Night fell again, and except for Solitär, who said she wanted to wander around nearby, the other three Demons each picked a spot to rest.
Nanoda also leapt onto a thick branch, sat with her back against the trunk, and while maintaining her Mana Perception, slowly opened the Scripture in her hands.
She wasn't worried that Solitär, wandering off on her own, would try to escape.
Demons used vile lies to deceive Humans and hunt them.
But Demons had their own pride. They might deceive their prey for the sake of the hunt, but they would never lightly abandon their dignity or break an agreement with another Demon.
Just as when settling matters of status, Demons would hold nothing back in displaying their Mana to determine rank, ultimately submitting to the strongest.
A Demon in a subordinate position wouldn't submit completely, but as long as they hadn't refused outright, they would carry out whatever they'd agreed to, within their power.
Demons didn't lie to Demons.
Even if Solitär broke their agreement partway through and fled, it would only harden Nanoda's resolve to kill her outright the next time they met.
[Your soul is very unstable, and there are impurities within it]
That line of pale gold text caught Nanoda's attention.
They'd already made an agreement: if either wanted to talk during the day, the other would first appear through the Scripture.
"How do you know that?"
That this deity could see the mortal world was something Nanoda could understand, but through her interactions these past few days, she'd found that its understanding of her went far beyond what she'd imagined.
Even her soul could be peered into — that was more than a little unsettling. It probably already knew her true identity.
[Because I've been watching you all along]
"It's not damage, but contamination?"
[The two are similar in nature]
"What effect will this current condition have on me?"
Aside from the occasional headache during cultivation and her personality growing steadily colder, more Demon-like, Nanoda suspected there were other subtle influences she hadn't yet noticed.
[How your power manifests, fluctuations in personality, and some irreversible changes]
"Specifically?"
Apart from the "irreversible" part, it was pretty much what Nanoda had expected.
[The part that isn't yours will influence your personality and change your habits. Right now you can fully suppress it, though it will occasionally still affect you. Further down the road, that portion of the soul may even have the possibility of reawakening.]
"So when that happens, I'll have to fight it?"
Nanoda thought of the clichéd scenario: the original owner's lingering consciousness gradually reawakening, a remnant soul frantically fighting her for the body.
[That, I can't say. The more clearly you feel the change, the deeper that impurity's influence on you runs.]
As for the soul's impurity, Nanoda had already more or less guessed what it was.
"So we're just going to leave it be?"
[Aren't you going to ask me if I have a way to remove the impurity?]
"Honestly, I'd still like to meet that part of the original owner again — and tell it what I've managed to accomplish."
If not for her predecessor, Nanoda wouldn't have been able to live a second life. Without that being's guidance from the past, she never would have mastered Paradox Magic — she'd just be an empty shell wearing the identity of a Great Demon from the Mythical Era.
[You'd better think it through carefully. The longer this goes on, the higher the degree of contamination will climb, and the greater the risk of removal.]
"I owe it a debt."
The other side seemed to fall silent for a moment; the pale gold text didn't change for a long while.
Nanoda simply kept writing.
"I've wanted to ask this for a while — how do you feel about Humans and the Demon Race?"
Over these past few days of conversation, Nanoda had come to understand that although this New God had been watching her the whole time, it wasn't in a constantly conscious state.
Nanoda had only shared with it a few simple experiences from her own life, from the period when it had been dormant.
Aside from showing curiosity, the deity on the other end hadn't shown any hostility — it seemed to treat these things as idle entertainment, like secondhand gossip.
[I find it all interesting]
This time the golden text appeared quickly.
"Interesting" — that answer left Nanoda somewhat unable to read it.
Soon, the text on the page shifted again, taking the form of a short, prophecy-like exchange, just like the one Schwenk had once shown her.
[Your luck should be good these days; your journey will go smoothly]
"Well, I owe that to you, then."
Nanoda quietly calculated the time in her head — at their current pace, it would take about another week to make it back to Gaderia.
Glancing sideways at the Demons resting below, an idea suddenly struck her.
"Since you're a god, you must be pretty good at naming things, right?"
[I've given a name to another being once before, but I am a bit interested]
"Then name my two new subordinates for me."
In her past life, Nanoda — a hopeless namer used to calling everything by numerical codes — decided to hand off the task of naming her two minor Demon underlings to the great deity on the other end.
Strictly speaking, wouldn't that make these names divinely bestowed?
[What are their characteristics?]
"One is a blindfolded female Demon who wields a tachi and specializes in Whirlwind Magic. The other is a boy Demon who carries a staff and specializes in mist that conceals everything."
Nanoda set down her writing hand and waited patiently for the reply, trying to think up names for the two Demons herself in the meantime.
Little Blindy and Little Ringy? One with covered eyes, one with lots of rings on her horns.
No, no — that felt too much like naming a pet.
[Wenbei, Deneb — how about those?]
A line of pale gold text slowly appeared.
His treasure... what dignified names.
"Perfect. Very fitting."
Nanoda gave a thumbs-up toward the Scripture.
Outside the main city of the Northern Empire.
"Man, that really wore me out. Word that the Great Demon Aura's been captured — heh, I've got to report that to my superiors and get a hefty reward!"
The man stood with his hands braced on his hips, breathing hard. He was an Empire intelligence agent stationed in Graf Granat's Domain.
"Good work out there."
"Eh, it wasn't so bad, really."
Picking up on his companion's words, the agent scratched his head.
Wait — companion? He'd clearly come alone! But that voice was identical to the guy who'd bunked above him during training!
"The hell—!"
He instinctively reached for the dagger at his waist, but a hand had already reached out from the darkness behind him and quietly pressed against the back of his head.
First his panic vanished. Then his wariness vanished. Finally, so did his sense of purpose.
The agent's mind seemed to go blank; he froze in place, his eyes glazed and vacant.
"Carelessness at critical moments is never a good thing~"
Leaving behind those words the man couldn't hear, the hand that had emerged from the shadows withdrew.
The night was silent, the bright moon high overhead, as if nothing had happened at all.
The agent blinked, as if waking from a doze, and quickly came back to his senses.
"Heh, I'd better hurry and pass along the news that the Earl of Gulanate has been in contact with the Demon Race and harbors treacherous intentions."
He set off at a brisk pace, dashing away like a gust of wind.
Not long after the agent had left.
The deep thicket began to rustle. On the shadow-strewn road, a silhouette gradually emerged — on that cold, expressionless face, three crescent-moon-shaped smiles slowly curved into being.
____
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