Chapter 2 The Next Day

The sky over Nicalis, the Demon King's Castle, was still a deep blue; dawn was not far off.

Around five o'clock, the color of the sky outside began to change.

On the bay of Lisle Island, ivy covered the outer walls of a small wooden house, its beige walls peeking through the verdant greenery. In the bedroom behind the curtains, Lysandra slowly sat up in bed.

"Haaah."

Her sleepy eyes were slightly dazed as she scratched her messy dark hair.

A glance at the clock startled her so much that she tumbled out of bed, scrambling to wash and change. Only after smoothing her long hair did she realize she could have slept in a bit. Mr. McCarthy had promised to take her to the palace today.

However, she didn't know if Mr. McCarthy would be too busy with work to give her a ride, so she had originally planned to wake up early as usual, just in case.

Now, she could only pray that Mr. McCarthy was free today.

She straightened her outer garment, grabbed her bag, and quickly left the cottage.

A few oddly shaped clouds drifted across the sky, pushed by a weak morning breeze.

Usually, at a little past five in July, the sky would already be turning blue, but today it seemed particularly gloomy.

Lysandra was about to go next door to the mansion to ask how to quickly find Mr. McCarthy, but as soon as she locked the door, she saw an amber mana-powered vehicle parked outside her yard.

It was the same familiar face as yesterday, leaning back in the driver's seat, gazing at the night sky where the stars had yet to fade.

Perhaps he had come out to determine which part of the demon realm's sky belonged to him, or perhaps he was looking at the faint blue light emanating from the palace across the bay.

The waning moon still illuminated the bushes, and the gardens of the mansion next door were already brightly lit at five or six in the morning, but the laughter and excitement of last night were long gone.

The patterns of radiance on McCarthy's handsome face resembled flower petals, and his hair was smooth as if he had it trimmed every week.

Lysandra couldn't detect any evil aura in him; he was simply looking quietly at the sea.

Perhaps because he abstained from alcohol, he was completely different from the guests in the palace dining room yesterday. The more joyfully everyone drank and laughed, the more solemn he seemed.

Lysandra suddenly realized.

Maybe every morning, McCarthy would stand below the palace, gazing at a beam of aurora across the bay, as if trying to grasp something. On the other side was the pure land he desired, belonging only to his heart.

Soon, McCarthy noticed that Lysandra had arrived.

Out of courtesy, McCarthy got out of the car and bowed to her.

Lysandra quickly nodded and hurried over.

"Um, Mr. McCarthy, were you waiting for me?"

Lysandra couldn't help but ask.

"I just got here. It seems like good timing."

Ranchi turned back, his hands in his pockets, and said with a smile.

Lysandra nodded and, following the direction Ranchi indicated, sat in the passenger seat.

Normally, she would most likely be late, but today, with Mr. McCarthy giving her a ride, she had plenty of time.

She felt that he had been waiting for a long time but still said he had just arrived.

"Are we going to transfer to a sea-going magic device later?"

Lysandra asked him again.

The streamlined magic vehicle she and McCarthy were now sitting in was amber in color, as beautiful as the princess's eyes, with long, elegant lines. Inside, it was equipped with wardrobe trunks, food boxes, and toolboxes. The layers of windshields refracted the multiple lights of the street lamps, fitting her image of a wealthy tycoon.

"No need, it can drive directly on the sea."

Ranchi replied casually.

He skillfully stepped on the accelerator, and the vehicle began to accelerate along the road toward the sea.

Lysandra once again felt the power of money.

She had originally thought that McCarthy was a mysterious, legendary demon, but that impression was gradually fading. Now she was more inclined to see him as a generous neighbor.

He was special, but not as special as she had imagined.

However, this ride gradually made Lysandra realize that it was a bit awkward.

She had agreed to let him take her to work yesterday on a whim.

In fact, their relationship wasn't that close.

At most, they were just demons who had just met.

And she had just received his care and was already asking for his help again.

Now, being alone with him, she felt like she had nothing to say.

"Miss Lysandra, what kind of demon do you think I am?"

Seemingly noticing Lysandra's slightly embarrassed grip on her handbag, Ranchi took the initiative to break the silence in the car.

"I think... you're a very good demon, much more approachable than I imagined, without the airs of a noble."

Lysandra could only answer like that.

"I actually don't want you to misunderstand me because of those rumors. There may be many rumors about me in Nicalis recently, but you need to know that gossip changes a little every time it's repeated, and in the end, it's almost completely unrelated to the truth."

Ranchi said to Lysandra, holding the steering wheel.

Lysandra nodded.

Obviously, McCarthy had also heard the various rumors being discussed by the demons around his palace dining room.

"Did you really work as a spy during the war?"

Lysandra asked curiously.

"You could say I did, but not in the way the rumors say."

Ranchi admitted.

"Then... did you go to the Purgatory Corridor Academy?"

Lysandra didn't expect McCarthy to admit it and continued to ask with some interest.

These things might interest the princess.

After all, the princess was originally a student at the Purgatory Corridor Academy, although she dropped out in the end and fled to the human kingdom.

"Of course, but... it's not quite the same as the rumors say."

As he spoke, Ranchi glanced at Lysandra from time to time.

This made it difficult for Lysandra to judge whether McCarthy was lying. His hesitant appearance seemed to hide unspeakable secrets, yet she could faintly hear that McCarthy had some kind of unusually deep feeling for that school.

"Which year were you? Who was the headmaster at the time?"

Lysandra asked casually.

As long as she confirmed it with the princess, she could basically know whether McCarthy was telling the truth.

"Uh, that was twenty years ago..."

Ranchi's tone was unusually strained.

"..."

Lysandra tried her best to suppress her laughter.

The lies he was weaving were so cliché that Lysandra couldn't bear to continue questioning him.

Next, they talked about his rags-to-riches business journey and so on, which was very different from what Lysandra had heard in the restaurant last night. However, it was not difficult to find that what McCarthy said himself was indeed the original version of the rumors. Without this original version, those rumors would certainly not have been born.

However, she found that Mr. McCarthy had no intention of deceiving her from beginning to end. His words were very conservative, perhaps he was just trying to relax her by talking about these topics that made fun of him.

Communicating with McCarthy was indeed a very easy thing. He seemed to naturally consider the feelings of the people around him.

If it were an ordinary girl, she might quickly fall for him.

But Lysandra knew her own weight and also felt that McCarthy's kindness to her was purely goodwill, regardless of whether she was male or female.

Of course, it was precisely because of McCarthy's natural attitude that if he were to truly fall in love one day and be exceptionally caring towards a certain girl because he liked her, that girl might, based on the principle of not being overly self-conscious, mistake love for friendship.