Chapter: 7. Demon King’s Great Hall
The feeling of oppression outside the Demon King’s Castle is palpable, isn’t it?
Inside the castle, it’s even more overwhelming!
Demon King’s Great Hall.
The two rows of unquenchable dark candle flames constructed with special magical fuel remain unchanged.
The wine-red carpet is engraved with demonic flame patterns that lead straight to the dim throne.
When Xiya and the others pushed the door and stepped into the Demon King’s Great Hall, those candle flames flickered without wind, making the already oppressive dim environment shimmer with a more eerie glow.
Looking up, the Demon King Dizna Halder was leaning against his side with his hand, his face full of arrogance, dressed in bright red battle armor, and casually sitting in the throne where dark light gathered.
He looked down from his high position at the crowd that entered the Demon King’s Great Hall.
At the moment the heavy purple magic crystal stone door closed.
The Demon King suddenly slammed the armrest of the enormous chair carved with magical beast skulls, and a deep voice suddenly erupted.
“Travelers who have come from afar, the Demon Territory welcomes your arrival. I allow you to kneel before me and face me…! Hm?!”
Snap.
The darkness disappeared; the hall was bright!
—That was the sound of someone snapping their fingers in a corner that was not illuminated by dark light.
Then, the suddenly appearing light instantly illuminated the entire hall.
It was very bright!
The previously dim atmosphere felt like a joke.
It made the stunned Demon King, who was still waving his arms, seem like a clown.
The ceiling of the hall was covered with light magic stones that could be activated with a single snap of the fingers.
As the environment became clear.
Xiya and the others caught sight of the figure that had just snapped their fingers.
—Standing beside the Demon King’s throne was Xue Fei.
On the other side of the throne, with her hands clasped in front of her and squinting as she smiled was the Demon Queen, Herlith Halder.
Though she smiled to welcome the guests, for some reason, her smile was quite twitchy, and her warning glance was wildly aimed at the throne.
It seemed that the hall was cleared of personnel in advance. Besides the three of them, there was no one else present.
Dizna’s broad palm gripped the armrest of the chair tightly, the force so strong it almost caused the sturdy throne to crack into fragments.
If observed carefully, there was even a big bump on his head from being hit by a small fist.
Now… faced with this incredibly bright and cheerful hall, the Demon King could no longer contain himself!
He suddenly stood up, pointing at Xue Fei, unleashing a long-repressed complaint from a father!
“Xue Fei, you ungrateful daughter! What a mess you’ve made! Look at the good things you’ve done! Your father has sat majestically for so many years and never felt as embarrassed as today! Why do you have to make my great hall so bright?!”
“Hah?! Father, you’re the one who’s in the wrong! You know this is a good hall, so why do you have to make it so gloomy?! Do you want us to never see the sunlight and end up with dark hearts like the gloomy magic bears?!”
“You useless scoundrel! The Demon Race should have the appearance of the Demon Race. My noble name in the Demon Race will soon be tarnished by your disloyalty!”
“What’s wrong with aspiring for brightness?! I have read the literature; clearly, it wasn’t so dark here during the last Demon King’s reign!”
“That’s because your grandfather had night blindness! He couldn’t see the road without the light magic! You foolish brat!”
“Hah?! Who are you calling foolish?”
“Foolish brat is… ah ah ah! Herlith! I’m sorry, I was wrong, let go!”
“Mother, have mercy!!”
So, all things antagonize each other; this saying does not lie.
Herlith finally stood up from beside the throne.
With her left hand gripping Xue Fei’s earlobe and her right hand clutching Dizna’s ear, she applied force, instantly turning their argument into pleas for mercy.
This way, it was much more harmonious.
“Both of you… could you spare some dignity? The guests are still standing below, aren’t they? You’re arguing here… sigh! Just day after day, you know how to argue, don’t you feel embarrassed!”
There was no time to care about whether it was embarrassing or not when being pinched by the ears; begging for mercy was the only option!
The scenes in the Demon King’s Great Hall left Xiya and the others astonished.
Timani rubbed her eyes, even doubting whether she had walked into the wrong place.
“Wait… Princess Belis, are you sure this is the right place? Is this really the Demon King’s Great Hall… not a circus performance?”
“Mind your words; you can say my father is a clown act, but you cannot insult the Queen Sister, or else I will kill you, okay?”
“!”
Is this how all of you demons are? So quick to fight and threaten?!
Belis couldn’t be bothered with them.
She stepped forward to mediate the family conflict, freeing the Queen Sister’s ears from the Queen Mother’s ruthless iron grip.
On stage, the commotion was ongoing, while below, Xiya elbowed Livra’s back fiercely to remind her.
But Livra stood there like a wooden plank, which made Xiya have to whisper.
“Your Highness… Your Highness! You should go greet them up front… The diplomatic relations between our two nations depend on your approach. Uh… didn’t you usually understand this? Why today…”
Hearing this, Livra turned half her body.
Her eyes showed a hint of grievance.
She could hear Lord Xiya speaking and naturally understood the etiquette of diplomatic relations.
—But she still made an “X” sign with her fingers in front of her mouth.
As an excellent apprentice, the foremost priority is to listen to her master.
Teacher Shaya said that being silent is the best etiquette, so I cannot speak.
Damn it.
Why are you so obedient at this moment, Princess Livra!
Seeing the tension between Xue Fei’s parents, Xiya did not dare to take the initiative to greet them, so she hoped Livra would lead the conversation, and she could choose the right moment to join in.
Now it’s good; you’re keeping silent, so who can I use as a shield?!
Well, the “Sword of the Nation” guarding the royal family seems to intend to use the princess as a shield.
On the high platform of the Demon King, the chaos finally subsided.
Demon King Dizna sat back on the throne, looking pallid and wordless.
Xue Fei, with tears in her eyes, covered her ears and leapt down from the high platform, elegantly running back to where Xiya and the others were.
Seeing this, Belis hurriedly followed.
The two princesses did not stand on the high platform but chose to act freely, which did not conform to the etiquette.
However, Herlith did not impose further demands on this.
After all, only these few people could make Xue Fei so relaxed.
Herlith did not spread her wings, surrounded by light blue magical particles, her silver hair cascading around her elegant brown luxurious long dress, ignoring the Demon King’s dejection, she took a step forward in her crystal high heels.
A crisp sound stirred a gentle breeze throughout the hall.
“Sorry, everyone, our family has always been like this, quite noisy, right? Well… it’s not our first time meeting, is it? Today, the attire of the young heroine is quite distinctive?”
“!”
Did she see through the disguise at a glance? Xiya thought she could hide for a while longer.
Sigh… indeed, disguises have no significance in front of a true expert.
Since it’s like this, I should face it openly and confidently.
Xiya stepped to the front, slightly nodding with humility yet without servility, and responded solemnly.
Now, she believed she could conduct her first conversation with Xue Fei’s mother perfectly.
“Your Majesty, Queen. Yes, I am the hero Xiya Let from Aulus Kingdom. It’s my pleasure to meet you for the first time…! Uh… for the first meeting… please take care of me.”
“……”
I bit… my tongue.
Xiya really wanted to cry into Xue Fei’s arms right now!
The greater the pressure, the more likely mistakes occur. The mother she meets for the first time must think I’m tongue-tied, right?!
No, it won’t be.
Herlith looked at Xiya’s unmasked conflicting and regretful expression, slightly surprised for a moment.
Then, it seemed her impression of the normally serious hero had changed somewhat.
Her smile relaxed a bit more.
As for the Demon King over there…
“What?! You’re the hero?! Goodness, the hero dares to come to my territory… you…!”
—Bang!
Xue Fei subconsciously touched her head, feeling a phantom pain.
Just a moment ago… her mother seemed to have broken the armrest of the chair with her hands.
And slammed it onto her father’s head.
A wave of turmoil surged like a tornado, causing her father to faint right there.
Xue Fei did not forget.
Her mother was a genius who practiced both magic and close combat!
Ugh, father, take care… no, rest well.
Today, it’s not your affair.
Herlith casually replaced the broken armrest back on the chair.
Uncertain of what magic she used, a blue beam glowed faintly, and the armrest was reattached to the chair.
Throughout this process, her smile never faded.
“Besides the hero, there are also two… no, three young guests. This one must be the Third Princess of Aulus Kingdom, right? Hello, hello…? You… hmm? Xue Fei.”
Herlith did not directly say this.
But her confused gaze towards Xue Fei already expressed her question.
—The Third Princess of the Kingdom is mute, unable to speak? But that’s not what I heard!
Seeing this, Xue Fei had no choice but to stealthily extend her little foot to tap Livra’s ankle.
“Hey, speak.”
“……”
“Stop pretending to be mute and respond quickly.”
“……”
Livra knew.
I really know, Teacher Shaya.
You are testing me.
Testing my composure.
Rest assured, you said not to let me speak, so I shall become mute.
“I don’t take mute apprentices; that agreement is null. If you don’t speak, I will send you back to your country directly.”
“!”
What does elegance mean!
Livra seemed to have transformed into another person, walking with impeccable grace to the front of the platform, her feet crossed over each other, gently lifting her skirt at the perfect angle, slightly bending her knees to smile and greet.
“Greetings, esteemed Demon Queen. I apologize for visiting without a gift. I will inform my country, and the envoy will deliver one on another day. I hope that both your Majesty, the Demon King, and the Queen will not take offense, and I wish for our future cooperation to go smoothly.”
“Hmm, indeed, a well-spoken good child, the princess of Aulus, talented.”
“Ugh… thank you for your praise! With that, Teacher Shaya won’t kick me out!”
Livra, are you out of your mind?!
What should I say? Should I say you’re smart or foolish?!
Herlith then greeted Timani, while her gaze glanced at the weapon disguised as a different sword form at Xiya’s waist, Xialet.
“The Holy Sword is here too… Miss Xiya Let, you all shouldn’t just stand there, find a place to sit. It’s not that serious here, and don’t be influenced by Dizna’s earlier behavior. He is always like this.”
“Thank you.”
Hearing this, Xiya felt much more relaxed.
Phew… indeed.
Now the Queen and the Demon King probably still don’t know my relationship with Xue Fei, right?
Since that’s the case, I have time to prepare what to say; at least there’s no need to rush.
Little did she know…
As Xiya led everyone to sit on the stone steps beside the candelabra.
She suddenly heard Herlith laugh with her lips partially covered and say this sentence.
“Of course, besides national affairs, there are also family matters. Miss Xiya Let, let’s talk about you and Xue Fei’s situation later, okay? That’s the most important matter.”
“!”
Oh no.
You actually know…!
The atmosphere suddenly became strange.
And… there’s still Belis sister… don’t draw your sword yet, let’s calm down and talk it out first, okay!
