Note: 15k words done. Now this book will be listed in rankings, so send power stones and write reviews, guys!
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"I don't understand."
The Great Demon Solitar said in a plain voice.
"Yeah, I don't understand you either."
Sukuna also replied in a plain tone.
"What do you not understand about me? I'm the Great Demon Solitar."
"Yes, and I am the Lord of Dawn, Ryomen Sukuna."
"..."
Silence fell between the two of them.
After some time, Sukuna opened his mouth and asked her,
"How and when did you hear about me?"
"I first heard about you five days ago from a human soldier. Then, within a single day, everyone I saw seemed to be discussing the 8th Demon Sage of Severance."
Sukuna narrowed his eyes and thought to himself.
'It seems I have become famous in the central region... then why doesn't any human come to visit my city? Hm, they're probably too scared.'
Solitar looked at him with a calm gaze and asked,
"Sukuna, can I ask you something?"
Sukuna looked at her and said,
"Go ahead."
"Why are you building a city with humans?"
"Why am I building a city..."
As Sukuna was speaking, his gaze landed on her forehead, covered by her teal-colored hair.
Feeling a sudden urge, he moved his hand and raised her hair, revealing a big forehead.
'Damn, she's bald...'
Barely suppressing the corners of his mouth from twitching, he calmly retracted his hand, allowing her hair to once again cover her forehead.
Solitar seemed not to care about what he had just done as she kept staring at him for an answer.
"I am building this city to understand humans."
'I did it for fun.'
"I want to see how they feel and learn from them."
'Eh, I was bored, and I thought being a city lord would be cool...'
Hearing his reply, the Great Demon Solitar gave her usual practiced smile and said,
"Understand humans? Why? It's a simple waste of time."
"To you it might be, but to me it holds meaning."
Solitar looked at him calmly and said,
"We look like humans."
She raised her arms, highlighting her petite body.
"We speak like humans."
She pointed at her mouth, speaking the human language.
"And we can behave like humans."
"Do you know why that is?"
Of course I do.
Sukuna remained silent, letting her continue.
"All of this is proof that we have evolved to deceive and prey upon humans."
Demons.
A race born to prey on humans.
Sukuna already knew all of this, but he didn't care, since he was different from other demons.
Their way of thinking was not the same.
Seeing him not say anything, Demon Solitar fell silent and walked toward the bookshelf containing the magic books he had taken from the kingdom, then finally said,
"Are you able to understand the emotions of a small winged insect? You can't. That's why understanding humans is a waste of time."
To demons, humans were a completely different species.
They could never understand each other; their very physiology prevented it.
As the Great Demon Solitar raised her hand to grab a magic book, Sukuna suddenly appeared by her side and stopped her.
He grabbed her hand and said in a calm tone,
"Don't just randomly touch things that belong to me, Demon Solitar."
"I apologize. It seems I overstepped my bounds."
Sukuna let go of her hand as she took a step back and looked at his magic books.
"Sukuna, can you allow me to read these human magic books?" she asked him with the usual sweet smile on her face.
"No."
Sukuna's instant reply made her pause before she said again,
"I have been interested in human magic for a long time. Unlike other demons, I don't look down on them; I even fear them a little. That is why I learned their magic—"
"I don't care about your backstory. I'm not letting you read my books for free," Sukuna replied.
Solitar instantly caught the meaning of his words and asked,
"What would you like me to do in exchange for accessing this human magic?"
"I believe you must have lived for a long time and amassed all sorts of knowledge..."
Sukuna said while staring at her.
"Indeed. I am a Great Demon who has lived for centuries," Solitar nodded.
"I want to learn that knowledge from you and at the same time explore and develop the magic humans have created."
Sukuna told her his demands.
"You want to learn magic with me? Ah, that will be wonderful..."
Solitar held her palms together as if in prayer.
"What do you say?"
"I accept," she said without missing a beat.
Sukuna nodded, then moved away from the books.
Solitar smiled and took a step forward, taking out a magic book.
As she was about to start reading it, Sukuna spoke in a calm tone,
"You will be living in my castle, so remember these things."
"You will never leave my sight."
"You will not harm any human in my city."
"Do you understand?"
'After I am done learning your magic, I will kill you.'
Solitar replied while reading the magic book,
"Yes, I will not interfere with your human city experiment, Sukuna."
"At the same time, I do not wish for humans to know of my existence, so I will not appear before them."
"That won't do. I want you to teach some of them magic."
"Teach humans magic?..." Solitar turned her eyes and glanced at him.
"Yes. In exchange, you can continue reading any human magic knowledge I acquire in the future."
"I see. Then I will wear a mask and cover myself."
"I have no problem with that."
Sukuna nodded, then went back to sit on his leather seat and started reading the magic book again.
The Great Demon Solitar walked up from the side, grabbed a seat, placed it right in front of him, and sat down facing him.
"As you wish, I will stay within your sight."
"If you do not mind, can I request something from you?" she asked.
"What?"
"Can you not hide your mana? It's a shame to hide something so incredible..."
"No," Sukuna replied.
"I see."
She said with the same smile on her face, then lowered her head and started reading.
Sukuna glanced at her.
Keeping a demon within his city was a dangerous task.
But he already knew about Solitar and her character. He believed she wouldn't cross his words, based on how she was in the story.
Her magic knowledge was something he desired. With her vast experience, she could definitely teach magic better than he could.
Not to mention, he could learn her spells and deepen his own knowledge.
Plus, demons themselves were the best researchers. He could use her as a genius magic researcher to improve human magic.
Of course, all of this was contingent on the fact that she would remain within limits.
If she harmed his people or his kingdom...
Then he would simply send her on her way a little sooner.
Next day.
Erde and the other young men and women entered the lord's castle and made their way toward the familiar room.
As soon as they entered, their gazes locked onto the hooded figure sitting beside their lord.
Erde blinked her eyes, then walked up to Sukuna with the others before asking,
"Lord Sukuna... this is?"
"A mage who has temporarily joined us. She will be responsible for teaching all of you magic with me."
"Hello, my name is Serene," Demon Solitar said, using her fake name while wearing a white mask that covered her face.
"Mage Serene..."
Everyone looked at each other before quickly greeting her.
Only Erde looked at Sukuna and Serene sitting close to each other and silently lowered her head while clenching her palms.
Demon Solitar started teaching them magic. Everyone listened to her in silence and devotion.
She answered all of their doubts in a simple, understandable way, showcasing her vast knowledge.
Even Sukuna carefully listened to her explanations.
After some time, the session ended, and Erde said to Sukuna,
"Lord, your bath is ready."
"Alright, let's go."
Sukuna closed his book and got up from his seat.
As if on cue, Demon Solitar followed right beside him.
The scene shocked Erde.
'T-They're going together??'