The Short Demon King

Chapter 25

I woke up early the next morning and decided to try to start breakfast on my own. Kevin joined me a couple minutes later, so together we were able to help Maya out the door in time for school.

Neither of them mentioned my absence last night, so I succeeded in sneaking out unnoticed. I grinned widely the whole morning, very proud of myself. It had been a while since it felt like anything went my way.

"Do you wanna get our coffee and then head back to the library? You seemed to really like that place the last time we went. I could maybe even teach you how to read a bit better," Kevin offered.

"Sure, that'd be fun. I'm sure I could learn a lot more about your world if I understood your written language better."

"Plus if you can read, we can more easily research books related to your kind too. You ready to go?"

I nodded, brimming with excitement. A small voice in the back of my mind had its doubts. Would we really find anything useful here? Still, any small tidbit of information could prove essential to my return home.

Crunchy leaves lined the sidewalk so I entertained myself by stomping on them as we went, hopping along beside Kevin. We met Melinda inside the shop this time. She was busy wiping down all the empty tables when we entered.

"Ah, yer both back. How ya been?" she asked cheerfully, sauntering over to behind the counter.

"Pretty good. We've been enjoying the fall leaves scattered outside. How about you?" Kevin asked while taking a seat.

"Same as usual. I'll go get yer coffees ready real quick."

She went to the back to prepare our drinks. I situated myself on my stool, before shifting enough to see Kevin. He smiled at Mittens who meowed softly at him, before noticing my gaze.

"What's up?" he wondered.

"I was just thinking about what you said before we left. The library seemed really quiet when we last went there... Is it alright to teach me how to read there? We might disturb some of the others."

"Oh yeah, I hadn't considered that. How about we borrow a few books and read them back at home? If we take our coffees to go, we should still have lots of time before Maya comes back from school."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Melinda poked her head through the curtains, eyes betraying her curiosity. She must've been eavesdropping on our conversation because she asked, "You boys're already livin' together? That sure was fast."

Kevin's cheeks flushed. He waved his hands frantically in front of his face, as if begging her to stop. "Oh, no. It's nothing like that. Maya and I are just letting him stay with us for a bit since he doesn't have any family around here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, hun. Must've gotten the wrong idea 'bout you two." She carried our cups out with her and placed them in front of us. "Well, I hope ya both have fun readin' today. See ya tomorrow!"

Kevin, looking quite conflicted, waved goodbye without saying anything else and we both grabbed our coffees. His cheeks still had a hint of pink, but his heart rate returned to normal.

We walked in silence for a bit, so I took the opportunity to watch some of the surrounding nature. There were a lot of small birds in the town center, stealing snacks and picking crumbs up off the floor. They chirped at each other and hopped around on twiggy legs; they were so small and weak, but also endearing in a way. The ones still in the air floated effortlessly in the breeze, enjoying the freedom of flight. I felt almost jealous of how easy their lives seemed.

"So... what kind of books do you want me to read to you?" Kevin asked after regaining his composure.

I still couldn't understand what caught him so off guard earlier, but he'd explain it to me if it was important. He was surprisingly good at explaining different things, so he probably would've made a good teacher at human schools.