Chapter 232

The only one who couldn’t understand any of it was Timani.

Sheffy had long since dropped the topic, holding her plate as she leaned toward the sizzling, oil-seeping fish. She happily picked up a piece of fish and began eating.

“Mmgu mmgu… delicious! This is exactly the perfect level of golden crisp on the skin—Xia, you’re a god!”

“R-Really? I’m glad you like it, but eat slowly, don’t burn yourself. Hm… it’s a shame the northern border lacks some ingredients, so a few flavors just can’t come out in the roasting. Bit of a regret.”

“It’s already great! The key isn’t the ingredients, it’s the timing. The fish itself is delicious. You should try some too~”

“Royal Sister, Royal Sister! I mixed the seasoning!”

“You’re a god too!”

With a swift and practiced hand, Sheffy neatly divided the grilled fish on the rack into equal portions. She raised her hand and called Livra and Timani to come join in.

Too bad Sylatrella was still sleeping—no luck for her this time~

Everyone sat in a circle around the stove. Though the temporary tent didn’t even have chairs, sitting on the ground and chatting while having dinner like this offered a kind of unique joy that could only be found in the cold frontier.

Such a huge fish, and somehow it still didn’t feel like enough.

Savoring the tender fish meat, Sheffy had just commented on how overly elegant Livra’s dining posture was when something more serious came to mind.

“Speaking of which, Aimeris mentioned there’s a fish lake beneath the ice to the east. Let’s reserve that for later investigation. Belith, what’s the situation with that Murof now?”

“The rebel leader is currently being held at the Second Corps camp. He’ll be transported back to the royal capital of Campeno with the troops, then handed over to the royal prison.”

“Good, good~ Let evil be punished by evil. Murof won’t escape death this time. Ugh, and before he dies, he’ll even have to deal with that demonic warden—just thinking about it is terrifying. Belith, how about giving him a swift end instead?”

“If he hadn’t spoken rudely to Royal Sister, I might have considered it.”

“So in other words, there’s no room for consideration now…?”

“Correct.”

Fair enough. You’re swift and decisive—your call.

“I wonder how Aunt Ailellek’s negotiations are going.”

“No word from the front yet, but it should be… mm, isn’t that them now?”

From outside the sealed tent, the sound of hurried footsteps came.

Because the person was clad in heavy armor, their steps thudded loudly on the ground.

It was a scout from the Second Corps, responsible for frontline intelligence, coming to report to the commander.

Seeing this, Xiarette hurriedly tried to cast Disguise Magic to turn her blonde hair silver, but Sheffy raised a hand to stop her.

“It’s fine. They’ll report from outside. They won’t come into the tent. Demon Clan traditions are a bit different.”

“Really?”

Yes.

Among the humans, the commanding officer might throw open the tent and welcome all manner of generals to discuss matters.

But the Demon Clan was different.

Since Demon royalty often led troops in person, and because the status of a Demon Clan Princess was regarded almost like a sacred symbol among the demons, some unknown authority had laid down the rule: one must never be rash when addressing Her Highness the Princess. Unless it was urgent, one must not disturb her rest, and under no circumstances may anyone intrude upon her tent. To do so was punishable by death.

In truth, Sheffy had only learned of this rule later on. She had no idea who came up with it in the first place.

Perhaps such a strict regulation was part of the reason for the rumor that “the Demon Princess is terrifying and brutal.”

Later on, Sheffy didn’t even bother changing the rule. After all, it was rare to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet~

The soldier’s figure stopped just outside the tent; from within, only the shadow of one knee bent in a kneel could be seen.

“Princess Sheffy…! Pardon the intrusion during your rest—news has come from Her Highness the First Princess!”

These included the Fire Dragon Clan, the Thunder Dragon Clan, the High Elves, the Blood Clan, and the Human-God Clan.

These five major races had temporarily withdrawn their extermination orders against the two Demon King’s Army corps stationed at the border. The orders had been revised to “defensive posture.” If the Demon Clan truly made no further movements, their respective forces would not cross into the Demon Clan’s northern border.

Meanwhile, on the royal capital’s side, His Majesty the Demon King had already issued a declaration of war to the Holy Theocracy of Coreia. If the Theocracy refused to take responsibility for this matter, the Fifth Army Corps of the Demon King’s Army would travel through the Kingdom of Aurus and launch an assault on Coreia.

As for whether the Kingdom of Aurus would allow the Demon Clan’s forces to pass through, diplomats had already been dispatched to negotiate with the King of Aurus.

If this plan went smoothly, even if it didn’t completely force the Theocracy to behave, it would at least rein in some of the petty schemes of Pope Gustana. Livra hoped that at the very least, they would stop draining the blood of the Kingdom of Aurus.

It was a reasonable request.

Sheffy had long found the actions of the Holy Theocracy of Coreia distasteful. Now that the Demon Clan and the Kingdom of Aurus were temporary allies, both publicly and privately, the Demon Clan was more than willing to offer this favor.

As for the rest of the report—compared to matters of state, they seemed hardly worth mentioning.

“Your Highness, regarding the message from the capital—about that suspect you mentioned, he still hasn’t been found. There’s no word from the First Corps either.”

“Got it. If he can’t be found, then forget it.”

“Uh… no need to keep searching?”

“No need. Gone is gone. He doesn’t matter.”

Salnor Yarin, the being “fabricated” by Aimeris, had indeed vanished after the Authority of 【Creation】 was stripped away.

Presumably, no one in the royal capital of Campeno would remember him either—after all, he had never truly existed in this world to begin with.

“There’s also the eastern ice lake you asked us to investigate. We dispatched Ground-Gnawing Rage Mice and indeed found signs of frozen giant fish—several species we’d never documented before!”

“Real—coff—I mean, well done! As expected of our Demon Clan’s specialty Ground-Gnawing Rage Mice.”

Ground-Gnawing Rage Mice were a type of magical beast native to the Demon Clan—specialized in tunneling through earth and ice. And they were delicious too.

Sheffy had already begun quietly planning her next fishing trip to the new ice lake, even considering turning it into a polar fishing paradise!

But who would’ve thought…

The soldier outside the tent suddenly became excited!

“Yes! Your Highness is wise beyond compare! The Second Corps is fully prepared. We’ll depart for the new ice lake first thing tomorrow. We absolutely won’t let your kindness go to waste!”

“You’re stealing my fish?!”

“No! We swear on our lives! The Third Corps won’t beat us to the new ice lake!”

I meant you are stealing my fish! Not that the Third Corps is stealing your fish!

No matter what Sheffy was thinking, the soldiers of the Second Corps were currently ablaze with fighting spirit and full of gratitude.

In recent years, all throughout the Demon Clan, it was known that the Second Corps had honed their strength through fighting giant fish in the Northwestern Ice Lake. They had become a rising star within the Demon King’s Army. Their selection as the lead force in the recent suppression operation was proof of that.

From a corps once scorned as a ragtag group of weaklings, they had grown into an elite unit regarded as a model by all other corps. Yet they remained humble, understanding that all of this stemmed from Princess Sheffy’s brilliant leadership.

Who but a genius would think of training by fighting giant fish?!

At first, when they were thrown into the ice lake without understanding the situation, some soldiers had even privately grumbled about the corps commander’s decision. Now, every one of those soldiers had slapped themselves hard to correct their previous ignorance and laziness.

But now…

Most of the giant fish in the Northwestern Ice Lake had already been caught.

Few fish with real fighting power remained. There was no longer training value in staying stationed there, and no new orders had come for quite some time. Many soldiers were feeling down, wondering if Princess Sheffy had given up on continuing to lead the Second Corps.

But today, at this very moment—

Princess Sheffy had said: “There’s a new ice lake in the east. Go take a look.”

This wasn’t about checking out an ice lake…

It was clearly the Second Corps boldly stepping into their future, toward a sea of stars!

Thank you, Commander. You truly never left us.

Outside the tent, the soldier wiped away his tears. Inside, a silver-haired bun puffed with frustration, while Xiarette and the others were doing their best to stifle their laughter—it was genuinely hard to hold in.

“Sheffy, Your Highness…?”

“N-No problem. Just remember, now that the new ice lake is being developed, don’t drive the entire fish population to extinction. I’ll be making regular inspections.”

“We understand. Please rest assured, Your Highness. This time we’ll show restraint and won’t damage the local ecosystem.”

“Good. Also, don’t release the Ground-Gnawing Rage Mice. Hm, anything else?”

“There is… uh, two minor matters. One of them… we’re very angry about. Your subordinate believes it’s worth reporting to you.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Judging from the soldier’s trembling voice filled with rage, he was truly furious.

“That damned Murof Yarin has lost his mind. He’s still acting up while in custody—shouting, insulting Your Highness, even yelling about challenging you to a duel again! He’s just a rebel, clinging to his noble status… We couldn’t take it anymore!”

“……”

Sheffy figured… he probably had no real intention of challenging her to a duel.

Most likely, it was just another one of his petty schemes. Knowing he couldn’t escape the death penalty, he was probably trying to stir up a situation to slip away.

At that thought, Sheffy popped a piece of fish into her mouth, happily chewing and swallowing it.

Then she resumed her royal princess demeanor.

“Oh…? You said you were angry? So how did you handle it?”

Ha! What a question. Without orders from above, soldiers obviously can’t act on their own, right?

“Yes, everything must follow principle! Anyone who insults the corps commander—we beat them up! That Murof was dragged out of his cell by several five-winged veterans and given a solid thrashing! His legs are broken now, he can’t run, and he no longer has the strength to keep insulting anyone. If he opens his mouth again, we’re ready to hit him again! As long as he’s still breathing to be delivered to the royal capital’s Tribunal, that’s enough!”

“You all are… really… did a great job?”

“Thank you for Your Highness’s praise! I’ll be sure to pass your appreciation to every member of the corps!”

“……”

Sheffy had wanted to say something sarcastic.

But faced with the soldier’s feverish enthusiasm, she simply couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Besides…

Belith, what’s with you giving a big thumbs up over there? Are you seriously impressed by the Second Corps’… initiative?

Belith: Yes, Royal Sister. Without a doubt.

Sigh… forget it. That beating was Murof’s own doing.

Honestly, just getting your head chopped off peacefully wasn’t good enough for you? You had to go looking for extra punishment, like dying peacefully wasn’t satisfying enough?

Hm…?

Wait, didn’t the soldier mention earlier that there was another matter?

“Anything else?”

“Yes, but… it shouldn’t be very important. We’re already handling it ourselves. We didn’t want to disturb Your Highness’s rest, so I’ll just—”

“Big or small, report it all.”

You think I’d dare let you walk away without finishing?

Your initiative is way too strong—I highly suspect you’re all planning to sneak off in the night to steal my fish!

The shadow outside the tent had just started to rise when, hearing the princess’s order, the soldier quickly dropped back down to a half-kneel, one arm bracing his knee as he resumed reporting.

“R-Right! Actually, there’s been a strange disturbance at the Third Corps’ camp. The snow on the ground… it’s like it gained life—it formed snowmen that used magic or direct attacks against our forces. The scale was small, and the Third Corps has already suppressed it. But it’s said… these moving snowmen are increasing in number. The Second Corps is preparing to provide reinforcements. Please rest assured, Your Highness—this is definitely another petty trick from the Theocracy! We’ll go crush the unrest! If the situation becomes uncontrollable, we’ll report back to you!”

“This fish… is completely inedible now.”

“Eh…?”

“No matter. First, relay my order: all troops are to remain on standby. Keep your distance from the snowmen.”

“As you command!”

This is bad.

Just listen to what he said—“If the situation becomes uncontrollable, we’ll report it to you.”

You’ll only report once everything’s gone to hell?! You—

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