Returning to Lin Ling’s perspective, it was already nearly noon.
Wisps of smoke from cooking fires were slowly rising from the residential district.
A faint aroma of food drifted between the stone houses.
While it couldn't be called a feast, the atmosphere was noticeably more relaxed compared to the thick scent of death that used to permeate the air of the Demon King's Castle.
Lin Ling followed behind Baroque, clutching the half-finished wood carving.
As she walked, she peeked at her surroundings.
“I didn't realize so many demons lived here.”
“Mm.”
Baroque walked ahead of her.
“The main building of the Demon King's Castle is primarily for meetings, defense, and research.”
“The ordinary residents mostly live in this area.”
Lin Ling nodded.
“I see.”
She looked down at the wood carving in her arms.
“So, where does that child from earlier live?”
Baroque stopped in his tracks.
“We’re here.”
Lin Ling looked up.
Before her stood a modest stone house.
Two water buckets were placed by the door, and several strings of dried herbs hung by the window.
Though the walls were somewhat old, the place was kept very clean.
Baroque glanced at the door, then at Lin Ling.
“You knock first.”
Lin Ling was taken aback.
“Eh?”
“What about you, Uncle Baroque?”
Baroque turned away.
“I have things to attend to.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, his figure vanished into a nearby alley.
His movements were swift, as if he had spotted prey.
Lin Ling stood at the door.
She looked in the direction where Baroque had disappeared.
Then she looked at the tightly closed door in front of her.
“...”
She suddenly felt like she had been dropped at the entrance of a dungeon.
And it was the kind of dungeon where a teammate says, “I’ll go pull the mobs, you open the door.”
Lin Ling took a deep breath.
“Stay calm.”
“I’m just returning a wood carving.”
“The Great Miss Saintess will not shrink back at a time like this.”
She raised her hand and gave the door a gentle tap.
Knock, knock.
Footsteps quickly approached from inside.
Then, a gentle woman’s voice called out.
“Who is it, please?”
The door opened, and a lizard-kin woman stepped out from the house.
She was tall, with fine light-green scales on her cheeks and the backs of her hands, and her eyes were a warm amber.
She wore a simple apron, and her hands were dusted with a bit of flour.
She seemed to have been in the middle of preparing lunch.
She looked somewhat puzzled when she heard the knock at the door.
But when she saw clearly who was standing there, she froze completely.
Platinum blonde hair shimmered like liquid gold in the sunlight.
Her pale blue eyes were clear and bright.
And she was dressed in the holy vestments of a human Saintess.
The lizard-kin woman quickly recovered and hurriedly lowered her head in a bow.
“You are...”
“The Saintess of the Demon King's Castle, aren't you?”
Her tone immediately became respectful. She placed one hand over her chest and gave Lin Ling a slight bow.
“May I ask if there is something I can help you with?”
Lin Ling was startled by the gesture.
“Whoa!”
“What are you doing?!”
She hurriedly stepped forward, reaching out to support the woman.
“Please don't do that, please don't!”
“I’m just here to return something!”
The lizard-kin woman stood up with her help, but she still seemed quite formal.
“But, you are the esteemed...”
Before she could finish, her gaze suddenly bypassed Lin Ling and looked behind her.
In the next second, the gentle expression on her face froze.
Lin Ling turned back in confusion.
She saw Baroque, who had just claimed he was “going to attend to things,” walking out of the alley.
He was carrying a child over his shoulder.
It was the same child who had made a face at Baroque earlier.
Baroque had him hoisted up with one hand, and his expression was clearly one of satisfaction.
“Mrs. Nashi.”
Baroque spoke.
“Lin Ling doesn't care much for these tedious formalities.”
Mrs. Nashi didn't answer him immediately.
Her gaze fell upon the child on Baroque’s shoulder.
Her originally gentle and poised expression slowly began to change.
“Dashi?”
Her voice was very soft.
Yet for some reason, Lin Ling felt a sudden chill run down her spine.
“Are you causing trouble for Lord Baroque again?”
Dashi, who was being carried, scratched his head.
“Hehe.”
“Mom, I’m back.”
Mrs. Nashi smiled.
But that smile looked rather dangerous.
Lin Ling felt as if the temperature in the air had suddenly dropped several degrees.
Baroque set Dashi down from his shoulder.
“Hmph, brat.”
“Next time I’m going to have to tan your hide.”
“Let you know just how hard big brother Baroque’s fists are.”
The moment Dashi’s feet touched the ground, he immediately scrambled behind his mother.
The movement was so practiced it seemed like he had done it a thousand times.
He poked his head out and made a face at Baroque.
“You won't catch me next time!”
“Uncle Baroque!”
A vein throbbed on Baroque’s temple.
However, before Dashi could even feel smug, he felt a hand on top of his head.
A hand that was slender and gentle, yet full of strength.
That hand firmly pressed down on his head.
Mrs. Nashi’s voice drifted down from above him.
“Da~shi~”
Dashi’s body stiffened.
The smile on his face vanished instantly.
“M-Mom?”
Mrs. Nashi looked up and gave Lin Ling and Baroque an impeccably polite smile.
“My apologies, Miss Saintess, Lord Baroque.”
“I need to handle a bit of family business first.”
With that, she kept one hand on Dashi’s head and grabbed the door with the other.
Dashi looked at Lin Ling in terror.
His eyes were desperately broadcasting a distress signal toward her.
Lin Ling instinctively reached out.
“Um...”
Thud.
The door slammed shut.
In the next moment, a violent scream erupted from inside the house.
“Mom, I was wrong!”
“I’m really sorry!”
“Don't pull my tail! The tail is innocent!”
However, the only response from inside was the sound of a heavy object repeatedly thumping against the floor.
Outside.
Lin Ling clutched the wood carving, her expression slowly turning rigid.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“That sounds like it hurts.”
The Mrs. Nashi who had been so gentle and poised just a moment ago had an expression so dark it looked like she could summon a thunderstorm the instant she grabbed Dashi’s head.
Lin Ling suddenly felt a bit of a chill.
“The mothers of demon children are terrifying.”
Baroque, on the other hand, was completely unfazed.
He stood outside the door with his arms crossed, not even twitching an eyebrow.
“Hmph.”
“You underestimate the resilience of the demon race.”
“That brat is just putting on an act for you because you’re out here.”
Lin Ling looked at him.
“Really?”
Another cry came from inside:
“I’ll never call him Uncle Baroque again!”
Baroque remained expressionless.
“I hope that part is true, at least.”
Lin Ling: “...”
After a while, the sounds inside finally ceased.
The door opened once more.
Mrs. Nashi reappeared at the entrance.
She was back to her gentle and poised self.
Her apron was neat and tidy.
Her smile was soft.
She even had a cloth in her hand to wipe them dry.
It was as if she had simply been doing some light tidying inside.
“My apologies.”
“I’ve kept you two waiting.”
Mrs. Nashi stepped aside to clear the doorway.
“Please, come inside and we can talk.”
Lin Ling looked at her gentle smile.
She suddenly felt like she was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Rate on N.U.
