Nearly a month had passed since that day of the confession—
During this time, quite a few things had happened in the Demon King's Castle.
First of all, the relationship between a certain Demon King and Miss Saintess had heated up rapidly over the past month. Now, they were practically inseparable, going everywhere together.
They were the very definition of a couple head over heels in love.
Although everyone in the Demon King's Castle showered them with blessings, not everything that happened was quite as joyous.
First, a certain dragon had started overstaying her welcome in the demon territory after the festival, refusing to return to her own dragon nest.
“Hey, hey, it's really rude to look at a dragon like that, you know?”
Watching Ivelia review documents, Furni felt rather offended for some reason when the Demon King suddenly shot her a look of utter disdain.
Second, there was the Hero who had drunk heavily during the festival, got completely wasted, stripped off his armor, and ran around like a madman.
“That wasn't my choice, you bastard!”
Perhaps after that socially fatal run, the socially anxious Hero had opened the door to a whole new world. Was his social anxiety completely cured...?
Ichikawa tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle, looking profoundly sorrowful.
“What's the point of having social anxiety after going through something like that? I... I can never go back.”
A pair of tears silently trickled down his cheeks as he spoke.
Finally, after the Prince on the border returned to the capital, the border soldiers were left leaderless and were promptly captured by Baroque.
At the same time, the Saintess of the Holy See discovered that among those mages, there was a large group of commoners being used as disposable assets.
Ultimately, at the kneeling pleas of Kainster and Leticia, the Demon King's Castle decided to take in these humans who had never caused any harm to the demon race.
Now, inside the Demon King's office—
Bang!
The door was pushed open roughly.
Lin Ling floated in from outside, landing directly into Ivelia's lap.
“Ivelia-chan~ I want to ask you for a favor.”
Sitting in Ivelia's lap, Lin Ling immediately launched into her spoiled act, affectionately rubbing her cheek against the hard-working Demon King.
Ivelia looked at Lin Ling, who had taken to acting spoiled whenever she wanted something ever since that day, and stopped reading the document in her hand.
“If you're talking about going to Camillaya with that Prince, my answer is no.”
“Ah~ Please don't be like that~”
Hearing Ivelia refuse her yet again, Lin Ling puffed up her cheeks like a pufferfish.
“Not on this matter.”
Seeing this, Ivelia poked Lin Ling's puffed-up cheeks, deflating them.
The poked Lin Ling slumped instantly, all her energy draining away.
Ivelia had no intention of softening on this issue.
This involved sending her fragile Miss Saintess to a place rife with scheming and conspiracies. She didn't believe that unreliable dragon and the Prince could protect her Miss Saintess under those circumstances.
A few days after the festival ended, the Prince had sought out Lin Ling.
...
“My friend, I beg of you, please come with me to Camillaya.”
Kainster knelt directly before Lin Ling. If only this incredibly powerful Hero would accompany him back to Camillaya...
then the commoners at the very bottom of society could be saved.
“Eh? Me?”
“Yes! As long as we return to Camillaya, we can take advantage of the fact that my brother is busy consolidating his throne to relocate all the suffering people...”
“You are being too naive, Prince.”
Cecil's voice drifted in from the window.
Hearing Kainster's absurd idea, Cecil wondered if this Prince was really the same guy Aliviel claimed could multiply his money tenfold.
“...”
“Setting aside the fact that such a large-scale relocation is completely impossible in Camillaya's low-mana zones,”
“even if you did manage to pull it off, the high-density magic surrounding the demon territory would cause a horrific tragedy the moment the humans crossed over.”
He imagined a massive crowd of humans with absolutely no magic resistance transferring over, only to dissolve into pools of blood on the spot.
Looking at the simple-minded Prince before him, Cecil felt that he was the real demon here.
“You're right. I was being too naive.”
Indeed, the demon territory was unsuitable for human life, and even the demons themselves had only just managed to catch their breath.
“But on that note, isn't there still another person?”
“He has a perfectly legitimate reason to help you.”
Karl appeared from the corner of the corridor, his face still wearing a gentle smile.
“Bishop Karl?”
Looking at the black-haired bishop before him, Kainster's face was filled with shock.
Why was this human bishop in the demon territory?
“Since you, the Prince, are here, it is only natural that I am too.”
“Besides, I am no longer a bishop.”
Karl then explained to the dazed Prince what had transpired in the capital.
“I see. Bishop Karl, I understand.”
After bowing to the group, Kainster hurried off toward Ichikawa's room.
As expected, the Hero agreed. However, as a Hero, Ichikawa's abilities were nowhere near as powerful as Lin Ling's.
As his Hero Summoning reward, he had only obtained the ability of rapid learning.
To ensure everyone's safety, Kainster had no choice but to beg Lin Ling once more.
Back to the present—
“Lin Ling, the demon race cannot get involved. You should understand this.”
By now, Lin Ling had been placed in her dedicated seat to the side of the office. Ivelia sat behind her, holding the sulking Miss Saintess.
“Once the demon race participates, this matter escalates into a conflict between nations.”
“Even if those commoners pose absolutely no threat to the demons, they will still be thrown onto the battlefield. You've already witnessed this, haven't you?”
Thinking of the soldiers taken in by the demons, Lin Ling gripped the armrests of her custom seat.
Indeed, those soldiers didn't even have weapons and had zero combat capability, yet they were still sent to the front lines to be used as fodder and playthings.
Sometimes, they would even sneakily leave some food behind for the demons during the fighting.
On the food bags, they had written in crooked handwriting: "You bastards better not starve to death."
Even if they had no intention of fighting, once Keith above gave the order, they would still be treated as disposable assets.
Seeing Lin Ling fall silent, Ivelia understood.
No matter how unlike one she seemed, Lin Ling was still a Saintess, and a summoned Hero.
Naturally, she couldn't bear to see people oppressed and suffering, just like the demon race back then.
After a moment of silence, Ivelia gently wrapped her arms tighter around Lin Ling's waist.
“Therefore, the demon race will not provide any resources. Lin Ling, it will be only you.”
“Even so, do you still want to go?”
Lin Ling clenched her fists. She had only just found her partner for life...
She could have easily just pretended not to know...
But just like her past self, there were now so many people trapped as if they were locked in that dark storage room.
“I will, Demon King.”
Lin Ling's voice was very quiet, carrying a trace of reluctance. She really could have just pretended nothing was happening.
Feeling Ivelia holding her, Lin Ling took her hand.
“Miss Saintess is only going to drag down that guy who doesn't deserve the throne.”
“In that case...”
“I'll go with you.”
The moment Ivelia spoke, she felt Lin Ling tremble in her arms.
Wait, what did the Demon King just say?
Hearing the whisper in her ear, Lin Ling turned around to look at Ivelia behind her.
Ivelia chuckled softly and gave her a light, fleeting kiss on the lips.
“A Hero must stand up against oppression.”
“And as the Hero's wife, I naturally must accompany my dear Hero on her journey.”
“It's only logical.”
Lin Ling stared at the smiling Ivelia, her expression still filled with disbelief.
But the Demon King... no, the Hero's wife, Ivelia, had agreed.
In her excitement, Lin Ling immediately cupped Ivelia's head and kissed her deeply.
“Besides, everyone in the demon race has a score to settle with the current Emperor of Camillaya.”
Outside the door, the strongest forces of the demon race were already gathered...
Rate on N.U.
