Chapter 577 - Demon without heart

As Vega appears beside me, she looks up while I look down at her. Lily stands nearby with her disciple at her side, seeming hesitant. She and the others watched my minion lose in the finals, so she probably thinks Vega will be upset. Perhaps they expect me to say something to the disappointed little half-demon to ease the sting of defeat.

None of them knows her as well as I do.

My minion shows no hesitation and doesn't even put a mask on her face, not in front of me. She smiles brightly and lifts her arms, asking me to lift her.

It almost feels nostalgic as I do so, and she snuggles to rest against my chest.

"I will get that fucker the next time!" she declares right away. As she shifts, her tiny horns poke the bottom of my chin. Vega has grown slightly taller so it is more difficult to hold her in her favorite pose.

"Language, minion; people who cannot control their language or actions are no better than animals."

"But I'm a half-demon."

"No exc... huh... that's true," I pause for a moment and finally declare, "It still applies."

"Okay! Where did you read it, master?"

"Read it? Do you think I'm not smart enough to come up with my own?"

"No! I would never! It's just that Master likes to curse a lot. Do you remember when you told me about that cowardly guy? You cursed a lot then."

"Minion."

"Yes?" she asks innocently.

"Talk back to me when you are stronger than I am."

"I will, and I will make you call me Master Vega!"

She closes her eyes and listens to my heartbeat, tapping my chest with her finger in sync with its rhythm. At some point, her eyes widen in surprise, and for a moment, I almost expect her to gasp in shock.

Vega closes her eyes again and starts tapping with one finger. Then, she adds another finger, matching the rhythm of my second heart.

When she stops, she looks up and says, "I want a second one too!"

"Two hearts are for tournament winners only, minion."

"That's not fair. Master is an asshole, and I will beat the shit out of that guy next time."

"Yup, I'm an asshole. Also, language."

"I will win against that guy next time! Master is still an asshole!"

"Yup, I'm an asshole. It's still early for you, but one day, who knows, maybe we'll get you a fancy second heart. For now, will you eat with me, minion?"

"Gladly!"

I turn to the others, who give me a variety of looks, "We will join you later."

I glance at some of their disciples who have also arrived, suspecting that Vega might have killed one or two during the event. I'm curious about them, but my ESM takes priority.

After that, I teleport both of us near one of the nice spots I have found while looking for a place to train. There I put my minion down and jump up. Without using kinetic energy, I climb a tree to grab a basket with things I have prepared, mostly food bought from the other attendees.

I jump down from the tree and move to a spot where the grass is shorter and more pleasant to sit on. From the basket, I pull out a clean square cloth and lay it on the ground before I start arranging the food.

Vega, excited and silent, sits down and crosses her legs. She watches patiently as I unwrap a chocolate bar. I open a can of soda and pour it into a wooden cup, then take out some smoked meat prepared by an ex-professional barbecue cook from Normal difficulty. I would rather not know which tutorial animal he used. Finally, I add some fresh pastry made by another attendee along with a jam-like spread.

Accustomed to this custom, my minion waits and sniffs curiously. She even twitches a few times as she hears the bubbles sizzle in the cup.

Only when it's done do I gesture for her to go first.

She grabs the cup right away, and, being the asshole that I am, I let her have a true first experience.

She takes a big gulp, and of course, the bubbles nearly sizzle up her nose, making her cough with watery eyes. Even while coughing, she keeps the soda from spilling and eyes the cup suspiciously. She sniffs the soda, then leans in and listens to the bubbles fizz. After that, she takes a cautious sip, letting it sit on her tongue before going in for another.

"More?" I ask.

"Yes, please!"

I pour more soda into the cup and she sips it again before carefully placing it next to her and starting to devour all the food. I watch her wordlessly the entire time, not touching the food at all. I simply pour myself a similar soda and sip it slowly. Only twice do I stop her so she doesn't eat the wrappings as well.

When all the food is gone, Vega takes the cloth, carefully removes the crumbs, and folds it before placing it back into the basket with the other things.

She then moves closer and shamelessly rests her head on my legs, her face turned up toward me. She wears a big grin, so I reach down, pinch her nose, and tap the pointy part of her horns with the tip of my finger.

"Pizza was better, master."

"Liar."

"I do not lie! We made the pizza together so obviously it would be much better!"

"Sure."

"Hehe, did you see me fight? I used everything I have learned from the stone you left me."

"I watched the entire time. You did very well. There were some small mistakes, but we can talk about them later."

"Next time I will do better."

"I'm sure of that. Do you have anything interesting to tell me?"

"Yes! A lot! That red haired woman with yellow eyes keeps bothering me. She keeps talking about an envious guy and calls herself the greediest person who ever lived."

"Oh, does she now? Did she hurt you or anything?"

"Not at all. She just appears out of nowhere once in a while. At first, I thought she might try to steal my food, but she never touches it."

"Minion, most people aren't as normal as I am, so be careful around her and don't trust her too much."

"Is master also careful?"

"... sometimes?"

"So I will also be careful sometimes!"

I poke her horns a few times and pinch her nose, cutting off her breath. She doesn't even try to push my hand away. Instead, she holds her breath and looks at me with a clear challenge in her eyes.

Such a cute little maniac.

Defeated, I let go of her nose so she can take a deep breath and absentmindedly tap her horns while checking the time and planning her schedule.

Looking into the tall grass in front of me, I ask, "You have no disciple?"

My minion looks up at me, confused but quickly understanding, and looks in the same direction.

Tacita, still sitting there, moves the grass in front of her to reveal herself and shakes her head. Her expression is hard to read, so I can't even guess what the reason might be.

Vega, who seems to remember the incident from the first time she met Tacita, stands up, awakening her inner self as the most powerful shin kicker.

Tacita makes a swishing movement with her hand that turns it into a blur, and all the tall grass around her falls down, cleanly cut apart. Standing there without even raising her guard, she stares down my minion, who obviously takes on the challenge.

A dagger made of mana forms in her hand, and with a burst of kinetic energy, she charges at Tacita, who playfully moves to the side and smacks the back of my minion's head as she passes by.

Unable to control these bursts or properly absorb her inertia, my minion takes a few steps to slow down and attacks again, this time running.

The clash occurs multiple times, similar to the previous tournament. With each failure, Tacita taps on my minion's horns or gently kicks her shin in revenge for their first meeting. Sometimes she even kicks my minion's butt when she makes a big mistake.

She treats all of this as playful, occasionally showing my minion how to hold a dagger properly and how to move while wielding two. When Vega attacks from a bad angle or positions herself poorly, she shakes her head.

As before, Tacita lacks patience. I'm sure she wouldn't make a great teacher since even she doesn't fully understand how she does some things. It's her instinct and talent that let her move the way she does and read the fight.

So, just as a year ago, Tacita gets bored after around thirty minutes. She gently kicks Vega's shin, ruffles her hair, and taps her horn one last time before disappearing.

***

Me and my minion find Victoria and her disciple in the 4th round's zone. As expected, they are in the training area with the little guy sitting there and carefully listening to her teachings.

"It's him," Vega hisses in my arms.

"Seems like it. Minion, like I said, this is my sister, and he's her disciple, so don't make me hand you over to Myrra for the rest of your time here. I already saw the way she was looking at you. It wouldn't end well for you."

"Can I kill him if he is rude?"

"No killing."

"Cripple him?"

"Minion."

"Punch him?"

"Only if he is rude, and minion don't try to be tricky. I mean, rude from a normal point of view, which is mine, not yours, as I'm sure you would try to twist that definition."

"I would never!"

"Sure, sure."

Noticing us coming closer, Victoria and her disciple stop and wait for us. Vega jumps down and walks by my side for the remaining distance.

It looks like the winner of the unofficial event is Victoria's disciple, a young demon with white hair and purple eyes, each featuring a white circle around the pupil.

Demons are often born with something that is later acknowledged as a trait when they join the system. It's often the heart, but as I have heard, some are born with special eyes, physiques, or similar attributes, something connected to primordial energies.

The young demon in front of me is a perfect example. He was born with eyes but, surprisingly, without a heart to generate primordial energies. In a demon society, where hearts are highly valued, that alone would put him at a huge disadvantage.

It's amusing that I have a half-demon as my disciple while Victoria has a demon without a heart. From some point of view, it might be poetic and say a lot about the two of us.

"Nathaniel, this is Velis. Velis, greet my brother. I want you to show him the same respect you show me."

"Yes, master," he nods toward her and then turns to me and bows quickly, "I greet my master's brother and his disciple. My name is Velis."

"Hello, my name is Nathaniel. This is Vega," I say as I tap her shoulder.

She flicks her eyes toward me, then back at them. "I'm Vega. A greeting for my master's sister, but not for this coward!"

And here we go.

***

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