The fortress city of Weise.
A hundred flowers vied in splendor, branches thick with leaves — it was the height of summer. A butterfly of dazzling colors fluttered past. A small hexagonal pavilion, white and gleaming, stood amid the blossoms: white table, white chairs, white teaware, faint wisps of steam rising from the richly colored black tea.
"Time really does fly, doesn't it," Lektire said, her golden hair cascading like a waterfall as she gazed out at the scenery beyond the pavilion, sighing.
"Is that so?"
Macht sat across from the golden-haired woman, dressed as always in his unchanging blue-green military uniform. He raised his teacup and took a small sip, his manners indistinguishable from those of a true Human noble.
"The Demon Race can live so long. I really do envy that."
Lektire reached up to touch the faint wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, a smile lingering on her lips.
"...You seem a little sad."
"No, that's just your imagination. Ahaha."
The woman laughed, waving her hand in denial.
"Still as stubborn as ever, showing off. Not changed one bit."
Macht's face remained expressionless, as flat and calm as always.
"What do you mean, not changed one bit? I've changed plenty. I've grown old, I have a husband I love, I have a child, I have wrinkles, and most importantly, I walked off that sickbed alive and made it all the way to now. That's not sadness — that's being moved! Moved!"
Lektire puffed out her cheeks at Macht, just like she used to as a child.
"Moved? I can't quite grasp that."
The other party shook her head.
"Macht really is strange. You can see Humans' anger, their joy, their sorrow, and yet you can't understand anything more complex than that."
Seeing Macht fall silent, Lektire smiled and changed the subject.
"So how has it been, living in Weise all these years? Most of your subjects seem to think quite highly of you these days."
"Not bad, I suppose. More comfortable than my time as one of the Seven Sages of Destruction."
Noticing his tea had run dry, he reached to pour himself another cup, but just as he was about to set the teapot down, he saw Lektire push her own half-full cup toward him. He filled hers again as well.
"So, when do you plan on leaving here?"
"Why would I leave?"
"Aren't you following Lady Nanoda? Suppose — I'm just supposing — suppose Father passes away one day. Wouldn't your contract end then? And wouldn't you have to go back to Gaderia after that?"
"That was just a passing whim of mine."
Macht set down his teacup, fingers still curled around the handle, and looked at the Domination Ring on his arm as though lost in memory.
"Guilt. That was what drove me to cooperate with Glück in the first place. And in the end, I never did come to understand that feeling. Nothing changed. I gained nothing."
The conversation had suddenly circled back to the Demon Race's capacity for emotion, and the mood turned a little heavy.
"But Lord Macht did admit his fault in the end! Even if it was with Lady Nanoda's help, most of your subjects have forgiven you. Isn't that a kind of change too? Lord Macht acted the way a Human would, and you earned the feelings of others — even if you can't understand that feeling yourself, you still gained it. If feelings like that keep piling up, maybe someday Lord Macht will come to understand them too."
Hearing Lektire's words, Macht stared at her and was about to speak.
"But! Bad feelings are absolutely forbidden! Something like guilt, an emotion of endless regret — Lord Macht must never learn that one, and never try to earn it either!"
Lektire suddenly declared this with great energy and conviction.
"...?"
For the first time, confusion showed on Macht's face.
"Hmm... how should I put it. The common sense of the Demon Race and that of Humans really are different, aren't they. Alright, starting now, I'll ask and you answer!"
As if trying to liven up the mood, Lektire pointed a finger at Macht.
He nodded, expressionless.
"When Lord Macht was young, did you have parents who looked after you, who raised you? Like the relationship between Father and me."
"No. From the very beginning, I lived alone."
"Then when Macht was young, did you have friends you could share things with, who helped each other with you?"
"No... at first, I only followed the orders of higher-ranking Demons."
"Then has Macht ever met a kind person — er, a kind Demon — who helped you without asking for anything, or for reasonable mutual benefit?"
"Probably not. We only ever used each other. If we're being generous about it, would Glück, as he is now, count?"
"Eh! How pitiful! No, no, no, that's not what I meant — that's exactly the problem! The environment the Demon Race grows up in is completely different from that of Humans, and combined with your inborn differences, that's what's causing the trouble now."
"Then was it a mistake — my choice to try to understand Humans' guilt?"
"Being moved! It's being moved! What Lord Macht should be seeking is the kind of feeling that stirs the heart! Though... put that way it sounds a bit odd too. I feel like I need to be more specific..."
Watching Lektire put on a show of troubled thinking, Macht still couldn't quite grasp it.
"Humans really are strange, and interesting, creatures."
He raised his cup and drank more of the black tea.
"Um, how should I say this—"
"Don't worry. I probably won't be leaving anytime soon. The Domination Ring is still on my arm, and Lady Nanoda has given no order forcing me to go. Barring the unexpected, I'll keep honoring the agreement made back then, until the very last moment comes. Like this feeling I cannot understand, it will remain unchanging."
Macht laid out his intentions.
"Ah, right!" Lektire seemed not to have heard him at all, and went on explaining the earlier topic.
"A person's life comes to an end, but feelings don't. Macht's unchanging nature has protected Weise all this time. There will always be someone who's moved by that unchanging nature of yours, and someday, that feeling of being moved will come back around to you as well."
"I hope so."
Macht's expression stayed perfectly calm, but across from him, Lektire wore a smile — comforting, and utterly sincere.
"So, Macht — I've already had more than enough happiness. I beat my sickness, I'm with the one I love, I have a child. How long I live doesn't matter so much to me anymore. So, Macht — you, who protected my happiness for so long — on this long road of yours, seeking to understand feeling, I wish you, with all my heart, that somewhere in your long life you find a moment of being moved, and a happiness, that belongs to you. Thank you, Macht."
Macht's hand froze abruptly on its way to his cup. Something in Lektire's words, her manner, even the feeling behind them, reached him — and yet, just as before, he couldn't quite hold onto it.
"Should I be smiling right now?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Lektire suddenly stood, both hands reaching straight across the table toward his face.
"That's right!"
Lektire pressed two fingers against the corners of Macht's mouth and pulled them back toward his ears.
A somewhat comical smile appeared on Macht's face.
"Smile, and walk forward, Macht of the Golden Land."
____
⚡ BONUS CHAPTER MILESTONES
✍️ 5 REVIEWS = +1 Bonus Chapter 💎 100 POWER STONES = +1 Bonus Chapter 🔥 P@TREON (Walnut-chan): Read +40 chapters ahead & unlock 60+ exclusive stories!
🔥 New history: COTE: My High School Life Became Jujutsu Kaisen — posted on The_Mikudayo