After a few more hours of Jenna just playing around back and forth, we were finally inside Clementine’s place.

Unsurprisingly, she lived in the main palace. It was giant, and there were barely any servants, except for a few girls I didn’t recognize.

Clementine took the lead, bringing us to the guest quarters, where she went ahead and picked out a room for Jenna. Now that she wasn’t in the mood to train, her wings were gone. That also meant there was nothing I needed to worry about or monitor.

And because of that, I finally managed to get some time alone for myself and Clementine. The two of us interlocked our fingers and walked across the hallways silently. There was a beautiful vegetable garden outside, and from how crude everything looked, I assumed this one belonged to Clementine.

More importantly, she clearly didn’t allow anyone else to come near it. It was her private vegetable garden for sure.

"Want to try a tomato?" she offered.

I found it a little bit ridiculous, but I agreed, leaning down and getting a tomato for myself. I chomped down on it, and to my surprise, it was one of those cherry tomatoes I hadn’t tasted in quite some time.

"It’s delicious..."

"I know, right?" Clementine reached for another tomato a bit higher up, and then handed it to me. "Try this one, it’s also very tasty."

My Blood Sight told me she was lying, but even then, I decided to fall into her trap, taking a bite out of the tomato. And I immediately wished I hadn’t, since my tongue felt like it was dipped into acid, when in reality, the tomato was just very, very, very... spicy.

I spat out the tomato and rolled my eyes at her. Tears streamed down my cheeks subconsciously, which she simply laughed at, finding my suffering a little funny.

"Pfft... Haha... You’re still really cute."

"Hmm? Well, of course," I replied, puffing out my chest. "I should be the one calling you cute, but I’ll accept a compliment from you too, I assume."

Her brows furrowed. "Are you copying me?"

"Copying you?"

"..."

Yep, I was.

But in the spirit of teasing her, I decided not to admit it.

After all, would my Siren Queen really beat my ass if I admitted I was teasing her with her haughty behavior the first time we met?

Heh...

"Tsk... Whatever. Take another bite out of that pepper tomato since you pissed me off," she said with a slight pout.

I raised a brow. "Mm... How about I take a bite out of your cheek?"

She turned toward me and pouted even harder. "You pervert."

I shrugged, not trying to hide it. "Well, it’s your fault for looking so edible, Clementine. Anyhow... Like the good gentleman that I am, I’m going to keep that for tonight."

She stared at me for a little while longer, then nodded. "Alright... Then tell me about what happened. What’s up with your appearance, and why are you suddenly so strong now? Also, why is Vincent dead? How did you escape the Demon Realm?"

Yep.

There was a lot I needed to tell her.

By the time the moon shone over Clementine’s vegetable garden, I was done telling her about everything that happened.

Her expression was sour, conflicted, and also pitiful.

"So you got tortured again..."

I shrugged. "It’s fine. It’s not like it’s the first time."

A slightly angry look appeared on her face. "So what? Not the first time? I don’t want you getting tortured at all. Why do you always insist on getting hurt?"

"I had no choice," I replied plainly. "I’m not some masochist who likes having his senses deprived for hundreds of years."

"..."

Her anger didn’t subside, and she was most definitely going to give me an earful. But until then, there was something else that was on her mind.

"He managed to trick you with my presence and forced you to tap into Divine Energy..." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

She clenched her fists, seemingly angry with herself. "I should’ve been there."

"Had you been there, you’d be in danger," I said, lowering my gaze slightly. "I should’ve known you wouldn’t actually be there. I’m stupid."

"No, you’re not. I should’ve really been there... I don’t know why I keep relying on you so much. I know you’re just a regular person like me. I’m sorry."

What’s with all this blaming herself?

Why?

"I’m happy you weren’t there. Very happy. I’m mad at myself, though, that I didn’t realize everything sooner. As for the Divine Energy, you don’t have to worry. I’ve got a lot more information now about my past, and I’m thinking I should start tapping into even more of my Divine Energy so we actually stand a chance."

After all, the way I currently am, I would be able to do nothing against a Divine Beast. Not to mention, if more than 5 Demon Emperors gang up on me, I’m also screwed.

As for Demon Gods... I wouldn’t even be able to scratch them, since I was sure they were most definitely on the level of the Divine Beasts.

And then lastly, there were also the heroes that Elise mentioned. I believed in fate to some degree, and I knew that if they were mentioned, they most likely existed, just instead of humans, they were now demons.

Maybe Demon Gods?

Hmm...

"You don’t have to worry about me, Clementine. I promise that no matter what happens, I’ll keep you and your family safe."

"You’re stupid if you think I’ll let you throw your life down for me. I won’t let you," Clementine said, narrowing her eyes. "I’m going to get stronger. You said you’d unlock my Divine Energy, didn’t you? Do it. Or share yours with me. I don’t want to be a burden."

A burden?

"Do you seriously think you’re a burden?"

If not for her, I wouldn’t even be here.

So how could someone so important call herself a burden?

"You dummy..."