Chapter 39: Thank you

"Hmm." Jarina hummed as she looked at Desire.

Although she did expect this reaction, she still couldn't believe it.

The Cold-Blooded trait was something she got, and even the most surprising thing or events that happened lately didn't do anything to her.

Even the situation of her race and home didn't do anything to her that could make her lose control like Desire.

In fact, she never once let a slip up happen when in regards to her feelings.

She was perfect at controlling her emotions.

However, what she didn't know was what Desire got was even better than the Cold-blooded trait.

The Heavenly Demon Trait Desire got is a trait that Jarina couldn't even begin to imagine or try to understand.

Either way, the bottom line is that...Desire was shaken.

Be it Cold-Blooded Trait or Heavenly Demon Trait, Desire couldn't control his emotions just because the Magic Core was from monsters.

'I guess I'll leave it to father.' Jarina thought as she examined Desire carefully.

It was then.

As soon as Jarina thought of that, a thorn appeared in her tightly-caged feelings.

No, it wasn't really a thorn but her intuition.

However, as she was a monster, her intuition was even better than humans.

And as a result of her training and making herself stronger, it could be said that her intuition was right most of the time.

And that intuition said that if she left things as they are and let it solve itself by tomorrow, she would regret it.

She would wholly regret it.

That was why she decided to act now to avoid what she imagined.

She spoke, her voice was icy cold, and her eyes were clearly saying that she was looking down on Desire.

"Desire, are you perhaps...a naive child...no, a naive and stupid person?"

It was then.

The shaking head of Desire looked up at Jarina, who spoke some harsh words to him.

His mouth moved, but no words or voice came out.

His Heavenly Demon Trait...no, he agreed to what Jarina said.

He already knew what kind of world this was, yet he was still bothered by small things.

Even a monster like Jarina was using this method, yet how dare he, a human, become shaken by something like this?

It was hypocrisy on Desire's part.

No matter what Desire thought, he was just a simple hypocrite.

And Jarina just watched silently until she finally opened her lips.

"Sure, you're all kind and all to monsters, but what does that do? Do you think you could get on good terms with every monster? Don't kid with me."

"What? Do you think you're some savior of the monster kind? Aren't you fooling yourself too much? Just because you have some 'feelings' for us doesn't mean you should use us for your self-satisfaction."

Desire was about to deny the part about the self-satisfaction, but he couldn't.

He only stared at Jarina blankly, who had eyes cold as ice.

Jarina continued while having the same look.

"You haven't even met the monsters which you 'love,' and you feel sad about it when you think they died for you. Isn't that what you call self-satisfaction? You have insane delusions about monsters that even I, a monster, am utterly disgusted at you."

Jarina stood up and looked at Desire, who had an awful expression on his face.

"Think about what you've done for a moment and cool your head. I'll come back again."

Jarina then walked off to the door and stepped outside. She did the same thing when she opened the door.

And now, in the silent, dark room, Desire was sitting on the chair alone.

He couldn't open his mouth once to refute what Jarina said. After all, what she said was right.

If ever, Desire did open his mouth and said anything, that would be just refusing for the sake of refusing.

It would be proof that he doesn't even think about the monsters and only care about himself.

Desire then looked at the Magic Core with eyes that couldn't be read and sighed.

"Huuuu." Desire was beaten down black and blue by Jarina's words and feelings.

Well, she was a monster, and Desire was human. She knew where the line must be drawn.

However...

"Even I can't avoid what I can't avoid...isn't she expecting too much from me?"

He couldn't help what he couldn't help. He couldn't do what he couldn't do.

After all, humanity is a race that would do anything for their pleasure and safety, etc.

Even if humans may sound complex and all, they are actually simple in that they always do whatever they want.

Desire was human. And that was his weakness.

"In the end, I am the one who is wrong."

Either way, Desire is wrong about how he went about it. He already thought about how he didn't know about monsters and reflected on it.

But, here he is again making the same mistakes. What's more, he knew that monsters could help people become stronger by hearing what the Dungeon did to Lionel.

Desire felt so bad and low about it. However, that only means that he could become better in time.

Making mistakes is a valuable experience for a person. In fact, it is something every person, human or monsters, needs.

And Desire was just getting his mistakes started. What was bad was making the same mistake twice. He already did that.

And now, to prevent the same mistake from happening thrice, Desire spoke.

"I'll apologize to her." Desire said with a smile, indicating that he was proud of himself for coming to this conclusion.

He stood up and walked slowly to the door, which was still open.

Looking up at the empty space in front of him, Desire walked forward with the resolution to change his thinking.

****

"Oh, no!!!" Jarina shouted as she rolled on her bed with sheets covering her body.

Her dress was messed up due to her moving like that, but she couldn't care less about it now.

"Why did I said it like that!!!" Desperation was evident in her voice as she continued shouting silently.

After she said those words to Desire, she left immediately for her room.

Well, it wasn't far, so she got here quickly.

And now, she was rolling in her bed, her face turning red.

After all, she was 'friends' with Desire.

Well, actually, Desire was the only one who was able to talk to Jarina. Even her fellow Suckus doesn't talk with her.

It was because of the extreme precautions or restrictions placed on her.

Her father, who came up with the idea of creating a space within Skinjur for Jarina to live in, and her mother, who readily supported it, prevented anyone from coming into contact with her.

Well, she was able to talk to some Suckus, but it was limited for a short amount of time.

Anyway, it was easy to see what she thinks of Desire, who stayed in her home for almost a year.

After all, her father took her just one day before Desire finished his training.

That was why she couldn't forgive herself for saying those kinds of things to Desire.

"Ahhh. I wonder if he won't talk to me anymore? I even said that I'd come back, but how will I come back?"

She didn't know how this would affect their relationship. What's more, she had the job of helping Desire with the basics of forming his core and all.

How could she...

It was then.

As she continued rolling her body while her face was as red as the sun, a knock came from the door.

It was Desire.

"Jarina? May I come in?" Desire said as he peeked over the door.

This was the reason why he knew where Jarina was. The door was still open, and Desire could look right into the inside.

"D-desire?!" Jarina stumbled, trying to sit properly, and instead fell down to the ground with a loud thud!

She quickly stood up and sat on her bed as she spoke.

"Y-yes. Come in." She said rather bashfully.

And, Desire walked straight inside without a problem. Well, he walked awkwardly, but it wasn't much.

After all, he already resolved himself ever since he decided to do it.

He grabbed the chair by the side, placed it in front of Jarina, and sat on it as if it were the most normal thing to do in a woman's room.

"..."

"..."

No one spoke, and it was silent. The room had a heavy and weird atmosphere on it.

Well, both were thinking about the same thing.

Should I apologize now?

Both of them wanted to know about the right time when to say it.

Until finally...

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry!!"

...both of them bent their waist at the same time and apologized simultaneously.

Well, thanks to Desire's short height, they didn't bump heads.

Desire then looked up, not minding the energetic apology Jarina gave him.

"It's all right. I know you got angry with me for me. That's why I'll apologize. And..."

Desire then bent his waist again, lowering his head.

Jarina had an awkward look on her face while scratching her cheek. She already raised her head when she heard Desire's apology.

And as she waited anxiously about what Desire will say, her heart was racing fast.

How would things turn out after this? Would it be awkward between us? Will there be a fight?

Either way, Jarina knew that the next words would make things clear.

But what she didn't expect was...

"Thank you."