Chapter 335: Too Many Opinions for One Outing
Chapter 335: Too Many Opinions for One Outing
Elyn’s POV
"Your Majesty is beautiful," Dracolthar said earnestly, his four crimson eyes fixed on me despite the fact that he was still hanging upside down in the air. "Really, really beautiful. I have never seen anyone as beautiful as Your Majesty."
The shadows around his legs swayed lazily as Zorathys continued holding him aloft as though the enormous demon weighed nothing at all.
"I only wish to spend a little time with Your Majesty," Dracolthar continued. "Where I come from, beauty like yours is very difficult to find. It is almost impossible. I simply wish to admire it for a little while."
His expression was so sincere that it was difficult to believe he had just been moments away from being thrown back to wherever Zorathys had summoned him from.
"I truly would not inconvenience Your Majesty," he promised. "I can be very quiet."
"You cannot," Zorathys drawled.
Dracolthar looked offended.
"I can."
"You speak too much."
"I only speak when necessary."
"You have spent the last few hours, including yesterday, calling my wife beautiful."
"Because she is."
"And you are still speaking."
Dracolthar looked as though he wanted to argue further.
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"Zorathys."
"Hm?"
"Stop being rude to your guest."
He looked at me with complete seriousness.
"Dracolthar is not a guest."
"No?"
"He is a pest."
I stared at him for a moment before glancing at the children gathered around us.
"Well," I said, "that isn’t exactly new then."
He tilted his head.
"Every child present here is also a pest to you."
Zorathys took a look at the children, then his face scrunched up in disgust.
"They’re all pests," he said.
"There," I said, pointing at him. "You just proved my point."
"I wasn’t attempting to disprove it."
"I know."
"They’re still pests."
"And Dracolthar?"
"A larger pest."
Dracolthar looked deeply hurt.
"I am not."
"You are."
"I’ve done nothing."
"You arrived."
"I was invited."
"You invited yourself."
"I asked politely."
"You remained after I ignored you."
"I assumed your silence meant yes."
"It meant I was asleep."
Dracolthar blinked all four eyes.
"...Those two things can sound very similar."
I couldn’t help smiling.
"Zorathys."
"Hm?"
"Put him down."
"He’ll continue talking."
"I don’t mind."
"I mind."
I folded my arms.
"Put him down."
He looked at me for several long seconds before letting out the most dramatic sigh I had ever heard.
"You are very strict, Firefly."
"I’ll become stricter if you keep arguing."
His shoulders slumped.
"As you command."
Without another word, the shadows disappeared, and Dracolthar dropped headfirst to the hard floor.
My eyes widened in shock, and I winced instinctively.
What the f...
I opened my mouth to scold Zorathys because, obviously, what he had done would hurt Dracolthar, but to my surprise, the demon casually pushed himself upright as though nothing had happened.
He brushed invisible dust from his coat, straightened his sleeves, adjusted one of his horns, then smiled brightly at me.
There was no scratch, neither was there any complaint from him.
Then I remembered exactly where I was.
Right.
The demon realm.
I really needed to stop expecting things to function according to common sense.
Demons survived impossible falls.
Kings carried around monsters the size of mountains as though they were household pets.
Somewhere in this realm, there was probably a demon who considered being struck by lightning an enjoyable afternoon pastime.
The absurd was simply... normal here.
I shook my head, deciding to focus on something else, which reminded me...
"Zorathys," I called out.
"Yes, Firefly?"
"Link everyone to the bracelet," I said. "Including yourself."
"Again?" he asked, his voice carrying a note of genuine disbelief.
"Yes, again," I said. "And I’ll announce it now: anyone who goes missing isn’t joining us on the next outing. No exceptions. Not even you, Zorathys."
He grumbled under his breath.
"That’s unfair," he said. "I didn’t go missing. I was handling—"
"You went missing," I said flatly. "For hours. While I was being arrested."
"I was handling an emergency," he argued.
"Yes, and I know it was an emergency, but that still doesn’t mean you didn’t go missing," I said.
Zorathys opened his mouth to argue, then closed it. His shadows stilled around him, and I could see him searching for a response that would somehow justify his actions.
He grumbled something under his breath that I didn’t catch.
Then he linked everyone to the bracelet.
"So," he said, his voice carrying that lazy drawl that I had grown accustomed to, "where do you want to go today?"
I considered this for a moment.
"I’ve seen a little of the capital," I said. "And I can continue exploring it another time. But I’m really interested in the other territories. I want to see what they look like."
Aziren’s voice piped up from Zorathys’s arms.
"We should visit my mummy’s place!" he said excitedly, his flames dancing with enthusiasm. "The Kit-kitsuwegawa..."
He paused, then turned to Zayrion.
"Kitsunegawa," Zayrion corrected.
Aziren nodded.
"The Kitsunegawa," he said slowly, trying to copy Zorathys. It was not perfect, but he did try his best.
"It’s beautiful there!" he continued. "The forests are so green, and the air smells like flowers, and there’s fruit, sweet fruit too. And parties and games and and..."
He turned to Zayrion for support.
The child in question continued, his tails moving excitedly as he adjusted his glasses.
"It’s fun, like Aziren said. Really fun too," he said, his voice carrying that measured calm he always had, though I knew he was quite excited. Even his ears twitched. "My mother would be pleased. She likes visitors... sometimes."
Velira made a face, her nose scrunching up.
"We spent the whole day yesterday in a stall owned by the fox demons," she said. "We should visit the succubus territory instead. It’s more interesting. There’s music and dancing and beautiful demons and—"
"There’s also the Velaryx Miasma," Retheris supplied.
Velira pouted, her wings drooping slightly.
"We should go to the Thalassar Domain," Retheris said, his light blue hair catching the light.
"It’s beautiful there," Thalira added. "The water is so clear, and the castle is amazing, and you can see all the way to the bottom of the—"
Aziren spoke up again, his voice carrying that same enthusiasm.
"We could visit my daddy’s territory too," he said. "The Hellfire Territory! It’s warm there, and beautiful, and we have fireflies too."
Okay, I was interested in them all, I’m not going to lie, but I was more curious about a certain place.
"What about the Golemhold Territory?" I asked.
Brixton’s ears turned red.
He looked down at his feet, his voice quiet and hesitant.
"You would want to visit there?" he asked.
I smiled at him.
"Of course," I said. "I haven’t seen it yet."
Brixton’s ears grew even redder, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Zorathys nodded slowly.
"It’s been a while since I was there," he said. "The last time was when Brixton was born."
Brixton’s ears burned so bright I was genuinely concerned for his health.
Dracolthar spoke up eagerly, his four eyes bright with excitement.
"I’ve never been there!" he said. "I would love to see it! I’ve heard it’s very rocky and impressive and—"
Zorathys ignored him completely.
"The Golemhold Territory it is," he said.
And then his shadows enveloped everyone.