Free Web Novel“You mean... you and that First Hero who was already declared dead, you were both summoned by Her Majesty the Empress during the same period. But after being summoned, you stayed asleep all the way until three years ago, when you finally woke up? Is that right?”
The pink-haired, pink-eyed girl stared blankly at Vieya, eyes full of disbelief. All the questions crowding her heart were shattered at once by this revelation:
“Sis, you’re not lying to me about what you just said, are you?”
“As you can see, I possess an Authority—granted to me by the gods.”
Vieya looked at her, her gaze as clear as autumn water, pure and sincere:
“Three years ago, I awakened in the Monster Forest, where I met a dying human girl. She accidentally stumbled into the magic array that was preserving my body and consciousness, and ended up releasing me.”
Oh my god!
Hua Shiyu unconsciously swallowed hard. “Then Sis... are you really still human?”
“Of course. And I have my own beloved. I love her very much.” Vieya smiled as she spoke calmly to Hua Shiyu.
But the serene warmth in her eyes stirred a trace of genuine envy in Hua Shiyu’s heart.
How wonderful.
To have someone you could entrust your love to without fear.
From a very young age, Hua Shiyu had grown used to guessing at and accommodating others’ moods. She had seen and recognized the natural expression that adults revealed when speaking of someone or something they truly cherished.
That wasn’t something one could fake...
The shadows lingering from her childhood had made Hua Shiyu especially good at detecting that kind of fragile, genuine emotion.
This monster-sister truly had someone she deeply, deeply liked hidden in her heart.
Curiosity rose.
“Then why doesn’t Sis just live peacefully with that person, instead of diving into this mess?” Hua Shiyu boldly asked.
Vieya frowned slightly, the smile vanishing.
You rotten pink-haired brat!
I told you this so you’d believe I’m human—not so you could rip open my old wounds!
Sensing the atmosphere shift, Hua Shiyu immediately changed the subject, trying to prevent the fragile goodwill she had managed to build from collapsing again:
“Ahem. Sis, this whole scene you caused in our Tribunal—was it just to see Her Majesty the Empress? Well, since you were summoned by her, it’s not strange that you’d want to meet her.”
“But Sis...”
Hua Shiyu looked up at Vieya, who was now slowly sitting down across from her. “Choosing to start from the Tribunal... that approach is way too extreme. Sigh, it’s just like the gamblers I used to see in the Royal Capital...”
“Gamblers?”
Hua Shiyu nodded and began to explain: “According to what you’ve told me, meeting Her Majesty the Empress should actually be easy! You’d just need to take it step by step—go to the Royal Capital’s Blessing Grounds, get Hero certification. Then you’d ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) definitely earn the chance to see Her Majesty the Empress!”
“But now you’ve taken the risk of stirring up such a huge mess in the Tribunal. Holding me hostage is one thing, since you haven’t harmed me—I could even write you a letter of forgiveness later. But those unconscious knights will be harder to explain. They might accuse you of attacking public officials.”
“That’s... how you see it?”
Vieya’s gaze darkened, and Hua Shiyu felt her whole body go cold.
“Si–Sis, did I say something wrong?” Hua Shiyu asked nervously.
No. You just don’t understand that Empress at all.
Vieya shook her head slightly, thinking silently:
Back when I was the First Hero, when I met and fell in love with the Demon King, Her Majesty the Empress actually knew everything.
She was so innocent back then—she even let me bring Flaviel to the Royal Capital to meet her... It was practically the same mood as bringing your girlfriend to meet your parents.
Too bad, at that time, I didn’t even know my girlfriend was the Demon King.
But if Her Majesty already knew everything inside and out, and still let things slide all the way into the abyss—never interfering, never offering even the smallest word of warning... frёewebηovel.cѳm
The Empress of the Human Alliance... or rather, the supreme leader of the Anti-Monster Alliance, the legendary Sword Emperor in her ultimate mastery. With all those titles, she still had one identity most important to Vieya—she was the Master of the Night Hero.
Vieya did not want to destroy the image of her master that she held in her memories. Yet she feared that the path she had taken to reach this point had been subtly manipulated by her master’s hand all along... frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Even so.
She did not regret marrying Flaviel.
Even if the ending had not been beautiful.
Because—
Once you are loved,
once you love—
those emotions, real or false, become impossible to forget.
Thinking this, Vieya shook her head and said to the pink-haired shorty pretending to act timid:
“That way is too slow. I can’t wait.”
She lied.
As a slime girl, the one thing she had the most of was time.
Vieya avoided Hua Shiyu’s curious gaze. She stood, listening carefully to the outside sounds.
Perhaps her destiny as a Hero had always been scripted, guided.
If the guidance had led to a good ending, Vieya might have chosen to accept it and rest easy.
But this ending was too cruel. She could not accept it. She truly could not.
To have someone else arrange such a wretched conclusion for her.
Pitiful.
She might as well die.
But someone wanted her alive.
Alive!
To live well!
“You’ve rested enough.”
Vieya spoke softly. “According to the patrol schedule you gave me, the knights I knocked out will soon be discovered. When that happens...”
“...the Tribunal will enter first-class battle readiness,” Hua Shiyu finished her sentence, then asked, “Sis, is that monster attack outside related to you?”
“I don’t know.”
Vieya glanced at the sky. Night was falling fast. An ominous feeling crept into her heart.
My plan... Did I overlook something?
