to survive, through practical means of course.”

“Are you sure.. then how about now? What can I do now? Should I train my magic? Is there any place I need to go to raise my skills? What knowledge do I need to focus on?”

Hah... seriously?

Ok. I’ll admit I have no idea what Liliath is talking about. In normal tropes, the heroes undergo intensive training. I think that’s what Liliath is referring to.

“Liliath. Just study and learn more about this world. That’s the main thing you need to do for now. Learn about this world so you can earn money to support yourself in the future. There isn’t anything like an Adventure Guild that pays out money to adventurers. Jobs that help you survive to require you to learn specific skills.”

“And by skills, what are the necessary ones?”

“Well.. it depends on the job you want to have in the future.”

“Does my magic skill count? I am able to use all elemental magic without any issues.”

“Hey Liliath, are you worried about your future?”

“...”

Right. Liliath doesn’t know anything about this world. To realize that everything you knew from your original world could not be applied in the current world— that reality is harsher than you thought? 

“Don’t leave me.”

“Leave you? Why would we do that?”

“I sense distrust from you, Noel.”

Sense distrust from me..

Sharp. Liliath was able to tell in an instant huh? It’s useless to hide my thoughts from her.

Right. What did I tell myself again? Be careful of Liliath because she may be putting up an act— she could be trying to manipulate me?

“I—“

I couldn’t find the words. I had no idea what to say— Liliath was right. She was right— I didn’t trust her. 

“Noel.. what did I do? What exactly did I do wrong? How should I rectify that mistake?”

Her voice was shaking.

I don’t know. Could I be wrong about Liliath? What if she was just worried. Acting all clingy and bashful in front of me to keep her position in the house? Think about it, if I were to suddenly be thrown into an unknown world with an unknown family.. to learn that I had no means of contributing.. and that I could be cast aside at any point in time.. was that Liliath’s true feelings?

No.. what if it was another act. Remember, Liliath came from ‘that’ kind of world. It could very well be another act to gain pity. She’s a Princess, a demon queen, she’s not dumb, she may be trying to weave herself past my phycological defences. 

I don’t know.

“I’m sorry Liliath. As you said, I don’t trust you.”

“I-I understand,” I felt the bed sheet stretched, she gripped her hands into a fist.

It’s my fault.. the lack of information. I can’t find an answer.

We sat there quietly for a few seconds.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

I jumped.

Liliath turned to the source of the sound, my laptop.

Prune— she requested a video call. Her image appeared hovering in the centre of the screen.

“So is that why..” Liliath’s voice suddenly dropped an octave. She stood up and walked over.

“No, Liliath d—“

I grabbed Liliath’s hand, preventing her from accepting the call using the touchpad— wait how did she know about the touchpad?!

“LET GO! LET ME TALK TO THAT SON OF A BITCH!”

How.. Liliath remembered Prune? How did their relationship turn like this even though they met only once?!

No.. how did Liliath know that this was a video call? Did my mother or sister teach her about this?

“Liliath, clam down!”

“It’s got to be her, she’s making you betray me!”

Betray her? Me? Shit.. how.. but I didn't mean to..

I couldn’t retrain her even with both my arms. Moreover, I’m a male.. moreover, moreover, she’s 14 while I’m 16.... moreover, moreover, moreover, she’s a demon lord.

Liliath and Prune CANNOT meet. Not in this state.

I decided.

I pulled my other arm around Liliath’s waist and strangled her down onto the bed, me underneath her.

Her hair brushed my face and her entire body leaned against me.

“I’m sorry Liliath, it was my fault. It’s my fault. Sorry.”

“Why..” she cried without resisting my embrace, “What did I do wrong.. I didn’t do anything wrong so why?”

“I’m sorry.”

I have no idea what I should say.

It’s too complicated to explain how I got to the conclusion that Liliath could be a succubus. All I could do now was wait for her to calm down.

“Let me go,” Liliath wiggled.

“Alright,” I removed my arm and let her escape, after which I sat back up. Liliath’s scent still lingered in my mind. 

Owh fuck me what did I just do to Liliath.. pulled her down onto bed.. together with me.. 

No, no, no. She’s probably not a succubus.. it’s my own delusional thinking..

“So your comments on this lowly beastkin?”

Huh? Who was Liliath speaking to..

“Hhiiikkkhh! I’m sorry!” I saw Prune’s face displayed on screen for a flash of a moment before the call was cut.

Huh? Wait.. the call connected? Prune saw me hugging Liliath?

What?!

No.. crap how did it turn out like this?!

Liliath got up and made a beeline to the door.

“Liliath, I..” I struggled to form my words.

She gave me a glare with tears biting her eyes. She left my room without another word.

Damn it!

Why didn’t I trust her? Why did I have to have such thoughts? Liliath was a 14-year-old girl for fuck sake.. why can’t I just sympathize with her? What did I have to treat her like some sort of evil demon? 

Distrust? Betrayal? Manipulation?

Those things I’ve never suffered from before.. it must have hurt like hell. And for her to realize that I didn’t trust her.. she even opened up to me about her identity as a demon.

UGHHH!

Fuck me, fuck this, FUCK!

Why did I have to treat Liliath in this way.. she could’ve hid the fact about being the Demon Queen. Then I wouldn’t have speculated about her identity.. she trusted me.. that’s why she told me about herself.. and I betrayed that trust..

Why.. just why..

Why did I betray her?