The rumors circulating in the streets hadn’t yet reached the high tower.
Ayla was still lost in her dream of ruling the world once more.
It was a rare day for her to sleep in.
Meanwhile, the early risers had already started their day.
Celes had been dragged out for a morning run by her father.
“At your age, the most important thing isn’t fighting or anything else,” General Glengo said sternly.
“It’s physical training!”
Celes didn’t really understand why, but she obediently followed along.
After all, there was nothing wrong with exercising.
The body is the foundation of everything.
Vina was still sleeping in, as usual.
There was nothing special about that—she slept in almost every day.
The remaining two early risers finished breakfast and headed up to the rooftop together.
“This is what I’m thinking.”
Zero spread out a white sheet of paper on the table and started scribbling with a pen.
“Celes is easy to deal with. She doesn’t usually refuse reasonable requests, and her family is here too. In a few days, General Glengo might take his troops back, so before they leave, letting her go out with her family shouldn’t be a problem.”
Leah nodded vigorously.
As expected of a good sister—already making plans.
“Thank you, Zero.”
“No need to thank me. You’re doing it to help Ayla purify.”
The Assassin Girl smiled brightly.
“And besides, we’re good friends.”
“Mm…”
The Saintess felt a little guilty.
She was lying to her best friend for the sake of joining the church.
‘The hard part is Vina.’
As soon as Zero said this, Leah couldn’t help but interrupt.
“Right, Vina is troublesome. She’s always trying to sneak a peek while we’re… Ahem, I mean, while we’re purifying.”
“She’s that persistent?”
Zero was learning this for the first time.
“Yeah,” Leah’s eyes shifted, “I don’t really know why…”
It definitely wasn’t because of that bet—‘If you find evidence, you get to watch for free.’
“Anyway, we need to find a way to send Vina away too. Like having her go out with Celes.”
“Mm, mm, mm, exactly.”
The girls continued their discussion.
Ayla got up after ten in the morning.
Actually, she’d woken earlier, but spent some time resting with her eyes closed in bed.
Her thoughts wandered from the castle in the deep forest, all the way to the Royal Capital of Humanity, then to Harbor City, then to the Middle Great Forest, and finally back to the present in Bright Cross Star City.
“The journey here wasn’t easy.”
The Demon King sighed softly.
“But thankfully, heaven always leaves a path.”
When she was trapped on the top floor of the castle, she thought she was doomed.
But looking at things now, if this isn’t a reversal, then what is?
Get up!
Ayla crawled out of bed, went to the window to breathe in some fresh air, and after passing through the hall, found Leah and Zero both there, with a piece of scribbled-on paper lying on the table.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing, just talking about what’s fun in the city.”
Zero tossed away the pen in her hand and asked with concern, “Ayla, are you hungry?”
“Not really. It’s already this late, so I don’t want breakfast—lunch is fine. As for the city, there isn’t much to do. It’s a border city. The only difference from Harbor City is that it’s bigger and has more people.”
Ayla finished, then added,
“If you want to talk about prosperity, Dark Star City is the real deal.”
We of the Demon Race also have a Centennial Metropolis.
“Dark Star City?”
Leah tilted her head.
“What’s that?”
“It’s basically the capital of the Demon Race, at the very core.”
Ayla’s cherry lips began to move nonstop.
“If you try to break in by conventional means, you’d have to get through several major checkpoints. Each one is heavily guarded by soldiers and elites, with reinforcements arriving from all directions at any moment. If you’re careless, you’ll get surrounded.”
“So if we want to attack, we’d need a massive army to occupy every city and military stronghold along the way, cutting off all support areas.”
“It’s a huge hassle, which is why I prefer unconventional methods—but I haven’t figured out how yet…”
She trailed off as she realized it had gotten quiet.
Looking up, she saw the two girls staring at her.
“W-what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just… I didn’t expect you to think this far ahead, Ayla.”
Leah glanced at the paper on the table.
“You’re already planning to take the Demon Race’s capital.”
While she was talking, the pink-haired girl absentmindedly picked up the pen and scribbled all over the paper.
It didn’t have any real meaning, but it showed how strongly she wanted to capture Dark Star City.
“I was just talking nonsense! I didn’t mean anything by it!”
Ayla put down the pen and tidied up, clearing her throat.
“The most important thing right now is tomorrow’s official meeting. All my attention is on that. Everything else is just random thoughts.”
“I see.”
“So that’s it.”
Leah and Zero didn’t show any suspicion.
If anything, they looked a little guilty themselves, since their main thoughts were on how to create the right conditions for joining the church.
It was noon now—time to eat.
***
The Shadow-Covered Raven flew over the heart of Demon Territory, crossing countless checkpoints before finally landing on a rooftop in Dark Star City.
A woman with dark red, curly hair—the Lady of Thorns—extended her arm, letting the raven settle before it dissolved into black mist and whispered words in her ear.
Half a minute later, her expression grew complicated.
“What do you mean their leader is a pink-haired, big-breasted Succubus?”
Dark Star City wasn’t peaceful that day.
Many people were summoned—onto the streets, into alleys.
Low-ranking Succubi hawked customers, high-ranking ones lived in palaces, but no matter how much they were questioned, no one could say a thing.
“Our tribe’s situation is known to most of the Demon Race.”
A Succubus living in a lavish palace exhaled a ring of smoke.
“With just that ability, I’ve never heard of anyone going to the front lines.”
It was the truth.
“Maybe it’s a mistake?”
A man said.
“This girl named Ayla suddenly appeared, and there’s not much intel. It’s possible the information is wrong.”
The Noblewoman of Thorns frowned.
“I’m more interested in her relationship with Aio.”
She remembered decades ago, when Demon King Aio left Dark Star City under pressure.
Though he left in disgrace, the light in his eyes showed he’d always be watching the city, and would return one day.
When that day came, the city would see a great purge.
“So what should we do?”
The man asked.
“Send troops to retake Black Cross Star City?”
For the powers of Dark Star City, this kind of thing was a thankless task.
It was far away and not very profitable.
Even if Black Cross Star City was big, it was still a borderland.
The nearby major tribes were useful at their peak, but now that they’d been smashed, reclaiming the city would be a burden—requiring even more material support.
The Lady of Thorns thought for a long time.
“I suggest we invite the Southern Nobility for discussions and see if they can contribute.”
***
On the morning of the third day, in Bright Cross Star City, a hand-drawn flag fluttered high atop the city walls.
On the left was the White Rose, symbolizing the Human Race.
On the right, the World Tree emblem for the elves.
And in the center—a heart with no clear meaning.
When Ayla was drawing this flag, she said,
“We’re united by love. The love between companions who help each other, the love of understanding among all living beings, the great love for all things in the world. Love is the bond of everything—so it belongs at the center.”
“See? I told you that pink-haired lady is a Succubus.”
Said someone at the early-morning market.
“That heart represents her.”
The people around nodded in agreement.
“It really does.”
“Simple, clear, obvious at a glance.”