NOVEL WEB Chapter 355: Hidden Demon King Fangirl
"I see. So you suspect the thief who stole Demon King's Shadow is connected to the person impersonating my second brother?"
Realization dawned on Lilith when she heard Alice's request. She was a member of the Rhine Kingdom's royal family, so she would naturally be informed of an incident as important as the theft of a taboo book from the Royal Magic Tower's library. However, before hearing Alice's request, she never thought to link this theft with the person impersonating her second brother.
"But why would you think that? Is it simply because the 'Demon King' in Demon King's Shadow is related to the demons?"
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"It's mainly because I'm out of clues. Although these two sound thinly connected, it is the only available lead that I can follow," Alice said. She was naturally aware that these two incidents shared hardly any connections with each other. However, she really had no idea how she should progress with her investigation, so any clue was better than nothing. "These are the only two noteworthy incidents related to the demon realm that have happened recently. Moreover, neither case has been resolved thus far. So, my instincts are telling me that they might be related."
"Instincts, huh…" Lilith muttered as she held her chin. Although she knew Alice was the Hero, she felt that it would be very awkward if she were to suddenly treat Alice like a Hero. So, there wasn't any apparent change in her behavior around Alice. "I wouldn't have believed you if it was before, but if we are talking about the Hero's instincts, I guess it should be different? Those are instincts blessed by God, after all."
No, that so-called God's blessing isn't that incredible. Stop having such blind faith in it. Rather than call it a buff, it's more so a verification code needed to use the Hero's Sword.
Although Alice very much wished to speak her thoughts, considering that she was still using the Hero's identity to deceive people, she wisely chose to bury these thoughts. It wasn't a bad thing that Lilith believed in the so-called "Hero's instincts," either. At the very least, it should be enough excuse to get Lilith to investigate the thief who stole Demon King's Shadow.
Sure enough, Lilith subsequently nodded and agreed to Alice's request. Moreover, since she now knew that Alice was the Hero, she no longer continued hiding some secrets from Alice:
"Do you still remember Sylvia, the girl who was with me when we last met? She's actually one of the thieves working under me. Moreover, she is responsible for managing my other subordinate thieves. All thieves working in the Rhine Kingdom will have to more or less show her some respect."
Alice already knew about this secret. She had even stripped Sylvia's panties before. However, she pretended not to know Sylvia's secret and simply nodded with a surprised look, pretending as if this was the first time she had heard of this information.
It was fortunate Lilith wasn't a psychology expert, spirit magician, or an acting major. So, even though Alice's expression looked a little fake, Lilith failed to notice anything suspicious about it. After telling Alice about Sylvia, Lilith gave Sylvia a call with her phone and invited the other party to the cafe they were in.
When Alice arrived at the cafe previously, she noticed Kurse standing in the corner of the shop. However, it didn't seem like Lilith intended to introduce Kurse to her. Though, Alice didn't find this all too surprising. She didn't think this was a show of distrust, either. After all, if Lilith truly wished to stay guarded against Alice, she should know that there was no way Kurse could stop the Hero. The more likely reason Lilith did not introduce Kurse was because she didn't wish their conversation to be interrupted.
After all, Kurse didn't look like he was fond of speaking. He looked more like a person proficient at combat than conversations. If he had joined their conversation, the atmosphere at the table would probably die out very quickly.
"By the way, if you are the Hero, Alice, you should have fought the Demon King, right?"
After having Sylvia make her way to the cafe, Lilith quickly returned her attention to Alice. Although she was curious as to how Alice could make herself look like a muscular man, considering that it might be an ability unique to the Hero, she decided not to ask this question. Instead, she started asking about the Demon King.
Alice didn't know that Lilith was a Demon King fangirl. She assumed Lilith had asked such a question because she worried the Demon King might invade the human realm. So, Alice didn't try to hide any information and nodded, saying, "That's right. I've fought her twice thus far. The first time was outside the Elven Forest, while the second time was a few days ago outside of Icarus City."
Although both fights were mere acts put on by Alice, both fights involved the use of light- and dark-attributed taboos. The remnant mana left behind on the two battlefields was also enough to prove that the light and dark spells used were at the level of taboos. So, Lilith did not doubt Alice's words in the slightest.
"Then, in the short time you got to interact with her, what do you think of the Demon King? What kind of person is she? Is she really a tall beauty like in her photos shared on LINKS? Is she incredibly prideful last past Demon Kings? She must have left some harsh words after losing to you twice in a row, right? Just like in anime."
Alice wasn't sure if she was hallucinating, but she felt Lilith's expression had turned brighter as soon as the conversation switched toward the Demon King.
"Mhm… How should I say it… She's a little cold, but if we are talking about pride, I don't think I can determine that," Alice vaguely answered. She couldn't simply say that she was the demon realm's "Demon King," so she decided to use Luna for her Demon King's image. However, when it came to pride, Alice honestly couldn't see Luna having any of it. After all, Luna had turned herself into a maid for the sake of following the Hero.
Of course, Alice had also seen prideful Demon Kings before, such as Andusia. However, Andusia's pride would usually only rear its ugly head at inappropriate times, such as when Alice forced her to watch Magical Girl Hikari. Such pride sounded a little silly, so Alice couldn't bring herself to use Andusia as her Demon King model.
"I guess that makes sense. Although the Hero and the Demon King are mortal enemies, I doubt you can get to know someone's personality from only two battles," Lilith said, nodding to express her understanding. At the same time, her interest in the cold Demon King grew.
At this point, Alice also started to notice something was amiss. Although Lilith appeared to be asking about information on the Demon King, the girl had shown no interest in the Demon King's invasion progress or strength. Instead, Lilith behaved like a groupie, asking about inconsequential things such as the Demon King's appearance and personality.
However, a figure gasping for air suddenly barged into the room before Alice could think deeper into this matter. It was none other than Sylvia, who had come running as quickly as possible after receiving Lilith's summons.