Chapter 394 - Talking To Tsukiko
While Ren was busy organizing the Serbek Kingdom, Tsukiko and Leila were waiting for him under the tree of life. Even though it has been a few days since they have last seen Ren they weren't that bothered by it. To races that can live for a longer period of time like them, they view days differently from the short-lived humans. To them, days were like hours and months were like a day and a year a month.
So the moment Leila stepped into Tsukiko's territory the only thing she did was greet her, and after that, they waited quietly under the tree of life. Leila was finding the right moment to talk, on the other hand, Tsukiko found it fun to wait and see when Leila would talk.
Every time Leila gathers up the courage to talk, Tsukiko would notice it and try to talk as well. Once that happens Leila stops and an awkward silence ensues. Tsukiko found Leila's different facial expressions kind of cute. It was actually quite amusing messing around with her. It reminded Tsukiko of the time when she would usually mess around with the other demon lords of her era.
'I wonder how I can mess around with this little puppy. I can't really mess around with Ren, for some reason just thinking about it makes me scared. I no longer tease the elves since that got boring a century ago. I could mess around with Ren's women, but I haven't met them yet. Though I guess I did see that girl with no expression, and the other one who was looking at me like she wanted to dissect me. Hmm, the former would be a challenging one to tease, while the latter could be someone that could help me tease the others… Wait, I'm getting off-topic here, what should I do to make this little puppy fumble about?'
While Tsukiko was thinking of how to tease Leila, the person in question was also having her own deep thoughts.
'Damn it! Damn it! What should I do?! What should I do?! This is getting too awkward! What the heck is this?! Every time I try to talk to her she would also try to speak. After doing that a few times we couldn't get a word in. Are we cursed or something, what kind of curse makes people talk at the same time?!… Okay, first I need to calm down and look at lady Tsukiko.'
Leila peeked at Tsukiko at the side. She saw that Tsukiko was engrossed in her own thoughts.
'I can't talk now, what if lady Tsukiko is thinking about something important and I mess up her thoughts. She might not be a demon lord anymore, but she still might kill me if I do something that irritates her… Okay, let's wait for a bit.'
Leila stopped thinking about it for a second and looked at the falling leaves of the tree of life. Unlike normal trees, every time the a leaf of the tree of life falls means one life on this planet had been extinguished. Yet at the same time, when those leaves fall a new one would replace them. Watching the falling leaves of the tree of life was both melancholic and inspiring.
'Among those leaves would be a reincarnation of my family. I wonder if they reincarnated as humans like Big bro?… Even though we will never meet as we were before, it is heartwarming to know that they're still there under the same bright sky.'
Leila curled her lips a little bit upward. The expression she had was a little melancholic, but at the same time hopeful. Seeing Leila losing interest in talking and was immersed in watching the falling leaves, Tsukiko decided to do something. Tsukiko suddenly emitted some bloodlust, it wasn't enough to alert the others but was enough for Leila who was sitting right beside her to sense.
Leila who was calmly watching the falling leaves was surprised by Tsukiko's bloodlust. Leila quickly stood up from her sitting position and warily looked around. Even though usually no enemy could get near without her sensing them, Leila was still on guard since the current enemies were somewhat different from the others.
Based on the brief explanation she heard about Primordial Demons, Leila knew that mana sensing and her sense of smell wasn't going to cut it. As she warily looked around she noticed that Tsukiko was no longer emitting any bloodlust.
"Lady Tsukiko what is it, did the enemy leave?"
Hearing Leila's question and looking at her expression, Tsukiko was trying her hardest not to laugh. She then showed Leila an apologetic expression before answering.
"I'm sorry for startling you, Leila. I just remembered something from the past. You know how it was back then, with us five demon lords fighting each other. Seeing you and Kretos, ahem, I mean Ren had reminded me of the old days."
"Oh, is that so?" Leila once again sat down and was about to say something to continue the conversation but then she saw Tsukiko once again deep in thought.
'Hmmm, so she's thinking about the past just like me… Now that I think about it, wasn't she the one who accompanied me during my time inside that ice coffin? I guess I haven't thanked her for accompanying me for all those years. Still, I should do that after she's done reminiscing.'
Leila looked at Tsukiko who was gazing at the tree of life. Tsukiko's eyes were looking beyond the tree of life, as her tails flutter in the wind. At that very moment, Leila had a single thought. 'Beautiful.'
Tsukiko was truly beautiful and ephemeral, it felt like she was one with nature itself. It was like at any moment she could be like the clouds in the sky and be blown away by the wind. Leila was stunned by the very sight she saw. It was then that Tsukiko looked at her and smiled.
"Hmm, why are you looking at me like that?" Being jolted awake from her daydreaming, Leila shook her head and looked the other way embarrassed.
"Not it's nothing I just remembered something."
Seeing that reaction of hers made Tsukiko feel extremely happy. 'She's so cute! How adorable, I don't think I'll ever get bored teasing this little pup. Still, for now, that's enough messing around. I'll do it later once I get to know her better.'
"What did you remember?"
'Damnt it! This is my chance for a normal conversation, so stop blushing Leila!' It took Leila a few seconds to calm herself down before she was able to turn around and look at Tsukiko.
"I just remembered that it was you who accompanied me in that ice coffin all those years ago."
"Yeah, that was me. I teleported there as I remembered what Ren did for you. I thought that if I did the same thing I would be able to stop the encroaching of the mana killing curse. Unfortunately, it did not, all it did was slow the process. Still, with that, I was able to stay there for a few years, and I was able to accompany you in your dreams."
"I always wanted to ask why you did that? You had no obligation to save me, so then why?" As a pure demon, Leila knew that the demons believed in the strongest rule all, and survival of the fittest. So it confused her a bit that Tsukiko, someone she had never met before that day, helped her. Seeing the confusion on Leila's face made Tsukiko giggle.
"It wasn't anything noble like you think it is. It was actually a very selfish act of mine. You see, you were one of Ren's few regrets. He had me erase his memories of you because at the time he couldn't take it. Every time I remember that face he showed me when I told him I have no way to save you… That face of his still haunts me to this very day. Knowing that I was the cause of him to once again show such a face, filled me with guilt. So I saved you before you succumbed to the darkness of your very soul. It was a way for me to somehow feel better about myself. It was something I did so I won't be as guilty as I die."
When Tsukiko said that last line she sighed as she smiled. Leila shook her head and responded.
"It doesn't matter what reasons you had, to me, the only truth I know is that you saved me, and for that, I'm truly grateful." As tears were slowly forming in both of their eyes, Tsukiko quickly wiped hers away and smiled an even brighter smile than before.
"So Leila, are you also one of Ren's women?" Leila who was also rubbing her eyes quickly shook her head as she blushed. She waved her hands in front of her before responding.
"No, no, no! He and I aren't in that kind of relationship. We're actually in a sibling type relationship, he's my big bro."
"Oh, is that so? So you don't see him as a romantic partner at all?
"I do respect him, but that's it. I only respect him as a big bro."
"That's what you say, but I wonder what you really think?"
The two then started talking about different topics while laughing. As the leaves of the tree of life continued to fall, the two maidens that shouldn't exist in this era filled their lonely hearts with laughter.
…
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