Miss Demon King, Please Endure a Little Longer - Volume 1 Chapter 11
Chapter 11: You Are a Natural Born Leader
***
The departure time for the operation was set for three days later. During these days, relevant matters would be arranged, with the local lord providing support.
It was only then that Aira learned that the team that had surrounded the demon garrison was the feint attack force that helped the Hero Party lure her out. She had been caught by a classic ‘besiege the city to strike the reinforcements’ tactic.
Humans are truly cunning.
“That’s settled then. I’m going back to camp to sleep. I haven’t been back since coming to the royal capital.”
Vina yawned, turned around and walked out. As she passed by Aira, she looked up and glanced at her.
“You even put on a flower. It looks quite nice.”
Zero was very happy and wanted to say that she had chosen this flower, but when she looked up and realized where they were, she held back.
Everyone looked so serious, it wouldn’t be appropriate to chat about personal matters.
“Let’s go,” Celeste came over and said to the girl, “we should head back too.”
Before leaving, Aira turned back for a glance. The square-faced man was still discussing arrangement details with others, while the middle-aged man left first with an annoyed expression.
What a pity, they didn’t end up fighting.
Walking out of the royal palace and back onto King’s Road, the return journey now had four people instead of three.
Vina rushed to Aira’s side first and poked the girl’s sleeve:
“Little Ai, how have you been these past few days? While I was away, did anyone bully you?”
“No, I’ve been doing fine.”
It was just people chasing after her every day as she passed by.
“What about you,” Aira asked her back, “why were you delayed for so long?”
“It’s all because of those old geezers at the Magic Court. As soon as I got back, they dragged me away. First they interrogated me for ages, asking how I performed this mission, whether I slacked off, whether I secretly caused trouble for my teammates.” Vina was indignant. “When they learned that the Demon King had escaped in the end, they even asked if I had secretly helped the enemy. Really, what kind of person do they think I am?”
Aira’s mouth twitched slightly, and she said nothing.
She didn’t know what kind of person they thought she was, but helping the Demon King was indeed something that had been done, it was Vina who had helped her infiltrate in the first place.
Zero had done it too.
“Then they locked me up at home, and every day several people would come sit beside me to tell stories and recite slogans, saying they were trying to awaken my racial pride. I heard it so much my ears got callused. So yesterday I pretended to be moved and shed a tear, and the old man let me out.”
“…Haha.”
Good girls could only laugh awkwardly; they couldn’t agree, or they’d become bad girls.
The other two girls fell slightly behind, quietly chatting about their own matters.
“Celeste, thank you for helping us out of that situation earlier.”
“Don’t worry about it, it was just a small thing, and it was the right thing to do anyway… You’ve been observing Aira these past few days. What do you think?”
“Emmmm, wait a moment.”
Zero searched around on herself and pulled out a small notebook to hand to Celeste.
After three days of surveillance without ever being discovered, and even having time to take notes, this was the difference between professional and amateur.
【Aira Observation Diary: 1. For breakfast she likes noodles and pastries, for lunch she likes white rice, for dinner she eats noodles. Apart from carbohydrates, she keeps to low sugar and low fat. Doesn’t eat chili peppers, minimal green onions and cilantro, doesn’t like too many seasonings, and doesn’t like mixing rice and dishes together.
- Generally goes to bed around 11 PM, falls asleep within half an hour of going to bed. Wakes up once at 7 AM with biological clock accuracy within 5 minutes, then either goes back to sleep or stays in bed for half an hour.
- Has a habit of taking walks after meals, but doesn’t like jogging. Her chest might be affecting her athletic ability… Mmm, shouldn’t have written this (traces of attempted erasure)】
Celeste’s eyelid twitched a few times: “This is what you observed over several days?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Zero looked puzzled. “Didn’t you tell me to observe Aira’s living habits?”
“…”
That was a euphemistic way of putting it!
“Moreover, it’s already been so many days, and you’ve been watching too. She’s never used perfume. Today when we passed by the Royal Garden together, the entire garden couldn’t cover up the fragrance on Aira’s body.” Zero said a bit embarrassedly in a low voice, “I don’t mean the scent is strong, but rather that kind of, well, aroma that seeps through from the external flower fragrance, faint yet very moist…”
“Alright, alright, on that point I agree with your assessment. She hasn’t used perfume, it’s something natural she was born with.” Celeste rubbed her temples. “But even so, I still think Aira isn’t suitable to join this team.”
Zero was slightly stunned: “Why?”
Looking at her teammate’s uncomprehending gaze, Celeste hesitated to speak.
…………
“Little Celi, in the era when I became a great hero, the Eight-Headed Serpent ravaged the Eastern Sea, and tens of thousands of people became food in its belly. You definitely know this story, it’s in the books, many people know it.
But what you might not know is that every great hero in history has had experiences similar to mine.
Heroes and disasters are matched, and as the number increases, the disasters also escalate.
In those few eras when two great heroes appeared simultaneously, each time humanity’s civilization suffered enormous impact and nearly teetered on the brink. And in that one instance of ‘three heroes in one generation,’ humanity almost faced complete annihilation. The Abyss, the Undead, Evil Gods… In that catastrophe, civilization nearly broke down completely, to the point that there are no detailed records, only scattered fragments passed down.
Now that four of you have appeared simultaneously, I don’t know what you will face in the future, what humanity will face, what this world will face.
But don’t be pessimistic. You’ve assembled early, formed a close-knit team, and are growing together. This is something great heroes in history have never done. I believe that because of your companions, you will grow into better versions of yourselves and demonstrate power far beyond individual capabilities as a team in the future.
I originally didn’t want to say this so early, didn’t want to put such pressure on you.”
In the tea room of the Hall of Tribute, Celeste waited for a long time but didn’t hear the second half of the sentence, so she had to actively ask: “Then why did you tell only me?”
Because the other three — one is a nasty little witch, one is an otherworldly Saintess, and one is… hard to describe.
Roars silently buried the truth in his heart and showed a kind smile on his face:
“Because Little Celi, you are a natural born leader. Please carry this secret until you truly become a team.”
…………
This was why Celeste couldn’t speak up.
Zero saw that she was reluctant to talk and said with a smile: “Well~ there’s still a month anyway. You can observe more, and maybe you’ll change your mind.”
Celeste hesitated to speak again.
There wasn’t a month left, they had to depart on the new mission in three days. They couldn’t possibly bring a burden along.
The decision had to be made by tomorrow at the latest.
After thinking for a moment, she spoke: “Zero, could you help me call Vina over? I want to tell her something.”
So the assassin girl took the place of the mage girl, who then came to Celeste’s side.
“What is it?”
“About Aira.” Celeste was brief and to the point. “I think she’s not suitable for joining the team, and even less suitable for coming with us on this mission.”
“Ah? That would be so boring.” Vina’s face puffed up. “If Aira doesn’t go, then I won’t go either.”