Once again, Konrad found himself surrounded by powerful allies—who didn't help.
Nor would they give him straight answers.
"It's politics, Konny boy," Lily explained, rolling her eyes. "I hate it too. I could roll over this world and its saints—but it would be a disappointment. I know, I've done it before."
"You did what?" Konrad raised an eyebrow, studying the maps of Halaima's duchy.
The dragon he rescued did mention how ancient the little ginger was. From that, it seemed like she was even more powerful than he had thought.
But Maple was still asleep thanks to Lily's prank, and the demoness loved to be vague.
"Conquered worlds," she said with a shrug, like that was a normal thing to do. "Flipped over the balance of power. Gathered enemies—it gets boring."
Was she joking? Teasing him like she did so many times before?
He couldn't ask, but he didn't have to. His mind was an open book for the freckled beauty.
"You want to know why they call me a demon?" she asked with a smirk. "The angels, I mean. Their big boss started it so far back, I even forgot, and I'd let it stick, but—that's not what I am."
"Then what are you?" Konrad straightened his back, the maps forgotten.
His eyes studied the adorable face, trying to look beyond her freckled appearance.
That was easy to figure out. Petite, slender, the perfect blend of muscle and softness. Pale and freckled, beautiful in every meaning of the word, crowned by her tangled red mane of fire.
How such beauty could exist already boggled his mind, but what was underneath?
A mysterious being he had already met in his past life, fell in love with, and faced the consequences. Someone who disappeared, then reappeared after his rebirth, but why?
And who was Lily in the first place?
That damned ginger didn't answer, but let him guess and read it all out of his mind.
Her widening grin made that much obvious.
"You're not wrong," she teased, her fingers tracing a pattern on his chest. "But I like it when you only think about meow, and nobody else. It's a shame your life turned out like this."
"Like what?" Konrad raised an eyebrow, trying to act cool, but his heart was already racing.
This girl—this enigma—could do things to him even without trying.
Drive him crazy, leave him guessing, and yearning for more—
But right then and there, she did everything to make it a thousand times worse.
What a tease.
"When Lucifer stole you from me," she said, her voice low, "I didn't act on it. I thought you'd have a slow, uneventful life—that I could pretend to be normal, too. Together."
"Stole from you? I hate to disappoint, but I don't get any of this."
Lily sighed, swiping the map away and hopping onto the table to face him.
Her hands reached for his face, her hazel eyes looking straight into his soul, and she smiled.
"How much do you remember from your past life?" she asked, her touch leaving warmth or goosebumps behind. "I know the spirits restored some of the things the angels locked away."
"I-I know we dated." Konrad took a deep, shaky breath and gulped.
They were talking. About serious stuff, too.
Nobody asked for that erection to butt in, but there it was. That girl was lethal.
And he couldn't help but think about how he lost his virginity to her.
Twice.
"Yes, that we did," she murmured, pulling him closer.
Now, that erection nestled right between her legs.
Her hips made small, almost imperceptible movements—but Konrad could very much feel.
Was she trying to talk and answer his questions, or wipe his mind blank?
She took strides and leaps towards the latter, and he shuddered.
Konrad did the impossible. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing himself away.
"Best three months of that life," he said, steeling himself, ignoring all distractions. "It all went downhill from there—because of you. Was that on purpose?"
"Yes," she answered without hesitation, her tired smile sending shockwaves through his body.
Not the sexual ones, ones he desired—it was one of pain and recognition.
"Don't look at me like that," Lily said, almost bashful, avoiding his gaze for the first time. "I'm a demoness. Your God hates me for a reason. I messed with him too much, and I won't stop now."
W-wha—I, uh," Konrad could only stutter, his erection gone.
He wanted an answer—he even suspected it, but hearing it? This plane, this direct?
He shook his head, trying to calm the chaos inside, and asked the next obvious question.
"Why?"
This time, she chose a roundabout way of explaining her choices.
"Since that glutton already told you, you know that I'm old," said the petite girl. She looked no more than eighteen, but Konrad knew better. "I'm ancient—and not from your world."
He nodded, not trusting his voice to say anything.
She didn't have a problem peering into his thoughts anyway.
"The first time I visited your world, I was kind of upset," she admitted, smirking. "I saw slavery before, but the way humans treated each other—I acted before I could think."
"Slavery? We don't—"
It took a single glance from her to shut him up. Right. It was her story time.
"It wasn't exactly yesterday," Lily noted, explaining. "In the Middle East, and yes, things have changed since, but not by much—not always for the better."
"Middle East? Like in an Arab country?"
That made her snort, but at least no killer glances this time.
"No, but if you want to know, um—" She furrowed her brow, trying to think. "Uh, something with a B? Again, it was a while back, and my meow-mories of the old are fading."
"Bahrain?" Konrad made a wild guess, and Lily snorted.
Not even close.
"Try Babylon," a familiar voice offered, making Konrad jump. "Arabs weren't even a thing yet."
"And you neither, Gabrielle," Lily greeted the archangel without missing a beat.
When she had arrived, and how long she would listen, Konrad had no idea.
But their privacy was over.
The duke's daughter waltzed in, in her usual blue dress, no guards or followers this time.
"No, God created us exactly because of the likes of you," Gabrielle claimed. Lily shrugged.
"It was a little prank," she said. "I hoped it would make people's treatment better, but I was wrong. There—this is the best apology you'll ever get. I'll deny it later anyway."
"W-what did she do?" Konrad asked once he got himself over the interruption.
It was godsent in a way—no pun intended—because now he could focus on the answers, too.
"Have you heard of the Tower of Babel?" Gabrielle asked, her tone casual. But her eyes sparkled with thunder, giving Lily a hostile look. "People often address it to God, but it was her doing."
That went way over his head. He heard about the legend, but it made no sense.
People built a tall tower, but couldn't finish it because God garbled their language.
Or, as it seemed, Lily did. But how could she? Even if it was possible—okay, she had such powers, but still—wasn't that five thousand years ago?
"Yep." The ginger nodded, avoiding his eyes. "As I said, I'm old."