Unorthodox Guild

"..."

The Demon King's Castle, the top-floor office.

At this moment, countless black rays of light are rushing from the horizon toward the Demon King's city.

"..."

And as the last trace of black magic surged into his body.

"Bang!"

The armored figure clenched his right hand, producing a slight sonic boom.

One-tenth of a coin.

Through the black helmet, his gaze was fixed on his palm.

"It seems that the general of the Demon King's army did not preserve the Demon King's magic power properly."

"...Demon Lord, Yura doesn't have the means to return the Demon Lord's magic power... Uh..."

Vivian had only spoken half of her sentence.

"It seems you have a pretty good relationship with that general of the Demon King's army."

A powerful pressure, even stronger than before, surged forth like a flood.

"I'm just telling the truth, Demon Lord..."

"..."

"That's enough."

Dispel the pitch-black magic.

The figure clad in heavy armor turned around and looked back towards the other side of the strait.

"I admire the friendship between you, but I also hope you can understand the current situation."

"Behind me are countless demon subjects; there is nowhere left to retreat..."

"Chuunibyou, the riddle person."

"I suggest you apply for a copywriting job for a second-hand game, instead of torturing my ears here..."

"Vivian, what did you just say?"

"It's nothing, Lord Demon King."

............

............

"..."

The Kingdom of Astar, Royal Palace.

In the lavishly decorated conference room, all the dukes of the kingdom were gathered together.

For some reason, no one spoke, which created a strange atmosphere.

At this moment, the girl sitting in the head seat, with a light blue guard standing beside her, is Astar's current de facto first power holder.

First Princess of Asta: Serara Asta.

"..."

The blonde girl's expression at that moment seemed somewhat indescribable.

It gave the impression that they were not there voluntarily, but were forced to sit in that seat, which didn't seem very comfortable.

Of course, this feeling isn't entirely wrong.

Because King Asta was unwell, the First Princess, who was still studying at the Sisonia Magic University, had to return to take care of her mother...

"Hehe, good luck, Serara-chan~"

A voluptuous figure peeked out from the conference room door, holding a light stick and looking quite happy.

"..."

"The meeting is being hosted by Serara-chan, hehe, bring me my camera."

Click!

A blinding white flash illuminated the entire conference room.

"..."

"..."

"..."

But the dukes and marquises in the conference room were all speechless, not daring to utter a sound.

They didn't even dare to cover their eyes... and they had to endure a flashbang, causing many people's eyes to turn red and tears to fall from their hearts.

"..."

"Phew, thank goodness I brought sunglasses."

The human duke, sitting in a corner seat, let out a breath.

"I'd heard Queen Serati wasn't exactly virtuous, so it's good that I was prepared."

He glanced at the few powerful and influential people beside him who were blinking rapidly, seemingly congratulating themselves on their own cleverness...

Why are you wearing sunglasses?

"......!"

However, the duke had not yet fully expelled the foul air.

A chill suddenly appeared in the darkness behind the seat.

"Didn't your daughter's remarks just now move you?"

"...Gulp."

"Your Majesty, please let me explain."

The Duke, his hands trembling, slowly removed his sunglasses.

Behind the sunglasses, tears were already welling up in her eyes...

"Actually, when I last saw the princess, her eyesight was already impaired due to her dazzling beauty, and I had to wear sunglasses..."

"?"

"!?! Strong vs. Strong?!"

The dukes opposite couldn't help but swallow hard when they saw this scene.

She burst into tears the moment she pulled down her sunglasses, which made me think that there are always people more capable than you...

"Old woman, have you had enough fun yet?!"

Serara, who was sitting in the head seat, finally couldn't sit still any longer.

He stood up with a snap and quickly shouted in Serati's direction.

"If you have time to play, don't push your problems onto me. Did you call me back so you could enjoy yourself?!"

"Oh my, Serara-chan is so cute~"

Seeing the angry blonde girl, Serati twisted her body and revealed a satisfied smile.

He gestured to the girl beside him and said, "Luna, could you please take a picture of Serara-chan as well? Thank you."

"...Excuse me, Lady Serara."

"Luna, how could you... Waaaaaah!"

..........

..........

"..."

"..."

After an unknown amount of time, the meeting room finally returned to silence.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

Having lost all her options and endured countless flashes of light, Serara collapsed into a chair.

Queen Astar seemed quite satisfied, as she sat in a corner looking through the photographs she had just taken.

"..."

The light blue figure beside Serara looked at the tired Serara with a hint of pity.

"Lady Serara, you look very tired, otherwise this meeting..."

"No!!! This is the only time I won't!"

Serala was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

But there was some reason why he couldn't give up, so he slammed his hand on the table and stood up again.

"Wow, that's the kind of spirit I want!!!"

Serati, sitting in the audience, remained excited.

However, the blonde girl seemed to have something more important to do and ignored the unconventional queen's behavior.

"Gentlemen of Astar."

The girl took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to criticize Serati, and glanced around at the trembling duke.

"As you all have probably heard, a figure resembling the Demon King has appeared in a village outside the northern border of Asta, in a free city."

"Although there is no direct visual evidence."

"But judging from the magic extracted from the scene, the amount of the Demon King's magic is terrifying."

"In other words, even if the visitor is not a Demon King, he is at least a Demon King's retinue of level 50 or higher."

"..."

"..."

"So it really was that matter..."

Serara's words were like a pebble thrown into a pond.

Even though the evil queen of Astar was still present, the people at the table began to whisper among themselves.

"Yes, I've heard about it too."

"It is said that in addition to the suspected traces of the Demon King, the Red Dragon Clan is also involved."

"Could it be that the Red Dragon Clan has allied with the demons...? I knew they had ill intentions all along."

"But Lady Serara seems quite serious; she actually cares about these things. I thought she would be with her..."

"..."

"..."

For some reason, the ministers' discussion fell silent once again.

All eyes froze on the Duke who had spoken in a low voice.

"Do you mean I'm indecent?"

"...Lady Serati, it was all a misunderstanding..."

"It seems we need to properly explain this misunderstanding."

..........

..........

"..."

Looking at the two empty seats in the conference room, I wondered why.

"Phew, that old woman is finally gone."

What happened next was something I really couldn't say.

After silently praying for the vanished duke, the girl spoke again.

"Although the events I just discussed did not occur within the territory of Asta."

"However, the towns in that free city are not far from Asta."

He glanced around at the assembled marquises and nobles, and asked, "What are your thoughts on this matter?"

"..."

"..."

"The Star family is willing to send a troop of mages to investigate."

"Your Highness, Duke Adolf's army is your sharpest blade."

"Lady Serara, the Barris family is very close by and would like to go there first..."

To be fair, these dukes of Asta have a rather keen sense of smell.

Serara wasn't asking for their thoughts: as dukes with long histories, they were all incredibly shrewd individuals, so how could they not understand the deeper meaning behind the girl's words?

Although it has not been officially announced.

But now, power has shifted from Queen Astar to Serara.

"Shut up, Rhys. Your base is a million miles away from the border. The closest one is clearly our Lairis family..."

"Hmph, how come some of the Second Princess's staunch supporters dare to come out and jump around like this? Tsk tsk, I wouldn't have the nerve to do that~"

"White, you!"

With Queen Astar absent, the audience erupted into chaos.

Leaving aside the dukes who were already supporters of Serara, those who had previously sided with other crown princes were also eager to use this rare opportunity to prove their loyalty...

"stop!"

Bang!

Serala slammed her hand on the table, making a loud bang.

"..."

The arguing among the dukes gradually subsided.

After all, apart from a few dukes who already had old grudges, most people were just putting on an act and there was no need for them to fight to the death.

Because everyone knew that the final decision would ultimately rest with the blonde girl standing in the head seat.

"I have listened carefully to all of your opinions just now."

"..."

"Gulp..."

Someone swallowed hard.

But the most tense moment is precisely this: everyone in silence prays that they will be the lucky one to be noticed...

"..."

"but."

The blonde girl waved her hand: "Unfortunately, none of your ideas seem particularly appropriate to me."

After speaking, he extended a finger and shook it slightly.

"Serara has a brilliant idea. I wonder if any of you are interested?"

"..."

"..."

"Whatever Lady Serara's plan is, I will support her unwaveringly!"

I don't know who started this good trend.

"Yes, I agree!!!"

This led to everyone behind them nodding in agreement.

"\O./\O./\O./"

If you come in the depths of winter, you will return to me a city blanketed in white snow...

A strange background music started playing from somewhere, but it was quite timely.

To be honest, the behavior of the crowd just now couldn't really be considered as agreement.

After all, they are most likely just not in love: it's understandable that they seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

"Hmph, that's good."

Looking at the dukes in the audience, some with their hands raised, some with tears in their eyes, and some taking notes with pens and paper.

Serara gave a soft hum, seemingly quite satisfied with everyone's performance.

"Your approval is a responsibility to the royal family, the kingdom, and the people of Asta."

Having achieved her goal, the girl then spoke.

"Then, I hope everyone will cooperate with Serara's next plan."

"..."

"Serara will travel with Luna to the southern border to investigate the Demon King's whereabouts."

"The affairs of the royal city will be handled by the Second Princess Asta from now on. Meeting adjourned!"

After saying the last two words, the girl patted her chest with a sigh of relief.

"Luna, are your bags packed? We're leaving tonight..."

"Lady Serara, is this the royal city...?"

"It's alright, aren't Xiaoti and that old woman still here?"

"Besides, we were just going on a mission, and those dukes didn't object..."

He quickly got up and, together with Luna beside him, chatted and laughed as they jogged away from the huge conference hall.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Only a silent meeting room remained.

"..."

"......?"

And a bunch of stiff, human-shaped statues sitting in their seats.

..........

..........

At the same time.

A meadow deep within the Forest of Moe.

"..."

Aside from countless broken tree trunks and scattered, messy branches and leaves lying on the ground.

All that remained was the huge crater in the center of the grassland and the deathly silence that seemed out of place in the forest.

"..."

And not far from the pit.

"..."

The boy looked solemn as he chanted different magic incantations over and over again.

In his hand was a black-haired girl dressed in extremely tattered clothes.

The girl had no idea what had happened to her.

This resulted in her being subjected to countless white magic spells.

Wounds still covered her entire body.

The bright red blood seeping out looked particularly gruesome.

Damn it.

Seeing that the girl still showed no signs of improvement, Kaya cursed under his breath.

While transferring what little magic he had left,

"Fire spirit, let the flickering flames gather in my palm..."

The moment the chant was completed, the fireball shot into the air.

Bang!

It exploded in the sky, like summer fireworks, scattering countless sparks.

The magic telephone was affected by the powerful magical shockwave earlier, which impacted its message sending and call functions.

This left Kaya with no other option but to try and contact Lilia and Elisa in this way.

"Damn it, I don't have much magic left."

Kaya clenched his teeth as he watched Yura's life force gradually drain away.

"Although I don't know what happened to you."

But now that a decent guy has finally arrived, don't let him mess with me, you bastard.

The previous battle against the elite monsters had already depleted more than half of Kaya's magic reserves.

Now, not only do they need to continuously supply Yura with magic, but they also need to find time to release fireworks spells into the sky...

Moreover, plants and trees in a fairly large area in the center of the lawn have been severely damaged.

So even though he had considered using ingredients from the forest to create some magical restorative food, Lao Ba couldn't find a toilet: even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.

"Think of a way, there's always a way..."

I looked around again.

After all, Kaya is a seasoned adventurer, and a wilderness adventurer who has been active in the forest for many years.

Even in the worst circumstances, he remained remarkably proactive in seeking other things that could help him break the deadlock or provide him with new ideas...

"..."

[Elite] [Family] [Giant Blue Slime Lv15]

"..."

Children, we've found the big ones.

Looking at the giant slime surrounded by black light that appeared not far away.

Kaya suddenly felt like laughing, but it was a laugh born of anger.

Although slimes can be cooked to restore their magic.

But with his current magic reserves, is he really going to use that to defeat such a large elite slime?

Two magic pills?

"..."

"Can't I just relax properly this weekend...?"

Even knowing it would be difficult, he turned around and placed his hand on the scabbard at his waist.

"..."

"You despicable Elisa, I won't let you get away with this!"

They stared intently at the giant slime that was gradually approaching.

...even if what's in the scabbard isn't a short sword.