Silas was woken up from the feeling of somebody touching his face. It was the girl, so he kept his eyes closed, curious as to what she was doing.

Her hands slowly moved across his face, feeling his facial features. She then felt the top of his head, then ran her hands down the side, jolting backward as she hit Silas's horns.

"H-Huh!?"

'Well, I guess she never realized I was a demon...'

Silas stayed quiet as he waited to see what she would do next. Would she run away, or would she stay?

"H-He's a demon...? N-No way.."

Silas opened his left eye and saw her crouching near him, chewing on her thumb as she contemplated.

'Guess we have a similar habit.' Silas sighed as he watched her think.

"What are you doing?"

Silas finally asked, having noticed that she had been sitting in front of him for a few minutes.

"Hiiih! I-I... well--"

The girl stumbled backward, caught off guard by his voice.

"I-I didn't know you were awake... I swear I--"

"If I were a bad demon, I would have hurt you already."

Silas sighed, cutting her off, her embarrassed expression making him laugh.

"I-It just surprised me... I know you're not bad..."

She twiddled with her fingers, embarrassed.

"That's good. My name is Silas. What about you?" Silas asked, trying to ease her nerves with a friendly conversation.

"L-Lumi... I-I was captured by demons and brought to the Demon Realm..."

"Do you know why you were captured?"

"Because they wanted to use me as a bargaining chip with my parents..."

'Is this girl super important, or is her family just rich?'

Silas was too curious, so he asked, "Why you?"

"B-Because I am the second princess, the Sage of the Elven Kingdom..."

'What the fuck?! That's one hell of a bombshell! Not only is she a princess, but she is a Sage! She has the capability to use every element of magic there is! Her mana density is probably insane! She's gonna be a fucking monster in a few years!'

"W-Wow... Uh, I didn't expect that. Should I use formal speech from now on?"

Silas smiled awkwardly, adjusting his tone. He didn't want to offend her. What if she ran to her parents and said, "Daddy, Mommy! An unsightly demon upset me, fucking erase that demonic wretch from my sight!" Then he'd get chased to the ends of the planet and eventually turned to ashes. He didn't want that.

"D-Don't you dare use formal speech with me!"

Lumi puffed her cheeks, stuttering as she yelled. She did not like that.

"E-Eh? Sorry!"

"Y-You saved me... You don't need to be formal. We are friends now, right?"

Lumi smiled awkwardly, twiddling her thumbs as she stumbled over her words.

'The hell?! When did this happen?'

Silas sighed, not happy with the tense atmosphere. So he decided to tease her.

"Heh... You say I'm your friend, but you still sound scared around me."

"I-I do not!"

Silas chuckled, satisfied with her reaction.

"You totally do."

"I-I... D-Don't tease me! It's rude!" She crossed her arms, hiding her smile.

Silas sighed. 'Good. She seems to be less afraid now. We should probably start moving again.'

"We should get moving. The sun is rising."

Silas stood, offering his hand to help her up.

"Thanks, Silas. But where are we going?"

Lumi took his hand, standing up and stumbling a bit, unable to see due to her blindfold.

"To the port near here. A boat is your best shot at getting out of here."

"Okay, but you'll come with me, right?"

"Yeah."

'There is no fucking way I am going with her! Staying with a princess means that when I shapeshift into a human, I'd be at a huge risk due to all the powerful people around her. They might be able to sense my demonic mana even in my shapeshift form!'

Silas took her hand and led her out of the cave and into the forest. She seemed much more comfortable around him, as she didn't stutter as much. He was glad, since being a princess, she would need to develop strong social skills to rise up and stay afloat.

'Haah... Enough about her... I need to think about what I'll do when I get to Lania.'

--

Lumi's lips curved upward as she felt Silas's hand in hers, gently leading her across the forest. She had decided to act like a shy, scared girl to throw him off in case she needed to catch him off guard and attack, but it seemed Silas wasn't bad.

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She would have easily escaped her captors on her own, but she chose to let Silas save her, as his unusual nature intrigued her. Why was a demon her age running away? And why was he so nice, not chaotic like the others? His demonic nature should make him violent and battle-crazed like the rest, but he seemed more human than demon. It was odd.

She had acted surprised when she found out he was a demon in the cave, but in reality, she already knew. She had sensed his mana when she first met him and wanted to get a better grasp on it.

When she touched his face and horns, she was actually just analyzing his mana through physical contact since her Sage Eyes were sealed, and she couldn’t see the mana like usual.

Once she had a better sense of his mana through her analysis, it was clear that it was typical demonic mana—but there was something different about it. It didn’t feel sinister, not at all. It was very odd.

'My first friend is a demon... and quite an interesting one, huh?'

Lumi giggled, thinking about how her first real friend was a demon. He seemed a little reluctant at first when she asked, but she was determined to befriend someone so interesting. And it was refreshing to have a friend who didn't interact with her just because their parents told them to.

--

As Silas focused ahead, making sure she didn't trip or fall, Lumi wondered if she should keep up her current facade as a shy, innocent princess or gradually return to her actual personality.

She wanted to stay friends with Silas, so she decided to take the risk and gradually return to her normal behavior as time went on.

Hours of running through the forest passed, and Silas decided to rest for the night in front of a large pond. He had hoped to get to the port that day, but having a blindfolded girl with him really slowed them down.

He was worried about her stamina, but she seemed perfectly fine when they were running. Lumi had been quiet, lost in her thoughts and occasionally giggling to herself, which confused Silas. But at least she was fine.

Lumi walked over to Silas, smiling. "Are we going to be resting here tonight?"

"Yeah... What's up with that expression?"

Lumi giggled, pointing at the pond with a hungry expression. "I smell a pond. Do you think there are fish? Could you cook me one?"

'Lumi's behavior really took a 180. She doesn't seem shy at all—can someone overcome shyness that easily?' Silas shook the thought away, smiling as he walked to the pond, rolling up his sleeves. He loved fishing of any kind.

"I happen to be an avid fisherman, so I shall do it for you, Princess."

"Friends don't speak formally to each other," Lumi sternly scolded Silas, her tone sharp. She definitely did not like Silas using formal speech with her. He noted that down mentally.

'She's scary now... I was only joking...'

Silas laughed awkwardly, staring into the pond, watching fish swim around. He didn’t have a pole, so he was going to resort to the primal method—catching them with his hands.

"Are there fish?"

"Yep. A lot, actually."

Silas readied his hands, waiting for a fish to swim within range of his veteran fish-catching hands.

'Yes...! Yes! Hahaha! Come here, you little bastard!'

Swish—Swish.

Silas smiled maliciously as he was about to grab the poor, unsuspecting fish. But before he could do that, Lumi walked into the water next to him, scaring the fish off momentarily.

'Sigh... she didn’t mean to...'

"Got one yet?"

"No, I'm waiting for them to get close."

'Oh! Another one! Dinner, here I come!'

Swish—Swish.

Lumi grinned, standing next to him, moving her feet around in the water and disturbing the fish, scaring it off.

"How about now?"

"...Nope."

'This little...'

Silas glanced at Lumi, who was stifling a giggle. She was definitely doing this intentionally.

"Something the matter?" Lumi smiled, her head turning toward him.

"If you do that again, I’ll push you in the water."

Lumi giggled at his warning, looking at him with an amused expression.

'Okay... here it comes... Now!'

-Swish, Swish-

'...'

"Oops!"

"No mercy."

"W-Wait—!"

Silas mercilessly pushed Lumi into the water, soaking her completely.

--

Silas looked at Lumi with a smug expression as she sat grumpily by the fire, eating a smoked fish.

"I did warn you."

"But I got all wet and cold!"

"But you also dried off instantly with your magic."

Silas laughed, and Lumi looked away, hiding her smile.

'Moments like these are nice.'

He was enjoying these last moments of peace, knowing the road ahead wouldn’t be easy. He wouldn’t have time to rest until he could reach Lania and find a cozy job. He did have some money, but not much, and he doubted it would last more than a few months.

"Silas."

"Hm?"

"Why are you out here? Are you running away?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"It's complicated, but basically, I don't fit in with these demons. I'm not a battle-crazed maniac; I want to live comfortably."

'I really want to avoid mentioning my background. I’m practically her enemy number one if you associate me with my father.'

"I never thought I’d meet such a lazy demon." Lumi smiled, teasing him.

"Want to go get food for yourself and try running with that blindfold on—?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You are slightly competent."

"Sigh... seriously? I don't want such a mean friend."

"W-Wah? I-I didn’t..."

"I'm joking."

"O-Oh." Lumi twiddled her thumbs in embarrassment.

Silas sighed, seeing her react that way. Maybe she had trouble making friends. He decided to stop teasing her about it.

--

Lumi began biting her finger, sitting in silence as she thought hard.

Lumi was curious about Silas's true identity. Although her ability to sense mana was significantly decreased due to the blindfold's enchantments, she could still tell that his demonic mana was much denser compared to other demons' mana, especially after her earlier analysis through contact.

Taking that fact into consideration, people with denser mana have the potential to form more mana cores than those with less dense mana. Demons, whose bodies act as a singular core, rely on this density to amplify their power.

Mana is gathered in the body through mana veins that pull it from the outside through the skin's pores. The mage then condenses this mana through practice, forming a mana core in their brain. This core is the processing unit for casting spells. Denser mana leads to a stronger core and the higher possibility of forming multiple cores, unlike those with less dense mana. The denser the mana, the stronger the individual.

However, demons don't form cores. Their bodies act as one massive core that draws in and expels mana. Essentially, demons are magic sponges. Their mana is different from other types; it’s created by the mana absorbed from the outside, mixing with the potent emotions of the demons.

This is what makes demonic mana so interesting to Lumi. A significant part of their power comes from their emotions—and the emotions they draw in from others around them through the mana in the air. Demons found that the more sinister and chaotic emotions produce the densest mana, which allows them to become incredibly powerful. Unlike other races, demons can infinitely grow more powerful by harvesting the emotions of others, constantly condensing their mana.

In simpler terms, for other races: larger mana veins = denser mana = more cores = more powerful individual. For demons, it’s the opposite: stronger emotions + harvesting those emotions = denser mana = more powerful individual.

But how could Silas, a boy her age, have such dense mana? He didn’t seem to know how to use mana well, and his good nature already lowered his mana density. So, her conclusion was that Silas had to be the child of a very powerful demon—possibly a Demon Lord. Why? Because the child of a Demon Lord would naturally be more talented than a lesser demon.

She was sure of her calculations, but she wasn’t sure whether to ask him. She feared that Silas might not want to be friends with her anymore if he feared that her role as a Princess of the Elven Kingdom could lead to his capture or demise.

But her parents would listen to her. She planned to explain everything about Silas to them, seeking their approval for him to work for her family. Her parents trusted her judgment—she was smart, and she wouldn't have trusted Silas this much if she wasn’t absolutely sure that he wasn’t evil.

If Silas worked for her family, she could hang out with him anytime. Finally, she would have a friend who wasn’t interested in her just because of their parents' social games. She giggled with excitement at the thought.

--

Silas was sitting by the campfire, watching Lumi lost in thought. She would have a serious look on her face, like she was running calculations in her head, then randomly start giggling. It was odd. At this point, Silas didn’t really care anymore. At least she wasn’t scared of him. That made the escape plan easier.

"Silas."

Lumi broke out of her thoughts and looked directly at him.

"Yeah?"

"Are you the child of a Demon Lord?"

'Huh!?'