The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 557: A refreshing drink is the least you could ask when a deity is kidnapping you

Chapter 557: A refreshing drink is the least you could ask when a deity is kidnapping you

Ugh...again?

When I suddenly felt weightless and my vision turned dark, I was no longer surprised, immediately knew what this was. In the next second, I felt my feet touch a modern tile, and the view unfolded into an empty but cozy-looking coffee shop.

This deity truly stuck to His concept, huh?

I looked around the coffee shop, and my eyes landed on a seat beside the window. This time, it wasn’t a boy with a formal suit, but the adult version with a casual blazer. As I walked closer, I saw my reflection in the window, and what do you know--I was clad in a fluffy white sweater and jeans.

Well, I guessed the ceremonial black robe did not match the coffee shop aesthetic.

He didn’t tell me to, but I took a seat in front of him anyway. "Can’t you like...calling me in a more inconspicuous manner?"

His dark eyes narrowed. "You show less and less respect each time."

"Maybe if you pulled me respectfully," I shrugged, patting the table with my palm. The impact was muffled by the long sleeve that almost covered my hand, so the sound only came out as a soft thud--but from his twitching eye, he must know what I meant.

"Cheeky kid," he clicked his tongue and waved his hand dismissively.

But a large size cup of a sweet frappe with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel on top appeared in front of me. Yippee! I grabbed the cup and slurped on the taste that felt like a reminiscent of my previous life--although I never consumed it in that life, obviously.

It was super good to be indisposable, wasn’t it? Even the deity couldn’t swat you for blasphemy.

When I finally got a brain freeze--how? How could I get one in a soul space?--I stopped drinking and looked at the Demon God. "So? What might be the reason you called this humble mortal, my Lord?"

"Cheeky kid," he clicked his tongue again. "You’re the one who started insulting me."

"Me? What did I do?"

I looked at the Demon God, completely flabbergated. When did I do that? Did I curse at him or something? I barely thought about him at all; the last time I did was just because I was following the ceremonial procedure to...

Aah...

"Oh, about the torch?" I blinked, and seeing how his brow twitched and frowning slightly was kind of...funny. "What? I just thought it would be nice for your worshipper."

"You drop your respect already?"

I looked down and mixed the remaining crushed ice with the straw. "It’s almost empty..."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, and I swallowed the laughter that might make even my devout husband look aghast. Ahem--I didn’t mean to mock him, Nat. Truly.

That being said, calling something like that an ’insult’ was rather silly, wasn’t it?

"But are you really calling me just because I made a harmless suggestion?"

Was he so bored that he would pull someone to his divine abode just because of a simple thought of lighting up a torch? Or maybe he was? He couldn’t just converse with the demons since he had designated the King as his proxy for fairness. I guessed talking to just one person got boring sometimes.

He snorted in denial though. "I’m not that petty."

I cast him a doubtful look, and he clicked his tongue again, flicking his finger lazily. The cup in front of me suddenly disappeared and reappeared in a split second, already full and containing a different flavor. Instead of a coffee drink, it was now a bubbling liquid with a scoop of floating ice cream on top.

I snatched the cup and swiftly relayed my gratitude. "Of course not, my Lord. You are the most generous!" I exclaimed, took a long sip, sighed, and continued. "How could someone like you be associated with the word ’petty’?"

He rolled his eyes again and let out a long, exasperated sigh. Naturally, I just continued sipping a drink that I wouldn’t be able to taste in the real world.

"I just want to check the progress of the Primordial One," he said when I paused at the second assault of brain freeze--damn it, should your soul space be this realistic?

"Ngh...Shwa?" I asked while massaging the bridge of my nose.

"...Yes."

The corner of his eyes twitched again, and I couldn’t help but giggle inwardly at his frown. "Why? You don’t like the name?"

"The Primordial One deserves a grander name," his frown went deeper for a second before disappearing, as if he had given up. "But you do you."

Hmph. Not that I would change it even if you told me to.

"But do you have to summon me to check on Shwa?" I tilted my head. Couldn’t he just...see? I mean, we were in the Demon Realm; his territory.

"Because that child connected to you," he said; the lazy eyes turned sharp suddenly as he stared at me with prickly gaze, as if observing something deep inside. "I can only see the outer appearance without seeing it through your soul."

"Huh...is that how it goes?" I muttered while sipping on my soda. Hehe--so that was why he couldn’t get angry even if I acted cheeky. "Well, how is it?"

He leaned back and crossed his arms, the blood-red irises against the black sclera were daunting. But I let his gaze probe me while focusing on the soda so I wouldn’t feel the pressure of a deity’s gaze too much. I wondered what he saw; a soul, or the vast black space with a cocoon in the center?

"Hmm..." the Demon God stroked his chin, looking somewhat satisfied. "It’s good, very healthy. You feed it well."

Of course--I was almost dead, you know?

"Yes, I think it’s not too far anymore," he nodded, and I paused, blinking slowly.

The words seemed to be digested in slow motion inside my head, and when it finished, I could hardly contain my surprise and excitement.

"What?! Really?" I stood up and nearly slammed the table. "How far along?"

Instead of answering clearly, the Demon God just swayed his head from side to side, muttering vaguely. "Hmm...perhaps the name you use is an apt one."

"Huh? You mean--"

"Well, goodbye now."

"Huh? Wait--wait!"

I felt a pull at the back of my solar plexus, and the last thing I saw was the Demon Good smirking while waving his hand.

* * *

"Ugh..." I groaned at the weird feeling of falling into a bottomless pit and woke up steadily in someone’s arms.

Weird because it didn’t feel like a dream. It was my soul being ejected from the divine abode and placed back in my unconscious body. It was also weird transitioning from the neon light of the astral coffee shop to the bright winter sunlight shining down on the Temple.

Oh, I was still in the Temple.

"Sweetheart?"

[Papa!]

I looked up at Natha’s bowed face and Jade peeking out of his shoulder.

I blinked slowly to acclimatize my eyes to the light and licked my palate to taste the sweet frappe and cola. Of course, there was none. Sighing in disappointment, I raised my upper body so I could see the surroundings better. "Was I out for long?"

"Not really, just about an hour," Natha replied while fixing my hair. Mara hurriedly came over to give me a drink--which didn’t taste much after those two drinks the Demon God gave me. "The blessing is still underway."

We were in a deeper part of the Temple; a seating area the clerics usually used to conduct their studies and discussion. It was partially shielded by a plaited screen, but I could still see the procession of the demons getting blessed one by one by the Head Cleric.

Oh, the torch was still lit too.

I clasped my hands happily. "Oh, good! I’m not missing the banquet, then!"

Natha chuckled and brushed my fringe to the side while asking carefully. "Did Lord An’Hyang call you?"

"D’Ara told you?" I smiled. No wonder he didn’t panic even though I was abruptly blacking out. "Yeah, he wanted to look at Shwa’s progress--oh!"

"What’s wrong?"

I gripped his lapel and whispered excitedly. "Nat! Nat--He said it won’t be long now!"

Natha took a few seconds to understand what I was talking about, and when he did, the way his confusion turned into astonishment was exactly what I just experienced a few minutes ago.

"...Shwa?" he asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"Yes!" I nodded, before realizing I was exclaiming with a loud voice and clasped my mouth south. I shifted closer in his lap and whispered even lower. "He also said something about the name is fitting...oh!" I gasped, my widening eyes mirrored his. "Perhaps..."

"Spring? Or...the first bloom?"

Natha couldn’t close his parted lips for a while and I giggled while nodding excitedly. Of course, it was still a conjecture made of the petty Demon God’s mysterious words, but hey! Let me be happy!

Jade, who had been listening to us confusedly, jumped to my arm and asked. [Shwa will be here?]

"Yes," Natha said after getting a hold of himself. "When the first flower blooms."

[Jade won’t know if Natha says it like that!] the little bird stomped its little fit on my arm, perhaps feeling frustrated because we kept talking vaguely.

Well, of course, Jade wouldn’t know when the first flower would bloom. The flowers bloomed all the time in the realm of nature anyway.

"The first flower blooms in the second month, Jade," I laughed and patted the green head to appease the confused child.

[How many nights is that?] the green eyes blinked adorably.

"Probably less than sixty."

The little bird gasped.