He’d expected to spend the rest of his life with Uraume by his side, following his orders and acting as a friend of sorts, but nothing more. He thought he’d be content with that. He wouldn’t have cared, frankly, if he spent the rest of his days in total solitude, fighting and winning and returning to rest by himself. He’s not a sociable person in the first place, and he sees no reason to surround himself with people who are lower than him.

And yet somehow, despite all that, a mere human—a tiny, stupid little human, had managed to defy every single expectation he had for his life. You had derailed his entire grand plan. Any hierarchy other than strength is worthless, that’s his hardened philosophy, but you remind him of the man he was before he was at the top of that hierarchy.

You remind him of a time before strength meant anything to him. He’d been disguised among the lowly humans in order to scope out his competition in the modern age, when you approached him, with the intention of befriending him. The King of Curses. You wanted to be his friend. If only you knew who he was. You dared to reach out and touch the diminished soul of the man who had existed before the King.

He stares down at you blankly as you babble away to him about something meaningless, but despite the look on his face, he’s listening intently to every word coming out of your dumb mouth. It’s almost as if he can’t help it. “You’re very simple. Do you know that?” He asks you, an obvious air of sarcasm in his voice.