The Entire Demon World is Fighting for My Favor: A Shura Field 19

Chapter 19

Escape was no longer an option for the miasma. It had messed with the wrong family.

Before it could flee, Oni, losing her patience, swelled to several times her size and swallowed the sentient miasma whole, letting out a small burp. It tasted awful; she hadn’t consumed such a low-level demon in ages.

Lin Ran: …?

From his angle, he hadn’t seen the three demons’ fearsome forms. He only saw the elegant “Sootball” suddenly inflate like a balloon and devour the miasma like pudding.

So, Nemo’s family had large appetites, and they weren’t interested in milk. Would he have to catch demons for Sootball to eat when it grew up? The thought of providing anything other than milk for his cub filled him with a sudden sense of responsibility.

Oni, having made sure her actions hadn’t scared the human, turned back to him.

“So, you really are Sootball’s caretaker?” Lin Ran asked, breaking the silence, his grip on Sootball tightening. Knowing Sootball had family should be a happy occasion, but the thought of them taking him away filled him with anxiety. He had worked so hard to raise Sootball, and its wings were healing so well. If it suddenly left, he would feel like an empty-nester.

“Cheep?” Sensing his sadness, Sootball flew to his shoulder, nuzzling against him.

Lin Ran chuckled, petting it.

“Cheep…?” Sootball, confused, looked up at him, trying to understand his emotions.

Seeing this, Oni and Yorke found it even harder to speak. It seems even if we wanted to take Master Nemo back, we couldn’t. The butler felt a pang of regret. He wished there were more miasma to fight; he needed to release some frustration.

Objectively speaking, you’re right. But Oni might not listen. Yorke knew his wife well; he was merely a supportive husband.

“Yes, we are Nemo’s family. I am Oni Luna Vernia, Nemo’s mother,” Oni said, her voice cool but attempting to sound gentle, switching to the common tongue for Lin Ran’s benefit.

Lin Ran stared in shock as the elegant “Sootball” spoke. Not only were they Nemo’s family, but they could also talk?! And her voice was quite pleasant, elegant, though slightly cold. He remembered Sootball saying “A-RAN”; it could learn to speak if it tried.

But “Nemo’s mother”… did Sootball have a name?!

“Yes, Nemo is a nickname. His full name is Delmoko Luna Avikajan,” Oni added, her tone still cool but with a hint of resentment.

The name sounded incredibly prestigious. Lin Ran suddenly felt self-conscious about the nickname “Sootball.”

“Don’t worry, we’re not here to take Nemo away,” Oni said, surprising Yorke and the butler. She had initially intended to, but seeing the young human, she changed her mind.

“How old are you, little one?” she asked.

“I? I’m twenty-one…” Lin Ran politely answered, crouching down. Despite its fluffy appearance, Oni’s demeanor reminded him of a powerful woman in a high position.

Oni smiled faintly. “So, you really are a little one. Nemo just turned one hundred.”

Lin Ran: ?

One hundred years old and still a “little one”?! But Sootball acted like a toddler, not a century-old demon.

“Don’t be surprised. It’s our race. We spend a long time dormant after birth. By human standards, Nemo is about three and a half years old,” Oni explained patiently, perhaps finding Lin Ran’s presence calming. If she wasn’t a fluffball, he might have found it easier to accept.

Three and a half years old did sound more like Sootball. He suddenly felt awkward holding someone else’s child in front of their parents.

“Nemo likes you very much. I can rarely hold him,” Oni added.

“Um… I have a question. As Nemo’s mother, do you know about his initial condition?”

“When I first met Sootball, he was in bad shape, covered in fleas and fly eggs, and his wings were… mangled.”

“What? Master Nemo never mentioned this!” the butler exclaimed, shocked. If he had been so injured, why would he keep logging into “Demon World”?

Oni and Yorke exchanged a look, staring at Nemo in disbelief.

“Cheep.” Sootball, however, remained silent in Lin Ran’s arms. The atmosphere grew tense.

“We weren’t aware of this. Perhaps we never encountered such issues with our other children, and we’ve been very busy…” Oni admitted, her voice strained. Admitting her negligence, especially to a young human, wasn’t easy.

As a member of the Abyssal Monitoring Committee, she and Yorke spent most of their time inspecting demonic energy fluctuations and dealing with rogue demons. Once, they had spent five years away from home, dealing with a major incident and disguising it as a natural disaster. This had inevitably distanced them from Nemo.

“We’ll try to communicate with him better in the future. But we’re here for something important: the Radiant Moon Crystal Nemo gave you.”

“We apologize, but that crystal is crucial to our clan. For centuries…” She finally addressed the reason for their visit. If they couldn’t take their son back, they had to retrieve the crystal.

Lin Ran, listening to her serious explanation, felt she was slipping back into her work mode, ignoring Sootball again. Yorke seemed to have no influence over her. This was why Sootball never sought help from them.

He felt sorry for Sootball and looked at Oni. “You want me to return the crystal, right?”

Oni, surprised by his directness, was speechless. This centuries-old treasure, given to an outsider, was a devastating loss for the Luna Clan.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t touched it,” Lin Ran said, taking out a small box containing the moonstone.

“If you want to keep it for Nemo until he’s older, I can give it to you. But I have a condition.” He closed the box, making Oni subtly relieved.

“Young man, as long as your request is reasonable, I have the authority to grant it. We came prepared to offer you a generous reward,” she said, for Nemo’s sake.

“I don’t want anything. I just want you to apologize to Sootball and promise to spend at least one day a month with him, no matter how busy you are.”

“Can you do that? Once a month shouldn’t be too difficult, right?” Lin Ran asked, still puzzled by how “national affairs” could be more important than their only child.

Silence fell upon the room. Oni, expecting a hefty demand, was at a loss. This insignificant request was completely unexpected. But it was something she and Yorke had never done.

“Cheep!” Just then, Sootball flew over, guarding the box, glaring at his parents, a faint purple aura surrounding him. So, they wanted to take the pretty stone he had given A-Ran.

Sootball was usually quiet and well-behaved. This was the first time Lin Ran had seen it so agitated and hostile, like a little hedgehog bristling with spines.