Dekan's Evasive Words

"Teacher, have you seen the Goddess? What does she look like?"

Before Dekan could answer, Eve kept chattering away beside Dekan, as if she had endless questions.

Eve was more certain than anyone of her teacher's devotion to this deity.

Even more so than Talomati, with whom he spends every day.

It's not just the teacher's prayers that have continued day and night for decades.

At the successor selection ceremony at the Demon Realm Hospital, Delois, who should have been invincible and stood at the pinnacle of the Demon Realm—

For some reason, Eve felt that the teacher became as vulnerable as a human being the moment he swore an oath to God.

She initially thought it was just her imagination.

After all, she was terrified at the time.

Now that she is no longer afraid and has come to understand her teacher, Eve looks back and realizes that, in some ways, her teacher can no longer be called a devil.

Perhaps even he himself didn't realize it.

However, over the years, Delois never asked Eve to believe in this deity, and no matter how much knowledge she taught her, she never included any personal opinions about the Holy Rite Church.

Thus, Eve's attitude toward Goddess of Reincarnation and Fate remained unchanged—"because she was the deity her teacher worshipped, so she respected her as well," but it was difficult for her to become a true believer.

After all, she, like her teacher before, didn't believe in the existence of gods and didn't quite understand the mentality of those devout believers.

Even knowing some of her teacher's past stories, Eve still couldn't understand why her teacher would so deeply believe in this god, who was most likely a fictional being.

Deep down, Eve might genuinely think the teacher was a bit foolish, but this was the one thing Eve dared not say out loud.

Of course, because of Delois's attitude, she once doubted whether this god really existed.

So when Eve heard the teacher's explanation, Eve was very surprised—it's really possible to receive a blessing from the gods?!

I've spent so much time with my teacher.

Eve was quite certain that she could tell whether the teacher was telling the truth or not.

Regardless, she didn't believe the teacher had lied to her!

After Eve finished asking a whole bunch of questions...

Dekan stood there with a wry smile, seemingly unsure of where to begin his response.

Finally, after thinking for a moment, he spoke:

"... To me, everything is a gift from her."

Dekan lowered his eyebrows and gave a vague answer.

For those of them who live in the present world.

The gods that one may never see in one's lifetime are merely a concept, a phenomenon.

God, or even God himself, is not necessarily needed.

So whether she actually exists or not is not important.

Of course, if one believes in gods only because they are certain of their existence, then perhaps that would be a form of insincerity or disrespect.

Whether or not to believe in Goddess of Reincarnation and Fate, Dekan hopes Eve will make her own judgment.

He didn't want to teach Eve this kind of thing.

Of course, Dekan also knew how devout Ikatinos was to the Goddess in the mortal world.

Even if some things are destined, Dekan doesn't want to influence Eve's own thoughts.

"Wow, what does this mean...?"

Eve, clutching her head in distress, asked...

"Teacher, didn't you say you hated riddle tellers? Why are you telling riddles now... Did I do something wrong to make you angry?"

Her initial anticipation vanished instantly.

In truth, compared to divine protection, she was more inclined to believe that her genius teacher had invented some strange magic with negative effects that could damage the brain and cause memory loss. She also believed that because her teacher was so devout to the gods, he fantasized that all of this was a gift from the gods.

This makes more sense no matter how you look at it!

Seeing Eve's expression, Dekan smiled slightly and gently patted her head with the book in his hand.

"Don't dwell on it. Maybe you'll understand someday. I'll teach you a lot, but your life is your own. Delois is just your navigator; the steering wheel is in your hands."

As he spoke, Dekan turned around to return to his workbench and begin working.

I've gathered most of the information I need, and even if there are any oversights, I can always mention them to Eve during my free time.

The work plan was roughly clear in my mind, and all that was left was to work with almost no time to rest.

Dekan wanted to finish the project as soon as possible and return to the Holy Kingdom, but he knew it would be very difficult, and he wouldn't have many opportunities to rest for the foreseeable future.

If it weren't for Eve, a reliable helper, Dekan would have felt completely lost.

"By the way, is Talomati coming anytime soon?"

Dekan suddenly stopped and asked Eve.

"She comes every day."

Eve answered Dekan honestly.

The teacher is starting to rush through the work again, which means I won't have much of a chance to slack off.

Although the teacher was always very strict with herself, she always turned a blind eye to Eve's occasional laziness.

"That's good."

Dekan nodded, his expression relaxing slightly.

Having Eve an assistant is still far from enough to improve work efficiency.

It's likely that it will take two months to complete mission objective 1, and by the time I rush back to the Holy Kingdom, the Shadow World will probably be over.

However, if we add Talomati, who is now a ninth-tier Great Demon, the situation might improve considerably.

Although, according to Eve's description, Talomati is far from being as versatile and powerful as the Master at his peak, Dekan is confident in his synergy with Talomati.

With their collaboration, any problem in Magic Engineering becomes much simpler.

Dekan planned to ask Talomati if she could come to the Devil King Tomb King's affairs.

Or let's discuss the feasibility: could we simply delegate many tasks to Sincere Purser and give Talomati a month's vacation?

Of course, as a form of time off, she would be working at the Devil King Tomb for a month.

"No way, Dekan..."

Sensing Dekan's thoughts, the Master asked him in disbelief:

"Even Morion wouldn't be that heartless. He wouldn't exploit his own sister like this, would he?"

Morion might make money off anyone, even Dekan, but he would never lay a finger on his own sister and would even allow Flora to use his wealth.

If Dekan encounters difficulties, he immediately calls on his sister to step in.

The more the Master thought about it, the angrier he became. This wasn't treating her like a younger sister; it was treating her like a mother!

"We'll make it up to her."

However, Dekan only responded casually to himself.

Are you sure?

The Master knew that this was how scumbags usually dealt with people.

She always felt that Talomati at this time was too innocent; he would probably help his brother count the money even if he were sold out.

The Master also despised the portrayal of Delois by Dekan.

This guy is clearly even more morally bankrupt than Delois; true to his name, he's morally questionable.

"And do you really have a chance to pay it back?"

After muttering to himself for a while, the Master hesitated for a moment before finally asking this question.

"..."

Dekan naturally knew what "Master" meant.

This Shadow World is the final chapter of the Holy Kingdom and the Shadow World.

This should also be the final chapter for Delois.

"If you can't pay it back in this life, you'll have to pay it back in the next."

Dekan's tone remained calm.

It's like stating a self-evident answer.

The Master was stunned for a long time after hearing Dekan's words, as if recalling all the things he had done with Dekan since they met.

A growing sense of doubt crept into my mind.

In her memory, Dekan at first... didn't seem to have such a nasty tongue?

It seems that it was after they gradually discovered that she really enjoyed eating delicious food.

That's how Dekan's way of speaking gradually became so annoying.

Could it be...?

He says things that make her angry every day, and makes outrageous bets from time to time... all so that she can take away his meals without feeling guilty?

Given Talomati's proud personality, even if someone were to offer her a larger portion of her meals as a gesture of goodwill, she would not accept such a favor with a clear conscience.

On the contrary, taking it from Dekan as punishment, and seeing his pitiful, hateful, and deserving appearance, Talomati felt a sense of satisfaction and catharsis, which was the best seasoning for the meal.

The more he thought about it, the more a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside him. The Master couldn't help but cry out in Dekan's heart:

"What you owe in this life, you must repay in this life!"

The Master rarely showed any emotional fluctuations other than anger.

"Well."

Dekan helplessly dealt with his Master, and unconsciously let out a bitter sigh.

And inside the Devil King Tomb, beside Dekan.

"Teacher, you're really good at fooling people."

Eve kept pressing for answers about the Goddess, and when Dekan gave a vague reply, Eve could only complain about his attitude.

Tell me, tell me!

She still wouldn't give up.

"Eve, the Demon King won't act like you. You need to be more mature."

Dekan always keeps his word.

He wouldn't tell Eve the answer he didn't want to.

However, Dekan hadn't expected Eve to be so lively at this stage.

After meeting Ikatinos in the present world, I thought Eve would gradually become much more mature.

It seems she still needs a long period of testing before she can grow into a demon lord capable of succeeding Delois.

"By the way, Eve, I'll be going on a long trip in a while. You'll stay at the Devil King Tomb to continue your studies. I'll leave you a lot of notes and assign you tasks."

Dekan changed the subject.

The only way to stop Eve from asking questions is to steer the conversation to another topic.

"Ah... Teacher... please take me with you..."

Upon hearing Dekan's words, Eve seemed to forget her previous struggles and immediately pleaded pitifully.

She clearly missed the land and people of the Holy Kingdom.

"This trip is quite dangerous. I'll probably bring Talomati with me. I'll give you all the permissions for the Devil King Tomb, and you can stay Devil King Tomb and help me continue modifying it."

The only way to leave the Devil King Tomb as soon as possible is for Dekan to finish most of the work first.

Then leave some finishing touches to Eve.

Since the journey to the Holy Kingdom will take about a month, if Eve can help Dekan complete the task in about a month, Dekan will likely receive a notification that mission objective 1 is complete upon arrival in the Holy Kingdom, and then see mission objective 2.

As for whether Eve can successfully complete the mission, Dekan believes there will be no problem.

Just as he trusted Ikatinos, Delois also trusted his student Eve.

Eve was startled when she heard about Dekan's request.

She knew, of course, what the teacher's permission to access the Devil King Tomb meant.

It is not a throne, but it is more real than royal power.

Possessing it is equivalent to possessing absolute power that no ninth-tier demon can rival.

"You'll come back, won't you, teacher?"

Eve asked Dekan with some concern.

Although the teacher's entrustment of this important task to her represents the teacher's recognition and trust in her.

But she also felt a strange unease that she couldn't shake off.

The teacher's tone seemed off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

"Of course. You don't mean you're already eyeing my throne, do you? You're two thousand years too early for that."

Dekan said irritably, and immediately gave Eve a sharp rap on the forehead.

"Haha! Teacher, are you exaggerating because you're afraid I'll surpass you in twenty years? Even if you don't give me the throne then, I'll snatch it from you! You can just relax and retire then!"

Eve said with a smug smile.

The teacher's praise made her a little arrogant.

She is completely different now; she is no longer timid and cowardly, but full of confidence.

Of course, her confidence stemmed not only from her own rapid improvement in strength, but more importantly from having an invincible teacher.

Dekan looked at Eve and, for some reason, smiled.

But soon he turned around and walked toward the pile of books beside the workbench.

Eve followed, somewhat puzzled, and tried to walk around to Dekan's side to see his expression, but Dekan simply quickened his pace and shook Eve off.

******

Author's Note:

The word count of my recent chapters may fluctuate around 4,000 words, but usually it's around 4,500 or 5,000 words.

At this point in the story, the characters' relationships, stances, and personalities are fully established. Compared to the earlier, more lighthearted Shadow World, this volume primarily focuses on filling in the plot holes. Or rather, compared to a period with ample room for development and story expansion in the early and middle stages, this volume is more of a concluding chapter. Therefore, the viewing experience might not be as exciting as the beginning, because the plot's direction is predetermined. It's somewhat like the final stage of a driving test, where you have to stop at a specific point, leaving almost no room for free exploration.

I feel that most of the content in this Shadow World will likely resemble ordinary, everyday stories. If you accumulate a few days' worth of reading, skipping directly to the last two chapters of the Shadow World in Volume Six probably won't significantly impact your reading experience. Of course, as predicted, the Shadow World portion of Volume Six won't be very long; Dekan will return to the Holy Kingdom in the next chapter, and Volume Six will probably end in a few more chapters.

Thank you all so much for your continued support. The updates have been sporadic lately, yet so many of you have still been willing to follow along. I am both Xi Zhi and incredibly grateful. I bow down in gratitude.