Chapter 4

Even though the carriage was getting closer and closer to the capital, when old friends met, their conversation only grew livelier.

Recalling the “incident” that had led to their reunion in this world, Xiarette couldn’t help but raise the back of her hand to her lips, half-covering her mouth as she smiled gracefully.

“Pfft… Honestly, even now when I think about it, what Sheffy did was just way too over the top.”

“Was it?”

“Of course it was! You launched a fire magic spell into the sky, big enough to stretch across the entire territory of the Human Alliance. That kind of scale… even the king was frightened! The people all thought it was the end of the world!”

Sheffy casually swung her legs and shrugged with a laugh.

“What else could I have done? I’m just that clever. I kept thinking, since I got reincarnated here, what if you ended up in this world too? The chances were slim, sure, but not zero. And if it turned out to be true and you couldn’t find me, wouldn’t that be way too pitiful for you, Xia? Hahaha! Just kidding…”

“Yes… I’ve always missed you, Sheffy. Ever since I came to this world… I’ve been thinking about you constantly.”

“Hey, hey, hey… Come on now… You could at least try to deny it a little… Saying it all so directly makes it super awkward… Seriously! Why are you always going off script like this?! It ruins all the fun!”

“Huh? But I… I was just stating the truth… Why are you getting mad, Sheffy?”

“I’m not…! Ugh, fine, fine… You dummy. Anyway, that fire spell back then really was a shot in the dark. I never thought it would actually lead me to you. I guess… it was like a blind rat running into a blind cat?”

“I think it’s supposed to be a blind cat running into a dead rat…?”

“Uh, sorry, that was an idiom from our previous life. I kind of messed it up. Well, I guess at least both can’t be blind, otherwise they’d never run into each other.”

The idiom didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Sheffy was truly glad she had made that decision back then.

She hadn’t been sure whether Xiarette had been reincarnated into this world or not.

So, on a whim, she had given it a try.

Well… “a little” try, maybe?

—She had released a fire magic spell in the direction of the Human Alliance, compressing and refining the magic’s purity to its absolute limit.

Then she unleashed it at full power… straight into the sky!

And it wasn’t just a random blast of fire magic.

Sheffy had used her incredibly high magical purity to distort the flames, continuously manipulating their shape through delicate magical control.

Even she hadn’t expected that this outlandish idea… would actually work.

In the end, the massive blaze successfully etched out the shape of words in the sky!

Ahem, though those characters didn’t exist in this world.

The script Sheffy had formed was written in the Chinese characters from her previous life.

If Xiarette really was in this world… then she would surely recognize this code only the two of them would understand.

——【I, the Demon Clan Princess, you there?】

Following that message were the two of their names from their previous life.

Right after “you there?”, Sheffy even deliberately included the “?” mark.

Now tell me—was she serious or not!

This all happened about two months ago.

And that was exactly why Hero Xiarette suddenly proposed to head to the frontlines to confront the Demon Clan Princess.

It was called a confrontation, but in truth, it was a negotiation.

And so, the touching reunion between the Demon Clan Princess and the human Hero took place right on the war-torn frontlines.

The soldiers of the two enemy races, steeped in bitter enmity, continued shouting and killing as usual.

But none of that could shake the scene at the camp set in the middle of the battlefield… where the two leaders were bawling their eyes out in a flood of emotion!

When two people from the same hometown met, their eyes would always well up with tears.

They sipped tea and chatted leisurely, right there in the heart of the battlefield.

Every time Sheffy thought about how that fireball spell had actually helped her find someone from her old life, she couldn’t help but bare her small tiger teeth and let out a few snickers.

Her silky, snow-white silver hair swayed with each movement, and though her laughter carried a bit of mischief, it still sounded sweet as a silver bell.

“Hahaha! Honestly, I didn’t expect it either. I’d never gone all out with fire magic before, and that time totally wore me out—but the result was pretty great. My verdict? Totally worth it!”

“Sheffy, could you at least show some awareness… Do you really still think that was just a fireball spell…? In a thousand years of human history, according to the records, not even the sacred magic cast by the first Hero and the entire elder council against the first Demon King covered half the range of your fire spell… And that was only in legend. Yours was real! You have no idea—when you cast that spell, everyone thought a god had descended.”

“That extreme?!”

“What do you think?”

Xiarette had been stationed in the capital at the time, and she had witnessed it all with her own eyes.

The fire scorched the sky, turning night into day.

A curtain of flame—

Even though it was more than a thousand meters above ground, people could still feel the heat rising from beneath their feet.

That immense wall of fire in the sky… could be seen from anywhere across the Human Alliance’s territory.

It was far beyond what could be described as a “natural disaster.”

Ordinary citizens began kneeling in prayer, begging the gods not to punish them and voluntarily confessing their sins.

Like, he stole two sacks of rice from your house, and you strangled a chicken from his.

The “doomsday” brawls that broke out were a sight to behold; the capital fell into unprecedented chaos!

That fiery canopy in the sky lingered for over ten minutes before gradually fading into twinkling stardust and vanishing.

Only a faint heat in the air remained, proof that it had ever existed.

This not-quite-catastrophe of a catastrophe… was later dubbed by the kingdom’s people as “The Fire Calamity’s Retribution.”

Of course, no retribution had ever actually come~ at most, it was just Sheffy Harl launching a gigantic firework toward the human lands!

The only thing was—no one knew that the fire magic had been unleashed by the Demon Clan Princess.

Only Xiarette knew~

While others saw the fiery wall in the sky and trembled in fear…

Only she… looked into that flaming sky, and in her eyes, flickered a spark of excitement and hope that hadn’t shone in twenty years.

At that moment, the Hero’s entire world had been illuminated.

But still, that “firework” had been way too excessive!!

Xiarette held her forehead and shook her head, silently lamenting how completely unaware Sheffy was of her own actions.

“Sigh… Honestly, I should be used to it by now… You were the same in our previous life, Sheffy. Even though you were ranked first in the entire school, you still insisted on applying to the same university as me. You could’ve chosen a better one.”

“Mind your own business.”

“Mm, not minding, not minding. Haha… Actually, what surprised me most was still the fact that Sheffy turned into a girl.”

“Wha…! Damn it, can we not talk about that for now?! It’s not like I wanted this… I’ve totally lost all masculine pride!”

“But no, Sheffy is clearly really cute like this?”

“!”

Xia was honestly so mean sometimes!

Just look at her squinting her eyes and grinning mischievously like that!

If the space allowed, Sheffy could’ve leapt up and given her a solid, well-aimed flying kick!

Seeing even the slightest flicker of flustered indignation on Sheffy’s face gave Xiarette a strange and inexplicable sense of satisfaction~

She waved her hand to indicate she’d let Sheffy off the hook for now and would drop the topic.

—And then reached out and lightly patted Sheffy Harl’s silver-white hair twice.

This sudden head patting made the dignified Demon Clan Princess let out a few strange little “mm-mm” and “ngh-ngh” sounds from her throat.

“Well… what does it matter if you became a girl? Like I said earlier, Sheffy is Sheffy. I’ve always been missing you.”

“Gwaa… Waugh!! Stop patting my head already! We’re both twenty, show some maturity!”

“Yes, yes~ I should learn to be as composed as Sheffy, huh. Speaking of which… Sheffy.”

“What is it?”

“Can I ask you something?”

Xiarette squinted slightly, as if sensing the position of their carriage.

Then she opened her eyes, her expression taking on a seriousness that hadn’t been there before.

“Once we finish this talk… we’ll really be entering the capital’s territory. Sheffy, what I’m about to ask will seriously affect how we live in the capital from now on. I need you to answer truthfully.”

“Why so serious all of a sudden… Alright, go ahead, I’ll tell you whatever I know.”

As she said this, Sheffy suddenly remembered something.

She quickly raised one index finger to emphasize with extra urgency!

“But let me say this first! Ask me anything, just don’t ask if I have money! I’ve been penniless ever since I left the Demon Clan! Don’t you dare expect me to pay for living expenses! I have no money! Really! And I absolutely won’t get a job either!”

“…! I’m not gonna ask you for money…!! Honestly, a mere Sheffy—I can afford to support you!”

“Oh, you should’ve said that sooner. Scared me half to death. Hehe, hearing you say that, I feel relieved. Go ahead then, ask anything—just don’t bring up money!”

“……”

Oof… My dear Sheffy—doesn’t she sound just like a tiny little miser?

**5. True Strength?**

Money? Don’t worry about it.

Once we’re in the kingdom, I definitely won’t let you go hungry!

A flicker of doting affection passed through Xiarette’s eyes.

But the question she was about to ask was far more important than that.

After feeling a moment of helplessness at Sheffy’s absurd remark…

Xia still maintained a mostly serious expression—seven parts solemn.

The remaining three parts were a worry she simply couldn’t hide.

“Sheffy, can I ask you… what exactly is your true strength right now?”

“My strength?”

Sheffy was caught off guard by the sudden question.

Then, she bent her arm and rolled up the silk sleeve of her black Gothic-style dress, revealing her completely unmuscular, slender little arm!

“I’m doing fine! Not gonna lie, I can fight pretty well!”

“……”

“Xia… are you looking down on me?”

“No… I just thought, Sheffy’s skin is really nice, so pale, like snow.”

“Oh wow! *That’s* where your attention went?! Let me see yours!”

“No—Ahem, Sheffy, be serious. Don’t change the topic!”

“Wasn’t it *you* who changed the topic?!”

“Ah… Sorry.”

What else could Sheffy say—this goofy girl had been just as goofy across both lives.

With a Hero like this… She honestly didn’t know how long the human kingdom would last.

Hang in there, Kingdom of Aurus.

Sheffy leaned her elbow on the wooden armrest of the carriage, spreading her right hand open as she tried to offer some examples for Xia to understand.

“I think your question’s a bit vague, so I’m not sure what the right answer would be, but the truth should be pretty obvious, right? The humans over there haven’t exactly spoken kindly of me these past years, have they? I heard they’ve been calling me the ‘Princess of Calamity,’ haven’t they?”

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