Miss Demon King, Please Endure a Little Longer - Volume 3 Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Aira’s Speculation

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“I don’t see anything impressive about them.” A male elf pinched his chin, lost in thought. “Though that pink-haired one is quite pretty, and she has a nice figure too…”

“Ahem!” His companion beside him pulled at him, signaling him to calm down.

Sure enough, Trika’s stern gaze was already glaring in their direction.

“I think they’re all reputation without substance, just flashy appearances.” Another elven girl said. “If we really had to compete, they’d be no match for any of us.”

The others echoed in agreement, but they soon noticed that Trika’s expression hadn’t improved, if anything, she looked even more displeased.

Saying they weren’t impressive was wrong, but surely they couldn’t say the humans were more capable than them? That wouldn’t be right either, when had the elven race ever admitted to being inferior to anyone?

They truly didn’t understand. Only Trika knew that the elder’s expectations regarding these human geniuses were quite complicated.

They couldn’t be incompetent, if they were incompetent, they wouldn’t be able to help them.

But they also couldn’t be too capable, if they were too capable, they’d become assertive and might end up taking over as hosts instead of guests.

…

After Zero had walked away for a while, Aira finally heard from Lia what she had wanted to say earlier.

Simply put, last time they had just embraced and hadn’t even started the grinding when they were interrupted by others. Now that so many days had passed, they needed to find a way to conduct another “conversion ceremony” session.

Aira tactfully expressed her concerns, saying that after the previous incident, while their companions claimed to believe them on the surface, they might be more vigilant in private.

“I just don’t understand, it’s between two girls, how could they immediately suspect that kind of thing?” Lia put her hands on her hips, speaking indignantly. “Even if we take a step back and assume there really was something, it’s none of their business anyway. I can understand Vina likes to stir up trouble, but why are Celeste and Zero also fixated on us? I really don’t get it!”

Aira wiped the fragrant sweat from her forehead, not daring to speak up.

Yes, why indeed? Lala was quite curious to know as well.

However, the Saintess soon changed her tone: “In a couple days, come with me to the church. We’ll say it’s to discuss the Harbor City branch matters, I’ll formally invite you to serve as the honorary director of the Harbor City branch. We need to perform a ceremony, spending at least one night under the Goddess of Light’s watchful gaze. That way, we can naturally have you stay at my place for a night.”

Truly befitting the Light’s Chosen, the second sun in the hearts of countless believers in the human kingdom, she could weave religious justifications one after another.

Aira thought it over. Since Zero had already been thoroughly “tea-ed” by her and firmly believed in all that tea-talk, there was nothing to worry about, so she agreed.

Lia was so happy she almost leaned in for a kiss.

“The street! This is a public street!”

“…”

The pink-haired big-breasted girl was persuaded to back down.

After returning to the inn, Celeste shared the results of her discussion with Vina regarding the key information they had overheard, the elves’ true purpose — the Sacred Spring seal.

“Teacher Roars might know. If even he doesn’t know, then we’re out of options.”

Aira nodded, agreeing with Celeste’s words.

As always, this matter seemed unrelated to the girls, but it depended on how big the issue was. If it was too significant, everyone would inevitably be affected, so it was better to try to understand the situation.

“You guys go ahead, I won’t go.” Vina raised her little hand. “I’m afraid that once I enter the palace, I’ll be caught by those old men.”

As for Zero, due to the aftermath of the previous incident, unless necessary, it was better for her not to enter the palace to avoid frightening the people inside.

The next day, it was once again Celeste and Aira, one of the best duos, visiting the Hall of Tribute again.

Upon learning about the “Sacred Spring seal” information from the girls, Roars exclaimed in surprise, saying that no one from the royal palace had mentioned it to him, and he truly wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t come.

“It was Sir Macken who found out.” Celeste said. “We just happened to be nearby and overheard. There probably aren’t many people who know about it.”

Tricking fools into revealing information was one thing, but Macken certainly wouldn’t go around broadcasting it. The matter itself wasn’t suitable for wide circulation either, since the kingdom genuinely wanted to cooperate with the elves. Gathering more intelligence was just to avoid being deceived into risking their lives.

“As for the Sacred Spring…” Roars stroked his white beard, thinking carefully for a long time. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

As someone from the first generation after independence, though diplomatic relations with the elves had already been severed by the time of his birth, the adults in his family had lived through that era and often told stories about the elves. However, he had never heard of any Sacred Spring.

He turned around and retrieved a book from the bookshelf, placing it on the table, it was that copy of《101 Fables of Fairy-tale Village》.

“There’s no mention of it in here either.”

Since he had helped the girls research information about the Evil God a few days ago, he had flipped through this book several times, along with other materials, so he could confirm there was no such thing as a Sacred Spring.

Celeste pondered: “Could it be a term the elves coined in recent years?”

Roars shook his head: “A hundred years may seem like a lot to us, but elves have long lifespans. While a hundred years isn’t short, it’s not particularly long for them either, especially considering their very ancient history.”

The more ancient a race’s history, the more rigorous they are with titles. A hundred years wouldn’t be enough time for the elves to designate some spring as sacred.

More importantly, he had never heard of the elves having any special springs.

At this point, Aira tilted her head cutely: “Is it possible it’s internal code?”

Both their gazes immediately turned to her.

“What kind of internal code?” Roars didn’t quite understand.

“It’s a way of speaking used internally, you know.” Aira raised her index finger. “Some things, when explained to insiders, especially when talking to children, can’t be expressed too directly, or it might have a bad impact on their young minds.”

Celeste pondered her words but couldn’t figure out what she meant.

What kind of matter, when spoken directly, would have a bad impact on children’s young minds, requiring a euphemistic alternative?

Aira picked up the fable collection from the table and flipped through it based on memory, turning to that little story from before.

【Iselis’s Meteor】.

“We humans also have an expression: ‘treating sad occasions as happy ones.'” She pointed to the story in the book. “If it’s just for sealing something, making uninformed clan members stay away respectfully, then whether you call it a Sacred Spring or a Cursed Spring, the effect is the same. And besides, if it’s truly ‘sacred,’ why would it need to be sealed?”

Celeste’s eyes widened in great surprise.

After a brief moment of shock, Roars’s expression grew serious as he thought it over, it actually made sense.

They had just carefully analyzed this story a few days ago, so it was still fresh in their memory. In【Iselis’s Meteor】, there was only one spring mentioned, the one where the 120-year-old elven girl had poisoned and sacrificed the villagers.

“If things are indeed as you suggest, then we can first confirm one thing.” Aira snapped the fable collection shut with a clap. “Whatever is sealed in the Sacred Spring is definitely not the Evil God, because He was just out wandering around recently.”