Death's Door 114 Volume 5: Chapter 17: Festival Part 4

Leon, still wearing a dress ended up dragging Runfar by the hand towards a certain direction.

The well-dressed n.o.bleman wearing a half mask on the right side of his face did not even resist as the Leon dragged him away

As Arin watched Dark Lord taken away, she couldn't help but extend her hand outwards, reaching out to him, but those two soon faded into the crowd.

Then, unexpectedly, she felt a small hand tugging at the back of her clothing.

As she turned around, she was face to face with a human boy, of about ten years of age.

"Big sis, I saw Young Master Runfar with you, are you perhaps a friend of Master Runfar?"

Judging by his clothing, he was a peasant, most likely a son of one of the villagers.

"Uhm, I suppose…yes, well, not exactly…"

Seeing the young boy frown a little, Arin hesitantly asked.

"Do you have a grudge against him, by any chance?"

"Grudge against him?! No, Big Sis, I could never hold a grudge against that great man!"

'Great man?' Arin couldn't help be rendered speechless. 'Why would a random child refer to him as such?'

"You see… Master Runfar made our lives easier, in fact, if it weren't for his reforms we would have had to cancel the festival….Truly a man deserving the t.i.tle of a n.o.ble…. Not only that…but he also saved my dad's life!"

"He did?" Arin couldn't help but express her surprise.

Why someone like Dark Lord would even bother with a life of a lowly human peasant was beyond her understanding.

As far as she was concerned, only Demon-kind mattered, lives of anyone else were of no concern to her.

But it seems Dark Lord did not view life in such a way.

"Yep. A while back, my dad fell sick and we did not have enough money for medicine…his condition kept getting worse and worse each day, the village chief even told us that he will not make it. I was so scared…Just the thought of losing my father after my mother pa.s.sed away….I couldn't bear it."

"When I was crying my eyes out, praying to G.o.ds to please save my dad, Young Master appeared. At first I thought he came to punish us, but instead, he healed my dad. I don't know how he did it, but when he slammed his hand upon my father's chest, life came back into his eyes. By the next day, it was almost as if father never was ailing to begin with!"

"He did not ask for compensation or demand anything of us in return, he simply told me 'Please pretend I was not here'. But after catching a sight of Young Master today, I wanted to express my grat.i.tude…But I don't think I can reach him through this crowd. So please, if you are his close friend, please tell him, Yase is very grateful for everything that he has done and will serve him loyally for the rest of my life!"

"I shall tell him, child, but I don't believe he would recognize your name…."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Young Master knows everyone's names within his territory. I don't know how… I have lived here my entire life and I don't know names of everyone…"

"I see. Then consider it done."

"Thanks, Big Sis!"

After hugging Arin, much to her surprise, the child now ran towards his father with open arms, jumping on his back.

"What a strange child"

Watching this lovely scene, Arin couldn't help but clutch her hand into a fist, holding it over her heart.

"Father…" she whispered.

Power of Demon King is pa.s.sed down from one Demon King to the next.

There were countless before her who did their best to protect demon-kind.

Arin herself received her power from the late Demon King, her father Sorin Draco.

On his deathbed, he told her.

"I did all I could, but humanity is too strong while demon-kind grows weaker each day…I am sorry it had to be this way, Arin, but demon-kind needs to have a guardian protector … I fear I don't have much time left…. you are the only one I can entrust with this burden …You will have to keep going without me… please forgive me…"

With his last breath, he transferred the power of the Demon King to Arin, making her the next Demon King.

Following her father's footsteps, she gathered demon forces and appointed Demon Lords.

She bravely fought countless battles, but in her heart, she always wondered

'Why my father, the Greatest Demon King in history, was taken away, while I lived? Why couldn't have I been the one killed and he was spared instead? What would he have done if he were in my place?'

She always tried to live up to the example set by her father, but she couldn't help but feel as though she had failed him.

Arin considered herself an incompetent heir to the legacy of Demon Kings.

Demon-kind was not safe; not even close, it was currently in danger of complete annihilation at the hands of humans.

Seeing a scene of the little boy sitting on his father's shoulders reminded her too much of her own father, it was as if it was a mirror into her own past, reflecting the moments she missed the most.

"Father, why did you entrust me with this power? I don't have what it takes to lead the demon-kind…I failed too many times….I failed you….I am just a failure."

With gloom thoughts, Arin did not even notice that she was slowly falling asleep while sitting on a bench…

* * *

'Oh no, did he find out?' Runfar panicked a little since Leon ended up dragging him by the hand, away from Arin.

But then, he heard an announcement.

"LET THE DANCE BEGIN!"

Seeing Leon's smiling expression, Runfar left eye couldn't help but twitch a little.

"Young Lady, is this young man your partner for this dance?"

A random villager, apparently in his mid-twenties, was very interested in Leona, his l.u.s.tful gaze was rather obvious.

"Yes" Apparently, Leon was trying to not end up dancing with a stranger.

"I see, but still, your name being Leona, almost same as the name of Knight of Light, and even your hair is same color as his; that is some heck of a coincidence…"

"Yeah…What a crazy coincidence…" Leona tried her best to not sound suspicious. "Anyways…I have brought my partner for the dance, so not need to burden yourself" Leona tried to put it the nicest way possible.

'Partner for the dance? Is he joking? What is wrong with this guy?!'

"Never mind, I will try my luck with someone else"

The villager now left.

"Sorry, Runfar, but I didn't know who else to ask, I don't really know anyone here"

"It is fine"

Runfar sighed. Well, it is not like he can blame her, he is the only person she knows in this territory, so when she needed to find an excuse not to dance with a stranger, he was the first person who came to her mind.

"So…I know it is tad bit too late to ask, but…Would you like to dance with me?" Leon offered his hand.

'So that's what it was, huh….I guess my cover is not blown yet.'

"I would love to"

Runfar took Leon's hand into his own, and now both started a very slow and somewhat awkward dance.

"Apologies, I have never actually danced before…" Leon confessed.

"Neither have I"

Both ended up laughing out loud about the ridiculousness of the situation.

"But I am glad that I got to spend time with you, Runfar, otherwise I would have had to go back to my home…Something I am not looking forward to"

"I guess your relations.h.i.+p with your family did not exactly improve, did it?"

"No. Not at all. To my father I am just a tool to gain fame and fortune for his family, while my half-siblings and their mother see me as an unwanted guest, a b.a.s.t.a.r.d of the family…as for my mother, I will visit her soon, but to be completely honest, I don't know even know what I should say to her. So many things have happened… I sent her letters, but I don't know how I can bring myself to face her after not coming back for so long"

"Would you like me to accompany you, when the time comes?"

"Would you?"

Runfar nodded.

"Thank you, Runfar. I am glad I finally have a friend I can trust. I don't know why, but ever since I met you, I knew that you were a truly kind person. Thank you, for saving my life and becoming my friend"

"That is what friends are for, Leon"

"World needs more people like you, Runfar"

To that statement, Runfar couldn't help but nervously laugh a little.

"I just wish I had met you sooner…"

"Well, to be completely honest, we did meet, a very long time ago…"

"Really?"

"Yes, but back then, neither you nor I knew about each other, it was just a chance encounter, nothing more."

"Is that so…Then I am glad I know you now…"

Much to Runfar's surprise, Leon pecked him on the cheek.

"So, how about next time, you and I go on a date? It seems like fun~"

"I see no reason to refuse"

"Thank you! Thank you!"

Leon ended up hugging Runfar in the middle of the dance, but her iron grip was crus.h.i.+ng him.

'I think I heard a couple of ribs crack….'

Afterwards, Leon and Runfar resumed their dance, talking about whatever came to their mind.

Then, the topic s.h.i.+fted to the man who injured Leon.

"Oh, trust me, Runfar, when I find that fiend, he will pay for what he has done. For all I know, he might still be out there, wreaking havoc upon innocent lives. I have seen that man countless times in my dreams, and every time I chase after him, he manages to slip through my fingers. He is very dangerous, Runfar, he managed to inflict such wounds on me, a hero level warrior, he is definitely not someone ordinary. If you encounter him, don't try to fight him, run."

"Sounds very scary, all right, I will keep that in mind"

Leon could not know that the fiend she sought to destroy and the friend she currently was spending time with were one and the same.

Currently, Runfar's attention was directed elsewhere.

As a part lich, he possessed the ability to drain mana from his surroundings, resulting in the side effect of being able to distinguish mana of the people he is familiar with.

And now, he knew for a fact that two people he knew rather well were here at the festival as well.

"What are those two doing here? Did they think I wouldn't notice them? What the heck are they thinking?!"

He even caught a sight of them; they weren't even trying to disguise themselves.

* * *

"Is this really ok, Elian? Camilla does not believe that Milord would be pleased."

"We are just here to make sure he is safe, that is all there is to it"

"Is it?"

Seeing Elian's entire face turn completely red, Camilla was sure that was enough of an answer to his question. The red haired maid's emotions and feelings were obvious to see, to Camilla, it was like looking at an open book.

"It…It is…That's all there is to it!"

"If you say so"

Two of them were essentially spying on their Master.

After a while, Elian saw a strange scene, enough for her to gasp with her hand on her mouth.

"What is it? Did something happen to Milord?"

"No…but, Camil, can I ask you something…Does Master Runfar prefer men?"

"What?" Camilla could only utter a single word in response.

"Well, I know that the woman he is dancing with is actually a guy wearing a dress, so I was wondering…."

As Camilla was unaware of Knight of Light's true gender, he too was now at a loss.

'Come to think of it…When I asked him if he would prefer me in my female form, he told me he did not have preference…and when I accidentally changed into my female form he did not have even the slightest reaction…'

"I do not believe that is the case." Camilla muttered, but he himself was not sure of the accuracy of the statement.

"Right…And he never invited men to his chambers…Come to think of it, he did not invite anyone there"

'That is not exactly true.'

Camilla thought, as he ended up in a rather awkward situation.

'He did sleep with me, but in my genderless form, so that does not prove anything. He did not do anything to me while I slept with him….Slept with him….Slept…with…him…'

Camilla ended up repeating the words several times before the implications. .h.i.t him rather hard.

'If he doesn't have any preference in gender, does that mean his preference is someone without gender?!'

With both his hands upon his face, Camilla couldn't help but think that there may be some truth to that notion.

Then, he felt his body and mind going a little limp….

"Mister Camil! Please don't pa.s.s out!"

* * *

"Oh, I must have dozen off…I must find Runfar…"

"Rin! Rin! Rin!"

"What the…?"

Seemingly at the speed of light, Leon came charging towards Arin through the crowd.

Arin couldn't help but back away as far as she could until her back touched the wall behind her, there was nowhere to run.

"Since we are friends now, Runfar said it was ok, so… wanna dance with me?"

Leon came very close to Arin and leaned towards her while leaning on a wall with one hand.

Arin's expression remained completely still, her face did not change its expression, but after a moment her head ended up hanging down limply.

It was obvious she was no longer conscious.

"Runfar! Help! Rin pa.s.sed out while standing!"

* * *

"Well, making my new friend pa.s.s out aside, we had a very wonderful time"

"It sure was."

Leon was coming back to the Sevilles mansion with Runfar carrying unconscious Arin on his back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to carry her? I know how much it must hurt for you to even walk with your body…besides I have plenty of strength to spare."

"That would make things worse. Don't worry, this is not my first time carrying her, I am used to it."

"I will trust your judgment, but don't push yourself too far, ok? I don't want my first friend to die from overexertion…"

"Oh, sometimes I wish I could die from just that…But I am still alive for some reason"

"Don't say that, my friend. Everyone has only one life, so please, cherish yours. Life is the most precious gift that we have, once it's gone, it will never come back."

"I suppose that is true….From certain point of view…"

"What?"

"Never mind, you are right. I will take it easy"

"Hearing that makes me rather delighted, Runfar."

As they reached the entrance of his mansion, Leon turned her back to Runfar.

"I suppose it is time for me to go. I need to be back to my duties by tomorrow p.r.o.nto."

"Leaving already?"

"Yes, unfortunately, today is the only day I had for a break. I should report back to duty to the Holy Order."

"Speaking of which, how are you going to back there? It seems it took you a while to get here."

"If I travel to one location once, I can always teleport from there and back. So…"

With a motion of a hand, a circular portal opened in front of the Knight of Light.

The portal seemed to absorb the colors of everything into it, swirling around endlessly into a whirlpool of light.

"It is a spell called 'Gate of Light'. With it, I can always go back to the Holy Order's location like this or anywhere I have been to."

"Sounds like a very convenient spell."

"It is…So…Can I visit you again?"

"Of course, but please do me a favor and send me a letter beforehand. I might have a very busy schedule"

"Ok, I will do that. And also…Can I keep the dress?"

"Yes, you may. But what about your armor and equipment? Aren't you going to go back to the mansion to pick them up?"

"Don't worry, I have all of them inside my storage ring" she showed him the ring on her right hand.

"Then I guess it is good bye"

"Yes, my friend, it is rather unfortunate, but duty calls. I would have loved to spend more time with you…Maybe the next time I get a break…But until then, I will send you letters, so please don't forget to write back!"

"You can count on it"

"Thank you so much, Runfar, I am very glad that I met someone like you"

She proceeded to give Runfar a hug, after which she slowly backed away. Leon proceeded to step through the gate towards the other side, and within the moment, the gate disappeared.

"Whew…That was a close one…." Now that the Knight of Light was no longer there, Runfar finally could take a breath of relief.

It took all the acting skills he had in order to keep up the façade of being Leon's friend without slipping up. But now, finally, there was one less problem to deal with.

If the three heroes that he and the Shadow Lords had dealt with had already returned to the Holy Order, then the Knight of Light will have a rather big surprise waiting her.

Yet, he still had four Demon Lords and the Demon King on his back to take care of.

'One problem at a time, Dark Lord, one problem at a time.'

Dark Lord's focused his gaze forward.

It truly was a very tiresome day.