Since the festival had just ended, the Elf Country was still bustling with a lingering excitement tonight.
The Light Tree shone brighter than usual, dressing the entire Elf Country as if it were a utopian dreamland, lulling one into a state of enchantment.
This caused many people to linger outside, unwilling to sleep, as if wanting to take in the sight of the Elf Country just a little longer. Some strolled the streets in pairs, while others paced back and forth at the windows of the treetop houses, seemingly reluctant to leave.
And tonight, Shane felt the same as these people, as if he too could not bear to sleep, and so he climbed up to the rooftop.
Shane lay on the treetop house roof, gazing at the night sky, with an inexplicable sigh escaping his lips.
Clearly, he was having trouble letting go of the departures of Ai Yi and Luoqi.
Perhaps it was because he had grown too accustomed to their company?
"Before, it was always me who left, but now that it’s others leaving, I’m somehow not used to it."
It was not too painful with Luoqi since they had already shared a difficult farewell when Shane went to Duke Sterling’s domain, and after finishing his business in the Empire, he would immediately return to see her.
But with Ai Yi, Shane truly did not expect to feel such sorrow.
It is often said, one only realizes the value of what they’ve lost when it’s gone.
Although the current situation felt strange to describe as a "loss", when someone who had been by your side suddenly had to leave, such moments often led to many realizations.
Shane was experiencing this very feeling.
At this very moment, he was surprised at himself.
Surprised that he cared so much about the Dragon Girl’s departure.
"Has she become that important to me...?"
That was the realization that Shane arrived at.
"It looks like I won’t be able to sleep tonight..."
Shane murmured softly to himself.
Just then, a figure descended from mid-air and came to stand beside Shane.
Feeling the familiar magic power and presence, Shane immediately knew who it was.
"Why are you not in your room, enjoying time with your fiancée, instead of being out here?"
With the familiar voice reaching his ears, Shane slightly lifted his eyelids.
He saw a little girl clutching a pillow, who had just retracted her pair of Dragon Wings, landing beside him.
Who else could it be but Ai Yi?
Shane couldn’t help but sit up.
"It’s nothing," Ai Yi replied lightly while looking at Shane, "I just couldn’t sleep, that’s all."
"You have trouble sleeping?"
Shane was genuinely surprised.
It was difficult to believe that the Dragon Demon, who so often appeared dozy and could fall into a deep sleep the moment she lay down, could utter the words "I can’t sleep."
Ai Yi knew that her current state was unusual.
But there was no helping it.
"Even I have times like these," Ai Yi said for some reason, "when the Demon King, who was like a mother to me, passed away, I couldn’t sleep that night either."
What did that statement signify?
Shane felt like he understood, and yet he didn’t.
For now, he’ll just do what he should.
Shane beckoned to Ai Yi.
Ai Yi asked instinctively.
"Just give me a hug."
Ai Yi became slightly irritated.
But she neither refused nor wanted to refuse.
So, Ai Yi uncharacteristically walked towards Shane and came in front of him.
Shane had no qualms about it and immediately picked up the oversized doll and placed her into his arms.
Ai Yi settled into Shane’s lap, embraced by him, sitting together on the rooftop.
Together, they looked out over the Elf Country at night. All the agitation, reluctance, and mild discomfort from the thought of parting that had been swirling in their hearts dissipated at that moment.
Before long, Ai Yi spoke.
"It’s really incredible."
Ai Yi, without turning her head, said so while gazing ahead.
Shane was just the same, not looking at Ai Yi, but still focusing all his attention on her.
Under such circumstances, Ai Yi began to speak.
"I never thought that one day, I would be held in the arms of a Hero, gazing at the night sky ," Ai Yi’s voice sounded somewhat ethereal. "Clearly, Heroes are our natural enemies, the targets of our animosity and hatred, and even the killers of the Demon King, who is like a mother to us. Yet here I am, so close to you, a Hero. Isn’t that incredible?"
Indeed, it was an incredible thing.
At least, for the Demon Clan, it was.
But Shane didn’t feel the same way.
"If you’re talking about incredible, then all my experiences would qualify as incredible, okay?" Shane shrugged, "I mean, I’m someone who died once and was then inexplicably granted a second life. Then, I was summoned to a completely unfamiliar world as a Hero, meeting existences like Her Highness the Princess, and mixing around with big shots like you every day. How can it not feel unreal?"
Many novels from my previous life described reincarnation as such a wonderful, thrilling experience, as if crossing over were akin to stumbling upon the greatest fortune, assuring a future as the protagonist, destined to stand out and completely overturn the past’s mediocrity, reaching the pinnacle of life.
But if you ask Shane, as the person concerned, thrown into a completely unfamiliar world and having to survive there, to fight there, wouldn’t that make one anxious?
And furthermore, you have to transform from an ordinary person, who probably never fought a battle, into someone decisive in killing, capable of battling demons and enemies. Is that really an easy task?
Anyway, Shane felt that those who became big shots overnight after reincarnation, turning from someone who had never killed a chicken into a so-called decisive killer with strong mental fortitude, were probably just concocted in fantasies.
Take Shane himself; initially, if it weren’t for Heaven’s Grace enabling him to learn many battle skills, his first thought upon encountering a demon would have definitely been to run as far as possible.
And after actually slaying a demon, he ended up vomiting all over the place.
Looking back now, he was as pitiful as one could be at that time.
If at the start, someone had told the then-unarrived version of me that I’d become upon coming to this world, would I have felt happy?
So, for Shane, everything about his experience in this world was incredible.
Ai Yi seemed to understand this.
Therefore, she spoke up.
"It seems we have never thought about the Hero’s situation," Ai Yi murmured. "To us, Heroes have always been detestable enemies. We’ve never considered how tough it must be for them to fight against us as people from another world."
Although Heroes are greatly feared, aren’t demons no less complicated characters?
They are born at the pinnacle of the world with innate strength, a nightmare for those Heroes who’ve just arrived in this world.
The pressure in the hearts of Heroes who know they must fight, and perhaps even annihilate, such beings can be imagined.
In the end, only a few of them ever possessed the power to threaten demons, with the rest dying at the hands of the Demon Clan before even surpassing their life’s limits. Truly speaking, they are the ones who had it hardest.
The complicated love-hate affairs between Heroes and the Demon Clan have persisted for countless ages.
Was it not until the war ended a thousand years ago, that a thousand years later, Shane, as a Hero, could cuddle with Ai Yi, a demon, , gazing at the stars?
Ai Yi couldn’t help but think.
"If you had been summoned to this world before the war ended, then..."
Could we still have ended up ?
Ai Yi wanted to say this, and as she spoke, a sharp pain prickled her heart.
Because she knew, if things really turned out that way, it was clear that the two of them could not possibly have become what they were now.
This realization suddenly made her feel suffocated.
Who would have thought...
"Then I would just throw away the Holy Sword and surrender."
Shane said this very seriously and earnestly.
Shane, however, was getting excited.
"Give me a break, if I knew I had to fight to the death against so many big shots who could wipe out lands and destroy the world for no reason, I’d definitely drop everything and quit, okay?"
Shane rolled his eyes.
"I’m not even from this world. I have no ties to anyone here, and suddenly, because I’m labeled as a Hero, I’m expected to save the world? Those guys from the Divine Race must be kidding themselves."
That’s how realistic it was.
This Shane may have forgotten that he initially accepted Nien’s summoning knowing he had to confront the Demon King.
But even back then, Shane wouldn’t be swept away by the so-called righteousness of saving the world, his head heated up and rushing into battle with the Demon Clan.
Back then, his first thought was how to lay low and level up, even considering sneaking around, strengthening himself first, and then stealthily becoming an Assassin to assassinate the Demon King.
That’s me, a different kind of spark.
After being stunned for a moment, Ai Yi suddenly burst out laughing.
That smile was unlike any she had shown before.
It wasn’t a feigned mature smile, but one that was genuinely innocent and deeply romantic.
"Indeed, you’re completely different from other Heroes."
Ai Yi seemed to have plucked the thorn from her heart.
Because she understood.
As long as Shane remained Shane, even if he had been summoned to this world before the war had ended, he would still catch her attention, attract her, and ultimately end up in the relationship they had now.
This is why I, the Dragon Demon Ai Yi, like, favor, and love this Hero the most.