Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Pretending to Be Human: Episode 010

After that, I desperately scrambled to explain the situation.

I claimed that Ruslara was crying because I had sponsored her with a substantial sum of money, and that I hadn’t answered the knock because I was too preoccupied comforting her.

The Knights looked unconvinced, but apparently deciding they couldn’t interrogate the Princess further, they simply nodded and withdrew.

“Ah, merciful Deity….”

And so I returned to the Separate Palace with Ruslara, who was still intoxicated by the magical energy.

I couldn’t possibly leave her alone in such a state.

She had wept incessantly, and by the time we arrived at the Separate Palace, dehydration had claimed her—she collapsed into unconsciousness.

I laid her upon my bed, then collapsed onto the sofa. Liribel, who had helped me move Ruslara, glanced at the bed and asked.

“Your Highness, what on earth happened?”

“Well, you see….”

Ordinarily, I would have claimed nothing was amiss, but my exhausted mind desperately needed a confidant to confide in.

I explained the situation to her in measured terms.

Since Liribel already regarded me as quite the accomplished dark mage, she grasped the explanation readily.

“So… this Ruslara person was actually of a different race, and she happened to witness Your Highness using dark magic and mistook you for someone else?”

“Exactly.”

Liribel nodded, remarking that such coincidences did happen. Then, gazing upon Ruslara’s sleeping face, she gasped in admiration.

“But still, I never imagined an Arena fighter could be such a beautiful woman….”

“That surprises you more than her being of a different race?”

“Well, I’ve never seen a female warrior in reality before. Only in fairy tales.”

True, unlike the Demon Realm where mere magical power granted one warrior status, this world’s standards were far more conservative.

‘Wait, now that I think about it, Loreil’s Knights weren’t surprised when they saw Ruslara’s face either, were they?’

What startled them was the sight of Ruslara praying, not her gender.

Suddenly, I recalled what the Middle-aged Knight had said when he showed me into the Rest Area.

‘There will be no gossip, so please don’t worry and come in.’

‘That reaction… he already knew Ruslara was female.’

Of course, he wouldn’t have known she was a Baobhan sith. I myself couldn’t distinguish humans from Baobhan sith by appearance alone.

But the fact that he knew Ruslara’s gender meant his superior, Loreil, had also noticed it.

‘That cunning young master—he knew all along and still recommended I sponsor her.’

Loreil must have pretended ignorance to gauge my reaction. If Loreil, who could actually sense magical power, had accompanied me, disaster might have struck. His busy schedule had inadvertently saved my life.

I exhaled a breath of relief, lost in these tangled thoughts, when I heard Ruslara’s voice from the bed where I’d laid her down.

“Where… am I?”

“You’re awake?”

I sat in the chair beside the bed.

Then, mentioning that we had matters to discuss privately, I ordered Liribel to leave.

Ruslara rose with a dazed expression.

‘A beauty is indeed a beauty.’

Her hair was disheveled and her eyes swollen from tears, yet she remained impossibly beautiful.

Such beauty was a hallmark of the Baobhan sith—a trait that enchanted enemies and drained their blood.

“My lord.”

“Don’t call me that.”

The madness had faded, yet the memory lingered. As I immediately denied it, Ruslara spoke with an awkward expression.

“But you are Asmodina, are you not?”

‘Of course. She knows my name.’

Ruslara’s conviction was too unwavering to deny. Moreover, it seemed she had glimpsed my past form through my magical essence.

Magical essence is the very nature of the soul. Though merely a phantom, what she witnessed was undoubtedly me.

There was no point in denying it now.

‘Yet something troubles me—I have no memory of meeting Ruslara.’

My subordinates were countless, but those of Baban Si were few. Thus I remembered all their faces and names, yet Ruslara was not among them.

“Ruslara.”

“Yes.”

“Setting aside my identity for now… where did you hear the name Asmodina? You’re not from that realm.”

Now that she had learned my identity, I asked in a casual tone. Ruslara nodded as if unbothered.

“Of course, I have never met you directly. However, I learned of your deeds and appearance from my grandmother.”

“Your grandmother’s name?”

“Mihilda.”

‘She is indeed my subordinate.’

Mihilda was the youngest among the Baban Si.

Had so much time truly passed since my death?

Whether bittersweet nostalgia or regret, my chest tightened with conflicting emotions.

“Then why is Mihilda’s descendant in the Human Realm?”

“Our family immigrated to the Human Realm during my grandmother’s generation. My mother contracted Mana Sickness and could no longer survive in the Demon Realm.”

Mana Sickness was an incurable disease caused by addiction to mana, leaving one weakened—a terrible affliction that worsened merely by breathing the air of the Demon Realm.

Mihilda, the grandmother of Baban Si, had relocated to the Human Realm to ensure her daughter’s survival.

“However, the sun in the Human Realm was far too intense. External activities became completely impossible.”

“Of course—this is the domain of the Sun God.”

The sun of the surface world was several times more powerful than that of the Demon Realm. The elderly and infirm could not merely avoid sunlight; they had to hide deep underground to survive.

“So we settled in the Abandoned Mine to make our home. Fortunately, the underground of the Human Realm was rich in resources, so survival posed no difficulty. Whatever we lacked, I could simply ascend to the human world and procure.”

Ruslara, born in the Human Realm, possessed some immunity to the sun; though weaker than those born in the Demon Realm, she could venture outside.

Their life was inconvenient, yet it held happiness. But then…

“The arrival of humans became the problem.”

“Indeed.”

What followed was as I had heard before.

Baban Si, born of the Demon Realm, had to conceal her origins and could not resist the humans.

Among the group that discovered the Abandoned Mine were even Priests, leaving her helpless to do anything but endure.

‘Not resisting was a wise choice.’

Had her Demon Realm origins been exposed, the consequences would have extended far beyond mere expulsion.

No matter how powerful a Demon might be, contending with a mob of humans would prove difficult.

“Fortunately, before the Nobleman could discover us, I disguised myself and kept my face hidden. Thanks to that, we avoided disgrace.”

“A disguise?”

“This is how it works.”

She casually wiped her face with her hand, and her beautiful visage transformed into something remarkably ordinary.

“I knew Baobhan sith were masters of disguise, but… that wasn’t magic?”

“No, it’s a form of physical ability. Though I’m still inexperienced and cannot maintain it for long periods. That’s why I haven’t removed my helmet.”

‘Indeed, if that appearance were exposed, it would cause quite the uproar.’

She restored her face to its original state and gazed at me once more with reverent eyes.

“I grew up hearing about Asmodina from my grandmother since childhood. She even crafted this Black Lion emblem for me. She said Asmodina would protect me…”

“Salvation is an exaggeration. It simply happened by chance.”

Baobhan sith and I were nothing more than business partners. I needed subordinates, and she needed a place to rely upon.

As I deflected her words, she smiled softly.

“That too matches what my grandmother said. She told me Asmodina always changes the subject when receiving praise.”

‘Mihilda, that little troublemaker.’

It seemed she had spread strange rumors about me in my absence.

I cleared my throat and steered the conversation back on track.

“In any case, I understand the situation. You must win the championship so the other Baobhan sith can be freed.”

“That’s correct. However, I’ve been making mistakes in every crucial match…”

She lowered her head, ashamed.

‘Not just once or twice, but mistakes every single time?’

Something reeked of suspicion.

I folded my arms and sank into contemplation.

The option of seizing the emblem ornament she possessed—the one given to me by my grandmother—had vanished. I couldn’t bring myself to take something Mihilda had entrusted to her.

She was Mihilda’s granddaughter, and that alone made it impossible for me to treat her harshly.

Besides, her family was being held hostage in that Abandoned Mine.

I wanted nothing more than to find that place and help them, but I lacked the strength—both as a Princess and as a general.

So what remained was only one path.

I gazed at Ruslara, whose complexion remained pallid.

“Ruslara, do you truly wish to win the championship?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Even if you face extraordinarily harsh trials?”

“I am prepared for it.”

Since I could not help directly, the only way was to ensure Ruslara’s victory in the Arena and thereby liberate her family.

Besides, offering aid eased my conscience far more than turning away.

“Then I shall aid your training. I will ensure you triumph over any obstacle and claim victory.”

“Is this… truly happening?”

“Why? Do you object?”

“No! The Goddess of War and Savior, Asmodina, is instructing me? I am overwhelmed with gratitude!”

Seeing her face on the verge of tears brought a headache upon me. I raised my hand to forestall her emotions from deepening further.

“No, do not call me that. I am not Asmodina anymore.”

“But then…?”

“I am human. Asmodina died long ago in the distant past. I am now living a second life—I am Deina, a perfectly ordinary human.”

As I added unnecessary details, my explanation grew increasingly lengthy. Embarrassed, I cleared my throat and wrapped up my words.

“So, call me the Princess. Understood?”

“Ah—”

Ruslara clapped her hands and summarized it neatly.

“So that’s the setting, is it?”

“…This is real.”

It seemed our relationship still had a long way to go.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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