Frilian: This Demon Isn't So Cold

The next morning, Carlos woke up in his sleeping bag and, before he even opened his eyes, he knew there was someone lying on his lap.

"Sylvia, get up." He said irritably.

With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the [barrier magic] set up around him. To be honest, this kind of magic invented by Vlame is really useful when camping in the wild. At least Carlos can sleep much more peacefully than before.

"Gurgle... Let me sleep a little longer..."

Sylvia glanced at Carlos, then rolled over and continued to press herself against his legs.

If it weren't for the sleeping bag holding him back, Carlos might have jumped up.

"Um?"

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, Sylvia lifted her upper body up abruptly.

She glanced at the spot where she had just rested her head, then at Carlos's indifferent gaze, and hesitated before saying:

"You...do you have a problem in that area?"

Get up!

Using his [Flight Magic] to remove Sylvia from his body, Carlos reluctantly took out toiletries from his suitcase.

"Hehe, I'm just curious."

While conjuring up clear water with magic, Sylvia tried to justify her actions.

Carlos ignored her.

After packing up their belongings for the night, he finally spoke, saying, "Giving up sooner is better for both of us."

"Uh, we'll talk about it later, I don't want to hear it now."

"I have truly received your sentiments, and I will never forget you," Carlos emphasized. "If that was your purpose, then you have already achieved it."

"I was just saying that casually, don't take it seriously!" Sylvia waved her hands repeatedly.

Seeing her like this, Carlos sighed helplessly, realizing that unless he really hardened his heart, he probably wouldn't be able to get rid of her.

The key issue is that he can't bring himself to be ruthless.

Carlos had a premonition that if he actually did that, something he would regret would happen, which is one of the reasons why he has remained kind to humans until now.

He couldn't bring himself to do anything ruthless until he found a way to solve the problem.

"Whatever you want."

He walked toward the village not far away, with Sylvia following closely beside him.

"You're back."

Because he did not hide or change his appearance, Carlos was discovered by the villagers as he approached the village.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" He knew that the villager who was greeting him was called Bergman, who usually liked to hunt in the mountains, but spent most of his time working in the fields.

"Why be afraid? So what if you're a demon? We've lived together for over five years." Bergman, wearing a sun hat, said to him with a smile.

"...Thank you." Carlos was slightly surprised. He paused for a moment, "But I still have to say, I hope you won't hold back when you encounter demons in the future. They are very good at deceiving people, and you'll know this as soon as you go to the border cities."

Humans of this era had limited knowledge of the demon race, but the closer they got to the north where the demons were active, the deeper their understanding of them became.

"I knew that, but it's truly unbelievable that there could be a demon like you. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it." Bergman stepped forward. "May I touch your horns?"

"It feels awful." Carlos didn't refuse, so Bergman went up and started working on the horns on his head.

Sylvia looked on with obvious envy.

"It really is terrible." After touching it, Bergman nodded without denying it. "Why did you suddenly think of coming back here?"

"I just wanted to come and take a look, there's no particular reason," Carlos said.

"I see..." Bergman, realizing that he was just giving him a perfunctory answer, did not press the matter further. "The village chief and the others still remember you, so I won't bother them any longer."

Carlos turned to Sylvie and began to instruct her:

"You see, if someone like him encounters a demon, he'll probably be completely swindled."

Before he had gone far, Bergman's lips twitched when he heard those words.

"But why are you smiling?" Sylvia asked with interest, scrutinizing Carlos's expression.

"Did I?" He reached up and touched his face, wondering if he had really smiled just now.

Sylvia said quite earnestly, "Her eyes are so gentle, I almost melted into them!"

"Stop fooling around." This time, Carlos clearly felt himself laughing. "But thank you anyway."

Before entering the village, he cast the [Concealment] spell on himself and Sylvia.

"Why do you do this?" Sylvia asked him, puzzled.

"I don't want them to think that all demons are like me, so it's better to avoid contact with them."

Carlos shook his head at her, then pointed to a woman next to him who was teaching her child not to be a picky eater.

"To keep you from getting bored, let me introduce you to everyone one by one. This is Marlen. She loves to gossip about the village, especially about who likes whom. Never tell her anything private, or the whole village will know the next day."

"This is Fulke. She's a bit too enthusiastic. She's washed my clothes many times and often tries to introduce me to potential partners."

"This is Tiana, um... she confessed to me before, but I rejected her."

"This is Si..."

"Wait, I'd rather hear about Tiana," Sylvia interrupted him, trying to stop him from continuing. "You said she confessed her feelings to you, and then?"

"I refused."

"I'm asking about what happens after you refuse."

"What else can you do? She's not like you, clinging on and on. She was rejected, and that's it. She hasn't had any contact with you since."

"So you like her?" Sylvia asked softly.

Carlos chuckled, "She didn't even know I was a demon back then, what do you think?"

"But I didn't know you were a demon when I liked you," Sylvia said. "That's no reason at all. If she had known you were a demon, would you have liked her?"

"...Who knows? How could I know anything about something that hasn't happened?"

Carlos knew that Sylvie was really asking herself the question, but he couldn't give her any answers.

"I understand." Even though she hadn't received any reliable answer, Sylvia nodded. "I've found your weakness again."

"A weakness?" Carlos repeated the word. "How could that be?"

"Should I say it?" Sylvia smiled at him.

Faced with this smile that seemed no different from any other, Carlos backed down.

"No need."

"coward."

"I'm not a coward!"

This is just a tactical retreat!

The two arrived at the village chief's house. Carlos knocked on the door and dispelled the [Hidden Image] spell.

"Who is it?" came the old man's voice from inside the door, and then an old man with white hair opened the door. He noticed the familiar face at first glance, as if time had turned back 11 years.

However, now there is a young girl by his side.

"Carlos, it's you! You're back!" The old man's eyes were filled with longing.

"It's me." Carlos nodded.

Village Chief Kress stepped aside. "And this one... come in too."

Sylvia and Carlos went inside together.