Gratitude

I feel wronged.

While I was running in a pace that would be comfortable to the child, she had the audacity to fall asleep leaning on my shoulders. I could feel her drooling on me... I felt the urge to throw her.

I did say that I was a person who valued cleanliness right ?

But I hold myself back and run and run... untill I finally reached the child's village, Borax.

Borax village might be one of the many villages that came under my control... I don't really remember.

Can you blame me ?

Why would remember insignificant details like that ?

Anyways I run into trouble as soon as I get to the village... or should I say that trouble ran into me.... and kicked me in the balls.

The woman who kicked me must be Diane's mother.

In her defense, I suppose I looked pretty suspicious..... being semi-naked while holding her unconscious daughter in my hands.

…

…

her reaction is understandable.

But the fact that amazed me was that... Diane was still sleeping through all this.

I feel the stares of all the people who had gathered around us, even the mother was gazing at me strangely.

I should probably act like that hurt a lot.

I fall down and while doing so drop Diane, who gets thrown on the floor and finally wakes up. I fall face first into the ground.... the dirt on the ground gets on my face.

I can't say that my pride wasn't damaged.. but silly things like pride don't really matter all that much in life.

I pretend to pass out, I can't deal with the aftermath of all this.... Diane would probably explain my situation in my stead and that was good. Explaining everything that happened once again just feels tedious.

I can hear, Diane saying something, but I can't be bothered to listen to what she's saying. After a while, I feel some people picking me up and they put me in a mattress.

After about 15 minutes, I can hear footsteps inside the room I was in and a person washes my body with a piece of wet cloth. It's a good thing my wound/ hole healed itself... otherwise the chances of my identity being found out was very high.

The person also dresses me up, the clothes feel rough on my skin but I'm grateful.

When should I get up ?

I don't feel like it now... so I'll probably wake up tomorrow or something.

Thinking this I slowly fall into the world of dreams.

~~~~

I open my eyes slowly.

It felt strange to wake up in another bed after so long. I'm not complaining though after almost a century of being a demon king.... it felt nice to be something different for a change.

Is this why, she wanted to travel ?

I get up from the mattress and stare at the clothes I was wearing, It wasn't anything too fancy. A shirt that was made from the fur of some animal and the pants I was wearing was also the same.

They felt quite uncomfortable.

I open the door to my room and enter what seems to be the hallway of a house.

I can hear noises coming a few steps away from me and the smell of meat lingered in the air. They must be having food.

I take a few more steps and see the dining table, in which a group of people were making conversation and having food. I recognize Diane sitting at one end of table.

This must be her family.

When Diane finally sees me, She spits out the water in her mouth and says,

'' Mister, you're up !!''

~~~~

'' I'M SO SORRY.'', Diane's mother, Layla bows her head at me and apologizes for the millionth time.

'' It's alright.'', I say while looking at her cat ears.

....

Wait.

Cat ears ?

I look at Diane and her ears were that of a human.

Seeing the woman's ears, I can figure out that she's from the cat tribe of the beastfolk. But if this woman is supposed to be Diane's mother, shouldn't she be a human.

I knew by sensing her mana that Diane was a human, so that could mean only a single thing.

Layla wasn't her birth mother.

'' Mr. Xavier ?''

I jump out of my thought train as Layla calls out my name.

I really shouldn't think so much while talking to people.

'' Yes ?'', I ask her.

'' I asked if you would like to join us for dinner ?'', Layla asks.

'' Sure.'', I say while taking a seat next to Diane.

~~~~

I take some of the cooked meat laid out on the table on my plate.

After taking a few bites, I smile at Layla and say,

'' The food tastes good.''

Hearing my words, she says with a gentle smile on her face,

'' I'm glad you like it.''

The food tasted bad. The meat wasn't cooked right... but I can't say that to her. Even the demon king has to respect the people that gives him a place to rest and if I wanted to stay here for a month, I should probably get on her good side.

Speaking about Layla, now that I take a good look at her. She didn't look that old. She's probably in her twenties or something. Her hair was of a dark green color and her eyes were of a the same color. But her most distinct feature was.. of course her cat ears.

From my experience, I knew that the ears weren't just for show. The ears and eyes of the cat tribe were considered to be priceless.

Their ears were sensitive to the smallest sounds and could even the beat of an individuals heart. Their eyes were compound, meaning they had a wider range of vision.

But the number of cat people had reduced over time as people loved hunting them. Their eyes and ears would go for millions at an auction. Females within the cat tribe had it even harder as people had a weird fetish pertaining them.

That was why it wasn't all that common for a person of the cat tribe to live alone. Usually they live in deep forests and always move together in groups,

Uhg... I'm doing it again. Live in the moment, Kae- Xavier !

' Thinking is for the weak.', thinking [lol] this I start to make conversation with Layla,

We talk for a bit and they answer my questions.

It seems that it was just like I had guessed.

Layla wasn't Diane's birth mother. She was adopted.

'' So, what about you... where are you from ?'', asks the man sitting opposite to me.

The man was human, unlike Layla.

His name was Mark Webber and he was Layla's boyfriend. Sitting next to him was a lizardman, a literal lizard with the hands and legs like those of a human.

Such fascinating creatures...

The lizardman's name was Jabba and he was Layla's bestfriend.

You won't find this kind of diversity in a normal village. This can only be seen in a village under my control. I'm not someone who discriminates based on species and it's always been my dream to create a place where everyone could live in peace and harmony.

It was a dream that I had in my hero days and seeing it fulfilled now made me feel strange.

To the boyfriends question, I tell the same story that I had told Diane. I was a soldier fighting against the demon king's army when I was suddenly transported near the village against my will.

There were several holes in my story but they seemed to eat it up.

We talked for awhile and I ask the question that I had in my mind,

'' Are the people celebrating the demon king's death ?''

An awkward silence descends upon the dining room untill Jabba says,

'' Not really.... believe it or not... he was quite the generous ruler.''

'' I see.'', it was only natural that these people couldn't hate me. I had conquered these lands when they were in their mother's wombs and all they ever known is my rule... which is quite fair despite my title of ' demon king'

'' Not everyone feels the same way though.'', Mark says with a frown on his face.

.....

What's his problem ?

Seeing my questioning gaze, Mark says,

'' The demon king's army ambushed my hometown.... they killed my wife. Diane's parents were my friends... they were also killed by those monsters.''

Yikes. I suppose that's my fault.

'' What was your hometown's name ?'', I ask him.

'' Lambert, it was a little south of here but all that remains now is rubble and destruction. The only reason we survived was because I ran away with Diane.''

'' Is that so...''

Mark looks at Diane and his eyes start to tear up.

'' She was just a baby.'', he says.

Seeing his tears, Jabba who was sitting next to him starts patting him on the shoulders and Layla takes his hand into hers.

...

'' Seeing the ring on your finger, you must be married huh ?'', Jabba asks desperately trying to change the topic.

I look at the silver ring on my finger and say in a low voice,

'' I was married.... but my wife died some time ago.''

Layla looks at me with pity in her eyes,

'' What happened ?'', she asks

I take a look around the room and let out a little sigh, before saying,

'' I killed her.''

~~~~