Chapter 13: The Fight in the Dark Warehouse
The fight in the dark warehouse. My body moved exactly as I thought. It might sound ridiculous—of course your body moves when you think—but I'm not even sure if I was thinking before acting or if it was pure instinct. There was zero delay between thought and movement.
I wondered if it was because I'd gained such overwhelming power, but I knew better than most that raw strength and real combat were two different beasts. I'd never thrown a punch in my life, let alone fought anyone. That scrap was my first real battle. And yet, even with swords flying at me, I didn't hesitate for a second...
"Guhk!"
"Heyyy, Clusteeer~"
The weight on my chest snapped me out of it. I looked down to see Lai plopped right on top of me. According to Alicia, who'd been beside me, Lai had called my name a bunch of times with no response, so she'd just flopped down.
"Gross, get off."
My train of thought shattered, leaving me irritated, and having this girl sniffling and snot-nosed all over me was weirdly off-putting. I chucked her onto her bed roughly. Might've been a bit much, but the mattress was fluffy, so she'd be fine.
"Meanie. You're so cold, Cluster."
Lai pouted as she rolled off the wall and clung to me again. I tossed her a single gold coin. Her intentions were obvious.
"Whoa! A whole gold! That's like fifty thousand skewers! Be right back!"
Yep, late-night snack run, as expected. I'd made a tidy thirty gold neutralizing those knights earlier, so sparing one for her munchies was no big deal. For reference, one gold equaled a thousand silver, and one silver was a thousand bronze. That gold could've bought twenty thousand skewers at fifty bronze apiece.
"Lai's got some serious mental fortitude."
No sooner had Lai dashed out than Alicia slipped onto my bed.
"That girl?"
"Setting aside her being an idiot, she almost got assaulted by some creep she couldn't fight off. A succubus like me might shrug it off, but for a normal human like Lai? That could've been trauma for life."
"Oh, right. Yeah, any ordinary person would've been shell-shocked for days. She's just too dumb to stay down long."
I brushed off Alicia's words, but my head started spinning a little. If Lai were a normal human, she'd have been terrified enough for lasting scars. That's what anyone would expect—what's natural. The problem? Lai wasn't normal. And yet, back in that warehouse, she'd looked genuinely scared. But considering she'd hit me with "Wanna touch my boobs?" the day we met, that situation shouldn't have fazed her.
So what the hell had spooked her so bad?
"That's not something to just brush off. Imagine being overpowered and nearly violated—I'd be terrified too."
Overpowered by something she couldn't resist... Unlike in her cave, where she'd replicated the divine realm with her holy power, right now she was weaker than a regular human. As someone who couldn't fully wield my Demon King strength yet, if we'd fought for real in that god-like environment, I'd have been obliterated. Lai had just been humoring my bullshit because she was nice. That strong. That's why she could toss out lines like "touch my boobs?" without a care. Flip it around, and her current weakened state might've left her helpless—terrified of a situation she couldn't handle. Plus, having been a goddess—an absolute being—for eons, she'd never faced anything like that. The shock could've hit harder. The disconnect between her "I-can-do-anything" identity and failing to take down a single knight? That alone could've rattled her badly.
Put like that, her quick recovery was pretty impressive...
-Bang!
"Woo-hee-hee!"
The door flew open, and in bounded Lai, grinning ear-to-ear with bags of skewers in both hands.
"The old man's hooking me up with tons for free?"
Come to think of it, she'd been mopey earlier too, but perked right up after scarfing some food. Power to resist or not, mental strength or weakness aside—she was just a simpleton who bounced back with a good meal. And even in her cave, where she could unleash her full godly might, she was a total scaredy-cat. I'd actually thought for a second that she was impressive? I hated myself for it.
"Gonna step out for some air."
"This late? No skewers?"
"You two eat up."
Shame over overrating Lai aside, the sight of her with skewers and beer, plus Alicia cheering her on? No way I could sort my thoughts here. Time to bail outside, even if it was eleven at night and not exactly early.
"Why?"
Lai grabbed my arm as I headed out. She looked on the verge of tears. Seeing her sad face dragged our chat with Alicia back up.
Is she pretending to be fine on the outside while her head's still messed up?
I considered sticking around to cheer her up—but then...
"I-If you're going, at least take one skewer bag, right?"
Her hands shook as she offered it, and all the tension drained out of me. This idiot was just sad about sharing her snacks.
"If you don't wanna give it up, don't. I don't need it."
"I-I wanna give it... The innkeeper said he'd heat up your midnight snack order too..."
I took the bag from her teary-eyed grasp and bolted from the inn. Downstairs, the owner kept bowing nonstop, drawing stares—kinda embarrassing. But I got it. I'd forked over five gold from those knights for inn repairs. Thanks to that, we'd upgraded from a cramped single with barely room for three grown men and no beds to a spacious room with three proper ones.
"Disconnect between identity and reality, huh..."
Lai was just a super scaredy-cat, sure, but it wasn't something to dismiss lightly. My situation was the opposite, but becoming the Demon King from a regular human had me grappling with the same gap. Case in point: cracking that egg without a second thought—something my human brain couldn't even fathom. That was my demon instincts kicking in, aggressive and battle-hungry. As time passed like this, could I even go back to Earth and live normally...?
Who even am I?
Identity crisis stuff straight out of puberty. Lost in those thoughts as I walked, I spotted someone peeking from a tree a ways off. Great, so much for clearing my head today. I erased my presence, snuck up, and...
-Tap.
I poked the shoulder of someone tiny—barely up to my solar plexus—dressed in white. A familiar face.
"I-I don't have any money!"
She clutched her head and dropped, ducking perfectly behind her backpack. Adorably turtle-like. Was the bag as big as her body on purpose, for hiding? Dumb thought.
"Pfft. Turtle girl. What're you doing out here this late?"
"T-Thuturtle?"
She poked her head out from behind the bag at the word.
"Mithter!"
Her innocent, harmless smile washed away the chaos of my day.
"It's dangerous wandering around here this late. Why're you out?"
"Had a quick errand. Hehe. Heading back now."
Even in a stratified society, sending a kid this tiny out at night? Her plucky vibe was cute, but her eyes kept darting somewhere. Following her gaze: the skewer bag in my right hand.
If you want some, just say it.
"Here."
"Really giving it to me?"
"Yeah. Wanna sit on that bench and eat?"
"Yeth!"
We sat by the tree. I handed her the bag; she gingerly took one skewer. How much grief had the temple given her that she'd be this cautious eating? That money-grubbing "saintess" and those holy knights earlier—none of the temple folk sat right with me.
"Mithter."
"Yeah?"
"Thith ith tho~ You don't even know who I am~"
Why're you being so nice? Anyone would spoil a polite, spunky cutie like her.
"Why keep using formal speech?"
"Huh?"
"Adults talk casual to kids like me, right?"
She tilted her head, purely curious. She'd already scarfed it down—hands empty.
"Can't drop formal with a stranger, turtle girl. That's just rude."
"Hmm... But you petted a stranger's head."
"Oh, uh... Sorry about that."
"Thilvia."
"Silvia?"
"Now you know me, so no more formal! Heehee."
It'd been a hunch before, but a kid out on temple errands this late? Orphan for sure. Growing up alone in a rotten place like that and still turning out bright and sweet...
"I'm Cluster. Call me Cluster."
"Yeth! Cluthester Mithter."
Wished she'd go with "bro" or "uncle" over "mister," but I'd be meeting the saintess tomorrow and bouncing, so no point correcting. Big age gap anyway—getting attached would just hurt her.
"But thith ith tho. Can I have another?"
"Eat 'em all. It's fine."
Her face lit up at "all." Good thing I'd brought them. Thanks for the assist, Lai—you've got your uses.
"Finish 'em and I'll walk you back... Already done?"
"Put some in my bag. Thorry. Hehe..."
"Gave it to you—why sorry? C'mon, hand."
She hooked two tiny fingers into my palm. Kid-sized hand, fitting.
"Bag heavy too? Gimme."
"Thith one's got thpacthe expansion magic and... um... light... lightening? Anyway, not heavy!"
"Still, hand it over. Too bulky even if light."
"Nngh... Thank you."
I ruffled her bowed head and hefted the bag—insanely light despite its size. Weight-reduction magic was real, huh.
"Silvia. Scared?"
"Huh? No?"
"Anxious, then?"
"Not that either? Do I look it?"
She kept scanning around like someone might chase her. Thinking back, she'd been hiding in the tree, and even on the bench, her eyes darted nonstop.
"Nah. Nothing. Let's go."
Even answering, her gaze flicked side to side—unconscious habit, maybe. Or she didn't wanna talk. No forcing it after just swapping names.
"I'll go in here. You gave me food and walked me back. Thank you."
"This isn't the entrance."
"Uh, w-well, main gate means grumpy guards. This way's my room—eathier..."
Still glancing around. Sigh. Was she watching for guards the whole time? Sending a kid out on errands and making her sneaky? Part of me wanted to raze the temple. This body's a powerhouse Demon King, after all.
"Pfft."
Laughter slipped out. Pathetic, me thinking that after just beating some punk knights.
"Why're you laughing?"
"Nothing. Up you go."
I hoisted her over the wall—low fence for adults, chest-high for her.
"Hehe. Thank you."
"Thanks me by telling the saintess I'll visit tomorrow—clear her schedule."
"You're meeting the thainteth? For real? Okay! I'll tell her!"
"Don't go blabbing—you'll get in trouble. Kidding, kidding. Get inside."
I mussed her hair wildly in thanks; she just giggled happily. Silvia was thrilled I'd meet the saintess—beats me why.
"Going in! Thee you tomorrow!"
I watched her wave and scamper off till she vanished.
"Says 'see you tomorrow' like it's a given. Total kid move."
A clatter from the building—she was busy even this late. Shaking my head at her innocence, I headed back to the inn, full of its polar opposites.
"Clusteeeer~"
Plenty of cash—maybe get separate rooms?