The Demon King's Calm Arrogance

So I skipped my own leave _(:з"∠)_

Chapter 130 The Lord of Fiends's Arrogance and Composure

Miss Surtr is a very lively person—it's a strange description to describe her. But that's always been Liliana's thought when she looks at her. She looks like a thoroughbred horse that's been pulling a millstone for a hundred years. Finally given a chance to go out, the whole horse... no, the whole person is overflowing with joy and exhilaration.

—What kind of power would it take to lock someone like her in the mill?

Is it a belief? Or a responsibility?

Will she be rewarded for this?

The silver-haired Knight Princess's mind raced. She was acutely aware that her thoughts seemed to be severely distorted—a cognitive filter, as Miss Surtr put it. She vaguely sensed that Miss Surtr was someone of high status, someone connected to her... or rather, someone she should be connected to. This was confirmed by her unwavering decision to hand over the box containing Erica to the maid.

"You seem very happy?" she couldn't help but ask as they walked through the bustling yet orderly streets, past the fanatical witches who seemed oblivious to them.

"Yes, I'm very happy." Miss Surtr nodded cheerfully. She walked forward, taking long strides. Every two or three steps, she would hop a little.

"Because I must rest today. I can't do any work today, nor should I." She picked up a lilac blossom from a roadside flowerbed, her steps light, her skirt swaying in the breeze. "Do you know how long it's been since I had a proper rest before today? A thousand years? Ten thousand years? A million years? Or even longer?"

"I can't even remember myself... It wasn't about sitting on a bench daydreaming, worrying about a bunch of interpersonal relationships and battle plans. It was about doing things that made me happy and had absolutely nothing to do with work while I was doing nothing." A cheerful voice accompanied cheerful steps. Dingxiang slipped from her hand and flew into the bright night sky, turning into a burst of fireworks.

The girl's radiant face appeared exceptionally beautiful in the light and shadow cast by the fireworks and the Solar Palace. No adjective could adequately describe her at that moment. For as she smiled, all the flowers in the entire Second New Tokyo City were in full bloom, bursting forth in vibrant color. Yet, not a single one could rival her radiance.

She walked a long way alone. Only her sword accompanied her.

She seemed lonely, yet not a trace of sorrow clung to her. She was a night-blooming cereus, enjoying the beauty of fireworks, sunlight, moonlight, and nightfall all by herself.

—Her smile...is so beautiful.

A flicker of longing mixed with confusion flashed in the knight's eyes. She instinctively took a step towards the girl who was enjoying herself alone.

She only took one step.

"Watch out, Icarus." The young girl with cat-ear hair blocked her path. "The sun's rays can be deadly. Getting too close is not a good idea."

—Icarus?

The knight girl jolted awake. Reason returned to her mind—strangely, she felt neither angry nor offended. Instead, she felt this was the natural course of events. Icarus, the knight, even ordinary flowers and trees—what living thing in this world doesn't yearn for the sun? And since it yearns for the sun, shouldn't it naturally endure its scorching rays?

She thought to herself.

But she still asked instinctively.

"Why?"—she asked a stupid question.

"Because the sun is so selfless and so powerful," the young girl replied, without casting a single glance at the bag containing the Gorgon Stone. "The more ambitious and knowledgeable you are, the more easily you will be drawn to her. Because subconsciously you know that your ideals, your desires, your pursuits can be easily achieved with her help."

"You also have lofty ideals, don't you?" The silver-haired young girl looked at her with a meaningful gaze. "My eyes can see that you have the qualities to become a hero, Liliana Crannicar. You and the girl in the suitcase both have that potential, and in all of Italy at this time, only the two of you are qualified."

"You and that blonde girl were trapped the moment you saw her, with nowhere to run."

"Only lazy people would place their hopes for success in the hands of others, young lady." The knight didn't feel offended; instead, he found it inexplicably amusing. "Besides, I already have someone I want to offer my loyalty to."

"I intend to serve the Seventh King of this world, the one who shares the same name as the Fire Giant King Surtr. Although I do not know her well, from her current actions, I feel that she has noble sentiments and is a more worthy Monarchs to serve than the other six kings of this world. Under her command, I am sure I can achieve great things."

"You mean the other God Slayer are not as good as her?" a maid standing to the side suddenly asked.

However, the silver-sword-wielding girl shook her head. "No, I don't believe there's a hierarchy among kings. I just feel... apart from the Seventh King, none of the other kings have even the slightest pity, tolerance, or expectation for the people affected or the damage caused. Kings don't actually need knights, nor do they need people. Kings are rulers, demagogues, and profiteers. But they are never protectors."

The maid gave a soft snort, about to say something, but the words caught in her throat, and she didn't continue.

The cat-eared young girl looked at her with a half-smile.

"So, you pledge allegiance to her to become a protector. And what you protect is the interests of the people, not hers—do you think that counts as loyalty?"

Liliana nodded, showing no intention of backing down even though the person she was arguing with was a young girl who looked no more than ten years old.

"For other kings, perhaps not. But for the Seventh merciful king, I simply happened to be on a similar path to her—she was doing the right thing, and I followed her. I could do the right thing too. That's why I wanted to pledge my allegiance to her. Until she changed course, my sword, my blood, my body, everything I had, I could entrust it all to her."

The young girl's gaze towards her became even stranger.

"So, [Icarus] was swallowed by the sun just like that—I'm now a little curious, after the seventh day of rest, when the cognitive filter is removed, will you feel ashamed for what you've said?"

"A knight will take responsibility for every word he says." The silver-haired girl straightened her chest—perhaps this was the only area where she could lose to Erica.

"Then I look forward to it— um." A light chop to the forehead landed on the young girl. At the same time, Liliana received a light tap on the shoulder.

"You lot, making fun of people to their faces is not a good habit. Don't you know what embarrassment is?"

Miss Surtr, with her fiery hair, appeared beside the two of them at some point.

"I didn't see even the slightest bit of embarrassment on your face," the young girl said, tilting her head back as if to retort. Then she was immediately struck a second time on the head.

On the other side, Liliana turned her head slightly to the side.

"But the person we're talking about isn't here..."

Miss Surtr's eye twitched slightly.

"The person they're after is Lu Xun, what does it have to do with Zhou Shuren... So this is the kind of thing I encounter. Sigh, it's a nice bit of entertainment, I suppose. Heh... People around me only approach me to take advantage of my abilities. Hearing this kind of talk every time makes me sad."

Do you encounter this kind of thing often?

"Often. After all, I said I'm from Otherworlder." Miss Surtr stretched. "I've traversed hundreds of worlds and experienced countless battlefields. Hundreds of gods have fallen at my feet. Thousands of demons have howled under my sword. I've witnessed the rise and fall of stars, and gamma tides turning the Milky Way into dust. I've seen the end of the world, the lament of all things. I participated in it, dominated everything, and then personally created a new era."

It was an exaggerated description. For a moment, the silver-haired Knight Princess even thought she was exaggerating. But apart from herself, everyone else seemed to think differently.

So she shut up and just listened to the Flame-haired Girl continue her story.

Miss Surtr smiled and nodded at her.

"I have experienced too much, witnessed too much. I have met too many people, too many things, too much support, too much betrayal—the mortals I have met always yearn for heroes in times of crisis. And this hero would rather die in war or fade into obscurity. Otherwise, the hero's fate can only be one of becoming a king or a dead man."

"I've seen it so many times that I'm starting to get tired of it. So, in this long life, I've come up with some lessons that may only apply to myself—that is, don't have hope. Don't have hope for anyone or anything. As long as you start by assuming and planning for the worst, even the most difficult task can become smooth."

"So..." Athena looked at her as if she were a monster. "You've never trusted anyone from the beginning. You're absolutely wary of everyone around you?"

"No, not at all." Miss Surtr's hair fluttered in the wind. "I trust them. I trust everyone around me. I just know that with that trust, I also know that, given the right circumstances and the right time, everyone around me could stab me in the back—after all, heroes approach me because of my abilities. Because I can help them achieve their ideals. So, it's not so hard to imagine what might happen when I stand in their way."

"Then you will punish them, turn them into stone. Turn them into monsters. Make them suffer forever, like Tantalus and Sisyphus?"

This was the way the Greek gods did. Tantalus, for deceiving the gods, was punished by being forbidden to drink water or eat fruit. Fine wine and delicacies were within reach yet out of reach. Sisyphus, for a similar crime, was punished by being sentenced to forever push a boulder up a mountain that would roll off before reaching the summit, until the boulder was placed on top.

However, the Flame-haired maiden simply shook her head again.

"No, I won't do that. Because there's no need—how many times do you think I've been betrayed? How many times have I been stabbed in the back? How many times have I been deceived? How many times have I died? The number is far too many for me to count. No, I won't do that. I won't let down the world, even if the world lets me down."