Chapter 173

She clumsily changed into the new clothes and got into the carriage.

Clumsily, she had already arrived at the Demon Clan’s border.

Timani was even starting to panic.

“Uh-oh… You’re not planning to sell me off to the Demon Domain because I eat too much and don’t work, are you?! Witch…! I’m warning you… I’m actually pretty good in a fight. If I go all out, you might not be able to sell me…!”

“Yeah, right. Like you’re worth anything.”

“You are trying to sell me?!”

“No. Put away your persecution complex. I brought you along for a more important reason.”

“A more important…? Did you come up with another scheme?”

“Not really. I wasn’t planning on bringing you at first, but then I thought—if I leave you at home, you might sneak some of my snacks, so better to have you come along just in case.”

“……”

That insult… wasn’t much different from selling me off, was it?

Timani was left speechless and quietly hid the strawberry hawthorn snack she had taken from the mansion in the pocket of her skirt.

This didn’t count, right…? This was a gift from the witch that day. It was food she could freely use, right?

Timani actually wasn’t stupid.

She had a feeling that Sheffy bringing her along might have some other reason behind it.

It was just that Sheffy didn’t want to say for now.

If it were before, Timani would’ve jumped off the carriage and run away on the spot.

But now…

She didn’t really mind following the witch to take a look around.

“We’re almost there.”

Sheffy rested her chin on her hand and yawned. As she spoke, everyone became alert.

The carriage’s forward momentum gradually came to a halt.

Outside the carriage, a rough voice—one that could only belong to someone stationed long-term on the frontier—suddenly rang out.

“Halt! Are you merchants from Aurus? Do you have a travel permit from the Demon Domain Chamber of Commerce? If not, turn back immediately!”

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3. Border Fortress Town

They had been joking and laughing on the carriage just moments ago, but when something actually happened, everyone immediately sat upright with serious expressions.

Except for Belith.

She was sitting upright too, but only because she was facing the wall in reflection, standing her ground to the end.

Sheffy lifted a small corner of the carriage curtain—just enough to observe the outside environment from this angle.

—A frozen world of snow and ice, not a blade of grass in sight.

This was the Demon Clan’s border fortress, Riedekidu, a town perpetually buried in snow and frost.

There were virtually no residents—only the Demon King’s Army Third Corps stationed here to guard the national border. With a considerable number of troops deployed, it was rightfully called a “fortress.”

The one currently blocking the road for inspection was a middle-aged demon soldier—his face weathered and rough from years in the wind and snow, gripping a long spear.

Judging by the single black wing on his back, he was likely a sentry assigned here, not technically part of the formal structure of the Demon King’s Army.

And without being formally enlisted, he naturally had more room to indulge.

This sentry saw no response from the carriage and seemed to get the idea right away. He had seen plenty of cases like this.

“Oh, oh… Another black-market peddler sneaking into the Demon Domain without a Chamber of Commerce permit, huh! Get off the carriage! Think you can sneak past me just by hiding? No permit? Then pay a toll, and I’ll turn a blind eye. I know it’s tough doing business, and standing guard ain’t free either—nobody’s making things hard for anyone, right?”

“……”

At this moment, Belith was no longer facing the wall in reflection.

There was already a flicker of murderous intent in her eyes.

As a sentry, to shirk duty was already a capital offense—and yet this man dared to extort bribes on top of that?

What an utter disgrace to the Demon Clan...

While Sheffy had been away from the Demon Clan, Belith had been managing the order of the capital city Campeno, where the Demon King’s Castle was located, with absolute precision. Under her command, the Demon King’s Army Fifth Corps had risen to new heights in both combat strength and discipline. She had been waiting eagerly—

To return and present the results of her efforts to Her Royal Sister.

And yet, who would’ve thought… here on this remote border, the very first soldier she encountered would be this pathetic.

Belith’s gaze turned icy, and purple lightning began crackling in her hand.

But before she could act, Sheffy had already lifted the carriage curtain.

Some words—

Were sharper than any magic.

“You blind mutt! Worthless trash—demanding money here in the middle of the snowy mountains?! What, are you so broke your horse died and you need funeral funds? Pathetic! Get lost!”

The childish rebuke caused the three horses pulling the carriage to simultaneously whinny in protest, seemingly offended by the comment about “the horse being dead,” trying to prove they were very much alive.

As for the toll-demanding sentry, he was clearly stunned by the sudden verbal assault.

He was just a regular border sentry—how would he know he was speaking to a member of the Demon Royal Family, someone who could shake the realm?

Seeing this little girl speak so rudely, the sentry’s face—already red from the cold—flushed even deeper with rage!

“How dare you…! Insult me?! Where did you come from, brat? Do you even know what place this is—huh?”

Before he could finish the sentence, blood splattered heavily across the snowy ground.

Just as the sentry had raised his spear and was about to aim it at Sheffy’s face, the snow beneath him suddenly turned crimson.

And then… his spear slipped from his hand, the pain only registering after the fact.

Clutching his shoulder, he finally realized the source of the blood.

An invisible slash had torn open a deep, non-lethal gash in his shoulder.

“AAAAAGHH…!! What… ambush! We’re under attack!!”

Inside the carriage, a terrifying, cold, and ghostly purple eye flickered into view behind Sheffy.

Amid the sentry’s screams, her voice rang out—clear, firm, and irrefutable.

“Listen closely… Go tell the lord of Riedekidu to open the gates. Tell him that Belith Harl, the Second Demon Princess, is passing through. The delay of this carriage—every soldier in the city will be held accountable.”

“P-Princess?! Th-this is…”

“Get. Lost.”

“！”

In the wind and snow, the sentry didn’t even have time to pick up the spear from the ground. Frightened pale by that oppressive gaze, he scrambled away—half-rolling, half-crawling—back toward the sentry camp. He was likely going to report the situation truthfully.

Relying on just a single sentence to make a border fortress open its gates wasn’t exactly realistic.

Belith stepped down from the carriage and stood in the snow for a moment. Then, holding down her silver hair that fluttered with the wind and snow, she turned back to the carriage with graceful steps.

That was enough.

Not everyone failed to recognize a Demon Princess. Along the fortress walls stood a row of fully-armed soldiers from the Demon King’s Army Third Corps. The moment they caught sight of that silver hair—a symbol of the Demon Royal Family—swaying in the snow, the entire row descended into chaos.

As expected, not long after the sentry returned to the camp, the fortress’s heavy gates were slowly pulled open by a group of demon soldiers.

The gate opened to its fullest, welcoming the small carriage emerging from the vast snowy plains.

Belith climbed back into the carriage and sat beside Sheffy, visibly displeased and deeply irritable.

“No one in this world is allowed to point a weapon at Royal Sister. Damn thing… I wouldn’t have killed him just for trying to charge a toll—but offending Royal Sister, that’s unquestionably a capital crime.”

Belith hadn’t spared his life out of mercy. It was simply because she needed someone to deliver the message.

Otherwise, anyone who dared offend Royal Sister—whether they knew who she was or not—was Belith’s enemy.

“You’re still as extreme as ever…” Sheffy said that, but didn’t seem to mind it much herself. “You see, not everyone’s like you. When something happens, you’ve got to learn to stay calm. Look how composed the others are… Tch, wait—are you girls really that calm?!”

Xiarette had just returned the unused Holy Sword to its scabbard. Clearly, she had already begun to draw it earlier.

Timani let the flame in her palm quietly scatter into embers, pretending nothing had happened as she calmly looked out the window at the scenery.

Princess Livra, lacking combat strength, still kept quiet—but judging from her tightly clenched little fists, she had also been preparing to leap into action at any moment!

All of you… seriously need to work on patience and composure!

Well—though to be fair, Sheffy herself had been about to use 【Hurricane】 to blast the sentry away just moments ago… but let’s leave that unmentioned.

The city gates were now open, and the three horses raised their heads and continued forward.

On both sides, the soldiers stood at full attention, performing the Demon King’s Army’s formal salute—right hand balled into a fist and pressed against the heart—to welcome the royalty into the city.

Xiarette lifted one corner of the carriage curtain. Seeing that the carriage wasn’t slowing down at all, she asked:

“Sheffy, aren’t we stopping? Just now, didn’t Belith say the sentry was sent to inform the lord? Now that they know you’re coming, I’d think the local lord would personally come to greet you, right?”

“Exactly why we should keep going.” Sheffy waved her hand dismissively, clearly uninterested. “You know how much I hate trouble. If we wait for the lord to show up, we’ll be stuck here. There’ll be a banquet, and guests, and a whole waste of time. Better to slip past the fortress before he arrives. There are still several towns between here and the Demon King’s Castle. What, are we supposed to stop and attend banquets every time a local lord wants to treat us… Hm? Eating our way through every town doesn’t sound bad either?!”

Despite saying that, Sheffy still had no intention of stopping.

Food outside never tasted as good as what was at home. Right now, the reason she was so eager to return was because she missed the taste of the big fish from the lake in front of the Demon King’s Castle.

When it came to eating fish, it had to be from home.

Sheffy leaned back against her seat and crossed one leg over the other again, casually making a comment.

“Speaking of which, the military management at the border doesn’t seem very strict…? I was observing just now—it looks like the troops here are all stationed inside the city. Some of them had just come out of buildings, like they’d just woken up, instead of standing guard outside the border. The other Demon King’s Army corps don’t seem as slack as the Third Corps, right…? By the way, Belith, who’s the commander of the Third Corps again?”

“It’s Aunt Ailellek, isn’t it?”

“Oh, that makes sense. That explains it.”

With the corps commander off roaming the world, how much discipline could you expect from the semi-feral troops she left behind?

Really, it was already impressive that they were even still guarding the border.

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4. The Reason Behind Their Strength

Speaking of the Demon Clan’s military structure—depending on the areas they oversaw—it was mainly divided into five Demon King’s Army corps.

The First Corps was the royal guard directly under the Demon King. It was the most orthodox force of the Demon King’s Army, stationed directly in the capital Campeno, and could only be mobilized by the Demon King or the Demon Queen. Other generals had no authority over it.

Historically, the First Corps had always been the main force of the Demon King’s Army. There had never been an exception.

But in this generation… things had taken a subtle turn.

The Second Corps, once led by Sheffy, had now unexpectedly become the true main force of the Demon King’s Army.

This situation… was honestly a bit upsetting for the Demon King.

Back then, when he appointed Sheffy as the commander of the Second Corps, he’d only meant to give his daughter some real-world experience—let her understand what it meant to be royalty, let her tough it out for a bit. Who would’ve thought that as soon as she joined the army, she’d start tweaking this, changing that, and proposing all sorts of bizarre strategies?

Under her command, the army’s atmosphere became harmonious, and even the soldiers’ overall strength soared!

She even outshone her old man. Sheffy, you rebellious child—do you even understand basic social norms?!

The Third Corps was the one currently stationed at the border fortress Riedekidu.

Technically, they didn’t have a permanent base. Wherever border defenses were needed, they would be deployed to fill the gap.

The Fourth Corps was led by the Jeffriel Family, a family of Six-Winged Demons, and was the only corps not directly controlled by the Demon Royal Family.

But this wasn’t due to a lack of centralized power—it was a Demon Clan tradition to allow noble families to maintain their own military forces. If they were truly capable, they could even challenge other corps in open conflict. Unfortunately, contrary to that rule, the Fourth Corps had always been the most loyal throughout history.

—Because they knew they couldn’t win.

The Fifth Corps was the rising star of recent years, stationed in the northern borderlands of the Demon Domain. Though small in number, the troops were elite and highly capable, mainly serving as a deterrent to keep the higher races in the north from making any reckless moves.

The Fifth Corps only rose to prominence after Belith voluntarily took on the role of corps commander.

And yet, despite being such a diligent and responsible Belith—

She was still currently facing the wall in reflection.

This time, her remorse came from the heart!

“Damn it… and we haven’t even reached the Demon King’s Castle yet and I’ve already run into such disgraceful trash… Ugh, Royal Sister, how did you even manage the Second Corps back then? No matter how hard I try, I just don’t… no… I’m sorry, Royal Sister, forget I said anything.”