—
Lucifa puffed out her flat chest with pride upon hearing Will’s question, a smug expression spreading across her face.
“Because this place is near the capital—though not many people go out of their way to co here, a lot of the fruits and vegetables from this village are directly transported to the capital. So, while it may seem isolated, it’s actually one of the first places to receive news from the capital.”
“Is that so? That… actually makes sense,” Will admitted, nodding. He realized he didn’t know much about the transportation systems in this world.
In this context, distance dictated the speed of information flow.
He had always thought Zymart Town’s significance lay solely in being ho to Tenth Demon Castle.
But…
It seed there was more to it than that.
“So, you get your information from the villagers?” Shuna asked, her lips still curled into a faint smile as she turned to Lucifa.
“Exactly. And… don’t forget, I’m a demon,” Lucifa said, flipping her hair dramatically.
“To make sure those old folks transporting fruits to the city weren’t lying to , I read their mories a little while they talked. I can confirm that all the gossip about your Princess Treya has spread throughout the capital. Everyone knows about it.”
“……”
Will silently pulled his hood over his head and tugged it down as far as it would go, trying to hide half his face.
“So, aren’t you going to share more about your romantic history? Wow, that clueless half-elf princess… how did you manage to make her so obsessed with you?” Lucifa teased, her demon tail swaying in the air like an arrow, drawing circles from left to right.
If Lucifa had seed like a playful child earlier, now she fully embodied a mischievous demon who delighted in human emotions and found joy in their reactions.
“There’s… not much to tell,” Will muttered.
Hearing this, his mind quickly replayed snippets of his ti with Treya.
“Maybe… I just saved her at a critical mont and kept pushing her forward after that?” he offered after a brief pause.
Will turned his head away, letting the reflection on his glasses obscure his eyes.
Shuna watched him closely from the side. She sensed sothing different about him—an emotion that didn’t align with his usual self seed to be stirring within him.
“Hmm… that’s not exactly what I imagined when I said ‘obsessed,’” Lucifa mused. For once, her teasing tone softened slightly.
“And what did you imagine?” Will asked warily.
“Sothing like using your looks, sweet-talking her, or maybe so… unconventional techniques?” Lucifa suggested with a sly grin.
“Hey, keep it serious. I was only fourteen when the engagent was arranged,” Will shot back.
“Fourteen’s fine! That’s just about when humans start thinking about reproduction, isn’t it?”
Will sighed internally. He had underestimated Lucifa—this tail-swaying demon was clearly full of mischief and trouble.
“Alright then,” Will said, reaching out and grabbing Lucifa’s swaying tail. “Since you’re so talkative, explain sothing to —”
“W-Wait! Don’t touch my tail—it’s… sensitive!” Lucifa yelped, her voice quivering as she squird in his grip.
Unfortunately for her, Will’s current strength wasn’t enough to lift her off the ground.
“What did you an earlier? About Treya being so anxious she can’t even participate in royal politics?” Will demanded.
“Oh? That’s what you’re curious about?” Lucifa said as he released her tail.
“Speak clearly,” Will warned. “Or I’ll grab your tail again.”
“Fine, fine,” Lucifa relented. “I heard it from palace guards and maids who co here to buy fruits from the farrs.”
“And? What exactly is happening in the palace? What kind of internal conflict are we talking about?”
“Obviously, it’s about the Fourth Prince. Oh, and if we’re being thorough, you might want to include the Seventh Princess in that too.”
“The Fourth Prince? Is it related to the military?”
“Anyone who knows even a little about the royal family knows it’s tied to the military.”
“And Treya’s anxiety… what’s causing it?”
At this point, Will felt like he had turned into Shuna from earlier—firing off questions like a rapid-fire cannon, desperate for answers.
“You’ve been living under a rock for the past two or three weeks, haven’t you? Ever since Treya returned to the palace after finishing her training, she hasn’t seen any of her siblings. She spends all day practicing swordsmanship with little progress and has to take dicine just to sleep.”
“……”
“Because of this, a large shipnt of lavender was rushed out of Zymart Town for calming purposes. It’s probably for her.”
“……”
“And that’s why she wrote that missing person notice—to find you. Isn’t it obvious?”
“I…”
Will was at a loss for words.
When he first saw the missing person notice, its sparse content—just a signature and Treya’s na—had made him think it was rely a ploy to lure him back.
Coupled with the timing of the royal family’s internal conflict—which hadn’t yet escalated into full-blown chaos—it seed like Treya wasn’t in such bad shape. He had assud she was just feeling a little lonely and had written the notice as bait.
But…
Treya…
Was she in worse condition than he had imagined?
“Speaking of which,” Lucifa added casually, “the royal family is probably like this because old Edward summoned doctors again in an ergency. Who knows? He might just drop dead in a few days.”
“He won’t,” Will interjected firmly. “You can rest assured on that front. He’ll keep saying he’s dying for at least another year.”
“So… it’s part of ‘fate,’ isn’t it?” Shuna chid in knowingly.
“Yes,” Will confird. “He won’t die now; he can’t die now. The real issue is… Treya’s condition…”
—Wake up, Will.
—She relies on you more than you think.
—She likes you more than you realize.
—The weight of her feelings is heavier than you imagined.
“I see…” Lucifa said softly, her sharp instincts picking up on Will’s subtle shift in mood. She tilted her head and looked up at him with a teasing smile.
“You care about her a lot, don’t you? You’re not the kind of scumbag fiancé I thought you’d be—the type who’d ditch his proper fiancée.”
Perhaps she thought saying this would fluster him further.
But…
She felt her tail being grabbed again.
“Hey!”
“If I were that kind of person,” Will said calmly, “I wouldn’t be here asking for your heart now, would I?”
“So, as an Empress,” he continued, “why don’t you consider lending your heart for this?”
“Hmph~ As one of your party mbers, I’d be happy to help too,” Shuna added with a smirk.
Lucifa glanced between the two of them—two adventurers standing before her like villains cornering their prey…
And yet…
She had never experienced anything quite like this before—being pushed into a corner by adventurers so directly.
“I suppose I could…” Lucifa began hesitantly. “But this isn’t the real boss arena.”
“Huh?”
Before Will could process what was happening, his surroundings began to blur as if he were being pulled into another space. The demon’s bedroom started fading away into the distance—
“If you want it—”
“Then fight your way down to the 30th floor yourself!”
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