When Lawrence went to wash the dishes after the meal, the three young men exchanged facial expressions to pass information without talking, and went up to the guest room in the second floor to continue their duels of fate.
[Men!]
Sue watched three backs disappear into the shadows and sent them off with a condescending middle finger. She then looked at Lawrence in the kitchen and went over and patted his shoulders.
“Hey!” She said after she put on the transforming trinket.
“Wha—” Lawrence was frightened by a male stranger in his home, the Mana in his body freezing. It caused the dishes wrapped in a bubble of water crashing to the ground.
Sue looked at the fragments with wistful regret and shook her head. Was he so easily scared?!
“Tsk……” She clicked her tongue.
Lawrence stared at her for a while before he said in hesitation: “Sue?!”
“Yeah.” She took off the trinket and shrank to the loli she was, and looked up to him: “Do you recognize this man?!”
“…… Am I supposed to know?!” Lawrence was speechless, thinking for a while before asking: “Who’s he?!”
“Nobody in particular, I just met him on the streets and thought he’s sort of handsome……”
“…….” Bullshit! This expressionless face was not attractive at all….. Although he looked kind of manly. But his age was a little too old?! (TL: The dad who bought candy for his son. He’s also the mysterious stranger who’s working for the mastermind to poison the prince.)
“Never mind, I think it’s possible that you’re not good at observing, I’ll ask someone else.” Sue waved her hand and left the house with a dashing sound.
“Hey…..” Lawrence called out urgently after her.
There was not even a glimpse of the little girl’s clothes when he yelled out one word. Lawrence was speechless for a minute and smiled bitterly: “Who are you going to ask at this point of time…… Damn it! I got ignored again, and this time she didn’t even bother listening to him…..”
Three hours later, Fedrus who was in his room, was delighted and surprised to see the mysterious Sue appearing again. This time he had the air of a host and prepared desserts and drinks, and even dismissed the maids away after he got another set of blankets, intending for her to stay overnight…..
“…… I’m probably going to leave after a while,” Sue stared at the blanket as she said, “I just got adopted into a family and didn’t return for two nights in a row, isn’t that a little disrespectful?!”
The most important point was that she did not want to listen to the bored brat about boring things…… A little girl not sleeping enough would be detrimental to growth.
“Sue~” Fedrus looked at her with sad puppy eyes, hugging his blanket while speaking with a sob: “Don’t you miss me at all?”
“Honestly, I really can’t find the reason to miss you.” Sue did not know what to say: “I’m here because I want you to confirm someone’s identity…… Seriously, the man that I showed you earlier, do you know him or not?”
“I think I have seen him somewhere, but I can’t remember.” He scratched his head perplexedly. “Is he your relative?”
“You’re in deep trouble if he’s my relative.” Sue rolled her eyes: “If you don’t know him, remember this face and hide whenever you see him, and inform me as soon as possible.”
“Okay. Should I tell mother?!”
“Not necessary for now. But if you do spot him, then tell her about it.” She did not want to corner him, but if that man still wanted to try something, then she could only apologize to that shy chibi.
When she finished talking about it, there was a series of loud and urgent knocks on the door. The queen’s voice was a little stiff: “Fedrus?!”
Then, the faint sound of teeth grinding against each other: “Can I come in?!”
“Please enter, mother.” Fedrus politely invited her in before Sue was able to stop him.
The door opened. Sue looked at the queen with a darkened expression a little awkwardly: “Ha ha….. Erm, hi~.”
“……” The queen took in a deep breath and waved the maid to guard the area outside. She went into the room and closed the door shut before she turned around with an angry red in her face: “Sue, are the guards in our palace that terrible in their jobs?!”
“Erm. I think it’s passable. There shouldn’t be any problems if they don’t encounter an expert like myself.” Sue was a little embarrassed; somehow it kind of felt like she was being caught having an affair on the bed?!
“…… Did you stole the authority passed from someone again?!”
Sue was still thinking about the answer to her question when Fedrus happily interrupted: “I gave my Blessing Stone to Sue, she promised that she would come and visit me.”
“……” The queen felt like there were tears in her eyes when she looked at her innocent son. This time it was an inside job?! The accomplice was her own son?!
[Calm down, calm down.]
The queen hypnotized herself. She said: “Even so, how did you come in without anyone seeing you?!”
[Should I KO this pretty mom of his?! …… I guess I’ll do it since she’s not my mother.]
“Seriously, if the palace didn’t have the barriers, the patrolling teams you have wouldn’t even matter to me.” She had managed to infiltrate the Demon King’s palace in the past, this palace’s difficulty was only Rank B to her……
“Mother, how did you know that Sue is in my room?!” Fedrus tried to change the topic when he saw the expression on her face was a little sour.
The corners of the queen’s lips convulsed a few times: “Well, that wasn’t hard to guess….. When the maids told me that you chased them out and brought in desserts, I can roughly guess this little miss once again….. came to visit you.”
She nearly said the word ‘Trespassed’, before she chose another polite way of speaking about it. She felt terribly stifled in her heart. She lost her son in spite of the guards and under everyone’s eyes, and when he came back, there was a little girl who came into the palace repeatedly whenever she wanted to……
“I’m really sorry to interrupt you, but I would like to ask, how many schools do you have here that children attend?!” Sue raised her hand and asked.
The queen glanced at Sue: “There’s only the Academy of Light. I believe you saw a huge wall in the eastern district?! The academy is like a city in itself, and completely satisfies everything a child would need to learn from.”
“That’s a school?! I thought it was some kind of new development area when I walked past it.” Sue was speechless over that ridiculous place; it was bigger than any school she knew of.
“Sue, are you willing to attend the school with me?!” Fedrus quickly latched onto the possibility.
“Maybe….. But it’s not to study with you.” Sue was gritting her teeth. It was easier with just one school, but meeting that shy chibi was still an unknown possibility…… Should she gamble on that possibility and waste her beautiful years amongst a bunch of chibi?!
“I fully agree that a child like you should receive an education.” The queen nodded after thinking for a moment.
“A child like me?!” Sue did not appreciate that tone.
“…… I apologize, I meant a child of your age.” The queen sighed: “If you wish, I can help to arrange for you to attend the school…… Do you currently have a guardian?!”
“Yes.”
“Oh?!” The queen sat down beside the bed on a chair, her hands elegantly placed on her thighs: “Which gentleman would that be? Or a noble lady?!”
“The Assassin Guild.”
“……” The queen’s facial expression twisted into odd contortions, and she swallowed the blood from gritting her teeth too hard, then opened her lips after a long pause: “I’m sorry, perhaps my ears are failing me, would you kindly please repeat yourself, and tell me who your guardian is?!”
“The vice-leader of the Assassin Guild…… Urgh. Staph~ looking at me like that, that guild originally accepted to assassinate your son, but after I caught the four idiotic culprits behind the attempt red-handed, they changed from working for the masterminds to working for us. Now they are busy helping us out to investigate the mastermind.”
“Sue, you’re so nice to me.” Fedrus was so grateful that he hugged her and rubbed his head against her neck. His attention was on the latter half of her words.
“….. Should I call you bold or naive?!” The queen’s attention was on the former half of her words…… She would never believe the people who tried to harm her son, so she was in a foul mood.
Sue patted the soft arm on her neck, getting the little prince to release his hold. She looked at the queen: “There’s no enmity that lasts forever in this world, especially when it comes from an organization that’s a neutral faction. Do you think it’s better to announce them as your enemies and force them on the mastermind’s side, or recruit them and have them work for you?!”
Sue was able to understand the queen’s anger because they tried to assassinate him, but her emotions would mess things up. There was no guarantee that the target only ended with Fedrus, even the queen might be a target. At the very least, having the queen’s power was good for Sue. If something happened to the queen, what could Fedrus do when he was just a chibi? Even wanting to save his mother would be impossible for him……
“You can go ahead and put more guards around your son to prevent other assassinations from other guilds, since I don’t think this will affect the request I made….. It will be a surprising delight if there’s any success, otherwise, it would just be the same as usual.” Sue shrugged with both her hands up: “Of course, if you wish to keep me away and guard against me, I wouldn’t mind……”
“Mother!” Fedrus gave a shrill yell and interrupted: “Sue won’t hurt me!”
“How can you be sure of that?!” The queen did have the intention to keep the little girl away. Just the fact that she was associated with the Assassin Guild was enough to be suspicious of her.
“If Sue is a bad person, there’s no need for her to care about me in the first place.” Fedrus was choking Sue with his arms wrapped around her neck, glaring at her mother: “No one appeared when I was in danger, only Sue charged into the Lost Forest to save me!”
“…..” The queen was taken aback, and her son suddenly appeared a little unfamiliar to her. Did he really think of that in his heart?!
“Hey brat, it’s not good to speak of your mother in that tone.” Sue patted the arms on her neck again….. This damned kid, could he stop using so much force to choke her?!
The queen froze for a long time before she took a deep breath and once again turned to Sue: “You’re welcomed as a guest here, Sue, but please use the front door the next time!”
Sue sighed and stroked the golden hair next to her: “You’re a poor kid. I think you’re going to be under watch by many eyes starting from tomorrow.”
“Mother doesn’t trust you?!” Fedrus asked, seeming to understand.
“It’s right of her to be distrustful. If it’s up to me, I won’t gamble my only son’s life on whether a little girl is trustworthy or not.” She smiled: “If she trusted me this quickly, I’m actually going to worry about your mother’s wisdom and whether she’s fit to be queen.”
“……” Fedrus rubbed against her unhappily. He did not really understand it very well, but he was unhappy that her mother did not trust his friend. “There’s no need for you to tell her about this from the start.”
“Yes, yes, it’s my mistake.” She was lazy to explain, and even if she did, the chibi would not understand either.
A lie was usually exposed, and when it did, there would be the repercussions of being suspected all the time. She would rather have it all out from the beginning. It was normal to guard against each other, but she also believed that the queen would not treat her as an enemy so easily. As long as there was no threat to the prince, she would probably provide aid to her. Especially when it came down to the heart of the matter, it was actually her who was diving into dangerous territory…..
It was another night where the prince bravely battled the tiger. Sue left on the second day with a pair of dark circles on her eyes, and she secretly swore that she would not stay overnight in the palace ever again.
Just as she entered her home, she found Lawrence pacing around the place like he was on fire. Sue wanted to sigh deeply at that moment……
[Damn it! This scene is really familiar, don’t tell me something is about to happen again?!]
“Sue……” Lawrence’s eyes lit up when he saw her and rushed up in delight.
“Save it. Wait till I’m done with breakfast.” Sue swiftly stopped him and swore under her breath at the loss of her day.
Lawrence’s words were stuck in his mouth, and he opened and closed a few times before he rushed into the kitchen. He quickly brought bread, bacon, fried eggs, and a cup of fresh milk in front of Sue, and sat opposite of her: “Go ahead and eat, you can listen to me in the meantime.”
[Bro, please, I’ll get indigestion…..]
Sue looked on with a loss for words. She bit and chewed the bread before speaking: “It seems like I cannot refuse you?!”
“There was someone who visited during the night yesterday. It’s the admission papers for the Academy of Light. That’s the first thing.” He explained.
“Hmm, I knew about it, but I didn’t think their efficiency is that high.” Sue sighed and drank the milk…… It was not really a bit deal if it was just this.
“But today there’s another person who came in this morning, and there’s another set of admission papers……” Lawrence hesitated for a while as he looked at Sue: “To become a teacher.”
“…………”
Lawrence took in a deep breath as if to gather his courage, and he finished everything with one go.
“It’s the Royal Shadow Academy from the Demon race; they want you to work as a researcher, and also to become a teacher at the same time to teach assassination techniques.”
[F&(^!]
“Please don’t tell me that person is still around?!” Sue drank a mouthful of fresh milk with a dark expression.
“…… Regretfully, it seemed like he wanted to buy something and will only be back after a while.” Lawrence described in sadness.
“Wonderful!” Sue grabbed the bread and stuffed the eggs and bacon into it. One hand grabbed the hastily made sandwich, the other grabbed the cup of milk: “I’ll be out lurking, and I won’t be back for ten to fifteen days. You can do as you see fit to explain my absence.”
Lawrence looked at Sue with pity and did not stop her. When Sue set a foot out of the door, there were twenty to thirty well-trained warriors who surrounded her immediately.
[Where did these people come from?!]
She ate the sandwich gloomily and asked with a stuffed mouth: “What, do you want to get rough with a Shadow Count?!”
[[[This….]]]
The Demon Warriors glanced at each other. If she really wanted to go to the Demon Race, she would really get a title of Shadow Count, and they were definitely disrespectful by surrounding her.
However, if they end up letting her run away, putting the Shadow Count aside, the general would just smack them when he returned.
The Demon Warriors suddenly felt troubled. An endless loop of bad decisions was before them with a solution in sight.
“Ha ha, Sue is indeed much more interesting than that boring little prince.” Just as they were conflicted, the Demon General finally returned with a leather bag filled with shopping goods amidst grateful eyes.
The Demon Warriors exhaled with relief and retreated at the same time. The difficulty of their mission was too hard, any longer and they would collapse out of exhaustion.
“It’s you again…..” Sue was really irritated when she saw him. Was he not supposed to go back to his own home?! With the blink of an eye, he came to the human race with such a conspicuous group……. Perhaps he applied to be an ambassador to Demons-humans relations?!
“Little Sue doesn’t want to meet me?!” The handsome Demon General teased his little friend.
“I usually don’t like people who’re prettier than me.” Sue glared at him, and walked back to the dining table: “Speak your mind and cut the crap; I’m not free to visit the Demon World yet.”
“Then when are you going to be free?” The Demon General walked in like it was his own home, ignoring the fact that the owner did not invite him in at all.
But Lawrence dared not to say anything, and simply went back into the kitchen to make a fruit salad with a helpless sigh to serve his guest.
“I won’t be free for the next few years.” Sue answered after thinking it for a while: “I just got the admission papers to attend the Academy of Light from someone else, and I’ll be enrolling there soon. If you don’t mind, perhaps you can book an appointment with my guardians after I graduate?!”
“…..” The Demon General coughed a few times and asked with a slightly unhappy voice: “Graduate?! What can that school teach you….. Why don’t you come to our Royal Shadow Academy instead? If you want to experience life as a student, you can attend the classes and teach at the same time, how’s that?”
Sue sighed: “Are you really that interested in my Stealth skills?! Actually, if you research physics properly and use the appropriate magic spells, you can come up with the technique.
“Is there a need for the long path when there’s a shortcut?!” The Demon General gave a faint laugh: “Plus, I also want to see where your limits are….. The Demon race hasn’t even started researching the ancient assassination technique, so why do you know so much about it?! Sue, this isn’t just about a simple Stealth skill anymore.”
“You want to know?!”
“Of course.”
“I’m not telling you!”
“…………”
The vice-guild leader received the report about the demons via the magic mirror, and he quickly brought along the leader over like their butts were on fire. He realized life had become extremely engaging ever since his son knew the little girl. First, they were tracked down, became responsible for barging into the royal palace, and now the Demon race was somehow here…… What was going to be next?! The second Race War?!
“You’re the Demon General?!” The vice-leader asked after a moment of hesitation. He had swept through the house with his eyes and locked on the unfamiliar target.
“Indeed.” The Demon General held his air towards the outsiders, and with a faint smile, there was an overwhelming pressure that seemed to come from his body.
“Those who pretend to be cool will get struck by lightning……” Sue was sitting on the floor and pulling the tiger’s front paws to teach it how to dance, mumbling to herself.
“……” The pressure disappeared as everyone’s head was covered with black lines.
“Cough!” The guild leader coughed, and tried to dispel the awkward atmosphere: “I apologize for not knowing the guests from the Demon race came to visit us, I hear you’re looking for this child?!”
“Yes.” The Demon General nodded moodily, “Can her guardianship be transferred?!”
“Tsk.” Sue finally interrupted: “Before everyone wants a piece of me and my future, may I remind you that the person who sent my admission papers to the Academy of Light came from the queen herself, if you want to my guardianship to be transferred over, she might intervene and ask a few questions……”
[[F#@$!]] Both of the guild’s leaders had black lines.
“Are you trying to say the Demon race is afraid of a tiny little Tobias empire?!”
“What I mean is trying to force me won’t get you anywhere….. How do you know I’ll happily coordinate with you after forcing me to go to the Demon world?! Or do you believe you can see through my Stealth skills?!” Sue gave a fake smile: “Don’t forget that I have the friendships of the Beastmen and the Druids. If that doesn’t work out, I’ll go to the merfolks to apply for asylum. I doubt they will refuse me….”
“This kid has so many strong backers?!” The guild leader listened till his head was filled with cold perspiration, and he whispered to the vice-leader.
“Are the things she said true?!” The vice-leader also turned with a forehead filled with cold sweat and asked his son.
Lawrence’s forehead was like a waterfall: “I don’t know whether if it’s true. But there were a bunch of races gathered at the Lost Forest for some time. Judging from the Demon General’s face, I don’t think she’s lying…..”
[[F*($!!!]]
The Demon General looked at her silently for a long while. Finally, he smiled and clapped his hands: “Very good. You’re indeed more interesting than that brat.”