Parting

Mochizuki Shingen had finally reached his limit and lost consciousness.

Even so, he still clung tightly to the griffin.

Such willpower forced even Luo Li to admit in her heart that the boy had guts.

However, if she simply took him down with her and transformed back into the Saintess, things would get complicated.

Putting aside the risk of exposure, she wouldn't even be able to explain the situation.

Her decision to stand on the griffin and greet Shalin earlier had been an impulsive move driven by a moment of excitement.

Now that she had calmed down and thought about it, that situation had been incredibly dangerous.

If Shalin had truly recognized her, what could she have done?

She would have had no choice but to kill the dragon to keep her secret.

If they had been caught, it would have ended with either her death or Shalin's.

There simply wasn't a third option.

The mere thought of it made her break into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, they hadn't been caught.

Otherwise, she really would have been toast.

With her mind at ease, Luo Li began to plan her return.

First, she had to find a place to settle the boy.

Luckily, she had brought some gold coins with her before leaving the demons.

Although the demons had no use for these gold coins, they were very fond of human artifacts.

Those exquisite coins had been collected by the demons as curiosities.

As a result, she had actually managed to take quite a few good things when she left.

They were currently hanging from the griffin's saddle.

"I'll drop him off at an orphanage; otherwise, it'll be hard to explain having him with me on the way back."

Safely bringing this boy back to the continent was already the best she could do for him.

To ask for anything more would be pushing it.

As one of the ten major cities of the Kingdom of the Moon, Moonrise City had many orphanages that remained open year-round.

However, arriving during the day was far from ideal.

She would have to wait until nightfall.

She found a deserted stretch of coastline to land.

First, she reverted to her Saintess form to heal the boy's injuries, then she switched back to her Witch form.

Luo Li watched as he slowly drifted back to consciousness, a faint smile playing on her lips.

She patted his shoulder.

"Kiddo, you’re home."

Mochizuki Shingen looked around blankly, staring at the lush green forest and the obvious human footprints on the beach, momentarily stunned.

"Are we... back on the continent?"

"Yeah."

Luo Li nodded, gathered some firewood to start a fire, and then went to catch some wild game.

With a giant carnivore like the griffin around, Luo Li didn't even need to hunt herself.

The griffin was quite clever and caught a wild boar weighing over two hundred kilograms on its own.

Luo Li carved off a front leg for themselves, leaving the rest for the griffin to feast on.

As she roasted the pork leg, Mochizuki Shingen sat by the fire the entire time, remaining silent.

She glanced at the sky and saw that dusk was approaching.

Once night fell, she would take the boy to a nearby orphanage.

By then, she would have fulfilled her promise.

"Do you have any plans for the future?"

Mochizuki Shingen looked up slightly, glanced at Luo Li, and then lowered his head again.

He didn't offer a single word in response.

Luo Li wasn't offended; she figured his eccentric temperament was likely due to his traumatic experiences.

Anyone who went through what he did at that age would undergo some strange changes.

She continued roasting the pork leg, watching the grease sizzle on the skin over the roaring flames.

"In a little while, I’ll take you to the nearest orphanage, and that will be your new home."

"I’m not going."

Before Luo Li could finish, Mochizuki Shingen suddenly interrupted her with a firm tone.

"Not going? Then where will you go?"

Luo Li looked at him in surprise, but his head was bowed, making his expression hard to read.

After a long silence, just as Luo Li thought he wouldn't speak again, she heard the little guy whisper.

"I want to follow you."

"Follow me? Kid, did you get water in your brain or something?"

Luo Li stared at him in disbelief, but he still wouldn't look up, his cheeks merely turning a slight shade of red.

It seemed... he was shy?

"Stop being stubborn!!"

Luo Li paused for a moment, her tone growing more serious as she stood up and walked over to him.

"Look up at me."

Mochizuki Shingen hesitated for a second before slowly raising his head to meet her gaze.

Luo Li pointed to the top of her own head.

"I'm asking you, what are these?"

"...Horns."

"And what am I?"

"A demon."

"Can demons and humans live together in harmony?"

A look of reminiscence flickered in his eyes.

He shook his head.

"No."

Luo Li nodded slightly; even if the boy had developed a bit of a dependency on her, at least he hadn't completely lost his reason.

It was rare for a child of only a few years to possess such awareness.

It wasn't easy.

"As long as you understand."

She returned to her spot and continued roasting the pork.

"In a while, I’ll leave you some money. Now that we're on this continent, there isn't much more I can do for you. Kid, remember my words."

Mochizuki Shingen looked up at Luo Li, his eyes fixed intently on her.

Luo Li let out a long breath.

"Action is better than talk, and self-reliance is better than begging. Remember, your starting point is lower than anyone else's, so you must do more and say less."

"Always remember to give others respect, but keep your guard up."

"Think three times before you act, for every action has a consequence."

"That’s... all I have to say."

Mochizuki Shingen stared blankly at Luo Li, carving those three pieces of advice deep into his mind.

He spoke no more.

Seeing that he had gone quiet, Luo Li didn't say anything else either.

And so, the two of them sat in their usual silence until the moon hung high in the sky and the wind grew dark and cold.

Luo Li finally stood up and extinguished the campfire.

"Alright, get ready. I'm taking you there."

Mochizuki Shingen looked up at her but remained silent with his head down.

Luo Li had already climbed onto the griffin, but when she looked back, she saw the boy hadn't moved an inch.

She couldn't help but frown.

"What are you doing? Hurry up. If the sun comes up and I'm discovered by humans, do you want to watch me get sent to the burning stake?"

With his head still bowed, he stole a glance at Luo Li before standing up and climbing onto the griffin.

With a sharp cry, the griffin soared into the sky.

They headed straight for Moonrise City, which was shrouded in dark clouds.

With her current physical attributes, her vision easily allowed her to locate an orphanage.

After all, she had studied these things before.

The orphanages in every city submitted population reports every year.

She had memorized their specific locations.

She guided the griffin to land at the entrance of an orphanage and pulled out two bags of gold coins.

"This bag is for the orphanage. Remember, don't give it to anyone else, only the director."

"And this bag is for you to keep for yourself, just in case."

As she spoke, Luo Li tossed the two bags of gold coins to Mochizuki Shingen, then grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and set him on the ground.

Looking at the boy, she realized that even though he rarely spoke, she had actually grown a bit fond of him over time.

It was like raising a pet; after a while, it became hard to let go.

But no matter how reluctant she was, she had to leave.

"This is where we part, kid. Live well."

After a long silence, Luo Li couldn't think of anything else to say, so she simply turned to leave.

But just as the griffin was about to take off, Mochizuki Shingen's voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Thank you."

Luo Li's brow twitched, but then it slowly smoothed out as an involuntary smile touched her lips.

With a sharp cry from the griffin, they shot into the clouds.

Mochizuki Shingen stood there dazed, watching the dark shadow vanish into the sky.

He remained silent for a long time before solemnly tucking the gold coins away, turning around, and knocking on the orphanage door.

Luo Li circled in the air for a long time until she saw the boy enter the orphanage.

Only then did she finally feel at ease.

She had finally fulfilled her promise.

Now, it was time for her own performance.

She flew to a forest about a hundred kilometers away from the city.

The griffin slowly landed among the trees.

Luo Li hopped down and looked up at the creature.

"I was just thanked, so now it's my turn to thank you."

The griffin was very intelligent and seemed to understand what she meant. With a soft trill, it slowly lowered its head.

It rubbed its beak against Luo Li's cheek.

"Alright, you're free now. Go."

She patted its shoulder. It was practically impossible for this griffin to live a normal life on the continent.

After all, it was a demon's exclusive mount, and its presence on the continent would be far too conspicuous.

From what she knew, griffins were social animals.

Such a creature couldn't survive alone.

So, even though she was reluctant, she had to release it.

As a flying creature, it had the instinct to find its way.

Luo Li believed it could find its way back to the demon island on its own.

And even if the Demon Emperor was furious, he wouldn't take his anger out on a griffin.

With a long, piercing cry, a gust of wind swept through as the griffin soared once more.

This time, however, Luo Li wasn't on its back; she simply stood on the ground, watching as it gradually disappeared into the distance.

She finally let out a sigh of relief.

Now, most of her problems were solved.

There was only one thing left: explaining her return.

It was actually quite simple. She had chosen this location specifically to make her story believable.

It would only take a single sentence.

'I was washed ashore and got lost in the forest.'

Yes, it was that simple. Sometimes, the simpler the lie, the harder it was to find a flaw.

No one knew where the ocean's undercurrents might carry someone.

Because of that, any explanation she gave would be plausible.

However, the fewer explanations, the better. After all, one lie required countless others to cover it up.

As for whether anyone would try to track her movements?

Ordinary people wouldn't do that.

They had no reason to.

Moreover, by the time this news spread, she would already be back in Brilliant City.

At least half a month would have passed, and any traces would have long since been buried by the forest.

Even if someone wanted to investigate, they wouldn't be able to find anything.

And who would dare to interrogate her?

She had chosen this forest partly because it was vast.

This was the famous East Forest of the Kingdom of the Moon, rumored to be teeming with monsters and the occasional mutant species.

On the other hand, it wasn't far from Moonrise City; once she stepped out of the woods, she could head straight there.

"Whew... Holy-Demon Conversion!"

Taking a long breath, she activated her Holy-Demon Conversion.

The two urges that had been swirling in her mind were instantly extinguished.

The sensations of being an ordinary person slowly reclaimed her consciousness.

She looked down at her hands, then at the Saintess's robe she was wearing.

She was finally back to normal!

Kingdom of the Moon... your emperor has returned!

However, her current concern was how to hide her identity and sneak into Moonrise City.

An incognito visit focused on being incognito and visiting.

Well, even though that didn't really explain much, she still had to distinguish between the two.

First, the disguise, then the visit.

She looked left and right; it didn't seem like anyone could be spying on her in this forest.

Luo Li quickly changed out of her Saintess's robe.

From the clothes the demon queens had given her, she picked out a long dress that looked decent enough for an ordinary girl to wear.

The fashion of this era was mostly similar to Central European styles.

Women's clothing was basically in the Lolita style.

Fortunately, Luo Li found a lady's formal dress among them.

It was a black and red evening gown with sleeveless shoulders that exposed her fair, tender arms.

The hem of the dress was made of alternating layers of red translucent silk and black velvet.

Even the front hem and the slits on both sides were made of red silk.

The rest of the dress was black velvet.

Finally, she threw on a black cloak with a white collar, completing a standard evening gown ensemble.

Of course, there was one detail she had to face.

She held a pair of black silk stockings in her hand, hesitating for a long time. To avoid any wardrobe malfunctions, she gritted her teeth and put them on.

But that strange, wrapping sensation made Luo Li feel awkward no matter how she moved.

She looked down at her long dress and then at the cloak she was wearing.

"Mm, perfectly foolproof!"

Those queens were truly meticulous; they hadn't just given her the outfit, but even a set of black underwear.

Naturally, Luo Li had put those on without hesitation as well.

She didn't want to walk around with two obvious points showing through the front of her dress.

After putting on her black velvet gloves, Luo Li stepped out of the forest.

Since she had landed at the very edge of the woods, it only took her a few minutes to leave the trees behind.

There was a village not far away.

Luo Li's plan was simple: find a village, buy or rent a carriage, and head to Moonrise City overnight.

"Haa..."

It had been a while since she had seen other people, and for a moment, she felt a bit nervous.

She patted her cheeks.

No problem, I'm the best!

Go for it!

Luo Li took a deep breath, pumping herself up, and marched toward the village.

To ensure her story was airtight, she had even changed into a pair of black high heels.

Although her floating skill allowed her to keep her feet off the ground entirely, the sensation of stepping on air was actually quite similar to stepping on the ground.

The only difference was that her body felt very light and didn't require much force.

After getting used to it, her floating skill at least ensured she wouldn't trip.

Even if the ground was uneven, the floating skill allowed her feet to stay a few centimeters above the surface, preventing her from being tripped by stones.