HCB Chapter 271
Chapter 271
Chapter 271
20. No need!
The visit to the Royal Capital of Aurus had been full of twists and turns, but it could be considered a steady conclusion.
Before setting off, Sheffy had promised Xiarette that she had to be back home before dawn.
Although there were still things she wanted to press that old king to confirm, thinking about Xiarette waiting at home—and a certain terrifying younger sister who might already be smashing walls and going mad while searching everywhere for her—she had no choice but to temporarily give up and return along the original path with Livra.
Of course, the old king had just recovered from a serious illness and needed rest, which was also a reason. No matter how ruthless Sheffy was, she still understood the virtue of respecting the elderly and caring for the young. Being filial to one’s parents at home was a fine quality; by the same logic, she couldn’t go torment Livra’s old father outside either.
No more questions.
Walking along the giant lake, on the way back to the Demon King’s Castle.
Sheffy kept rubbing her chin and muttering, the more she thought, the less she understood.
“This is strange... she wanted to stop the war, not fan the flames? Then why did she keep picking trouble with me?!”
“Uu... Miss Shaya, when you say strange, do you mean it’s strange that she wanted to stop the war, or strange that she kept troubling you?”
“Both are strange. And what are you ‘uu’-ing for? What did I do to you now?”
“I really feel like throwing up.”
That sentence was meant literally.
Just now, over by that large rock on the lakeshore, Livra had been dry heaving for quite a while, her face still pale.
“I don’t want to learn 【Teleportation】 anymore. I’m sorry, Teacher Shaya, I must not be suited for this magic.”
“Look at that lack of ambition. How can you give up without trying? As your teacher, I feel ashamed of you.”
“I’ve already tried twice, okay?! Going back and forth—I almost died twice!”
“But from the results, didn’t you not die even once? Relax, relax~”
“......”
What a cold world.
Only the soft, adorable way Miss Shaya stood on her tiptoes and patted her shoulder to comfort her could bring a bit of healing.
“Just endure it. If you don’t use teleportation, do you think we can make it back before dawn? If we don’t make it back, Xiarette will crush me into dough... ahem, I mean, Xiarette will get worried.”
“Alright... sigh. By the way, Miss Shaya, do you think... there’s any possibility that my Father King was lying in that story?”
“No possibility. Everything he said was true—I’ve got sharp eyes.”
“Oh right, you have those Eyes of True Sight.”
“Hey, when I say that myself it sounds cool, but when you say it, it makes me feel embarrassed. Just shut up.”
“Alright.”
The strange thing was that King Celt Aurus truly hadn’t lied.
Sheffy could confirm that everything he said was the truth.
The Aimeris of the past had personally put an end to the bloody war between the Human Clan and the Demon Clan, and had given the King of Aurus the so-called “divine oracle” to strive for peace.
That didn’t match the temperament of that blond, short, unlucky brat at all, did it?!
Unless… the Aimeris they met wasn’t the same one?
“Forget that for now. In fact, your Father King did act according to Aimeris’s request—he can be considered to have kept his promise. Think about his attitude over the years toward negotiating with the Demon Domain, and his tolerance toward the Holy Theocracy of Coreia—it all makes sense.”
“Yes. The Holy Theocracy of Coreia has been hiding behind the scenes, sucking the blood of our Aurus all these years. More than once, I’ve advised Father King that when it’s time to fall out with them, we must not endure it. Giving a little today and a little tomorrow—sooner or later, they’ll drain Aurus dry. But Father King has never turned against the Holy Theocracy of Coreia. He is not a weak ruler. I used to find it strange, but now it seems… just as you said, Father King had his own concerns, and a kind of helplessness he couldn’t tell me before.”
Exactly.
Sheffy also felt that some things had progressed far too smoothly before.
For example, when Uncle Jeffriel invaded the Royal Capital of Aurus—clearly, a Six-Winged Demon had already broken into the capital—yet afterward, the Kingdom of Aurus did not hold the Demon Domain accountable, and even showed understanding in their attitude.
Furthermore, when Sheffy previously proposed cooperation between the Demon Domain and Aurus in her capacity as a princess, the old king had suppressed the objections of all officials and chose to accept it. Judging from the thousand-year war between the Demon Domain and Aurus, if it had been another ruler, even if both sides’ interests aligned, reaching an agreement would definitely not have been something achieved overnight.
This sense of dissonance had lingered in Sheffy’s mind for a long time, and now, it had finally been answered.
If the guiding principle behind everything that old king did was “strive for peace and avoid conflict,” then his so-called “weakness” made sense.
It wasn’t cowardice.
It was pouring everything he had into fulfilling a promise to the gods, trying to create a century of peace that wasn’t even realistic.
—Even if such an approach was somewhat self-deceptive.
The evening wind stirred the waves of the great lake, crashing fiercely against the jagged rocks and shadowed cliffs, as if mocking how impractical such a fantasy was.
“Honestly, it’s quite ironic. Your Father King worked so hard and made so many compromises. Yet during his reign, the wars basically never stopped.”
“Mm... after all, human desire is endless. Father King’s abilities are limited—this responsibility isn’t something he can accomplish alone.”
“True. I feel that deeply. If I had to stop every conflict by myself, I’d have to keep watch constantly—watch every country, every family, every person in every family, to see if they’d suddenly lose their minds or develop greedy intentions toward their neighbors. If that were the case, I’d have died of exhaustion long ago. That’s something only lofty gods should be doing, not me.”
“Haha... I think even the gods themselves might choose to avoid such a miserable task.”
“Right?! ‘With great power comes great responsibility’—shouldn’t you first consider how the person involved actually wants to live?!”
Sheffy walked backward with her hands clasped behind her.
Under the cascade of silver hair, her puffed cheeks showed a trace of her small grievances.
There were things Sheffy had wanted to say for years, but aside from Xiarette and Belith, there was no one she could talk to.
And she couldn’t bear to complain too much to those two either, afraid they would worry about her.
But when facing Livra, a rare friend, once she started talking, it became hard to stop.
“Livra, don’t you think that idea is kind of ridiculous? Back then, my magic teacher said I was extraordinarily talented, that I’d definitely accomplish great things in the future—even change the world! Ha, that excited, fanatical look in his eyes basically meant that if I gained that kind of power someday, I’d have to lead the Demon Domain to sweep away all enemies, or become a hero who saves the world—either way, it had to be something earth-shaking! There was no second option. So I asked him, what if I didn’t want to do that? Ha, you wouldn’t believe the shocked expression on his face.”
“That’s why you chose to leave the Demon Domain and go find Lady Xiarette... mm, I understand. Those expectations imposed by the outside world can sometimes make it hard for me to breathe.”
“But you’re stronger than me, Livra. In the same situation, you still chose to be a good princess and prepared to inherit the throne.”
“That’s only because what I faced is nowhere near as extreme as what you faced... they’re not the same concept. If it were only about inheriting the position of Demon King, without bearing so many unknown responsibilities, you probably wouldn’t resist it this much.”
“That’s incorrect. I don’t want to be the Demon King either. I just want to sleep.”
“It’s fine! Even if you’re sleeping, Miss Shaya is still the cutest!”
“......”
Livra clenched her fists tightly in front of her chest. No matter what decision Sheffy made, she would fully support her!
Because Livra understood.
She understood just how much Sheffy spoke against her own heart.
“Miss Shaya, even though you always say that, you’ve actually been working hard all along.”
“Huh?”
“You say you just want to sleep, but you’ve never wasted your power. Look—you ran away from home to the Kingdom of Aurus, and it was only like taking a few days of rest, right? And now, aren’t you standing right in front of the Demon King’s Castle? You came back, as a princess.”
“I... I just came back to see Father King and Mother.”
“Hehe, then what about your decision to go to the higher races to investigate information related to the Human God? Could it be that you also have relatives among the higher races to visit~”
“You...!”
“That’s why I say I like Miss Shaya the most.”
“Ahh, alright, alright! You can be so annoying sometimes! You just keep going on and on!”
The silver-haired girl turned around completely and strode ahead in large steps, even walking out of sync without realizing it.
Pfft... Miss Shaya, that’s why I say—you don’t speak your true feelings.
Sheffy gradually slowed her pace.
Her words came slowly.
And carried a certain heaviness.
“You don’t have to try to cheer me up. I know myself well enough. Anyway, my life right now is pretty good~ I can go fishing, stroll around, and figure out Aimeris’s situation to eliminate hidden dangers—it’s all for an even better laid-back life.”
“Alright, alright~ Miss Shaya is the laziest, okay~ Mm-hmm, the laziest Miss Shaya personally brought about this current period of peace. How strange, isn’t it?”
“Well... this ceasefire is only temporary anyway. I can’t guarantee when it might start again... hm?!”
Sheffy lowered her head to look.
She had been wondering why the chilly sensation of the night wind brushing against her had suddenly disappeared.
At some point, Livra had gently taken hold of her hand.
With a sideways glance from Sheffy, Livra—who had been deep in thought—immediately snapped back to her senses, then hurriedly let go as if she had touched lightning!
“Ah...! I’m sorry, Miss Shaya doesn’t like this kind of thing! I... I didn’t mean anything else... I just felt like Miss Shaya suddenly seemed a bit worried... anyway, I’m sorry!”
“......”
There was no need to be that cautious...
It only made her feel even more annoyed.
Sheffy flicked her silver hair and snorted, continuing to stride forward awkwardly.
“Hurry up, hurry up! Back to the Demon King’s Castle for a midnight snack! After all that work, I’m exhausted!”
“Eh...! Miss Shaya suddenly seems angry! It really is because of just now, isn’t it... I’m sorry! Then I’ll apologize again! I can apologize twice if needed!”
“—No—need—!!”