Chapter 98

Xiarette’s light magic in her hand suddenly stopped shining.

But in fact, it wasn’t that her light magic had gone out—rather, the surroundings had simply become far too bright!

Just moments ago, everything had been pitch black. Sheffy had no idea what kind of magic she had used, but the underground space connected to this tree hollow now seemed as though a temporary little sun had risen within it. The entire area became bright as broad daylight—no exaggeration, it was brighter than outside.

Xiarette turned back speechlessly to look.

Sheffy was already extremely smug now, unafraid of the darkness at all.

"Sheffy...just a moment ago, you were talking about an adventure, but then you went and cast this kind of magic...isn’t all the mystery completely gone now?"

"What are you saying? Did we come here to have an adventure? No, we came here to take care of proper business. Efficiency matters. You’re always thinking about playing around—this won’t do, Xiarette!"

"?"

So it was her fault now, was it!

Who was that little darling just now, shouting about going on an adventure?! Hm?!

Forget it, being bright was fine too. Xiarette didn’t want Sheffy to feel scared anyway.

Even if Sheffy hadn’t cast this magic, Xiarette had already been preparing a much larger illumination spell, so this actually saved her the trouble.

With the brightness filling the space, they could now see the entirety of this underground area clearly.

As it turned out, it wasn’t as bottomless as it had seemed at first glance. Judging by the steps from top to bottom, there were only a few dozen stone stairs—not that deep.

Compared to its depth, it was the vastness of this underground space that left Sheffy feeling astonished.

Stone pillars stood on all sides, and looking into the distance, she couldn’t see the end at all.

Broken swords and armor, already weathered with age, were scattered across the floor. Spiderwebs were densely woven in the gaps between the stones—apparently evidence that long ago, people had been active here.

"Eh...so there was such a huge empty space underground?"

"Mhm. About a hundred years ago, this used to be an adventurer’s dungeon—more or less a place for treasure hunting. Later, all the monsters and treasures here were cleared out, so the dungeon was abandoned. Eventually, the estate villa—where we’re living now—was built above it."

"Wow, it’s actually a historical ruin. Impressive, impressive."

Xiarette had known this place existed, but to her, an abandoned underground dungeon hadn’t had any real use.

She hadn’t expected that Her Highness Livra would suddenly say she wanted to visit, so this place had conveniently found its purpose.

Sheffy nodded, for once praising Xiarette’s arrangements, and then raised her hand to ask:

"Alright, alright, you really did pick quite a good place. So what exactly should we be doing now?"

"Doing...something?" Xiarette tilted her head in confusion, her eyes filled with ‘wisdom.’ "Now that we have this space...next, we just wait for Her Highness Livra to arrive, and then—"

“To have a conversation with her here…ah—ow!”

“I strongly suspect, Xiarette, that your head is completely hollow. You can imagine all kinds of things, you have such a filthy mind, but how is it you’re incapable of any actual thinking?”

“I do not have a filthy—! Ugh…why are you suddenly like this?”

Sheffy had simply jumped in place and chopped the side of her head with a hand blade—and that was already being gentle.

Sure, finding a suitable place was fine. But how could Xiarette think that after picking the location, there was nothing else that needed doing?!

Just look at the environment around them.

Crumbling walls, decaying remnants, spiderwebs everywhere—not even a single proper stone platform. At a glance, this looked nothing like some critical, top-secret site used to seal away an important enemy!

To make it even clearer to Xiarette, Sheffy unfurled her wings on the spot, then indignantly hugged a big boulder like a koala.

After that, Sheffy turned her head and patted the stone, addressing Xiarette’s blockheaded skull.

“So, is this how you plan to seal the Demon Clan Princess? Just have her cling to some big rock—and that’s it, the seal is done?”

“Ah…I get it. Sheffy, you mean we need to set up the place, make it look the part!”

“Good. Seems you’re still salvageable.”

Xiarette wasn’t quite as hopeless as Sheffy said.

Of course she’d also thought about arranging the venue properly, but this morning…well, she’d been too absorbed in how adorable Sheffy was…she hadn’t gotten out of bed in time, so she hadn’t managed to come over early to prepare.

“It feels like there’s no time left now…anyway, Sheffy, come with me for a bit. I’ll show you something.”

“What is it, what is it? There’s something else fun here?”

Sheffy followed behind Xiarette as they walked forward.

They passed through several layers of stone forest. The farther in they went, the more open the view became.

Until finally, they reached the innermost area…when she could see the whole space clearly, Sheffy’s deep-violet eyes lit up at once.

“Wow…this place is tall! Much better than that other spot!”

“Mhm, this is the true core area of the old underground dungeon.”

From the ground to the top of the rock walls was an elevation of dozens of meters. Jagged rocks encircled the chamber on all sides, their varied shapes exuding an oppressive air.

Most crucially, not far ahead stood a stone platform towering over ten meters high, almost like an altar.

At each of the platform’s four corners stood a candlestick. Though the candles on them had long since gone out, and the stands themselves were rusted, the platform was still largely intact and usable.

Xiarette tilted her head back to look at the top of the platform, then swept her gaze across the surrounding terrain.

“This place isn’t bad, right? This used to be the area where the dungeon’s boss stayed. After that high-ranking magic beast was successfully hunted down, this stone platform was left in good shape. When Her Highness Livra arrives, Sheffy, you can go up there and sprawl out—spread your wings wide and lie down. That will definitely have the right sense of intimidation!”

“To have me sprawl out? Why do I have to sprawl?! Can’t I just stand normally?”

“To sprawl on me...I don’t mind at all.”

“Enough—pretend I never said anything.”

Even so, Sheffy had to admit she rather admired Xiarette’s choice of this place. It really was quite good.

From Sheffy’s fingertips, purple motes of magical light spilled forth.

In just an instant, atop the ten-meter-high platform, all four of the candlesticks ignited at once with ominous purple flames.

Sheffy spread her wings and flew up onto the stone platform. At the same time, she used Visual Magic to conceal two of her wings, making her appear to have six instead of eight.

The violet fire flickered around her. She stood there with a faint smile, the flames illuminating her profile. Paired with the dark, stern Gothic attire she wore today, she truly did exude the aura of the Princess of Calamity—if one ignored the mischievous pose of her hands propped on her hips.

“How about it, Xiarette! Don’t I look super evil right now?”

“Pfft… I don’t know…To me, Sheffy, no matter what, you always look so well-behaved.”

“You actually won’t play along…! Hey, when Livra gets here in a bit, you’d better not say things like that! Otherwise you’ll give the whole game away.”

“I know, I know.”

With a flick of her small hand, Sheffy conjured a Black Flame Cage around the stone platform—a barrier that, in truth, didn’t obstruct anything at all—creating the illusion that she was imprisoned inside.

This was about good enough.

Livra, you’d better not blame me later for scaring you.

Even if you’re a bit of a simpleton, we’re not nearly close enough to have no secrets between us.

Livra’s friend was “Shaya,” not “Sheffy.”

Our positions were different, which meant we could never completely trust each other.

You were the princess of the Human race, and I was the Demon Clan Princess. If this play wasn’t performed thoroughly, neither of us would be able to explain ourselves to our own people.

If we did it well, we’d both win.

If it didn’t go well…I’d just have to beat you up.

Besides, Sheffy herself was quite curious…

What words exactly would Livra come up with to try and persuade the heinous Princess of Calamity?

Pfft.

That Livra…she really was rather interesting.

---

16. Been waiting forever for you (6K)

During the time they waited for Livra to arrive, Xiarette didn’t stay idle either.

Since they were preparing the stage, she could also give Sheffy any help she could manage.

If this performance was to look convincing enough not to be seen through, it needed one more essential prop.

—One of the Kingdom’s Three Great Secret Treasures: the Demon-Sealing Bracelet.

Xiarette rummaged it out of her own storage magic space and tossed it up to Sheffy sitting on the high platform.

“Sheffy, catch this!”

“Hm? Oh—oh! I know this one! Isn’t this that little bracelet from before?”

“It’s not a little bracelet…This is the Demon-Sealing Bracelet. The king gave it to me earlier. I already disabled its activation—just put it on your wrist. That way it’ll look authentic.”

“You really thought of everything.”

Sheffy still remembered—back then on the battlefield, when she’d pretended to be defeated and was sent away in the carriage by Xiarette, she’d worn this very bracelet.

According to legend, the Demon-Sealing Bracelet was crafted with extraordinarily advanced magical engineering, a technique that had already been lost. Though its power had never been proven in practice, it was reputed to be capable of sealing even a Six-Winged Demon. It had been passed down through generations of the Kingdom’s rulers. Before Xiarette set out on her expedition, the king had decided to entrust this long-hidden treasure to the Hero for protection.

And it wasn’t just the Demon-Sealing Bracelet. At that time, Xiarette had essentially assembled all three of the Kingdom’s greatest treasures.

In addition to this bracelet, there was the strongest defensive artifact—the Divine Thread Chain Barrier—and the ultimate offensive weapon, the Holy Sword Sylatrella.

With the three great treasures simultaneously empowering the Tenth-Rank Hero, no one in the Kingdom had ever doubted that the Hero could suppress the Demon Clan Princess.

After the campaign ended, the Divine Thread Chain Barrier had been returned to the king as agreed, while the holy sword was always the Hero’s personal property.

And now, what exactly was the Kingdom’s strongest sealing artifact, this miraculous Demon-Sealing Bracelet, doing?

—It was being twirled around in Sheffy’s hand like some giant windmill.

“Hahahaha…! Xiarette, look—if you channel magic into this thing, it glows! This is killing me!”

“I’ll kill you with a hammer…! Sheffy, why did you activate it?!”

“Eh? I…wasn’t I supposed to?”

“It’s not… I mean, I know that bracelet can’t really suppress your magic…but don’t you feel dizzy or unwell right now?”

“No? …Ah—! Wait, did I break it by playing around?! Do I have to pay for it?! I don’t have any money!”

“……”

Even if you did, you couldn’t buy another one!

No, Sheffy… It was obvious that the Demon-Sealing Bracelet wasn’t broken—it was that your power was simply too outrageous.

The bracelet was clearly going all-out, trying desperately to fulfill its purpose. It was constantly emitting waves of magic, struggling to suppress her. And yet in Sheffy’s hand, it was nothing more than a toy she could casually swing around.

If that bracelet had a mind of its own…it would definitely be bawling its eyes out right now.

This bracelet, so praised and revered as a divine artifact by generations of the Kingdom’s champions…never in its existence could it have imagined such a day.

Xiarette couldn’t watch anymore. She raised a hand to bring this absurd spectacle to an end.

“Ugh…Sheffy, enough—stop channeling magic into it and just put it on your wrist. Please, don’t humiliate it any further…”

“Uh, fine. Though it’s not entirely useless—when it’s activated, it’s like wearing a big iron chain. A bit heavy on the arm—not very convenient to move around.”

Wasn’t it possible that had nothing to do with magic at all…and the Demon-Sealing Bracelet was simply a big iron chain that was supposed to be heavy in the first place?!

Suddenly, Xiarette’s gaze sharpened, and a curious thought drifted into her mind.

She watched from below as Sheffy, atop the platform, fastened the Demon-Sealing Bracelet to her arm, then bound both wrists together and swung the chain experimentally.

A bit heavy…not very convenient to move around?

If, come nightfall, Sheffy were to wear that bracelet…and if it held her wrists down…

What kind of scene would that be…?

Xiarette still hadn’t fully recovered from the cheerful afterglow of their nights together, so it was perfectly normal that her thoughts were a little…improper.

Surely, the Demon-Sealing Bracelet, burdened with legends and honor, could never have imagined that one day it might be used in that sort of context!

Sheffy, of course, had no idea about any of Xiarette’s frivolous notions. She still had one final arrangement to complete.

She closed her eyes.

After a short moment, a wisp of purple magical current began to emanate from her body. It threaded its way through the cage of flame, drifting down to the ground below, and finally coalesced beside Xiarette.

Xiarette stepped aside to make space.

The purple magic gradually took on a human shape. In just a few blinks, the ethereal silhouette completely solidified.

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