“Ahhhh~, that was a good sleep... Wait, this doesn't look like the bed I slept in last night.”
Lin Ling sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes as she looked around. She realized she wasn't in the temporary room she had used as a resting place the previous night; the room she was in now seemed much more luxurious.
“You’re finally awake, dear Miss Hero. Even the massive commotion from the teleportation magic couldn't wake you.”
Just then, a purple-haired woman with horns resembling those of a bull pushed open the door and walked in.
“Wait, is that a Minotaur? Or maybe a succubus? No! Teleportation—this is a kidnapping! It is, isn't it?!” Lin Ling watched the woman steadily approach and scrambled toward the edge of the bed.
“Kidnapping? Taking or destroying a superweapon in advance when the enemy summons one is just a strategic maneuver, isn't it? Allow me to introduce myself. I am one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army—Aliviel, responsible for reconnaissance and gathering intelligence. And you? The Miss Hero whose Hero Contract was dissolved? Looking at your outfit, should I call you Miss Nun, or perhaps the Saintess from another world?”
The woman calling herself Aliviel pressed closer, leaning over Lin Ling until she was backed against the edge of the bed with nowhere left to retreat.
“My Hero Contract was already dissolved, so why kidnap me? Is this one of those stories where the Hero is abandoned at the start, then taken away by a succubus inquisitor to be corrupted into a fallen Saintess, only to find out the next summoned Hero is the childhood friend she promised to marry when they grew up, and then it becomes a NTR story? Wait, I don't even have a childhood friend, only memories of being bullied.”
Lin Ling stared at the succubus scout pressed against her, her mind already fantasizing about a massive amount of questionable content.
“Since it’s come to this, fine! Do your worst!” After a brief mental storm, Lin Ling actually spread her legs wide toward the succubus scout.
“You wicked succubus! You can take my body, but you will never take my heart! Come! No matter what evil corruption you use, I will never submit!”
“...” Aliviel looked at the woman with her legs spread, eyes squeezed shut as she tried to force out a couple of tears, and suddenly wondered if she had grabbed the wrong person.
“You! Can you sit up properly and listen to me?! We have no intention of acting out the lewd nonsense in your head, nor would we ever use such disgusting punishments! We brought you here simply to neutralize a weapon of mass destruction from the human empire.”
Aliviel slammed Lin Ling’s legs shut.
“Oh... so it's not one of those adult-rated stories.” Lin Ling suddenly felt a wave of disappointment.
“What’s with that look of disappointment?! Forget it. Miss Hero—no, Miss Saintess—as members of the so-called Demon King's Army, it might be hard to believe, but please understand that our so-called expansion happens for a reason. We have no intention of ruling the world.”
Aliviel suddenly became very serious, lowering her head and gripping Lin Ling’s shoulders tightly.
“Please, let me stay with the demons!”
While Aliviel was still brooding in the heavy atmosphere, she looked up only to find a loose Saintess robe left in her hands. The owner of the clothes had somehow prostrated herself on the floor by the bed, begging to be taken in.
...
“Hmm... so that's why she's staying in the Demon King's Castle? Because she doesn't want to work in the scheming environment of the humans, she wants to stay here as long as she gets food and a place to sleep?”
“Y-Yes. This summoned Hero seems different from those of the past.”
“Don't be ridiculous! How could a Hero who was magically put to sleep and then teleported to the Demon King's Castle choose to stay here on her own?! This must be a tactic she's using to deceive you. Aliviel, as a scout, can't you see through such a simple trick?!”
A tall beastkin slammed his hand on the table, loudly refuting Aliviel's words.
Lin Ling immediately raised her hand. “I’m really here of my own free will! As long as you provide food and housing!!”
“Shut up!” the two snapped in unison.
“Okay.” Lin Ling immediately curled into a ball in her seat.
An elf sitting nearby gently raised a hand.
“Arguing is meaningless.”
“Look at the results first.”
“Aliviel, Appraisal.”
“Yes.”
Aliviel raised her hand, and a magic circle expanded.
A pale blue light screen coalesced in the center of the hall.
A set of stats appeared—
【Individual: Lin Ling】
【Race: Human】
【Level: Lv.1】
【Health Points (HP): 1 / 1】
【Mana Points (MP): 21 / 21】
【Strength: 5】
【Stamina: 5】
【Agility: 6】
【Spirit: 7】
【Skills: 0】
【Title: Discarded Hero】
The air went silent for a moment.
The beastkin frowned.
“...1?”
The elf took a glance. “Her health is only 1.”
The Tail Man froze for a second, then burst out laughing. “Haha... this is just too exaggerated.”
Lin Ling added in a small voice, “Um... I really am quite easy to kill...”
“Shut up!” the three of them snapped.
“Okay.” Lin Ling lowered her head.
The beastkin snorted. “Strength 5, Stamina 5, Agility 6... this is basically the bottom tier for an adult human.”
The elf nodded. “Mana 21 is only at the level of an ordinary Apprentice Mage.”
“No skills, and her only title is Discarded Hero.”
The Tail Man leaned back in his chair. “Aside from the HP being 1, she’s completely just an ordinary human, isn't she? Honestly, she's even worse than ordinary. Is this really a summoned Hero?”
“I’m sorry for not looking like a Hero,” Lin Ling muttered, practically petrified in her seat.
Aliviel added an explanation: “I have repeated the check three times. I found no abnormal structures, no hidden values, no seals, and no disguises. These are her true stats.”
That sentence settled the matter.
“Then the conclusion is clear. This is a low-rank Hero, and she doesn't even seem to be an Intelligence-type.”
Lin Ling: “????”
The elf said indifferently, “One could even say she's a failed summoning result.”
The Tail Man nodded with a smile. “She’s not even as good as a weed on the side of a road in the Demon Realm.”
Lin Ling: “You guys are being really mean...”
Then, Aliviel spoke up. “But she is indeed a Hero.”
The air grew slightly heavy.
The beastkin frowned. “A product of a Hero summoning, huh...”
The elf whispered, “Disposing of her directly might trigger a backlash. After all, a Hero is an existence favored by the world, even if she is a Discarded Hero.”
The Tail Man shrugged. “Then it’s simple. Since she’s useless but we can't kill her, and she wants to stay anyway—”
He looked at Lin Ling with a smile. “Then we’ll just keep her.”
Lin Ling: “...Huh?”
The Demon King, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke.
“The conclusion is established.”
The room fell silent.
She glanced at the stats, her voice calm. “Lv.1, HP=1. To prevent an unexpected backlash from being triggered by driving her into a corner, we will keep her in the Demon King's Castle as a harmless pet, to be supervised by the Four Heavenly Kings in rotation. What do you all think?”
“Calling me a 'useless' thing is really hurtful...”
Lin Ling was already squatting on the ground drawing circles, a dark cloud practically forming over her head.
The beastkin nodded. “Controllable.”
The elf added, “Low risk.”
The Tail Man said with a smile, “And quite interesting.”
Lin Ling: “What’s so interesting about it?!”
The final conclusion was handed down:
“Restrict her range of movement and provide basic survival necessities.”
Aliviel began to record the details:
“Registration complete.”
“‘Ornamental pet (Suspected Hero individual).’”
“Status: Keepable.”
【Obtained Title: Pet in Captivity】
Lin Ling: “???????”
“I’ve devolved from a Hero into a pet?!”
The Tail Man added a parting shot with a smile, “Don't worry, at least you won't starve to death.”
The beastkin snorted. “Provided you don't get blown away and killed by the wind.”
The elf said flatly, “With your HP, that is a distinct possibility.”
Lin Ling: “Stop casually saying I’m going to die! I protest! I protest!”
The Demon King stood up.
“Take her away.”
Aliviel grabbed Lin Ling by the back of her collar.
“Let’s go.”
Meanwhile, the others at the conference table had already turned to the next item on the agenda.
As if the matter just now—
Was nothing more than dealing with a harmless little animal.
And nothing more.
Rate on N.U.
