Chapter 319: The Demon King’s Excuse
Chapter 319: The Demon King’s Excuse
Zorathys was lying.
There had been no emergency. He had not been called away to deal with anything important or urgent. He had been tired, as he always was, and he had needed some sleep. That was the truth. The simple, infuriating, predictable truth that he was currently trying to bury under a mountain of ridiculous lies.
Sure, he enjoyed spending time with his Firefly. He liked her company. He liked the way she challenged him, the way she refused to be intimidated by him, the way she threw things at his head and threatened to kill him. He liked the fire in her eyes when she was angry. He liked the way her voice rose when she was frustrated. He liked everything about her, even when she was trying to murder him with office supplies.
But he was also exhausted. Chronically exhausted, which honestly wasn’t surprising given who he was. And when the exhaustion hit, he did what he always did: he found a corner, or a shadow, or a pocket dimension, and he slept peacefully.
He had not expected her to try to kill him when they saw each other again.
That had been a surprise.
A pleasant surprise, if he was being honest with himself.
But even so, he also knew she was genuinely annoyed with him, which was why he was now making up lies just to appease her.
"What kind of emergency?" Elyn asked, her voice flat and unimpressed. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she was staring at him like she was trying to decide whether to continue throwing things or simply walk away.
Zorathys straightened slightly, his shadows curling around his feet in what might have been nervousness. He met her gaze, his eyes steady, and he spoke with as much confidence as he could muster.
"A very important one," he said.
Elyn stared at him.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. Elyn looked unimpressed.
Zorathys, on the other hand, was very impressed.
He noticed, in that moment, just how beautiful her eyes were. Expressive and bright. Filled with a fire that made something shift in his chest. He had always known she was beautiful — he had known it from the moment he had first seen her — but it now seemed like she was even more beautiful than before. He couldn’t explain it. He had always had strange reactions around her, reactions he couldn’t name or understand, and this was another one of those moments.
He shook his head slightly, trying to focus.
"You better explain what you mean," Elyn said, her voice cutting through his thoughts. "And just know if I find out you’re lying, I’ll make sure you can never get any sleep. Ever. I will find a way to keep you awake for the rest of eternity."
Zorathys’s eyes widened.
That was a threat.
A real threat.
She knew just how much he enjoyed his rest. She knew that sleep was sacred to him, that it was the one thing he valued above almost everything else. She knew that he would rather do anything than lose his precious sleep.
And she was telling him that she would make sure he didn’t get any.
He sighed deeply.
It was a long, defeated sigh, the kind that came from somewhere deep in his chest and carried the weight of a thousand years of exhaustion.
"Some demons," he said slowly, "were trying to steal my pet."
Elyn blinked.
"Your pet?" she repeated, her voice carrying a note of disbelief.
"Yes," Zorathys said, nodding vigorously. "My pet. And my pet was very injured. Very, very injured. So I had to go there to resolve the issue. That’s why I disappeared. I had to save my pet."
He swallowed, hoping that she actually believed him.
Elyn stared at him for a long moment.
"You have a pet?" she asked. "I had no idea you had a pet. Where is it?"
Zorathys shifted slightly, his shadows mirroring his discomfort.
"The pet is more of a companion, really," he said carefully. "And, um... the pet isn’t in the capital."
"Where is it then?"
"In a different territory. A very far away territory. It’s very far away. That’s why it took me so long to get back."
Elyn’s eyes narrowed.
"You’re lying," she said flatly.
Zorathys shook his head, his earrings swaying with the movement.
"I’m not," he said. "I really do have a pet. I can summon him, if that’ll make you believe me. He’s very real. Very large. Very... pet-like."
Elyn gave him a look — the kind of look that suggested she was trying to decide whether to continue the argument or simply walk away and never speak to him again.
The truth was that Zorathys did have a pet... numerous pet companions that had formed a bond with him, just like the Syrenthis demon had, and, um... no one had tried to steal this specific pet he was speaking of, but he would do anything to save himself.
Aquaria groaned then.
The sound was soft and pained, and it drew Elyn’s attention immediately. She rushed toward the water demon, crouching down beside her. Aquaria’s eyes were still wide, her body trembling slightly, and water continued to drip from her skin onto the floor in slow, steady drops.
Elyn turned to Zorathys.
"We’ll settle our issues later," she said, her voice firm. "But first, you need to heal her."
Zorathys made a face.
"I’m not a healer," he said.
Elyn stared at him.
"You have magic," she said. "I’ve seen you use it. You’re the Demon King. You can do almost anything."
"Yes," he said slowly. "But I don’t heal. That’s not—"
"Zor," she called out.
Zorathys sighed then. Her using that name meant she was serious.
"Fine," he said.
He flicked his fingers, and the room rearranged itself. The shattered inkpot pieced itself back together, the ink disappearing from the walls and floor as if it had never been there. The scattered parchments flew back to their places on the desk. The books stacked themselves neatly. The small statue returned to its spot.
And Aquaria was healed.
The water stopped dripping from her fingers. Her eyes cleared, and she sat up slowly, looking at her hands as if she couldn’t quite believe what had just happened. She touched her face, her arms, her chest, and then she looked at Zorathys with wide, grateful eyes.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," she whispered.
Zorathys didn’t respond. He was too busy looking at Elyn.
Immediately, footsteps sounded in the hallway.
The door to the office burst open, and several officers rushed in, their expressions urgent. They had clearly heard the commotion and come to investigate.
But then they paused.