Chapter 5 – "A Demon? That's Clearly a Blessing!"
Seven days later, when Flamme finally traced Elias's whereabouts and arrived at the village on the outskirts, the situation had already spiraled far beyond her expectations.
"I heard from some traveling merchants that he's a wanderer from the southern continent."
"But with that tall frame and pale complexion, he looks more like someone from the northern highlands."
"They say he passed all three trials of the Holy City's Test. Could he be a royal court mage?"
"No, no—just look at his bearing! That noble air of his—he must be descended from the old Imperial aristocracy."
Hearing the chatter of the old women by the gate, Flamme couldn't help but picture that cold, stoic face.
Only seven days had passed.
How much could have changed in that time?
"Excuse me," she said crisply, stepping forward. "I'm a mage from the Holy City. Has a stranger arrived in your village recently?"
The old women looked up, blinking.
"Oh—you mean Elias?"
The moment that name reached her ears, Flamme drew in a sharp breath.
As expected…
That cunning demon had used disguise and deceit to fool the humans—and had now infiltrated this quiet little village.
As a bearer of the Holy City's Archmage, she could not stand idly by.
Gathering her composure, Flamme straightened her posture and spoke gravely:
"I have reason to believe that the man you call Elias is, in fact, a dangerous demon."
——
"Ahahahahaha!"
The old women burst into laughter.
"A demon? Child, don't be ridiculous—he's a blessing from the heavens!"
"Just look at that face! You don't forget someone that handsome."
"Little mage, you must be mistaken. That kind man has helped our village more than anyone!"
Flamme clenched her jaw, grinding her teeth in frustration.
No wonder he's survived for three thousand years.
It had taken him barely a week to win over the entire village of elders.
"If you doubt him, young lady," one old woman said kindly, "just go speak to him yourself. He's staying in the old warehouse by the pond."
"And if you're tired," another added cheerfully, "why not stay the night at our inn? We just reopened—offering a 20% discount too!"
"That's right! Ever since Elias used that spell to instantly kill cockroaches, our village has been so much cleaner!"
Flamme's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Instantly kill cockroaches," huh…
Heh.
As if the great demon of the Mythic Age would concern himself with such a petty spell.
It was obviously a ruse—
another ploy to deceive humans before slaughtering them.
She had to expose him before it was too late—
before this "benevolent traveler" bled the village dry.
——
"Feel the fragments of ordinary life, huh…"
Elias lay on the grass beside a still pond, staring up at the sky. Aivis's words echoed faintly in his mind.
That fool—
He'd spent his fleeting human life doing just that: living quietly, helping others, wasting time on trivial good deeds…
Wasting his time, wasting Serie's time—
and yet, never once feeling guilty for it.
Who would have thought, a thousand years later, Elias himself would end up living that same kind of life?
Seven days of odd jobs—
and already, the village elders were treating him like some legendary hero.
The work was dull, certainly. But whenever he saw their grateful smiles…
there was something—some faint warmth—that stirred in his chest.
What was that feeling called again?
Maybe if he kept trying, he could remember.
A breeze rippled through the trees, scattering dappled light across the water's surface.
Then came a frail, quavering cry.
"Ah… my foot…! Is there a kind soul nearby who can help?"
Elias rose, sighing softly.
If Serie were here, she'd probably pretend she hadn't heard.
He carried the old woman with the twisted ankle back to the road, refused her reward, and walked away.
Over the next month, his life grew strangely busy.
By rough count, he rescued a child who'd fallen into a well, a merchant caravan ambushed by bandits, an explorer who nearly wandered into a red mirror-dragon's nest, a starving beggar, three or four more elderly women who'd sprained their ankles, and even a fat orange cat that got stuck on a rooftop.
Then one moonlit night, he found a half-conscious woman deep in the mountains.
Her clothes were torn, her body trembling from exhaustion.
Without a word, Elias lifted her onto his back—
and carried her down the slope,
back to the warmth of the village inn.
When Elias saw the woman's tear-streaked face, his expression turned to ice.
"Sob… sob… those bandits were monsters! They robbed me of everything—and they tried to force me to…" She trembled, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Thank you, sir mage… if you hadn't saved me, I'd have died by the roadside…"
Elias said nothing. He simply stared at her in silence, his face unreadable, his thoughts elsewhere.
Then, without warning, the woman shifted her posture. Her already tattered clothes slipped further, revealing a flash of pale skin.
"I have nothing else to repay your kindness," she whispered tremulously, "but if my lord wishes… I can offer myself—"
Elias exhaled slowly, patience finally snapping.
"How long do you plan to keep this farce going?"
The woman froze, her body stiffening mid-motion. For a moment she hesitated, forcing a trembling smile.
"W-what do you mean? Don't you… like—"
"You short-lived creatures," Elias interrupted coldly. "Why do you waste the little time you have on things like this?"
He hadn't expected that one day, he would sound exactly like Serie.
But right now, nothing else felt quite so fitting.
He stared straight at the woman, his gaze cutting through her disguise.
"Spare me, F—"
"Oh no," Elias said, voice calm but cutting. "You told me not to call you by name."
He tilted his head slightly, almost playfully. "Then how should I address you?"
He smiled, eyes glinting. "How about… Mei-Mei?"
The woman's face went pale with terror. Instinctively, her body curled toward the wall, trembling.
Elias stepped closer, a faint, almost wicked smile touching his lips.
"Still going to keep pretending?"
"Or…" he leaned in, voice dropping low, teasing—"do you truly want to spend the night with me?"
"If that's what you want… well, I'm not opposed."
The sultry tone of his voice was the final straw. Flamme flinched and immediately dissolved her disguise with a flicker of magic.
Her true face emerged—flushed with both fury and embarrassment.
"Demon… when did you find out?" she demanded.
"When did I notice?" Elias repeated, smiling faintly as his gaze wandered lazily over her form. His eyes traced the length of her cascading hair before resting on those faintly trembling teal eyes.
"Perhaps it was the first day, when you disguised yourself as an old woman with a sprained ankle, begging for my help."
"Or maybe the seventh, when you pretended to be an adventurer trespassing into a dragon's nest, hoping to lure me into action."
"The thirteenth day, then—when you turned into a child and pretended to fall down a well."
"The sixteenth day, when you sent a mosquito enchanted with eavesdropping magic to infiltrate my quarters."
He smiled, eyes glinting with amusement.
"But my favorite? The twenty-fifth day. When you used that spell to turn yourself into a cat."
"That sleek orange fur of yours—so shiny, so memorable."
"I can even remember your voice. You went—'Miaaaooow~' Wasn't it something like that?"
"...Ugh!"
Flamme's teeth ground audibly. Her face flushed crimson with shame.
Unforgivable!
To think—the sole human disciple of Serie, utterly exposed and toyed with like this.
Were her ten years of study and training truly nothing more than child's play in his eyes?
"Hmph," she spat, her voice trembling. "As expected of a demon born in the Mythic Age. In your presence, all my spells are useless."
Elias shook his head slowly.
"No," he said softly. "Your magic is fine. Serie taught you well. Your technique for concealing mana is flawless—so precise that even I had trouble detecting you."
"Then why?" Flamme demanded. "Why was I still discovered?"
Elias's smile faded. His pale face turned solemn beneath the moonlight.
"Because of your killing intent," he said quietly.
"That fierce, burning hatred you carry for me… that's what gave you away."