13.Late Night Talk

"Hello there, Layla." I greet the most loyal maid in the mansion.

She nodded and said. "Lady Seere said that you were going out for dinner tonight. She told you to freshen up and get dressed." 

"I see. Thank you for informing, Layla." Turning around, I find her contemplating something.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?" I ask her.

"Uh... Umm no. It's just that Lady Seere invited me to dinner as well. Do you mind if I tag along?" Her question made me remember that I asked my mother to talk to her.

"Why are you asking for my permission? Mother already invited you and I would like it if you came along as well." I said with a genuine smile.

"I see, thank you Shisui. As for your question, Lord and Lady Seere made me your exclusive maid, so your opinion matters the most to me." She said in what I call her 'Maid-mode' which is basically her professional mode. 

I didn't reply but instead gave her a nod. "So do we have a little time before dinner?"

She seemed to think about it for a second before answering. "Ah, yes we do. We should still have around 2 hours." 

"Since we got a little bit of time, why don't we take a walk? I am kind of tired and would love to relax under the moonlight. Not to mention today is "that day." Layla had a blank expression before she figured out what I was talking about and instantly agreed.

[Moments later]

Walking down the staircase I decided to ask Layla the one question that was in my mind. "Layla?" I call out her name.

"Yes?" She asked, looking towards me.

"What… do you consider to be a treasure?" I ask remembering my father's question.

Layla halted her steps mid-track before running behind me. "May I ask what made you ask this question?"

Hearing her question I sighed. "It's kind of related to today's training. And father asked me what I considered to be a treasure." I gave her an honest answer.

She looked towards me before replying with a serene smile.

 "A treasure is… something that you value. Something that is important to you."

Something important huh?

"Like jewels, money, and such?" I ask.

She looked into my eyes for a while and giggled. "You are correct but not entirely."

Huh? Did I miss something?

"Where am I wrong." I ask and without even realizing we were already at our destination.

Layla went towards the rhododendron tree and took a seat under it. I didn't say anything and quietly joined her.

"For you, a treasure is a thing right? An inanimate object with monetary value?" She asked looking towards the moonlit sky.

"Am I wrong?" Raising an eyebrow, I ask.

She shook her head in denial before replying. "No, you are not wrong. But you are not entirely correct either."

"Pardon?"

"Do you love your parents?" Layla asked making me look towards her incredulously.

"Do you have to ask? I obviously do." 

In my previous life, I lost both my parents at a very young age. My mother spent all her time taking care of my father. He was a shinobi and lost a leg during the war. But *sigh* soon afterward he lost his memories as well and my mother's health deteriorated because of worrying about him day and night. 

Both passed away even before I became a teenager, so I never knew how it felt to be loved by parents.

So when Lord and Lady Seere accepted me as their son and showered me with so much love… it made me happy and so I accepted them instantly. And now they are very special to me, I can't think of parting from them. They are who I cherish the mo- wait!

I instantly look towards Layla.

"You mean-" her reply came faster than my question.

"Yes, a treasure is not just an inanimate object. A treasure can be anything. A piece of jewelry, a certain painting or even a piece of clothing. Something that is worthless for you might be a treasure for someone else." She paused for a while. "But according to me, a treasure is not a thing but rather someone you cherish the most. The person you love and care about the most. That… is what I believe to be a treasure." She said flashing her angelic smile which was ironic considering she was a devil.

I look at her intently before bursting out laughing.

"*pfft* Bwahaha, Thank you, Layla, thank you. I was stupid for not being able to figure out something so simple yet important." I stopped laughing and looked towards her again. "Thank you, for showing me what is important to me." 

"What are you thanking me for?" She asked. Her smile still there on her beautiful face. "I just told you about my personal opinion. So you don't have to thank me for anything."

I didn't say anything and looked towards the sky.

"Look it's starting." I say pointing towards the sky filled with countless stars.

Yes, the reason I came here was to witness the 'Morningstar Starfall', which is the only meteor shower, that the underworld receives. It is not exactly a meteor shower but rather an attack which was formed when the heavenly dragons shot an extremely strong attack towards the devil pillars, but the original Lucifer barely managed to reverse the attack using his demonic power. But that attack was extremely dangerous and if it had hit any place, the entire underworld would have been annihilated. So my grandfather used his teleportation ability to create multiple spatial rifts throughout the plane of existence that makes the attack travel in an endless loop. Because if he didn't do that, and the attack somehow managed to hit any place, the entire place would have been erased from the face of the planet. 

Once every year, the rift temporarily opens allowing us to witness those rays of demonic power, that looks like a meteor shower.

Red, white, blue and yellow… The colors of the attack look mesmerizing in the night sky. 

Despite my grandfather being the one who ultimately saved everyone, the Starfall was named after Lucifer. This… was the reason my grandfather left the council of the old devils. Quite a petty reason, but for a devil as prideful as my grandfather, it was quite understandable. Lucifer might have been known for his pride, but my grandfather wasn't any less prideful either.

This led to a full-blown argument but the devils still decided to honor Lucifer instead of my grandfather and so he left the council.

"Do you think the name suits it?" I ask without averting my gaze from the sky.

"Morningstar Starfall hmm… I think the name suits it. Lucifer was considered the most beautiful angel before becoming a devil. And even after becoming a devil he still retained his looks. So I think the name suits the meteor shower. A beautiful name for something beautiful." She says showing her mesmerizing smile.

*Sigh* Sadly very few people know the truth behind the meteor shower. My parents and me being a few of those. But it wasn't my parents who told me about this, it was part of the knowledge I obtained when I came to this world.

Deciding not to tell her truth, I let out a sigh. "I see."

I sometimes wonder, what if I didn't come to this world? Would it have been destroyed as the primordial said? Did my presence already change something? These are the questions that usually revolve around my head.

"What happens when something... that wasn't supposed to exist in this world was born? Would it affect the world?" I ask her.

She seemed to think about it for a while before answering. "Honestly, I think if someone or something wasn't supposed to exist then it wouldn't have existed. The very fact that it exists means that its existence was required. No life is unnecessary in this world. Even evil is necessary." She looks towards the falling rays of demonic power.

"As for what you asked. I believe every presence affects everything even if it is almost negligible. As you said, if someone was not supposed to exist in this world, the world would do everything in its power to remove it. And if that existence was necessary for the survival of the world, it will help that existence with everything in its possession. But that is bound to cause many events, some good… and some bad." She stopped before asking. "What with you and all these questions today? You made me go all philosophical." 

"I don't know, to be honest. It just randomly popped up in my head." I told her the half-truth.

"You ask quite the weird questions sometimes. No one will believe that you are a 5-year-old devil if you continue acting like this." She laughed.

Honestly, I gave up trying to act like a kid right after I was able to speak. I can act like one but… it just feels wrong. I still do act like a kid when necessary to avoid suspicion. But I do agree that I act extremely different from normal devil kids.

"Anyways, we should get going. I need to freshen up and get ready as well. And not just me, you too. Get dressed, we will go out after an hour." I said looking up, just to notice that the sky was now empty. Yes, the Starfall ended awhile back. 

I turned around to look towards Layla. "Cya~" I vanish after giving her a teasing smile.

Layla's eyes widened before she nearly screamed. "H-He did it! He used Seere Teleportation!"

[A/N:Thanks Geir buddy!]