Chapter 14

“I just figured you’d forgotten how to cook after these twenty years. A dignified Hero of the Kingdom still needs to cook for herself? But… in this remote wilderness, there really isn’t a single maid in sight, huh?”

“I’m not used to it,” Xiarette answered truthfully. “At first, the King said he’d assign maids to my house, and my parents mentioned it too, but I turned them all down. I’ve always felt it’s best to handle my own affairs. Plus, I consider my living space quite personal—having others walking around inside makes me uncomfortable. Now that Sheffy is here, it’s all the more reason I should take care of things myself. Here, Sheffy, have some water.”

“Ah~ Thank you… Mmm, hot!”

“You okay?! Blow on it before drinking.”

“I’m fine, I’m fine~ I can handle high temperatures pretty well.”

“Still, be careful.”

Sheffy was strong. Her resistance to heat was real, but that didn’t stop the sting of getting scalded for that brief moment from overly hot water.

When it came to minor details in life, Sheffy Harl had always disdained using magic to suppress discomfort. After all, only by burning your mouth would you realize the water was actually hot~

Sheffy stuck out her little tongue and licked the spot on her lips that had just been scalded. The scene carried an inexplicable hint of sensuality…

Or perhaps there was no sensuality at all—it was just the golden-haired girl watching who was overthinking…?

Xiarette averted her gaze, listening to the sound of Sheffy mischievously licking her lips. She couldn’t help but reach out and gently pat her silver-haired head, while advising softly.

“When it’s time for bed, I’ll find you one of my old nightgowns. The size should fit. There’s just been too much going on today… Tomorrow, I’ll figure out a way to get you a new set from the town. But for tonight, please bear with it for now.”

“You call this ‘bearing with it’?” Sheffy always knew how to say the sweetest things at the most unexpected times. “Wearing Xiarette’s nightgown—that sounds more like a reward~”

“Sheffy…! What are you saying!”

“Ah…? Isn’t it true? I just thought, a Hero’s sleepwear must be made from the best fabric in the kingdom—wearing it’s gotta feel amazing!”

“You, you, you…! Say the whole sentence in one go! You scared me for a second…”

“Hmm?”

Sheffy tilted her head with a confused, innocent look, and went back to sipping water.

“Also, I bought you the strawberry donuts you wanted—they’re in the carriage now… Wait right there?! You’ve already eaten so much today. Eat them tomorrow! No binge eating!”

“Dictatorship! This is tyranny! If you’d told me earlier there were donuts… I wouldn’t have eaten the fish! No wait… fish is still important.”

“You…”

Sheffy Harl, as the first Princess of the Demon Clan, still knew how to be sensible.

After all, she had already remembered where the donuts were. No need to make a fuss.

Her small hand, pinching the edge of the teacup, gently pushed it forward.

She slid the cup to the edge of the dining table.

Sheffy Harl crossed her legs with some difficulty, eyes fixed on Xiarette sitting opposite her, and finally brought up a serious topic.

“Did today’s meeting go smoothly?”

“It went alright.” Xiarette recalled the afternoon’s court meeting and gave a brief summary. “Aside from a certain Prime Minister with ties to the Holy Theocracy causing trouble, everyone else understood that you need to be well protected—your safety must not be threatened.”

“Eh… that’s normal, I figured as much.”

After a short silence, Sheffy leaned one arm on the table, her gaze suddenly tinged with concern.

“I don’t care about the others, but Xia, you listen to me—if it ever comes to it in the future, you absolutely must avoid direct confrontation with the Six-Winged Demons.”

“Eh? Why all of a sudden…”

“Hey, I’m just taking precautions. I know during the meeting today, there had to be some idiot saying even Six-Winged Demons can be fought. But you need to understand… Six Wings are far more dangerous than you all think.”

“I understand. Don’t worry.”

Xiarette didn’t ask further questions and simply made a promise.

She wasn’t brushing it off—she was genuinely trying to reassure Sheffy and spoke with sincerity.

If Sheffy said so, then Xiarette would listen.

Sheffy nodded in satisfaction, then casually spread her palms and smiled.

“Honestly, no need to get too worked up~ If things really go south, just invoke my name! Don’t worry~ the moment I’m mentioned, whether it’s Five Wings or Six Wings, they won’t be an issue!”

“My Sheffy sure has a lot of sway.”

“What! My face isn’t that big!”

“I meant your influence… hey?!”

Having eaten and said her piece, Sheffy dashed straight toward that snowy white, fluffy bed!

She’d been eyeing Xiarette’s big bed for a while now!

It was like a cloud—pure bliss!

The moment she laid eyes on that big white bed, Sheffy reacted like she’d spotted a long-lost family member. She hurriedly kicked off her shoes and leapt onto it without hesitation.

Curled up on the bed, she narrowed her eyes in comfort. Her silver hair draped over her body, making her look like a lazy white cat.

Her frilly white socks rubbed against the snow-like pristine sheets, and with a simple stretch of her legs, Sheffy shook off the day’s fatigue.

She relaxed so thoroughly that a small, uncontrollable “Hoo-ha~” sound escaped her throat—a single cute syllable.

Xiarette picked up a piece of Flame Magic Crystal and placed it into the specially designed kettle to boil water. Her peripheral vision involuntarily drifted toward the Demon Clan Princess who had now “claimed” her room.

Hmm… Sheffy is lying on my bed…

Those cute little feet… that lazy waistline… her whole body looks so relaxed…

If I hugged her right now… would she feel really soft…?

Hmm…?

Ahem?!

Xiarette abruptly turned her head back, noticing that the hot water in the kettle had long since started bubbling and steaming. She quickly shook her head to dispel those wandering thoughts.

She set down the kettle and patted her cheeks, which were inexplicably flushed.

The blonde girl was now seriously questioning if there was something deeply wrong with her state of mind!

14. Words Are Useless

Xiarette carried two cups of hot tea into the bedroom—only to witness another “heartwarming” scene.

Sheffy Harl had completely “melted” into the bed, curling up around a velvet pillow, lying on her stomach like a big, adorable silver bundle.

However, her posture was far too carefree and unguarded… so much so that between the slightly lifted hem of her black skirt, a glimpse of some mysterious, beautiful, and hidden white fabric occasionally flickered into view.

Trying her best to keep her mind as calm as still water, Xiarette placed the teacup on the windowsill—even though the tea inside trembled wildly as she set it down, hardly what one would call a smooth motion.

She walked to the side of the bed where Sheffy lay and sat down.

Xiarette quietly helped tug Sheffy’s skirt down to cover her legs up to her calves.

“Honestly… Sheffy, this is really careless of you. You know that? A girl should have a sense of propriety. Didn’t you learn these manners in the Demon Domain’s palace?”

“Huh? Of course I usually pay attention! Otherwise Mother would’ve smacked my head real hard. In the Demon King’s Castle, every single move has to be super cautious!”

Sheffy belatedly looked back, only then noticing Xiarette’s averted gaze and the meaning behind her gesture of adjusting Sheffy’s clothes.

In response, she slightly brought her legs together, then sat up without a care, scratching the back of her head with a sheepish grin.

“But here, it doesn’t matter~ It’s just me and Xia here, right? Who do I need to be guarded against~?”

“You can’t say that. What if I were plotting something against you?”

“No way, absolutely no way~ Heehee, you just like joking around like this. So funny.”

“…”

Suddenly, the air grew quiet.

Only the ticking of the wall clock echoed on.

When Sheffy turned her big eyes full of big confusion to glance back at her, Xiarette masked the entire root of that silence flawlessly.

She could change the subject, no problem.

“Ahem… By the way, Sheffy, did you say earlier you used [Storage Magic] to catch the fish?”

“Yup! Just plain old storage.”

“Plain old…? I’ve never heard of any storage magic that can hold an entire lake…”

In Xiarette’s understanding, the upper limit of storage magic was at most being able to contain a carriage—that alone would already mark someone as an astoundingly powerful mage.

Ordinary storage spells were usually only for holding small objects.

So after witnessing Sheffy’s demonstration with the fish, had she not heard Sheffy say it was storage magic, Xiarette might have mistaken it for some kind of ultra-high-tier spatial magic.

And that was not something Sheffy could let slide!

Sheffy was a straightforward person—whatever the magic was, it was what it was. How could one muddle the distinction?

Sitting on the bed in a duck-sit position, her feet wrapped in white socks shuffled forward as she scooted herself closer to Xiarette’s face.

For some reason, Xiarette instinctively leaned back by the same distance.

But Sheffy had to raise one index finger to explain!

“You just don’t get it! This is a refined version of storage magic that I modified. It’s convenient, quick, and even has low magic consumption!”

“Low consumption, huh…? For safety’s sake, let me ask first—just hypothetically, that lake-storing spell you used earlier… if you cast it, how much magic does it consume?”

“Not much at all… Let me think.”

Sheffy counted on her fingers, actually trying to do the math in her head. She was pondering how to explain it in a way that would be vivid and easy to understand—something that would also show off the efficiency of her improved magic!

Soon, a lightbulb went off in her head, and she came up with the perfect way to say it.

“Okay, so, by my estimate, it’s roughly equivalent to three thousand Two-Winged Demons casting Fireball simultaneously. So tell me—isn’t that super efficient?! Mm…!”

“How is that efficien…?! Ugh, Sheffy… I must teach you some proper common sense going forward. That’s war-level magic consumption!”

“Nonsense! What, you think I don’t understand war? If we were talking about spatial transfer magic of the same scale instead of storage, it would take at least six thousand Fireballs! Mine only takes three thousand! Just admit it—it’s progress!”

“That…”

Hey now, if you looked at it that way, it actually was kind of efficient.

It literally saved half the magic consumption. Sheffy, you really were a genius.

—But the base level of consumption was just way too high!

Three thousand Two-Winged Demons could easily form a Demon Clan army. And you’re using that level of magic to go fishing?!

Xiarette sighed and rubbed her forehead, then patted Sheffy’s shoulder. She was sincerely feeling that it was a miracle the Human Race had survived up to now—thank you, Sheffy…

Sheffy, however, thought this gesture was a sign of recognition!

As a result, her violet eyes instantly lit up with sparkling brilliance. No one had ever recognized her magical research before, so Sheffy was incredibly moved!

She suddenly stood up, waving both hands excitedly as she launched into an impassioned explanation.

“And there’s more…! I didn’t just improve storage magic—I’m always doing other magic experiments too… like Fireball Burst, Multi-Fireball Burst, High-Tier Fireball Super Burst or whatever…! All of them have amazing destructive power! Mmm… it’s just that my home in the Demon King’s Castle kept getting blown up, so my Demon King dad kicked me out during that period—it was so mean! Isn’t experimenting with magic a good thing? I mean, experiments are bound to have accidents, right?!”

Every time her Demon King father saw her doing large-scale Fireball explosion experiments, he’d always gape in shock, raise his arms, clench his fists, and shout at her, “You idiot!” practically wishing she’d get lost on the spot!

Her already rare sense of self-confidence was constantly getting crushed!

Sheffy Harl really was such a pitiful child, a hobbyist suppressed at home, boohoo…

“……”

After hearing all that, Xiarette’s expression gradually became both subtle and enlightened.

Understood.

She might need to put away all the valuables in her house first.

Because at any moment…

—The house might be gone.

Seeing this, Sheffy quickly waved her hands and clarified.

“Don’t worry! I won’t experiment with magic in your house, I promise.”

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