Chapter 392: Encounter and Farewell (Subscribe Please)

Flora felt that she had run into a troublesome fellow.

Although that white-haired youth was even more handsome than the vast majority of elves, and his bearing was exceptionally noble and elegant.

The real him, however, was completely at odds with his appearance.

That youth who called himself Herbert was simply far too noisy.

"Aiya, let me come along with you, just add one more person!"

"Anyway, you don't look like you have any friends either, so how about I become your friend!"

"Did I say it wrong? Oh, then where are they?"

"Could it be that all your friends went to attend the banquet, and only you didn't receive an invitation?"

"You didn't want to attend their party? Oh, I get it, I get it, you don't need to explain, I understand it all!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it's that you didn't want to go, not that you didn't receive an invitation! I get it!"

"How pitiful... Oh, I didn't say anything, you misheard me."

"Not happy? Then tell me, do you have any other friends?"

……

Noisy.

That fellow kept bringing up the things Flora didn't want to talk about.

It wasn't that they isolated me, it's that I isolated them!

Who would want to attend their orgy!

I'm not going!

Flora found Herbert's teasing rather annoying, yet she couldn't reveal the truth that she was a succubus.

So she could only helplessly endure Herbert's teasing, gritting her teeth, hoping to find a chance to punish him properly.

In order to find that chance, the embarrassed and annoyed Flora ultimately agreed to Herbert's request to travel with her.

Perhaps, it was because she really was, just as he said, far too lonely, and he had struck at the soft spot in her heart, hoping for someone who could accompany her.

Or perhaps, it was because she wanted to try to understand what "love" was, wanting to try to obtain that feeling from him.

Or maybe... it was because as long as Herbert kept his mouth shut, he was a very pleasing-to-the-eye beautiful youth.

Mm, even keeping him as a pet wouldn't be bad.

At first, Flora only thought Herbert would follow her for a few days at most, and would leave once he grew tired of it.

But she didn't expect that this time would be far longer than she had imagined.

One day passed, ten days passed, one month passed, a year passed... he still followed by her side.

And showed absolutely no intention of leaving.

On the day the year ended, Flora finally couldn't help but ask Herbert: "Herbert, you... you're not leaving?"

"Why would I leave?"

Herbert tilted his head with a smile and asked leisurely, "Are you trying to drive me away? If you want me to leave, you can tell me, you know."

"Of course, even if you drive me away, I might not necessarily listen~"

That youth smiled, half-closing his eyes, quietly gazing at her with deep eyes that Flora couldn't see through.

"……"

Flora had a peculiar feeling.

Even though she couldn't sense anything from Herbert, she felt as if those grey eyes had seen through everything about her.

Before him, she seemed to have nowhere to hide.

Had he already discovered her true identity? Already knew her secret? Already discovered her truth?

If he knew all of this, then why did he still stay by her side?

What was he scheming?

What did he want to obtain from her?

Countless questions shrouded Flora's soul, and for a long time no answer emerged.

After a long silence, Flora finally sighed deeply and shook her head helplessly.

"... If you want to stay, then stay."

And that youth's reply remained flippant and casual.

"Okay~"

"Don't worry, I won't lightly leave your side."

In the end, Flora didn't harden her heart to drive Herbert away.

Even though she understood there were secrets about him, and knew he wouldn't be following her without purpose... Flora still softened.

She really was far too lonely.

In the Abyss, among her own kind, she had always been an oddity.

Not understood by others, not liked by others, regarded as a thorn in their side.

Even if someone happened to become her friend, a disagreement would arise at some point, and they would ultimately leave her.

So Flora fled from there.

She escaped from the Abyss, came to the mortal world, longing to find companions like herself.

But Flora was wrong; even in the mortal world, she was still lonely.

Different races, and the same hostility.

Here, her loneliness didn't decrease, but instead grew worse.

And this youth, although slightly different from the perfect companion in her dreams, and somewhat noisy and loud.

But Herbert was indeed the first companion willing to travel with him.

Though Flora complained about him on the surface, she was genuinely delighted by his appearance.

And so, the long journey gained a companion.

Flora and Herbert continued walking, wandering through the mortal world, drifting together.

Their relationship grew increasingly familiar, no longer the cautious strangeness of before.

The two bickered and laughed together as a hundred years passed by.

In the process, more and more companions joined them, and the party gradually grew.

There were wandering merchants, lost warriors, mage apprentices out on training, and even a druid trying to find itself in the wilderness.

Later, they even encountered a black cat with a special ability.

That talking black cat claimed to be some unspeakable great being, and had them worship it.

It was very good at telling jokes, the kind like "You give it a fish first, and once it recovers in the future, it'll give them the position of an archangel in the divine kingdom!"

What Flora found somewhat regrettable was that the black cat always liked clinging to Herbert — either perched on his head or hiding in his shadow.

On ordinary days it had little contact with her, not letting her stroke its sleek fur.

Even when it did, it would look her up and down, then shake its head regretfully and let out an exaggerated sigh.

However, none of these people stayed with them until the end; after spending some time together, they would quietly depart.

Some returned to their own city-states, some found their own paths, some were dragged back to Gao Ta by their mentors, and some vanished into the jungle.

Some came, some went.

Along this journey, they experienced both meetings and partings.

The black cat was the last to leave.

On the final day of parting, it gazed at him quietly, no longer sighing openly, but instead nodded and said something baffling.

It said:

"Mm, you're not bad."

After delivering such an ambiguous evaluation, the black cat vanished completely.

Regarding the departure of the others, Flora felt some regret, but could still accept it.

Because, although many people had left, there was one person who still chose to stay by her side.

Herbert was still there.

"Herbert, you... you're not leaving?"

After a hundred years, Flora asked that question once again.

And this time, without Herbert needing to answer him, she already knew his answer — "Are you trying to chase me away?"

That noisy youth was just as he had been a hundred years before, his appearance unchanged, his temperament not altered in the slightest.

He still remained by her side.

Herbert was the anchor that allowed Flora to hold on.

With him there, she wouldn't collapse.

And so, having seen clearly, Flora spoke first: "No, I don't want you to leave. I hope you can stay, stay by my side."

And the youth's smile remained warm as ever. He nodded and said softly, "Then, as you wish."

After the black cat departed, Flora and Herbert's relationship grew even closer.

Over the next several hundred years, they continued walking.

Their party no longer changed; no new companions were added — only the two of them.

Although they encountered many people along the way — enemies as well as allies — in the end none left any deeper mark on their lives.

And just when Flora thought everything would continue like this... they finally arrived at an ending.

After rescuing some pitiful slaves and guiding them to revolt, they withdrew upon completing their task and came to a mountaintop to rest.

They sat on the mountain, looking down at the city below where flames had risen, admiring their own handiwork.

They had freed those slaves and given them a new choice.

Although it might mean physical death, they had gained the freedom of their souls.

Perhaps for others, this was an unacceptable gift, but for demons, it was already a rather decent choice.

It was at this moment that Herbert suddenly spoke.

"Flora, I'm leaving."

!!!

The development she had never imagined left Flora standing frozen in place.

"You... what did you say?"

"You heard it — exactly what you heard."

"..."

Flora fell silent.

Without the slightest warning, without a single premonition.

They had not quarreled, nor had they any disagreement.

Yet her closest companion was suddenly about to leave her.

"... Why?"

After a long silence, Flora asked hoarsely, "Is it because of my succubus identity?"

Herbert shook his head and said gently, "It's not because of that. I knew your identity from the very beginning."

And his answer left Flora even more puzzled.

Since you knew from the very beginning, why choose to leave at this moment?

"Then… are you worried about my betrayal? Because of the demon bloodline?"

"No, Flora, I have never worried about your betrayal."

Herbert lowered his eyes, gently shook his head, and said softly, "It's not because of any of that."

"Then why?!" Flora demanded furiously, glaring at the heartless boy before her.

You know full well I am unwilling to let you leave!

You know full well I cannot lose you!

Why make such a heartless choice?

And faced with Flora's sorrowful gaze, Herbert's eyes were unusually calm — as deep as they had been the first time they met, hundreds of years ago.

Herbert gazed at Flora with his grey eyes and said softly, "Because, that past belongs to you alone."

"I have no way to walk with you to the very end."

!!!

The utterly unforeseeable words made Flora's body and mind shudder; she felt as though a heavy hammer had struck her head.

Hmm—

Her body swayed, she stumbled back two steps, and only barely managed to steady herself without falling to the ground.

She clutched her head, looked at Herbert with difficulty, and asked through gritted teeth, "What… are you saying?"

"Don't you understand?"

Herbert smiled, then slowly walked to stand before Flora, gently wrapped his arm around her waist, and said softly, "You will understand… now, you will remember all of this."

Saying so, he lightly kissed Flora's forehead.

"You… ah."

Then, just as Herbert had said, Flora suddenly remembered everything.

The dream woke.

A long, beautiful dream that had lasted hundreds of years suddenly woke.

When waking from a nightmare, one feels relief, grateful that none of it truly happened.

But when waking from a beautiful dream, one feels endless emptiness.

Flora sank into a hard-to-bear emptiness.

She suddenly realized — everything was false.

On this long journey, there had never been anyone else.

No Herbert by her side.

Only herself.

She alone had endured that difficult stretch of time.

"…"

Flora was silent for a long while, then raised her head, looked at Herbert, and asked with difficulty.

"Are you humiliating me?"

She had been deceived.

She was certain that the boy before her was not a phantom from her dream, but a True Person who had truly intruded into her dream.

He had toyed with her memories, fabricating a false dream.

But at this moment, what welled up in Flora's heart was not anger… but sorrow.

Rather than question Herbert's motives, how she wished those memories were real, not false bubbles.

And faced with Flora's questioning, Herbert's emotions remained calm as he explained gently, "Flora, you understand, I have no way to change your past."

"No matter how much I truly wish to appear in that stretch of time, I cannot change what has already happened."

"During the days when I was not there, you truly did endure much alone."

"Loneliness, sorrow, heartache… you watched them come, and saw them off as they left."

He held Flora tightly, felt her trembling body, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Herbert took a deep breath, lowered his head, gazed into the succubus Young Lady's eyes, and said earnestly:

"I truly do not exist in the memories of your first half of life, but I can stay with you forever in the rest of your life."

"If a relationship with another person begins with meeting and ends with parting,"

"then perhaps the relationship between you and me can be reversed."

"This time, I will leave, but that does not mean it is the end."

Herbert lowered his head and said, both gentle and resolute:

"Because, having already gone through parting, our lives are left with nothing but meeting."

After speaking, he gently kissed her.

But the instant his kiss landed, the dream suddenly shattered.

……

!!?

In the lava pool, Flora's eyes snapped open.

But before she could even sort out the current situation, she saw a face right before her eyes — still Herbert!

"Mm?!"

Herbert paused, smiled at her, and then — Flora's already wide eyes grew even wider.

Because Herbert, who was holding her, did not stop after greeting her, and continued to kiss her.

Trying to run?

Can you escape?

Flora:!?!?

"You, wait… mmph!?"

(End of chapter)