Letting It All Out

"Vera, can you please teach me more about the runes…"

"And can I please live here, in this world, together with you?"

Hearing the proposal-like question suddenly coming from the demon in front of her, Vera could only blink a couple of times while staring at Blake with her head tilted to the side and her mouth slightly agape.

Blake was still waiting for her answer and he was still looking at her eyes with a face full of determination and a tinge of hope that she would accept him.

He might have not realized it, and although he was still careful with his words, the innate fascination that he felt towards the charming demoness had unconsciously changed the phrasing of the words that came out of his mouth.

And despite the lack of response from the demoness even after a few long seconds, he didn't think that his words were the cause of it, rather, he thought that the demoness wasn't willing to take in a freeloader, so he continued speaking,

"I will also help you do chores! I'm quite good at them! Cleaning and cooking, especially cooking, is my forte!"

Blake wasn't lying at all when he said that he was good at doing chores. He didn't just say it because he wanted the demoness to accept him. He had lived in the orphanage ever since he had his own consciousness as an adolescent, and doing basic chores in the orphanage was basically every kid's job as they did it together.

And when he was finally tall enough to reach the kitchen counters, he started helping the caretakers cook for the other children. And from the caretaker's and Amy's testimony, he was quite good at it, hence why he loved cooking and doing it often even though he had other chores from school.

But Vera still stayed silent while looking at him. She had already regained her composure from the initial shock of hearing Blake's proposal, and now she was really considering whether she could accept Blake's proposal or not.

She had her own circumstances of why she was staying in the middle of the forest filled with demonic beasts, and although she had already lived there for quite some time, and had already gotten used to it, she was also feeling quite lonely considering her living condition used to be the complete opposite of her current one.

And not to say that she was suffering from severe boredom that even led her to make an original spell that used one of the most basic spells as its base even though it would only be barely useful from where she came from.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even consider a proposal like that, but Blake was a special case. He was someone that could recreate her original spell after only seeing it once, and the darkness element in him was impossibly dense and thick for someone that had never eaten a single soul before. She was really curious about what the demon in front of her could achieve in the future if he were to be taught more about the runes. He could even be one of the strongest demons in the deeper realms where the other highly evolved demons that could even erase her with a flick of their fingers existed.

Thinking that she could be the one who taught such a talented demon and brought him to the top, get's her blood pumping with excitement. She knew her own abilities, and although she was confident that she could someday reach that level on her own because her own talent was also considered to be at the level of a genius, and she was still a young demon herself, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she reached that level.

And reaching that level of strength was her current goal as most of her problems would be solved if she had that much power. But reaching that level would certainly take her a long, long time.

But if she taught the demon in front of her and he became a very strong demon himself, then she could reach that height faster with someone at her level on her side. Climbing the ranks of the demon realm was hard, but climbing it together with a companion that you can trust would definitely make the process easier.

And what better ways could you determine whether you could trust someone or not other than being close to them, living together, and being their teacher.

She had already made sure that Blake wasn't someone that was sent to drag her back to where she came from, and the fact that he came from another world with no parents or any relations with the demon realm means that he didn't belong to any factions, which made it much easier for her to associate herself with him without worrying about being dragged into any unnecessary conflicts.

Furthermore, aside from all the reasons mentioned above, something that Blake had said to her had resonated with something within her.

It wasn't his sob story as she couldn't relate to ever being called inferior or weak in her entire life, but it was the first thing that Blake mentioned, it was that he felt he didn't belong there.

She knew what it felt, and even one of the reasons she was currently living inside a forest in the middle of nowhere was due to that reason.

Vera stayed silent as she thought of all this, and it made Blake, who was desperately waiting for her answer to be very anxious. So he spoke again,

"I might not be able to do much right now since I don't know much yet, but I'm sure, if you teach me a few things then I can do something useful for you."

Seeing that Vera was still silent, Blake continued,

"Of course, I will not live in the same place with you if you don't want to. I can build a house somewhere else where you won't be bothered."

"And if you still can't do that… then just please let me live here for a while to get myself used to living in this world… I will leave this place after I am sure that I can survive on my own…Just please let me stay in this world…"

With Vera still keeping her mouth shut and her eyes still staring at him, Blake had gotten more and more afraid. But since he had nothing left to say, he stayed silent while anxiously waiting for her response.

It took her a hot minute that felt like a day for Blake, but after that long wait, Blake finally got the answer that he wanted.

"Sure, I will become your teacher."

Blake stared at her with wide eyes as he was still trying to process the words that had just entered his head, and it take him a full second before he lowered his head and said,

"Thank you."

With all the tension suddenly being relieved from his body and his heart overflowing with emotions, Blake was barely able to hold the water that had gathered in his eyes from spilling everywhere. Fortunately, he was still able to do it, and once again he said,

"Thank you." This time, with his voice a little bit raspy.

"Blake" Vera called.

But Blake was still trying to hold onto his emotions and he still kept his head lowered to her.

"Blake." She spoke once again.

He heard her sweet voice calling out to him, but he couldn't let her see his face that was currently a mess with him trying to get his complicated feelings and emotions back into their confinement in the depths of his heart.

But he suddenly felt a pair of hands holding his face from both left and right and lifted his head up.

When he opened his eyes, he could finally see Vera's face close to his, and with a stern face, yet gentle voice she said,

"Blake, whatever you have gone through back in your world should stay in that world. Let me tell you something as your teacher. No matter how weak you were there, it doesn't matter now because you are not weak here. Trust my words, with your talent and ability, you will be able to reach the top of this world, and it is not a question of whether you can do it or not, it's just a matter of when you will reach it."

"So remember this, you are not to easily bow your heads to anyone as you are destined to be at the top. And people should bow their heads to you, not the other way around."

Seeing that Blake's eyes were still lost, she spoke again,

"Just for today, you could let all of your frustration out, but after today, you should leave all that behind along with your inferiority and prepare yourself to climb the ranks of this world and sit on top of it." She said before putting Blake's head on her shoulder and patting his head.

Feeling the soft and warm sensation caressing both his head and his heart, Blake finally stopped holding onto his own emotions and let it all out as his tears soaked Vera's shoulder.