A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 47: Chill Talk

That evening, Shu sat on the front steps outside his building with both forearms resting over his knees, looking like he could fall asleep sitting up if the world gave him five quiet minutes.

Raniel sat beside him and looked ahead for a bit, though her attention kept drifting to the invisible boundary around the block. She had already touched it earlier, got registered and walked through, yet the more she thought about it, the less normal any of this felt.

"By the way," she said at last, glancing at him from the side, "since humans can’t just come into your Domain whenever they want, does that mean monsters can’t either?"

He turned his head a little, clearly more tired than surprised by the question. "Yeah, same idea," he said, then dragged one hand down his face before adding the part she actually wanted. "The Domain blocks them first, and if they keep forcing it, they get shocked. For monsters, that usually means they die."

She stared at him for a second, then looked back at the road, ’what kind of scam skill is this?’ she thought, folding one arm over her stomach.

’People are out there getting torn apart over one building, and this guy has a whole block that just tells monsters no and kills them if they insist.’

"That is actually disgusting," she said, sounding more offended on behalf of the whole city now. "No, seriously, Shu, do you understand how absurd that is?"

He gave a weak shrug. "A little."

She turned fully to look at him, "a little?" she repeated, then let out a short breath through her nose. "This is not ’a little’ insane. People would kill for power like this right now."

He listened quietly, then glanced ahead again. "Then I guess I got lucky," he said, and that should have sounded smug, but it really didn’t, if anything, it only made her feel stranger.

’He really says the wildest things like they are nothing,’ she thought, watching his profile for a second before looking away. ’This guy is impossible.’

"Then what about before?" she asked, shifting one leg a little. "When I found your place that first night, was it already like that?"

"Not on this scale," he said. "It got bigger and more powerful."

That answer brought her right back to the part still annoying her. Earlier, when he brought her over, she had touched the barrier from way down the road, and no matter how many times she replayed that in her head, it still felt unfair in a very personal way.

"Yeah, and that part is still pissing me off," she muttered, finally looking at him properly again. "I thought your weird house thing would stop around the building, then suddenly it was a whole block. Do you know how unfair that is?"

The corner of his mouth twitched a little at that. "You keep calling me unfair."

"Because you are," she said without hesitation, then pointed back at the building. "You have a protected block, working electricity, cold air, real food, water, TV, and a house that feels more normal than anywhere else in the city. If I call you unfair ten more times, I still won’t be wrong."

He heard all of that and gave another small shrug. "When you list it like that, I really do sound spoiled."

She snorted. "You are spoiled."

"I got dragged into hell first," he said, his voice dry as ever, "so I think I earned it."

That got a laugh out of her before she could stop it. The answer was stupid, but it was also exactly the kind of answer she expected from him now, blunt, a little petty, and annoyingly honest. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

’Damn it,’ she thought, looking down at her hands for a second. ’Why is even that charming?’

That thought only made her mood worse, because it wasn’t even the first time one slipped out like that. At first she thought he was just handsome, which would’ve been simple enough, but now it clearly wasn’t that anymore.

The more time she spent around him, the more her thoughts kept getting dragged in weird directions. He said one dumb thing, then one honest thing, then looked half dead while somehow still paying attention to everything around him, and for some reason all of that mixed together into a problem she didn’t want to name.

"You okay?" he asked, glancing at her from the side.

She blinked and looked back at him. "Yeah, why?"

He studied her face for a second before answering, "you’ve been making strange expressions for a while now."

That made her stare at him in disbelief. "Wow," she said, straightening a little. "You really have a talent for ruining a girl’s inner drama."

"Maybe stop making up tragic monologues in your head," he said, eyes half shut.

She clicked her tongue and looked away, but the heat in her cheeks refused to leave. ’Why does he make me feel like this?’ she thought, annoyed at how honest that sounded. ’He is blunt and somehow sitting here still makes me relax instead of putting my guard up.’

"Quit making weird faces," he added. "I am trying to stay awake long enough to reach my bed."

"Maybe don’t say things that make people blush then," she muttered.

He let out a low breath that was half laugh, half exhaustion. "How is that my problem?"

She watched him for another beat, then pushed herself up and brushed dust off her pants. "Fine, go crash," she said, jerking her chin at the door. "I am heading back."

He cracked one eye open. "You sure? You just got here."

"Yeah. If I stay any longer, I might start thinking you are nice," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "That would be bad for my image."

He snorted without opening the other eye. "Terrifying."

"Bye."

She headed down the street, hands in her pockets, pretending the barrier humming around the block wasn’t there. By the time she slipped through it, her face had cooled but her chest hadn’t.

Shu watched her until she turned the corner, then rested his chin on his fist. ’Was I always this bad at talking?’ he thought, the question irritating him as soon as it showed up. ’No, I am just tired. That is it.’

He pushed himself up, every step heavier than he liked, and went inside.

......

Inside their stolen high-rise, five demons gathered around a table scored with old sigils. Shadow fire burned in shallow bowls, throwing red light over their faces.

"Serpent’s Pit and Crimson Forest both failed," one growled, claws drumming on the rock.

"We lost the heart," another hissed, tail lashing. "Do you plan on telling the King we got robbed twice?"

The demon woman laughed, soft and amused. "Calm down, Vrax. We finally have the thief’s name." She rolled the black crystal between her fingers, eyes bright. "Shu."

The tallest leaned forward, "enough noise," he said. "We begin the meeting now."