Chapter 2

“Aw… I was wondering why it had no effect… I… um… Xiarette, are you mad at me…?”

“What do you think.”

Sigh…

Xiarette didn’t even know what to say anymore.

Sheffy… even though she understood her intentions, and she empathized with the pressure Sheffy had faced within the Demon Clan…

Still… having to personally play the role of escorting Sheffy as a “prisoner”—to Xiarette, that was just too cruel.

On the surface, she was holding Sheffy’s wrist in custody, but in truth, Xiarette’s fingertips were gently pressing against her palm.

A faint, unnatural blush crept up her face…

Sheffy… no matter what, once we get back to the capital, you better make it up to me properly.

This is what they call compensation for emotional damage, you know!

Poor Sheffy hadn’t the slightest clue what was going through the young lady’s mind behind her, and was happily envisioning her future life of freedom!

The carriage reserved solely for the Hero was now just ahead.

The mist dispersed.

The road to the capital gradually emerged in the dawn light that followed the deep of night, in the same direction as the rising sun.

Xiarette stood at the rear of the carriage, out of sight from those on the battlefield.

She personally opened the lavishly gilded side door for the “prisoner”, the Demon Clan princess Sheffy.

With great solemnity, she made a “please” gesture.

“Let’s go, Sheffy. We… should go home now.”

Those words were as light as snow.

Yet as heavy as a mountain.

Upon hearing them, Sheffy’s petite frame trembled ever so slightly, like stirred by a gentle breeze, her head slowly lowering.

The silver bangs draped over her eyes, concealing her expression…

But when she suddenly looked up—

She caught the golden brilliance of the rising sun, her radiant smile outshining even the burning sunlight in the sky, like snowy mountains gleaming for miles.

And in her lively voice—there was now a warmth that hadn’t been there moments before.

“Home, huh… that word, sounds pretty exciting?”

“You don’t like it?”

“Not that. It’s just… suddenly feels like something hard-won… ah, forget it! We can talk on the way. Let’s go, Xiarette, home, home!”

“Mm!”

2. Is she… flirting with me?

Over snow-capped mountains, across the dirt plains, the carriage tracks left the noisy battlefield far out of sight.

As they neared the kingdom’s capital, the desolate sands and smoke-filled skies of the border battlefield were slowly replaced by lush, thriving landscapes.

Places untouched by war… truly rare and precious moments of peace these past few years.

The gilded, splendidly decorated carriage led the front of the army, needing no guards.

The horses raised by the Hero’s household were highly intelligent, requiring no reins—they knew the way and would steadily return to the royal capital on their own.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that these fine steeds could go to war and fight all by themselves! And—

They could even hiss and snort!

Yet even though the carriage was sealed and shrouded in mystery…

It couldn’t hide the delight of the silver-haired girl sitting calmly inside—despite being a “prisoner”, she was as cheerful as a child out on a spring excursion!

Seated steadily within the carriage, Sheffy dangled her small legs clad in frilly white socks and dark-purple ankle boots.

At the moment, she was using her unique, exclusive magic—【Visual Penetration】— to extend her sight beyond the enclosed carriage and enjoy the scenery along the way~

Xiarette’s brow twitched slightly… she had to admit Sheffy’s composure was something else.

Messenger hawks reporting the battle’s outcome had already flown thousands of miles to both capitals. By now, the highest leaders of both the Demon Clan and the Kingdom of Aurus were probably scrambling in chaos over the results…

And yet Sheffy, she still had the mood to sightsee.

Even as Xiarette silently complained, she couldn’t help but keep casting concerned glances at Sheffy’s perfectly beautiful face, tinged with a hint of sadness.

She found herself entranced.

Sheffy, absorbed in using magic to admire the scenery, naturally didn’t notice those intense stares.

“Wow… the Human Realm really is beautiful! Lakes, mountains, trees, hills—oh my heavens, even big dogs! You barely see any of this in the Demon Territory!”

As she spoke, Sheffy fell into brief contemplation, rubbing her chin thoughtfully with her palm.

“Come to think of it, this kind of scenery… feels like I’ve seen in a past life…? So long ago, it’s almost nostalgic!”

“Sheffy, were you thinking about the past?” Xiarette, sitting across from her, murmured softly, her bright voice subdued, “Were you remembering… before we were born into this world?”

“More or less.”

Sheffy paused briefly and slowly turned her head toward Xiarette.

“I mean, you remember too, right? In our previous world, this kind of scenery usually showed up in ‘parks’, yeah? People would even row boats on the lakes. If I’m not wrong, we went boating together once?”

“Yeah… thinking about it now, time really flies. That was over twenty years ago already.”

“Pfft~ If we’re talking about time flying, isn’t it just because we’ve never had a break since arriving in this world? I was born into the Demon Clan’s royal family, you into a Heroic family of the Human Realm. Tell me, how did we end up this unlucky? We get transported to another world and still can’t live a peaceful life—what a joke!”

“Don’t complain~ If not for that incident, I doubt we’d ever have recognized each other in this lifetime. So maybe it’s not all bad. Thanks to my identity as a Hero, I can openly come and take you away like this—pretty nice, don’t you think?”

“Aww, that’s true~”

Xiarette and Sheffy sat face to face within the well-sealed carriage.

Sheffy wore a black dress, her dazzling silver hair reaching her waist, purple eyes blinking with boundless vitality.

Though she stood at a barely passable height of about 150 centimeters—yes… barely—

Her slightly youthful, innocent face still left the Demon Clan princess lacking the air of authority; instead, her every gesture came across as undeniably adorable.

Especially those swaying little feet—Xiarette found her gaze helplessly drawn to them over and over again…

—Of course, that was solely from Xiarette’s perspective.

Anyone else would likely describe Sheffy as nothing more than a cruel and heartless demon witch.

Xiarette had already dispelled the Hero’s armor forged from concentrated magic.

Her pure white long dress accentuated her ideal height of one-seventy perfectly, with golden hair cascading over emerald eyes—elegant, yet never lacking in nobility.

Of course, what gave her the strongest presence…

Was likely the rise and fall beneath the loose fabric of that modest dress—more than enough to live up to the name of a Hero!

It was exactly this spot that had Sheffy’s brow twitching furiously now… her blank expression locked firmly in place as she stared intently.

“Sheffy…? What are you looking at.”

“Ahem… nothing. I was just wondering what on earth you’ve been eating to grow like that. Don’t think wearing a shapeless dress will fool me… my unique magic can see through all illusions.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, I was joking. Ignore that.”

Sheffy withdrew her 【Visual Penetration】 used for enjoying the “scenery”.

It really was her own exclusive magic.

In this entire world, only she could use it.

Her unfortunate father, the Demon King himself, had once said that in all of history, vision-type magic had never existed.

So when the Demon King heard that his precious daughter not only could see through objects, but could even extend her vision to places incredibly far away, he broke into ecstatic laughter. His mad laughter echoed through the entire Demon King’s castle!

He’d always said it!

His daughter was a genius protected by the Demon God without a doubt!

So how did Sheffy come to awaken such a remarkable, one-of-a-kind skill?

Simple.

Back when she was little, she’d gone fishing at a lake outside the castle. After sitting for half a day without catching a single fish—

The young Sheffy had flown into a rage. In a fit of anger, she suddenly awakened this world’s only visual magic.

With it, no fish in the lake could hide!

She didn’t even need the fishing rod anymore. Furious, she jumped straight into the lake to wrestle the giant fish—some even bigger than her head—barehanded!

Biting, clawing, kicking, and punching—the princess’s rampage left the castle guards around the lake dumbfounded.

That was the origin of the Demon Clan princess’s title: “Ruthless Sheffy”.

Guards: “We were eyewitnesses. Her Highness was swift and merciless. All the fish in the lake were piled ashore, barely any escaped.”

Fish: “I was one of them. All I can say is… it was too cruel, really.”

Ahem… but to be fair, this vision magic doesn’t activate on its own, okay!

That earlier moment—was an accident.

How was she to know Xiarette would suddenly start talking while she was admiring the scenery?

Yeah, if anyone’s to blame, it’s definitely her!

As Sheffy nodded rapidly with arms crossed over her chest, Xiarette tilted her head in confusion.

“Sheffy…? Are you thinking of something weird?”

“Nope, definitely not. And if you think I am, then clearly you’re the weird one.”

“Is that so…”

“Yes, you’re very weird.”

Wicked Sheffy always managed to stand unchallenged upon the moral high ground.

In contrast… When Sheffy glanced down at her own chest, she couldn’t help but feel a little pitiful.

Just a tiny rise—nothing to speak of.

Sigh, whatever. She never cared about those meaningless comparisons anyway.

After all, in her previous life—before she was reborn into this world—Sheffy wasn’t even female, so she’d never developed much instinctual concern about… chest development.

So even after living nearly twenty years as a girl in this life, she really had no interest in this sort of thing… Ahem. Really, she didn’t care at all!

—Sheffy cupped her modestly-sized chest in her hand and let out a small, animal-like whimper.

Inside the carriage, a faint floral fragrance lingered around Xiarette, easing her mind.

When Sheffy was alone, she rarely reminisced about the past.

Her memories from her previous life weren’t exactly pleasant.

But because Xiarette was here right now, a flood of memories surged forth uncontrollably in Sheffy’s mind.

Resting her chin on the backs of her hands, Sheffy gradually drifted into thought…

—Sheffy retained memories of her previous life.

She had once lived in a place called Earth.

“Say, Xiarette, do you still remember our past life?”

“Hmm, I remember a bit.”

“I’ve forgotten a lot… It’s been so long.”

“I’ve seen enough scenery now—I’m bored. If you still remember anything fun, tell me, would you~”

“I don’t mind telling… but honestly, I don’t remember much either… Hmm… what I still recall clearly… it’s probably only everything about Sheffy. As for anything else unimportant, I might’ve forgotten all that?”

“Oh, so your memory’s not that great either, huh. You only remember everything about me—wait, what?!”

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