Kalsas took in her entire expression, blinking several times as if blinded by a cold wind. He leaned forward, awkwardly saying, “Don’t be afraid.”
Naily took a deep breath, looking up at him, her azure eyes clear and fearless: “I’m not afraid.” She even managed a slight smile: “Can you show me around your home, Karl?”
The black-haired youth’s expression was illuminated by her single sentence. He said nothing, just nodded, but it was clear he was very happy.
Naily turned her head, looking at the snow on the mountain ranges outside the floor-to-ceiling window, a tiny white reflection in her eyes appearing cold and lucid. She didn’t like lying, but to go home, she would swallow her fear.
The priority now was to reconnect with the system; she hoped wandering through the demon’s lair might yield some insights.
When Kalsas naturally held Naily’s hand again, she only paused momentarily, not pulling away.
The demon’s lair was vast and magnificent, with countless high tower terraces.
After following Kalsas for a short while, Naily discovered that her residence on the second floor and the rest of the lair’s furnishings were surprisingly sparse, unlike the extravagant Demon King image described by the Vildians.
Passing through corridors, touring an empty ballroom, glimpsing a weaponry, and visiting one uninhabited hall after another, Naily grew increasingly anxious. The tour proved useless, and her system connection remained interrupted. As the dark red sky sank into deeper darkness, it seemed she would spend the night in the demon’s lair.
Sensing Naily’s mood, Kalsas quickened his pace, guiding her through a white corridor lit with crystal lamps, pushing open a stone door and stepping aside, revealing the scene beyond.
Naily stared outside, stunned.
They had reached the top of the demon’s lair. Beyond the door was a vast open space, planted only with white roses.
Rows upon rows of pure white flowers bloomed uninhibitedly, the air thick with a fragrance that was intoxicating. The high-altitude wind was sharp, yet the delicate roses danced fearlessly, their subtle fragrance alternating between dense and light.
A pale half-moon emerged from behind blood-red clouds, its light moving, with flower petals nearly transparent in bright areas and the white petal tips tinged with blue-purple in darker regions.
When Naily came to her senses, Kalsas had turned, his features softened like ivory under moonlight, the flickering fire in his eyes seeming capable of burning the white roses into brilliant red. He stepped closer, flipping his hand to reveal a delicate flower between two fingers, which he tucked into Naily’s hair.
He kissed the back of her hand.
Beneath the moonlit flower sea, a beautiful youth offering flowers would soften even the coldest heart.
But Naily was startled.
Just then, a clear system connection prompt sounded in her ear.
She carefully discerned Kalsas’s expression before feeling slightly relieved. However, because of Kalsas, she couldn’t immediately open the system interface and could only find an opportunity to return later. She wanted to probe further but felt her mouth dry, her voice carrying a trembling hint of excitement: “This… where is this?”
Kalsas seemed to smile slightly: “Moonlight Courtyard.”
He lowered his eyes, looking somewhat embarrassed: “If Naily likes it, she can come every day.”
The mountain wind blew, and Naily felt cold.
Kalsas took the opportunity to step closer, removing his cloak and draping it over her.
It wasn’t the red beginner’s hero cloak, but the black, thick cloak exclusive to the Demon King, heavy on her body like being embraced from behind.
“It’s time for dinner,” the voice muffled through the cloak, softening Kalsas’s typically cool tone.
Naily naturally had no appetite: “I… am not hungry.” She looked at her toes: “I’m a bit tired.”
Kalsas nodded, his hand resting on her shoulder. The scenery flickered, and in an instant, they were in the black and white marble corridor.
Naily looked back at the torch by the door, slightly lowering her head, softly saying: “So…”
“Good night, Naily.”
This time, Kalsas made no extra movements, just quietly watching her, the firelight reflecting in his equally hot and red eyes.
Naily was burned by this gaze, somewhat panicked, saying “good night” and quickly slipping into her room. Leaning against the door panel and touching her cheeks, she found them burning hot. She placed the cloak on the armchair, collapsed on the big bed, covered her face and turned over, falling asleep quickly.
She seemed to have dreamed, but upon waking, remembered nothing.
Just as dawn was breaking, Naily stared at the scenery outside for a while, quickly getting out of bed, grabbing the cloak and tiptoeing out of the room. Following yesterday’s memory, she surprisingly didn’t get lost, successfully finding the Moonlight Courtyard.
Looking around and seeing no one, Naily quickly opened the system interface, connecting to the main control terminal.
“Guide 1028, welcome back. May I ask…”
Before the welcome message finished, Naily urgently interrupted: “What’s going on! This hero is actually the Demon King! Now I’m trapped in the demon’s lair and can’t escape. How can I get home?”
The system was silent for a moment before the steady female voice answered: “Guide 1028, your mission is to kill the Demon King 100 times. In other words, even without a hero, as long as the mission conditions are met, you can return to your original world.”
“What if I fail?”
“The previous 99 records will be invalidated, and you’ll need to start over.”
Naily clenched her fist, her voice dry: “If… I die, what will happen?”
She was met with momentary silence.
Naily didn’t wait for the system’s response because at that moment, a crisp sound broke the silence, and the system interface was filled with bright red “Connection Interrupted”.
Naily turned in horror, seeing Kalsas approaching step by step, his red eyes half-hidden under his hair bangs, seeming about to burn.
Everything fell into darkness.
When Naily woke up, her head was hurting. The light from the floor-to-ceiling window was scattered across the room, and it was already afternoon. She hugged her knees, trying hard to recall the events before returning to the room, but her head was splitting.
She couldn’t remember anything, her memories abruptly cut off from the previous afternoon when she only remembered feeding Kalsas cheese. However, she was certain that something else had definitely happened afterward, and it must have been something terribly frightening.
Shaking her head vigorously, Naily got out of bed barefoot and casually looked around the room, noticing two stacks of clothing on the dressing table by the bed. She unfolded them to find a knee-length dress, a short cape, and a complete set of accessories. The fabric and tailoring were exquisite, yet inexplicably made her feel uncomfortable.
Naily looked at her white nightgown and, after searching around, couldn’t find her original clothes, so she had to change into the new outfit. Just as she fastened the last button, someone knocked on the door.
She asked uncertainly, “Who is it?”
“I’m here to bring afternoon tea,” came a gentle female voice.
Naily opened the door a crack and saw a woman in a standard maid’s uniform holding a tray full of food. She felt a subtle sense of dissonance, as if something was not quite right. She tried hard to remember who had brought her to this room but couldn’t recall.
She decided to put it out of her mind for now, taking the tray and politely thanking her: “Thank you, sorry for the trouble.”
