I am the old, fiery-faced man from the senior department.

"Please allow me to take my leave."

"..."

The daytime waved goodbye, and the wind surged again, but not strongly.

"Kal'tsit, I'm a little hungry. Could you please take me, your collaborator, to the canteen here... or somewhere else to find something to eat?"

"..."

A gentle breeze brushed against his fingertips, and the lynx nodded slightly.

"Please come with me."

……

"Doctor, you shouldn't have taken such a risk."

Even without turning around, the Demon King could tell who it was just by listening to their footsteps.

"Is it right to just watch you risk your life, Theresa?"

The doctor looked very relaxed, and the Demon King could sense an optimistic mood as well.

is this okay?

It's fine if the doctor is happy, but things that bring her joy right now are not so good.

"I believe that His Majesty is willing to forgive my overstepping of authority."

"Me too, Theresa."

The doctor raised his left hand, and black mist emanated from his slender wrist.

“We were all taking a gamble, weren’t we? And now, it’s a win-win situation.”

“Theresia, you’ll never guess what I got from him. Guess, and if you guess right, the sandworm legs are yours tonight.”

"PhD……"

The Demon King looked at the Doctor with a hint of helplessness, who was acting like a child showing off a new toy.

"So, shall we take a guess, Theresa?"

The doctor looks quite dashing when he's being cheeky, but he looks incredibly pathetic when his sandworm leg is stolen.

"It's the power to control a part of darkness, isn't it, Doctor?"

The evil spirit stared at the demon king as if it had seen a ghost.

"How could you know, Theresa... No, no way, you wouldn't be with him too..."

"Sigh... Doctor, among the Demon Lords of the past, there have been those who could control shadows. And there are connections between powers."

The Demon King touched a ring on his hand and showed it to the Doctor.

"*Yan Kingdom profanity*, the ability to repeat, what's so special about that? Do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

The doctor clenched his fist in frustration, and a humanoid figure made entirely of shadows emerged from the shadows of the room, awaiting the doctor's command.

"Pour me a glass of water."

"PhD……"

"I bet five out of ten of those Dragon Lords have similar abilities!"

The doctor took the water offered by the shadowy figure, drank a sip, and then uttered a sarcastic remark without any mercy.

"That Your Majesty did not deceive you, Doctor."

The Demon King seemed to be trying to protect the true dragon, or perhaps he wanted to explain things to her.

"Darkness is a broad concept, and the control and use of dark power depends entirely on the caster."

“I know, Theresa. I just want to make you relax.”

The doctor waved his hand, sending the shadowy figure back into darkness, before turning to look at the Demon King.

"That person already told me when I got it. I only did that because I saw you weren't happy. It seems I imitated it quite well and successfully changed your mood. How are you feeling now?"

"Doctor... I feel great, thank you."

The Demon King covered his mouth and chuckled softly, seemingly genuinely happy.

"I'm not unhappy."

She stopped smiling and then said, "On the contrary, I'm very happy."

Yes, she was very happy.

She took a significant step from dream to reality, using her own resources to gain recognition and a chance to survive.

Her sorrow was not directed at herself.

She was worried about another friend of hers.

Knowing her friend's temperament well, she was very worried... If she missed this opportunity, her empty heart might never have a chance to be filled again.

"Doctor, do you think... it's better to repair damaged items or replace them?"

Only after he finished speaking did the Demon King belatedly realize that he had made a mistake.

"If it's broken, just throw it away. A new one might be more comfortable to use than an old one."

"Then... what about friends?"

"friend?"

The doctor glanced at her and waved his hand dismissively.

"I see..."

The Demon King understands the meaning of evil spirits.

She is a sophisticated egoist. If a friend is useful, she will make more friends and carefully nurture them, waiting for the harvest season to arrive. If they are useless... well, why bother with them when they are already useless?

but……

This isn't about making friends.

The Demon King clasped his hands together, feeling the warmth of the ring, and prayed silently in his heart.

……

"Kal'tsit, you've come to eat too."

Inside the restaurant, the lynx's ears twitched slightly as it looked at the demon king and evil spirits it had "encountered" before it.

“No, Theresa. It’s because of Mr. A that I’m here to spend some time introducing these dishes whose names I don’t know.”

It seemed the doctor was eating too loudly; the lynx glanced at her, the meaning of which was immediately clear even without words.

"Doctor, if there's too much sand in the sandworm's legs, please report it to the chef instead of chewing on sand here."

"No, Kal'tsit, I was just showing Your Majesty how delicious our signature dishes are."

The doctor raised the sandworm leg in his hand as a gesture, and the lynx slightly turned its eyes, then caught sight of the figure beside it.

"Oh, judging from the doctor's expression, this sandworm leg seems quite delicious?"

The dragon, carrying a plate of food, sat down next to the lynx, then nodded slightly to the demon king in greeting.

"It is indeed excellent, and I highly recommend it to you in my personal capacity."

The doctor's tone puzzled Bai Zhou.

"Please forgive her, Doctor, her rationality has declined again."

The Demon King spoke up to answer the True Dragon's question.

"The doctor... has a special ability; she can mentally deduce all strategies until she finds the right solution."

"While this ability is invincible, it also has significant side effects. The Doctor's deductions consume her mental energy, and when she performs too many deductions, she needs to use special items to restore her mental energy."

"I've seen PhDs like that before."

A hint of curiosity crept into Bai Zhou's gaze as she looked at the evil spirit.

"However, Theresa, there's a question I've been wanting to ask you."

"Please speak."

The true dragon shifted its gaze to the demon king, who tilted his head slightly, waiting for the dragon to ask a question.

Where am I going to sleep tonight?

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

"Mr. A, my bed is quite large. You can do whatever you want, and when you're tired, we can even have a more in-depth discussion..."

Before the doctor could finish speaking, the Demon King pressed his head down and stuffed his mouth with a sandworm leg.

"Please don't take it personally with the doctor."

Well done, Theresa! Just reject him like that!

The Demon King subdued the demented doctor, and then, under the expectant gaze of the lynx, slowly spoke:

"If you don't mind, my room is quite spacious..."

The seventy-six poor lynxes were manipulated at the mercy of others.

Although somewhat unwilling, the true dragon was ultimately taken back to the room next to hers by the lynx, who argued that the greater good was more important than the demon king.

The room was small, with only a simple bed, a washroom, a small stove, a table, and a chair, making it look quite lonely.

"There is a kettle in the room. You can boil water yourself if needed, but please be careful with the stove fire and do not play with fire to avoid causing a fire."

The lynx whispered instructions, trying its best to make eye contact with the smiling dragon.

"I'm not young anymore, Kal'tsit."

"...Yes, how could you not know what I'm talking about?"

The lynx bowed slightly, preparing to leave.

"Kal'tsit".