Chapter 24

“Sigh…”

“Another sigh?”

“No… This time I’m reflecting on myself, don’t misunderstand.”

Staring again at the table piled with assault documents…

Dielzner began to question himself… Had something really gone wrong with his parenting in the past? Had he put too much pressure on Sheffy, pushing her to pack her bags and run away from home?

The Demon King expressed his deep concern.

“I wonder how things are going on Sheffy’s side now. Could she be destitute and sleeping on the streets?”

“Sigh… The fact that you can even say that just shows you truly don’t understand our daughter. She might make others suffer, but she’d never let herself suffer.”

“Are you saying that even after running away from home, she’s still living in luxury?”

“What do you think?”

23. A Day Out Shopping!

“Puhahaha! Xia, you’ve got to try this! Roasted bird legs from the Abyss Mountains, and roasted mushrooms from the Abyss Mountains too! You won’t believe it, they even have magic octopus tentacles from the Abyss Strait! This street—this street is literally paradise!”

Sheffy…

Xiarette knew that was a bit of an exaggeration.

But looking at Sheffy raising both arms high in praise of the food, Xiarette had every reason to suspect that if Sheffy were allowed to eat without restraint, she might drive the entire Abyss region of the Lizardfolk territory to extinction.

For the sake of biodiversity, and for the sake of my not-so-rich wallet, Sheffy, please don’t indulge too much, okay?

Now with her hair changed to black, Sheffy happily jogged up to Xiarette.

Rising on tiptoes, she held out a skewer of roasted magic octopus tentacles toward Xiarette’s mouth.

In truth, Xiarette wasn’t fond of seafood.

But since Sheffy was offering… maybe just one bite?

Brushing aside the golden strands of hair framing her face, Xiarette slightly bent her knees and lowered herself, opening her small mouth modestly to accept the tentacle, chewing slowly.

Then… a light sparkled in her ocean-blue eyes!

“Hmm…? This is actually pretty good!”

“Hmph, tasty, right? You should trust my judgment. When it comes to the street vendors here, I know exactly which ones are good!”

“But Sheffy… you’ve only been out shopping for less than an hour…”

“An hour isn’t enough to scout out good food? This is what you call blending in with the locals!”

“Alright, alright~ I won’t say anything more today. It’s a rare outing—go ahead and scout to your heart’s content. Whatever you want to eat, just get it. I’ll pay.”

“Yay!! Xiarette’s wallet is the best—cough, I mean, Xiarette is the best!!”

“Sheffy, were you just about to say my wallet is the best…?”

“No… no! Absolutely not! You’re just as great as your wallet!”

Sheffy handed the whole box of roasted magic octopus tentacles to Xiarette, pinching her little hands together as she made a difficult promise.

“Just… just splurge this one time, okay? When we get home, I’ll do the chores—I’ll definitely repay Xia for her generous spending!”

“Enough already. Didn’t I say it before? A mere Sheffy—I can afford to support.”

“How generous of you!”

But in truth, Xiarette didn’t dare let Sheffy do housework anymore…

Thinking back to when they went out and had to rescue a horse from the ice cave, and the way that horse glared with such irreconcilable fury at Sheffy—Xiarette was convinced: letting Sheffy handle chores was equivalent to bringing disaster upon the home.

As the saying goes, “housework” in her hands would become “house-none.”

Letting out a bitter chuckle, Xiarette took another bite of the octopus tentacle and raised her gaze to observe the street.

The city life of Cormier, the royal capital, with stalls and vendors, was gradually recovering as the war entered a lull.

The once deserted town streets now saw carriages moving through again. Townsfolk clad in rough linen or fine silk, whether lavish in their spending or haggling with street vendors, were doing their best to save every precious coin of Aurus currency in these post-war times.

As she watched, before she realized it—

Sheffy had returned to Xiarette’s side, holding Aurus copper coins in hand and apparently back from another round of shopping.

In her hand were two large cotton candies, and with one bite, her little mouth had already devoured half of one.

“Hey, Sheffy… isn’t one cotton candy worth one copper coin? I gave you one, so how did you bring back two?”

“Ah? Oh, oh, the old lady at the cotton candy stand said I was lively and cheerful, and also a glutton who could out-eat her granddaughter, so she gave me an extra one. All I can say is, your human customs… *slurp*… really are amazing!”

“Hah… I think it’s probably just because Sheffy is cute enough to bring smiles to people’s faces.”

“No wonder then! So that’s how this whole bag came about?”

“!”

Never would she have guessed—Sheffy had a huge bag full of snacks hidden behind her!

Looking up, Xiarette now noticed that nearly all the friendly street vendors were waving at Sheffy, faces beaming with the kind of healing smiles one would give their own granddaughter.

They say, ‘Read ten thousand books and walk ten thousand miles…’

But if you don’t study and still want to go far—maybe, just maybe, being cute is enough?

This scene was drawing far too much attention.

With a palm to her forehead, Xiarette quickly grabbed the cotton-candy-munching Sheffy and pulled her away from the street.

“Eh…? Why are we leaving? There’s still that place over there selling skewered Luoming fish meat—we haven’t tried it yet!”

“Whose fault is that? Sheffy, you’re way too good at adapting to your surroundings…! Staying in one spot is way too conspicuous—it’s safer if we keep moving.”

“No rush, no rush~ Hey, Xia, you still keep forgetting, don’t you? Didn’t we already agree on this? When we’re outside, what are you supposed to call me?”

“She… oh, right. I should call you… Shaya.”

“That’s right! My current identity is just an ordinary little girl among the humans, your friend—Shaya!”

“Where do you even look ‘ordinary’…”

Even though Sheffy had changed her silver hair to black and slightly altered her appearance, she still couldn’t hide her naturally spirited aura and adorable looks.

Today, Sheffy wore a pure white dress—completely opposite in style from her usual black Gothic dresses.

It was one of Xiarette’s childhood outfits, and worn by Sheffy, she looked every bit the cheerful and lovely little beauty—just in a younger version.

As for Xiarette, she was dressed in a long one-piece dress that didn’t emphasize her figure, paired with long brown leather boots.

To anyone unaware that she was the Hero, a single glance would convince them she was the noble daughter of some powerful aristocrat, a true lady of peerless beauty.

Just to be safe, Xiarette asked once more.

“She… Shaya, you only said the cover is that we’re friends, but the problem is—I usually don’t have many friends… Uh… what’s with that expression?”

“Ugh… Xia, you don’t have friends… how pitiful. It’s okay, the strong are always lonely. I understand.”

“Don’t focus on such tragic things! I’m begging you!! I don’t have friends because I’m too busy… not because I can’t make any!”

“Ah, I get it, I get it~ It’s Xia, after all.”

“!”

Xiarette’s face flushed red with frustration, but she had no retort.

Because no friends meant no friends. Saying more would only invite humiliation.

Sheffy continued strolling ahead, hands behind her head, glancing at the vendors around them while humming a little tune.

“If anything really comes up, we’ll just adapt on the spot~ Explaining identities and such isn’t hard at all. Compared to dealing with those nobles at the Demon King’s Castle, always petitioning to launch expeditions, this kind of thing is nothing~”

“I really can’t imagine what kind of life you used to live…”

“Let’s not talk about me. But you, Xia… walking around the streets like this as the Hero—is that really okay?”

“Most ordinary citizens haven’t seen me before.” Xiarette’s gaze continued scanning the surroundings. “Even if they have, they wouldn’t dare to recognize me.”

As she spoke, Xiarette’s tone gradually carried a hint of helplessness.

“In the order of this country, even if commoners recognize a noble, there’s no benefit in speaking up. Saying anything would only bring trouble upon themselves. Especially during wartime, when order is more chaotic—nobles exploit the people, and commoners avoid them like the plague.”

“Wow, the nobles in your country are pretty arrogant. It’s not like that in the Demon Domain.”

“The nobles there are more courteous?”

“Nope. Over there, sometimes nobles straight-up snatch food from commoners.”

“…”

“But that noble who snatched food and bullied the commoners—he was apparently beaten to death by the commoners in the end. Served him right.”

“?!”

The… the people there are way too fierce?!

This was the difference in culture.

The Kingdom valued order, whereas the Demon Clan not only valued order but also revered strength.

As they chatted, a voice suddenly rang out—slightly abrupt, yet as pleasant as the chime of silver bells.

“Lady Sheffy is so beautiful! Even after changing her appearance, still so beautiful!”

“Hahaha, what a sweet mouth! Say more like tha—uh, who just said that?”

Sheffy looked toward the source of the voice, glancing at Xiarette’s waist…

—at the Holy Sword *Sylatrella*, which was concealed within its sheath using magic to avoid drawing attention.

Others couldn’t see it, but Sheffy could see the invisible blade just fine.

Well now… a talking sword—what a spectacle!

“You pervert… You can still talk even after getting sealed inside a sword?”

“Yes, yes! Sometimes when I wake up, I can say a few words!”

“If I’d known this, I would’ve left you at home.”

“Ugh… I won’t cause trouble… I just wanted to remind Lady Sheffy that on this street, it looks like this is the only shop left. Didn’t you say you wanted to buy something? If we pass it, there won’t be another.”

A shop?

What kind of shop?

Hearing this, Xiarette looked up and glanced to the side.

There stood a cheerful young girl at the shop entrance, smiling brightly and trying to draw in customers. In front of the wooden storefront were large words written in Aurus script: “Undergarments.”

Ohhh… Sister Sylatrella, that was a very timely reminder!

They needed to hurry… and finally get Sheffy a set of her *own* underwear.

Because every time Xiarette remembered this, she would feel a strange wave of guilt.

Ugh, to tell the truth… what Sheffy was wearing underneath right now was still *her* underwear!

24. Approaching Sounds

This undergarment shop in the Royal Capital had strict rules.

It was a women-only establishment.

After all, it only sold women’s underwear.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, even if a couple came shopping together, men were expected to wait outside the shop. They were not allowed to step even one foot inside.

At first, Sheffy found this rule a bit odd—wasn’t this just a store selling pieces of cloth? Why treat it like some classified military zone?

But the moment she casually followed Xiarette into the shop…

That thought vanished completely!

This place! Men must absolutely be stopped at the door!!

Forget men.

Even pure-hearted Sheffy, after stepping inside, instinctively covered her eyes with her little hands.

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