Chapter 98: My World Will Be Boring
Chapter 98: My World Will Be Boring
The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon’s eyes crinkled into a broad grin behind the eyeholes of his mask.
Had he ever imagined I would demand he unmask in exchange for lifting his restriction? He was furious, yet simultaneously amused. I was likely the first person to ever make those two conflicting emotions coexist within him.
In all his life, he had probably never met anyone who dared to defy him so recklessly. Even his father didn't treat the Demon Lords with such casual disregard.
I knew exactly how much the Smiling Demon enjoyed moments like these. His blood would be rushing, his heart pounding wildly. I considered it a sickness of sorts.
"What will you do if I promise to take off the mask, only to break that promise later?"
"I’d have to lunge at you and tear it off by force."
"Well then, why don't you give it a practice run right now?"
In an instant, the light in the Smiling Demon’s eyes turned frigid. Ready for combat, he became a completely different person from the man he had been just a moment ago.
I waved my hands dismissively and pushed my chair back.
"If I did that, I might end up having the skin flayed off my own face."
The Smiling Demon released his aura, asking leisurely, "Now then, if you can't take it off by force, what do you plan to do?"
I stared at him for a moment before answering calmly.
"I won't do anything."
The Smiling Demon flinched. I had just given the correct answer—one that even he, the party involved, hadn't realized.
Doing nothing.
For a contrarian like the Smiling Demon, this was the right move. He looked at me with an expression of pure incomprehension.
"Does that mean you intend to trust me?"
"To be honest, I don't. 'Extreme Evil Smiling Demon' isn't exactly a name that inspires trust, is it?"
I laughed as if it were a joke, but he didn't join in.
"Now, let's head out. You should go and have your meal as well, Lord Smiling Demon."
I didn't explain my reasoning. Sometimes, silence produces the best effect—especially when there isn't much of a reason to begin with. Occasionally, the other person will inflate that insignificance into something grand and meaningful on their own.
I stood up first, and the Smiling Demon followed suit. Leaving the Pungryu Tavern, we retraced our steps. As he walked beside me, he suddenly stopped.
"Please wait a moment."
He approached a peddler selling masks, bought a plain white one, and handed it to me.
"A gift to commemorate today."
Accepting the mask, I remarked, "I proposed a condition for you to take off your mask, yet here you are, putting one on me instead."
I obediently put it on.
"It’s stuffy. I guarantee you’d fight twice as well if you took yours off. Just how long do you have to wear this thing before it becomes comfortable?"
"It doesn't take as long as you might think."
"If that's the case, the reverse must be true as well. I mean the time it takes to feel comfortable without the mask."
Through the eyeholes of his mask, the Smiling Demon stared at me in silence.
So, this is how you’ve been looking at me.
Now, he too could only observe me through the slits of a mask. Perhaps this was more disadvantageous for me; the Smiling Demon had spent years living among subordinates who all wore masks.
I pushed the mask up onto the top of my head like a hat.
"Wear it like this. See how comfortable it is? Wear it when you want to, take it off when you want to. Just like this."
As I spoke, I patted the top of the mask that was now staring up at the sky from my head.
"This fellow probably feels good too, looking up at the clouds."
At that, the Smiling Demon looked up at the sky.
"Wouldn't this be enough? Then both of us would be looking at the sky."
After staring at the heavens for a long time with hollow eyes, the Smiling Demon turned his gaze back to me. He had made his decision.
"Very well. I accept the condition the Second Young Master has proposed. If you lift my restriction, I will remove my mask when we are alone."
I didn't actually believe he would keep his word. Even before my regression, I had only seen his face once, right before I died. He wouldn't unmask easily.
However, the fact that he made the promise at all was significant. Would I truly get to see his younger face?
"Thank you, Lord Smiling Demon."
The vertical tally mark on the line in my mind moved a bit further to the right. It was still a long way off. It would have to cross the halfway point before he would even begin to hesitate over whether or not to kill me.
"I suppose I need a condition of this magnitude to be able to stand up to my father, don't I?"
We smiled at each other. Neither of us put any sincerity into it, but we grinned broadly as if the laughter itself were the seal on our promise.
*
The next day, when I entered the Heavenly Demon Hall, Chief Strategist Sama Myeong was present. After paying my respects to my father, I spoke playfully to the strategist.
"I've been driven into a corner lately because of you, Strategist."
"Whatever do you mean?"
"Father has closed the gap in our Go matches to within two points."
Only then did Sama Myeong realize I was talking about the game, and he let out a chuckle.
"That is because he was swindled by a strategist who can't even play Go."
"You've already heard, I see."
This time, I laughed. My father was so stoic that I didn't think he would repeat our jokes elsewhere, yet he shared everything with Sama Myeong. It was a testament to their bond.
After the light greeting, I stated the purpose of my visit.
"Father, I have come to ask a favor."
"Speak."
"Please lift the restriction on the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon."
Father was not surprised. He had likely received reports that I had been meeting with the man recently. Instead of my father, who looked down at me in silence, Sama Myeong stepped forward.
"May I ask the reason?"
"The Extreme Evil Smiling Demon came to me and asked."
"Then could you not simply refuse?"
"What if I refused and he threatened to kill my family? Ah, then I would become the Heavenly Demon. Should I have accepted that?"
Sama Myeong did not laugh at the joke.
"This is not a matter for jesting. Do you know why the Smiling Demon was placed under restriction?"
"I know. He slaughtered the warriors of the Unorthodox Path Alliance."
"The Smiling Demon is a man who cannot control his rage."
"The longer he is kept bound, the greater that rage will grow until it eventually explodes."
Sama Myeong could not refute those words. My father, who had been listening, suddenly asked, "Can you take responsibility for him?"
"Why should I take responsibility? The responsibility lies with the one who causes the trouble."
"If a dog off its leash bites someone, how can the responsibility lie solely with the dog? The one who released it must also answer for it."
"Well, that is true."
"If you accept the condition of taking responsibility, I will lift the restriction."
"I can't look after him forever, can I? Once the restriction is lifted, he will leave the Cult immediately. I will take responsibility only for what happens during that departure."
"Fine!"
Unlike my father, who granted permission readily, Sama Myeong still looked uneasy.
"The Smiling Demon likely has much pent-up frustration from being confined within the Main Cult for the past two years. Once he enters the Central Plains, he may commit a massacre."
"I will keep that in mind and watch him closely."
Finally, I expressed my gratitude to my father.
"Father, thank you for your permission."
Of course, my father did not accept the thanks so easily.
"I wonder if this is truly something to be thankful for."
From the perspective of the Heavenly Demon Hall, they couldn't keep the Smiling Demon restricted forever. My request provided my father with the perfect excuse to lift the seal. Consequently, this matter had also turned into a test for the successor.
Father. I'm sorry, but I have the advantage this time. I already know exactly what the Smiling Demon plans to do once he leaves the Cult.
*
Leaving the Heavenly Demon Hall, I went straight to Villain Valley to find the Smiling Demon.
"Did you truly receive permission?"
The Smiling Demon seemed surprised that I had secured my father's consent in a single day.
"Yes. The restriction will be lifted tomorrow. The official document from the Tongcheon Pavilion should arrive sometime then."
A flash of admiration crossed the Smiling Demon's eyes. "I did not expect you to accomplish it so quickly."
"Now you see why you should support me instead of my brother, right?"
"I shall have to give it serious thought. But did the Cult Leader simply grant permission?"
"How could he? Father set a condition."
"What kind of condition?"
I let out an exaggerated sigh. "If you cause any trouble, I am to take full responsibility for it."
"Oho! You've staked your position as successor for my sake."
"Something like that."
The Smiling Demon did not hide his surprise. "Is this a matter worth such a risk?"
"The matter of seeing your face? I believe it is well worth it."
"The Second Young Master has risked far too much just to offer such flattery."
"Well, since the flattery has already been exposed, I'll offer one more. In this life, becoming friends with the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon is an experience no one else will ever have. It's a gamble worth taking."
The Smiling Demon stared at me as if trying to pierce through my soul. He likely wanted to figure out my true intentions, but he wouldn't be able to understand me through my eyes and expression alone. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future.
"To put it another way, I can cause as much trouble as I like, since the Second Young Master will be the one taking responsibility."
"It’s truly maddening."
"Why didn't you hide it? You could have just kept the 'responsibility' part to yourself. It's a weakness for you."
"I had to say it. Aren't most of the problems we face caused by not saying things when they need to be said?"
The Smiling Demon gave a strange smile. It was different from his habitual one.
"I have no intention of disregarding you. Nor do I believe that hiding things will stop what is meant to happen from happening."
"Whenever I heard rumors about the Second Young Master, I thought they were exaggerated," the Demon said. "But seeing you now, it seems they were greatly understated."
"That might be because it's you, Lord Smiling Demon."
"What do you mean?"
"Even with the same report, the content sounds different depending on the emotion of the listener. But in front of you, your subordinates can't help but be stiff. They likely only give dry reports, stripped of personal opinions. They wouldn't have been able to properly convey what kind of person I am."
"That makes a great deal of sense."
His laughter changed again. The Smiling Demon laughed like that when he was deep in thought.
"In exchange, please make one promise."
"What is it?"
"If you have business outside the Cult, you must go with me. If you break this promise, the restriction will be reapplied, and you will likely have to start the duration all over again from the beginning."
"There's no need to wait. Let's leave the Cult tomorrow."
The Smiling Demon was exactly the kind of person to make such impulsive decisions. That was why dealing with him was so difficult. I, too, answered without hesitation.
"I look forward to our journey together."
I deliberately referred to our departure as a "journey."
"We are not going on a journey," he corrected.
"If you go with a friend, isn't it a journey no matter where you go?"
I didn't intend to approach this trip with a heart full of anxiety, constantly worrying about how to stop him from causing trouble. I would leave with the mindset of truly going out to play with the Smiling Demon for a while. If a friend fights, I'll stop him; if a friend falls into danger, I'll save him. I would go with exactly that much in my heart.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
"I will see you tomorrow morning, Second Young Master."
As I was about to open the door, the Smiling Demon asked from behind me, "Is there anywhere you want to go?"
I turned back to him. "Many places. But on this trip, I want to see your world. Please show it to me."
"My world will be boring. Perhaps even more so than the Ma Clan Village."
"It only feels that way because it's your own world. It will look different to someone else."
He laughed, and I laughed along with him.
I found myself laughing often when meeting the Smiling Demon. Whether it was a forced laugh, a laugh with a dagger hidden behind it, or a laugh with sincerity—regardless, I ended up laughing. They say laughing often leads to a long life. So, there was at least that benefit.
As I opened the door to leave, I added one last thing.
"By the way, the Ma Clan Village isn't such a boring place. After all, they are the people who make a living selling masks to the Extreme Evil Smiling Demon, aren't they?"