Today was the second day of the Saintess’s life as a pet—
“...So.”
Lin Ling sat on the edge of the bed, holding a piece of black bread in both hands.
She looked down at it.
The black bread lay quietly in her palms.
Human and bread stared at each other in silence.
After a long while.
Lin Ling slowly looked up at the girl from the Horned Tribe standing by the door.
“Is this what you call—softer?”
The girl from the Horned Tribe clasped her hands in front of her and nodded sheepishly.
“Yes.”
“The kitchen staff said this was the softest piece they had today.”
Lin Ling: “...”
She looked back down at the black bread in her hands.
This piece was indeed a bit better than yesterday’s.
Yesterday’s piece felt like it had been pried off a castle wall.
Today’s at least felt like it had been pried off a floor tile.
A massive improvement.
Truly touching.
Lin Ling was silent for a few seconds, her eyes slowly turning red.
The girl from the Horned Tribe panicked immediately.
“S-Saintess?”
Lin Ling’s voice trembled.
“You demons...”
“What kind of miserable lives do you usually lead...?”
The girl from the Horned Tribe: “Eh?”
Lin Ling held the black bread with both hands, her expression as solemn as if she were holding the relic of a fallen comrade.
“To think you could call even this the softest.”
“I suddenly feel like I was being too immature when I accused you of prisoner abuse before.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe blinked.
“Actually... this is already very good.”
“At least there is bread today.”
Lin Ling’s movements froze.
She had originally wanted to continue her complaints.
But hearing those words, the complaints suddenly got stuck in her throat.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Outside the window, the black fields still stretched out silently in the distance.
The sickly seedlings trembled slightly in the magic concentration that was so thick it felt heavy.
Lin Ling looked down at the bread.
Then she took a bite.
“Crunch.”
Her teeth almost went with it.
“Wu!”
Lin Ling clutched her mouth, tears instantly springing to her eyes.
The girl from the Horned Tribe was startled.
“Saintess?!”
While clutching her mouth, Lin Ling spoke indistinctly:
“It’s nothing.”
“I just suddenly understand now.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe asked nervously:
“Understand what?”
Lin Ling’s gaze grew profound.
“I understand why the demons want to expand their territory.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe: “...”
Lin Ling held up the black bread.
“If I had to eat this every day, I’d want to start a war too.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe was stunned for a moment.
Then she couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Lin Ling immediately protested.
“Don’t laugh!”
“I’m very seriously analyzing the root causes of the war for you!”
The girl’s shoulders shook with laughter.
“B-But there are still breadcrumbs on your lip, Saintess.”
Lin Ling froze.
She slowly reached up to touch the corner of her mouth.
Sure enough, she felt a few black crumbs.
“...”
She silently brushed the crumbs away.
“Delete that last part.”
“From here on, I am an elegant Saintess.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe laughed even harder.
Just then—
“Creak.”
The door was pushed open.
Aliviel stood at the doorway.
The purple-haired succubus rested one hand on the doorframe, her gaze scanning the room before finally landing on the black bread in Lin Ling’s hand.
She arched an eyebrow.
“You seem to be in high spirits today.”
Lin Ling immediately sat up straight.
“It’s you!”
Aliviel smiled.
“What’s wrong? Are you that excited to see me?”
Lin Ling held up the black bread, her tone mournful.
“I’m filing a complaint.”
Aliviel: “...”
Lin Ling said seriously:
“Even though I’m a pet now.”
“Pets have pet rights too.”
“The most basic one is—you can’t feed us lethal weapons long-term.”
The girl from the Horned Tribe lowered her head, trying her best to stifle her laughter.
Aliviel rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“I’m not here to listen to complaints about the food.”
Lin Ling pulled her neck back warily.
“Then what are you here for?”
She paused, her expression suddenly turning to one of horror.
“Wait.”
“Could it be that my inappropriate comments about the black bread yesterday have already violated demon law?”
Aliviel: “There is no such law.”
“Or could it be...”
Lin Ling slowly hugged herself.
“Am I finally evolving from an ornamental pet into an experimental pet?”
Aliviel was silent for a moment.
Then she looked away.
“In a sense.”
“Pretty much.”
Lin Ling: “???”
She bounced off the bed abruptly.
“I knew it!”
“You demons really haven’t given up on the weird human experimentation route!”
A vein throbbed at Aliviel’s temple.
“It’s not what you think.”
“Then what is it?”
“The Demon King has granted you permission to try what you mentioned yesterday.”
Lin Ling was stunned.
“What I mentioned yesterday?”
Aliviel looked out the window.
“Draining the excess magic from the land.”
Lin Ling blinked.
Then she slowly pointed at herself.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“In front of the Demon King and the Four Heavenly Kings?”
“Yes.”
The expression on Lin Ling’s face slowly froze.
The next second.
She very decisively lay back down on the bed and pulled the covers over herself.
“I suddenly feel like I’m sick.”
Aliviel: “...”
Lin Ling wrapped herself up like a white caterpillar, leaving only half her face exposed.
“Pets are frail.”
“I need quiet rest.”
“Today is not a good day for large-scale social events.”
Aliviel walked over with a smile.
“It’s fine.”
“I can just carry you there.”
Lin Ling immediately poked her head out from under the covers.
“Wait a minute!”
Aliviel stopped.
Lin Ling’s expression was grave.
“If I succeed, do I get extra rations?”
Aliviel: “...”
The girl from the Horned Tribe: “...”
Lin Ling stared at her.
“This is a very important question.”
“Labor without reasonable compensation is immoral.”
Aliviel crossed her arms, looking at her with a half-smile.
“Didn’t you say yesterday that you were willing to help in order to improve the quality of your own meals?”
Lin Ling replied righteously.
“Which is why I am now confirming the specific scope of the food quality improvement.”
Aliviel sighed.
“If you can actually achieve something, the Demon King won’t treat you poorly.”
Lin Ling’s eyes lit up.
“Will there be meat?”
Aliviel: “...”
“Worry about surviving until you reach the experimental field first.”
...
Behind the Demon King’s Castle.
In front of a small plot of fenced-off black land, the atmosphere was so quiet it was almost oppressive.
Lin Ling stood in the very center.
To be precise, she had been carried there by Aliviel and then set down.
She looked at the land in front of her and slowly swallowed hard.
It wasn’t a large field.
It was surrounded by low stones, and the soil inside was so dark it looked charred.
A few seedlings were stuck haphazardly in the dirt.
The edges of their leaves were already turning black, and their thin stems were slightly bent, as if they could wither and die at any moment.
The magic in the air was terrifyingly thick.
Just standing nearby, Lin Ling could feel countless pale blue light particles flowing around her skin.
That magic didn’t feel like normal air.
It felt more like water.
Heavy, viscous, slow, yet omnipresent.
She looked down at her fingers.
Near her fingertips, magic particles floated gently.
“...It’s so thick,” Lin Ling whispered to herself.
Not far away, the Demon King stood watching.
Her long black dress draped down, her dark red eyes quietly observing her.
Aliviel stood at the Demon King’s side.
The beastkin had his arms crossed, his expression as sour as ever.
The elf looked calm, showing little emotion.
The Tail Man leaned nearby, a smirk on his face as he watched the show.
The girl from the Horned Tribe stood a bit further away, nervously clutching the hem of her skirt.
Lin Ling turned and looked around.
Then she silently took half a step back.
“Um...”
“Having you all staring at me like this is a lot of pressure.”
Aliviel seemed to finally remember something and pointed toward the Demon King standing at the front.
“I almost forgot.”
“It seems you still don’t know everyone’s names.”
Lin Ling blinked.
“Ah.”
“That’s true.”
She thought about it seriously.
“In my head, I’ve been remembering everyone as Demon King, Beastkin Uncle, Elf Gentleman, and Tail Man.”
A vein throbbed on the beastkin’s forehead.
“Beastkin Uncle?”
The Tail Man, however, burst out laughing.
“Tail Man? That’s a pretty direct way to call someone.”
Suppressing a smile, Aliviel looked toward the Demon King first.
“This is the ruler of the demons.”
“Lady Ivelia.”
Lin Ling immediately stood a little straighter.
“Lady Ivelia.”
The Demon King, Ivelia, merely gave a slight nod.
She didn’t say much.
But when those dark red eyes fell on Lin Ling, Lin Ling still instinctively pulled her neck back.
Aliviel then pointed to the beastkin.
“That is one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Baroque.”
Baroque crossed his arms and let out a cold snort.
Lin Ling whispered to herself:
“His name sounds like he’d be really good at punching people into walls.”
Baroque’s gaze darkened.
“What did you say?”
Lin Ling immediately straightened her back.
“Nothing.”
“Lord Baroque has an extraordinary presence. One can tell at a glance that he is a solid and reliable wall for the Demon King’s Castle.”
Baroque: “...”
Cecil laughed out loud.
“A wall, huh?”
“That actually suits him quite well.”
Baroque turned and glared at him.
Aliviel then pointed to the elf.
“That is Phelan.”
The elf, Phelan, gave a slight nod.
“Lin Ling.”
His voice was as calm as his expression.
“I hope your experiment is more valuable than your commentary.”
Lin Ling: “...”
She quietly shuffled half a step closer to Aliviel.
“This elf gentleman is very sharp-tongued.”
Phelan said flatly:
“It is merely the truth.”
Lin Ling: “Even sharper!”
Finally, Aliviel pointed to the Tail Man leaning nearby.
“That one over there is Cecil.”
Cecil smiled and waved at her.
“Hello there, Little Pet.”
Lin Ling immediately took half a step back.
“You are currently the person whose name I want to remember the least.”
Cecil’s smile widened.
“That’s a pity.”
“I’ve already remembered yours.”
Lin Ling whispered:
“I feel like I’ve been targeted by a dangerous person.”
At that moment, the girl from the Horned Tribe standing a short distance away nervously clutched her skirt.
Lin Ling looked at her.
“And you?”
The girl was taken aback, her cheeks turning slightly red.
“I-I am Niya.”
“Niya?”
Lin Ling repeated the name.
Then she smiled.
“Got it, I’ll remember it.”
Niya froze for a moment.
For some reason, when her name was called so earnestly, the girl suddenly lowered her head in embarrassment.
“Um...”
“P-Please take care of me, Saintess.”
Lin Ling patted her chest.
“Leave it to me, Niya.”
“Though I don’t actually know if I’ll succeed.”
Niya: “...”
Lin Ling immediately added:
“But we have to start with the right attitude!”
Cecil’s shoulders shook with laughter.
Baroque snorted coldly.
“If you’re just boasting, it’s not too late to back out now.”
“This plot of land is small, but it has been treated many times.”
Phelan picked up the explanation calmly:
“Purification arts, magic circles, ore absorption, sealing barriers.”
“The result was always the same.”
“After a brief reduction in magic concentration, the surrounding magic would simply refill the area.”
“The longest it ever lasted was less than ten breaths.”
The corner of Lin Ling’s eye twitched as she listened.
“In other words...”
“You’ve already failed many times?”
Baroque’s expression turned even sourer.
“They were attempts.”
Lin Ling nodded.
“Understood.”
“Attempts that failed many times.”
Baroque: “...”
Aliviel couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
A vein throbbed on Baroque’s forehead.
“You had better actually have some skill.”
Lin Ling quickly waved her hands.
“Let me make this clear first.”
“I only proposed a concept.”
“I didn’t guarantee it would work.”
Baroque sneered.
“Getting scared now?”
Lin Ling replied righteously:
“Any normal person would be scared with all of you staring like this! You’re the Four Heavenly Kings of the demons!”
Cecil laughed even harder.
Phelan glanced at Lin Ling.
“Then.”
“Let us begin.”
The expression on Lin Ling’s face slowly stiffened.
She looked down at the black soil.
The black bread that had felt as hard as a lethal weapon just a moment ago now felt like a heavy stone in her stomach.
She had indeed said she would help.
She had indeed said that they just needed to drain the excess magic from the land.
But as the gazes of Ivelia, Aliviel, Baroque, Phelan, Cecil, and Niya all fell upon her—
Lin Ling suddenly realized.
This wasn’t something she could just bluff her way through with a joke.
If she failed.
At most, it would just prove that she, as a pet, was indeed only good for talking nonsense.
But what if she succeeded?
She looked at the few seedlings that were on the verge of death.
Leaves blackened, stems bent.
It looked as though if even a single gust of wind blew, they would collapse completely.
Lin Ling took a deep breath.
Then she whispered to herself:
“For the soft bread.”
“No.”
She paused.
“For the meat.”
“That’s not right either.”
She glanced at Niya, who was standing in the distance, nervously clutching her skirt.
Finally, she raised her hand and gently pressed it against her chest.
“Anyway...”
“Let’s just give it a try.”
On the black land, the thick magic flowed slowly.
The wind behind the Demon King’s Castle blew through her platinum blonde hair.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Lin Ling slowly took a step forward.
Rate on N.U.
