Chapter 8
When I woke up in the morning and was getting ready to go to the dungeon, there was a knock on my room door. When I opened the door, I encountered Riveria. While I was wondering why she came to my room, she started talking.
"Hello Sakuya. Are you planning to go to the dungeon?" Riveria said with a small smile.
"Yes, I was thinking of leaving after having breakfast."
"I understand. Loki kept us updated on your progress. She said one of us should accompany you into the dungeon, though not all the time, just to be safe." Her expression began to turn serious as she talked about my progress.
"And you're here to accompany me today, right?" I inferred from what she said.
"Yes."
"Well, that's fine by me. I was actually thinking of going to the deep floors today. It would be reassuring to have an experienced adventurer with me." I actually didn't care much. I would benefit from having Riveria or one of the others with me.
After we both reached an agreement, we had breakfast together. Entering the dining hall with Riveria caused an impression among the other adventurers in the family. Actually I can understand them. After all, it is normally not possible for one of the leaders of the family to accompany a novice member.
We left the mansion after a stressful breakfast under the gaze of others. Riveria followed me the entire time with a stoic expression. In fact, I was aware that her eyes were on me. She must probably be interested in my magical abilities.
"Riveria, if there is anything you want to ask, you can ask without hesitation. Since we belong to the same family now, you don't need to be polite." While scratching my cheek, I took the initiative to start a conversation. Meanwhile, Riveria was doing her best to hide the blush on her cheeks, embarrassed by the furtive glances she was giving me. After calming down for a while, she started talking.
"I'm sorry for my rude behavior." Riveria bowed slightly and apologized.
"No, no problem." I waved my hand and said I didn't care.
"Loki said you were the devil. I know many different races, but I've never heard of the devil before."
"There are some things I can't explain, but I don't mind telling some details." Since we have just met, I will not tell her or others that I come from another world yet.
"I understand, after all, every woman has her own secrets. Loki said she had a long life. How many years specifically?"
"Hmmm ..... The average devil can live for 10,000 years. Of course, as she gets stronger, her life expectancy increases." Since I did not grow up in an aristocratic devil house, my basic knowledge of the devil race comes from the anime I watched. After I said this, I realized Riveria wasn't with me. When I looked back, Riveria was frozen in place, shocked. People passing by were looking at her strangely. I decided to appeal to her to protect her reputation in the public.
"Hey Riveria! Are you okay?" I waved my hand in front of her face, asking her to come to her senses. Riveria came to her senses when I called out and realized the mistake she had made. She put her hand to her mouth and coughed lightly.
"ahem.. I'm sorry. I guess what I heard affected me."
"Oh, it's okay, I can understand you."
"However! This is very shocking. Even elves can live up to 2000 years on average. I thought we were the race with the longest lifespan after the gods. Sakuya, you broadened my horizons today." Riveria spoke without hiding her admiration and curiosity.
"Actually, I assume some people know this, though. The higher the life expectancy of a race, the less fertile it is. I assume the Elves also have population problems."
"You actually make a valid point. We have a smaller population compared to other races." Riveria nodded in agreement.
"Oh, and I heard you were born with the ability to use magic." Loki probably mentioned this.
"Yes, with some exceptions, demons are born with magical abilities. Also, those with special bloodlines. They have special abilities that only their lineage can use." I started explaining by showing my destructive power and ice manipulation ability. Meanwhile, Riveria was watching me with shining eyes. As a wizard, learning and discovering new spells must have excited her greatly.
"I see. So, can you tell me what this crimson energy you're showing is? I couldn't help but shudder when I saw it." Riveria watched my skills for a while and then kept asking. I continued explaining, withdrawing my spells.
"This is called the power of destruction. The other, as seen, is ice manipulation. One is the inherited abilities that can be used by the descendants of Bael and the other by the descendants of Lucifudge."
"Bael and Lucifudge... From what you said before, you must have both bloodlines. This is amazing!" Riveria said with a smile.
"And Gremory. I actually have three different bloodlines." My cheerful mood began to fade when I remembered the existence of my family, whom I had ignored for so long. When she saw the change in my mood in Riveria, she did not continue asking questions.
Third person perspective
"I'm sorry. I think I said something I shouldn't have." Riveria realized that Sakuya wasn't using any of the bloodlines she had, so she thought she had said something wrong. She probably thought that there were some disagreements between Sakuya and her family. So she hurriedly apologized to her.
"No, it's okay, I just remembered something I didn't want to remember. It's not your fault, so don't apologize." Sakuya tried to brush it off by forcing herself to smile to indicate that it wasn't Riveria's fault. But Riveria could see the sadness in her eyes. As the atmosphere lost its joy, they both stopped talking and continued to move towards the dungeon.
Riveria sighed helplessly, feeling the pain of this beautiful girl walking two steps in front of her. As she followed her, she couldn't help but feel her heart ache when she saw her lonely back. They came to the dungeon walking in strange silence.
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1064 words.