Chapter 36: The Melancholy of That Day, Melancholy All Over Again

In the ocean of memories, all the sorrowful stories float up like bubbles.

The unfulfilled desires of youth, the girl you secretly liked in middle school but never got, the dreams in high school that slipped away by a hair’s breadth, the aimless days in college.

That calculus class on that day, having to retake it.

That flight on that day, failing to take off.

That stroke of fortune on that day, crashing right into you.

Even the lyrics of every sad song, read word by word, their rhythm rising and falling.

After running through all these things in her mind, Ella finally… shed a single crystal-clear tear.

“E—Ella!” Zero was instantly at a loss, “Why are you crying?”

Leah was stunned for a moment: “Why are you suddenly crying?”

Celes also panicked.

Only Vina smacked her lips and sat there watching her.

“I’m sorry, everyone. Actually, the Demon King once forced me to do a lot of things.”

Ella sobbed as she spoke, “When he executed dissenters, he forced me to do it. He even made me write those threatening speeches for him. After leaving the Castle, I thought I’d never have to do those things again, that I could just be an ordinary girl. But today… today…”

Even when she didn’t want to act, she still had to.

Do you know the pain in her heart?

Celes wanted to speak but hesitated, and after several tries, finally opened her mouth—only to be cut off by Leah: “Don’t cry, don’t cry. We don’t blame you for anything. You did it for everyone’s sake. Sigh, if you want to blame someone, blame those people outside.”

With Saintess Leah saying so, the Sword Saint Maiden couldn’t say what she’d wanted to.

“And besides, after everything that happened today, it’s already dark,” Leah yawned, “Why don’t we just sleep first and talk about it tomorrow?”

The Saintess meant nothing more than that—she just didn’t want to stay up late.

As the Saintess of Light, of course she had to sleep after sunset.

“Let’s rest, then.”

Celes said helplessly.

She saw Vina hand Ella a tissue.

Ella wiped her tears; her beautiful face, streaked with tears, was truly heart-wrenching.

But… sigh.

The girls each returned to their own rooms to sleep.

As Leah said, so much had happened in a single day—they were all exhausted.

But Celes couldn’t sleep.

It hadn’t been right to say it at the table just now.

She understood and sympathized with Ella’s past, but… that didn’t explain her abilities.

In such a short time, she’d instantly found the key figure, asked the crucial questions, weighed both sides’ positions, used the chain of suspicion to find the only solution, and even removed the sole hidden threat along the way.

Especially that scene in the afternoon: the girl stood before the crowd with a blank parchment in hand, a gentle smile on her face, calmly threatening everyone present—these weren’t things you could do just because someone forced you.

You had to truly have the ability.

But these days, in front of herself and the others, Ella was clearly a gentle, soft, obedient good girl.

Was the way she usually acted really her true self? Or was she hiding other secrets?

Celes didn’t want to think that way, because she’d once embraced her in bed, even hugged her tightly face to face.

Although there was a big barrier in front of her chest, she could still feel each other’s heartbeat.

How could this be?

The girl lay awake.

On the other side, Ella was about to sleep when someone suddenly hugged her from behind.

With all her experience, she remained calm this time.

She didn’t call out the other’s name right away, but first took a moment to feel it out.

Hmm, this size… huh, so small.

“Are you thinking something rude?”

The little witch’s unfriendly voice sounded.

“No,” Ella hurriedly denied, “Absolutely not!”

Alright, so it wasn’t Celes, and not Zero either—it was Vina.

A new entry for her little bed’s collection.

“Aren’t you going back to sleep?”

“Why am I not sleeping? How could I sleep?”

Vina snorted coldly, “Tsk tsk, you really are something. I couldn’t get anything out of them, even stabbing their fingers with ice spikes, but you just went back and got all the answers. How did you do it?”

So that was what this was about.

“The Demon King taught me some Dark Magic.”

Ella replied in a small voice, “He forced me to use those spells to torment dissenters.”

If you ask, it was the Demon King who forced her—Little Ella is a gentle, kind-hearted girl.

“Hehehe, if you say you were forced, then so be it.” Vina leaned closer, whispering in her ear, “Can I learn those spells?”

Ella felt a little ticklish and shifted her small shoulders. “Dark Magic takes a long time to practice, and you have to perform some Evil Rituals, too.”

“That troublesome, huh? Then forget it. But you know, what you did today was really eye-opening—it was so interesting, I can’t help but want to dig deeper and see what else you’re hiding.

Mwah~”

Vina kissed her on the ear.

“Good night, Demon King’s little sister. See you tomorrow~”

Ella touched her ear and realized it was a bit hot.

This girl—if you want to hug, just hug, if you want to talk, just talk, but why sneak a kiss all of a sudden?

So shameless!

***

In the inner hall of the Royal Palace, after hearing the report, King Hermann III turned to look at Rolls.

“Your Hero Squad succeeded. Perhaps they really are blessed by fate.”

Rolls forced a smile, saying it was late and he would take his leave.

After leaving the inner hall, he grabbed the official who’d just reported.

“Say that again—what do you mean, ‘the mysterious Miss Ella stepped forward’?”

Yes, he knew the Hero Squad had brought back a girl from the Demon King’s Castle, and that she’d joined the team doing some support work.

Rolls didn’t insist the Hero Squad had to remain pure—he wasn’t some kind of fundamentalist. But what was this about her being mysterious?

Torturing someone for secrets and killing the only witness on the side?

Threatening everyone present—what was that about?

You’ve only been together for two months. If something big happens later, as the Great Hero, would I really be able to defeat… well, I don’t even have the ability anymore.

After hearing the officials’ account, Rolls’ vision went dark. His heart burned with anxiety, wishing he could call Celes over to talk right now.

But in the end, he only let out a long sigh.

What else could he say?

Today, the Hero Squad almost got wiped out, and all his own efforts were useless.

It was all thanks to that “gentle, obedient” mysterious girl stepping up and forcibly reversing an impossible dead end.

Given the circumstances, there was nothing to say about her now.

For now, Rolls set aside his worries, bid farewell to the official, and walked toward his residence.

Along the way, he replayed everything he’d heard, unable to help but marvel in his heart.

If the officials hadn’t exaggerated a bit, then this mysterious Miss Ella truly was both wise and brave, meticulous, deeply understanding of politics and human nature, decisive with no loose ends, a natural for high-stakes situations—and she was only eighteen… huh?

Rolls’ heart skipped a beat.

Wait a minute, could she be the Human Race’s fifth Thousand-Year Genius?

If so, then this world is truly doomed!