—–
After dinner in the local tavern, I walked to the church headquarters with the priests, Elizabeth was not letting go of my hand, and Eleanora was roaring angrily at her, although she couldn’t listen to her because she was inside her Spirit Orb.
“Ggrrr… that girl is really stepping over her boundaries with you, my lord!” She said angrily. “Why are you letting her grab your hand so leisurely? It is lewd!”
“What are you talking about, Eleanora?” I sighed. “I’ve told you that she’s a friend. She’s an orphan so she seeks attention and being accepted, it is normal for her to act overly affectionate. I’ve shown her affection as well, it is part of my plan.”
“R-Right…” Elenora said, quickly calming herself down. “You’re doing more of these “friends” that humans always talk about, isn’t it?”
“Yes, the concept of loyal friends is not so far away from loyal subjects.” I told her. “I will make her a very loyal and good friend, so she’s always there to aid me with her powers. In this world where I cannot use all my power, I must use the powers of others to my advantage.”
“I see! Now that I think about it deeply, it is a very intelligent and well-thought plan, my lord!” Eleanora said fascinatedly. “I could had never expected more from you.”
“I told you a hundred times to never refer to me as “my lord” ever again, didn’t I?” I sighed.
“O-Oh, sorry… Asmodeus.” She sighed.
“Eleanora, you’re… someone I treasure a lot. I want us to grow closer, using honorifics will only further increase the size of the wall between the two of us.” I said to her, as Eleanora seemed to smile within the landscape of the Spirit Orb.
“Yes, I understand…” She said. “I-I apologize for getting worked over it… I should had always assumed it was part of Asmodeus’ great plans from the beginning!”
“Well yes, that’s it.” I said to her. “And this kid I will go meet is also someone like this, someone that will become another asset- I mean “friend”, yes, that.”
“Huh, the demon child, right?” She asked. “The one I caught!”
“Indeed, that one.”
“He’s very strong, I remember.”
“He has a good potential; I will use his power.”
“Always taking advantage of everything you can, you’re truly the same as in your previous life, aren’t you, Asmodeus?”
“Although it pains me to admit it, I have changed a lot… But I try to remain like I used to be, even if it has become progressively harder.”
“Being a human is really horrifying, I can tell!”
“Yes, well, sometimes. I have begun to like certain things. This family is… comforting and nice.”
“Hoh… I suppose I share the same thought; I’ve grown rather fond of this “family” concept…”
“We shall build a family together one day in the future, are you willing?”
“L-Like… becoming your wife?!”
“That’s a bit of a stretch… But perhaps.”
“Ooohh… T-That’s… I… I have to think about it…”
“I suppose it is too hasty to think about such things for now… Anyways, we are here. Keep quiet for the moment, Eleanora. I will be quite busy.”
“U-Understood!”
After having talked with Eleanora, we have already reached the front of the door of the room where the kid was. Erdrich was an eccentric boy, he seems to be extremely shy despite wielding such amount of power, and also being a noble. Perhaps the death of his mother has affected him a lot, but she was insane and tried to kill us, it’s not like we had much of an option in that regard.
But… should I attempt to feel empathy for him?
Empathy… it is something I don’t know if I had truly developed in my previous life. Although I did feel bad when some of my companions died, I kept moving forward and fought for them. Perhaps now that I am a human and my emotions are not so dulled out by the cold heart of a Vampire’s body, I can feel empathy as a stronger emotion than before.
What… would I feel if my mother was the one that died in such a tragedy?
What would I feel?
I…
I would feel terrible, of course.
The mother of this second life… I can confidently say I love her.
She’s someone that is always there for me, someone that raised me since I was a baby, and… someone so precious to me that I cannot really think of a replacement.
Losing her would be extremely painful.
Indeed…
Ah, now I get it.
I see.
I can tell that it feels terrible… He must be going through a lot of pain. Losing someone so important to his life… it feels as if everything is being brought down, isn’t it? His entire life is being tore apart.
After his father threw him away of the house by targeting his hate from his mother towards him and also partially out of fear… now he’s alone. His mother is dead, his father doesn’t want him nor love him, and his siblings… seem to be forced to distance themselves from him.
He’s alone.
Loneliness… I am fine with it.
But… is he, someone that doesn’t have all the experience I gathered in my life… fine with being alone?
Living his entire life surrounded by people that loved him and cherished him… Of course he’s not alright with being alone.
Hm, empathy really helps at seeing how a person’s mentality might work by comparing it with yours, but there’s just as much as you can guess before you begin making incorrect assumptions over a person’s mentality. The best way to find out more is by asking directly.
“Are you ready, Blank?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright… Let’s do this!”
Elizabeth was pumped up, as she knocked the door gently, and then I opened it hastily. I wasn’t going to wait for him to open it anyways. Even if its rude, I don’t really care.
—–