Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord

Chapter 53 - Cautionary Tale, Part 2

[IMPORTANT: SKIP TO THE NEXT PART IF YOU SEE THIS BEFORE PART 1. I TRIED TO CHANGE THE ORDER, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK. SKIP TO NEXT PART, READ IT, COME BACK TO THIS ONE, THEN SKIP TWO CHAPTERS FOR PART 3 AND SO ON.]

In this world, beings can sense Aura.

Aura strongly indicates a person's nature and has been a key indicator since ancient times. It was used to decide whether to start or end wars, determine trade and alliances, and condemn criminals to execution or set them free. Consequently, Van was treated unfairly due to his passive skill, Untrusted, which made most beings instinctively distrust him, even those insensitive to Aura.

This reliance on Aura taught all races, except demons who couldn't sense it, to depend heavily on their intuition, outer appearances, and glamour rather than facts and deductive capabilities. Even Amoria, one of the most sensitive to Aura, relied on it heavily... Until 17 years ago, a bit after she met Van.

"...When I first saw Van, I seriously preferred to fall into the death pit he got me out of," she reminisced. "I thought the Archdevil themselves, or something much darker, had descended to this realm from deep within Arataxia, the Realm of our Dear Goddess," She paused, looking up at the person.

"Which is one of the reasons I fell for him," she added with a smile. "Despite having that kind of aura, he never stopped being such a darling. He was more human than anyone I've ever met, and yet, much more than that. It was as if I discovered a diamond buried in tar. And I figured we would work out. I would balance that Aura of his, and he would balance whatever nastiness I possess," she said, taking a sip of tea. "He shone much more brightly than my late husband."

"I see... But then he... left? Despite you loving him so deeply?" Hicks asked, playing with his mustache and narrowing his eyes at Amoria.

"..." Her expression darkened momentarily. "...Sir Hicks, how much do you know about Magus?"

"Hmm... Not much," he began, looking up at the ceiling of the tavern as he recalled details about the famed Hero. "He was the hero who traveled with you all. He had immaculate charm and was the strongest of this era."

"What about his skills?" she pressed.

"As the Royal Knight Captain of the Second Battalion, I haven't had access to that kind of information, you know that, Miss Veil. Why do you ask?" he pondered, lowering his gaze back to Amoria.

"...Nothing. Just curious," she said, taking another quick sip and closing her eyes dismissively.

"Either way, why did he leave if you lov-"

Amoria immediately cut him off with a bright smile. "Forget about that for now!" she called cheerfully. "Are you going to do what I asked?"

Hicks could tell Amoria was avoiding his question. Yet, out of respect for her, he chose not to press the matter.

"I will do what I can, since it is your request, Miss Veil. But why? If he wishes to buy a house, let him buy a house..." Hicks argued softly.

"Sir Hicks, we just talked about this," Amoria started, a tinge of irritation and impatience in her voice, yet forcing a somewhat dignified manner of speech. "If you take his Aura into consideration, he might get bad prices, or people might try to con him, or there might even be an attempt on his life. Wouldn't that be bad? And his name would be recorded in the house owner's list. He will have many enemies and-"

Hicks carefully raised his palm and interrupted Amoria. "But dear Miss Veil, he slayed Arutol, The Dragon King's own son!" Hicks argued. "I'm certain no one in the capital can even make an attempt on the life of someone of his caliber, with all due respect to our Royal Knights and the King! And I will ensure that he is not conned in any way! He is the man I owe my, and my knights' lives to; vile Aura or not."