Miss Demon King, Please Endure a Little Longer - Volume 1 Chapter 9

Chapter 9: You Look Beautiful

***

The Church of Light has a certain degree of autonomy within the kingdom. To avoid mutual interference between politics and religion, Lia did not come along. She is a member of the Hero Party, but she is also the Saintess of the Church of Light.

Celeste went ahead first to meet the mentor who assembled this team, the former great hero Roars, saying she had something to tell him.

Vina hadn’t returned yet.

So on the way to the royal palace, there were only Aira and Zero walking together.

“I don’t know if it’s because of me, but I feel like Celeste has been a bit strange lately, and seems to have some misunderstanding about me.”

Since it was just the two of them, Aira subtly brought up this matter.

Or maybe it wasn’t so subtle.

“Hmm… there might be a little.” Zero didn’t say much, “But don’t worry, it’ll be fine in a couple of days.”

Should she really not worry? Aira felt like she had been transformed for so long and had been a good girl for several days, yet her revenge plan had barely progressed at all.

Except for Zero, who had been completely unguarded against her from the beginning, the attitudes of the other members remained quite delicate.

The scheming Vina, the distant Lia, the wary Celeste… sigh, she was so tired…

“Aira, Aira, look, there are pancake rolls~”

Zero, who had somehow run off to buy something from a roadside stall, came running back and handed her a steaming hot pancake roll.

“A little bit of scallions and cilantro, no chili peppers.”

“Thank you.” Aira took it and looked at it with some curiosity, “How did you know I don’t eat spicy food, and only want a little scallions and cilantro?”

Zero answered reflexively: “I noticed it these past few days when watching you eat.”

Aira was even more puzzled: “But I haven’t seen you around these past few days.”

Where were you watching me eat from?

“Well… um… it seems like I heard it from someone else… Oh right, Aira, is this pancake roll delicious?”

Zero’s explanation was vague, and she changed the subject.

“It’s alright.”

Aira took a small bite and chewed slowly. She didn’t really dwell on the earlier question, just sighed a little: “Compared to being teammates for a month, you seem to know more about me.”

She really wanted to find someone to ask about Celeste.

Zero’s delicate pretty face turned a bit warm: “It seems like that’s true.”

They were completely on different wavelengths.

After finishing the pancake roll halfway through their journey, the two continued walking along the King’s Road, passing through the center of the royal capital and walking inward from the outer perimeter of the royal palace.

“Aira, do you know? This road is called the King’s Road because it was personally designed and supervised by the king himself. Pretty impressive, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Hah, a waste of people’s labor and resources, causing unbearable unpaid forced labor. It feels like the Demon King cares more for his people.

“Aira, look over there. That place is called the Royal Garden, such a huge area. I heard that during the blooming season, the entire royal palace smells fragrant.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Hah, pretentious aesthetics, all surface-level. It feels like the Demon King is more practical.

“Aira, Aira, look, there’s a flower~”

Hah… wait, how did you pick a flower and come back… when did you even go?

The girl ran back excitedly, a white rose blooming brilliantly in her hand.

“Won’t you get in trouble for picking flowers from the Royal Garden?” Aira was a little worried.

“It’s fine,” Zero’s light-colored eyes smiled like crescents, “no one can see me.”

That’s true, even the Demon King didn’t see when you picked it.

“Aira.”

“Hmm?”

“You’re really beautiful.”

Only then did Aira realize that the white rose had already been placed in her hair, though she had no idea when Zero had made the move.

Facing the girl’s happy smile, the Demon King temporarily set aside her critical gaze and instead thought of a small question—

At times like this, shouldn’t a good girl blush a little?

“Umm…”

Aira made a blushing sound.

Oh wait, we’re both girls, why am I blushing like a teapot!

“Hehe.” Zero took her hand, “We’re almost there, let’s go~”

…………

In a side hall of the royal palace called the Hall of Tribute, people who had made significant contributions to the human kingdom lived here.

This wasn’t Celeste’s first time coming to this place. Every time she came to visit this teacher, walking from the corridor into the main hall, she could see a line of vigorous calligraphy on the wall—

【All Things Are Born from Conservation】

“Here you are, Little Celi.”

The old man came out from the inner room, greeting her while setting down the teapot in his hand.

“Just brewed some good tea leaves, pour it yourself if you want some.”

Folk tales describe the great hero Roars as a 2-meter tall giant who could have people stand on his fists and horses run on his back, with every muscle on his body radiating the essence of manliness. However, time had passed, and the real Roars was just a kindly old grandfather with a white beard on his chin that looked like cotton freshly beaten by street vendors.

Celeste poured two cups of tea, first bringing one to her teacher, then picking up her own cup and taking a couple of sips.

“First, congratulations on your successful trial. Being able to defeat the Demon King through teamwork, you all did excellently. As a reward, you can ask a question. Is there anything you want to know?”

“Yes.”

Celeste put down her teacup and asked very seriously: “I want to know about Zero’s background.”

Roars’ expression became somewhat strange: “Did she cause some trouble in the team?”

“No, I just feel like she…” Celeste hesitated for a moment, but still spoke her thoughts, “is too naive, as if her mental age isn’t very mature.”

Roars, who was drinking tea, spat out a mouthful and couldn’t stop coughing.

Celeste quickly went forward to pat his back, and it took quite a while before he recovered.

“Cough cough, thank you, cough cough. Well, Little Celi, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you… cough cough, this matter involves some… cough cough, political things… cough cough, it’s not convenient to discuss.”

After a few minutes, Roars sat in his chair, having caught his breath, and spoke again: “I cannot answer this question for you. How about this, I’ll tell you something more important — why I absolutely had to find you all and form this Hero Party.”

Celeste sat up straight.

“Before I get to that, let me ask: have you also heard that rumor about my collapse?”

Hearing this, the girl’s expression became somewhat delicate: “I don’t usually believe such rumors…”

“It’s true.” Roars said preemptively.

This made Celeste’s expression even more subtle.

The rumor went like this — when Celeste emerged as a prodigy, becoming the youngest holder of the Sword Saint title in history at her tender age, people all marveled that heaven blessed the kingdom, that humanity had produced another genius like the great hero of old. When Roars himself heard this news, he also gave high praise.

When Vina became famous throughout the Magic Court, earning countless people’s admiration, Roars frowned slightly but still forced a smile to send blessings to the talented mage.

When the Saintess Lia’s radiance illuminated the kingdom, Roars became so anxious that he pulled out handfuls of his beard, constantly asking people if there were any abnormal situations outside, whether the ancient dragons in remote corners showed any signs of stirring, or if the long-quiet abyssal rifts were loosening.

Finally, when he somehow got news about Zero, Roars’ eyes rolled back and he collapsed on the ground.

Three days later he suddenly got up, full of energy, as if he had become decades… well, more than 10 years younger, and used all his connections to find the 4 girls and form them into the Hero Party.