“Demonfolk rarely say ‘happiness.’ Do you know why?”

“I don’t know…”

“Because it’s too sweet—sweet enough to ache like a tooth, naive enough to throb in the head. Demonfolk don’t bother with words so abstract they can’t be made real… no, that’s a lie. We simply dislike what’s pretty, kind, and praiseworthy—anything overflowing with positive glow.”

Shadow thickened, like ink cooling, filling the hollow behind my mask. A wavering outline turned solid.

Blood, sinew, bone—the Shadow stood in for matter, rewrote this small pocket of space.

It took on a human shape.

“We smile at Slaughter because we’re happy, not because everyone else is smiling. We’re moved by death because something inside us trembles, not because everyone says they’re moved.”

“So Demonfolk don’t say ‘good’ or ‘happy.’ If we’re pleased, we’re pleased. If we’re satisfied, we’re satisfied. We don’t need to dress it in words, don’t need hollow resonance.”

“Faces glowing, the standard smile showing eight teeth, bathed in perfect light that promises peace forever—human heaven is, to Demonfolk, the most terrifying prison. Our words and feelings come from within, not from being ‘inspired’ or ‘cheered.’ So our language carries nothing but the not-yet-finished ‘evil’ and the ‘worse’—for stating and plotting, that’s all. Words mean only that much.”

—Which is the opposite of you right now.

I took off the ugly mask, pressed it to the long table, slid it aside. I didn’t need it anymore.

“So, we don’t say ‘happiness.’ Let’s swap it. Call it a ‘satisfying ending.’ How’s that?”

“A satisfying ending…”

“Right, one more thing.” I snapped my fingers. Shadow surged, swallowed a half‑meter tower of gold coins. “Now I can answer you. Yes, those coins were repayment for saving me. Which means we won’t waste them. Fair warning, complaining won’t help. The gold won’t be returned, not after you insisted on digging to the bottom.”

“No need… as long as everyone can be happy…”

“‘Satisfied.’ It’s ‘satisfied.’”

“Yes. As you say, a satisfying ending.”

“Tsk…”

And there’s the trouble.

I clicked my tongue, annoyed. It didn’t make her retreat. She sat primly on the carved wooden chair, brows knit—worrying, and pleading.

No, it was pleading.

“Hey. Do you know how hard your ‘satisfying ending for everyone’ is? How messy? How costly? The price goes beyond gold’s limits. And anyway, if you joined the Hero Squad, you should’ve been ready not to end well.”

“War death—naturally. No one fears death. But we still hope for the good—the satisfying end. I don’t know the price or how to grant something on that scale. You do. So… I can only ask you.”

“Can you choose a different wish?”

“This is the only one I have.”

“Not enough. Those coins aren’t enough. Double them, still not enough.”

“Then allow me to sell the last, only value Catherine Breeze possesses—”

“…” I knew.

“—Myself. The me the Demon King of Slaughter wants should be worth that.”

Tsk—

That would cover it.

A high‑ranking retainer’s worth easily exceeds the ending for six people—

But—

I don’t dare take that price—

It’s not about high or low—

It’s that—

“‘Favor’ isn’t measured in gold. I wanted to pay you many times that in coin, so you’d gladly accept, and the favor would end cleanly. You and I would owe each other nothing. That ending would let us both be at ease.”

“But your value, to a Demon King, is ‘a weapon of the first rank,’ a ‘tool.’ I won’t treat you that way—won’t erase your person and mind, won’t forge you into ‘the Demon King’s thing’ like Anna.”

“No matter the price, the gods would still call it ‘betraying favor.’ An unforgivable act.”

“Sorry. No.”

I spread my hands to the girl, apologizing.

“But—what if I accept your darkness? If I become a piece in your design, without your hand tormenting me, without force. If all blame falls on Catherine Breeze—on my ugliness, my fall. If I betray faith and gods, and of my own will step into the darkness under Savior Demon King Andor.”

“…”

“Then I’m no longer a sad figure begging for pity. The ugliness is mine, the fall is mine, the curses are mine. You bear no fault. In exchange—give me the ending I seek.”

—Why go that far?

—In my memory, you’ve barely met Stini, and your closest tie, Elina, is just a half‑month travel companion. Why sacrifice this much?

—You could wish for a good life. Why throw that away for another wish?

—When did you accept the darkness I speak of?

I was curious, but there was no need to ask.

On paper, the trade profits. It’s doable. Before anything shifts, seal it.

The long table collapsed into Shadow. Coins and parchment scrolls fell with it, sinking into the river of Shadow beneath this slice of time.

“Last chance to turn back. If you say ‘no,’ you can still make a wish. Same terms. If you say ‘yes,’ then from that moment I’ll take your soul, your body, your mind, your will. Everything will belong to Savior Demon King Andor, not to you.”

“Yes.”

“Then come. Kiss my right hand.”

She rose from the carved chair and glanced around: only a sea of Shadow and darkness.

She turned back, walked straight to me, knelt, and cupped my hand.

Her hand didn’t tremble.

“By the way, when did you recognize me? It was probably when I, as Andor Mephy, encouraged you.”

“In truth, I confirmed you were the Andor Mephy I knew while speaking with Princess Xixi. I realized—you’re gentle.”

“Gentle?”

“Harsh with people. You allow no mistakes, accept no dissent. Yet you are gentle. You think of others, so much. What Catherine Breeze affirms is that gentleness—whether highborn or low, strong or weak.”

She kissed the back of my hand.

Darkness reached up from the deepest abyss. It wrapped her skin and seeped into bone.

At the broken wings, bone grew anew. Feathers returned—black this time.

Marrow hollowed. Bloodlines drained. Pure darkness and malice mixed in, then poured back.

“I’ve received the price. As you wish, I’ll leave room for everyone to think. I’ll give everyone a fair choice.”

I’ll lay out love and hate. I’ll let the Hero Squad understand the present and the future, and choose their own roads.

Simply put, I’ll erase all plot kills and coincidences that breed misunderstanding.

No confusion allowed, no fog left. Every future will be chosen by its owner. Even if they regret it later, they’ll blame neither others nor fate. That’s as far as I can go.

“And that is what I hoped for—the only ending I seek, my master.”

She stood and bowed her head to me.

She no longer wore that humble smile. Like our first meeting, she looked stiff and formal—stubborn, yet yielding.

Much easier on the eye.

——————

That was the trade, more or less. Catherine didn’t say “I refuse the Demon King’s filthy money,” thank heaven. It strayed a bit from the plan, but if we can end this arc peacefully, it’s not the worst outcome.

As for collapsing the Shadow space, handing Princess Xixi—who’s been watching—to Catherine, and, after their whispered talk, treating everyone to a proper meal at the Hero Academy—then it’s done—

—No. It’s only just begun.

Next, how to route the Hero Squad’s trip to the Endless Sea. When and where Catherine must appear. Rewriting the plan to turn Stini and Raven. Elina’s little heartbeat of romance. Miss Vangibia’s guide itinerary—

Miss Vega, please rewrite the proposal. I want it in two days.