After kicking Warfarin out as well, Lucifer finally enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet.
Although Lucifer enjoyed the sense of fulfillment from hanging out with Warfarin or Ermengarde, he was equally capable of enjoying the solitude of being alone.
If he were still living his past life on Earth, without computers or phones, without online interactions on the internet, and without even single-player games to pass the time, how many people—including Lucifer—could honestly say they enjoyed solitude?
It had been over a century.
Lucifer had been in Terra for more than a hundred years now, and his perception of time and even his worldview had been gradually bent into the shape of this land.
Usually slacking off in his old house, blending blood into more flavorful blood-wine, or sitting by the window meditating for an entire afternoon without coming up with anything useful, occasionally going out on a whim to catch some fresh air and hunt for fresh blood.
This was Lucifer’s baseline routine.
It seemed dry, monotonous, and simple, but it was almost entirely free of accidents and trouble.
“Isn’t that just way too boring?
Why do you sound like you’ve already got the mindset of some old geezer?”
Indeed, Warfarin had been driven away, but Ermengarde, who had gone to Babel to seek knowledge, had returned.
Listening to Lucifer describe his monotonous, boring life, Ermengarde found it hard to believe his mental state was healthy.
“Who told me to grow so old at such a young age?”
Though Lucifer looked young, he was already around a hundred and fifty years old, and had even personally experienced a brutal war.
But in the Sarkaz community, Lucifer wasn’t considered ancient at all.
It was just that his mindset resembled that of some old geezer whose youth was long gone.
Thus, Lucifer was stuck in a bizarre position: too young to be considered an elder, yet too mentally old to be a youth.
Just stuck right in the middle.
“Have you ever thought about finding something to do?”
“My guy, I’ve lived for over a hundred years.
As soon as I woke up, I got dragged into some stupid war and had half my head blasted off by someone, blood gushing everywhere.
Can’t I just enjoy myself a bit more now?”
As everyone knew, Sanguines were highly vindictive.
Lucifer still held a grudge over the “newbie package” he received when he first arrived in Terra.
Ermengarde, however, was somewhat astonished.
From Lucifer’s description, even when half his head was blown to pieces by the enemy, he still possessed a certain level of mobility and partial consciousness, and could even regenerate and recover.
This kind of terrifying vitality—even more monstrous than the Scavengers and Wendigos—wasn’t something an ordinary Sanguine could easily pull off.
Perhaps only the Sanguinarch himself could surpass Lucifer in this regard.
“Stop picking on me.
You’ve already been to Babel, right?
Got any juicy gossip?”
“In my view, all I can say is that it has a ‘bright future’?”
Ermengarde said hesitantly.
Although she had toured Babel, the organization had, after all, only just been founded, and its scale and influence were not yet very significant.
The only thing that surprised Ermengarde was the advanced technology and high-tech gadgets in Babel’s interior; she had never even seen some of those instruments before.
“As for that Kal’tsit person, how should I put it…
she’s indeed meticulous, looking very cold and aloof.
She almost threw me out.”
Perhaps because Ermengarde had been constantly taking notes about Babel, Kal’tsit had become a bit defensive, fearing that some secrets might be accidentally uncovered by Ermengarde.
Fortunately, the Demon King of Kazdel was present at the time and stopped Kal’tsit from kicking her out.
“In that case, I’ll just wish Babel smooth sailing.”
Seeing that there was no real amusement to be found, Lucifer lost interest in Babel.
A wave of silence washed over the old house where only the two of them remained, until Lucifer noticed Ermengarde seemed to be packing her things.
“…Are you leaving?”
“Well, of course.
My mission as the Lich envoy is complete.
Besides, Leithanien hasn’t been very peaceful lately.
If I don’t head back soon, trouble will definitely brew.”
Ermengarde explained while stuffing her pillows, bedding, and collection of books into her “Void.”
Although she would have loved to stay longer on a company-funded vacation, slacking off any further would inevitably earn her a lecture from Fremonte, followed by getting ruthlessly exploited by work.
“But…
if you beg me, I might be willing to stay a little longer, you know?”
With a teasing look, Ermengarde stared at Lucifer expectantly.
But when it came to disappointing her, Lucifer never disappointed.
“Don’t forget to buy a lottery ticket on the way back to test your luck.”
“Sigh, you’re still as boring as ever.”
Ermengarde sighed in “disappointment.” Having finished packing all her belongings, she walked slowly toward the door.
Two steps away from the door, Ermengarde suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked back at Lucifer.
“Hey, Lucifer—do you want to come with me?
Let’s leave Kazdel together.”
“…”
Lucifer had intended to brush her off, but when he met those eyes reflecting a trace of hope, the joke at the tip of his tongue got stuck in his throat.
If Lucifer agreed, short of the Sanguinarch or the King of the Scavengers showing up in person, no one could stop him from leaving Kazdel.
But if Lucifer followed Ermengarde to Leithanien, would he even be able to adapt to the living conditions there?
Lucifer didn’t know.
Should he go with Ermengarde?
Did he want to go with Ermengarde?
Lucifer still didn’t know.
Did this count as two people who fell in love at first sight eloping?
What kind of prime-time soap opera plot was this?
Ermengarde waited quietly for Lucifer’s response, but in the end, he never answered her.
He watched in silence as Ermengarde left his old house, her silhouette gradually vanishing from the borders of Kazdel.
Whether Ermengarde had already left Kazdel or returned to Leithanien, Lucifer remained holed up in his old house.
Lucifer pondered for a long time.
Reason and logic told him his choice was correct.
He had killed many Leithanians in the last war.
If his identity was discovered by the people of Leithanien, it would surely cause a major conflict, and the Lich clan couldn’t protect him forever.
His presence would only drag them down.
On an emotional level, Lucifer didn’t regret not following in Ermengarde’s footsteps either.
It was just a pity that Leithanien, after all, was not a suitable place for his retirement.
If Leithanien were replaced with some other region, Lucifer might have hopped on Ermengarde’s ship.
Too bad it couldn’t be changed.
But it was fine.
Lucifer didn’t feel that he and Ermengarde would never meet again.
Parting was only for the sake of the next reunion.