Pretending to Be Human Is Exhausting Again Today - Chapter 151

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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 151
Asmo-rina read the next passage quickly.
Given the countless ages since we’d last met, the content was remarkably dry.
[I know I’m in no position to say this after burdening you with so much and disappearing….]
And her lack of self-worth remained unchanged.
‘Does she still think I hate myself because of that trivial mission?’
Anger surged for a moment, but seeing her familiar handwriting, my heart settled once more.
I was actually pleased just discovering traces of someone I’d longed to see—my past self would have called me insane for it.
[…The truth is, I hope you return to the Demon Realm. I can no longer live as a demon. But if you still wish to meet me, now human….]
[Tonight at midnight, I’ll send my associate to the Bell Tower north of Monos.]
‘Why won’t she come herself?’
I suspected a trap, but then shook my head. Asmodina wasn’t the type to set traps this way.
[My associates will propose some kind of deal to you. Whether you accept that deal or not is entirely your choice. It won’t affect our meeting at all. I simply ask that you remember they are my associates.]
‘In other words, she’s asking me to forgive them even if the humans are rude.’
The situation was transparent.
Those associates—humans—would demand something that went against Asmo-rina’s sensibilities.
‘She said it wouldn’t affect our meeting, but that’s a lie. If I attack the humans, she’ll hide herself again.’
It was a cowardly tactic to use the promise of meeting as bait to force conversation with humans.
Asmo-rina clicked her tongue briefly and finished reading the rest of the letter.
There was nothing significant afterward—just simple sentences wishing for my health and hoping I wouldn’t worry too much.
It was ordinary content, filled with a parent’s concern for a child who had left home.
‘This is ridiculous. If you cared this much, you shouldn’t have left so coldly in the first place.’
Yet my heart was undeniably softening. I struggled to suppress the smile threatening to form.
Though the letter left me with much to say, the confirmation that I would soon see her was indescribably joyful.
‘So when I meet her… what should I even say?’
Before meeting Gregory, I had been determined to bring her back to the Demon Realm by any means.
I wanted to show her the Demon Realm, now restored to peace thanks to Asmodina. And I felt that only with her could I truly find happiness again. I couldn’t imagine the Demon Realm without her.
But the truth I’d heard from Gregory.
‘If Asmodina returns to the Demon Realm, war will inevitably break out….’
It was a story I couldn’t easily believe, but if it were true, it would explain all the misfortunes that had followed.
Asmodina had spent centuries trying to stop the war. Through persuasion, negotiation, coercion, surrender, and apology—but each time, some incident would occur to obstruct the ceasefire.
During ceasefire negotiations, assassination attempts were made. Just when I thought I’d completely subdued the enemy, a new deity descended to interfere.
At the time, I thought it was a problem caused by the gods’ persistence, but the moment Asmodina disappeared, they raised the white flag and agreed to negotiations.
As if all their hostility until then had been a lie.
‘Perhaps, as Gregory said, the Human World might bring Asmodina greater happiness. Then should I remain in the Human World as well?’
That too was a decision I couldn’t make easily. In my view, humans were cowardly and weak beings.
Working with the Cloud Wanderers only solidified that prejudice. Human desires were more complex than those of demons, and tragedy always followed in their wake.
To the point where I was certain Asmodina could never find happiness in such a place.
‘Besides, this world has that mad human Emperor. A demonic bastard wielding the Sun God’s power.’
Even I, who had walked countless battlefields for centuries, felt a chill at the thought of that lunatic. If only that mad Emperor didn’t exist, there would be no one in this world capable of opposing Asmodina.
Faced with questions that had no answers, Asmo-rina shook her head.
‘Fine, let me meet Asmodina first and think about it then.’
She despised getting tangled up in such complicated worries. Her philosophy was to deal with problems as they came and think later.
Just then, Lua, who had been sleeping in the adjacent bed, opened her eyes.
“Mm? Sister, why are you waking up so early this morning?”
“Lua, I have somewhere to go this evening. I’ll be going alone.”
“…Did you perhaps find Mother?”
Asmo-rina didn’t answer, only offering a brief smile. Lua’s eyes widened at the sight.
It was a tender smile she had never seen during their travels together.

* * *
Jeina, who had been trying to arrange a meeting with Asmo-rina, frowned at the unexpected visitor who suddenly appeared in her room.
The intruder was Guard Knight Ruslara, her nose and mouth concealed by a hood.
And the news she brought was equally unwelcome.
“So… Princess Deina knows that I and the Countess were trying to meet with Asmo-rina?”
“Yes. Princess Deina said she has a warning for you and the Countess before the transaction proceeds.”
“How did she overhear us? There was no one around.”
“I’ve been instructed not to speak of that.”
With her face covered, her expression was difficult to read.
Jeina tapped the desk with a dissatisfied expression and spoke.
“What was the warning?”
“She said you must not provoke Asmo-rina. To that end, I’m here to explain the precautions you should take.”
Ruslara calmly explained the words and tones to avoid.
Listening quietly to the explanation, Jeina’s brow furrowed.
‘As if I were dealing with a child…’
Don’t casually shorten her name, don’t bring up topics that might provoke her competitive spirit—more than half of it was useless advice.
The only thing worth heeding concerned matters related to Demons.
‘Don’t ask carelessly about the Deity, Demons, and the Demon Realm… I should refrain from obtaining information about the Sun God through Demons.’
She had many questions about the relationship between the Sun God and Demons, but it seemed she would have to hold back this time.
“Is that all? Does Deina have no intention of interfering in the transaction?”
“Yes. She said she leaves becoming a Demon to the Countess’s choice.”
That was unexpected. She had assumed Deina would naturally try to dissuade the Countess.
Then Ruslara added, as if to clarify the misunderstanding.
“Princess Deina has already explained to the Countess the dangers of Demon reincarnation. It’s simply…”
“She refused to listen. The Countess didn’t seem inclined to heed anyone else’s advice anyway.”
Jeina nodded, indicating she understood the situation well enough.
‘Regardless, she revealed her identity first. That’s a bold strategy.’
Knowing information about Asmo-rina meant Deina was essentially admitting she was Asmodina.
She had expected Deina to hide it by any means necessary, but she hadn’t anticipated such a preemptive strike.
‘Is she trusting me? Or perhaps Asmo-rina is such a dangerous Demon that she had no choice.’
If I failed to warn them beforehand, they might consider a meeting between Jeina and the Countess dangerous enough to jeopardize their safety.
The thought sent a chill down my spine.
“…Well then, I’ve conveyed all the orders I was given, so I shall take my leave now.”
“Wait, Ruslara.”
Jeina stopped Ruslara as she turned to go.
“I have something I’d like to ask you.”
“I haven’t received orders to answer other questions.”
“It’s not an official question. I’m asking not as Deina’s knight, but as someone standing by her side.”
“…?”
Ruslara furrowed her brow, seemingly not understanding what she meant.
Jeina fell silent for a moment, choosing her words carefully before finally voicing the question she had buried deep in her heart for so long.
“From where you stand beside Deina, always watching over her… do you think Deina is still human?”
“….”
It was a question she could never have asked as family.
If Deina were not the person she once knew, if she were not her older sister… Jeina couldn’t even bear to imagine what would come after.
Then Ruslara’s expression softened slightly, and she answered with unwavering conviction.
“Do not worry, Your Highness. The Princess has always been human.”
“…Truly?”
“Yes. She always thinks of her family first, of her younger sister, and sacrifices herself to be kind to everyone… she is more human than anyone. So you may trust in that.”
With those words, Ruslara left the room.
Only after hearing the door close did Jeina’s tension finally ease, and she exhaled a deep breath.
“Yes, human—that’s what matters.”
Someone who chooses the bonds of humanity over the bonds of demonkind.
Those words were both comfort and certainty.
‘Then Deina will choose me, not a demon.’
Jeina twisted Ruslara’s words slightly, interpreting them in a way favorable to herself.

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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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