Survival Guide After Accidentally Kissing a Demon - Chapter 93

Chapter 93

These were words, not incantations or magic spells.

A faint suspicion began to form in Beili’s mind.

She took the boy’s hand, letting his fingertips slowly brush over the remaining words on the paper again, and asked, “Ashera, does this part mean ‘a graveyard loathed even by the moon’?”

These words were part of the answer the Book of Truth had given her, representing the first half of the response.

The boy lowered his hollow golden eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips as he gave a soft, “Mm.”

Beili understood instantly.

The answer provided by the Book of Truth wasn’t a spell or magic; it was likely just an ambiguous statement.

…

Did that sentence have anything to do with her returning to her original world?

That was the first question that came to Beili’s mind.

Perhaps she should seek Ashera’s help.

Now that the Dream Domain had been opened and he had used the Book of Truth, there was nothing left to hide.

Most importantly, they had already signed a Life-and-Death Contract.

Under the constraints of the contract, she no longer needed to fear him.

“Um… Ashera…”

Beili quickly took the boy’s hand and unfolded his closed fingers.

“Since you know the meaning of these characters, please tell me what these mean.”

There was a subtle yet earnest plea in the girl’s tone.

She began to write out the second half of the sentence-the part she had memorized perfectly but didn’t yet understand.

In his pale, cold palm, she precisely traced each character one by one.

…

On the other side.

Feeling the warmth and delicate touch tracing against his palm, the boy’s long, straight eyelashes flickered slightly.

However, as the strokes continued, his upturned lips gradually pressed into a thin line.

The boy became lost in thought.

Once she finished writing, Beili looked up with her red eyes at the silent boy.

Taking a soft breath to mask her anxiety, she asked as calmly as possible, “Ashera, what do these words I wrote mean?”

His cold fingers closed, enveloping her fingertips.

The boy spoke slowly and clearly:

“There… dwells… a… butterfly.”

His voice was like a light feather falling by her ear, lingering with an affectionate trace.

‘A graveyard loathed even by the moon, where a butterfly dwells.’

Beili finally knew the full answer given by the Book of Truth.

Except.

It didn’t have a damn thing to do with her question about how to return to her original world.

Her pupils constricted, and the veins in her forehead throbbed violently.

Beili snatched the slightly yellowed page from the air, wanting to tear it to shreds.

Two seconds later, she regained her composure.

When she had asked the question last time, the name she filled in was Bartholomew Constance.

If she used her own name, would she get another chance to ask a question?

A Morpho Butterfly brought over a quill, and she wrote her name in the blank space-

‘Beili’

The paper and quill pulled away, returning to the small round table.

Then, the sound of rapid scratching filled the air.

Beili couldn’t wait; she sat up straight, leaning in to check as the recliner swayed.

Then.

She saw the black ink trace a line of neat text onto the yellowed paper-

[Beili has one opportunity to inquire; the Book of Truth shall resolve her confusion.]

It really worked.

Her deep red eyes lit up with a brief flash of pleasant surprise before quickly turning solemn again.

This Book of Truth always liked giving ambiguous answers, so she had to limit the scope of its response.

Resting her arms on the armrests of the recliner, Beili gripped the quill tightly.

She pursed her lips, and after a moment of thought, wrote in the blank space below the text-

‘Is it impossible for Beili to return to her original world? Answer yes or no.’

The tip of the pen stopped. The page ‘swished’ from her palm to the other side of the round table, and the quill was quickly pulled from her fingers.

After a brief moment of writing, it stopped.

Scanning the page with her red eyes, Beili saw the answer given by the Book of Truth-

[Yes.]

…

Yes.

So, she couldn’t go back.

She could never return to her original world.

Her body suddenly went stiff.

It was as if she were nailed to the spot; her breathing became light and slow, and her expression turned somber.

Why?

Could it be that her body in the original world was already dead?

After all, she was always staying up late, and the dark circles under her eyes grew heavier by the day.

If she had kicked the bucket from the shock of anger and grief right after finishing that Mary Sue novel, it wouldn’t be a surprise to her at all.
So she really couldn’t go back? She could only continue living here?

Judging by the answer given by the Book of Truth… that was the case.

Beili stared at the word “Yes” rendered in black ink.

Her eyes, her thoughts, and her entire being fell into a state of confusion.

…

“You sense as though you’ve lost your soul, my dear Little Butterfly.”

Broad, pale fingers brushed aside a lock of long, silver-gray curly hair that draped down her back.

Slowly twirling it around his fingertip, the man asked in a nonchalant tone, “Did it also say you are a graveyard detested by all?”

Beili turned her head and saw that the thin youth had vanished. In the lounge chair sat the man with goat horns growing from his head.

“I’m just… too lost…” Beili said honestly.

“By the way, why did you come out?” she asked absentmindedly.

“Because he was very sad.”

The man wore a smile on his lips as he said lazily, “The kind of sadness where one might burst into tears the very next second. And yet, you were sitting right there, so close, yet completely unaware.”

“What a cold and heartless Little Butterfly…” He sighed softly with feigned helplessness.

…Sad?

Hearing Ashera’s words, Beili recalled his appearance as a youth just moments ago-quiet, with a faint smile.

Following his lead, she treated Ashera’s two forms as separate individuals.

“…I didn’t notice,” she said.

After all, Beili herself had been stunned by the information from the Book of Truth.

“If I had noticed, I would have said something to comfort him,” she added a beat late, her tone still somewhat sluggish.

A half-smile played on the man’s lips.

He lay on the gently rocking chair without speaking.

Raising his hand, he made a light flick with his pale fingertips.

The ink-stained, slightly yellowed paper was pulled from the girl’s fingers and flew into the roaring fireplace.

With another flick of his finger, the steaming cup of tea on the small round table seemed to be picked up by an invisible hand. It was delivered steadily to the man, tilting slightly as he turned his head to let him drink.

Inside the burning fireplace, the paper curled and blackened in the flames, turning into a pile of black ash in the blink of an eye.

“That’s why I said it’s a low-grade tool.”

His voice was deep and heavy as he gave a low snort.

…

Beili had a premonition that if she opened the door to the Third Floor of the library building again, that blank page would reappear on the small round table.

Furthermore, she had used up all her questions for the Book of Truth; it was now useless to her.

So, when the page was set ablaze, she didn’t even spare it a glance.

She simply lowered her eyes and looked quietly at Ashera.

The man with the pair of twisted black goat horns was lying lazily on his side, his long silver hair and voluminous black robes spreading across the lounge chair.

‘A graveyard detested even by the moon, where a butterfly dwells.’

That sentence resurfaced in Beili’s mind.

If the graveyard referred to Ashera and the butterfly referred to Bartholomew… then the moon… perhaps it referred to Susanna.

Was what the Book of Truth described her ultimate end?

“Are you still feeling sad now?” Beili asked softly.

Even if he was a Demon, he would still have joys, sorrows, and anger.

“Me? Of course… I’m sad.”

The man spoke with a long, slow drawl.

His thin lips were cold, and a smile hung at the corners of his mouth. There wasn’t a single trace of sadness to be seen on his face.

“You don’t need to be sad, Ashera,” she said.

“Just as you said, the Book of Truth is indeed a low-grade tool.”

With her red eyes open, Beili twitched the corner of her mouth and spoke slowly.

“For instance, if I ask it-before the sun sets tomorrow, will Bartholomew eat an apple given by Ashera?”

“If I restrict its answer to ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ and then we agree to act contrary to the answer, the Book of Truth becomes nothing more than a scrap of waste paper.”

On the other side, the curve of Ashera’s lips deepened. His eyelashes flickered slightly, as if he were thinking rapidly about something.

“What I mean is, a predetermined fate can be changed because we know the result in advance.”

She was still patiently explaining.

“I see…”

Within his hollow golden eyes, the dark red vertical pupils constricted into fine needles.

Amidst the girl’s incredibly earnest words, he murmured in a dark, low tone, “The best ending… is to go to Hell together.”