Chapter 272 : Mr. Red Fox

The girl stared at Anri's appearance for a moment, then spoke.

"I didn't expect the demon to be quite handsome."

Anri ignored the girl, instead surveying his surroundings before plopping down at the dining table without a word.

Seeing this, the girl immediately headed to the kitchen to prepare food. Anri looked at a photo album on the table.

"Are you alone?"

"...Yes... My parents died in a car accident half a month ago. I survived because someone shielded me with their body..." The girl paused while cooking and continued.

"..." Anri didn't know what to say. Such things were... all too common in the Demon Realm. Attacks by powerful demons, tribes or races being reduced to a handful of survivors—it happened frequently. But for this girl... Anri wanted to offer some words of comfort, yet he remained silent.

Not long after, several delicious dishes were placed on the table.

The girl watched as the demon before her ate. Perhaps because the food was exceptionally tasty, Anri paid no mind to the girl observing him.

At that moment, the girl was studying Anri's ears. It seemed if they twitched, he'd eaten something he liked; if they drooped, it was something he disliked. In a short time, she saw many expressions. Some were drooping from garlic, ginger, and spices, but there were also many amusing ones.

"Is the demon full? Or are you going to eat me?" The girl's next words made Anri freeze.

Seeing the slender arm the girl extended... it seemed a bit hard to take a bite.

Looking at the girl across from him, eyes tightly shut and trembling as she spoke, he couldn't help but find it amusing. He then deliberately put on a haughty tone and said,

"I'm full today. I'll eat you tomorrow."

Hearing this, the girl opened her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at the demon opposite her who had already cleaned his plate.

"Then... can you tell me your name, Mr. Demon?"

Upon hearing this, Anri wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Asmodeus Anri."

"Anri-kun?"

"Impolite human, it's Asmodeus Anri." Though the demon's words were somewhat stern, the girl didn't hear any reprimand in them.

"So, Anri-kun, does Hell really exist?"

"Hell?"

...

And so, a demon and a girl chatted all night, from the far corners of the earth to the ends of the sea, from the heavens above to the ground below. Anri hated fools, but... this one seemed different. At the very least, her cooking was delicious.

A few days later.

"So, Anri-kun, when are you going to eat me?" The girl's sudden question caused Anri, who was savoring his heart-shaped fried rice, to spit a mouthful of food onto Meliss.

Meliss wiped her face with a napkin and looked at Anri with a serious expression.

"You... why would you ask that?"

"Well, look, that's how it always is in fairy tales. Either it's the Soul, or they just get eaten directly. And when you first arrived, Anri-kun, weren't you looking at me and drooling?"

"Uh... for now... I don't have much of an appetite for humans," Anri replied.

"Really? But someone like me, a sinner..."

"Sinner?" Anri said, puzzled.

"They all say it was because of me that my parents got into that accident. And it's true, I caused their deaths," Meliss said, her voice trembling.

Anri felt a bit flustered, unsure what to do, so he said,

"Who? Why do you think you caused your parents' deaths?"

Meliss began to explain her background.

An orphan. Her birth mother died in difficult labor. She was adopted by her uncle, but he turned out to be a lolicon who tried to take advantage of her. Fortunately, there was the alarm device from school... Then she was adopted by another uncle, who gambled and owed money, wanting to sell Meliss. In the end, he luckily didn't succeed.

"If you are utterly disillusioned with this world, then sell yourself to me. In return, I'll let you have a good dream before you die," Anri said, reaching out and placing his hand on Meliss's face.

Hearing this, Meliss closed her eyes and nuzzled against Anri's hand.

"Then, I'll be in your care, Mr. Anri."

...

"After that, we fell in love, and he brought me to the Demon Realm. Then we were discovered, forcibly repatriated to the Human Realm, and had our memories erased... Anri-kun is such a fool too. Why... would he think I wouldn't miss them? Why would he think I'd forget him and our child... How is Ameri now?"

Shesi fell silent for a moment before beginning to talk about Ameri. When Meliss heard her daughter had already reached Rank [6], she couldn't help but feel happy for her. When she learned Ameri had been plotted against, she grew tense.

"Teacher Meliss, really now. The male and female leads in 'first love memories' are actually you and Mr. Anri, right? The evil organization '12 Devil Heads' are the 12 Crowns. But I'm curious, why isn't it '13 Devil Heads'?"

Upon hearing this, Meliss's voice came from within the grave mound.

"Because it was the Devil King who helped me recover my memories. By the way, in 'first love memories,' the final Devil Head is actually the female lead's father," a playful voice emerged from inside. Hearing this, Shesi shook his head helplessly. Truly worthy of the teacher's imagination.

"But, from what you're saying... are you dating my daughter?"

Instantly, Shesi sat up straight.

"While I do approve of you—smart, handsome, just a bit dense—back in the Human Realm, those girls all came looking for you... a real charmer... But since you're human... did Anri-kun agree?"

"Uh..." Shesi recalled the scene at the time.

"It seemed like he wanted to throw me in prison."

"Pfft, that sounds exactly like something Anri-kun would say. But indeed, you have to be careful, Shesi-kun. Oh, and Iruma? Don't tell me he also..."

"Yes, my younger brother and I were adopted by Lord Sullivan. We're currently attending Babirus School."

The person on the other side clearly paused.

"Uh... Not only do you have to survive in the Demon Realm, but you also have to navigate among all the demons? You... and you still have time to woo my daughter at a time like this?" Meliss's words made Shesi stumble. Shouldn't she be concerned about my situation first?

"Uh... Thanks to Lord Sullivan's help and Ameri's help, I've gained a bit of notoriety within the school... a famous oddity... I guess," Shesi said uncertainly.

While Shesi and Meliss were chatting idly, Nolling ran over with a book in its mouth, wagging its tail furiously.

"This book! Are there more? I want to read more!"

"Uh..." Shesi took the book and shook his head.

"This is the only one I have on me. The rest are with Ameri. Oh, right, Teacher Meliss, regarding what Ameri said about 'first love memories' being a Family heirloom of the Asmodeus Family... do you have any idea about that?"

"Uh... That one, you know about it too. Every time a new volume is released, the first copy is always bought by an account named [Red Fox], who pays a high price and demands a signature. Remember when I asked you to sign for me before, and you were recognized immediately? That's Anri-kun."

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Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.

"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"