Chapter 188 - 24: Anyway, Let’s Get Something to Eat First

Chapter 188: Chapter 24: Anyway, Let’s Get Something to Eat First

A demon’s identity was far more conspicuous than Lilia had imagined. Even though she hadn’t done anything, it still drew a group of Mages to track her down. The most crucial point was that she currently had absolutely no power to fight back.

Moreover, clashing with human Mages in the Mortal World was a highly unwise move. Unless she could kill them all without anyone noticing and ensure that she wouldn’t be suspected even if the truth came to light, engaging them would mean facing the entire Kingdom as her enemy. Let alone the fact that Lilia didn’t have that kind of strength right now, even if she did, she had no intention of single-handedly wiping out all the Mages in the Lien Kingdom. It wasn’t as if she were some murderous, bloodthirsty fiend.

Selas’s existence could mask her aura. Since that was the case, she would just stay quietly by his side. It was also the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this rare breathing room and properly recover her strength.

Meanwhile, upon hearing the word "roommate," the six-year-old boy froze. He clearly hadn’t expected things to develop this way. Before today, he had thought that from now on, he might just spend the rest of his life alone like this. Lonely... Despairing. Yet, before the day was even over, he suddenly had a roommate? And a demon, at that?

Of course, Selas had no real concept of what a demon was; whether human or demon, it made no difference to him. What he cared more about was...

The young boy turned his head to look toward the window. Outside, the rain was still falling. The freezing wind didn’t grow any milder just because there was an extra person in the room. Instead, it blew even harder, brazenly displaying its mighty power in front of these helpless young children. Nearby, the seeping rainwater had thoroughly soaked the ceiling. The DRIP DRIP of the leak wasn’t very noticeable amidst the violent storm, but the shallow puddles forming on the wooden floor were impossible to ignore.

Selas glanced around the cold, dilapidated room, then turned to look at Lilia, who was sitting obediently on the bed. The little boy pursed his lips and jumped down. Lilia watched him with some curiosity.

Selas opened the wardrobe and found his other winter coat inside. He had two coats like this, both old clothes brought from home by the man outside, who claimed the Countess had benevolently rewarded them to him for the convenience of having a change of clothes. One of them had been draped over Selas, though he had just taken it off to cover Lilia. The other one was now in his hands.

Because he only had two, Selas usually wore them with great care. But...

He pinched the sleeve, finding the seam connecting the fabric. Since it was an old piece of clothing that had been mended many times, he located a spot with exposed loose threads and gave it a forceful tug. The fragile cotton thread instantly snapped. Fishing out a few rusty steel nails from the corner of the wardrobe, he turned around, dragged a stool over, and walked to the window.

Lilia watched as he stood on the stool, hammering the nails in with a wooden stick. Before long, the spread-out coat had replaced the glass, covering the window.

A six-year-old child’s stature was very small, but the man outside had never cared much about him. The clothes he brought were his own son’s hand-me-downs, and his son was already a teenager. By a stroke of luck, the oversized coat actually managed to cover most of the window, blocking out the howling cold wind.

Selas climbed down from the stool and cast another glance at the leaking roof. There was nothing he could do about that. Even if he had the tools, he wouldn’t know how to fix it. Fortunately, with the window boarded up, the room was already much warmer. She should be a bit more comfortable staying here now...

With that thought, he secretly peeked at Lilia on the bed. The moment he turned his head, he met a pair of curious eyes.

Selas inexplicably felt his heart skip a beat. Suppressing his inner nervousness, he asked, "Are you... still cold?"

Lilia shook her head. Demons didn’t feel the cold anyway. "Are you cold?"

Selas also shook his head. Even though his hands and feet were freezing cold and his face was even paler than usual, he stubbornly insisted that he wasn’t cold.

Lilia didn’t expose his lie. "Why didn’t you let me help with such a small matter?"

The young demon carried a lofty pride. Her strength was formidable. In the Human Realm, she would be the equivalent of a High-level Mage. Fixing a window was a trivial matter she could accomplish with a snap of her fingers; why did he need to sacrifice one of his coats? Though, to be fair, she didn’t feel a single ounce of pity over the sacrifice of that tattered piece of clothing.

"I told you, didn’t I?" Lilia said, looking at him. "If you helped me evade the search, I could do anything for you."

"Of course I believe you," Selas said, "but fixing a window is very troublesome."

Lilia was speechless.

What kind of nonsense was that! Listen to what he was saying. Calling window repair troublesome in front of a High-level Mage? Did he even know what a High-level Mage was?

Lilia was tempted to show off a little in front of this ignorant brat and let him see what true Magic was. Just as she was about to ask him what kind of window he liked and let him make any request he wanted, her spellcasting motion suddenly stalled.

She suddenly realized... the Demonic Qi in her body seemed to be almost depleted.

Of course, that wasn’t the main point. The main point was that after scouring through all the Magic she had learned, there didn’t actually seem to be a single spell for repairing houses.

It couldn’t be helped. When Lilia attended the Magic Academy, the practical magic she learned was all geared toward actual combat. In her first life, it was because her talent was low, making it more valuable to focus on Practical Magic. In her second life, it was because she needed greater strength. It wasn’t as if domestic magic didn’t exist, but she truly hadn’t had much contact with it. Trying it rashly would only waste what little Demonic Qi she had left.

Seeing her freeze, Selas immediately revealed an understanding expression. Lilia could practically read his equally understanding subtext: "See, I told you it was hard."

Lilia was speechless once again. She really wanted to explain that fixing a window was truly nothing to her. But... forget it.

After a brief moment of silence, the sound of a stomach growling with hunger echoed through the cramped room.

As Lilia looked up, the guilty young boy immediately averted his gaze.

"You haven’t eaten?" Lilia asked.

"Mm," Selas replied, his voice very soft.

It was already approaching nine o’clock in the evening. No matter where one was, dinner should have ended by this time. When she sneaked in earlier, Lilia had even noticed a banquet being held in the front hall. Seeing Selas here, she had figured he was being ostracized, but she hadn’t expected his situation to be far more difficult than she imagined.

Just like her current situation.

Lilia thought for a moment. "Wait here for a bit."

Selas was taken aback. "You’re going out?"

"Mm," Lilia affirmed.

"You can’t..." Selas instinctively tried to stop her. "There’s someone blocking the door. He’s dead drunk and won’t let anyone out."

Without breaking her stride toward the door, Lilia looked back and smiled at him. "Right, you said it yourself... he won’t let any ’human’ out."