As Ivelia carried Lin Ling out, Lin Ling felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.
She hadn't felt it much while they were in the meeting room.
But once they left, exhaustion seemed to catch up to her all at once.
Her head spun, and she felt completely drained of energy.
“I'm sorry, Lord Demon King.”
Lin Ling looked up at Ivelia, who was holding her hand.
“I feel a bit sleepy...”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than her entire body went limp.
Ivelia reached out and caught her.
Just like that, Lin Ling fell asleep in Ivelia's arms.
She even snuggled into her embrace quite naturally, as if she had found a safe, familiar, and comfortable spot.
Looking down at Lin Ling in her arms, Ivelia's usually cold gaze softened slightly.
Right then, Furni happened to appear behind them.
She looked at the sleeping Lin Ling, then at the way Ivelia was holding her.
“Looks like she used too much magic all at once?”
As Furni spoke, the image of herself crawling all over the floor to dodge those magic spheres flashed through her mind again.
That magic had almost blasted a legendary giant dragon into the afterlife.
At the thought, the corner of Furni's mouth twitched slightly.
“Honestly, Heroes really are completely unreasonable creatures.”
Ivelia turned around to face Furni.
Her expression remained rather grim, as if she were facing an enemy who had damaged her precious treasure.
“So, what is the purpose of your visit, Furni?”
Furni waved her hand.
“Oh, come on, we're all old acquaintances here. No need to look so stern.”
“It's not like I even fought back.”
Though, in that situation, she hadn't really had much room to fight back anyway.
Naturally, Furni didn't say that out loud.
After all, Ivelia didn't look like she was in the mood for jokes right now.
Ivelia held Lin Ling, her tone icy.
“She is currently the hope of the demon race.”
“Understand?”
The warning in her words was crystal clear.
The playful smile on Furni's face gradually faded.
She looked at Lin Ling in Ivelia's arms.
Lin Ling was fast asleep.
There was no trace of the out-of-control killing intent from earlier, nor her usual cheerful smile.
She just leaned quietly against Ivelia.
She looked almost too harmless this way.
But Furni had just experienced firsthand the cost of that “harmlessness.”
“Let me guess.”
Furni's gaze grew a bit more serious.
“She's the one who solved your food crisis, right? How did she do it? Those strange magic arrays?”
Ivelia didn't answer.
She simply stared at her.
“This is not something you, as a bishop of Camillaya, should be privy to.”
“Alright, alright.”
Furni raised her hands cooperatively.
“Then I won't pry into it.”
Though she said that, her gaze lingered on Lin Ling for a brief moment.
A Hero who was also a Saintess.
The food in the Demon King's Castle.
And that completely absurd amount of magic power.
Putting all of these things together, it didn't look like an ordinary occurrence at all.
But Ivelia clearly had no intention of telling her right now.
Furni was in no rush either.
She was being kept here tonight anyway.
“Arrange a private meeting for us later,”
Furni said, watching Ivelia's retreating back.
“It's better to clear some things up.”
“I don't want to see Camillaya and the demons go to war either.”
Ivelia didn't answer immediately.
She just kept walking forward, carrying Lin Ling.
As if remembering something, Furni added:
“Hey, the Saintess of the Holy See is here too, right?”
“I should probably check on how she's doing.”
She had indeed sensed Leticia's presence earlier.
Though it felt a bit different from before.
Ivelia didn't even turn her head.
“The experimental field. Go there yourself.”
With that, she continued walking toward the rooms with Lin Ling in her arms.
“Ah, what a hassle.”
Seeing that Ivelia had gone far, the exhausted look returned to Furni's face.
She ruffled her somewhat messy blue hair.
“I just walked all that way, and now I have to make another trip?”
“A dragon's life is truly miserable.”
Complaining all the while, Furni still turned and walked toward the experimental field.
Meanwhile, in the experimental field—
“Miss Sia, this is how you should do it.”
Mrs. Nashi was teaching Leticia how to use the tools.
Leticia held the tool with both hands, her movements extremely earnest.
But earnestness didn't equate to skill.
She was clearly very clumsy with it.
The simple action of turning the soil and planting a seedling looked as if she were performing some complex, sacred ritual.
Though her movements were highly dignified and her posture elegant,
her efficiency was incredibly low.
“Hehehe, Sister Sia is a bit clumsy.”
Dashi, who was planting alongside her, couldn't help but giggle as he watched Leticia take forever just to plant a single seedling.
“This is supposed to be really easy.”
Leticia looked down at the single crop she had finally managed to plant,
then at the small patch Dashi had already finished.
She fell silent for a moment.
“I'm sorry.”
“This is my first time using this kind of tool.”
Her voice remained calm, but the tips of her ears seemed to flush slightly.
Back in the White Tower, she had been forced to master countless complex etiquettes.
Prayer postures, Holy Light spells, noble meetings.
Even the correct usage of every single utensil had been drilled into her repeatedly.
Yet, this was the very first time she had ever held such a common farming tool in her hands.
And she was doing a terrible job of it.
“Da... shi.”
Right then, Mrs. Nashi's voice rang out softly.
Dashi's body froze.
He slowly turned his head, only to see his mother still smiling gently.
However, a visible dark aura was beginning to emanate from her.
“What did Mommy teach you?”
Dashi: “...”
In the next second, he turned around decisively and bowed his head to apologize to Leticia.
“I'm sorry, Sister Sia.”
“I let it go to my head.”
His speed of reaction showed he was highly experienced in this.
Leticia stared in slight surprise at Dashi, who was bowing before her.
Then, she gave a gentle smile.
“It's fine.”
“I am already very grateful that you are willing to teach me.”
Her smile was faint.
But unlike the standardized, cold, and rigid smile dictated by etiquette back in the White Tower,
this time, her face was smudged with a bit of dirt.
The hem of her skirt was soiled from squatting down to plant.
Her hair was slightly disheveled.
Even her hands were covered in soil.
Yet, it was precisely because of these things that the distant, sacred aura about her faded significantly,
making her feel a bit more down-to-earth.
Dashi stared at Leticia's smile, momentarily dazed.
“Sister Sia...”
“You're so pretty.”
Leticia was slightly taken aback.
Then, her face visibly flushed red.
Mrs. Nashi gently smacked the back of Dashi's head.
“Don't stare at girls like that.”
“Ow.”
Dashi clutched his head and squatted down, looking aggrieved.
Right then, Furni, who had just arrived near the experimental field, witnessed this scene.
She stood at a distance, not approaching immediately.
She simply watched Leticia, dirt-smeared and earnestly learning how to plant crops in the field.
Furni's golden slit pupils narrowed slightly.
Then, she smiled softly.
“Seems like she's made some progress after being taken away.”
Rate on N.U.
