After a while, the tower grew a little quieter.
Everyone who needed to leave had left, and the four Generals of the Demon Race finally had a chance to ask the pink-haired Lady Ayla their questions.
“Lady Ayla, why do we have to call it the Bright Society?”
No hidden meaning—just pure curiosity.
After all, the Dark Family had been her idea too, so why the sudden 180-degree turn?
“There are many complicated reasons, but I’ll try to keep it simple.
Oh, Iron Ox, your handwriting looks good.”
Ayla praised Yanpo first.
“First, when I initially proposed the concept of the Dark Family, it was a limitation of the environment at that time, created to unite the forces we needed as quickly as possible. But now, we can unite even more external forces, and there’s no such urgency. So we can use a better name.”
Darkness could only unite the Demon Race internally and some truly dark races—like the Sea Demon Tribe they had tried to ally with before.
But the name of Light could unite more allies, including the Demon Race themselves, as long as they could come up with a way to get everyone to accept it.
“Second, using ‘Darkness’ as a name doesn’t actually increase our movement or attack speed at night.”
Ayla said helplessly.
“But using ‘Light’ as our name really can let us receive Blessings.”
During her months with the Hero Squad, she had fully experienced the power of healers and the functional value of the Blessing of Light in all sorts of ways.
If only there was a Dark Goddess, the Demon Race wouldn’t have to change their name like this.
“I see. I understand now.”
After hearing the Demon King’s words, the four Generals were deeply impressed.
Even Yanpo, the least bright among them, understood that Light had more advantages than Darkness.
After sending away her four loyal subordinates, Ayla walked over to the window of the high tower.
Overlooking the city below—a city not exactly bustling, but hers—her heart surged with emotion.
Yes, this was the true meaning behind the name Bright Society.
It really wasn’t about selling out.
But speaking of which, what was the surprise that Saintess mentioned?
Even if she was tricked into giving a gift, it wouldn’t be a loss.
The formal meeting in the high tower came to an end, and the brand-new future of Bright Cross Star City officially began.
A Demon Army unit of more than two hundred soldiers headed north, setting up outposts along the way.
They finally reached Locust Tree Mountain, built a Watchtower at the highest point, and stationed there.
The four Generals and their troops rotated shifts regularly.
Inside the city, the propaganda squad began officially explaining the concept of Light.
“What are Citizens of Light? We are born under the sun, walk in the daylight. As long as you act during the day, you are a part of the Light. That’s also why we’re renaming the city to the City of Light. We can’t ignore the facts.”
“Lady Ayla said, if everyone slept during the day and was active at night, then calling this place the City of Night wouldn’t be wrong either—but that’s not how it is.”
From this point on, Ayla’s name was mentioned frequently.
By the next day, most of the city’s residents already knew the new ruler’s name.
Though, people’s understanding was a little off.
“Do you know Lady Ayla?”
“Of course, the Succubus who rules here.”
“First time seeing a Succubus make it this big.
How beautiful must she be?”
“She must be deadly beautiful, obviously.”
On the girls’ side, two young women who had finished making their plans were preparing to act.
Again, Celes was the easy one to handle—she didn’t even need their help; the girl would go out on her own.
General Glengo was about to lead his troops back, so before leaving, he wanted to walk around the city with his daughter and offer some fatherly advice as they shopped.
“Taking walks more often is good for you.
Walking is good exercise, too.”
So Celes was pulled away just like that.
Leah hid by the door, watching her leave with wide eyes, clenching her little fists in excitement.
“Great! She finally left!”
It wasn’t that Saintess didn’t care about her companions—she just hadn’t proselytized in a while and was feeling a bit suppressed.
But it was fine.
She’d make up for lost time afterward.
Zero emerged from the shadows beside her, looking up at the high tower.
“Now there’s only one problem left.”
And it was the biggest problem—the little witch Vina.
As companions who spent their days together, they knew all too well how troublesome she could be, especially since she already suspected something was off with the proselytizing.
They’re all lolis—look how obedient Silitya was, even in death.
“Sigh, if only I hadn’t made that bet with her back then, maybe things wouldn’t be so hard now.”
Leah muttered quietly.
“If I had known, I would have just put up with it.”
Because of that bet, Vina was always on the lookout to make an arrest and earn the right to witness things live, so she often watched her like a hawk.
“It’s tough, but not impossible.”
Zero said calmly.
“Besides, her surveillance isn’t necessarily a bad thing for us.”
“Not a bad thing?”
Leah didn’t quite understand.
Zero pointed at her, then herself.
“Surveillance is effective one-on-one, but if it becomes one-on-two, a gap opens up. Lately, Vina’s been curious about my actions, so if we do this at the right time…”
Morning in Bright Cross Star City was lively, but atop the high tower, it was silent.
Vina didn’t like getting up early—not because she loved sleeping in, but because she hated the low blood sugar feeling that came with it.
Her brain wouldn’t work, and she’d feel like an idiot.
Okay, fine, she actually did love sleeping in.
Today, too, she slept soundly until the sun streamed through the window, finally crawling out of bed at her own pace.
“Good morning, unfamiliar new city.”
The little witch stretched hard.
“Hoo~ The early bird gets the worm, the early worm gets eaten by birds.”
So why bother getting up so early?
She brushed her teeth, washed her face, and was about to go downstairs for breakfast—when she suddenly spotted two familiar figures.
Her dear teammates!
Leah and Zero!
Vina quickly ducked behind the sofa, ears perked, secretly eavesdropping on what the two of them were saying.
These two had suddenly started a secret club lately—surely they were up to something shady.
“Is this really okay?”
That was Leah’s voice, sounding conflicted.
“Trust me, it’s the only way.”
Zero’s steady tone replied.
“Sometimes, you have to give to receive.
If you want something, you have to sacrifice something.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Of course!
There’s no time to hesitate.
We must act immediately.
Also, don’t let the others know, especially Vina—and Celes too.”
After saying this, Zero turned and left, heading toward a certain part of the city.
Vina instantly perked up.
Oh ho ho, you don’t want me to know, huh?
Too bad, I’ve already caught you.
Trying to do bad things in secret? No way!
She hurried out, stealthily following Zero down the road.
A few minutes later, Leah—pretending to return to her room to rest—came to the window and saw a red twin-tail chasing a black-haired girl down the main street.
She was amazed.
She really drew her out!