Chapter 7 : From Now On, You’re a Citizen of the Demon Realm!

“So humanity was just… destroyed?”

Su Xinran frowned.

Clearly, this story was far too heavy.

“It wasn’t that simple.

The ones who remained were terrifying human elite espers.

Not only did they reject the demons’ offer of peace, but they also launched a counterattack, leading just a few people to wage war against the entire demon race.”

Wang Ya waved her hand as she recalled it, shivering unconsciously.

“Come on, we weren’t exactly innocent ourselves. That peace offer was just for show. If we didn’t deal with humanity while their population was at rock bottom, who knows who would win once they recovered?”

The uncle driving the car chimed in—his words sounded like the practical reasoning typical of someone his age.

“You talk too much!”

Wang Ya reached out and slapped the driver in the front seat.

“Why are you telling such dark stories in front of a kid? She’s not even of legal age yet.”

“Alright, alright, my bad…”

The uncle mimed zipping his mouth shut.

“In that great war, humanity had fewer than three thousand people, but they fought the entire demon nation for eight months.

The human queen was a female fire-type esper—my god, she fought nonstop for nine months straight before finally dying of exhaustion.

Just imagining someone like her is beyond us… ugh…”

“After that, humanity was wiped out. The demon race learned a harsh lesson from their extinction and began to build a law-based nation. In the end, it wasn’t the apocalypse that destroyed humanity—it was the collapse of the rule of law.”

“Then what’s with the people who attacked us? Didn’t you say you’ve already formed a government?”

Su Xinran, curious as ever, asked another question.

“Ah… while it hasn’t been confirmed, it’s almost certainly the work of anarchist wild factions… tch… those guys are such a headache…”

“Wait, there are demons who don’t want a government?”

“Of course. A significant portion of the demon race is naturally wild and unruly. The ones who refuse to be governed turn into outlaws and resort to terrorism.”

“Ugh… I’ve lost count of how many police ambushes we’ve had this month alone. Their attacks just keep getting more and more sophisticated. I really need to talk to the captain about upgrading our gear…”

As they spoke, the police car came to a stop.

Su Xinran stepped out of the vehicle and looked up at the towering building in front of her, visibly impressed.

The entire structure was painted white, with a massive violet flower-shaped police emblem hanging at the center.

Below it were the bold characters for “Griffin Police Department.”

Uniformed personnel bustled in and out of the front entrance.

The newly formed demon nation’s government was already functioning in full swing.

“Wow… This is completely different from the ruins where I live…”

Seeing the starry-eyed Su Xinran, Wang Ya smiled.

“Mm, we adopted a lot from human architectural styles. Your area just hasn’t been reached by the reconstruction crews yet.”

“Ah, I see…”

Su Xinran followed Wang Ya into the building.

Inside the station, Su Xinran gave a full statement about the attack.

She relayed the incident in great detail.

At first, the two officers taking her statement didn’t believe she had defeated the cyclops, but with Wang Ya backing her up, they finally wrote it down—though still clearly skeptical.

“By the way, are you guys not going to punish me for playing games?”

“Huh?”

Wang Ya was momentarily stunned—then burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, that was just a lie! Sure, it’s technically illegal for minors to play games, but there’s no way I’d arrest you over that.

I just needed an excuse to bring you back here for species registration and citizenship paperwork… hahaha… You’re way too easy to fool!”

“?”

A throbbing anger mark appeared on Su Xinran’s forehead.

Come on—you people are the weird ones here! Why are you making fun of me for being gullible?!

So unfair…

And the worst part was—she couldn’t think of any good comeback.

So frustrating!

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry. Come on, let’s go get your residency registered. Once it’s done, you’ll officially be a citizen of the Demon Realm.”

Looking at Su Xinran’s puffed-up cheeks, round like a balloon from frustration, Wang Ya couldn’t help but poke them with her finger.

Su Xinran instantly deflated.

Sigh… guess I only have myself to blame for being such a weirdo.

Seeing how cute Su Xinran looked, Wang Ya finally found an explanation for her earlier strange feelings toward her that resembled “**”.

Yes, that’s right.

It’s just a natural fondness for an adorable, pretty little girl.

Nothing romantic!

Even if their ages weren’t too far apart, admitting to liking a minor would definitely be suspicious—the bronze-hunting kind.

Having convinced herself, Wang Ya felt no more guilt.

With a clear conscience, she happily began squishing Su Xinran’s soft cheeks.

Su Xinran followed Wang Ya out of the Criminal Division and into the administrative office.

There, Su Xinran saw many others also registering for demon nation residency.

“Wow… this place really is thriving…”

After a short wait in line, it was soon Su Xinran’s turn.

“Name: Su Xinran… Race: Corpse Clan… Gender…”

When it came to the gender field, Su Xinran’s pen stopped.

She had been living as a beautiful girl for four years now.

While she had accepted her appearance, it was still built on the foundation of ten years of male perception—appreciating female beauty aesthetically, the way a guy would enjoy playing a female character in a game.

Even though she could wear frilly dresses without shame, even though she could act and behave like a girl, it was all still rooted in a male understanding of gender.

It’s just a form anyway.

Why am I overthinking this?

Su Xinran shook her head and wrote: “Female.”

It’s just on paper.

Deep down, I’m still a macho man!

With the scratch of the pen, Su Xinran quickly filled out most of the form.

But when she reached the “Guardian” section and saw the words “(Required)” in parentheses, she hesitated again.

She had no family in this world.

Who would count as her guardian?

As she scratched her head in thought, Wang Ya leaned in from nearby.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have a guardian… What am I supposed to write in that section?”

“Oof… That’s a problem. According to the rules, all minors must have a guardian…”

The corpse-clan lady at the registration window overheard their conversation and explained.

“That could be tricky. Without one, you might have to be sent to an orphanage…”

Wang Ya frowned.

“Ugh… I really don’t want to go to an orphanage…”

Su Xinran was visibly troubled.

In all the shows she’d watched, orphanages were never good places—whether it was The Promised Neverland or Higurashi: When They Cry—they were all full of horror and despair.

Her impression of orphanages was absolutely terrible.

“Hey, Wang Ya, aren’t you single anyway? Taking in such a cute kid would definitely be a blessing. Why not consider it?”

The lady at the window teased.

“Hey! Stop calling me a kid! I’m not that young!”

Su Xinran waved her tiny pink fists in protest.

Then a pair of slightly cold hands gently patted her on the head.

“Well… it’s not like I couldn’t do it.”

“Huh?!”