The Demon King

Although Aina made her parting words sound like a death threat, Xia Lun still nodded.

Ever since he let Aina drink his blood, he felt she had become increasingly straightforward; even kissing hadn't been this effective before.

However, this was something only Xia Lun knew.

"Wuu—Aina, are you leaving? You have to come back quickly, I can't bear to part with you..." Liyana said rather melodramatically, but then her expression suddenly turned serious. "Yeah, I think that's exactly what Xia Lun is thinking in his heart."

Aina shot Liyana an emotionless glance before her figure vanished from the spot.

The smile on Xia Lun's face froze for a moment before quickly fading away.

"Let's go too."

Without Aina, the Wings of Dawn didn't take on any other quests. Upon returning to Mulilan City and submitting their commission at the Adventurer's Guild, the group went their separate ways.

The Savage Fang was still in this city, and Moke went to look for the little rabbit.

Musen, naturally, went to the church.

After leaving the Adventurer's Guild, Xia Lun went to a tavern alone to have a few drinks.

"Yo, Xia Lun, I guessed you'd be here."

Liyana sat down next to Xia Lun with a grin.

"Liyana..."

"Eh—why does it feel like we're acting like strangers? I've been with you for so long, ever since we were kids." Liyana patted Xia Lun on the shoulder.

"Sorry."

"Looking at you, you've already set your heart on her? I thought you'd think it over a bit more." Liyana pursed her lips. "Although Aina is very outstanding... being with her is going to be very difficult in the future, right? Even now, we still don't know Aina's true identity. I highly doubt she's just some ordinary vampire out traveling the world."

Xia Lun shook his head. "I don't mind."

"Alright, then good luck." Liyana also knew that Xia Lun was actually quite stubborn. Once he set his mind on something, he would never give up easily.

"But Aina didn't even tell us what she was going back to do this time," Liyana sighed, casually swiping a cup of ale from Xia Lun's table and drinking it herself. "Could it be that the vampires forced her to go back to get engaged?"

Crack—

The wooden mug in Xia Lun's hand was crushed, splintering into pieces of shattered wood.

"I... I was just talking nonsense! That's how it plays out in some stories! The runaway noble lady being forced into marriage... Things like that definitely wouldn't happen in reality! Hahaha..." Liyana knew she had taken the joke too far. "Besides, Aina said she would be back soon..."

"Yeah."

Xia Lun silently put down the wooden splinters in his hand and fished out a few copper coins, placing them on the table as compensation for the broken mug.

Yikes—how scary, Liyana thought silently to herself.

Xia Lun was probably sick, or his soul had been completely snatched away by Aina.

If something really happened to Aina... what would this guy do?

Pah, pah, pah, with Aina's strength, how could she possibly have an accident?

Liyana shook her head, stopping her wild thoughts. "Come on, Xia Lun, let's drink. Once you're drunk, you won't be sad anymore!"

Liyana was truly a loyal friend, accompanying Xia Lun to drink until late into the night... However, Xia Lun's alcohol tolerance was excellent; trying to get him drunk was no easy task.

Later on, Liyana ended up crawling and throwing up on the deserted streets, making a complete fool of herself.

"I... I can walk by myself, you don't need to help me..." Although she said this, Liyana's body swayed unsteadily, falling toward Xia Lun's embrace.

Xia Lun subconsciously dodged, and Liyana fell to the ground with a thud.

Xia Lun suddenly remembered that Aina wasn't around. Even if Liyana acted a bit intimate with him, there was no one to get secretly jealous.

Xia Lun sighed, carrying the dead-drunk Liyana on his back to the inn, and thoughtfully covered her with a blanket.

"Xia Lun... hic... you gotta teach that little vixen Aina a lesson..." the drunk Liyana babbled nonsense. "Acting so arrogant... otherwise, you'll have a hard time after you get married..."

If Aina heard those words, Liyana would die a very ugly death.

Xia Lun shook his head, smiled, and left the room.

...

"Did you hear? The Demon Lord of the demon race has appeared."

"What? Are the rumors about the Demon Lord true? Does the demon race really have a Demon Lord?"

"That individual officially incorporated the Ice Tundra into the demon race's territory, declaring that humans are henceforth forbidden from casually entering the Ice Tundra..."

"Hah, why? Doesn't everyone look down on that piece of land? Who would want to go freeze in that broken, icy wasteland anyway?"

Listening to the conversations of the people in the tavern, Liyana's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Did you hear that? Xia Lun!"

"What?"

"A Demon Lord, there really is a Demon Lord! As long as we subjugate that guy, we can instantly become the strongest adventuring party!" Liyana looked exhilarated.

"Why do we need to subjugate the Demon Lord? They don't seem to have done anything bad," Xia Lun leaned against the bar counter. "They haven't invaded the human race, nor are they planning to destroy the world."

"Because you're the Hero, Xia Lun... The ballads sung by bards are all written like this; the Demon Lord is your fated nemesis..."

"Those are all stories. Reality isn't that simple... Just like in reality, cats don't necessarily catch mice." Xia Lun shook his head. "Moreover, defeating the Demon Lord doesn't rely on hot-bloodedness, friendship, hope, or things like that; it relies on true strength. I can't guarantee that I'd be a match for that unfathomable Demon Lord..."

"Oh..." Liyana nodded, half-understanding.

She also felt that defeating a Demon Lord just by shouting slogans like in the stories was a bit too ridiculous. After all, fighting wasn't a contest of who had the louder voice.

Creak—

The tavern's somewhat old wooden door was pushed open, and a figure barged in.

Xia Lun was slightly stunned, and then a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

"Aina!"

"I'm back." Aina nodded lightly at Xia Lun, her expression as cold and indifferent as ever.

"That's great, Aina, you're finally back! You have no idea, these past few days you were gone, this guy Xia Lun has been completely absent-minded..." Liyana looked even more excited than Xia Lun. "We can finally go on a proper adventure again... By the way, Aina, are you interested in subjugating the Demon Lord?"

Aina tilted her head.

"Ah, almost forgot, you're from the demon race... Never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Aina ignored Liyana's noisy chatter and looked directly at Xia Lun in front of her.

Compared to before, Xia Lun didn't look like he was in a very good state.

"Missed me?" The corners of Aina's mouth slowly curled up a little. It seemed the Hero had been successfully tamed by her.

"Yes." Xia Lun pulled Aina tightly into his embrace and took a deep breath.

Although Xia Lun didn't have much of a smell on him, and he had washed his neck clean just as she had told him before she left... Aina was still slightly dissatisfied.

The alcohol concentration in his blood seemed to exceed the limit... It would affect the taste.