THDR 06

Chapter 6

Titia was kind—he knew that much.
While other humans reeked of something foul, Titia carried a fresh, fruity scent.

Usually, people who smelled that nice were good-hearted.

More than that, she was remarkably patient, even while being tormented. She never even tried to find out who was behind it. You’d think she’d be angry after getting stung by a bee, but instead, she’d walk around busily with her swollen eyes as if nothing had happened.

She didn’t care how her face looked to others.

She even liked the beard. When he couldn’t resist showing himself, instead of screaming, she calmly made him confess everything he’d done.

And after hearing all that?
Instead of scolding him, she just casually asked his name…

Even if the bullying had been mild—

“Why doesn’t she get angry?! Is she an idiot? Does she not think at all?!”

“She’s just kind.”

“Yeah.”

“……”

Joshua’s shoulders slumped. The twins crouched in front of him, watching his deflated form.

As their movements made their muscles twitch, Joshua couldn’t help but stare at them with a tinge of envy.

“If I’d grown up just a bit more, Zerr wouldn’t have had to live like a shut-in.”

“It’s not your fault, Joshua.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s my fault! That’s why even the Saint dumped me…!”

“That’s not it. The reclu—uh, the Boss just wasn’t the Saint’s type.”

A new, unfamiliar voice slid naturally into the conversation, and Joshua’s fur bristled in shock. He couldn’t even scream. He just gawked as Titia peeked out from behind Jessica.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t think little Joshua here could’ve affected the Boss’s love life that much.”

“Y-you, how… how did you get here?!”

“Jessica’s back is wide and warm. I might’ve dozed off a little.”

“Jessicaaa!”

“Joshua doesn’t like being sad.”

“Still, I didn’t tell her everything. I just said where you were.”

“You think that makes it okay? Bringing her here is the problem!”

“Nice to meet you. My name is—”

“Shut up! Ugh, bleh!”

“Then I’ll speak softly?”

Titia whispered with a voice that was impossible to hate and held out a handkerchief. Joshua stared at it for a moment, then snatched it and pressed it hard to his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt miserable.

She doesn’t know anything…

She had no idea why Zerr was like that—why he suffered. And yet she smiled so innocently. Seeing her hovering around Zerrvant made Joshua’s stomach twist.

But the words she said just now… were exactly what Zerrvant once said to him when he’d been blaming himself.

“You don’t have that much influence over my love life—whether I succeed or fail.”

Zerrvant’s cold voice overlapped perfectly with Titia’s gentle tone. And Joshua finally broke down crying.

“Waaah! You’re so annoying! You don’t even know Zerr’s pain, but you come waltzing in, flipping his life upside down just to save yourself—I hate you so much!”

“Ahh… so that’s why you bullied me.”

Titia nodded as if she finally understood. But she didn’t defend herself.
She just quietly listened to Joshua’s resentment… until she dozed off.

“I really hate her!!”

Joshua clenched his fist and bopped her right on the forehead.

“Ow…” Titia rubbed the growing bump and murmured,

“Stay with the Boss long enough, and you’ll see. I don’t know why, but he drains your stamina like crazy. At first, I thought it was just fatigue, but no—it’s like, if I lose focus for even a second, I just black out.”

Joshua couldn’t say anything.
Instead, he gently rubbed her forehead and mumbled,

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have fallen asleep in front of someone crying.”

“No, it’s not your fault. Really, Zerr drains your energy just by being near him.”

“Why?”

“Can’t tell you that.”

“Then can you at least tell me who you are?”

Joshua hesitated, clasped his hands together tightly, and shut his eyes. Then, in a very small voice, he said:

“…A servant of the Demon of Serael.”

Titia should have screamed—anyone would, hearing that.
He’d just confessed to being a servant of the demon who nearly destroyed the continent.

But instead, she asked calmly,

“Purified by the Saint?”

The reaction threw him off. He stammered before answering.

“…Halfway.”

“If you’re half purified, isn’t that fatal to demons? How are you still alive?”

“The one sealed was the Demon of Serael, not me. And I’m not weak enough to die from one purification. I’m insanely strong!”

“I bet. You’re the servant of the Demon of Serael, after all.”

So—what was the Demon of Serael?

Once, it had been a great archangel who brought the Celestial Realm to the brink of ruin. In the end, it fell into corruption and was reborn as a demon steeped in pure evil.

When it fell to the human realm, it nearly destroyed the entire continent. Even when cracks formed in the seal that bound it, the continent became tainted and monsters swarmed—the demon’s power was that immense.

But the most terrifying thing of all was its authority: the Labyrinth.
If the Labyrinth appeared, the continent’s destruction was practically guaranteed.

And just before the demon could shatter the seal completely and open the Labyrinth, someone had managed to repair the cracks and seal it again. That’s why those who did so were praised as the heroes who saved the world.

“Zerr ended up like that because unlucky me happened to be nearby.”

“Huh?”

“I can’t say any more.”

Joshua fell silent.
Honestly, admitting he was a demon’s servant at all was something he should never have done.

He had just exposed his greatest weakness to Titia.

If the Saint, the Crown Prince, or Zerrvant found out, they’d insist on killing Titia immediately—but he didn’t care.

It’s not because it wouldn’t affect me, he thought.

Maybe he’d vanish by the Saint’s hand soon.

But Joshua hadn’t spoken impulsively. He’d sensed something emanating from Titia—something faintly unpleasant yet divine, like mana but holier.

It vanished quickly, but…

Something tells me that energy could really help Zerr.

His demonic instincts were rarely wrong.

And besides…

He was certain Titia wouldn’t tell anyone. Because—

“How old are you? I’m Titia. I’ve been alive for 21 years.”

—because only someone who could ask something that trivial to a servant of the Demon of Serael could be trusted not to carelessly talk about it.

* * *

In a pitch-black room, Zerrvant held his throbbing head in his hands.

The door creaked open, and Joshua entered. Seeing him, Zerrvant suddenly recalled Titia’s bright smile when she said she liked his beard. His hand flew to his mouth.

He was fighting hard not to laugh.

Joshua misread it completely. Tears welled up in his eyes.

“Does it… hurt a lot?”

Zerrvant silently shook his head.

Joshua’s throat tightened. The fool he once knew—who used to tease him endlessly—was gone. He missed that version of him so much it hurt.

“I… I just met Titia,” Joshua said, sniffling.

Zerrvant’s lips twitched again. While he hung his head to hide a laugh, Joshua—oblivious—confessed like a criminal.

“I told her I’m the demon’s servant…”

Zerrvant froze. His head snapped up, and his eyes sharpened dangerously behind his glasses.

“You told her what? Why?”

Joshua stayed silent.

Zerrvant shot up and gripped Joshua’s shoulders hard, his expression twisting into something almost feral.

“Why not just shout to the world, ‘I’m a demon’s servant—please kill me!’?”

Joshua’s temper flared.

“Don’t say it like that! Titia’s trustworthy!”

“Trustworthy? How long have you even known her?”

Joshua rolled his wide eyes nervously.

“…Instinct?”

Zerrvant released him, biting down on his lip until it bled. His eyes reddened with intensity.

“She has to die. I can’t let her live.”

It looked like he’d call Titia right that second, so Joshua clung to him desperately.

“Don’t! She’s not that kind of person!”

“Joshua!”

Zerrvant’s roar filled the room, pressing down the air. The killing intent floating around stung Joshua’s skin, but he shouted back anyway:

“It’s true! Jessica and Lynette didn’t stop me from talking either! If anything happens, they’ll handle it, so just leave Titia alone!”

“What is this, some kind of day-old friendship?”

“I don’t know! I just feel it! Her energy—it’ll help you somehow—damn it, I don’t know!”

Unable to finish, Joshua stormed out.
He was still a child in many ways, not yet a fully grown demon.

He rarely made slip-ups like that, though.

Should I kill her?

The thought gnawed at Zerrvant.
If he told anyone about this, if Joshua had to be destroyed because of it…

Then Joshua would—

And I would…

Be completely alone.

He sank to the floor, arms limp over his knees, head bowed.

His mind filled, unbidden, with her image—
the black hair, thick lashes, slender frame, delicate yet radiant face…
and the tiny beauty mark just below her plump lips.

A woman so beautiful anyone would turn to look—
yet one who wasn’t afraid to get a little broken.

“Why aren’t you smiling? My masterpiece didn’t even make you blink.”

He remembered her disappointed face and sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his face.

“…Ha.”

He knew he should eliminate her without hesitation. And yet, he hesitated.

For the first time in nearly two years… he had laughed.

Zerrvant knew better than anyone how heavy a single life was. That’s why he’d locked himself away in the first place.

So he hesitated.

But that wasn’t the only reason.

He’d felt it too—the energy Joshua mentioned.

If it were mere power, he would’ve ignored it. But the moment Titia entered, something inside him had stirred.

His energy had reacted to hers.

It was faint and brief—he’d thought he imagined it. But if Joshua felt it too, it meant something.

Joshua, normally tight-lipped, had confessed his identity.
And Zerrvant, usually wary and closed-off, had accepted her more easily than anyone else.

That alone… was reason enough to keep watching her.