On The Other Side: I Quit Being Human

"I think you will have to wait a bit for that."

"Are you planning to not go there?"

"That is not the case. There is something that I need to figure out."

Quetzalcoatl hums to himself before nodding his head lightly. He is exceptionally cooperative which is surprising. It makes me turn my head to Aurelia. Quetzalcoatl must be thinking that my postponed visit has nothing to do with her visit. He is wrong, of course, because Aurelia doesn't want to go to Ne Okozmo without me.

I am sure he will be disappointed when he finds out Aurelia will not visit him soon. While it poses no threat to our alliance, it doesn't seem right for me to be the reason he can't spend some time with the granddaughter whom he pampers so much.

Therefore, I am encouraging Aurelia to visit Ne Okozmo without me. I don't need her to stay there for a long time. I only need her to show Quetzalcoatl that she is willing to visit him without me. I don't want Quetzalcoatl to get the impression that I am purposefully manipulating Aurelia to be distant from him.

"I get where you are coming from. I understand your concern," Quetzalcoatl remarks as he puts down his cutlery. "The Demon Kings Summit is a place where all the big fish gather. Your currently meager power won't make you stand out among them. You are no more than a pebble before their eyes. Fortunately for you, I have a solution."

"I get it," I immediately interrupt before Quetzalcoatl elaborates on what he is trying to say. "It is not that I am unwilling to go there. Frankly speaking, power is no longer my main concern. Call me a lunatic, but I can amass power faster than anyone can. What I am trying to figure out now concerns the future action I should take. I don't want to take the wrong step."

"I see…"

Quetzalcoatl's cooperativeness makes me wonder if I have earned his acknowledgment. It doesn't matter regardless because I only care about the fact that he understands my intention. Just like that, silence fills the room once again and it prevails this time. Quetzalcoatl and I end up staring at each other for the rest of the banquet, earning a curious gaze from Aurelia.

When everyone has finished their food, the maids enter the room and take away all of the dishes. Elorand, the Guardian Chief, enters the room not long after and apologizes in Haletha's stead. He informs that Haletha has regained consciousness but is unable to leave the bed at the moment. Her presence is not required anyway, so we received the apology at face value.

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"What about her, Elorand?" I ask, getting a confused look from the said Guardian Chief.

"Our Queen is mostly fine, Lord Layland…oh, it's her." As the light of understanding enters his eyes, Elorand nods his head. "She is already awake. She doesn't say much but is irate."

"Is she acting up?"

"No, but she keeps glaring at the Guardians guarding her as if she wants to kill them. She is quite a formidable individual, so it terrifies the Guards immensely."

Humming as acknowledgment, I give Aurelia and Quetzalcoatl a nod. "I am going to meet someone. You two can talk to each other and spend your time as grandfather and granddaughter. Maybe, you can clear up any misunderstandings between you. It is honestly embarrassing that you can't settle a family dispute even after a millennium."

I didn't intend it to be a joke, but one of the Dragons finds it funny. He can barely suppress a chortle, earning a bewildered look from his fellows. Quetzalcoatl himself is quite surprised by my remark. Fortunately, he takes it in positively as he looks at me appreciatively. On the other hand, Aurelia doesn't seem to be happy as she frowns at me.

When Aurelia was still Genelos, I always beat her with my meat whenever she was misbehaving. What I mean by 'my meat' is the gigantic drumstick that I feed the Wyverns with. Beating her with that was always fun because I could discipline her without hurting her. Now that I think about it, she slightly seemed to intentionally make me do it.

Anyway, that is not the point. Aurelia is a rebellious woman. She values her principle more than practicality. Therefore, you need to forcefully open her eyes before having her do something that she should. I would like to beat her with my meat to open her eyes, but I don't have any at the moment. Fortunately, I can still pinch her cheeks to do that.

"Ow-ow-ow! What are you doing!? It hurts!"

"To accept the apology of the other party doesn't mean you have to pardon them. I am not telling you to do something that goes against your interest—I just want you to give your grandfather a chance to explain himself. You might find one or two interesting things. Who knows?"

I am pinching someone's cheeks for the first time. The sensation is better than I thought. I can't bring myself to immediately let go of Aurelia's cheeks. She only stares at me blankly as if she can't believe that I am thrilled by such a simple action. I have pinched what men dream to pinch, but nothing beats the pleasure of pinching her cheeks.

I think it is unfair to say that Valeria's body parts which I have pinched didn't give me anything. It is just that the sensation of pinching someone's cheeks is so foreign to me which makes it exciting. I am sure pinching Valeria's cheeks will give me better excitement. Though, I am not sure if she will let me do it—as weird as it sounds despite the places that she allows me to pinch.

"Kuhum!" Aurelia clears her throat, prompting me to slowly let go of her cheeks. "Although I don't mind you doing that, I prefer you to pinch me somewhere else." She winks knowingly.

"You are too young to talk like that, Aurelia. A proper adult has to be able to, at least, put their logic before their emotion," I preach sagely, fully knowing it is not the case for most adults. "Go and talk to Quetzalcoatl. Only after doing it can you say otherwise."

"Fine!"

She pouts as she harrumphs irritatingly. She behaves like someone she claims she isn't, so I ruffle her hair to further emphasize the fact that she behaves like a child. Unfortunately, she takes that as a compliment, failing to see my point. I smile faintly in amusement and she returns it in kind. Shaking my head lightly, I turn around and let Elorand guide me.

I can feel everyone's gaze on my back until I exit the room. They seem lost with my exit. The Warriors don't know how to excuse themselves, Aurelia doesn't know how to proceed, and the Dragons are stumped that I can tame the wild Aurelia. Well, I can only wish them the best.

On my way to the cell where the Light Elf Princess is incarcerated, everyone greets me with a bow. I respond to some of them at first, but it gets tiring quickly. I stop responding to the greetings, but I make sure to let them know I acknowledge them. They are sincerely thanking me. There is no reason for me to brush their gratitude aside.

"Everyone respects you immensely, Lord Layland. We were questioning if they made the right decision to ally with the Ninth Demon King at first, but we now don't mind having you as our king. Though, we are sure you are not too thrilled about it," Elorand remarks with a chuckle.

"Didn't expect the Elven Race to be fond of a violent man like me," I respond with slight sarcasm. "That aside, you already make me feel like a King by constantly calling me Lord. I am just a regular Warrior on Lord Ilschevar's side—there is no reason for any of you to call me Lord."

"You are selling yourself short, Lord Layland. If someone like you is a regular Warrior, this world would have belonged to the Ninth Demon King ages ago." Elorand laughs awkwardly. "Added to that fact, you are also the official owner of Amizanima, the forest where our kingdom is built. You are more than qualified to be called a Lord."

"Huh. I honestly forgot about that."

"The fact that it is trivial enough for you to forget makes you more worthy of it."

Amizanima has never been Teanosvera's property. It was the Dark Elf who claimed Amizanima was his. Therefore, being a master of Teanosvera doesn't make me feel like I own the forest. Even if it did belong to Teanosvera, I also wouldn't feel like I owned it. I never consider what belongs to my subordinates mine.

There is no need to explain that to Elorand, so I keep quiet. The best thing I can do is take his words at face value—even though he and every Dark Elf mean it.

After climbing down the stairs that lead to the basement, we finally walk through the hallway which takes us to the most secure cell Lysimork has. It is located at the end of the hallway. More than six Guardians are watching over it, but none of them dares to be anywhere near it. They can't help it because of the killing intent the cell is exuding.

The Guardians straighten their posture as soon as they register my presence. "We greet Lord Layland!"

I nod my head lightly and go straight to the door that separates us from the cell. I expected them to be horrified, but they trust me enough to not even blink their eyes. Opening the door, I enter the cell by myself. A growling beautiful Light Elf greets me, but she doesn't dare to move an inch.