[55.8] Returning Empty Handed

They quickly dragged me over to the main hall near the gallery where villagers were piling in, each one with a different dish to share. There were so many people present, it was hard to hear over the chatter of others.

Bale, the panther who showed me around earlier, reached out for a piece of mutton and was grabbed by another panther. The two growled at each other before they both turned into panthers and lept on each other, fighting for the piece of mutton. No one even blinked an eye and blatantly ignored the fighting as if it was normal.

It was probably the rowdiest dinner party I had ever attended.

Sanc grabbed the piece of mutton that the panthers were fighting over with an evil smirk. He giggled cruelly and shoved the meat into his mouth.

…I think I understand why Zephyr always tries to steal my food.

Caldwell's mother leaned forward and shouted, "Caldwell tells me that you are close to my grandchild. What is he like in your eyes?"

I was brought back into the conversation and shouted back, "He's quite pleasurable to my eyes. Very handsome and a perfect gentleman. His face may look cold and unrelenting, but he's actually quite soft. Honestly, I can't say anything bad about him."

I let out a sigh to myself, "He's like a lighthouse in the middle of a storming sea."

His mother leaned closer, "What was that?"

My eyes lit up and I shouted, "Oh! He's a pro at sword fighting! He was so good, he doesn't even need to rely on magic! Even when the other team gave him a handicap, he was still able to defeat him!!"

Caldwell's father's face paled, "S-Sword?! He fights?!"

I tilted my head, "Is that odd?"

Caldwell leaned over to explain, "His father was a pacifist. He wouldn't fight back even if he knew he was being stabbed or poisoned."

I leaned back in understanding, "Ahhh. So basically he isn't like his father."

His mother now looked at Caldwell, "He must take after his mother for being so fierce!"

Caldwell wore a helpless look, "His mother… She wasn't very fierce either."

I caught on to something important and gave Caldwell an accusatory look, "How do you know?"

He didn't explain and avoided my gaze.

He's definitely hiding more.

Caldwell's father noticed the awkwardness and interrupted, "Enough about that. Have I told you the story about the old crow demon who stole my talon?"

Caldwell's mother rolled her eyes, "Oh gods. Not this story again."

I laughed and humored the old owl as he shared his story. As I listened and continued sampling the dishes, my eyes glossed over the crowd. There were humans in the crowd as well as demons…

But all the demons had horns.

I guess I always assumed demons had missing or broken horns because of all the ones I've met prior.

I took another bit of my meal, feeling conflicted by this knowledge.

Zephyr and his siblings….

I wonder what they went through.

I don't know much, but I know enough to guess that they didn't have the best life before the Great Fairy took them in.

Once my belly was full and the demons started to fall asleep at the table, I excused myself to return home. They fought off their exhaustion to see me out, and only the nocturnal demons appeared to be wide awake.

Lele held the already asleep tiger cub in her arms while she looked at me with sad eyes, "Must you return so early?"

I nodded with slight regret, "I've already been gone for a very long time. If I stay any longer, I fear that the entire continent will be turned into a tundra."

Caldwell and his parents were also present to say goodbye, each one looking almost identical to the other. To an untrained eye, it really looked like the three of them were a product of copy and paste. However, the closer you looked, the more distinctions you could determine.

Caldwell's father came to pat me on the shoulder, "Please come back and visit. You'll always be welcome here."

His mother joined in, "Yes, yes! I want to hear more stories about my grandchild."

His father nodded in agreement, "Bring him back with you next time. I'd like to see the boy our soft-hearted son made."

Caldwell wore a complicated expression when he heard this.

"I promise I will bring him next time as long as he is willing." My eyes slowly moved to Caldwell. I spoke in trepidation, "Caldwell… Please return with me."

Caldwell's head drooped down in shame, "I can't… I'm sorry, Young Miss. I'm too afraid that the Young Master- I can't. I just can't."

Caldwell's parents both exchanged a look of worry but didn't say anything. Judging by the looks on their faces, I could tell there was more to the story other than just lying about being a demon.

"Are you sure?"

He didn't dare raise his head, "I'm sure."

I studied Caldwell closely and finally let out a sigh, "I can't force you…"

As I turned to leave, I paused and gave one last glance back at Caldwell and the villagers. They all looked so harmonious standing side by side with smiling faces. Caldwell was the only one who wore a complicated look, shrinking his body into the crowd.

Now what am I going to do?