I looked back in surprise. Decarabia was standing at the door with wide eyes.
Is this person's name Pocalor?
At that time, Pocalor put his index finger on her lips and said,
"Shhh. This is not something a child should hear."
Baby? Although Decarabia looked young, she couldn't be a real child.
Above all, she was a demon who was proud of her power. Even the rough Naberus looked down at her with one glance.
However, Decarabia in front of Pocalor was different. She looked at me as if she were a docile lamb.
As if she was saying something she really shouldn't hear.
...If she heard it, um, it would be embarrassing.
When I nodded slightly, Decarabia lowered her head as if she understood, closed the door, and stepped back.
If Decarabia, who usually didn't leave my side, stepped back, it seemed like she was a demon with a clear identity.
...But when Decarabia introduced her, there was no name Pocalor?
Thump.
The door closed, and only Pocalor and I were left in the basement.
“So why did you get married?”
Pocalor asked. I paused for a moment.
To reveal that, I had to say that I was a Saintess.
“...”
I slowly closed my eyes after looking into Pocalor’s eyes for a moment.
Yes, it was already a well-known fact in this mansion that I was a Saintess. Pocalor would soon find out too.
But it didn’t seem right to hide that fact from someone willing to listen to my story.
She wasn’t a person from the temple, or from Yubar, or from Orobas, but a demon at the gates of Hell.
It was strange that I trusted a demon more than a human, but I decided not to think about it too deeply.
I wanted to tell everyone.
I thought it was okay to tell someone who said I saved her life.
Especially if that person was Belled’s older sister.
Moreover, unlike other demons, she didn’t feel fear when calling Belled’s name, so I thought it might be okay for her.
She knew Belled well, but she was someone who could give objective conclusions.
Furthermore.
Suddenly, Belled’s words telling me not to hold back came to mind. I wanted to use that as an excuse to tell her everything and get answers.
“Actually...”
So I told my story. Of course, I couldn’t tell her what I was thinking when I came to Vine, but I told her that I was a Saintess, how I met him, and what my current state was.
I told her what I felt.
“But how did you know that Vine was a demon?”
Pocalor didn’t stop at simply listening to my story and adding a little bit of humor.
She would sympathize with my story and ask sharp questions.
“That’s...”
Because it was my third life. Would she believe me if I told her that?
Belled would have believed me since he saw it first with his mind’s eye ability. I looked at Pocalor and said,
“Something strange happened to me... twice.”
The two regressions didn’t seem like something I could use like the demons’ unique abilities.
So she didn’t know how I had come back in time. That’s why I just kept telling her stories.
However, instead of laughing at my nonsense, Pocalor took my story seriously.
“You must have had something you wished for.”
And after hearing everything, she wasn’t even surprised.
“So you must have made something magical happen.”
Maybe because the demons are magicians by nature, she didn’t seem to have much resistance.
“So?”
“Ah...”
I had been worried about how to explain my third life, but since Pokalor accepted it without resistance, it became easier to talk about it afterward.
“Before the regression, were you happy?”
But in those words. Countless words rose to the tip of my tongue and disappeared, and I could only say short words.
“No, no.”
She shook her head repeatedly, denying it.
“You must have had a hard time.”
Pocalor frowned as if she had seen my past, even though she probably had no inner thoughts.
“The devil never forgets a grudge. He’ll be fine.”
And then she said, “He” clearly meant Belled. I felt my stomach tighten again.
“But you’re spending the night with Belled, and you’re spending time with him, so aren’t things going well?”
she asked, counting on her fingers. But I shook my head.
“I wait for him every day.”
“Of course, if you love him.”
Pocalor answered innocently. The word love seemed to be stuck in my ears.
“...I look forward to him every night, and I only think of him, and the nights I spend with him... I like it. But..."
Pocalor looked like she had no idea what to ask. I spoke to her cautiously, thinking that this was a question I would never have asked if this were a temple.
“I don’t know if I’m waiting for the night or for him. Well..."
I said, sitting up again.
“Is the feeling... that he gives me good, or is he good?”
“You don’t know if you like the night or him?”
Pocalor suddenly hit the nail on the head. My face turned bright red.
“...Yes.”
I lowered my head and continued.
“And why does he treat me like that, and why does he treat other people like that?”
I let out a short sigh as my heart tightened again.
“You said that this kind of time is spent with someone you love, but does he really love me? Or not.”
I bit my lips as my mouth felt dry.
“Like the first time, am I just a sweet source of energy for him?”
If it didn’t love, what would those nights be like? Do I desire this pleasure, or do I desire a future with him?
“I don’t know anything...”
I eventually covered my face with both hands. Pocalor just quietly listened to my story.
As I spoke, I realized that I had told a stranger something I couldn’t tell Belled, whom I was spending a long time with. A sigh came out as a laugh.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“No.”
However, Pocalor’s answer came right away. When I took my hands off the dry face, Pocalor was listening to me with a serious face.
“It’s natural to want to be confirmed in love.”
Her light blue eyes seemed to sparkle.
“That’s why when you’re in love, you become childish and say things that are so awkward that others might find uncomfortable.”
Pocalor’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m afraid that he’ll misunderstand if I don’t express myself directly. I feel like my feelings won’t be conveyed.”
But if you don’t say anything, you’ll just end up lost like you.
Pocalor continued.
“It’s because neither you nor that person are used to the feeling. Maybe that person is lost like you.”
A smile appeared on her face again. It was a livelier smile than before.
“What’s certain is that you’re not wrong, whether you want pleasure or a future with that person.”
It’s not wrong to want anything.
Those words strangely reassured me.
“That person truly likes me, but what if I... only look at that person for pleasure?”
Pocalor immediately answered.
“That’s what Belled should work on. He shouldn’t be making you suffer like this.”
I blinked at those words. It was an unexpected direction.
“And if Belled sees you as just pleasure, then it’s just a good partnership.”
Pocalor, who had said it coolly, stood up and said.
“And even if you were wrong, who would interfere with the problems between you two?”
That was right. In the end, it was a problem between him and me. I tightly shut my lips.
It meant that it was also a problem with my feelings...
I, who was clearly waiting for that person in the end. Do I love that person?
I had to be sure. If I don’t figure it out, I can’t hear the answer from him.
...Then do I want to hear the answer, I?
Povalor cut off my complicated thoughts.
“There’s no need to be impatient. The devil’s time passes much more slowly than that of a human. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to confirm your feelings. And...”
Tap tap.
The pitch-black shoes stepped up the stairs. Pocalor said as they walked near the gates of hell.
“I’ll have more time to enjoy the sights, right?”
“Yes?”
Pocalor smiled slightly and headed toward the gates of hell instead of answering.
“I want to hear more, but time is up.”
What time? I opened my eyes wide.
Are you going to... enter the gates of hell? You can’t get out, but you can still get in?
But how can someone get in and out through such a shallow gap that you can’t even fit an arm through?
Is there a way to open and close the door?
Instead of answering my complicated question, Pocalor looked back at me and smiled.
“When you want to talk, come to the basement. Ah.”
She said, reaching out toward the gates of Hell.
“I am Pocalor of the ‘backside.’”
Backside...?
While I was thinking about that, she disappeared as if she was seeping through the gap in the door.
My eyes opened wide.
Those words strangely reassured me.
“That person truly likes me, but what if I... only look at that person for pleasure?”
Pocalor immediately answered.
“That’s what Belled should work on. He shouldn’t be making you suffer like this.”
I blinked at those words. It was an unexpected direction.
“And if Belled sees you as just pleasure, then it’s just a good partnership.”
Pocalor, who had said it coolly, stood up and said.
“And even if you were wrong, who would interfere with the problems between you two?”
That was right. In the end, it was a problem between him and me. I tightly shut my lips.
It meant that it was also a problem with my feelings...
I, who was clearly waiting for that person in the end. Do I love that person?
I had to be sure. If I don’t figure it out, I can’t hear the answer from him.
...Then do I want to hear the answer, I?
Povalor cut off my complicated thoughts.
“There’s no need to be impatient. The devil’s time passes much more slowly than that of a human. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to confirm your feelings. And...”
Tap tap.
The pitch-black shoes stepped up the stairs. Pocalor said as they walked near the gates of hell.
“I’ll have more time to enjoy the sights, right?”
“Yes?”
Pocalor smiled slightly and headed toward the gates of hell instead of answering.
“I want to hear more, but time is up.”
What time? I opened my eyes wide.
Are you going to... enter the gates of hell? You can’t get out, but you can still get in?
But how can someone get in and out through such a shallow gap that you can’t even fit an arm through?
Is there a way to open and close the door?
Instead of answering my complicated question, Pocalor looked back at me and smiled.
“When you want to talk, come to the basement. Ah.”
She said, reaching out toward the gates of Hell.
“I am Pocalor of the ‘backside.’”
Backside...?
While I was thinking about that, she disappeared as if she was seeping through the gap in the door.
My eyes opened wide.
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