Chapter 171

Memories that gradually resurfaced struck Sheffy’s mind.

The sensation that brushed against her cheek felt faintly warm. The snowflakes that landed on her delicate little face melted almost instantly.

A slightly unsettled heart made it easy to overlook the movement around her.

Belith’s dance just now—at some point—had brought her close to Sheffy.

Only when Sheffy noticed Belith quietly sitting beside her did she realize why the stone no longer felt so cold.

“I gave you my answer… Does Royal Sister approve?”

“You didn’t actually say anything though…”

“Then shall I whisper it to Royal Sister now…?”

She leaned her cheek close to Sheffy’s ear.

As if to share a secret.

But—

“Yahwah?! You…! You’re pulling that trick again!”

“Sorry, Royal Sister… But if I don’t do this, I can’t express what’s in my heart~”

Sheffy bounced up like a little spring, her hands covering her now-damp ears, face full of panic.

What happened to her ears certainly wasn’t due to melting snowflakes.

Just one glance at the satisfied smile on Belith’s face, licking her lips… and it was clear what she’d done when she leaned in.

Such a flustered and shy Royal Sister—Belith adored that side of her too, you know?

Pushing herself up with both hands on the stone, Belith rose to her feet. The wind and snow lifted her silver hair, trailing it behind her.

Above her faint smile, her eyes gleamed with emotions fiercer than the wind, purer than the snow.

“Could it be that Royal Sister thinks—just because she’s with that damned Hero now—she can’t accept Belith’s confession anymore? Tsk… No way… Just thinking of that Hero daring to touch Royal Sister… ahhh, I really can’t accept it!”

“Uwah, you’re saying that again! Xiarette and I are lovers now, fair and square.”

“But snowflakes that can paint the sky white… aren’t limited to just one.”

“Huh?”

Belith let out a cold chuckle. That scorn seemed aimed at Xiarette—who wasn’t even here.

She looked up at the sky. The wind and snow couldn’t suppress her vow, nor could the cold freeze the memories of the past.

Royal Sister…

You want to “escape,” to run away from home, but it won’t be that easy, you know?

Dragon Whispers and the Mythic Pages.

She walked to stand face-to-face with Sheffy.

Belith intentionally bent her knees to lower her posture, aligning her gaze perfectly with Sheffy’s.

Belith had grown up.

But if growing up meant stepping out of her sight, then she would rather stay at this height—because that made it easier to love her.

“Royal Sister will surely become someone even greater than the Demon King in the future… Even if the Hero has already taken the lead, that doesn’t mean I’m going to surrender and leave. Because I know… in Royal Sister’s sky, there’s always been a place reserved for me.”

Royal Sister had always accepted every bit of her willfulness.

She knew—she ought to grow stronger, to ease her burdens.

But…

Since she had already been willful once—

Why not go all the way?

“To win a place in Royal Sister’s heart more important than that damned Hero… that’s my business. But to keep loving Belith properly from now on… that’s Royal Sister’s responsibility, okay?”

"Even if I might give you a disappointing answer...?"

"I won’t be disappointed."

Belith could say that with absolute certainty.

Just like that snowfall conjured by magic.

Before spring arrived, it had already blown away the tears and cleared the skies.

See?

The sky had cleared.

After the snow, the sky was impossibly clear, letting the stars shine across the heavens, illuminating a little path untouched by snow.

At the end of that path—was surely the direction of home.

She gently took Sheffy's hand and brushed away the snowflakes on her head.

They had talked for quite a while; the morning sun was already beginning to rise.

The sunlight of early dawn fell upon Belith’s raised fingertips, and the direction her fingers pointed—was toward that little path home.

"Hehe~ Royal Sister, you go ahead and keep worrying and thinking things through, but now that it’s morning, you remember what we promised, right?"

"Obviously… How could I forget?"

"Mm!"

A very simple promise.

When morning comes, we return to the Demon King’s Castle.

—We go home together.

---

1. Hurry up and go already!

"Uwah… What exactly are you all still packing? There's nothing worth bringing, we're just going out for a few days! Instead of stuffing your bags with useless luggage, why not carry along the morning sunshine and your own enthusiasm? Uh… okay, no one’s listening to me."

"That’s not true, Lady Sheffy! Even if they’re ignoring you, I’m not."

"Thanks, but unfortunately, even if you’re talking to me, I’m not talking to you."

"But you just did!"

"What a fine Holy Sword… shame about the mouth."

With hands on her hips, Sheffy stood at the mansion’s entrance, shouting toward the house to rally the others.

Unfortunately, no one responded to her call.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to.

It was just that, with their departure for the Demon King’s Castle set for this morning, those with luggage needed to pack it, and those without needed to mentally prepare themselves.

It's not that she minded their preparations—

But seriously, they’d been getting ready for two whole hours now! The glorious morning light had nearly been dragged out into scorching afternoon heat by their dawdling!

It made Sheffy reflect—sure enough, no matter the world, the longest wait… was always waiting for girls to finish getting ready.

"Which is why~ Lady Sheffy, you see, only I didn’t need to prepare and have been here with you the whole time."

"Yeah yeah… ugh, gotta admit, you are pretty useful at times like this. At least you’re good for company."

"Hehe… right? Then… head-patting reward… mmm… so good..."

Sheffy ruffled Sylatrella’s hair like she was dusting a feather duster—completely half-hearted.

But even now, Sylatrella continued pushing her head over for Sheffy to pat—truly a display of her twisted perversion potential.

“That even my half-heartedness can make you so happy... Sometimes I really think, you're one strange person.”

“Because I know Lady Sheffy isn’t being half-hearted at all… mm... You're just not good with words and get embarrassed easily, that’s all.”

“This is the first time anyone’s ever said I’m not good with words?! My mouth’s famous for firing off like a gatling gun! You wanna find out just how despairing it feels to be verbally annihilated by me?!”

“Please, I beg you, insult me! Trample me under your feet and hurl your cruelest abuse! Shoes or no shoes, both are welcome—thank you, Mother!”

“You go to hell...!”

And just like that, after two hours of boredom, Sheffy finally found something to do.

She pounced on the completely unresisting Sylatrella, limbs flailing, and as she wished, kicked her right in the butt!

Amidst cries more delightful than a nightingale’s song came a mixture of sheer joy and furious wrath.

With one final stomp, Sheffy glared at the twitching, euphoric Little Holy Sword on the ground, wiped the sweat from her brow, clapped her hands, and declared mission accomplished.

Tch. All that time spent beating up this disgraceful child... Wait, what was going on again?!

Right—this.

To fulfill the promise she made with Belith, Sheffy had returned early this morning to tell Xiarette and the others: she would be heading to the Demon King’s Castle for a few days.

The look on Xiarette’s face when she heard it—like she’d just been struck by lightning—was about as stunned as one could get.

So Sheffy gave her an explanation.

Just like her original decision, she was simply going home to visit her family. It wasn’t a permanent goodbye—she would be back soon.

But Xiarette couldn’t be reassured by words like that. What if something happened?

Besides… she had long made up her mind to pay a formal visit to Sheffy’s king and queen—not as the Hero, but as Sheffy’s lover.

And with Sheffy heading home to visit family, wasn’t this the perfect, once-in-a-lifetime chance?

One more day of waiting meant one more day of uncertainty. The visit had to happen today.

Under the "threat" of being held tightly to Xiarette’s broad chest—so tight she almost suffocated—Sheffy had no choice but to agree to her request.

But setting a precedent like this was dangerous.

Now that Xiarette had decided to come, there was no way the newest resident of the mansion—Princess Livra, the Kingdom’s Third Princess—was going to sit this out.

Leave her behind to house-sit?

Impossible…! She’d scaled the tall palace walls before; a wall-less mansion wouldn’t stop her.

Besides… Miss Shaya had promised to teach her magic. How could she just leave now?

A certain princess, too, was secretly afraid that a certain Sheffy might never return—so she found plenty of excuses to tag along. But that was something only she herself knew.

Ahh… so really, there was no helping it.

What was originally meant to be a trip for just Sheffy and Belith—ended up becoming a group of four.

As for Timani, she was still fast asleep in her room, snoring away like a lazy dragon.

Of course, Sheffy wasn’t going to leave without kicking her awake.

If I can’t sleep in, then you don’t get to either.

After waiting for what felt like forever—and giving Sylatrella another solid kick to make her twitching a little more rhythmic—

At that moment…

The long wait finally bore fruit.

"I'm here…! Sorry, Sheffy, packing took way too long… You must’ve been waiting, huh? I kept changing outfits… In the end, it’s still the one you picked that suits me best? What do you think? If it doesn’t look good… I’ll go change again, even though I’ve already gone through ten…”

“Hehe, Royal Sister! Look! I made two identical sets of underwear on the spot—let's put them on together! Let’s do it now!”

“Aaaahhh, I’m sorry, Miss Shaya! I went back to my room to change, but once I touched the bed… I accidentally fell asleep again!”

“......”

Alright then.

With Sylatrella collapsed on the ground, and my mouth firing like a gatling gun...

This whole house—doesn’t seem to contain a single normal person.

...............................

And with that, there was no more need to rush.

Because standing at the doorway now, surrounded by these dazzling girls, Sheffy had only one thought: