Free Web NovelThe long road soon came to an end. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
In the distance, flickering firelight leapt into Vieya’s eyes.
It was a bonfire. A few silhouettes sat around it, and one of them was waving enthusiastically.
“How strange... why are there so many people over by Yuancherin’s group too...” Menesis murmured, puzzled and worried at once.
“There really are a lot of people! Let me go ahead and see what’s going on!”
“Hey, Kare, wait for me!” Arc shouted and ran after him.
Luna paused for a moment, sighing helplessly as she watched the two rush ahead.
“Every time, it’s the same,” she said softly. “Right before a commission ends, or right before a new one begins, that’s always when they’re happiest.”
Her tone was fond, but then she turned the question. “Miss Cleric, what do you plan to do once this commission is over?”
“Me?”
Vieya thought for a moment. “As for me, I’ll probably spend some time with my daughter... Besides, my ‘cleric’ title is just nominally registered under the Church. I don’t really have to follow its rules. I’m quite free.”
“Your daughter...”
Those who were present didn’t seem surprised that she had a daughter—except for Hu Xiaoqi.
“C-Customer... you have a daughter?”
“Mm.”
“...”
Falling a step behind, Hu Xiaoqi’s mind went blank. The revelation hit her like a hammer.
Menesis thought she saw the pain of a shattered dream reflected in the little fox’s eyes.
She shook her head and looked back at Vieya, asking curiously, “So you took our commission just for the gold coins?”
“More or less... I’m also just a curious person,” Vieya replied. Then, in her head, added, only curious about things related to myself.
“I see.” Menesis studied her seriously, then shook her head. “I wouldn’t have guessed, but you seem to know a lot... more than any of us. Yet you look so young.”
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she asked, “Miss Vieya, could you tell us how old you are this year?”
“Sorry. That’s confidential.”
The slime girl’s physical age was not even four years, but her soul was another matter entirely.
So Vieya didn’t want to answer.
Gradually, they reached the bonfire burning brightly ahead.
To her surprise, the fox girls who had left earlier were also there—sitting neatly in a row before the fire, warming themselves.
“Benefactor!”
As soon as Vieya appeared, the foxes all jumped to their feet, their eyes shining. “We knew you’d be fine!”
“Eh?”
Yuancherin came over holding a plate of wild greens, looking as if she had seen a ghost. “So you all know each other... I was wondering where all these wild foxes came from.”
“We’re not wild foxes!” the “wild foxes” shouted in unison.
Yuancherin sighed helplessly and shook her head. Just then, Liufir came running up, panting and clutching a big bundle of greens. The moment she saw Vieya, her eyes lit up.
After handing the greens to Yuancherin, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and said happily, “Sister Vieya, you’re finally back...”
“Mm. I’m back.”
After greeting the foxes, Vieya exchanged greetings with Yuancherin and Liufir as well.
This strange, bustling energy gave her a faint feeling of being the sun itself—radiant and attracting all attention.
“Hmm~ looks like you’re doing quite well on your own,” Flaviel drawled, arching an eyebrow.
“And to think I worried you’d be helpless without me, surviving only on wild berries... that you’d forget how to store food and end up eating snow in the winter when no berries grow.”
She sighed dramatically. “All that effort I spent preparing you a slime body, wasted.”
Everyone knew that slimes were the easiest of all monsters to keep alive—able to eat even dirt if they had to.
“Well, thank you so much for your consideration,” Vieya replied coldly. Better hope I never find out you actually meant that back then, she thought.
Otherwise, I’d pluck a few of your dragon scales, fry them to a crisp golden brown, and eat them with my drink!
“Sister Vieya, who is she?”
Liufir looked nervously at the golden-haired girl who seemed so close to Vieya. “Her aura is scary...”
“Of course it is.”
Rania, who had been silent the whole way, spoke casually. “That’s the Demon King who died here three years ago.”
“Eh...”
Liufir froze. Her shock and fear were completely unhidden; her voice stammered.
“D-De... Demon King?”
Great.
Now everyone knows I brought the Demon King under my protection.
Originally, Vieya had thought this matter would only come up later—after the wild greens were tossed into the pot, the soup boiled over the fire, and everyone was seated.
Thank you, Rania.
You really are your master’s proud disciple!
Meeting Vieya’s gaze, Rania looked slightly uneasy, lips pressed together in an innocent expression that clearly said she had no idea what she’d done wrong.
As unease and silence threatened to grow into a monster that would devour the celebratory mood of the dinner, Luna, the adventurer captain, stepped forward to steady the group again.
“We’re all veteran adventurers here. Let’s treat this as a new learning experience. Opportunities to meet a Demon King this close up don’t come often. Once you retire, you’ll have quite the story to tell.”
She paused, then added, “Besides, with Miss Cleric here watching over us, what are you afraid of?”
“Captain Luna...” Yuancherin hesitated, then asked, “What about that gathering we mentioned over the communicator earlier? Are we still doing it?”
“Of course,” Luna said, turning to Vieya with a small nod.
Our gathering.
No.
The Demon King’s.
After a simple dinner—
Vieya watched as everyone took their seats. Flaviel and Hu Xiaoqi, being former enemies, sat to her left and right under her supervision.
“Um... does the seating have to be this serious?” Liufir protested quietly.
With a Demon King here, how could it not be serious!
Yuancherin reached out and pulled the conspicuous Liufir back into her seat, silently shooting her a look: Sit down already!
At the same time—
Vieya nudged Flaviel with her elbow. After exchanging a glance, she looked toward Luna, who was waiting for her to speak.
Luna nodded.
Vieya paused for a breath, then turned to everyone with a smile.
“I know what everyone wants to ask, but this commission’s success wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Demon King beside [N O V E L I G H T] me. She actually knows the details better than I do, and I have questions of my own for her. So I took the liberty of bringing her here to introduce her to you all. My apologies.”
“It’s fine, Sister Vieya!” Liufir wanted to raise her hand and cheer for Vieya—but everyone turned to her with odd looks.
Their eyes seemed to say: What are you doing? The big boss hasn’t finished talking yet. Just listen quietly.
It was the same as when subordinates weren’t supposed to interrupt their superior—but Liufir didn’t understand that yet.
“Wh-What’s wrong?” she asked, shrinking back into her seat.
“It’s fine,” Vieya said with a small shake of her head. She wasn’t surprised; most people reacted like this when facing a Demon King.
She still didn’t understand why, but humans in this world had an ingrained fear of Demon Kings—except for the Named Heroes.
And she strongly suspected that back when Flaviel first joined her party, the way everyone instantly fell into line around her had everything to do with that peculiar aura of a Demon King.
One of her teammates had even said it felt like flying.
Sigh, what a pity.
Sometimes, Vieya also wanted to experience that oppressive feeling ordinary people felt when standing before a Demon King... After all, very few things in this world could still excite her.
Calm days were nice—but too much calmness was boring.
And Flaviel was the one who made her feel the most alive. freewebnσvel.cѳm
“Xiao Ye...”
Flaviel suddenly spoke softly, lowering her voice. “Weren’t you the one with questions? Don’t drift off—your friends are still waiting.”
