Dekan's Holy Kingdom Dream, Part 2

A few minutes later.

The aurora borealis, like a wisp of smoke in the starry sky, remained motionless for a long time.

The moonlit night was slightly cool, and all was quiet. The gray-haired youth strolled through the mountains and fields without ever looking back.

He walked forward, the bright moonlight generously shining on the flowers around him.

Behind the Lord's Mansion lies a cliffside sea of flowers.

At the end stands a towering ancient tree.

His destination was there.

A Red-haired Girl with a slightly haggard face leaned against the tree.

His footsteps quietly disappeared into the grass, but little did he know that he was shattering the rare tranquility of the sea of flowers.

As if by coincidence, the wind and clouds rose and she was awakened by the noise. She opened her eyes and looked at the grass and waves reflecting the surging moonlight. She slowly stood up, leaning against the tree trunk, and looked at the lonely gray figure opposite her with a kind smile.

The gray-haired youth frowned, seemingly unable to understand why she was laughing.

Just as the gray-haired youth was about to say something...

The Red-haired Girl gently raised her hand and pressed her index finger to her lips, signaling him to be quiet.

The gray-haired youth swallowed back the words he was about to say, and walked towards the girl with a somewhat sullen expression.

The Red-haired Girl watched as the gray-haired youth walked up to her, a smile on his face, and asked:

"Delois, I guess you want to ask me now whether my smile is out of kindness or malice, or perhaps neither?"

Delois shook his head:

"Miss, you know I can't understand human kindness and feelings, so why are you deliberately making things difficult for me?"

He didn't understand this girl.

Her name is Clodia, and she is the daughter of the lord of this territory.

My first encounter with her and her father was about three years ago.

It all started on a whim; he happened to save a lord who had been ambushed and was on the verge of death, and wanted to study this down-on-his-luck middle-aged man with his desperate yet stubborn eyes.

Unexpectedly, the lord, with his unique insight, saw through his disguise as a demon.

Just as Delois was about to kill the lord to silence him, the lord surprisingly proposed a contract to him.

The lord promised to teach Delois more about humanity and how to disguise himself more perfectly, in exchange for Delois lending him his power.

And at the end of the contract, the lord also willingly gave his life to Delois.

Perhaps it was because they found some interesting emotions and traits in this lord.

For example, the lord might find some humans more evil than demons.

Delois readily accepted the contract.

After signing the contract, he completed all of the lord's requests within a few months, and in the process, he also learned a lot from the lord.

For Delois, their contract had already ended.

He should keep his promise, take the lord's life, and then leave.

But change always happens faster than plans.

In the eyes of Delois, who was fond of studying anthropology, the lord's daughter, this conspicuous Red-haired Girl, was like an outlier.

Delois simply couldn't understand her thoughts and feelings.

She perplexed Delois like a set of puzzles.

He had originally planned to leave this territory long ago.

It was because of this girl that they stayed here for another two years.

He also lived like a real human being for two years.

Although in the first few months, Delois mostly did dirty work such as cleaning up villains.

But in the following two years, he helped the leader with many other things, which can be described as doing good deeds and accumulating merit.

This is utterly absurd for a demon.

Perhaps an ordinary demon would have already been driven mad by this kind of morally reprehensible test.

But for Delois, all of this was worthwhile.

If one day I can understand this girl's thoughts, then I will definitely take a big step closer to understanding the great academic subject of human emotions.

Unfortunately Clodia suffers from an incurable disease that is not present in this era, and she does not have long to live.

I don't know if I'll be able to find out the answer before she dies.

That's fine too.

As long as she's dead.

He had no reason to stay in this territory any longer.

Now you can proceed to your next destination with peace of mind.

Delois thought to himself, his expression gradually returning to normal.

That perfect fake smile.

However, before the young girl Clodia utter another word...

Her expression turned pale, and she swayed slightly.

It seemed that standing up had exhausted all her strength.

Delois quickly stepped forward and helped her up.

It wasn't out of concern.

Rather, it's a conditioned reflex of being an excellent housekeeper.

The moment Delois actually touched her, he realized how thin and haggard she had become, as if she were about to disappear at any moment, like a feather.

Perhaps those chosen by death become more delicate and graceful, as if to demonstrate that death is superior to life.

There was no sadness on her face.

Only that warm smile, which seemed to dispel even the moonlight.

For some reason, Delois felt that she was more beautiful than any work of art he had ever seen before.

"I may not have much time left... I may not be able to give you the answer you want to know."

"Clodia said weakly."

She gradually lost even the strength to stand.

She let Delois hold her, nestling against Delois without any suspicion.

"It's alright. This was an unexpected surprise outside of our deal with the lord. I won't be disappointed by your death, nor will I feel the same sadness and grief as the lord."

Delois's words sounded extremely malicious.

What he said was indeed the truth.

Demons cannot feel the sorrow of parting from humans.

However, this did not make the Red-haired Girl sad or angry; she seemed to have gotten used to this Gray Demon friend.

She simply continued:

"Even though you say that and you think that way, the memories of the past three years we've spent together are all in your mind, right?"

Delois: "Yes."

Hearing Delois's affirmative answer, the Red-haired Girl smiled gently:

"Let me tell you, people's thoughts change over time. When you think back on me someday, you might have different thoughts."

Delois frowned.

It seems to have become even more confusing.

"I can't understand it. It took me years just to learn how to distinguish between what humans call good and evil. Not to mention all the strange things you keep saying. After all, I can't possibly become a real human being."

The girl smiled helplessly and shook her head, seemingly preparing to change the subject, and asked:

"If it were possible to become a human, would you want to be a good person or a bad person?"

Delois didn't dislike talking to her; he would answer any question she asked.

As long as she can still pose difficult questions.

My interest in her won't diminish.

If I had another five or ten years, maybe I could really find the answer.

So Delois thought for a moment and replied:

"... I don't know, but I do know that if it were done according to the wishes of Miss and Lord, what you asked me to do could be called punishing evil and promoting good, so I did a good deed."

"So, are you willing to continue being a good person?"

The Red-haired Girl immediately pressed for an answer.

Delois was stunned.

He never imagined that there would be naive humans in the world asking a demon if he wanted to be a good person.

Even if the answer is "yes."

Would anyone actually believe that?

Both the question itself and the possible answers sound like a joke.

I was just going to give it a quick and casual answer.

But looking at Clodia, he thought about how this interesting girl was about to die.

Her eyes seemed to be expecting her to continue being a "good person".

How ridiculous.

However, this demon, obsessed with studying humanity, seemed to have no right to criticize her.

To achieve this bizarre scene, besides a strange human, a strange demon is also needed.

The story has unfolded to this point partly because of his obsession with studying, imitating, and learning from humans.

Since that's the case.

Logically speaking, it seems reasonable for me to comply with her wishes.

End-of-life care?

Yes, that's the concept.

Delois thought for a moment and replied:

"If you wish, I wouldn't mind being a 'good person,' after all, there's no difference between a 'good person' and a 'bad person' to me. But I only know how to follow your instructions or play the role of a human being, and I don't know how to be a 'good person' as you define it."

"Delois, I'll teach you,"

A faint smile appeared on the girl's lips.

It seemed to be whispering, "What an idiot."

The devil's cleverness and rationality at their extreme appear like human clumsiness.

But in any case, she was pleased with Delois's answer.

"If you cannot understand kindness, yet you strive to understand human emotions, then stand opposite evil, forever and ever, and you will be a good person..."

"..."

Delois remained silent.

He suddenly realized.

It felt like I had made an incredible promise.

"When you truly understand one day, you won't regret what you did in the past..."

The girl's eyelashes trembled slightly, her vision blurred, and she continued to murmur as if she was about to succumb to sleepiness.

She knew that demons felt no remorse or pangs of conscience.

But she believed in Delois.

One day he'll understand.

It's a pity I won't live to see that day.

Her last wish to the Goddess was that she didn't want Delois to suffer on that day.

"I understand. As you wish, consider it my tuition fee."

Delois sighed as if he had come to terms with it and accepted his defeat.

Although the tone was as cold as if a contract had been signed.

But these emotionless words reassured the girl.

"But selfishly, I also hope you never understand human nature..."

On the girl's face, which looked as if sculpted by moonlight, glistening tears seemed to slide down from the corners of her eyes.

"Why?"

Delois looked at the girl and asked, puzzled.

Despite spending more than two years with the girl, there were still many things he couldn't understand.

But what puzzled him most each time was the girl's talk about human nature.

"Because your heart will break..."

The Red-haired Girl in his arms slowly closed her eyes.

It seems, for a long time, that he will never wake up again.

Dekan suddenly woke up.

She sat up in bed, panting.

Recalling the scenes from my dream.

In that dream, he even forgot who he was.

All I remember is that my heart was completely unmoved from beginning to end.

However, the moment she woke up, she recalled the red figure that had vanished like a phantom.

He felt completely panicked, his heart aching as if it were about to be torn apart, as if he were about to lose half his life.

Dekan raised his paw and suddenly realized that he was still in cat form, and this wasn't his room.

Cornelia was beside her, seemed to have just woken up as well.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and saw the Little Gray quickly break into a smile.

Did you sleep well?

Cornelia reached out and stroked the Little Gray, asking softly.

Dekan remained silent.

The cat form has been deactivated.

He transformed back into a human Cornelia.

Cornelia was stunned.

But she still placed her hand on Dekan's back and patted him gently.

Unlike the cold, weak hand in his dream, Cornelia's hand was warm and reassuring.

"I'm sorry... those weren't my true feelings..."

Dekan's voice was filled with pain and self-blame, and it was broken and intermittent.

"What did you say?"

Cornelia asked in confusion, then, as if she had thought of something:

"Could it be that the heartless Delois told Clodia, 'It doesn't matter if she dies'?"

Did you dream about the same thing?

Dekan asked in surprise.

He wanted to push Cornelia away to get some answers, but he found that Cornelia wouldn't let go and he couldn't push her away.

The difference in strength between the two was too great.

"Hmm. Also, let me tell you, Clodia said she wasn't angry, she was actually very upset inside!"

Cornelia's tone was unreadable.

But she seemed to be secretly laughing.

"Sorry..."

Dekan seemed deflated again and gave up the struggle.

He was completely at Cornelia's mercy, held in her arms.

He had already verified it.

"Why are you apologizing to me? You're not Delois, and I'm not Clodia. You're Dekan, the one who cares about me the most."

Cornelia rested her chin on Dekan's shoulder, her head close to his, and closed her eyes as she spoke.

Slowly.

This seemed to gradually calm Dekan down.

Meanwhile, outside Cornelia's bedroom window, a black cat was nimbly leaping around, then skillfully opened the window and flew over the curtains.

"Cornelia, meow! I'm back! Tell me a story..."

The Cat Teacher exclaimed excitedly, as if he had just been released from prison.

However, it hadn't finished speaking.

Then I saw the scene inside the bedroom.

Neither of them uttered a word.

Dekan bit his lip with a complicated expression, but his eyes showed more relief and reassurance.

Cornelia had her eyes closed, a smile on her lips like that of someone reunited after a long separation.

They embraced each other quietly, as if they had forgotten about time.

"Meow? Meow meow??! Meow meow meow!!!"

Its eyes rolled back on the spot, and it fainted from excitement.

It looked like a transparent cat-head ghost was about to emerge from the corner of his mouth.

Cat Teacher was murdered for unknown reasons.