Chapter 22
The golden storm of magic came to an abrupt halt, not a stir left in its wake.
“......”
“......”
Sylatrella: You can have magic power, but only a little. Working is so exhausting. Why should I bother? Isn’t sleep far more delightful?
Seeing this, Sheffy showed no mercy.
—She smacked the surface of the sword, where the golden specks of light still lingered!
“I’ve seriously spoiled you rotten!”
Buzz!!
Suddenly! A burst of golden brilliance erupted, ten times more dazzling than before. The resulting shockwave blew the bottles and jars off the walls, clattering to the floor like falling raindrops, as if celebrating the hero’s return to full strength!
Xiarette never imagined she would regain the Holy Sword’s recognition in such a manner!
“Ugh… Sheffy, I’m feeling complicated right now. I kind of want to cry.”
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. Logically speaking, it’s just like those old TVs we had in our past life—you know, the kind that kept losing signal. When they didn’t work, you had to slap the metal casing hard, and then the signal would come back!”
“Does it really have to be that vivid?!”
The Holy Sword pulsed with magical energy in excitement. To prevent further destruction of the furniture, Xiarette let go of the hilt and hung it back on the wall. Everything returned to calm.
Xiarette and Sheffy—who somehow had a doughnut in her mouth again—exchanged glances, sharing a moment of mutual silence.
Xiarette no longer had the strength to complain.
Her arms hung limply at her sides, and even her golden hair seemed to have lost a bit of its shine.
More than any of this… she should go take care of what actually needed doing.
“Sheffy… Just like yesterday, be good and watch the house. I need to change and head out.”
“Where to?”
“To get you some clothes to change into, underwear, and a few other daily necessities. I think we’ll need some slightly thinner bedding too?”
Xiarette counted on her fingers, trying her best not to forget anything later.
But she never expected Sheffy to suddenly stand on tiptoe, raise her little hand high, and announce cheerfully!
“Watching the house is boring! I’m coming too, I’m coming too!”
“Huh?” Xiarette shook her head quickly. “Sheffy, what are you talking about? Have you forgotten? You’re a prisoner right now. If the Demon Clan Princess walks openly through the streets, that’s even scarier than a big tiger on the loose! You get it? A big tiger! Rawr!!”
“You really didn’t need to describe it that hard… I’m not a kid, you know.”
“Ugh!”
Xiarette was suffering—lately, Sheffy always managed to leave her utterly speechless!
A confident smirk tugged at the corner of Sheffy’s lips.
She raised her hand slightly, pointing to her own long silver hair, motioning for Xiarette to watch closely.
And then, a scene that stunned Xiarette unfolded.
That silver hair, as if dyed with some kind of pigment, gradually turned from the roots to the tips into a shade more fitting for the human race—long, black hair.
Even Sheffy’s facial features seemed to undergo some subtle changes.
She was still undeniably cute… but it was like she had transformed into a different little girl!
With the transformation complete, Sheffy placed one hand on her hip and let out a smug chuckle.
“How about it? Like this, isn’t it impossible to recognize me?”
“Sheffy, how did you even do that…?”
“Visual interference.”
The black-haired Sheffy narrowed her left eye, while the right still glimmered with lingering magic particles.
“This is one of my Visual Magic abilities. Technically, I haven’t changed at all—but I can construct a mirage-like interference field around me. Anyone within that range will see an altered illusion, like my appearance, for instance.”
“So how wide is the range of this visual interference…?”
“Roughly… it can cover the whole kingdom? Anyway, it’s totally safe! Alright, alright! Now we can go shopping worry-free! Let’s go!”
“......”
Xiarette no longer wished to comment.
Sheffy always pulled off things that were far beyond her realm of comprehension…
With a quiet sigh,
Xiarette pointed out the window with her finger.
More precisely, she pointed at the carriage.
“Well… in that case, there’s no problem. But before we go, there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
“We need to move the ingredients I brought from the palace yesterday into the ice cavern cooled by the Ice Magic Crystal. If we leave them out under the sun until noon, they’ll all spoil and go to waste.”
“Oh oh, that’s easy! Just tell me where the ice cavern is and I’ll take care of it!”
“Hmm?”
Xiarette pointed out the location of the cavern.
She was a bit curious about what Sheffy would do.
To be honest, Sheffy’s magic was incredibly diverse.
Most people might only master a specific kind of magic, but in this world, there seemed to be no spell that Sheffy couldn’t handle!
Sheffy extended her left hand toward the carriage. The entire cart, incredibly, lifted into the air and floated steadily toward the ice cavern, perfectly stable and completely silent.
Afterward, Sheffy clapped her hands in satisfaction to claim credit.
“All done! So, can we head out now?”
“...We can. Wait… Sheffy, I feel like we missed a small detail.”
“Huh? Did we?”
“Let me think…”
The simple-minded Hero Xiarette furrowed her brow, deep in thought for a long while.
Then suddenly, she looked up and identified the problem.
“Sheffy…”
“Yes, yes, I’m here.”
“I think… when you moved the food cart, you probably shouldn’t have teleported the horses into the ice cavern too.”
“......”
“Now we need to go save the horses.”
“...Y-yes, absolutely right.”
Horse: Wow, you two are so considerate.
..............................................
At that very moment, in the Demon Domain—
In the Demon Clan’s capital, Campeno, within the Demon King’s Castle.
A palace shrouded in dark purple hues, cloaked in dim light.
Upon a throne built of massive stones, the burly figure of the Demon King sat in solemn majesty.
His six black wings unfurled—an aura of utter destruction emanated so fiercely that even from afar, one dared not approach.
What’s more, he wasn’t the only Six-Winged Demon present…
Seated beside him was a silver-haired woman—the Demon Queen, who also bore six wings.
The presence of two Six-Winged Demons sitting side by side was the very reason the Demon King’s Castle stood as the heart of the Demon Domain.
At this moment, however, there was no one else in the hall.
Which meant this awe-inspiring Demon King and Queen could indulge in a little private conversation.
The Demon King pointed at the pile of urgent petitions spread across the stone table—letters from noble demons demanding an all-out war to retrieve the captured princess. His face darkened as he turned to the queen beside him.
His voice, warped with fury, barely retained its original tone.
“Sheffy’s been captured… What do you make of it?”
“An act,” the Queen replied, shaking her head repeatedly. “Knowing that child’s temperament… she slipped away.”
“Your deduction… makes a lot of sense.”
Putting aside the content of their conversation, the atmosphere of the Demon King’s Castle was suffocating in its intensity.
Two rows of dimly lit flames burned perpetually along the sides of the great hall. The fire danced without wind.
A dark red carpet stretched forward, ending at the royal throne forged of amethyst crystal—ominous, majestic, and grave.
The current Demon King, Dielzner Harl, sat firmly upon his throne.
With flame-like short hair, blood-red eyes, and a towering frame—
He was clad in crimson armor steeped in potent magic energy, a presence that declared unequivocally: he was the Demon King of this era, ruler of the Demon Clan, an authority not to be defied.
Behind him stretched six pitch-black wings, more than two meters in length, casting long, flickering shadows against the crystalline walls.
As one of the most powerful beings in existence, the Demon King ruled unchallenged from this seat of power.
Standing beside Dielzner was a woman of exquisite figure and breathtaking beauty. Her long silver hair flowed like moonlight, cascading over a dreamlike dark-blue ceremonial gown.
She, too, bore six wings. Though her aura lacked the overwhelming dominance of the Demon King’s, hers shimmered with elegance and grace, bits of magical light dancing along the wings like falling petals.
This was the current Demon Queen—Herilet Harl.
When both the Demon King and Queen were present, even the gods of legend—those who had never deigned to descend upon the world—might well retreat a step or three.
And yet, this terrifying Demon King—
At this moment, however, he simply couldn’t stop sighing!
“Ugh…! This is driving me insane!”
“My, my… Dielzner, that’s your ninth sigh today, isn’t it?”
Herilet smiled faintly, raising her hand to her lips as if gently reminding him.
The Demon King Dielzner scowled even more upon hearing that!
“What else am I supposed to do if I don’t sigh? Just leave me be!”
“But Dielzner, didn’t we agree to have a calm and rational discussion about this? With you sighing like that nonstop, it’s starting to agitate me, you know? Don’t you think one major reason Sheffy ran away from home is because of your short temper?”
“How is that my fault?! Sheffy’s always been a handful—surely it has more to do with how you spoiled her since she was little? Ugh…! I’m telling you—uh?”
“That was the tenth sigh… ha, my dearest Dielzner, that was your final warning, you know?”
Upon hearing the magical energy crackling dangerously beside him…
Dielzner quickly turned to look!
His wife was “smiling” sweetly, but in her hand, a deadly shimmering multicolored frost crystal had begun to form, casting a brilliant glow over her otherwise gentle and graceful face.
This very same head of the household, the once imposing and dignified Demon King, immediately stood up in a fluster and waved his hands in frantic apology.
Even his wings curled up behind him as though bowing in remorse.
“S-sorry!! Herilet, calm down! It’s all my fault—I haven’t been attentive enough to our child! Blame me, it’s all on me!”
Seeing his admission of guilt, Herilet let the magic energy in her hand dissipate.
She returned her hands to a graceful position before her, just as composed and elegant as ever, and tilted her head with a gentle smile.
“Mhm, Sheffy’s situation is our shared responsibility, you know. We mustn’t start shifting blame just because we’re anxious, alright?”