Dekan and Talomati's Past

Purser walked quietly through the streets of Clantes City, no longer trying to test the Captain of the Knights.

Talking to the Captain of the Knights again would only anger her and yield almost no useful information.

He was still somewhat bothered by the strange figure from behind he had just seen.

But Purser used his unique detection and perception magic to lock onto the opponent, and after repeated examinations, he could only confirm that the opponent, from Magic Power to physical body, was just a human unsuitable for combat.

As someone who has perfected the art of manipulating Magic Power to its ultimate level, Purser possesses absolute confidence only in the matter of detecting Magic Power.

Even a ninth-tier expert skilled in disguise couldn't completely fool him.

It was precisely because of his accurate detection of Magic Power that Purser once proudly stated that even if he were to encounter Delois one day, no matter what disguise Delois made, he would be able to see through this legendary powerful demon by identifying the flaws in his Magic Power.

There's only one explanation for that human from before.

Purser knew that there were also artistic professions among humans that could cultivate an extraordinary aura.

However, such people, especially the geniuses among them, are not seen on the battlefield.

There couldn't possibly be any truly Terror humans in this world.

It's normal that since this is my first time visiting a human city-state so peacefully, I lack some firsthand experiences and observations.

I guess I was just being too sensitive.

After Purser left with the city-state's Captain of the Knights.

The fourth floor of the hotel that Purser had previously been interested in.

Dekan left his room 404 with his coffee cup in hand, and opened the door to the adjacent room 403 without knocking.

After arriving in the city yesterday, they learned that Lunn had just left the Lord's Mansion, so they decided to rest in the town for a while. Coincidentally, Dekan also wanted to look for his companions first.

Based on the intelligence he had gathered, Lunn's target for negotiations was most likely Morion.

When Lunn returns, I'll probably get to meet that swindler.

Dekan had become accustomed to encountering Morion at the fastest possible moment within a Shadow World.

This guy is surprisingly reliable.

As for who the remaining two people are, Dekan is still not entirely sure.

However, regarding the eighth-tier Shadow World...

There's a good chance... Clay.

This man evoked complex feelings in Dekan.

To be honest, Dekan already considers Clay a brother in arms.

But being teammates with Clay really requires a strong heart and an extremely optimistic attitude.

The thought that there might be a vanished Clay on this Shadow World map terrified Dekan...

I just hope my buddy can give him a break and not make another surprise appearance.

On the other hand, we should be able to see all our companions in this city before the first phase of the mission ends.

After all, the requirement for the first phase is that all four of them need to reach Lunn's territory within 60 days.

With such clear restrictions, surely no one can pull off something truly outrageous.

With this thought in mind, Dekan felt a little more at ease.

After unlocking the door to room 403, I saw a layout almost identical to my own room.

Because the winters in the northern border of the Holy Kingdom are very cold, the interior decorations that Dekan saw after arriving in this city were mostly made of natural wood or solid colors to create a warm atmosphere.

This is Talomati and Eve's room.

Eve was responsible for taking care of Talomati throughout the journey, and when they stayed at hotels, Eve and Talomati always shared a room.

Eve just went out to buy their breakfast.

So now only Talomati is left alone on the bed.

She still appeared as a cold, beautiful woman with gray hair and blue eyes; all the demonic features had been concealed.

She looks like an ordinary human woman.

After entering the Holy Kingdom's territory, Dekan deactivated [Blood Mimicry] and then had Talomati and Eve disguise themselves as humans.

The Demon Realm Hospital has special potions and scrolls that can disguise demons as humans.

This is a sophisticated method that the Demon Realm has had for many years, allowing demons to easily infiltrate human kingdoms.

The moment Dekan pushed open the door, Talomati glanced in the direction of the noise, and upon realizing it was Dekan, not Eve, coldly looked away.

Dekan slowly walked towards Talomati's location, his coffee steaming in the air.

"Guess what I just saw?"

Dekan walked to the wooden coffee table not far from Talomati's bed, sat down in a chair, and asked.

Talomati acted as if he hadn't heard Dekan speak, simply leaning against the bed and slowly turning the pages of the book in his hands.

After leaving the Demon Realm, Dekan felt that it was a bit inhuman of him to have paralyzed his sister, so he adjusted the dosage of the [Paralysis Potion] on Talomati, allowing her to move her limbs slightly.

However, Talomati was still too weak to even lift a glass of water and needed Eve to take care of her.

And to keep Talomati from getting bored, Dekan bought her some potentially interesting books to choose from along the way.

Of course, Talomati responded to all of Dekan's kindness, whether it was food or books, with only a cold look.

Later, it seemed that Talomati found Dekan's constant talking to her too annoying, or perhaps she gradually got used to Eve's care. As long as it wasn't given to her directly by Dekan, but through Eve, Talomati would still accept it.

Finally, as long as Dekan doesn't bother Talomati, Talomati will eat well and live a good life.

Although they communicate very little.

But as time went by and they traveled together, their relationship seemed to have improved slightly compared to when they first left the hospital.

But that's only true for now.

For example, when Dekan suddenly approached and struck up a conversation, Talomati used his actions to express, "Don't bother me while I'm reading."

"I don't think it's normal for siblings to have a fight, and they shouldn't hold a grudge for a whole month... I've been seriously reflecting on what happened with that box of pastries..."

Dekan reluctantly dragged his seat back a little, keeping a slightly greater distance from Talomati.

He could easily understand the meaning behind Talomati's expressions.

Even though she always had a stern face.

At this moment, Talomati's icy expression conveyed the message, "Stay away from me."

"..."

Talomati kept a cold face and resolutely ignored Dekan.

Her expression now conveys the message that she just wants Eve to come back soon and for Dekan, who inexplicably struck up a conversation with her, to leave the room as soon as possible.

Anyway, we'll all be saying goodbye tomorrow, so there's no point in saying anything now.

"Sigh... When Lunn comes back tomorrow, I'll take you to meet him, and then you'll know whether I'm telling the truth or not."

Dekan sighed, utterly exhausted.

Even though he had explained to Talomati repeatedly over the past month that he did not intend to take her prisoner back to the Holy Kingdom, but only wanted her help to facilitate peace talks between Lunn and the Demon King.

She didn't believe it at all, and even became increasingly impatient.

Furthermore, Dekan has given up on seeking help from his Master online.

It's already a miracle that my Master didn't intentionally make things worse.

Although Master has always been Dekan's most trusted partner in crucial moments, Master's character in their daily interactions is actually quite complex.

She gets angry even when I call her "sister," and she still gets angry even after I promise I'll never call her that again.

In the end, Dekan was too afraid to mention the word "sister" anymore.

Dekan felt that life was not worth living.

His younger sister, who acts like a father figure to him, has been stealing his meals for a whole month, leaving him with only a real-life version of raising a racehorse girl.

He also has a younger sister who constantly gives him the cold shoulder, using passive-aggressive behavior and disgusted looks to hurt him.

Finally, they uncovered their Master's past and found their long-lost sister. These two joyful events combined should have created a dreamlike world... but why did it turn out this way?

All he gets is injury; he'd rather not be this older brother. All that talk about a cute little sister is a lie.

Only the sensible Tata in the real world could bring Dekan a little warmth to his heart.

"Oh."

Talomati finally responded to Dekan.

But all he got in response was a cold laugh.

She seemed to feel that Dekan was insulting her and making fun of her like a fool.

Clearly, the Holy Kingdom currently holds a significant advantage, with Lunn being the most steadfast advocate of war in the Holy Kingdom over the years.

How could they possibly advocate for peace talks?

Even if we take a step back and assume that Lunn really wants to negotiate for some hidden reason...

Talomati still felt there was a sliver of a possibility that he could just grab any demon messenger to do something.

The only absurd thing about it is that Lunn secretly asked Delois, the most dangerous demon, to handle the secret peace talks!

There is not a single logical coherent point.

However, Talomati was certain that she would see Lunn tomorrow.

However, he was not the "peace envoy" that Delois mentioned, but rather a "bargaining chip."

Over the years, she has imagined countless times what it would be like to meet Delois again.

Although she knew they would most likely become enemies, she never imagined that one day, when she saw her brother again, he would be so heartless as to hand her over to the enemy like a toy.

Delois's insincere attempts at goodwill along the way only made her feel extremely disgusted.

Dekan lowered his head, unable to express his bitterness.

He felt bitter whenever he was ignored by Talomati along the way.

Regardless of Talomati's attitude towards him, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with Talomati.

He always regarded the Talomati in this Shadow World as a family member he had lived with for more than ten years.

He clearly owes Talomati nothing.

But Delois is indebted.

It was like a debt owed from a past life, like a lingering resentment clinging to him, impossible to shake off.

"... Talomati, if—and I mean if—tomorrow you discover that I wasn't handing you over to Lunn as a prisoner of war, but genuinely wanted to facilitate these peace talks, could you clear up the misunderstanding between us?"

Dekan did not offer a tempting bet that he was certain to win, as he had done in the past when he wanted to trick others.

He only wanted to resolve the conflict between Talomati and Delois.

But only silence answered Dekan.

Dekan gave a wry smile, seemingly intending to pick up his water glass, leave the room, and not bother Talomati any longer.

Just as Dekan stood up to leave.

"That doesn't change the fact that I hate you."

After a moment of silence, Talomati finally spoke.

This might be a rare opportunity for the two of them to be alone, with Eve not around.

Talomati finally spoke some of her true thoughts to Dekan.

This was as if Talomati had thrown out the last thread to Delois on the eve of their parting.

Whether Delois can catch this thin thread and convey his true thoughts back to her depends on her.

Dekan's lips parted slightly, but he swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

He understood Talomati's character.

It's clear that at this moment, I shouldn't ask, "Why do you hate me?"

This kind of question will only make Talomati angrier.

She might think, "You don't even know how much I hate you."

What Talomati really wanted to hear was simply an apology from Delois, or an explanation, or even just an answer.

What she truly resents is...

"..."

Dekan remained silent, while Talomati waited.

The room was silent except for the sound of Talomati turning the pages of his book.

I don't know if she's really interested in reading.

To be honest, Dekan didn't know what to say as Delois to put Talomati at ease.

Because he had no idea about the story between Delois and Talomati.

Faced with Talomati's question, even if Delois might be able to answer it, Dekan had no idea where to begin.

But I... now that I'm Delois, I should be able to handle all the problems that Delois can deal with.

So perhaps there's something crucial that you know about, but you haven't been able to get in touch with them.

Dekan could only try to think, recalling what he knew about Delois.

He was certain that he was also portraying Delois in the fourth Shadow World, [Endless Purgatory of Eternal Pursuit].

Moreover, it was Delois who used [Blood Mimicry] to impersonate Talomati, using Talomati's identity and credentials to infiltrate the Demon Realm Prison; that was also Delois's battle that made her famous.

Going further back in timeline, the only thing related to Delois... is that dream of the Holy Kingdom.

And, a little story that Dekan gleaned from Eve—

"At Eve's Demon Academy, there once lived a pair of Twin Demons who left behind a legendary tale. One of them was Delois, and the other was Talomati."

But all of this is missing the most crucial element.

That is, what happened between Delois and Talomati until they parted ways.

For the first time, Dekan felt he had encountered an insurmountable problem, and he looked up at the window in despair.

Maybe I should just hope Eve comes back soon; I don't want to be tortured by Talomati anymore.

Only.

The next moment.

Looking out the window at Dekan, his pupils gradually contracted.

It was as if he had just thought of something.

The light snow that had started falling outside the window, reflected in his eyes, had intensified and gradually turned into a vast expanse of white snow.

It's like the snow scene on that barren mountain.

Could it be that some stories were already etched into his experiences long ago?

Dekan's heart began to race. He took a deep breath and, in a gamble, asked Talomati:

"Talomati, do you remember when we went to that Wild Mountain Ancient Mansion together?"