Chapter 170: From Escaping To Persuading (2/2)

“Well, I do try to increase your debt. Just a little bit though.”

“That, well… Not good, but alright.”

Loren had to admit that he did have a self-destructive tendency. Treating Gula to a meal this time was probably the most extreme.

“The trip there is a bit dangerous, so I want you to guarantee my safe arrival. Can you come with me for that reason?”

“I’m not sure how much I can trust that.”

Basically, demons looked down on humans. There was a natural gap between the two races regarding abilities, and even if it was left aside, Loren just couldn’t imagine a human ended up safe after setting a foot into demons’ territory. Humans picked fights with humans from lower class, which made Loren sure that he would be treated unfairly no matter what.

“Do I really have to go with you no matter what? How about Gula?”

Hearing the name of the currently-absent third member of their party, Lapis grimaced a little.

“Gula is… She probably could pass as a demon.”

Gula originally had purple eyes like the demon race. She had altered her eyes color by some unknown method in order to live in Kapha. With her purple eyes and abilities, even the ones that were not Evil God’s power, exceeding that of the average humans, she could certainly pass as a demon.

“Besides, I have some personal errand to attend to… I really want you to accompany me.”

“Personal errand?”

Hearing that she went home not only to find out about his greatsword piqued his interest. Even more so when it seemed that he was involved somehow.

“What kind of errand? I might change my opinion depending on that.”

Loren felt like ever since he quit mercenary life and became an adventurer, Lapis had always taken care of him. He was grateful to her, and he believed that if his company would help her solve her errands more smoothly, he would be fine with it even if it meant some discomfort for him.

“Actually, that is… Eh, well. How do you say it? Ah…”

Lapis had some difficulties putting it into words. Since it was a personal errand, Loren wondered if it was something difficult to talk about. After groaning for a while, Lapis seemed to have made up her mind. She cast her eyes down and murmured in a small voice:

“It’s a good opportunity… to introduce you… to my parents.”

It was now Loren’s turn to be taken aback. Demons’ custom wasn’t his area of expertise, but for humans, introducing someone to one’s parents meant the two had an intimate relationship. To be more specific, it meant the two wanted to be partners, or had already decided to be partners. Even Loren knew that much.

Hearing that Lapis wanted to introduce him to her parents, Loren didn’t know how to reply. Seeing him like that, Lapis waved her hand in a fluster and talked rapidly:

“Of course, we’ll let it go this time if it’s too troublesome for you. I can also go home on my own if you really don’t want to go no matter what… What do you think?”

Lapis asked like that while looking up at Loren, making it unable for him to deny her upfront. He had no way to know what Lapis was thinking about introducing him to her parents, but leaving the ‘good opportunity’ part aside, Lapis did seem to have thought about it seriously, and she did deserve a serious answer.

“Did you fight with your parents because of the human race?”

“Th-that’s too direct… I’ve planned to wait a bit more, until both parties can understand each other more. But, but, you’ve saved me from many dangerous situations. I was also able to recover both my arms thanks to your help…”

Loren looked at her with admiration. She was speaking fast, but her speech was still smooth. As she finished and stared at him with a slightly blushing face, there was nothing else for him to do but to answer her after a deep sigh:

“I see. I’m not sure how it’ll turn out, but I’ll go with you.”

Having successfully extracted an agreement from Loren, Lapis’ face brightened.

“Just leave it to me, Loren. Except for the trip itself, I will support you. Mother is my ally, but it’ll be alright with my father too.”

“There are at least two things from that statement of yours that make me feel concerned…”

The first thing was, she didn’t deny even once that the trip to the demon country would be a dangerous one. The second thing was, it seemed like her father might have some kind of troublesome reactions when meeting him. But Loren wasn’t the type to suddenly go back on his words – he grumbled in a resigned tone:

“Please do. I’m betting my life on just knowing the true character of my greatsword.”

Loren said, but he was still thinking about how troublesome this whole trip would be. But Lapis somehow decided that the talk was already over, so she greeted the waitress that brought their breakfast over and began to set the food on the table.