Chapter 16 : Art thou ready (2)

The dinner was amazing. The food's great. The band's great. The place is great. hell even the crowd's great!

But with that said... Why haven't I seen this elusive Madam Fey?

"Hey Smith"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you look like a soldier pumping himself up before going into the battlefield?"

"Because we may not be able to afford the food Nate..."

Sucks to be you... WAIT!

"Can't we pay on credit?"

"We already used all of our credit, Nate..."

"..."

"..."

"I think I'll go to the toilet for a bit..."

"Oh no you don't you're coming with me!"

I got dragged by Smith to the cashier... a shirtless man, and a Nigerian crime lord walks to the counter....

"You don't have to pay!"

Huh?

"What do you me---"

"Thank you for the service then!"

"Of course!"

said the waiter as she bowed towards us.

"Hey Smith."

"Yes Nate?"

"Did we scare the poor girl off?"

"..."

"..."

"Are you really asking this right now? I mean look at our getup... you look like the Yakuza, while I looked like a Crime lord!"

! Of course.

"Then should we--"

"Yeah, no we should just pack up and run"

"Yeah we should..."

And so I went back to our table, grabbed my Eli... And dashed out of the restaurant...

Smith also does the same...

A successful Dine and Dash.... Nice. But overall I'm disappointed. Why didn't that Fey show up? I could get a good ingredient, as they are great ingredients.

===

We somehow made it back to HQ with 0 debt...

"S M I T H "

ah Ms.Page is mad! Good luck Smith! And so after I abandoned the screaming Smith to the banshee. and head back into my 'room'. It's been transformed into a 2 bedroom apartment! nice!

"Woahhhh! Eli want's that room!"

"Of course..."

"Yay! Finally Eli has her own room!"

"!?"

"Really?"

"Umu, Papa's always busy and moving here and there, so Eli always goes with Papa's whim...."

Ethan... sigh.... I'll not judge.

"Well, Eli... LOOK AT THIS!" I opened the fridge and took out an emergency ice cream that I put in my inventory! in case touchy subjects like this come up!

"NATE! You're THE BEST!"

"hahaha.... of course..."

She happily snatched the ice cream in my hand, and sat down on the couch. It seemed that we had a living room now with a tv. and so I slapped on a random kids channel for Eli. Eli is sitting by my side, eating her ice cream slowly...

The Tv show is about a pink haired explorer with a blue dog. They solve cases that turn out to be a man in a scary costume... good show!

"Hey Nate..."

"Yes Eli?"

"Do you have a Mama?"

"I do..."

"What is it like?"

"Like having an ice cream everyday..."

"Really?"

"If Eli's a good girl, yes, but if Eli's a naughty girl, there's also sour and bitter ice cream!"

"EEEHHH? but... Papa said mama is the kindest woman!"

"Well Eli... Do you know what's more scary than ghosts? "

Eli shakes her head.

"It's a mother's wrath..."

"!?"

"When I was a kid, I'm not a good boy... I always disregard what my mother says. Like this one time, My mother told me to not play in the rain, but I did. That night I caught a cold... My mother was furious! as she whipped my bottom until it's all red!"

"!?"

Eli is visibly confused while holding her bottom.

"How bout a Papa? Does Nate have a papa?"

"Papa huh... everyone has one... but my father left mother for someone else..."

"!?"

Eli is now confused about what to say...

"Does... Nate wants to meet his papa?"

"Nop--- No actually I do want to meet my father! But I hope he's been training or even better he's a hero!"

"Why?"

"Because heroes can take more beating than a regular human,have a better mental fortitude, and more importantly he can regenerate! What more can I ask for?"

"Eh? Does that mean being a hero is a good thing?"

Oh yeah I'm speaking to a 10 year old...

"No. Heroes, Demon Lords, anything that's on the extremes is never good..."

"Why?"

"... Heroes are... idealists... They would give up their families for the world, while Demon lords are... extreme, They'll give up the world for what they held dear..."

".... Nate's right... Papa gives up Eli... For the world... Nate's a hero too? So He'll give up on Eli too?"

"No. I'm not a hero Eli."

"!? Then is Nate a demon lord?"

Oh ho ho... she's getting sharp...

"No, I'm not a demon lord..."

"Then...?"

"I'm just a man, who lost everything. Found a beautiful bundle of joy, and will make it his mission to ensure its happiness..."

I said as I pat Eli's head... Eli seems confused at first, but then she snuggles up on me to find a more comfortable spot. moments later, her breath stabilized, signaling that she had indeed slept soundly...

Yeah... What am I? That's the million dollar question is it not? A hero? A savior? A demon lord? I chuckled while thinking about it... one millenia... it took a thousand years for me to come back here... and then everything I cared for... is no more... cruel isn't it...

I prepared for this moment... Learned necromancy just in case... but fate played a cruel hand... No bodies... IMAGINE THAT....

Vel? If you're still here somewhere... Are you proud of what I have become? Are you mad I didn't say anything to you in the end... I've been a fool. I was so focused on getting back what I wanted... but never saw what I had...

This time. I'll be different. I'll protect her. Just like how you had protected me. I'll teach her everything... maybe only by then... No. That's too soon.

I carried Eli up, and tucked her in. She seems to be having a good dream...

Looking at Eli... she's also in the same boat as me... Fate really made us cruel huh... You're a baby with no sins, the cycle has made you anew but you're still kept at a distance by your own father... a smile formed on my face.

NO MORE! I SHALL TEACH HER! THE ART THAT SHALL DEFY YOUR OWN DESTINY! THE ART THAT HAS LEAD ME THIS FAR! TO ENSURE THAT EVEN WITHOUT ME... YOU CAN STILL REACH YOUR HAPPY END!

So, Eli, Art thou ready to be the final inheritor of the Demon God Style?