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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: shyan
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“Why do you look so troubled, Hero?”
As I looked at Esther… no, the Demon King. I felt quite precarious and tried to ask as casually as possible.
“I… I’m just curious. How did you achieve this appearance? My intuition told me something was off, but your current appearance is quite different from your usual one.”
“Ah, you mean this?”
The Demon King replied, gently stroking her golden hair.
Although my question was somewhat improvised, I genuinely found myself wondering about the Demon King’s appearance at that moment.
She was in the form of a blonde, blue-eyed female demon, Esther. It wasn’t just her eye color and hair that had changed; her facial structure and skin tone were also different, and even her voice was distinct from her usual one.
Honestly, both forms were incredibly beautiful, but they were so different that they could be mistaken for two unrelated people.
The Demon King smiled lightly and said to me:
“It’s not that impressive. I simply used magic to modify my body. Of course, I can’t change my basic skeletal structure, but…”
As she spoke, she transformed back into her original form and then returned to Esther’s appearance. It was like watching a chameleon change colors.
“Adjusting skin texture, hair color, eye color, or muscle thickness is easy for me. Not all demons can do this, only those who have trained since childhood, like me.”
“I see…”
Listening to the Demon King’s explanation, I somewhat understood how she developed this transformation ability. Certainly, having such a skill as a ruler would make it easier to escape dangerous situations.
Now that the Demon Kingdom is relatively safe, but if the situation worsened due to the Allied Races, this ability could be a useful card to play.
As I nodded slowly, acknowledging the situation, the Demon King suddenly asked me a question.
“You… Hero, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
She blushed slightly, placing her hand on her chest, and continued,
“Does my appearance… seem strange to you? A bit… off?”
“Hmm…”
Her question carried a mix of embarrassment and anticipation.
I realized that this kind of question was similar to when women ask if they look good after dressing up, which can be a sensitive topic.
I knew from experience that when women ask about their appearance, there’s a lot of weight behind it.
If I said she looked strange or awkward, it would be like taking a wrong turn.
On the other hand, saying she looked more beautiful than usual could imply that her usual appearance wasn’t as good.
Either way, it was a risky response. So, I thought hard about how to answer.
Finally, I said,
“You don’t look strange at all. Although your overall appearance has changed, your beauty remains unchanged.”
“R… really?… Well, if that’s so… I’m relieved.”
My response was somewhat neutral, focusing on her “inherent beauty” to sidestep the question.
The Demon King looked pleased, her face reddening further, and I felt a sigh of relief.
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“Hmm?”
Elisia stood in the middle of the banquet hall, looking serious as she scanned the area.
Rebecca, standing beside her, expressed her concern in a cautious voice,
“It’s strange; I don’t see the commander anywhere.”
“Me neither; I don’t see him at all.”
As a member of the guard, Elisia had been tasked with patrolling the castle grounds since the start of the banquet. After completing her rounds, she arrived at the hall dressed in a gown she had prepared earlier. However, she couldn’t spot the Her anywhere.
Rebecca, who had coincidentally met Elisia after oversleeping and arriving late, also couldn’t see him.
“He wouldn’t have overslept like me, so where could he be?”
Despite searching the area thoroughly, the Hero was nowhere to be seen.
A little later, both Elisia and Rebecca had the same thought.
“Uh… Elisia? Could it be…”
“…You’re thinking the same thing? What a coincidence… I was thinking that too…”
A man disappearing without reason in a crowded and noisy banquet hall, especially for over 20 minutes, led them to consider one possibility.
“A secret meeting… wouldn’t you say?”
“It must be a secret meeting… definitely…”
Given the circumstances, it seemed likely that the Hero was somewhere in the castle, lingering with the woman who had confessed to him.
Regarding this, Elisia felt a surge of anger and spoke in a menacing tone.
“Let’s go find him. Rebecca, and Amelda.”
“Huh? Ah… yes, understood.”
“I will follow your orders, milady.”
Amelda replied with a voice full of loyalty, while Rebecca looked slightly bewildered but complied.
Just as the three were about to leave the banquet hall, Elisia noticed someone.
” Ah… Nyadan.”
“Yes?”
Nyadan, who stood out in her golden armor and helmet amidst the crowd dressed in formal attire, responded immediately to Elisia’s words.
“Elisia, what’s going on?”
“I just wanted to ask… the Hero, did he attend the banquet today?”
“He did. I saw him talking with Belze earlier.”
“I… I see. Then do you know where he is now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Hmm…”
Nyadan replied with a slightly dry tone, which seemed somewhat awkward to Elisia.
Even if they could just find out who the Hero was with or where he went, it seemed Nyadan didn’t know anything about it either.
As Elisia’s anxiety grew, she asked Nyadan another question.
“Uh… Nyadan, by the way…”
In the next moment, Elisia carefully mentioned the name of someone who was also not visible at the moment.
Nyadan answered without much thought, in a somewhat mechanical tone.
“The same. I saw them earlier, but now they’re not here.”
“Ugh…”
Elisia frowned slightly at Nyadan’s response, but quickly composed herself.
“Alright, thanks, Nyadan. Keep doing a good job with your guard duties.”
“You too.”
After obtaining additional information through her friend, Elisia became even more anxious and began searching the castle immediately.
Meanwhile, Rebecca, who had been following Elisia and listening to the conversation, had a complex expression on her face.
“Um… Lady Elisia? Do you really think the person who became the Captain’s lover is… her?”
“…I can’t be sure. But the chances are high.”
“B-But if that’s true, then even for you, Lady Elisia…”
“I don’t know. Let’s just find them first. Right now, it’s just a suspicion. I don’t have any proof yet.”
Elisia suppressed her complicated feelings and continued talking.
Seeing Elisia like this, Rebecca couldn’t bring herself to say anything more and just kept quiet.
Then…
“!”
“Ah…”
The next moment, Elisia, Rebecca, and Amelda suddenly stopped in their tracks.
Before them was the person Elisia had been searching for, looking slightly disheveled and with a lingering blush on her face.
It was clear that something had happened recently, and when she saw Elisia, she sounded a bit flustered.
“Oh… my, my dear… What are you doing here?”
“Mama…”
