I'm Really Not the Lord of the Abyss - Chapter 10

At 20:00 in the evening.

The palace was brightly lit.

This was one of the few buildings that had not been damaged in the turmoil. It stood on the wasteland that was being rebuilt. The floor-to-ceiling windows on all three levels were opened, and the warm light shone out from inside, illuminating the dark night and also lighting up people’s hearts.

Through the window, it could be seen that most of the guests had already arrived.

The extraordinaries had shed their combat uniforms, dressed in casual clothes, wearing masks, and were chatting in groups of two or three. The waiters were shuttling through the crowd, topping up champagne for the guests.

On the long table in the distance where food was self-served, exquisite food was piled up on high plates, emitting an appetizing aroma.

Just looking at this place, one would never think that it had suffered such an attack a day ago. As if to bid farewell to the gloom of the past and welcome a new beginning, everyone’s faces were filled with relaxed and joyful smiles at this moment.

Lu Mi, who had successfully sneaked in, was leisurely weaving through the crowd, and casually picked up a dessert from the tray of a passing waiter.

As soon as he put it in his mouth, his eyes couldn’t help but light up.

Worthy of being the royal chef, the dessert was sweet but not greasy, smooth and delicious. It was so good! It was a taste of money that he, as a poor man, dared not imagine!

“Do you want to try some?”

He moved his lips while eating, and looked down at the shadow under his feet.

At this time, Lu Mi was wearing an owl mask. His face was hidden, and he easily blended into the crowd of extraordinaries who were wearing bizarre masks and looked as exaggerated and funny as if they were participating in Halloween.

The only thing that might attract the attention of the observant was probably the shiny black feathers on his mask, which were so pure that they didn’t seem to come from an animal.

In fact, the origin of this mask was somewhat tortuous–at that time, Lu Mi had a sudden idea, and asked (plucked) feathers from the demon, and then realized that he didn’t know how to do handicrafts, so he went to find a mask shop.

The shop owner was amazed at the quality of the feathers as soon as he saw them. In return for helping Lu Mi customize the mask he wanted, he took the remaining feathers and told Lu Mi to bring more if he had them in the future.

Recalling the shop owner’s reluctant expression at the time, Lu Mi could only think guiltily, fortunately he didn’t know where these feathers came from, otherwise he would be scared to death. After getting the mask, Lu Mi quickly found an excuse and hurriedly left.

As the provider of these feathers, Lu Mi initially thought that Alonfus would be unhappy.

After all, wings were not just a part of the body for demons, but also their proud weapon. Like the teeth and claws of a beast, they were the death line for the ignorant.

Who knew—

“Ah, if it can be of use to you, please don’t hesitate to use me.”

The demon butler spoke politely, calm and composed, but underneath was a surge of dark excitement and fanaticism.

“Have you decided which location to use?”

He slowly spread his wings, like a prey opening its vulnerable body, exposing its heart to the hunter and issuing an invitation.

Lu Mi tentatively reached out to the outermost circle of feathers.

Seeing this, the demon smiled slightly, then like a bird about to be clipped, appropriately revealed a bit of real and fake unease and endurance.

“That place is very sensitive, please be gentle…ah, if it’s you, it’s okay to be a bit rough.”

Lu Mi was all “???”. He was just plucking a feather!

He was clearly a big demon who would step on other monsters in the abyss, but why was everything wrong when he got here!

……..

This kind of suppressed and fanatic emotion continued until now.

After Lu Mi picked up the dessert and asked a question, the shadow under his feet suddenly twisted, and then a scene that would absolutely make ordinary people scream on the spot appeared.

The shadow under the young man’s feet suddenly showed two white round holes for eye sockets, and the mouth turned into a white sickle shape—it was as if a monster was hiding in this shadow.

And in fact, it was indeed the case.

For a demon born from shadows, it was a simple matter to reside in someone’s shadow. But if this someone was Lu Mi, then it meant something completely different to the demon.

Alonfus did not refuse Lu Mi’s feeding.

The dessert that was thrown down was swallowed by the shadow on the ground, and no one noticed this strange scene in the entire lively party.

After eating, the demon exclaimed in a tone like an opera singer, “It’s very delicious.”

But in fact, the demon’s taste buds were different from humans, and the dessert was more like a dried straw stuffed in his mouth.

Dry, dull, only the fragrance of the sun left by the young man’s fingertips made him savor it.

At this time, the party began to play music, and the lively dance music floated under the colorful glass chandelier.

The participants of this party were basically extraordinaries from the front-line combat department, and overall, there were more males. Probably considering this situation, the king arranged a group of female dance partners early on, so that they would not fall into the awkward situation of not having a dance partner, and at the same time fully enjoy the fun of the banquet.

As the music played melodiously, dancers in gorgeous clothes appeared and entered the crowd.

For these extraordinaries who have been running around on the front line of investigating anomalies for many years, what they face most on weekdays are colleagues and monsters, even humans were relatively few, let alone beautiful human females.

“May I have this dance with you?” A dancer came to Lu Mi and extended an invitation.

The others in the small area immediately cast envious and jealous glances at Lu Mi, wishing they could be standing there themselves.

What a lucky guy! They also wanted to be invited by the beautiful lady!

Lu Mi shook his head, “No, thank you.”

The others couldn’t believe it.

The dancer looked at him with disappointment when she heard this, but she didn’t insist. She nodded slightly and then turned and left, quickly finding another partner and successfully joining the dance floor.

Surrounded by the remaining few gazes, Lu Mi simply walked out of the banquet hall and came to the balcony on the second floor of the palace.

A curtain separated the lively banquet hall from the balcony, and the faint music and voices came through, blending into the night wind.

Stars hung in the night sky, twinkling like diamonds embedded in the canopy of the sky.

Leaning on the white stone railing of the balcony, Lu Mi looked down and could see the small garden behind the palace. A few night lights stood on the stone path, the path winding into the lush forest, and the roadside was full of flowers and grass swaying in the wind.

“Why did you refuse the invitation just now?”

On the balcony where there was no one else, Alonfus’s voice slowly sounded.

Lu Mi answered truthfully, “I can’t dance.”

He hadn’t learned in his previous life, and he had no chance to learn in this life.

He had just seen that other people were quick to learn, guessing that this must be a very popular dance in this world. When it was his turn to stand there knowing nothing, it would be awkward for both of them.

The demon didn’t speak for a minute.

And in the dark, an indiscernible shadow quickly darted out and hid in the corner of the banquet hall to observe.

Lu Mi was feeling strange when suddenly, he heard Alonfus who had returned say, “I’ve got it.”

Lu Mi: …?

A thick, black shadow slowly rose from the ground, forming a pitch-black human figure.

Then, this pitch-black human figure twisted and changed.

When the pitch-black attached to it faded away, what appeared in front of Lu Mi was a male human dancer in a gorgeous dress, the style of which was exactly the same as those dancers in the banquet hall.

But this dancer was wearing an owl mask, and his face couldn’t be seen. The only exposed lower jaw was perfect, and his pale face had blood-red lips.

What was even more eye-catching was the pair of ominous red eyes, revealing some non-human dangerous traits.

“…You?” Lu Mi knew that transformation was a capability that most high-ranking demons possessed, but this was the first time he had seen Alonfus do it.

After all, most demons take pride in their non-human characteristics, which were often symbols of their names and status, and few even condescend to take on a weaker form.

“Would you do me the honor, sir?” The dancer had one hand behind his back and extended the other to him in invitation.

Lu Mi hesitated for a moment, then placed his hand on Alonfus’s palm.

What happened next was quite strange—he was actually being taught to dance at a human king’s banquet by a demon. And this demon danced better than most people?

Two figures danced on the open-air balcony under the moon, with stars twinkling overhead and the scent of flowers wafting through the air.

The two shadows overlapped and separated from time to time. For a moment, one could see one of the shadows vaguely taking on the form of large wings, completely enveloping the other.

It was not a god protecting his believers, but an alien swearing allegiance to his master.

Lu Mi spun around in the air, listened carefully, and said, “It seems the king is starting to give his thank you speech…”

From the faint music coming from the banquet hall, the king’s old but solemn voice was added—“Please allow me to represent the Blue Steel Empire to all…”

The demon’s red eyes glanced at him, and the corner of his mouth hooked, “You’re not focused.”

Lu Mi looked back unhurriedly, “I’ve already learned.”

“Yes.” The demon bowed his head slightly, and sighed with utmost sincerity, “You are an excellent student, always have been.”

After another spin and side step, Lu Mi’s gaze swept over the garden below the balcony, and suddenly caught a figure.

The person was hurrying towards the depths of the garden, wearing an owl mask on his face.

Lu Mi subconsciously looked at the time in the banquet hall.

20:45.

There were still fifteen minutes left, and the other party had already arrived?

Perhaps he had come early like him, and simply waited at the trading location?

Thinking so in his heart, Lu Mi felt that it was no problem for the trade to be a little early, so he decided to go now.

“Alon, we should go.”

He stopped dancing and gave the command.

And the demon immediately broke away from his relaxed state when facing him, and instantly went into work mode.

The dancer in the dark night turned back into a pure black shadow, merging into the young man’s shadow, like a mysterious guardian, silently opening his watchful eyes behind the night.