Chapter: 38. Be Serious!
Done.
Aren’t we supposed to go establish order as the commander?
Such a heavy responsibility and an urgent situation, surely it’s not too much to take a break and sleep for a bit, right?
In the large and elegant room, Xue Fei alone lay on the bed, dozing off.
Occasionally glancing at the neatly arranged change of clothes and various daily necessities piled on the chair beside her, Her Highness the Princess would let out a gentle, adorable sigh.
Before long, she would have to leave her comfortable zone again, carrying her meager belongings, and head to the battlefield.
This little time to rest was something she fought for herself.
She expressed her desire to go back to her room to tidy up her things before leaving, and both Father King and Mother Queen permitted her with their most tolerant smiles, saying that she could not only pack her things but even take a nap without hurry.
This was not surprising.
After all, from the very beginning… Mother Queen only wanted to use this incident to help Xue Fei regain her prestige and establish a foothold among the Demon Race.
Xue Fei was quick-witted.
She placed her palm over her eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun slipping away through her fingertips, and sighed again.
“Ah…”
Having been captured and held in the Aulus Kingdom for months after defeat, a significant portion of the nobles in the Demon Territory had begun to doubt the first princess’s prestige. Even if they didn’t voice it, who could control their thoughts?
Feeling discontent easily led to various “symptoms.”
The Demon Race’s traditional consciousness of obedience was built upon the dominance of the strong over the weak, where the weak would psychologically submit to the strong, and the strong would unconditionally protect the weak, forming an unbreakable balance within the Demon Race.
But if the protected felt that their higher-ups could no longer protect them and lacked a sense of safety, aside from mocking and gossiping, some individuals with stronger motivation might attempt to change the structure, pushing the “not strong enough” ruler into a precarious position, forcing them to yield their power to someone more capable of governing the country.
If that could really happen…
Xue Fei would welcome it!
Quickly replace me; you choose someone you’re satisfied with, a magnanimous and tragic hero who wouldn’t take a salary and would stand guard for you daily, that would be wonderful! How reassuring! Standing guard right at your doorstep would be the best!
But unfortunately.
That is impossible.
Regardless of how much the underlings doubt, they are ultimately just ordinary people without information.
The core members of the Demon Territory, however, all inadvertently knew Xue Fei’s strength.
Jeffrey, Ailer, Herlith, Dizna, and even Belis, not to mention all the leaders of the Second Legion.
These experts all knew more or less about Xue Fei’s capabilities, and in this situation, asking the crowd to replace the princess, to exert the same potential, and safeguard the future of the Demon Race?
Haha… what a joke.
It would be like throwing gold into the sea, such a waste.
Of course, they wouldn’t force her to do what she didn’t want to do.
But likewise, the things she ought to do couldn’t be delegated to others.
After all… who wouldn’t want to see what kind of future someone with infinite possibilities could create? Curiosity is an important note in the early musical score of the Demon Race’s genes!
Thus, leading the Second Legion that she once commanded to restore order, silencing the crowd once again, was the reason why Herlith hoped Xue Fei would take command.
Knowing that Xue Fei hated killing and fighting, Herlith had already made proper arrangements for this rebellion.
It wasn’t about how bright the stars were.
It was simply hoped that the stars remained stars, untarnished by the dust of rumor.
Only then might you be able to live your desired life, a truly free life.
Recalling the battlefield tips Mother Queen had shared… only wanting to take a nap but worried about having nightmares, Xue Fei could only sigh again.
“Ah… it sounds easy when Mother says it… but in reality, how simple can it be… so tired… so hungry…”
“Xue Fei, that’s the tenth time you’ve sighed in ten minutes. What’s weighing you down so much?”
“It’s Xiya and Belis.”
“Ah?”
“No, I mean, it’s life weighing me down.”
“Not knowing how to cherish your blessings…”
“Tsk, it’s just borrowing my bed to sleep, and you’re so chatty! By the way, why is the Fire Lizard here?! What about your own room?!”
Xue Fei focused her thoughts amidst the chaos.
She turned to sit up, her eyes widening as she stared at the other large bed beside her.
Originally, her room only had one bed.
But just now, when she returned to rest for a bit, for some reason, Timani was here as well, having moved another bed over and occupying half the living space.
Her mood was too chaotic to care about her just now, but since she actively spoke up, I had to retort a bit!
Timani sighed lightly, seemingly reminding Xue Fei not to be so noisy.
“Ah… it’s because the wall in the room I was sleeping in collapsed.
I reacted quickly, at least managed to save the bed. The construction of your Demon King’s Castle is really unreliable; wasn’t Livra’s bed demolished last time as well?”
“The wall really collapsed… no choice, it had been neglected for years; I knew this day would come. Uh… not that the wall collapsed, wouldn’t you go find another place? Why come here?”
“I thought for a long time; if I randomly found a room, the probability of the wall or bed collapsing was still high. If anywhere is most secure, it must be the princess’s room, so I had to make this consideration.”
“You don’t say… that does seem to make some sense? What a pity you’re still foolish; even if you changed rooms, your bed is old, it’ll still collapse.”
“So before you returned, I had already swapped my bed with yours.”
“What did you say…?! Um…?! Ouch!”
——Boom!
In the end, it was just retribution.
The lazy princess hadn’t cleaned those empty rooms for ages.
In a moment of distraction, the bedboard beneath her shattered!
Xue Fei fell flat on her back, feeling utterly hopeless.
As the wood chips flew up, Xue Fei stared at the ceiling.
Stretching her little arms and legs, lying there motionless, like a salted fish.
“Do you know, Fire Lizard… I’m a bit curious about what a dragon’s tail tastes like now.”
“Thanks, but no thanks; I just want to eat, not be eaten. Show some mercy.”
“You clearly cheated first by swapping my bed?! What moral are you talking about…?! You’re even more shameless than I am!”
As Xue Fei thought about reclaiming her bed, she saw Timani struggling to sit up from the bed.
Her movements were still somewhat slow, probably still not completely recovered from the shock of Xue Fei’s Dark New Star magic.
The pure white bed sheet slipped away from in front of her.
The silky cotton nightgown was a bit tight across her proud chest.
There were no clothes suitable for Timani’s figure here; her nightgown was one left from Xue Fei’s childhood.
——That’s what Xue Fei herself said.
Timani patted the violet-colored outfit on her, though it left something to be desired in her chest, overall, it still fit quite well, leaving her quite confused.
“Xue Fei, you say you’re so small now, yet the clothes from your childhood are so big? Could it be that you’re a reverse-growing Toro Grass?”
Toro Grass, said to grow tallest in spring, becoming shorter with the seasons, and is a magical plant known for its reverse growth.
But Xue Fei was certainly not such a peculiar plant!
Xue Fei sat up like a spring, stuttering while talking about this, clenching her little fists, as if recalling some unworthy past.
“Damn it… who doesn’t have a dream in their childhood? Didn’t I just make the clothes I might want to wear in the future in advance… need you to meddle? So chatty!”
“I see, so it was your childhood fantasies about the future, thinking you could grow to this extent, thus you made the clothes. That’s quite good; although there’s some gap between ideals and reality, I still say it’s quite good.”
“Don’t use ‘fantasy’; at least use the word ‘vision’!”
And don’t keep tugging at the fabric on your chest; it makes me uncomfortable!
Damn it… back when I made this outfit, I imagined myself being as formidable as Mother Queen in the future, which was already quite bold.
But the dreams I boldly depicted using all my imagination appearing on Timani somehow ended up looking conservative!
Imagination should indeed be limitless.
Timani extended her long legs out from under the blanket, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Xue Fei, who was sitting on the floor not wanting to get up, making Xue Fei seem even smaller and more comical.
“Ah…”
“Fire Lizard… your sighs are filled with deep malice.”
“No, I just wanted to ask, is it alright for you to keep sitting there? Didn’t you say you need to march quickly to be some commander?”
“How do you know that?”
“You just complained and said the whole thing aloud… it was loud enough to keep me awake; I couldn’t help but hear, so, what do you plan to do now?”
Even while claiming she didn’t want to hear, Timani clearly didn’t want to not hear this. She could just cover her ears if she really didn’t want to know.
Her proactive inquiries, even though well-hidden, couldn’t completely cover the concern buried deep in her eyes.
Alright, alright, Fire Lizard; you’re not just someone who eats!
If this were exposed, it would shatter their fragile friendship, so Xue Fei shrugged and directly got to the point.
“It doesn’t matter; the army moves slowly, but I can go faster than Xiya and the others. If I use Super Acceleration, I might arrive in just a few hours. Getting there early is pointless; if I arrive before the army, I’d just be enjoying the cool breeze from the Northern Region. It’s better to take a nap first.”
“What about Xiya and the others?”
“I told them I wanted to rest first and that no one could stop me from taking a nap.”
“It’s obvious you’re a bit flustered… but I now…” Timani suddenly tilted her head, leaving only her fiery-colored hair in Xue Fei’s line of sight, “I’m feeling pretty good right now, oh?”
“Hah?”
Always wearing a straight face, not even food could draw a smile from her.
Just before she turned her head, Xue Fei thought she caught a fleeting smile from Timani.
The reason she said “thought” was that it was really hard to determine whether she smiled or not.
Whether she smiled or not didn’t matter.
Timani was gradually convinced that this girl from the Demon Race before her, capable of unfurling eight wings, possessed strength not just in spirit.
As for her plans for the future… Timani gradually felt there were broader paths ahead.
From the chaotic darkness.
Suddenly, she saw the light.
However…
“Xue Fei, if you have time, teach me how to grow stronger too.”
“Lowering your stance? Oh, you seem different; knowing that I’m quite strong, you could just ask me directly for help.”
“This is a different matter; I’ll handle my own affairs.”
“You really are a stubborn one…”
Timani said nothing in response, merely finishing her words, curling back under the covers, pulling the blanket over her, turning her back to Xue Fei, silent.
Time passed second by second.
Xue Fei sat on the cold floor, glancing at the wooden boards she was clutching…
Gradually, she became furious.
“Hey…”
“Hmm?”
“Return my bed.”
“……”
A response came after a brief moment.
Yet it made the silver-haired girl tremble with rage.
“What the Fire Dragon Clan seizes is theirs; just like what’s in your stomach belongs to you, it can’t be returned.”
“Have some dignity! Uh… it seems Xiya has arrived. I’ll go open the door. Anyway, Fire Lizard, you’d better quickly return my bed!”
