Time rewinds to when the battle between Milin and the Demon could still be called a “battle”—
“……I now know why you lost to her. That girl is strong—stronger than you.”
“……”
Taking advantage of the chaos, Selene pulled Luc to the other side of the venue.
After confirming they were as far away as possible from the device that could detect demons, they dared to peer through the crowd to observe the situation.
Selene had never fought Milin, but she had a grasp of the demon’s strength currently battling her.
The two had physical contact… but Selene wouldn’t use Shadow Demon Analysis on every person she touched.
Not to mention this person was a greasy middle-aged man, and an alien race—so until he revealed his demonic true form, Selene thought she had triggered the alarm of the demon detector.
“That middle-aged man… no, that fellow clan member’s imitation is nearly perfect—perfect even I couldn’t see through it. To achieve that, his magic power must be on par with mine.”
“……Is that so?”
Luc saw a clear tinge of disappointment in Selene’s expression.
She knew the reason for that disappointment. Because in just this one day, Selene had encountered two fellow clan members whose imitations she couldn’t see through—
For someone who was the first heir of the Shadow Demon clan and had strong pride, this must be hard to accept.
“What are you staring at me like that for?”
Just as she was thinking that, Selene suddenly waved a hand in front of her face.
“N-no, nothing. I was just thinking—”
Thinking about what to say to comfort you.
Even Luc herself was surprised by the words about to spill out.
‘I’m going to comfort someone… and of all people, Selene, my rival? Why would I have such a thought…’
She couldn’t help lowering her head, thinking why her mood had changed like this.
But before she could think deeply, Selene patted her face twice and grabbed her chin to lift her face up.
“What are you lowering your head for?”
Luc saw that the disappointment had already disappeared from Selene’s face. The imitation she created could perfectly replicate the user’s original expression.
“Look up. Isn’t that girl your nemesis? If you truly are the King’s daughter and want to become someone like him in the future… you must imprint that girl’s power deep in your heart and then overcome her.”
“But I—”
“But you already lost once, no, twice?” Selene looked at her with an extremely serious expression, her tone devoid of any past mockery. “If you plan to give up just because you’ve lost, then disappear from my sight quickly. I will go to the Demon Realm alone as the Demon Lord’s Wife instructed… and then continue participating in the Successor Battle.”
“……Don’t joke.”
“Joke? I’m not joking.” Luc felt as if she could see Selene’s crimson demon eyes through the imitation. “The old you would have punched me at those words. But this weak look of yours now… what would the Regent think if she saw it?”
“……!”
Luc’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she slapped away Selene’s hand that was holding her cheek.
“Now that we can’t use Mental Sense, you shouldn’t mention her title… nor the Demon Realm and the Demon Lord’s Highness.”
“Everyone’s attention is on those two now, and with all this noise and chaos, they won’t notice.”
Selene, whose hand was slapped away, was not angry. Seeing Luc finally turn her gaze back to the Hero’s daughter, the corner of her mouth instead lifted slightly.
Then everything happened as a matter of course… Milin displayed dark red magic power, easily overwhelming that demon, and with an execution-style method, she completely removed his will to resist or escape.
“What the hell… what’s with that girl?”
“……That’s the power she used to defeat me at the tournament arena that day.” Luc explained to Selene, who was drenched in cold sweat. Her own expression was equally grave… because she noticed that the girl’s power seemed even stronger than that day.
“Not to mention the terrifying power… look at her eyes—”
“Are you two enjoying yourselves?”
“You are… Yan Wei Fu.”
“Where did you go? We couldn’t find you at all!”
“Please calm down, you two.” The person who came was none other than the Shadow Demon in the tailcoat, Yan Wei Fu, carrying a tray of champagne. But now there wasn’t a single glass of champagne left on his tray. “I am a servant of this dance party. I can’t possibly stay by your side with a full tray all the time. That would arouse suspicion, wouldn’t it?” Saying that, he placed the empty tray on a small table nearby and stood by their side with his hands behind his back.
“We can’t stay here anymore… you have to find a way to get us out!”
Selene wanted to grab his bow tie and punch him right in his squinting, smiling face.
“Don’t rush. The passage will open soon. You just need to wait a moment.”
Facing Selene’s murderous glare, the tailcoat Shadow Demon still only smiled.
“Is this a joke? That woman named Nephtalia is the host of this dance party, isn’t she? Is she an idiot? Not only does she not check the other guests, she even wants to continue the party—”
“Keep your voice down. There are guards and attendants here.”
A moment later, Luc and Selene mingled in the diverted crowd and left with the guests who refused to continue attending the dance party.
“What does it matter? These people are all cursing too! Listen!”
As Selene said, on the corridor leaving, the departing guests were continuously criticizing the host’s crazy behavior.
“Unbelievable… how can this person be one of the family head candidates?”
“She’s just showing off that new hero’s power! She’s demonstrating to us! Lady Lai Wei An Se, we must take some measures—”
“Shut up. We’ll talk after we leave.”
The elf woman surrounded by guests silenced most of the noise with just one word. Luc and Selene noticed that she was the acting head of the family among the elf nobles who had been at odds with the host.
“The acting head of the Nelf family… is she—”
“I understand what you two are thinking. But she is not our ally, nor the person you want to meet.” The tailcoat young man that the two were following said so. He walked ahead leading them, his eyes fixed straight ahead.
So the two had no choice but to continue following the young man. After leaving the passage, the guests were led by attendants and guards to rest areas.
“Next, we should go see that guide, right? You said he was at the dance party before… but we only saw you the whole time.”
“He was there all along. But we couldn’t meet him at the dance party.”
“Then he should appear now, shouldn’t he?”
“Not now either. But I will take you to see him now… though the journey will be a bit far.”
“Far?”
“It’s far, but still within this giant tree. Please follow me.”
“Can’t you explain before moving on… honestly!”
Selene grumblingly walked to the side of Yan Wei Fu, who had started moving again on his own. Luc was about to follow, but an unnatural feeling made her shiver—
“Huh?”
She felt someone was looking at her. She subconsciously turned back to look at the passage exit where the crowd hadn’t fully dispersed—
She saw an elf maid among the crowd.
It was a face so ordinary it was almost impossible to remember. Dark clothing, proper hairstyle, lowered eyelashes… she was hidden in the crowd and should have been hard to notice, but Luc had noticed her at first glance—
She clearly felt the other person was looking at her… just as she was looking at her.
“You are……”
She walked quickly to confirm the maid’s identity.
But in the middle, a pair of guests leaving with attendants blocked her view.
When she tried to focus on finding the maid again, she was already gone.
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