By the time evening drew near, Furni was leaning on a crutch, finally making her way to the gates of the Demon King's Castle.
Furni looked up at the tightly closed gates of the Demon King's Castle in front of her.
Then, she fell silent for a moment.
“Damned Ivelia.”
“How dare she treat a benefactor who has helped her like this.”
With that, Furni reached out her hand.
However, the magic in her hand only flickered once, like a candle on the verge of burning out, before dying completely.
Furni: “...”
It seemed her magic still hadn't recovered.
Ultimately, she could only sigh, transforming her hand into a dragon claw, preparing to push the gate open herself.
Just as her dragon claw touched the gate, a voice suddenly echoed from behind her.
“Hehe, Miss Furni, the force you used earlier was much greater than the force you're using to push the gate now.”
Furni's movements stiffened, and she turned her head mechanically.
Phelan was standing behind her at some point.
The recording board in his hand was continuously logging her attempt to push the gate.
And judging by the speed of his writing, it seemed he had been recording since the moment she walked up to the gates of the Demon King's Castle.
“So what if I went a little too far?”
Furni looked at Phelan, her tone tinged with guilt.
“Phelan, you didn't used to hold grudges like this.”
Phelan merely tapped his recording board.
“If I were to help you open this gate, who knows when I would ever encounter such valuable data to record again.”
Furni: “...”
“So you've just been standing there watching me push the gate this entire time?”
“Yes, and I have detailed all the data regarding your gate-pushing attempt.”
Phelan answered very naturally, tapping the recording board in his hand once more.
At that moment, Aliviel happened to be standing behind the gate.
She looked at Furni outside, then at Phelan, who was constantly scribbling dense notes on his recording board.
She suddenly remembered.
When Phelan had just returned, he indeed seemed to have closed this very gate in passing.
So it was for this?
Aliviel's gaze toward Phelan gradually became subtle.
And at this moment, Phelan also felt Aliviel's gaze.
He directed his squinted eyes toward Aliviel.
Aliviel abruptly turned her head away.
“Ahem.”
She coughed lightly as if she hadn't seen a thing.
“Miss Furni, you brought this on yourself this time.”
With that, she walked over to Furni's side, looking at the dragon who was on the verge of collapsing onto the ground.
Before Furni could say anything, Aliviel had already reached out and hoisted her over her shoulder.
Her movements were incredibly practiced.
It was just like carrying the most ordinary cargo.
“Hey, Aliviel, I'm a dragon, you know.”
“And the greatest kind, at that!”
Furni was extremely dissatisfied with this method of transport.
“Yes, yes, yes.”
A smile graced Aliviel's face.
“Great Dragon Lady, please hold on tight now, lest you fall off my shoulder.”
Subsequently, Furni was carried back to the meeting room in this manner.
In the meeting room—
“Ah, saved at last~”
The moment Furni was placed onto a chair, her entire body collapsed onto the table.
First, she had been chased and bombarded with magic spheres by the terrifying Hero.
Then, because her magic was completely depleted, she had been forced to walk for most of the day.
Now, she finally had a place to sit.
She even felt a sense of warmth toward this meeting table.
But after lying there for a while, Furni suddenly felt something was off.
The surrounding atmosphere seemed a bit wrong.
She slowly raised her head.
Sitting across from her were the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Castle.
Sitting at the head of the table was Ivelia.
None of their expressions looked particularly good.
Except for Lin Ling in the corner.
Lin Ling was currently sitting there, being fed fruit by Niya.
“Miss Saintess, say ah~”
“Ah~”
Lin Ling obediently opened her mouth.
Niya placed a piece of cut fruit to her lips.
She looked absolutely nothing like the dangerous individual who had nearly blasted a dragon into jerky just moments ago.
However, apart from Lin Ling and Niya, almost everyone else had their arms crossed, emitting a terrifying pressure.
And that pressure was bearing down on Furni with absolute precision.
Furni: “...”
She fell silent for a moment.
Then, she raised her hand.
“Hey, hey!”
“You guys have had enough, okay! I didn't even fight back.”
“Besides, I was only joking~ Hehe.”
It would have been better if she hadn't spoken.
The moment those words left her mouth, Furni clearly felt the pressure bearing down on her grow even heavier.
Even the scales on her arms, which hadn't fully regrown, began to surface.
Furni: “...”
It seemed she had said the wrong thing.
“Enough.”
Ivelia sat at the head of the table, looking at Furni.
“If Lin Ling's control over her magic were more stable, you would be a giant dragon's corpse by now.”
As she said this, Ivelia glanced toward Lin Ling in the corner.
Lin Ling was currently being fed a piece of fruit by Niya.
Watching Lin Ling squint her eyes in enjoyment as Niya fed her, the pressure bearing down on Furni seemed to grow slightly heavier.
Ivelia fell silent for a moment.
Then, she withdrew her gaze.
“Phelan, withdraw your pressure.”
“It's time to discuss business.”
She said this.
Yet the pressure belonging to the Demon King still weighed down on Furni.
It even grew a bit heavier.
Furni: “...”
So only everyone else's pressure needs to be withdrawn?
Phelan acted as though he didn't see Furni's expression, calmly withdrawing his pressure.
“Understood.”
Cecil and Baroque also withdrew their pressure one after another.
Aliviel, on the other hand, looked at Furni with a smile.
That smile made Furni feel that this succubus lady had absolutely no intention of withdrawing her pressure.
Ivelia looked toward Aliviel, who had just returned.
“Speak.”
“What has the First Prince been up to lately?”
Aliviel chuckled softly.
“The usual.”
“Though he did disappear from the border for a while today.”
She raised her hand, and a small familiar landed on her fingertip.
“My familiar caught quite a good show.”
Furni lay sprawled on the table, her voice listless.
“Ah~”
“That guy probably went to the Holy See to throw another massive temper tantrum.”
Aliviel looked at her.
“Mm-hmm.”
“And it was because of you.”
Furni raised her eyes.
“Me?”
“Indeed.”
Aliviel said with a smile:
“After you teleported away, my familiar happened to be right outside the window.”
“So it followed along and watched the aftermath.”
Furni: “...”
She suddenly felt that today was truly her unluckiest day.
“Hey~ Ivelia.”
Furni drawled, her body still slumped over the table.
“Isn't it time to withdraw your pressure?”
She felt the pressure bearing down on her growing heavier and heavier.
The dragon scales on her body were already starting to emerge uncontrollably.
“Treating Camillaya's guardian dragon like this is really not nice~”
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