Chapter 240

“Eh?!”

This… this had already been decided?!

Xiarette had no room to object, because Sheffy had already leapt up joyfully and thrown herself into her arms. Holding her beloved in her embrace, Xiarette had no mind left to refute or even discuss the Queen’s decision.

While Xiarette, Belith, and Sheffy were caught up in a chaotic scuffle, Herilet suddenly turned her head toward Livra and tilted her head with a smile.

“Princess Livra, now that things are settled like this, you should feel at ease in your position, shouldn’t you?”

“Ah… what you mean is… Mm, now that you put it that way… yes, indeed! Thank you so much, Your Majesty! Uuu, honestly, even if you hadn’t considered me, it would’ve been just fine.”

“That wouldn’t do. You’re someone Sheffy trusts. As her mother, I must at least express a gesture.”

“I really lucked out… Ugh, I truly benefited from following Teacher Shaya this time.”

“Hahaha, don’t sell yourself short. You’re a fine child too—have a little more confidence.”

“Mm! Thank you for your understanding!”

To an outsider, this exchange might’ve sounded a little baffling.

But Livra’s clever mind could grasp the true meaning.

The Queen appeared to be merely bestowing a reward upon Lady Xiarette, but in truth, she was giving the Kingdom of Aurus a much-needed assurance.

Previously, Sheffy had been granted the honorary title of Borderland Duke and appointed as the lord of the border fortress Colutes in the Kingdom of Aurus. Soon after, the King of Aurus announced an alliance with the Demon Domain.

And now, the Demon Queen had granted the kingdom’s hero the same treatment.

This, in essence, was a friendly signal to Livra—a reaffirmation of the sincerity in the two nations’ cooperation.

Of course, the Demon Clan would not publicly reveal the Hero’s identity. They would simply state that this newly appointed lord was a child recovered from a collateral branch of the Demon Royal Family—Sheya Harl.

That was more than enough.

Livra, being the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Aurus and a highly likely heir to the throne, knew the truth. There was no need to explain anything further to the Demon Clan’s citizens. What mattered was that Livra understood the Demon Domain’s stance.

Moreover, the Aurus border fortress Colutes and the Demon Domain’s own border fortress Riedekidu were geographically adjacent, divided only by the national boundary—an arrangement full of symbolic significance.

The powerful Demon Clan didn’t need to show such deference to Aurus, even in cooperation. Yet, the Demon Queen had still chosen to make her intentions clear.

Livra wore a foolish smile that only grew sweeter the more she thought about it.

Heehee… following Teacher Shaya was really the best.

Even while traveling abroad, she was treated with such respect as a person!

—

71. Don’t Mention It Anymore!

Finery blooming in splendor, the breeze was gentle, and the moonlight bright.

Night in the Demon Domain didn’t need an ocean to reflect the stars—the land alone shimmered beneath the sky, bustling with life.

Normally, the Demon King’s capital, Campeno, remained relatively sealed off. The gates stayed shut, and people couldn’t come and go freely. But on the day of military commendations, it alone became an exception. The capital opened its gates to travelers from all surrounding nations. After the conferment ceremony, a public night market would unfold—lively and crowded.

“Don’t miss this! Our Demon Domain specialties! Six-winged magic stone sculptures! Put one at home for good fortune! Wards off evil! Not expensive at all—just one magic gold coin and it’s yours!”

“Guest! Come have a look at our tavern? Oh, don’t worry, our prices are fair, and when it comes to flavor—we’re the best in all Campeno! You’ve never tried our Demon Crystal Lake Toad Soup? Then you’re seriously missing out!”

There was nothing else to it—this land simply overflowed with life and excitement.

Beyond the outskirts of the royal capital, houses grew sparse to the point of disappearing. In their place were rolling hills covered in flowers and fields, winding paths dotted with vendors selling their wares, and small taverns by moonlit streams. Even those who weren’t nobles could raise their wine glasses high, clink them together with abandon, and drink heartily. They talked of everything and anything—of the Demon King’s army and its awe-inspiring achievements, of the pride they felt during the commendation ceremony. With one grand sweep of the hand and a slap on the table, their overflowing emotions became the best pairing to their drinks.

And in the open fields and grassy plains where there were no vendors or taverns, under the gently flowing streams and starry skies, the residents of the Demon Domain and travelers of other races gathered in small groups. Together, they gazed at the sky, waiting for the highlight of the night to begin—the Demon Domain’s annual festival performance.

—The Magic Fireworks Festival.

Various types of splendid flame magic would be sealed in advance inside Demon-Sealing Crystals. These numerous crystals would then be arranged in precise positions, each one containing a uniquely designed flame spell.

At the appointed time, the sealed magics would all be activated simultaneously.

Then, using the sky as a canvas and magic as a brush, they would paint a stunning tapestry of flame across the heavens—magnificent enough to leave the world in awe.

Anyone who had the means to travel to the Demon Domain would never miss this once-a-year visual spectacle.

And in the midst of this dense crowd…

A few little cuties ducked their heads and hurried through a forest path, not stopping until they reached a quiet clearing with hardly a soul in sight.

Among them, the black-haired loli in the center looked around wildly, scanning her surroundings. Once she confirmed this place was quiet, ideal for viewing the show, and without disturbance, a sparkle brighter than the stars above twinkled in her eyes.

“Yesss! We really hit the jackpot—an open spot! Belith, I won the bet, didn’t I? You said there’d be no free space left at this hour. This time, you owe me two fish!”

“Alright, alright~ What’s a fish? I’ll owe myself to Royal Sister too, how about that~?”

“No good. Hurry up and help—what, you think someone else won’t try to take this spot if we don’t mark it?”

There was no time to entertain Belith’s wild talk. Sheffy, currently disguised in her Shaya mode, was busy pulling out a rolled-up, massive square carpet from her Storage Magic. She half-knelt on the ground, rolling it out as she pushed it forward, covering the entire grassy field.

This was a local custom in the Demon Domain—once you claimed a spot, you had to make a mark to prove you got there first.

Finding this open area hadn’t been easy. Sheffy and the others had circled the wilds several times before discovering it!

Of course, they could have used their privileges—no need to search, no need to ask anyone—and still gotten the best seat available.

But Sheffy would never do something like that.

Not because she thought it was too flashy, or for any other reason like that.

But because…

Revealing her identity would mean she’d have to give a speech later!

She was here to watch fireworks—not to stand like a fool on a high platform, saying a bunch of life-wasting words while everyone else was enjoying themselves. Nor did she want to sit in the most attention-grabbing spot.

So this operation turned into a quiet infiltration.

For the sake of concealment, Sheffy had resumed her Shaya mode. No one in the Demon Domain knew this black-haired loli’s appearance.

She had originally wanted to give Belith the same Shaya-style black hair, but Belith, that stubborn girl, refused outright. She claimed she had no interest in disguising herself with something so common among humans and firmly rejected the idea.

In the end, she kept her silver hair, donning a black cloak to conceal it under her hood.

Which was strange. Sheffy remembered that Belith didn’t used to mind humans that much. Could it be some human recently rubbed her the wrong way? But they hadn’t been to the Kingdom of Aurus recently… So who could it be?

“Xia, what do you think?”

“I think… mm, we should try to be as understanding as possible toward others’ hostility. I have no objections.”

“You speak so weirdly.”

Xiarette was easy to manage—she just had to stay in Sheya mode.

Her silver hair was slightly different from Sheffy’s, deliberately mixed with some ash-white tones to resemble a collateral line of the royal family. It wasn’t pure silver, so it wasn’t particularly rare among the common folk and wouldn’t draw too much attention. Only those of the Demon King’s direct bloodline had truly pure silver hair.

That said… with this group of beautiful girls traveling together, it was unrealistic not to attract attention in the first place.

“Miss Shaya, Miss Shaya! Hahaha, this time you really are Miss Shaya! Is that fireworks display you mentioned really going to happen? I’ve never seen anything like that in my whole life! I’m super looking forward to it!”

“Of course! If it weren’t, I wouldn’t have come all the way out here. Sit tight and be good, Livra. Speaking of which, I still haven’t put those new fish fry into the lake… Uh—Fire Lizard, you didn’t eat my fish fry just now, did you?”

“Do I eat everything?! What kind of impression do you have of me?!”

Just kidding~ I’m just trying to prepare for the worst.

Everyone had changed into easy-to-move-in clothes—everyone except Timani, who was still wearing her green dress and blouse.

Don’t ask why. The answer was simply that she still didn’t have any other clothes.

Sheffy made a mental note to fix that later. Just because she was a Fire Lizard didn’t mean she shouldn’t have her own wardrobe, right?

Sheffy went out of her way to draw an enormous territorial boundary around them, and even stuck a wooden sign into the soil at the edge. The sign read: “Whoever enters, gets smacked.”

Only after completing all this did she return to the center of the marked zone—this meant the viewing area had been officially claimed by this bossy little loli.

She laid out the fruit drinks and all sorts of snacks and donuts she had prepared beforehand, dangled her little feet, and patiently waited for the moment when the magnificent fireworks would bloom.

Speaking of the Fireworks Festival, wasn’t it kind of like the firework displays from Sheffy’s previous life?

The effect was pretty similar, but this world didn’t have gunpowder, so it couldn’t replicate the kind of widespread fireworks every household used to set off. Instead, they had to use fire magic sealed in magic crystals. In a way, it was more convenient—but the cost of magic was steep.

The fire magic sealed inside magic crystals was dangerous and strictly regulated by official Demon Clan agencies. Ordinary people rarely got to see displays like this, which made the festival all the more precious.

Speaking of which…

“Belith, why have you been blinking those big eyes of yours at me since just now? Are you trying to show off that your eyes are bigger than mine? Honestly, that’s not fair—your face is bigger than mine to begin with, so of course your eyes are bigger too.”

“Mm… I see. This is the first time I’ve seen Royal Sister like this up close. Sheya mode… is super cute too,” Belith mumbled with a gaze full of admiration and surprise.

“R–Really? Then just a glance is enough, right? Why are you getting so close? It’s hot.”

“Of course I have to take a better look—ah! Look! The fireworks magic show is starting!”

“Whe—… huh?!”

Just as Sheffy turned to look up at the sky—

—she was suddenly pulled under Belith’s black hood.

Sheffy felt her lips press against something soft and bouncy, like jelly, mixed with a strange sensation as her teeth were bumped aside.

Under the hood, she stared wide-eyed into Belith’s violet eyes, brimming with gentle emotion, stunned by the zero-distance closeness.

The kiss had come so suddenly—and ended just as quickly.

At the same moment that Livra’s disappointed voice rang out, Belith had already returned to her original seat, giggling foolishly to herself.

“Eh… Miss Belith, where was it? I didn’t see anything at all! Don’t tell me I missed it? Was the show really that short?!”

“Ohhh, maybe I saw it wrong. Maybe it hasn’t started yet? Probably still a bit of a wait.”

“How can you even mistake that?!”

“Got a problem with that?”

“N–No!”

Xiarette looked up at the sky as well, saw no fireworks, then turned to see Sheffy sitting in a duck pose, stunned into stillness, pupils practically quaking in shock.

“Sheffy, what’s wrong?”

“I… she… you, you, you…! Ah! Nothing!”

“…?”

No way I can say it!

If I exposed Belith’s sneak attack right now, wouldn’t she take revenge on me tonight?!

While the others resumed chatting about the Fireworks Festival, Sheffy crawled over to Belith and let her black hair drape over the girl’s lap.

The furious black-haired dumpling lowered her voice, growling like an angry kitten.

“What was that?! You scared the life out of me!”

“Scared ya?”

“No duh, of course it did! You kissed me, fine, but why’d you suddenly pry with your teeth too—tsk! That’s treason!”

“Hehe… I had my reasons, okay? It’s sort of a… ‘can’t be missing’ kind of feeling?”

“Can’t be missing?”

Belith, full of mystery, drew two circles in the air with her finger.

Then gently pressed that finger against Sheya-mode Sheffy’s lips.

“Because I’ve never hugged this version of Royal Sister~ While you were away for months in the Kingdom of Aurus, you created this new ‘Sheya’ identity. If I don’t make a move now, doesn’t that mean the Royal Sister of these past few months doesn’t belong to me, but to that golden-haired dumpling freak instead…? I couldn’t stand that. So you see, Royal Sister, you have to understand~”

“I’m about to die of rage… but I have no way to argue back. Damn it.”

“And even if Royal Sister wants to hold me accountable, you can’t, really—because with your reflexes, you totally could’ve dodged just now. But you didn’t. Which means…”

“Ahhhhhhh shut up! This topic is done! It’s done, okay?! Nobody say another word! Don’t bring it up again!”

“Heehee~ As long as Royal Sister doesn’t blame me, it’s all good~”

—

72. Remember Now?

During the time spent waiting for the Fireworks Festival to start, even though the conversation had shifted to other topics, Sheffy was still furiously wiping her lips with her sleeve. The motion was so fast it practically left afterimages. If her lips weren’t made of flesh, they might’ve sparked from the friction.

In the middle of her frantic cleaning…

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