"Of course, child. We have lots of extra empty beds upstairs." Old Fe gently said.
"Come, let me take you upstairs." Lucien nodded.
Seeing Lucien is about to be taken away, Aiden immediately jumped on his shoulder. Lucien stumbled in surprise.
The fuck?! A little warning, okay? If it wasn't for Old Fe catching his shoulder on time, he would have kissed the floor's cemented ass.
Lucien was obviously tired, but remembering the promise the Mage Specialist left them and the near future where the protagonist will have his halo shining like a protruding light bulb, Lucien's spirits suddenly lit up. He fixed his expressionless face. Then turn to Aiden with his overstretched patience.
"You don't need to come with me. I just wanted to sleep. I know you like to go with them. So go, don't mind me."
There are two kind middle aged woman staffs who look at Aiden with affectionate eyes. One of them had her hands on his back and ushered him to go with the other children, while Lucien was shown upstairs by the other woman to go to his room. Old Fe entrusted Lucien to her.
With one last nod, Lucien followed the woman. Aiden gritted his teeth and ran to hug Lucien around his waist.
"You will sleep? Are you tired?"
Lucien has noticed that ever since they left the church, Aiden has been especially clingy. Did something happen to evoke this kind of attitude? As far as Lucien knows, this little one is not an affectionate child.
"Yes," Lucien patted his head and remove his arms around his waist. He did not look back when he followed the middle aged woman towards his room.
Now, what the hell is going on? Did that sight of him being eaten alive scare the little protagonist? How did he survive the attack anyway? He was sure that the chocolate given to him was gone. It was probably chewed up by the zombies who ate him alive. Hence, that did not restore his body. Then what was it? Zombie saliva?
At the mention of zombies, Lucien's thoughts wandered back to that time when he was eaten alive. He can still remember the pain when the child puppet clawed at his arms. The lingering sensation of his flesh being ripped out. He unconsciously shivered, pushing the memory to the back of his mind.
The room he was led to had two double deck beds, each on either side of the room. The window is right across the window. There's a big closet right beside the door on the right and a small desk with lamps on the left. Behind the table is the door towards the bathroom and the sink. The room is a complete set.
"Tomorrow, we will go to the market and buy you all new pairs of clothes." The middle aged woman said, seeing Lucien's eyes were fixed on the big empty closet.
Lucien nodded and went to the upper bed of the double deck to tuck himself in.
"Just come down if you get hungry, okay? We will be downstairs. Be sure to come at lunch. " She kindly reminded. Lucien lowered his head and gently nodded.
When he heard the door close, he slumped in the bed. The pillow is plain dark blue, the same as his bed sheets and blanket. His favorite color is blue. That is why he chose this bed. When Lucien closed his eyes, the scene of zoom in faces of the puppets appeared in his eyes. He rolled onto the other side of the bed and forced himself to sleep.
After a few minutes, he still can't. He puffed out a frustrated breath.
His mind is actively trying to discern just what happened in the span between him being eaten alive and the demon slayers finding them. A part of him wanted to believe in his little protagonist when he said they suddenly burst into black cloud dust.
And yet.... Lucien has already seen 'Slaying the Demons' up to season 3 to know that the thick black coals scattered on the church floor are not a result of the puppets' death.
It is true that demon's followers will die when the demon they served dies. They will disintegrate into ashes. The more Lucien reflects on it, the more scared he gets. It couldn't be that his little protagonist has activated one of his dormant dark magic, could he? Because if he did, it would be very dangerous for him in Demon Slayer Academe.
A prompt suddenly appeared in Lucien's eyes.
[Warning: System issued a mission.]
Oh, you fucking scammer. It wasn't even twenty-four hours and you're issuing another mission?!
[Mission: In two months, create a dark sealing magic seed for the protagonist.]
[Task: The protagonist must become a mage disciple in the Mage Academe after two months.]
Lucien was too dumbfounded to react.
…....
A strange silence filled the whole room.
…..
But it has not lasted long since Lucien decided to go berserk and murder his own bed with his own fist.
The innocent bed: Save me (⋟﹏⋞)
[Warning: Additional side missions have been issued.]
There's still more?!
[Side mission: Exorcise Vanessa's daughter.]
Lucien immediately stopped what he was doing and stared ahead. Vanessa's daughter? She's still alive? No, how can that be? Vanessa clearly said her daughter is gone.... A memory suddenly flashed in Lucien's mind.
Because he was too preoccupied with finding out the true identity of Vanessa, he had forgotten one important thing. Back when he killed the father, the first demon who revealed itself to them, there was that black smoke with red eyes he forgot to eliminate.
If his gut feeling is right, that phantom smoke followed them to Haven City. A heavy feeling stirred in Lucien's chest. Since the additional mission stated 'exorcise' that means... her daughter has become a demon spirit.
There was no other way but to agree to this fact. And right now... Lucien ran towards the window and gazed below. His eyes searched for the familiar silhouettes of six children in the backyard, enjoying the mild dew of grass and fresh morning air.
He doesn't want to accept it, but there's no denying now that one of these children is possessed by Vanessa's daughter.