Chapter 69
"Hey hey... don't come any closer, I'm warning you, stay right there!"
But the footsteps didn’t stop just because of Sheffy’s “warning.”
"Besides, big sis, there's no need to fuss over such trivial things. Back in the Demon King’s Castle, sometimes you’d sleep sprawled out with all four limbs in the air, sometimes you’d drool with your belly exposed, you’d shout goodnight at the night sky before going to bed, and you’d sing nursery rhymes while bathing — I know all of this very clearly, you know?"
"What... you spied on me?!"
"That’s not called spying… that’s called caring."
Plop.
Belith was completely unafraid of the ghostly blue flames.
She walked up to Sheffy, gently smiling, and without any hesitation, reached her hand into the range of the flames.
— and softly grabbed that slender wrist.
The flames gradually faded.
Hmm… not hot at all.
"This proves that, big sis, you don’t completely hate me yet..."
"What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Sheffy forcefully shook off Belith’s hand, baring her small sharp canine teeth as she pointed at Belith’s annoyingly smiling face, accusing her.
"Tsk, what else then? You’re my little sister, after all. I wouldn’t actually finish you off on the spot, would I? Use that stupid brain of yours and think! But that doesn’t mean I don’t dislike you. I told you yesterday, I’m doing just fine over here, I told you not to come, and yet you just couldn’t stay put for even a day and came running again?!"
"Because I missed you."
"Cut it out!"
No wonder Sheffy absolutely couldn’t stand Belith’s attitude, even to the point of feeling nauseous.
Just look at how she used to be!
["Big sis, could you please stay farther away? To be honest, if you keep meddling like this, it really troubles me."]
["Don’t bring your bad habits of idling around to others. If you want to fool around, go bury yourself somewhere and play alone. Otherwise, you’re just an eyesore to me."]
["How about you just leave, big sis? I’ve already packed your things for you. Isn’t the Demon King’s Castle too cramped for you anyway? Don’t worry, I won’t miss you. The farther you go the better — no, crawl away as far as you can. Thanks."]
Having a younger sister who always spoke to her like this since childhood, Sheffy had made up her mind long ago not to try being kind to her anymore.
And now she was acting all sweet?!
Sorry, it’s too late for that now.
You told me to scram, I scrammed. You want me to scram back? I’ve already scrammed far away!
Well, that’s what she said.
But Sheffy wasn’t a child anymore.
As the First Demon Princess, though she no longer felt any fondness for Belith, she still wasn’t unwilling to say a few words.
Sheffy crossed her arms over her flat chest, her eight wings folding together, with the wing tips all simultaneously pointing toward Belith’s face.
Even before Sheffy spoke, Belith’s face had already turned quite pale.
She gave a wry smile and tilted her head, covering her small mouth with her hand as she made a suggestion.
"Ha... I know my request is a bit unreasonable, but big sis... could you please retract your wings a little? I feel a bit... uncomfortable. To put it simply, I feel like throwing up."
"Oh oh, now that’s a reasonable request."
After all, she didn’t want her family to be throwing up every time they saw her.
The eight wings shimmered with black light, blending into the night sky and disappearing.
Only then did Belith’s complexion finally relax a little as she exhaled softly, no longer as pale and drained as before.
In fact, Sheffy had already been suppressing her magic from the start.
But even with her magic suppressed to the lowest level, the oppressive feeling brought by the eight wings was enough to make even Xiarette feel a bit dizzy when facing it, let alone Belith.
As a five-winged demon, Belith had silently endured for quite some time, only making this "suggestion" when her endurance finally reached its limit — one had to admit, her willpower was fairly strong.
After confirming that Belith had recovered enough and would not vomit, Sheffy slightly furrowed her brow and muttered softly.
"Bringing this on yourself... So what exactly are you trying to do? If you have something to say, can’t you just say it directly? You even snatched my gold coins and ran this far. In the middle of the night, are you really in the mood for sightseeing?"
Belith lightly juggled the pouch of gold coins in her hand.
The clinking sound of the coins rang with a rich tone. Sheffy instinctively reached out to grab it, but Belith, relying on her height advantage, tiptoed just enough for Sheffy to grasp nothing but air.
Now do you understand why she disliked her?!
What kind of little sister treated her big sister like this?! It was absolutely infuriating!
Belith smiled indulgently, lowering her tiptoes, raised one index finger, and said:
"I originally intended to lure big sis to chase after me like this, and then keep running until we reached the Demon King’s Castle. Once there, Father and Mother could help persuade you — maybe big sis would change your mind and come home? Unfortunately~ I was too useless and used up all my magic on strengthening my Flight Speed, yet still got caught by big sis so quickly. I didn’t even make it to the Demon Domain, let alone the Demon King’s Castle. Total failure~"
"Ridiculous. You didn’t think that once I got to the Demon King’s Castle I wouldn’t leave, did you? That’s exactly where I escaped from."
"Of course... I know the Demon King’s Castle can’t trap big sis. Not just the castle... what big sis needs is a world far broader."
Belith suddenly leaned forward a little, bringing her face close to Sheffy’s ear.
With this motion, the two matching strands of silver hair overlapped on Sheffy’s shoulder, shimmering with a beautiful light that only sisters could share.
Her voice was soft and sweet, whispering beside Sheffy’s ear.
"Since you can’t be trapped... this kind of plan would be meaningless. So obviously, the plan I just mentioned — was a lie~"
"Heh, you think I didn’t know? Have you forgotten? My eyes can see through lies. So, what is your real plan?"
"The real plan? I just wanted to use this whole thing to tell big sis that now, not only do I no longer have any thoughts of driving you away from the Demon King’s Castle like before, but on the contrary, what I hope for now is to turn that place into a home that belongs to just the two of us... where we can live together forever, longing for and loving each other."
"...?!"
Huh...?
The more Sheffy pondered these words, the more wrong they sounded.
As the meaning settled in, her expression gradually shifted into one of shock, her pupils trembling as though experiencing an earthquake.
You-you-you... you disobedient lunatic!! Do you even realize what you just said?!
Longing for and loving each other...?! Do you know what those words mean?
Is it that you’re uneducated, or is there something wrong with my comprehension?!
Sheffy immediately activated her Eye of True Sight to discern the truth behind her words, only to find that the calmly smiling Belith before her was, in fact, telling the truth. These were her true feelings.
She wasn’t lying — which made it even more bizarre!
She’s crazy... this girl is definitely crazy!
What kind of shock did you suffer to have your brain completely break down like this?!
Belith’s smile was clearly a little twisted.
Sheffy had always thought her little sister’s mental state was unstable, and now she wasn’t even pretending anymore!
But Belith herself was very clear-headed right now. Extremely clear-headed.
Big sis~ I haven’t suffered any shock. It’s just that some things you secretly did for me when we were kids — I happened to find out about them recently, you know…?
Heehee, whether you still remember or not, I don’t know, but as for me, I’ve fallen deeply into the warmth you gave me, completely unable to pull myself out~
She said nothing more — simply extended the pouch of gold coins to Sheffy.
"Here, big sis, this is for you."
"Huh...?"
"Hmm? What’s wrong? Isn’t this the gold you chased me for? Take it. It’s not just the prize money inside — I added a bit more. The prize was about three hundred gold coins, and I put in an extra ten white gold coins. Use it for now. Life out here shouldn’t be too tight. If you run out, I can always go ask Father and Mother for more."
"...?!"
Why are you so... convenient—cough, no, why are you so considerate?!
Sheffy dumbfoundedly accepted the pouch of coins.
She weighed its heft for a moment, and then a golden gleam flashed in her eyes!
Whether to accept or not — there was no need to consider that.
"Well...! Strictly speaking, I shouldn’t accept this. It’s not like I’m destitute and struggling to survive. But since it’s your kind gesture, I can’t very well refuse. Otherwise, if you brought the money all the way here and then had to carry it back, it would be embarrassing, and it would only make Father and Mother worry even more. So, for the sake of family harmony, I’ll reluctantly accept the money for now!"
"Mhm! Since big sis can accept it, of course we’re happy. So... big sis, before I leave, may I selfishly make a request?"
"Damn it."
Taking people’s money, you lose the right to say no. Eating people’s food, you lose the right to criticize.
Sure enough — here came the request!
But having taken the money, if she didn’t even listen to a simple request, she’d be too unreasonable.
Sheffy stored the pouch into her Storage Magic space, reluctantly nodding to signal Belith to speak briefly.
"Go ahead and say it. If it’s not too excessive, I’ll consider it."
"Alright then, I’ll say it, okay?"
"Say it."
"Big sis."
"Hmm?"
"You see, I brought you the gold coins... and flew such a long way, I’m very tired. So... so..."
Belith’s shy, embarrassed, and blushing expression — this was the first time Sheffy had ever seen it, and she hoped it would be the last!
However.
The "request" Belith voiced left Sheffy completely stunned.
She spoke almost like she was being coquettish.
"So big sis... as a reward... c-could you pat my head...?"
"Ah?"
In Sheffy’s mind, the chances of this cold and ruthless Belith acting coquettish toward her were about the same as a giant fish suddenly evolving the ability to swim through deserts, and then just so happening to bump into her passing by, allowing her to capture it for steaming.
It was simply inconceivable, hard to believe.
Yet here it was, happening right before her eyes.
You had to know, back then, when Sheffy tried to improve their family relationship, she had suggested patting Belith’s little head as a show of "sisterly affection."
And what happened?
Back then, Belith had worn a face full of disgust, even clicking her tongue, and her eyes were practically looking at her like she was a complete idiot — and not just any idiot, but the dumbest of the dumb!
That incident had left young Sheffy with quite a psychological scar.
Ever since then, she hadn’t even dared to touch fish heads when fishing!
At this moment, Belith closed her beautiful eyes that reflected the starlit sky.
She curled up like a gentle little kitten, lowering her guard entirely as she leaned her head toward Sheffy’s chest, softly murmuring something in her throat.
"Big sis... please... Belith really is reflecting on herself..."
......
Did you know that right now, Belith’s height was actually "shorter" than Sheffy?
Because she leaned forward like this, she had to bend down slightly, and with that, Sheffy could see the top of her head.
Overlooking from above!!
Mm…! This strange new feeling gave Sheffy — who, though being the older sister, had never enjoyed any "big sister privileges" since childhood — a curious sensation!
At times like this, what should a proper big sister do…?