Demon King Ascension System

Both Blake’s body and mind were frozen in place as he heard that question coming out of Vera’s mouth.

He never expected that she would ask him that question.

Blake could simply say that he was just curious about this certain part of the forest since his last exploration was interrupted by the first group of humanoid demons and he wanted to know what lay further in the area that he hadn’t set foot into before.

Or he could even say that he really did like the humanoid demons’ souls very much compared to the demonic beasts’ souls and wished that he could meet more of them so that he would be eating the sweet and savory souls that he loved.

But he knew better than anyone that the reason why he did what he did was not because of those two reasons.

The real reason why he came back to the same place where he met the humanoid demons for the first time and even went further to investigate things related to the humanoid demons was because of her.

Blake wanted to know what kind of thing had made Vera so wary that she practically refused to take meals despite her love to eat was probably second to her love to do her research in her basement.

Even knowing that he probably couldn’t help with anything due to his strength and Vera’s strength being as distant as heaven and hell in comparison, Blake just wanted to understand her more and possibly eased her mental burden even if it’s only a little.

.....

Blake could make the choice to lie to Vera and just tell her the false yet logical answer and just brush off the incident as a pure coincidence before continuing their life as usual.

Or Blake could give her the real answer with the real reason and possibly make Vera uncomfortable with him ‘forcing’ himself to know about her problems despite her already telling him that she would tell him everything once he set foot on the third realm.

Blake was already hesitating for a full 3 seconds, which made Vera already suspect there was something going on with the incident that had just happened.

And in the end, Blake decided to tell her the real reason, the truth.

Giving her the false answer might have somehow worked if he answered instantly without a pause or a stutter in his words, but he already spent a lot of time thinking and weighing his choice that a lousy reason wouldn’t make sense anymore.

And besides, when he thought more about it, even if he could brush off the current incident, Blake came back to his original thoughts and what he actually wanted in his heart.

He wanted to know her better and help her. He wants to be someone that matters to her.

And despite his not-so-good experiences with other people due to his history and past experiences in the human world, Blake just had a feeling that if he lied to her, then it would only get him further from his actual desire of getting closer to her. Regardless of the fact that he might make her uncomfortable if she ever knew the truth and reasoning behind his action.

So after taking a very deep breath and releasing an equally huge sigh, Blake finally opened up his mouth and gave her his answer.

“I... I actually went there because I wanted to find out more about the humanoid demons.”

“Why? You still wanted to know about the sweet taste that you felt back then?” Vera asked while looking into Blake’s eyes, thinking that Blake might have a mild case of soul addiction,

“No...” Blake answered, diminishing Vera’s worry about him having a case of addiction.

“Then why? It’s quite dangerous doing that, you know? It’s good that you’re able to spot them early and notify me about their arrival while also surviving for so long, but running into danger without much preparation is not something wise to do, Blake.”

“Yes... I know Vera. But the reason why I wanted to know more about the humanoid demons was because...because...”

Vera waited patiently when she saw Blake struggling with his words as this was the first time ever she saw Blake have problems with saying a piece of his mind.

“It was because I wanted to know why you are so wary of them.” Blake stopped for a second, seeing no reaction from Vera, then continued.

“I wanted to know why you, despite being so strong with your spells, so fast with your wings, and so prepared with your rune formations, were still very careful of them as if you were afraid of something.”

“You even refuse to eat any food even though I know you like to eat very much. You just hole up in the basement without getting out even one minute in that whole week, not even to get some fresh air.”

Blake then stopped to see again what kind of reaction Vera’s face was showing after he said all of this.

Blake expected Vera’s face to have a questioning expression or even an annoyed look plastered on her face.

But seeing that she had a thoughtful face instead, Blake decided to continue and finish saying his thoughts and what he really felt this past week.

“I don’t know if it was really related to your problem or not, but seeing you act like that, I felt like there was this urgentness that forced you to a very uncomfortable position that you really didn’t want to be in.”

“Vera... I just want to be a help to you, even if it only helped to ease your mental burden a little. That’s why I tried to learn more about the humanoid demons. I want to understand you more even if it’s only a little through them...”

“I know that I am powerless right now to be of any help to you. And you had even promised to tell me about your problems later when I get stronger...”

Blake then stopped speaking for a few breaths and noticed that he had unconsciously had his eyes looking at the ground.

He wanted to continue his words while looking straight at her face, but finding no power in his body to lift his head up, Blake continued his words while keeping his head down.

“I’m very sorry for not listening to your words and actively searching for the humanoid demons and observing them despite you telling me to be very wary of them.”

“And I’m very sorry for forcing myself into your situation despite you already promised me that you will tell me about it. It has nothing to do with me not believing your promise or wanting to force you to tell me about your problems now.”

“I just wanted to be a help to you, that’s all I had in mind in doing all of this.” Blake finally finished his sentence with his head still facing the ground, afraid to see what kind of reactions she had this time after he muttered out all of his feelings about her.