Chapter 016: Fears and Reassurance

15 minutes later, after ordering and eating something for myself, and talking and drinking with Author, Maou and I walked back to our Inn, later in the evening. 

I took a glance at Maou, and couldn't help but smile at his jolly demeanour.

"That was fun!" Maou skipped alongside me. "I hope to see Arthur again tomorrow."

"I hope so too. You were both having so much fun talking with another."

"I know right! It felt as if it wasn't the first time we've met before."

It was past sunset and the moon was beginning to shine its beautiful magnificence, illuminating the brick walk road. The air was a little cold, the wind blew softly and very few persons were outside.

Walking by some houses, you could see the candlelight shining out the window cracks and the sound of chatting and laughter. This appeared to be a happy town.

Soon after entering our Inn room, Chelsea knocked on the door. 

"Knock! Knock!"

"Excuse me, Lady Shelly. Are you still awake?" Chelsea called out, standing outside our room.

"Uh! Yeah, I'm still up." I answered. 

The unexpected knock frightened me a bit.

"Do you need my help?" I asked.

"Ah… no. Actually, I came to inform you that the bathhouse is ready for use."

"Really?! Thank you for telling me." I replied in a friendly tone.

"No problem. You are most welcome." Chelsea left right after saying that.

"Maou, follow me, it's bath time."

"Ugh! No, I'm good. I'll just get ready to sleep instead." 

Maou plopped himself on the bed with a sleepyhead smile and ran his hands across the sheets.

I fold my arms and tilt my head with a look of irritation. "Excuse me! You're not going to sleep without a proper bath first." 

I sniffed myself and the slight yet traumatic scent of the pond Monster saliva was on my shoulders. Luckily, Amari only reached the height of my bust or else she would have passed out from an up-close whiff.

"It's already been two days since I've been sticky, with sweat and pond monster saliva."

"Sounds like you're the one who needs to bathe, not me. Yawn! " Maou pulled the sheets over his body. "Plus, I don't get stink so easily. What can I say?, I'm just built differently from you".

Annoyed by his words, I dragged the unsuspecting and sleepy Maou from under the sheet. 

"Hey! Let me go! I was about to fall asleep." 

"You're taking a bath, whether you like it or not." I threw Maou over my shoulders and walked out of the room.

"Stop! Put me down! I don't agree with this. I'm too tired, I don't want to bathe." 

Maou squirmed in my arms, kicking his feet and trying to wiggle himself out of my grasp.

"No way, am I letting you sleep on the bed, with those dirty feet of yours. We're both taking a bath, and there's nothing you can do about it." 

I carried Maou on my shoulders to the bathhouse. The people who were still up, drinking and eating in the downstairs bar, awkwardly watch me carry a child throwing a tantrum, refusing to bathe. Was it embarrassing? Yes. Did I care much? Maybe.

I hauled Maou into the women's bathhouse, to keep my eyes on him. I grew up in an orphanage, taking care of the smaller children, so bathing Maou was not an issue.

In the changing room, Maou was acting resistant and refusing to take off his clothes.

"Maou, let's not do this right now. It's just a simple bath. If we do this quickly, you can get to sleep." I tried reasoning with Maou, to make things easier.

"Hmph!" Maou folded his arms and turned his head away from me with a putting expression. "I wouldn't have to be doing anything quickly if you had just left me to sleep."

By this time, I too was exhausted and didn't have the energy to argue with him.

"If you cooperate with me, I'll buy you lots of food to eat tomorrow." I bribed Maou for his own cleanliness. "Is that good enough for you?"

Maou's body did a quick-twitch when I mentioned food. "Well… It would encourage me… a little bit, but it doesn't mean I've forgiven you."

Satisfied with his bribed cooperation, I agreed with him. "Sure Maou… I'll work harder for your forgiveness."

Moving onwards, we scrubbed the dirt and odour off ourselves thoroughly. The refreshing and reviving sensation that came with the feeling of that newfound cleanliness was beyond thrilling.

"I'm washing the soap out of your hair. Close your eyes or else it'll burn badly." I poured the water onto Maou's beautiful pitch-black hair. 

"Ahhh! That's too cold!" Maou shivered. The water passed through his hair revealing his little horns. 

This was the first time I'd gotten to have a close look at his horns since they were mostly covered by his hair. His horns were shaped like a baby sheep's, grey and looked so beautiful.

"Hey, Maou. Would you mind if I touch your horns?" My hands were itching for the slightest feel.

"If I refuse, you'd probably just rip them off anyway." Maou rolled his eyes. He was still angry at me, for forcing him to take a bath.

"No need to be so sassy. I just want to touch them... So, can I?"

"Fine!... Go ahead." 

Immediately, I felt his small horns. It had a slightly rough texture and blunt tip. They felt strangely relaxing to the touch.

"Wow… this is so calming. I can feel the stress leave my body." Both my hands were rubbing on his horns and a little smile came across my face.

Maou's cheeks became red upon hearing my compliment. His spade tip tail danced with joy. 

He had such a gorgeous looking tail that waved about in hypnotic motions. It was as if the tail called out to me, so I had to ask.

"Maou please, let me play with your tail?"

"Go ahead... but be gentle," Maou said blushing.

I moved my hands, matching the movements of the tail, and without thinking, I grabbed it. 

Maou jolted in pain.

"Ow! I said be gentle! Not rip it off me."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to grab it like that."

It was smooth, slightly furry, very flexible and about the length of my forearm. I gently moved my hands down the furry tail, from the tip to the base of the tail, which extended out his lower back. 

"Wow! Your tail is so amazing, Maou," I said, obsessively rubbing his smooth furry tail.

Just then, Maou asked a strange and random question

"Hey… Shelly, what's a demon king? Is he an evil person?"

"Huh!" Removing my focus from the tail, I thought about his question. 

"Well… I know the rumours of him were evil. He killed many innocent people and controlled the monsters that terrorized most villages and towns." 

I rubbed my chin thinking hard, trying to recall all the rumours and scary stories I heard growing up.

"Oh yeah, also, wherever he went, there was always destruction brought by his black flames and monster army. Luckily, he was killed over 5000 years ago by the church."

Tapping my fingers on the side of my head, I tried remembering his name. "Back then they called him Demon King… what was his name again? Na… Narou? … Larou? …  Darou? … Garou? I think… that's his name. Yeah! Demon King Garou. That's if I'm not mistaken. But by now, he's just an old folk tale told to scare little children."

Although I couldn't see Maou's face, he was tense and fretting for some reason.

Trying to calm him, I said, "Hey, don't be scared. He's been dead for a long time now, so he can't get you."

"I'm not scared of him." Maou curled his fingers.

Despite saying that, Maou didn't look delighted about what I said.

"So, where did you hear about the Demon King?" 

"Ah… I overheard one of the vendors talking about him... That's all."

I felt like something was off and thought to change the subject. Just then Maou sneezed.

"Achoo!"

"Hey, let's get out of here and get some much-needed sleep. What do you say about that?"

"Yeah… I'm getting really tired." 

We both left the bathhouse and went back to our rooms. Maou still had a slightly sad look to him. A total contrast from when we left the restaurant. 

We both snuggled up next to each other on the bed, under the sheet but Maou's back faced me.

"Hey… Shelly. Do you care about me, no matter what?" 

I could feel the heaviness in his tone.

"I don't care about you, Maou." 

"What! Really!?" Maou immediately turned to face me. He was not prepared to hear that from me.

"I don't just care about you, I love you Maou." I tapped his little nose. "Like a big sister to an annoying little brother. That's how much I love you."

Maou chuckled softly. He was set at ease after hearing my explanation.

"I love you too, Shelly." Maou came closer, hugging me tightly and pressing his face against my chest. "Please don't ever abandon me."

"It's okay Maou…" I slowly slid my fingers through his hair, comforting him. "I won't ever abandon you."

"Thank you… Shelly."

"If you want me to say it again, I will."

"Yawn! Too… tired… Good night… Shelly."

"Good night, Maou." I kissed the sleeping Maou on the head. "Sweet dreams, little one."

Shelly, at the time, didn't realize how impactful her words were to the troubled Maou. If Maou was the terrible Demon King, as the Sycorax called him and as Shelly explained. In his mind, he was sure Shelly would abandon him out of fear and disgust for the past evils he had no memory of committing. Although his mind was at ease, Maou was still unsure whether or not to tell Shelly about the possibility of him being the dreaded Demon King.