Chapter 11: Three-Eyed
Chapter 11: Three-Eyed
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of fast, energetic footsteps echoed through the hallway, carrying a mix of excitement, longing, and a hint of nerves.
Demons with both familiar and unfamiliar faces watched her with bewildered expressions, but the girl paid them no mind as she hurried along the path she knew by heart.
The bleak, gloomy atmosphere of the corridor wasn't exactly to her taste, but such things were merely a matter of perspective. Even the things one hated most in the world could be overcome if they were with someone they loved.
"I'm almost there, Lena."
As she reached the top floor of the ancient castle, the warm, cozy air she remembered so well brushed against her skin.
The girl moved forward, feeling a wave of nostalgia as the familiar surroundings naturally brought back cherished memories. Standing before the elegant door she knew so well, she could sense the presence of the master of that beloved mana.
As she always did, the girl flung the door wide open and shouted.
"I'm back, Lena!! It's been a while, hasn't it?!"
The scenery of the room hadn't changed much from her memories, even though over a decade had passed.
There was the solid wood furniture with its distinct scent, the vanity with its mirror, the rug woven from wolf fur that the girl's parents had gifted, the canopy bed—and a man and woman lying atop it.
The girl rubbed her eyes. Perhaps her third eye was acting up today, because she was seeing things. The blonde, naked woman half-covered by the duvet was definitely the Lena she knew.
Her body had matured since they last met, and even from another woman's perspective, she looked captivating.
"Oh, Sheryl? When did you get back to the capital? You arrived earlier than expected. Ah..."
Lena greeted Sheryl warmly, but her face stiffened slightly as she realized the presence of the man beside her and struggled with how to respond.
"Uh... this is Lord Jaejin, the Demon Lord candidate for our Lust Demon Race... Uh... well..."
"I took Lena's virginity."
"Yes, that's right. He took my—wait, is this really the time for jokes?!"
Lena slapped the thigh of the man called Jaejin with a sharp smack. In that brief moment, Sheryl realized that the man beside her was just as undressed as Lena.
The girl's mind couldn't keep up with the situation unfolding before her eyes. A man she had never seen before was seemingly sharing a bed with Lena.
Even more confusingly, while Lena scolded him for taking her precious virginity, she had stepped slightly in front of him as if to protect him.
Faced with this incomprehensible phenomenon, the girl chose the only option she had.
"Le... Lena has... hic... gone weird... waaaaah!"
She let out a torrent of uncontrollable emotions.
"Oh... uh? Sheryl, I'm sorry, okay? So... please stop crying?"
Lena hurriedly fashioned clothes out of mana and began to soothe the wailing Sheryl. Watching the two of them, Jaejin chimed in, sounding genuinely confused.
"But she's the one who barged in without knocking. Aren't we the victims here?"
"Well... that's true, but... Oh, honestly! Lord Jaejin!!"
Seeing Lena agree with such a tactless remark made Sheryl feel even more slighted, and she cried even harder. A flustered Lena had to scold the culprit, Jaejin, while simultaneously trying to calm the sobbing girl.
*
Sheryl was a blue-haired girl. Though she looked like a young girl, that was only her outward appearance. Like Mari, she stood around 170cm—quite tall for an average person—and despite her youthful looks, she was actually older than Jaejin.
Basically, almost all demon races fell under the category of long-lived races, making it difficult to judge their age by appearance alone.
The girl's personality was incredibly energetic and fiercely aggressive. Whenever Jaejin was unlucky enough to run into her, she acted ferocious, as if ready to bite his head off at any moment.
Conversely, when Lena was around, she became as gentle as a lamb, treating Jaejin with the utmost deference as if he were the eldest son of a prestigious family. It was difficult for him to adjust to her shifting attitudes at first.
If she found him that unpleasant, he figured she could have just settled somewhere far away. Instead, she insisted on living in the outer castle where Lena stayed.
To make matters worse, she took a liking to the training room built for Jaejin and used it constantly, meaning they ran into each other at least two or three times a day.
"Hmph. Is that all you can lift?"
One day, while Lena was out on an errand, Sheryl seemed bored and started nitpicking as Jaejin lifted a barbell.
"I'm not old like some people, and I only started three weeks ago."
A Red Oni he'd met before had told him that for a beginner who had never touched a weight, being able to do a proper set of 60kg bench presses in just three weeks was an incredible rate of progress.
With the endorsement of a race obsessed with physical training, Jaejin was confident he wouldn't be rattled no matter how much Sheryl tried to provoke him.
"Do you really think you can survive the Demon Lord competition like that?"
"Lena said I could, so I assume so."
"Tch, how annoying."
He was slowly learning the knack of handling her. Whenever things got disadvantageous, he just had to mention that Lena said so, and she would back down, unable to contradict her.
Actually, it felt a bit unfair to be called "annoying" for simply answering her questions when she was the one who started the picking in the first place.
Despite her grumbling, Sheryl didn't forget her own training and diligently prepared for her next exercise. Contrary to her quarrelsome personality, she was surprisingly sincere about her workouts, which was why she frequented this place.
"I'm not someone who lacks consistency, you know."
"Could you stop reading my mind and answering whenever you feel like it?"
"That's because you're such a total amateur that your thoughts are an open book. I see them even when I don't want to."
The blue-haired girl gave a sly, mocking smirk, beginning to get under Jaejin's skin.
The Three-Eyed Tribe. They possessed a third eye that transcended the vision of ordinary creatures.
They could see for miles while standing still, possessed a field of vision comparable to a bird's-eye view, and were said to have a "Mind's Eye" that could pierce through the hearts of others.
Their ability to see through people was particularly effective against those of equal or lower status, to the point where one's thoughts could be intercepted even if they were being extremely cautious during a conversation.
"Hmm, as expected of Lena. To think she could explain things so clearly that even an idiot like you could understand."
Furthermore, her flexible habit of blaming him when he didn't know demon common sense, while crediting Lena when he did, was purely a result of her natural temperament.
Having dealt with her several times, Jaejin had learned a useful trick for when she got this cocky.
He began to carefully observe Sheryl as she lifted dumbbells to shoulder height.
Sheryl's wavy blue bob, which reached her shoulders, added to her small, delicate face, giving her a feminine charm that rivaled those with long hair.
Beads of sweat had formed on her nape, which peeked out occasionally, revealing a healthy beauty and a strange sort of sexiness.
Her top was a crisp white shirt with simple black lines. The outfit, with its wide collar and black scarf, was familiar to Jaejin—it was a sailor suit designed with practicality in mind.
Now, every time she lifted her arms with the dumbbells, her sleeves would roll up slightly, offering a very pleasant view of her smooth, sweat-dampened armpits.
Another notable feature was that despite the outfit being modest and giving off a bright, refreshing vibe, her well-defined breasts pushed the fabric out, causing the hem to lift and reveal her navel every time she moved.
As for her lower half, perhaps she felt a skirt was inappropriate for a martial artist, so she wore tight hotpants that emphasized her well-trained, attractive thighs.
As he mentally appraised her body from top to bottom, he soon saw Sheryl glaring at him, having put down the dumbbells to cover her chest and armpits.
"You... I'm seriously going to kill you!!"
Sheryl rushed at him ruthlessly, her face turning beet red. Perhaps his "appraisal" had been a bit too thorough this time. He just hoped she wouldn't leave any scars.
Just as Jaejin was about to accept the punch, Lena, who had returned from her work, stepped between them. He was lucky today.
"Sheryl, were you fighting with Lord Jaejin again?"
"No... it's not that... He was saying all sorts of things while looking at my body..."
"Yes, yes. Sheryl is so cute and pretty, I'm sure Lord Jaejin likes you too."
Sheryl seemed unaccustomed to Lena's praise. She blankly processed Lena's words before finally covering her face with both hands in embarrassment.
"Oh, honestly... It's not like that..."
Leaving Sheryl to soothe her own shyness in a tiny, crawling voice, Jaejin asked Lena what her business was.
Usually, she would stay with him until the afternoon training session before handling her duties. Since she had been out since morning this time, he was curious if something urgent had come up.
"Ah, I was actually about to tell both you and Sheryl about that."
"To her as well as me? Is it related to the Demon Lord candidacy?"
Lena nodded and unfurled a piece of paper she was holding. The blank paper soon transformed into a detailed map through a magic circle Lena drew upon it.
"Yes. To be precise, it's a matter concerning the Demon God Cult."
Her finger pointed to a mid-sized city below Verita on the map, specifically identifying a branch of the Demon God Cult located there.
"We are going to resolve a request posted there and boost our support in the surrounding area."