Chapter 255

4. A Clash Between Experts

At noon, beside the Demon King’s Castle, the boundless lake still exuded an imposing presence.

After finishing lunch, Livra came out for a walk and happened to run into the silver-haired little girl sitting by the lakeside fishing with her short legs stretched straight out. She did not even need a small stool—she sat with complete freedom and ease.

That morning, the officials from the Demon Domain’s Royal Capital had already finished their meeting at the Demon King’s Castle and returned home. So even if Her Highness the Princess sat in such an unrestrained posture now, no one would say she was embarrassing herself. After all, the lifestyle of the Demon Clan Princess was simple—sleep when people were around, and come out to forage and fish when no one was.

When Livra saw that petite figure, she happily stepped forward. Tilting her head to take a look, she then noticed that Sheffy’s eyes seemed particularly lacking in spirit today.

“Ah? Miss Shaya, what’s wrong? You look troubled—can’t catch any fish again?”

“Ah…? Oh, it’s you, Livra. You know, life is a form of cultivation. Only by enduring storms can one temper the heart.”

“So you still can’t catch any fish?”

“Shoo, shoo! What does a kid like you know? Go play somewhere else!”

No emotional intelligence at all—why are you even talking to me?! Can’t you see I’m feeling miserable right now?!

After all the chaos early in the morning, Sheffy’s will had been tempered to become even more resilient.

To put it simply—

Before Livra arrived, Syla seemed to have taken the wrong medicine. Ever since she woke up, she had been clinging to Sheffy like a child—though she was originally just a thousand-year-old child anyway.

It was probably related to watching the fireworks with her last night. She kept chattering non-stop about how beautiful the fireworks were, expressing her determination to jump up and watch them next time. That enthusiasm made it seem like she wanted to talk with Sheffy until the end of time.

If it were just chatting, that would have been fine. After all, Sheffy had nothing to do while failing to catch fish, so talking with her could at least pass the time.

But…

She actually showed off her new underwear!

Even now, Sheffy’s mind still echoed with that perverted remark that nearly made her kneel on a washboard.

“Hehehe… Lord Sheffy, look! The underwear you personally helped me put on! And there’s a little bear too—it’s the same style as the one you just changed into! Thank you, I’ll definitely cherish it!”

Honestly, you could not imagine how bizarre it was to see a blue-haired loli lifting her skirt and proudly showing off bear-patterned underwear!

Sheffy reminded her not to expose her underwear, saying it was basic etiquette. But Syla said she wasn’t a child and naturally understood such things—she just wanted to show it to Lord Sheffy.

If Lord Sheffy didn’t want to see it, that was fine—then she would just take it off.

So she immediately removed the troublesome little bear—and lifted her skirt again.

Hey!!

Well, although Sheffy only glanced at it, she had to admit—

Ridiculous. Even more childish than me.

By the lakeside, with her skirt fluttering in the breeze, her small feet lightly stepping on the sand, Syla’s pure and radiant smile even made Sheffy wonder whether her own mind was too impure for thinking this was abnormal.

Syla was flawless.

Sheffy slapped down the little hand that was lifting the skirt, turning it red, yet Syla panted and asked her to slap it a few more times.

It was over—this child was truly impossible to discipline.

And she seemed to be getting even more perverted!

Livra sat down close beside Sheffy. As fellow princesses, her sitting posture was clearly far more elegant than Sheffy’s.

“Where are Princess Belith and Lady Xiarette? It’s quite rare—they’re not with you today?”

“Just now they were still here. I had them take Syla away so she could calm down for a bit. I always feel that right now she’s too excited—if she keeps clinging to me, something bad will happen.”

“Although I don’t know what kind of problem you mean… Miss Sylatrella’s mental state isn’t very mature. She’s still a child.”

“The fact that you think that just proves you’re a child too.”

“Huh?”

It was exactly the opposite of what she said.

Sheffy felt that Syla’s mind was actually too mature—to the point that it had looped back to the other extreme.

She quietly pushed the completely empty fish basket behind a rock so Livra wouldn’t see it. Then she gripped the fishing rod with an extremely professional posture—truly a model of putting on appearances.

“And right now, Xia and Belith seem to be arguing over who gets control of the kitchen for dinner. I’m waiting for them to cool down before heading back. Where’s the Fire Lizard? I haven’t seen her all day.”

“As for Miss Timani, she’s still taking a nap. Um… speaking of which, we haven’t seen you all day either. Since last night, after you returned to the Demon King’s Castle and went into the room with Lady Xiarette, you haven’t come out… Miss Shaya, sometimes I’m really curious about your relationship with Lady Xiarette… ah, if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine…!”

“You can clearly tell, can’t you? Then why ask such a pointless question?”

“Huh?”

Sheffy stared at the surface of the lake, too lazy to even turn her head to look at Livra’s “surprised” expression.

It wasn’t just laziness—her posture had changed quite a bit last night, and her neck was a little sore.

“With your level of observation, you already know the answer, so there’s no need to ask. Also, you just said, ‘after I returned to the Demon King’s Castle last night and went into the room with Lady Xiarette, I didn’t come out.’ That part—I’m actually curious. How did you know that?”

“I… I guessed…! Ugh… sorry, I was just really curious… I saw you fishing by the lake last night, so I watched from the windowsill for a while, until Lady Xiarette took you back.”

“Ha…”

You call that… watching for a while?

From the moment Sheffy started fishing until she followed Xia back to the Demon King’s Castle, that was a full three hours!

No wonder fishing felt so unlucky last night—so it was you standing up there scaring all the fish away!

People who are good at making excuses were just this cunning.

No, wait.

The wind by the windowsill was so cold—weren’t you afraid of catching a chill standing there the whole time?

“Ah-choo…! Mm… sorry, this morning I did feel a bit…”

“There we go. I knew no one can withstand cold wind like that. Curiosity is fine, but you should take it easy.”

Without any need for chanting.

A gentle green glow appeared out of thin air beside Sheffy, like fireflies, and settled over Livra’s body.

As the light of Healing Magic faded, Livra’s previously heavy eyelids immediately felt much lighter.

“Wow… my headache feels much better. Teacher Shaya, was that your magic? Thank you so much!”

“Though your tone sounds a bit disappointed? What, now that you know Xia and I have that kind of relationship, your illusion shattered? Makes sense—after all, Xia is the hero of your human race, and I’m the one who saved your life when you were a child. And now I, a Demon Clan Princess, am with Xia… ha, when you put it that way, from your standpoint as a human princess, it’s only natural that it’s hard to accept. I get it.”

Livra froze for a moment.

Then she shot up to her feet with a sudden “whoosh”!

“Ah? Hard to accept? Not at all! Teacher Shaya, please don’t underestimate me. I’ve always believed that love is something mutual! It has nothing to do with status! Nothing to do with gender. As long as two people can rely on each other, then it’s something completely normal and beautiful! You and Lady Xiarette have gone through so much together—ending up together doesn’t surprise me at all!”

“You see things quite clearly…?”

This time, Sheffy painfully turned her neck to look at Livra.

Those eyes, said to be the most beautiful in the kingdom, were like emerald gems, filled entirely with support—without the slightest trace of dissatisfaction or confusion.

Sheffy did not say anything out loud.

But she scratched the back of her head with her hand, hesitated for quite a while, then turned her head forward again, avoiding eye contact, and forced out a quiet word of thanks.

“Th… thanks. I thought you’d have a more conventional view.”

“I wouldn’t! I’ve always thought Lady Xiarette and Miss Shaya are a perfect match. You’re both heroes!”

“Alright, alright, that’s enough! Seriously… you’re making me embarrassed. Uh, but since you don’t have any objections, what were you feeling down about earlier?”

“Mm…?! I’m not telling you! I feel down about all sorts of things every day—do I have to tell you everything?”

“What’s with you suddenly becoming so rude?!”

It almost felt like… flustered irritation?

Livra seemed to have confirmed something that had been weighing on her heart for a long time. She patted her slightly rising chest, calming her breathing.

“Haha, now I get it. It feels like I’ve solved a mystery that’s been on my mind for ages! I tend to overthink things—sometimes I guess right, sometimes I don’t. This time, I actually got it right. I even feel like between you and Princess Belith there’s also… hmm, maybe I’m overthinking that?”

“Quit probing. However you guess it, that’s your business. Don’t come to me for confirmation. If you want me to say it out loud, where am I supposed to put my dignity?”

“Mm, got it. That reminds me of the Luoniao Beast.”

“Luoniao Beast? What’s that?”

“It’s a kind of magical bird that lives in Aurus. Their habits are quite cruel—when the chicks in the same nest grow up, they’ll knock their weaker siblings to death. The one that survives gets to enjoy all the resources.”

“Wow, that’s truly beastly—killing even their own family!”

“Yes, exactly. That’s why it’s quite similar to you, Miss Shaya.”

“Are you asking to be scolded?”

“I’m not.”

The lake waves crashed against the rocks, producing a resonant sound.

The emerald-eyed girl shifted her body, lightly pressing her shoulder against hers.

She could not tell.

She did not say.

But—

Whether quiet words could reach the ears was not something that couldn’t be tested.

The light and shadows bent slightly, and as the sun tilted westward, its warmth grew gentler.

“Teacher Shaya… may I ask you a question?”

“Let’s hear it?”

“In your fish basket… how many fish can it hold?”

“Fish basket?!”

Didn’t I hide it?!

Sheffy thought the empty fish basket hadn’t been hidden properly. In a panic, she reached out with her small hand to fumble beside her—but there was nothing there, and she grabbed at empty air. Her already strained neck suffered a second injury, causing the silver-haired girl to let out a wail!

“Ow! That hurts, hurts… Livra…! Damn it! You’re here to mess with me, aren’t you!”

“I’m not! I just wanted to ask about the fish basket…! If you don’t want to say, then forget it, I won’t ask!”

“How many fish it can hold depends on whether the fish bite the hook! Why are you asking me? How would I know? Seriously…”

“……”

Giving up entirely, Sheffy pushed the fish basket out from behind the rock, no longer caring whether Livra would laugh at her.

But Livra froze there.

Her mind replayed what Sheffy had just said over and over again.

Whether there would be fish in the basket…

Depended on whether the fish themselves would bite the hook…?

“Teacher Shaya.”

“What.”

“I’ll work hard.”

“Do as you like. Anyway, I’ll say the same thing.”

“What thing?”

“Take it easy.”

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