A carriage was already prepared inside the palace gates.
However, the animal pulling the carriage was not an ordinary horse, but a pitch black creature with a single horn on its head.
It looked like a unicorn.
Except it was entirely black, and its eyes were a deep crimson.
Luo Li followed Capri into the palace, while Bryce stood outside the gates, not venturing any further.
"Why isn't he coming in?"
Noticing this, Luo Li turned back to ask, and Capri's answer was very clear.
"In response to the Lady Queen, demons who have not been accepted as a sub-lover are not permitted to enter the Queen's palace."
What?
Then what about that boy, Mochizuki Shingen?
"Wait."
Luo Li stopped in her tracks and looked back at Capri.
"What about my toy?"
"Toy...?"
Capri raised his head with a blank expression, looking at Luo Li with a hint of confusion.
"A human child."
"Oh, that is no problem. As long as it is your property, whether human or demon, they can be brought inside."
Property... is it?
Luo Li pondered for a moment, nodded, and then turned to look at Bryce.
Bryce quickly understood her meaning and raised his hand, signaling his men to bring Mochizuki Shingen forward.
However, this time, he was brought in a cage.
The cage was only about fifty or sixty centimeters wide, and Mochizuki Shingen had to curl his entire body up just to sit inside.
Seeing this, Luo Li's brow furrowed tightly.
"Why are you using such a thing to carry him?"
"In response to the Lady Queen, is... is this not acceptable?"
The demon carrying the cage asked with a puzzled expression.
The anger already simmering in Luo Li's heart instantly flared up at that moment.
Without any hesitation, she stepped forward and delivered a sharp kick to the tall demon's knee.
With a sickening squelch, Luo Li's heel instantly pierced through the kneecap.
Her sharp heel, like a whetted blade, punctured the bone in an instant, and then Luo Li pulled back.
The demon's kneecap was directly ripped out by the barbs on her heel.
Black blood splattered across the ground.
"Bryce! What did I just say?"
Bryce's brow tightened, and he looked down at the demon.
"Kneel!!"
At this point, the demon didn't need Bryce's command to kneel; it could no longer stand.
Its kneecap had been completely torn out.
Despite this, the demon only frowned slightly.
The demons' perception of pain was suppressed so much that even having a kneecap violently removed was not considered a serious injury to them.
However, it clearly understood that the Lady Queen before it was furious.
"Lady... Lady Queen, please appease your anger."
Looking at this demon who was still taller than her even while kneeling, Luo Li's brow remained furrowed.
"Open the cage!"
"Yes."
Bryce stepped forward without another word, quickly opening the cage to release Mochizuki Shingen.
Then he turned and bowed deeply to Luo Li.
"Lady Queen, I am deeply sorry. This was my dereliction of duty."
Luo Li took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm the rage in her heart.
"Do not let there be a next time."
"This servant understands."
Bryce nodded hurriedly and then tossed the demon missing its kneecap to the rear.
This action was clearly an act of favoritism, but Capri was not so polite.
"Bryce, if you cannot manage your subordinates, hand them over to me. I will teach him how to behave."
Bryce's brow tightened.
"That will not be necessary."
Watching the two of them suddenly become tense with each other made Luo Li realize something.
The demon race truly was a species devoid of any emotional warmth.
"Forget it. It is fine since nothing happened this time, but if my toy is broken... you understand what will happen."
To be honest, those words were a blatant threat.
In a calm state, she would never have said such a thing.
But now, her own mindset was being influenced by her Witch state.
This was both dangerous and troublesome.
Turning away, she ignored Bryce and stepped into the palace.
Behind her, Mochizuki Shingen crawled out of the cage with an expressionless face, silently standing up and following Luo Li.
Capri looked back at Luo Li's departing figure and whispered a complaint to Bryce.
"How could you be so careless? You even managed to mess up the Lady Queen's instructions?"
Bryce frowned and shook his head helplessly.
"Forget it, let us not speak of this. The Lady Queen needs to meet the Queen Empress, so hurry along."
Capri nodded, said nothing more, and turned to enter the palace.
Immediately after, the massive palace doors swung shut again.
The entire palace was once again completely disconnected from the outside world.
Luo Li looked around at the palace before her.
It could be said that the fundamental design of this palace was based on purebred demons.
Therefore, the sizes of the various facilities in the palace were all calculated based on the height of an average human.
Up until now, Luo Li did not know where the demons came from, but looking at it now, they had clearly established themselves in this world.
If the demons were allowed to continue developing, it was hard to say if they would one day lead to the extinction of all other races.
As she walked forward, she observed her surroundings.
The environment looked quite elegant.
There were many demons along the path. Though their eyes held a hint of surprise when they saw Luo Li, they still bowed their heads and cleared the way.
Only after Luo Li had passed did they look up and begin to whisper and huddle together.
These demons were mostly double-horned, though there were a few single-horned ones.
"Are these demons the property of other Queens?"
Luo Li asked casually, and Capri quickly explained.
"Yes, these demons are the private property of various Queens, but they are only low-grade, so they are also responsible for the daily cleaning of the palace."
At this, Luo Li raised her head with some curiosity and glanced at Capri.
"Then whose private property are you?"
"Uh... I am not. I simply have certain privileges because I have been stationed here for many years."
Luo Li turned back to look at Capri, scanning him up and down, but said nothing more.
The carriage traveled all the way to the most massive palace in the complex.
Then, a handsome demon went inside to announce her arrival.
A moment later, the handsome demon stepped back out.
"Lady Queen, the Empress requests your presence."
As he spoke, the massive palace doors slowly opened.
Handsome demons stood on either side of the entrance.
There were both males and females.
However, the females were all single-horned, while the vast majority of the males were double-horned.
Luo Li stepped down from the carriage and entered the main hall.
After passing through a series of luxurious small structures, she saw a woman sitting inside the hall.
The double horns on her head were almost identical in shape to the ones on Luo Li's head.
However, the annual rings on her horns were far more numerous than Luo Li's.
Furthermore, the length of her horns exceeded Luo Li's as well.
Luo Li's horns barely extended past the back of her head.
The horns of the Queen before her were clearly much longer.
The backward-extending horns glinted black with a hint of red under the sunlight.
Luo Li didn't know what method was used, but somehow sunlight was projected into the top of this massive underground city.
This palace complex, in particular, was as bright as day.
Luo Li observed the Queen carefully.
The woman sitting on the throne wore no armor, only a thin gauze robe that failed to hide the two small cherries on her chest.
Furthermore, what left Luo Li somewhat speechless was that this Queen was not sitting on a dragon throne.
Instead... she was sitting on two male demons who were crawling on the ground.
"I am Isis, the Queen of West Demon City. Queen of the outer islands, what is your name?"
Sitting high upon the platform, the demon Queen named Isis asked her question.
Her gaze also swept over the top of Luo Li's head.
"People, come. Bring a seat."
People, come?
Shouldn't it be "Someone, come"?
Bring a seat?
Shouldn't it be "Please have a seat"?
While Luo Li was confused, two handsome male demons stepped out from the side.
They naturally stripped completely naked and then knelt before Luo Li.
Looking at the flesh chair before her, Luo Li hesitated for a moment.
"Queen Empress, can I have a different chair?"
"Oh? What kind would you like to change to?"
Isis revealed a charming smile, looking down at the young purebred Queen.
Luo Li turned to look around the hall.
"Is there... nothing normal?"
"Normal?"
Isis touched her red lips in confusion, then turned to give an order to the handsome demon beside her.
"Go outside and grab a few ordinary demons."
Luo Li blinked her eyes.
Is your idea of a normal chair made of people too?
Damn it!
"That won't be necessary."
Luo Li raised her hand to stop him, then scanned the palace again, only to find... there really wasn't a single normal chair.
Luo Li could only helplessly point to two women nearby.
"Change them for females."
Sitting on a man was something she truly found difficult to accept, especially since she was wearing so little right now.
To sit like that... it was beyond embarrassing!
However, it was clear that Luo Li's intention was misunderstood.
Upon hearing this, Queen Isis's lips curled into a mischievous smirk.
"Oh, so you prefer that type. We are of the same race, why be so polite with me?"
With that, she waved her hand, and two single-horned female demons walked over.
They also stripped naked and knelt on the ground.
Luo Li's mouth twitched again. She wanted to say something, but knew she shouldn't right now.
She could only sit down helplessly.
Fortunately, these intelligent half-demons were of a higher grade.
Even as females, their strength was sufficient.
Well... how should she put it?
They weren't as soft as herself.
The moment she sat down, Luo Li realized with disbelief that this was the first thought in her mind.
Indeed, after becoming a demon, her worldview had completely changed.
Seeing Luo Li sit down, Isis's lips curled into a charming smile.
"You should have said so earlier. If you really like that sort of thing, why don't we play together tonight?"
"I... I think I'll pass for now."
"Oh, then that truly is a pity~"
A look of disappointment actually appeared on Isis's face.
Then she looked up to observe Luo Li.
"This is the first time I have seen a purebred Queen even more beautiful than myself. You even make me feel a bit jealous."
Luo Li's mouth twitched. Was this Queen's brain not quite right?
Or were all demons like this?
"My name is Li Luo. I come from the outer islands and am just here to look around."
"I heard you want to choose a sub-lover in West Demon City?"
Isis suddenly stood up from her flesh chair and walked down the steps.
She leaned in close to Luo Li.
A pair of black pupils held a hint of innocent curiosity.
"If you like, I can give you a few. These are all my sub-lovers. If you like them, just pick a few to take away."
She waved her small hand as if showing off her treasures, pointing at the handsome demons in the hall.
"That... that won't be necessary, right?"
Was this Isis being a bit too enthusiastic?
"Why are you being so polite with me? Purebred Queens like us are treasures everywhere."
As she spoke, she suddenly paused, then turned her head and widened her eyes.
She stared at Luo Li with a face full of disbelief.
"You haven't experienced your First Demon Night yet, have you?"
"..."
Although she didn't immediately react to the term First Demon Night, she understood what the other woman was talking about from her expression.
Luo Li blinked. Being asked such a thing in public made her so embarrassed she didn't know how to respond for a moment.
"This..."
"Pfft... Hahaha! I can't believe a purebred Queen like you is still so conservative. You're already... already sixteen?"
Her gaze fell on the top of Luo Li's head. Seeing only sixteen annual rings on her horns, she was very surprised.
"Wait, you're only sixteen? Isn't that still a child? Which irresponsible Queen would feel safe letting you out like this?"
Is sixteen still a child?
Emmm.
Actually, that seemed right.
After all, demons were said to have a lifespan of about a thousand years.
Proportionally, compared to a human's hundred-year lifespan, she might still be a child who had just stopped nursing.
"I came out on my own."
Seeing Isis's expression grow darker and darker.
Luo Li was truly afraid she would contact the outer islands in a fit of anger.
That would expose everything.
"You? You came out on your own? How did you get here from the outer islands? By boat? Hmm... I heard the docks on the east side of the demon island are quite prosperous, but I've always lived in the palace and haven't had much time to go play."
At this point, Isis suddenly asked.
"Are there any handsome demons over there?"
"Oh, that's right, you haven't had your First Demon Night yet, so you probably haven't noticed. Otherwise, you would have broken through your defenses long ago."
Pfft—I'm about to break through my defenses right now!
Luo Li's heart was a mess of emotions.
This was not what she had imagined at all.
Was this chatterbox Queen really a demon leader?
"This... Empress."
"Don't call me Empress, just call me Isis. Look, the color of our horns is about the same."
"We are both purebred, after all~"
Was this chatterbox really the Queen Empress?
Luo Li was utterly confused, but she still had to say what needed to be said.
"Alright, Isis. I came this time just to say hello to you."
Isis's mood dropped significantly.
"Oh? So you're leaving soon?"
"Well... I might stay here for a short period, and then I will leave."
"Alright then~"
Isis's mood was clearly even lower.
But whether Isis was happy or not had nothing to do with Luo Li.
"Then I will go to my temporary residence to rest now."
"Mm~"
Isis seemed to lose interest instantly and could only watch as Luo Li left.
"Strange, I haven't heard of any new purebred Queens being born in the outer islands. Where did she come from?"
Rate on N.U.
