“Friend? Do you perhaps not know what demons are?”

I turned my body around and looked at Eden.

Raising one eyebrow, I asked again, feeling like I had misheard something.

At first, I thought I was in danger, but I was so taken aback by the unexpected words that I was dumbfounded.

“They are beings who fell to the underworld for the sin of abandoning their faith in the Father. They are fundamentally different from us.”

“But according to what you said, demons were also created by God. Just like us.”

The human with purple hair tilted her head, hands on her hips.

She couldn’t understand why I was wary of demons and why I found it unpleasant for them to come here.

“No. They’re different.”

I was frustrated by that point and got angry. I frowned at the anger that instantly filled my head.

“Because they betrayed the Father’s love.”

I had anticipated to some extent that Eden’s head was like a flower garden, but I didn’t expect her to be this unaware of the rules of heaven and hell.

Inviting others to make new friends isn’t wrong in itself, but she chose the wrong candidates.

‘Does Eden not know that even a single exception can bring down the entire system?’

I should talk to Eden again after driving out those demons.

‘If I explain calmly, she’ll understand.’

I said nothing more, turned away from Eden with her arms crossed, and glared at the demons with sharp eyes.

Being as generous as possible, I could excuse Eden for not knowing, but it was strange that the World Tree had followed Eden’s will.

‘Although Eden is the manager of this land, the true owner of the land is not her, but the World Tree.’

Above all, the World Tree must surely know that if demonic energy touches the land, it could wither.

‘So why did it allow this?’

If the World Tree withers, all life on this land will die in an instant, and it’s puzzling that the World Tree, which loves life more than anyone, let Eden do as she pleased.

I couldn’t rationally accept why it had such a foolish thought, or why it didn’t give her a stern warning.

‘One thing’s for sure, it’s been since Eden set foot on this land.’

I gritted my teeth, gripping my spear again.

‘Many beings have started making strange choices like the World Tree.’

The demons kept backing away while watching me, and they seemed to be whispering among themselves, discussing countermeasures.

“What’s this, why is the atmosphere so bleak?”

It was then.

There was a sound of a book closing shut somewhere, and someone appeared in the air, flapping huge wings and trailing a dark red aura.

The demon with enormous dark red horns, very long brown hair, strange clothes wrapped around its body like bandages, and glowing red eyes, was peculiar in that it held an ancient book in one hand.

“Huh?”

Another demon, no less. I immediately noticed from its charisma, different from those with small wings, that this demon was at the level of a legion commander.

“Boss!”

And the small-winged demons who had been without any notable response until now quickly scattered and hid behind the large wings.

“Who dares to scare our little lambs?”

The red-eyed demon looked around briefly, then fixed its gaze on me and widened its eyes.

“Could it be you?”

Then, smiling with its eyes and crossing its legs in midair, an enormous force began to press down on my shoulders, applying tremendous pressure.

“Kuk!”

This isn’t revenge for bullying its subordinates, nor is it just venting frustration because I’m an angel.

Judging by that wicked gaze, it showed the psychology of being interested in whether I could be a toy, experimentally rolling a ball from a high place to drop it.

“Hey, stop it! We promised not to bully anyone!”

Meanwhile, Eden, unable to stand by any longer, intervened, and only then did the demon withdraw its power as if nothing had happened.

“Ah! We did promise, didn’t we~”

Chuckling, the demon lightly descended to the ground, snapped its fingers with a click, and in an instant came before me, extending its hand.

“What is it?”

Recalling how it had been about to crush me into a mess just moments ago, I felt repulsed.

“I’m offering my hand for reconciliation. Come on, let’s make up and be done with it?”

Its cheerful smile was so irritating. I roughly pushed away the hand of the demon with huge horns, saying I didn’t need it.

“Wow, is he always like this?”

“No. He’s being particularly sensitive today.”

The demon pretended to sniffle and tear up because I had acted a bit fiercely, while Eden shrugged with a blank face.

“Boss, that guy is really wicked!”

“As the great demon of knowledge, please teach him a lesson!”

“Oh my?”

Meanwhile, at the continuous tattling from its subordinates, the brown-haired demon turned to look at me.

“I thought angels were supposed to be good beings, but I guess that was all lies? Trying to attack rudely and all.”

It tilted its head and asked with a bright face, which really got on my nerves.

“You seem to have forgotten that you’re the one who trespassed into our territory?”

I had tried to remain calm, but my patience reached its limit and I raised my voice.

“If we had invaded Eden, would the World Tree have stayed quiet?”

Seemingly unaffected by my prickly attitude, the large-winged demon shrugged its shoulders and twisted its lips while glancing at Eden.

“Just be honest and say you overreacted because there’s something you want to protect, little one.”

At that, the demon with huge horns giggled and ran away, and I chased after it with my spear.

“Oh my, looks like I hit the nail on the head!”

The red-eyed demon seemed to treat this as a form of entertainment, and during the chase, it never attacked once. The damned demon dodged all my attacks while cackling.

“We might become good friends, you know.”

The red-eyed demon, having risen high into the air and then gently moved behind Eden, wore a victorious expression. It knew that I wouldn’t swing my spear anymore if it did that.

“In that sense, shall we start day one?”

Soon after, as it rested its chin on one hand and widened its eyes, anger welled up inside me.

“How unpleasant! There’s no chance of that happening even if I were to be reborn, so stop spouting nonsense.”

“Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?”

Despite my fierce words, the demon with huge horns just kept laughing and added one more thing.

“All those who acted as haughty as you eventually became part of one family, you know.”

The red-eyed demon, narrowing its eyes and momentarily exuding a wicked aura, instantly put on a gentle face when Eden turned her head, trembling with anxiety.

“Talking with this old-fashioned guy has tired me out. Come on, let’s go sightseeing!”

Then, as it grabbed Eden’s hand and called out to depart, I wanted to raise my voice and argue again, but I held back for Eden’s sake.

“What’s this?”

“That’s a flower. Flowers are always blooming in Eden.”

The demon with huge horns was very curious.

It didn’t hesitate to ask questions about anything unfamiliar, and recorded everything without fail in the book it kept floating in the air.

The only problem was that it had so many questions that Eden gradually grew tired from answering each one.

“So this is the World Tree? It’s smaller than I thought. I expected it to be huge.”

Finally, when we came to the World Tree as the last stop, the red-eyed demon sparkled its eyes so innocently that one might wonder if it was really a demon.

In the moment of seeking and acquiring knowledge, it showed a purer appearance than anyone else.

“Is this your first time seeing the World Tree?”

“Of course. There are only demons in the underworld.”

Perhaps because I kept watching vigilantly from behind with a fierce glare, the brown-haired demon didn’t speak at length anymore.

“They’re playful fellows, but all good-natured. Come visit later.”

Later, as it prepared to leave, I thought it was finally going, but then it made an unnecessary suggestion to Eden!

“I should be going now. Someone keeps glaring at me.”

So when I showed open hostility like a growling beast, it told Eden to invite it next time when I wasn’t around, and then disappeared into the underworld with its subordinates.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“I need to return too.”

Eden only paid attention to me after the demons had vanished, but I had to leave now. I had to report today’s events to the Father, so I briefly said goodbye and headed to the sanctuary.

“Father! Demons invaded Eden today.”

“Hmm? Invaded, you say?”

Contrary to my expectations, Father didn’t take it seriously. I realized then that He already knew the demons would visit Eden.

“Didn’t the World Tree and Eden invite them?”

Father smiled, hands clasped behind His back.

“Seeing Eden and the World Tree treat them without prejudice fills my heart with peace.”

I was displeased with Father’s lukewarm attitude, believing it would be more appropriate to be angry than to show such an indifferent response.

“I’ve told the World Tree not to invite them frequently, so don’t worry.”

Why did it seem like I was the only one feeling urgent? I didn’t say much in front of Father, but I couldn’t suppress the uneasiness rising from deep within me.

“There’s no need for the concern you’re feeling.”

How can you be so sure?

Although Father told me not to worry, if rules could be broken so easily, it would have been better if there were no rules in this world at all.

Feeling that something was amiss, I visited Eden every day after that, worried that demons might invade again.

However, after that day, demons never appeared in Eden again.

“Yong-yong has run away!”

Then one day, the peace that seemed like it would last forever crumbled.

The dragon suddenly left Eden, plunging Eden into sadness.

As a result, I spent more time in Eden under the pretext of comforting her, and each time I watched the sorrowful Eden, I blamed myself for being unable to do anything.

After that, how much time passed?

Not long after, Eden began to fill the box Father had given her with the love she had received, and she didn’t stop even after the dragon returned as an adult.

And as a result, Eden was banished.

When those who admired her began to fight and clash with each other, and things got out of control, God intervened, and it ended tragically as they exchanged questions.

‘That Father doesn’t respond to me, that Father eliminated Eden…’

‘I can’t understand any of it! You loved Eden more than anyone else!’

‘If Father was going to discard Eden so easily, you shouldn’t have created her in the first place!’

I begged Father to forgive Eden when I found out, but nothing changed.

And when I decided to leave God’s side, vowing to recreate Eden, I finally realized.

The reason angels fall to the underworld is because they can’t overcome despair.

* * *

“I had vowed to recreate Eden.”

The reminiscence, long if long and short if short, came to an end.

I frowned at the pain of my heart clenching and blood not flowing, as if it were being crushed.

Even the touch of moonlight coming through the window couldn’t heal this pain.

“In the end, I accomplished nothing.”

Unable to hold back the sudden surge of sorrow, tears poured out.

I wiped my eyes with both hands while sniffling.

Not wanting anyone to catch me like this, I gritted my teeth to keep my sobs from escaping as I wept.

“I’m sorry.”

Why had I forgotten until now? I don’t understand why I had completely forgotten such precious memories, who I used to be, and acted so thoughtlessly.

Perhaps when I headed to the underworld, riding the shell of another, even the fragments of the past sank beyond the abyss.

But it doesn’t matter now that I’ve remembered.

I tightly gripped the blanket, simultaneously recalling Eden, the cherished being from the past, and the current image of Her Highness the Princess.

And the next day.

Creeak—

The sound of the door opening reached my ears, but perhaps because my mind had been complicated late into the dawn, I couldn’t open my eyes immediately and just tossed and turned. The lingering drowsiness made it too difficult to lift my eyelids even though my consciousness had awakened.

“Berith! Mom says to come for breakfast!”

Moreover, I thought it was probably a maid who had entered the bedroom, but judging by the mischievous act of roughly pulling off the blanket while raising her voice, it was my sister.

“I want to sleep more. Give me the blanket.”

I curled up like a shrimp, then turned my head and buried my face in the pillow. When I grumbled, speaking in a muffled voice, my sister made a “hmm” sound right behind me.

“Are you really going to sleep more? You’ll regret it.”

Chuckling, my sister soon added:

“Today’s breakfast menu is pancakes with lots of corn in them.”

“Really?”

How could this be? Corn, which I ate every single day even when I was God’s representative! My body reacted before my reason, and I sprang up.

Just a moment ago, I was yawning softly and felt so tired that I thought I would endlessly entrust my consciousness to the land of dreams, but the moment I heard the word ‘corn’, I became wide awake as if I had washed my face with cold water.

“Yes. There’s corn soup too.”

“Then I’ll go!”

I instinctively found my slippers and ran towards the dining room in an instant. My sister caught me halfway and we had to return to the bedroom to wash up, but thinking about wanting to quickly eat the dishes with corn in them, I washed hastily.

Clatter—

“Berith, eat slowly.”

“Okay, Mom!”

I carefully cut the pancake topped with whipped cream and small fruit pieces with a knife, then picked it up with a fork and ate it. I was happy. The flavor and aroma of corn spreading on my tongue felt like it was elevating the quality of my soul.

“Give me one more serving.”

“Yes.”

I ate the soup diligently in between, so I asked the maid to bring a few more plates.

‘Come to think of it, my sister seems to resemble that demon of knowledge.’

While the maid went to get new soup, I inadvertently looked at my sister across from me, who was chewing with her mouth closed.

‘What was that guy’s name again? It was Ron something, I think.’

Splash—

Damn, lost in thought, I saw my sister drop a large piece of pancake she had greedily stuck on her fork.

‘She just looks similar. Her actions are completely different from that guy.’

Looking glumly at the pancake she had ruined, then beaming with joy when the maid quickly brought a new one.

‘Well, there’s no way a great demon commander from hell would be here.’

There’s no chance that this 10-year-old kid showing such behavior could be that demon from my memories.

“No matter how much you stare, I won’t give you any. This is mine.”

“Eat all you want. I’m going to keep eating soup anyway.”