Chapter: 5. Demon King’s Castle (Requesting Monthly Tickets at the Beginning of the Month!)
The horses from the Hero’s household are truly not to be underestimated; their innate strong physique is almost on par with magical beasts.
Setting off from the Aulus Kingdom, crossing through the Demon Territory border fortress Lide Qidu, and continuing onward past six major towns, they are headed straight for the Demon Capital, Canbino. These three horses surprisingly do not need any rest at all.
They have traveled a distance that ordinary horses might not cover in a week.
Even Princess Xue Fei cannot help but praise these horses.
“Wow, impressive! Xiya, the horses you’re raising are very strong! I’ve decided not to pull their water grass anymore. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll feed them fish!”
Neigh——————!!
The horses protested with a cry, as it seemed they heard some witch say she would feed them fish!
No!
I meant to feed you fish to eat, not for the fish to eat you!
“Xue Fei, our horses… don’t eat fish.”
“Our horses are quite strange.”
“Strange is you?! Is there a horse that eats fish?”
However, the question raised by Xiya clearly showed her lack of knowledge.
Princess Belis chuckled, finally finding an opportunity to mock this wicked woman.
“Heh… as a Hero, your vision is indeed so limited. The horses in your kingdom only eat grass and not fish, but the horses in the Demon Territory all have the bloodline of the Roc Magical Horse. In the Demon Territory, it’s hard to find a horse that doesn’t eat fish.”
“Is that true…?”
Xiya has been on the battlefield and has of course seen the horses from the Demon Territory.
While they look taller and sturdier than the kingdom’s horses, she didn’t expect their eating habits to be different as well!
But… isn’t this just a special case?
Speaking of horses, most of them surely still need to eat grass…
“Oh, the horses from our Fire Dragon Clan also eat fish.”
“?”
Timani crossed her legs, her hands folded on her vividly fiery dress, and wanted to chime in on this topic.
“So when I saw that the horses from Aulus Kingdom actually only eat grass, I was quite surprised. The horses from our Fire Dragon Clan are not used as mounts, but are magical beasts wrapped in flames, with horns. We call them ‘Flame Domain Horses’, and they are quite combat-effective and, honestly, quite delicious.”
“Delicious? Save me a piece next time.”
Hearing this, Princess Xue Fei immediately revealed a “starving and poor” side of herself.
As for Xiya…
Her understanding of the creature known as “horse” was undergoing a dramatic change.
No…
Could it be that only the horses from our Aulus Kingdom are herbivores?
Livra remained silent all the way, almost bursting to speak; now that there was a topic, she had to say a few words.
“Yes, yes, Lord Xiya Let, you need to enhance your general knowledge. Speaking of horses…”
“Your Highness, it’s better if you don’t speak. I know you want to take the opportunity to scold me, but unfortunately, we are all residents of Aulus Kingdom. These three horses pulling the carriage were given to us by your father, so please don’t say more. I won’t listen anyway.”
“Ow… I just wanted to say that the horses in our country not only eat grass, but also water grass!”
“I know.”
This is called a desire to express oneself, but it seems that Livra’s desire for expression is never respected.
Lord Xiya Let was right; perhaps it’s better if she doesn’t speak.
Ah, actually, Xiya isn’t lacking in knowledge. As the Hero and the kingdom’s “ultimate ace,” she has always been protected and lived within the circle of Aulus Kingdom, rarely having the opportunity to see the outside world.
So, this trip with Xue Fei to see the world might be quite an extraordinary sightseeing tour.
But she still wanted to say…
The horses of Aulus Kingdom do eat grass; I haven’t made a mistake about that!
“Hero, did you know? Speaking of which, our Aulus Kingdom’s horses ate fish a thousand years ago, and then I don’t know what happened; they changed to eating grass.”
“Tsk.”
Xiya rarely clicks her tongue.
But once she does,
It means she is quite eager to jump out of the carriage and run outside to cool off.
The cold knowledge suddenly spoken by the Little Holy Sword made Xiya feel that she might need to learn from Princess Livra.
Speak less, do more.
Saying too much makes me seem ignorant and foolish.
Not speaking, at most I might be misunderstood as mute.
Your Highness, so that’s why you’ve been so quiet now; I’ve really learned something.
After this utterly despairing conversation, Xiya lightly lifted a corner of the carriage curtain countless times, observing the situation outside.
— At this moment, the scenery outside was already completely different from before.
A wide road, with demon merchants calling out along the street.
Unlike the housing style of Aulus Kingdom, the exquisite houses with irregular columns and multi-faceted cones adorned with small flower gardens lined the road, basking in brilliant sunlight, situated on either side of the town.
Pedestrians on the road carried the fruits they bought, spread their black wings, and leaped high into the air, directly flying to relocate their stalls.
The biggest difference from Aulus Kingdom was that here, commoners dressed in rough fabric linen could joke and laugh with nobles in tailcoats.
Wealth and poverty coexisting harmoniously without the kind of embarrassment seen in Aulus Kingdom where different classes never interacted.
But…
Did I just see those two chatting and then suddenly start fighting? What’s going on?!
Putting down the carriage curtain, Xiya adjusted her shimmering silver hair and looked at Princess Xue Fei, who was in front gathering orange pulp.
“Xue Fei, have we arrived at Canbino?”
“Yeah, didn’t Belis just get out to greet the guards? Look at that professional salute. After all, this is the capital where the Demon King’s Castle is located, and the quality of the personnel here is top-notch in the Demon Territory. How about it—doesn’t it compare well to Aulus?”
“It is indeed quite good… but I just saw someone outside fighting…”
“Ahem! Belis! How far are we from the Demon King’s Castle? Not there yet?!”
Oh no, Xiya wanted to make a comment, but Xue Fei didn’t give her a chance at all!
Of course, Xue Fei wouldn’t let her speak; doesn’t she understand what it means to play to strengths and avoid weaknesses?!
You’re about to mention the shortcomings, I won’t let you speak!
As long as you don’t open your mouth, it’s all strengths.
Upon hearing this, Belis cautiously used her fingers to lift a corner of the carriage curtain, peeking outside, and quickly let it fall back down, appearing extremely careful.
There’s no helping it; after all, if the ordinary people saw royalty shopping on the street, it would cause an uproar.
In the Demon Race, the status of royalty is almost linked to worship, far surpassing the influence of the royal family in Aulus among the common folk.
“Um… Queen Sister, we’re almost there. It seems we are about to reach the dandelion flower field in the inner city.”
“Oh, then we’re close! Just a few more minutes, right? Ah… Xiya, don’t be nervous! My father and mother are very easy-going, just relax~”
When mentioning that the Demon King’s Castle was approaching, Xue Fei keenly noticed the trembling of Xiya’s pupils.
Is the Demon King’s Castle arriving soon… or is it time to face my in-laws…?!
But… Xiya knew she had to muster her courage.
At such a time, she couldn’t back down.
Her gaze hardened in line with what a Hero should possess, taking several deep breaths to relax and regain focus.
At this moment, it seemed that as the carriage advanced, they had already left the streets.
There were no people outside anymore.
Xue Fei turned around, kneeling on the seat, and leaned her head out of the carriage window, her expression filled with excitement.
Because… she saw home!
“Xiya! And Livra, Fire Lizard! And you, pervert, come out to see too! Our home, the Demon King’s Castle! We can see it now! It’s right there!”
Hmm?
Can we already see the Demon King’s Castle…?
Xiya lightly pushed aside the airy carriage curtain, but it felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.
Phew… don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous.
Speaking of which, what Xiya saw of the Demon Territory along the way was not what she had imagined.
Her imagined Demon Territory was a place filled with soot, thunder and lightning, dark and gloomy, permeated with demonic energy.
But one wouldn’t know until seeing it firsthand.
Look, just as she saw earlier, this place is also quite beautiful—the streets are clean and orderly, and the residents wear happy smiles.
If that’s the case, perhaps the Demon King’s Castle is also a place filled with flowers and birdsong.
Hmm… it should be like that. Indeed, practice brings true knowledge; what I imagined mostly does not reflect reality.
With a bit of certainty in her heart, she felt a sense of confidence and anticipation.
Xiya finally pulled aside the curtain and looked into the distance.
But…
“……”
At this time, it was noon.
But no sunlight shone on her face.
Where’s the lively, beautiful street scene from before…?
“Xue Fei… what… what is that?”
“It’s the Demon King’s Castle! The place we’re going to!”
“I understand that… but…”
A dark oppressive castle loomed as a single mass.
A flash of lightning cracked the sky and struck atop the castle, startling a flock of crows that rose like black mist into the sky.
The momentum is indeed overwhelming.
But from a distance, the feelings that surged in her heart were still those few adjectives.
Soot-filled, thunder-struck, dark as night!
Ha… have we only just taken a few steps forward…?
The weather in your Demon Territory really does change on a whim, huh?
