“I referred to you as such because I thought we had become close in a way. In our past life, at the very end, we became pretty close, didn’t we?”
“What a load of bullcrap…”
“Haha. It turns out there is a saying like this among the humans. Becoming friends after a fight…”
“…”
“The so-called friendship of the humans… I heard that it is something that grows bigger and stronger through bickering… Am I wrong?”
Abyss saw that Riley’s face was crumpling. He glanced at Riley’s face and asked carefully if what he was saying was incorrect. Riley’s face looked like he was getting a headache. Riley was massaging the temples of his head.
“You used to be a demon. Now you became a human. Did your insides change too? If this was your past life, you would have never said such things.”
“I am not sure? It could be that I’ve changed. Perhaps I didn’t change. Still…I think I have not changed much. Instead of me, you have changed a lot.”
Abyss snickered and said Riley was the one who had changed more. Having heard Abyss, Riley thought about the conversation he had when he had been fighting the Demon Lord in his past life.
‘Oh… A Demon Lord is showing concern for the Brave Hero? Oh my, this is ridiculous. The fact that a Demon Lord is kinder than the Priestess… I wonder who should I bring this up to?’
‘Did you say I am kind?’
‘Ahah… If I knew about this sooner, I would have sided with you instead. Nobody would have tried to trip me off. I wouldn’t have had to be concerned about people’s gazes either.’
‘In that case, why don’t you side with me now?’
It was not exactly just before Riley’s death. The conversation had taken place just before his battle against the Demon Lord. Thinking about the conversation, Riley had a bitter look on his face. He started to laugh but it was hollow.
“In the past, you were the Brave Hero who could not go a day without swinging his sword. Now, I have been hearing that you are living in a Count’s Family and demonstrating the pinnacle of laziness. Honestly… it was hard to believe.”
Having heard Abyss, Riley thought about his second life in this world, starting from the moment of his reincarnation and up to this very moment. The look on Riley’s face seemed to be saying that what Abyss had said was plausible. Riley showed a hollow look on his face.
“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Compared to you… perhaps I have changed more.”
Abyss was looking at Riley’s face from the side. Abyss twisted the tip of his lips, smiling. He then explained his impression of Riley.
“Compared to the past, you seem to be comfortable.”
“What?”
“I’m saying you look well in comparison to your past life.”
It seemed the fishes were biting. Straining his eyes, Abyss pulled the fishing rod. He saw a tiny fish hanging on the hook. Disappointed, he clicked his tongue.
“Hm. It is small.”
Abyss saw the tiny fish that was struggling in the air while hanging from the hook. With just his gaze, Abyss freed the fish from a distance and released it into the water.
Splash
The tiny fish looked as if it had been grabbed by something invisible. It was pulled from the hook, released, and floated in the air. It was set free and returned to the lake.
“You are letting it live?”
“I learned to save the little ones.”
“From who?”
Changing his mind… Riley also thought that Demon Lord had changed a lot in comparison to their past life. He casually asked where Abyss had learned this.
“I learned it from you.”
“From me?”
“That’s right.”
Riley thought Abyss was going to babble on about the order of nature or what not. Instead, Abyss said he learned it from Riley. Riley was not expecting this. He put a question mark on his face.
“So, I have been staying with the children of Ansyrium who were left behind. With your senses, I’m sure you would have noticed them along the way… By any chance… did you not see them?”
Riley had seen the children with ragged appearances who were peeking out of a ruined building. Riley said,
“I did see them.”
“They are the children I’m talking about. After this city named Ansyrium was destroyed by Epidemic, the humans called adults abandoned them… They are the children who have nothing left.”
Abyss checked the fishing hook. He then started fishing again. Abyss started to explain about the children who were left behind.
“I’m staying with the children. Regardless of who I am inside, still, my exterior is similar to these children. Perhaps it would be correct to say I have been protecting them. On a side note, Epidemic, the child of lizards had been looking for, is one of those children.”
With a look of disbelief, Riley stared at Abyss. However, it seemed that Abyss did not really mind it. He continued.
“Although my decision started with seeing Epidemic struggling to not harm the children, fundamentally, the thought of wanting to help these children occurred to me because of you. In the past life, I had seen you desperately trying to save children.”
Protect them?
A Demon Lord was?
A Demon Lord protecting human children?
As if that was not ridiculous enough, he was actually living with them?
“Enough with your ridiculous jokes.”
With a cold gaze, Riley looked at Abyss. Riley demanded that Abyss should cut the lies and tell him the truth.
“Do you realize who was the one that toyed with the lives of those innocent children who knew nothing… After all this time, what are you saying? Protecting children and living with them?”
In his past life, the children who had been tempted by the demon… came back as monsters that killed humans. They were shedding tears of blood. Riley remembered this. It made Riley tighten his grip.