The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

"I see. So this is also a weapon made using the Demon King's Power's essence." Andusia frowned as she looked at the collar Alice had placed before her, her annoyance clear as day. After all, no matter how she looked at it, this "Pollution Roulette" had clearly gone against the naming convention of weapons made using the Demon King's Power's essence.

Why did this "Pollution Roulette" get to have such a cool name instead of something stupid like her "This Is Wrong" and Miriya's "It's So Short"?

Moreover, the Pollution Roulette's appearance was vastly better than her and Miriya's weapons. Although the Pollution Roulette still wasn't something that could be casually taken out in public, it could still be considered a cool accessory based on some of the current street cultures.

Not to mention, the Pollution Roulette had incredible elasticity, so while it might be in the shape of a collar, it didn't have to be worn on a person's neck. It could also be worn as a bracelet on the wrist or ankle. In fact, if worn as a bracelet, the Pollution Roulette was highly unlikely to attract any strange stares from other people.

"Alright, stop getting upset over such unimportant matters."

Alice was rendered a little speechless by Andusia's needless pride. She had already told Andusia about the discoveries she had made from her recent investigations. Originally, she thought she could use Andusia's wealth of experience to get some advice. Yet, this old fossil kept getting distracted by the Pollution Roulette and comparing it with the other weapons made using the Demon King's Power's essence.

"Fine…" Andusia was clearly still very upset by the Pollution Roulette. However, since Alice had asked her to focus on the topic at hand, she had no choice but to suppress her displeasure. Then, while caressing her chin, she said, "Honestly, after taking into account the 'Demon King's Shadow' incident you mentioned, the reason that Haydn Doyle would put the Pollution Roulette in the treants' territory is simple."

"What's the reason?" Alice hurriedly asked. Even now, she still hadn't figured out why King Haydn would plant the Pollution Roulette in the treants' territory. She had thought about the possibility of King Haydn trying to destroy the treants' living environment, but she hadn't heard of King Haydn having any grudges against the treants.

"Haydn Doyle's goal is to convert Demon King's Shadow from a taboo that 'summons a Demon King's phantom that acts on instincts' into a taboo that 'has a Demon King's phantom possesses the caster's body so that the caster can gain the Demon King's strength.' But to achieve that, he needs a large amount of demon mana, right?" Andusia said slowly. "However, at present, there aren't many demons in the Rhine Kingdom, so he cannot collect enough mana to fulfill his needs. Hence, Haydn Doyle is using the guise of an alliance to trick a large number of demons into the human realm."

After saying so, Andusia sneered, seemingly feeling contempt for King Haydn's plans.

"In that case, the Pollution Roulette's role in all this is simple—it is his backup plan. He is trying to modify the treants' living environment so that he can transform the treants and have them create the demon mana he needs."

"He wants to have the treants create demon mana?" Alice grew puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Demon mana is, simply put, 'polluted mana' that has been processed into usable mana. The name of 'demon mana' might lead you to think that only demons can produce it with the help of their demonic organs, but the fact of the matter is that there are multiple races that can accomplish this same process," Andusia explained.

"Take the elves, for example. As the favored children of nature, they can easily adapt to various harsh environments such as the demon realm's environment. While they might find it uncomfortable to stay in the demon realm, they can quickly adapt to the polluted environment with their powerful physiques. Their bodies will also automatically purify the 'polluted mana.' Meanwhile, this purified mana would be, in essence, the same as demon mana."

"I see. And since the treants are similarly the favored children of nature, they, too, can adapt to various harsh environments…So, Haydn's goal is to modify the treants' living environment, force the treants to adapt to the polluted mana, and harvest the mana purified by the treants."

Alice came to a realization. It turned out that King Haydn had prepared two hands for his plans. If he failed to receive a positive answer from the demons, he would accelerate the destruction of the treants' living environment. In turn, the treants would have to adapt to the polluted environment and purify the polluted mana around them to survive.

Meanwhile, the mana purified by the treants would essentially be the same as the mana processed by the demons' demonic organs. So, King Haydn could use it to replace the demon mana he needed to realize his goals.

By the looks of things, Alice had inadvertently foiled King Haydn's backup plan. It was no wonder King Haydn would be in such a hurry to have Gunst recover the Pollution Roulette after he realized it had been stolen. After all, the demons were refusing to give him a response all this time. Now that the Pollution Roulette was stolen, it meant that both of the hands he prepared had been severed. In such a situation, it'd be strange if he wasn't in a hurry.

"If Haydn doesn't have a third hand prepared, he should be getting increasingly anxious right now."

Alice narrowed her eyes. King Haydn should be feeling like an ant in a hot pan right now. After all, both of King Haydn's plans were foiled, and Gunst had also gone missing. In such a situation, it shouldn't be long before King Haydn slipped up and exposed himself.

"I'm done on my side, Alice."

While Alice was considering whether she should corner King Haydn even further, the door to the study suddenly opened. Then, Luna entered the room and walked up to her side.

Luna had arrived in Icarus City this morning, and roughly five hours had gone by since then. Meanwhile, five hours were more than enough for her to take a look through Gunst's memories in recent years. In fact, Luna should have a better grasp of Gunst's memories than even Gunst himself.

If Gunst were to compete with Luna on who had a better understanding of his memories in recent years, Luna would most likely trample over Gunst.

"I already said you don't have to act so reservedly."

Alice smiled helplessly. Although Luna was addressing her by name as per her request, Luna's every action toward her remained very respectful. There was even a slight sense of alienation in Luna's speech.

Honestly, Alice preferred if her relationship with Luna was more like Lilith's relationship with Sylvia. Sylvia might be Lilith's subordinate, but she also regarded Lilith as a friend with whom she could go shopping and talk about mundane stuff. Alice hoped that Luna could one day be like Sylvia and stop being overly respectful toward her.

"Then, tell us what you saw in Gunst's memories."