Chapter 67: Chapter 67
Mart activated his demonic perception now enhanced with the new attribute energy sensitivity and began to inspect the surroundings as he sat in the middle of his bed observing the surroundings of his dark room, he did not feel the need to turn on the light because with demonic perception his senses were enhanced and adapted to the environment. A few minutes passed, Mart realized that there were no traces of demonic energy, or any other type of energy, but as he had not resigned himself to overlook what he had heard, he asked in his mind, "system, what was it that I heard?"
[Fragment of a memory]
Mart did not need to ask anything else, because every time he increased his intelligence the deeper and shallower memories of the real Mart emerged, that in one way or another had allowed him to adapt to the environment, but he had always wondered, what he would feel when remembering the last moments of the real Mart.
Mart looked over to the desk that sat in the corner of his room, then looked specifically at the drawer with the double bottom, he was almost certain that what he had heard was related to the death and curse that the real Mart suffered.
He lay down again in silence and trying to contain his thoughts waiting for some trace of memory that wanted to surface, but after nothing came up, he managed to fall asleep.
••••
The day of the date had arrived, Emy stood at the entrance of the Academy wearing a pastel orange dress, in her hands she held the strap of the handbag she had been carrying, sometimes pacing back and forth, because she was nervous.
"It’s not a date. Yeah, he sure needs a favor. But he hugged me in front of everyone. No, be quiet" Emy despite her calm and professional attitude that bordered on somber, found herself fighting thoughts that came and went. She looked at the surroundings, saw some students passing by, then looked at the tip of her brown hair, which she sometimes held between her fingers.
When the appointed time was coming, Mart walked up wearing a white shirt, black pants and black shoes, as always everything Mart wore was tailored and as he had grown a bit and his body had slightly toned up, they made him look even more handsome than before. Emy was shocked to see Mart approaching, his expression cordial and charming.
"He’s very handsome," was all she thought, because soon after Mart took her hand very carefully and asked:
-Where would you like to go?
-To a bookstore. -Emy answered without hesitation.
Mart laughed and said:
-If that’s what you wish, we’ll go.
She nodded and so the two of them walked together in the commercial area of the city. As they walked, Mart watched the surroundings to see if there had been any change in the city and also to check if he was being followed.
Mart looked at Emy, who was walking looking at the bag in her hand, he whispered in her ear with his captivating voice:
-I’m not playing, Emy.
Emy felt her body shudder at those words and then looked at Mart. She always had a calm gaze, especially when she was looking deeply into something that interested her, and at this moment she turned that gaze to Mart.
"I don’t know if it was chance, fate or whatever; but by recommending that book to me, you made me open my eyes, otherwise I would have most likely suffered a pathetic death on Marrac Mountain or I would have lost irreplaceable demons; I will always protect you and keep you by my side, if you wish to be by my side", were Mart’s thoughts as he continued walking with Emy towards a bookstore with an elegant façade whose windows had silver frames that gave an elegant touch to the building whose walls were covered with cream and brown tiles.
Inside the bookstore, everything was neatly arranged, wooden shelves with their subjects clearly marked. Emy did not hesitate to head towards the shelves of the history section, Mart also looked at the titles for a while, but as he did not find anything that caught his attention he walked towards the inner part of the bookstore and saw a book on a pedestal, the book with a somewhat rough black cover and red letters that together formed the title, "Blood is life. Blood is death", on the pedestal was on a label the price of the book, "100 000 gold coins"; Mart ignored the book because at the moment he was already focused on mastering demonic spells and curses, he didn’t want to add one more burden that would make his progress inefficient, as he knew that this was a book of demonic blood magic.
After checking the shelves he was going to return, until he saw a set of books whose covers looked worn, those books were in a mess in a box and although they were also magic books, they were only sold for 100 silver coins.
"Why shouldn’t I check them out? It would be very cliché, but if it benefits me I won’t complain," Mart thought with some mockery as he remembered that in places like these the stories of some heroes began, or so he had been told by Carl who kept talking about the stories he read. Mart looked through each book, until his relaxed expression turned somber.
"What’s this doing here? It can’t be that, can it?", Mart picked up a book whose cover was a cream color with some brown and black cracks due to deterioration, the book looked like it had been stitched with demonic hair; Mart immediately hurriedly checked all the remaining books in the box, but found none that had a similar theme.
-Mart, did you find a good book? -asked Emy, who was carrying two books in her arms.
Mart immediately hid the book in his hands behind his back, and answered trying to act relaxed:
-No, at the moment I’m looking at the books around, just that.
Emy looked into Mart’s eyes and sensed that he was hiding something, but she didn’t want to be flippant and just walked away quietly to go pay for her books. Mart wanted to pay for the books for her, but he didn’t want her to see the book he had. Mart scanned the surroundings and then looked at the title of the book again, "Unnamable Magic".
He wanted to burn the book, but he hadn’t paid for it yet, so after Emy paid and continued looking at other books, Mart approached the counter where the cashier was a demon woman, with three yellow eyes, purple skin, and dark purple hair, who was wearing a white shirt with a black tie and a black skirt.
The instant Mart showed her the book she watched her closely to evaluate every gesture, to find a clue as to the book’s origin or who might have brought it into the library; but the three-eyed demon woman acted as if she was looking at just a cheap book for which the store would only get 100 silver coins.
-Would you like a bag? asked the three-eyed demon woman.
Mart shook his head, paid the one hundred silver coins and immediately put the book in his demon bag.
As she left the store, Emy carried the books she had bought in her arms and Mart told her sincerely:
-Later I’ll tell you about the book I didn’t want to show you, there’s a good reason for that.
Emy noticed the firm look, which was rare on the charming face of the relaxed Mart she knew; in spite of everything, she was happy, because he had taken her into account.
Mart took Emy’s books and put them in his demon bag.
-I’ll give them back to you tomorrow. -Mart said.
-Tomorrow? -Emy asked in surprise.
-Yes, I want to spend the whole day and night by your side. -Mart answered.
Emy kept silent and Mart watched her as they continued walking.
-If you don’t want to, you can refuse. -Mart said in a calm tone.
-Mart, just don’t hurt me. You know I like you. -Emy was direct, and added. -But I don’t think it’s right, you’re of lineage, and I’m from a family that is practically recognized as a family of commoners, they won’t let me be near you.
Mart smiled, and said to her:
-If you are willing, that is enough for me. I’ll change the world as I please so I won’t be kept away from the people I care about.
[Arrogance trait activated]
[All attributes temporarily raised by +10].
Mart walked with Emy towards a restaurant and they passed near a stage on which some four subjects dressed in extravagant clothes and makeup, who were playing music and cheering the little audience that was observing them, Mart did not give them importance until the system notified him:
[Warning: four demons with a power exceeding rank 5 in nearby areas.]