Lin Ling was still running. She didn't know if it was because of her training over the past few days, but the Saintess's stamina seemed to have improved.
Even though she was still holding Ivelia's hand, the Saintess felt... completely tireless?
“Wait, no, the Saintess is supposed to have stopped to think.”
“Why is the entrance to the residential district getting closer and closer?”
Even her field of vision was constantly bouncing.
“Lord Demon King!!!”
Unsurprisingly, at some point, the Saintess had been picked up by Ivelia, who was now cradling her in her arms as she ran toward the entrance of the residential district.
How did things turn out like this?!
To go back to when Lin Ling and Ivelia first started running—
As the two of them passed through the crowd, a pair of pure white eyes watched them from among the people.
Was that... a rabbit?
No way! Those eyes clearly belonged to the Goddess from the Saintess's dream!
Although the Goddess was holding a meat skewer and had some sauce smudged on the corner of her mouth—looking exactly like the Saintess did earlier—it was still incredibly bizarre for the Goddess to appear here.
The moment Lin Ling made eye contact with those eyes, her mind went completely blank, leaving her with only the lingering sensation that she was still running.
Ivelia, who was being led along, felt Lin Ling's grip suddenly go limp as the Saintess began to fall toward the ground.
Seeing the Saintess like this, Ivelia hastily pulled Lin Ling into her arms.
As Ivelia repeatedly cast recovery magic and diagnostic magic on Lin Ling, she discovered... the Saintess had actually fainted from sheer panic?
After confirming that Lin Ling was perfectly fine, Ivelia simply carried the Saintess and continued walking toward the exit of the residential district.
Returning to the present—
So, the Saintess had just... fainted from running?
That couldn't be right. No matter how weak her stamina was, the Saintess wouldn't faint from just that... right?
She felt as if she were missing a few memories...
Well, now was not the time to think about that.
“Ivelia-chan, put the Saintess down first. The Saintess is fine now.”
Lin Ling wriggled her legs in Ivelia's arms, confirming she was alright.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Knowing she couldn't fully trust the clumsy Saintess's words, Ivelia gently took off the earring Lin Ling was wearing and quickly cast dozens of high-tier diagnostic spells on her.
A flurry of red, blue, and yellow flashes erupted from the Saintess's body. At this moment, she looked like an ambient light, constantly blinking.
“I feel like the Saintess is about to turn into light.”
Looking at the flashing lights on her body, Lin Ling felt like she was about to transform into Ultraman the next second.
Only after the magic feedback confirmed that Lin Ling was indeed perfectly fine did Ivelia reluctantly set her down.
“Phew~ The Saintess has made a stable landing!”
“Alright, now let's continue with the Saintess's plan!”
Having said that, Lin Ling grabbed Ivelia's hand once more. The moment the two stepped out of the residential district, their figures vanished.
“Do your best, little Lin Ling—”
At the exact moment they vanished, a gentle and doting voice suddenly drifted into Lin Ling's ears.
The Goddess, watching the two disappear, withdrew her gaze.
Staring at the warm and harmonious atmosphere of the demon race, the Goddess's figure flickered and vanished.
“Did something just flash over there?”
“Brother, you've had too much Demon Red Wine.”
“There was definitely a flash. Whatever, the night is still young! Let's keep going!”
A few residents with sharper senses also felt the faint presence of the Goddess vanish from beside them. But in a situation like this, they would naturally choose to spend the time happily with their friends... right?
“Yo~ If it isn't Cecil?”
Atop a high tower in the residential district, a lonely demon was drinking by himself.
“Baroque, the smell of alcohol on you is wafting over already.”
Baroque's face was flushed, and he couldn't even maintain his usual stern expression.
“Haha, why are you drinking here all by yourself? Why not go down and look around?”
“Forget it, someone still needs to keep watch.”
With that, Cecil poured himself another cup.
“Ah, there aren't that many things to watch out for lately.”
As he spoke, Baroque took off the potion that could make one brave from his waist and sat down next to Cecil.
“Those cowardly soldiers on the border don't even dare to touch us now that the Prince is gone.”
“Isn't that great? You finally have time to spend with Samuel.”
At the thought of Samuel, whom he had just seen showing such a bashful expression in front of Baroque, Cecil couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness in his heart.
“Why think so much? Come on, drink, drink!”
Seeing Cecil's cup empty again, Baroque poured some Demon Red Wine into it.
“Where are Phelan and Aliviel? Those two have completely vanished.”
“That succubus? She's been acting all secretive since she got back, who knows where she is. As for Phelan...”
“He should be with another elf.”
After saying this, Cecil pointed downward.
Looking in the direction Cecil pointed, Baroque could indeed see a fiery-red-haired elf dragging Phelan and running all over the place.
“That aide?”
“Yes. Didn't I ask you last time if you wanted to hear some explosive news?”
“That elf is apparently Phelan's arranged fiancée.”
“And the reason Phelan ran away in the first place seems to be because of her.”
“That fellow Phelan said she was too young back then, so he ran away to escape the marriage contract and ended up in this barren place of ours.”
The drunken Cecil blurted out the reason Phelan had fled the Elven Kingdom.
“Pretty ridiculous, right?”
“But it's also thanks to this guy and his research that the demon race managed to hold on for so long.”
After saying this, Cecil raised his cup toward Phelan's direction, then toasted Baroque.
“Heh.”
Seeing this, Baroque picked up his cup and clinked it against Cecil's.
With that, the two drank their cups dry.
“Aha! I was wondering why I couldn't find you!”
The moment Baroque finished his drink, a powerful burst of golden lightning erupted behind him.
“W-Wait, Samuel, I can explain.”
Seeing Samuel's bristling expression, cold sweat instantly broke out on Baroque's forehead.
“Leaving your wife behind at a time like this doesn't make you a very good husband, Baroque.”
By the time Cecil stood up, the wine cup in front of him had already vanished.
“You should spend some quality time with your wife. As for me, I have work to do.”
Watching the succubus's familiar fly toward him, Cecil waved to Baroque, leaped straight off the high tower, spread his massive wings, and followed the tiny familiar.
“Cecil!”
Baroque roared, but before he could say anything else, Samuel grabbed his ear with a strange, immense strength.
“Why are you shouting so loudly?! Do you want to disturb everyone else?!”
“N-No, of course not.”
Seeing Baroque lower his head in apology, Samuel didn't say anything more.
Grabbing the hand of this stray beastkin, the two returned to the lively crowd.
Rate on N.U.
