Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

To be honest, this didn't make Xuanze happy, because for this reason, the morale of the demon army was actually somewhat low, and the fact that they hadn't achieved any substantial results was a disgrace to some demons.

The fact that humanity had achieved such results with such a small force left the demon army deeply resentful. Xuanze knew that many pro-war demons within the army were spreading this sentiment, which meant that the current cooperation with humanity was far from friendly; it was merely a matter of avoiding conflict without cause.

This also poses a problem for future cooperation.

Because they needed to replenish supplies in the capital city of the duchy, in addition to the reliable people arranged by Xuanze, some other demons also entered the city. Some demons got into a dispute with humans, which caused dissatisfaction among the people of the duchy, a fact that Xuanze was aware of.

"These things really have to be done step by step," Xuanze said, lying in a pile of pillows. "Being too hasty has backfired."

This is the result... Even so, we have no choice but to do it, because there is no time left for the demons and humans to adapt and get along; the battle is imminent.

"Hey, Kuroba," Genze called out to Kuroba, who was digesting new information, "What do you think we should do in this situation?"

"...This is not part of the commission, so I don't need to answer it."

"How indifferent! I only gave you some trivial knowledge."

"That's exactly why I don't want to talk to you!!!"

Without hesitation, Kuroba roared at the Demon King. In fact, the knowledge agreed upon after the war was just some common sense that Xuanze casually threw at her. Because it was all fragmented information, it didn't offer Kuroba any real benefit.

She wanted to get angry, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized it was her own problem. The contract didn't specify what kind of knowledge it was, and Xuanze's behavior was reasonable. There was nothing wrong with it.

So now Kuroba is very angry, angry at himself, and in his resentment and shame, he tries his best to piece together these fragmented pieces of knowledge like a jigsaw puzzle to form a complete set of knowledge.

It's impossible to say she was annoyed; Xuanze had already given her countless excuses and methods to brush her off at least ten times. Coupled with his recent overreaching behavior, it only fueled her anger.

“Then let’s terminate the contract,” Xuanze said decisively. “I will not give you any useful knowledge, not even a little bit. You can leave now; you are not necessary to me.”

Xuanze unilaterally reconstructed the contract and tore up the existing one, thus rendering the contract invalid. Heiyu became a free man, while Xuanze had to bear the consequences of breaking the contract, but he remained indifferent and even planned to drive Heiyu away.

"...!"

A nameless anger rose in Kuroba's heart, and he silently stood up and walked out of the tent.

"Yes, let's go and see a place much bigger than this. This place isn't for you."

Xuanze spoke sarcastically, saying that he had never encountered such a contractor in his life. He was infuriating and wicked, truly worthy of being called the Demon King. This really hurt her pride.

She said nothing, simply walking away silently. The Demon King gave no special instructions, and the other demons made no attempt to stop her; she thus made her way unimpeded to the outskirts of the encampment. Having considered where she would go after finishing her business with the Demon King, she transformed back into her original form, cast a spell, and flew into the air, beginning her journey to that destination.

"Hey! Xuanze! I'm really leaving!" Serena came back from outside the tent flap. "What are you doing?! Can't you speak properly?!"

“Facts are facts.” Xuanze sneered. “What do you think Heiyu can see from me? I’m just a person. Even if I’m given the title of hero or demon king, I’m not omnipotent, am I? You should know that better than anyone.”

"But……!"

“There are no ‘buts’,” Xuanze interrupted her. “Hei Yu can’t get what she wants from me. What she wants is the knowledge about my world that’s in my head, but that’s impossible. I can’t reproduce it for her. I don’t even know some of the more specialized stuff. She should go to the Dragon King instead. The Dragon King has the power to reproduce those things, but I don’t. So it’s more appropriate for Hei Yu to go there. Do you understand?”

"You're such a nasty person!?" Serena cursed at him angrily.

“I don’t have time for your lecture right now,” Xuanze said casually, dismissing her. “Go wherever you want now, just remember to come back. Aye, continue.”

"Excuse me, but even I'm starting to find it hard to watch, Demon Lord?"

For some reason, Aye also revealed a rather terrifying smile, the oppressive force of which rivaled that of a true demon king.

"Please accept this lecture honestly."

Chapter 29 was given special treatment.

Ning spent the entire evening explaining to Rin what she needed to do, her powers, and her responsibilities, while also taking a stroll through Akihabara late at night. The fact that people were still active in Akihabara at that hour made Rin quite uneasy.

Well... after all, it's Akihabara... a gathering place for geniuses and eccentrics... plus there's the precedent of Kana, so it's not surprising that anything could happen.

Li comforted himself with this thought, and then naturally stayed up all night again. When he came to his senses, the sky was gradually brightening. Even though there was no sun and the two moons did not move, there was still the phenomenon of day and night alternating. This world is truly amazing.

And no matter when, there are always bright stars in the sky.

"Um... I roughly understand what I need to do and what I can do now," Li said hesitantly. "But is it really okay to do this? Won't the residents object? Or what if I get sent to the gallows or something..."

"You've been reading too many novels, haven't you?!" Ning couldn't help but complain about how he didn't answer concisely.

"Waaah... I know!" Riko shrank back in fright. "I'll do it, you hurry back to the workshop and help out~"

"You saying that makes me uneasy..."

Li tried hard to push Ning away, but unfortunately, she was unable to move around easily, and even if she pushed hard, she would only slide backward and bump into Seria.

Ning was very worried about leaving Li to do things alone, because if she did it alone, something bad would most likely happen. Ever since they met during the maze era, she felt that Li was really prone to getting into trouble; the number of times she hadn't caused any trouble could be counted on one hand.

"I don't care, you go back to the workshop right now." Li stubbornly wanted to get rid of Ning.

"Um, Sister Ning, why don't you go help out at the workshop?" Seria said with a wry smile. "We can handle things here, so please leave it to us."

Ning considered for a moment, patted Seria on the shoulder, and said, "Then I'll leave Li to you. I'm going to check on things at the workshop. Make sure Li doesn't act recklessly, and don't follow her lead. That's all, I'm leaving now."

As Ning brushed past Seria, he left her with another sentence, spoken only to her—"Don't let the 'pests' get close to her." He also gave her a meaningful smile, causing Seria to instinctively straighten up.

"What do you take me for?! Ugh, I'm so angry!"

Li was sulking with Ning as she left, but her attitude changed completely after Ning left, implying that she was deliberately trying to get Ning away.

“Alright, let’s get started!” Rin said energetically. “Let’s get started here too, although it won’t be as good as the workshop.”

"You said you're leaving... but what are you going to do there?" Seria couldn't understand Li's sudden behavior.

"Hmm... looking for talent. Oh, no, I also need to go to the Chamber of Commerce..." Rin planned out today's itinerary. "Well, how about this, let's go back to the Little Garden first."

"A miniature garden...?" Everyone tilted their heads, puzzled.

After a while, when it was almost fully light, they returned to the "miniature garden" that nominally belonged to Borg, under Li's instructions and guidance. Although Seria and the others knew about the shop, they had never been inside before.

"Wow, that's amazing... What are all these things?"

Seria's eyes sparkled, as if she had spotted an adventurer who had found a treasure chest. She pushed her wheelchair to a door, opened it, and beckoned the others inside. Seria and the others closed the small garden's door behind them and followed, unaware that the door connected to the Borg Merchant Guild.

"Let's go find Olito."

"Ah, yes."

Seria rushed to her side in a panic and pushed the wheelchair all the way to the lobby. The receptionists in the lobby, who had been maintaining impeccable smiles, all turned into expressions of surprise the moment they saw Li.

"What's wrong? Li? Why has it turned out like this?!"

Lemming was the first person to come out from behind the counter. She immediately knelt down in front of Li and lovingly took Li's hand, her face showing concern. The other receptionists also immediately gathered around, offering greetings and words of concern in rapid succession.

"Waaah! No, no, I'm fine!" Li explained in a panic. "I just accidentally hurt myself that day, and I'll be fine soon! Or rather, how come you could sense something was wrong with my body even though you've never seen this thing before!?"

"Miss Ning just came by, and she told us to keep a close eye on Li," Lemmy quickly revealed the truth. "We were wondering what had happened, but it turns out..."

“…! It’s her!?” Rin held her head in frustration.

So, Ning knew what I was going to do from the beginning? Waaah... how come she always beat me to it... I just wanted to...

Li shook her head, putting those emotions aside, and urged them to get back to work: "You guys need to get back to work quickly! The other customers are getting annoyed. I know you're concerned about me, but you can just come to my house to see me from now on! Go back to work! Lemmy can stay here with me!"

Because everyone was too focused on Rin's situation, the reception work was temporarily suspended. Not only Rin felt troubled, but the other guests also felt troubled.

"Ah, sorry, everyone please go back to work." After organizing the other receptionists to return to their work, Leslie got back to the main topic, "So, Rie came here today to see the chairman, right?"

"...Did Ning tell you?" Li felt like she was being treated like a child.

“No, Miss Ning only told us to keep an eye on you.” Lemmy smiled. “Every time you come, you must have something to discuss with Chairman Olito, so I figured you should go see him.”

"Who knows, we might need to find you again this time," Li said with a mysterious smile. "So, is Olitzo here now?"

"Yes, the president is in his office. Please come with me."

Leslie returned to work mode and led them upstairs to Olito's office. This time, the office was in unimaginable chaos. In this environment, besides Olito and Natsuki, there were a few other people working frantically, but their workload was clearly much less than Olito's.

Olito noticed that Li had arrived and stood up.

"That's enough for now, you guys go and rest for a bit."

Olitto casually made up an excuse to send the others away. After finishing their last tasks, they put down their pens and left the office to begin their temporary rest.

Chapter 30 Reason's Mood

“That’s strange,” Olitto said, taking a sip of the sports drink on the table. “You actually came to see me all by yourself.”

Both he and Natsuki had empty sports drink bottles on their desks, probably from drinking them while working overtime. Looking at the deep dark circles under their eyes, they must have been busy for a long time.

That was a gift when we first met. To be honest, I didn't want them to drink too much of that unhealthy beverage, but they said it was a very effective "elixir" and hoped it could be mass-produced.

Of course, the proposal was rejected by Li, and it seems I should talk to Ning about it... ah, I can't talk to her...

Lamy silently began tidying up the messy documents. Truly worthy of being an elite receptionist from the Borg Chamber of Commerce, she quickly organized the scattered documents in the office and cleared out a place where everyone could rest temporarily.

Li shook his head, dismissing these pointless thoughts, and first exchanged pleasantries with Olito: "What? Can't I come alone?"

"Ah, no, you misunderstood." Olitto seemed to realize that his words and actions were inappropriate. "I just find it a bit strange. You see, Ning usually comes with you when you come, right? Or she comes alone. This is the first time that you've come alone like this."

"...It seems so." Li's feelings were complicated.

Olitto was right. Li and Ning had always been inseparable partners. Ning was very reliable, and Li usually entrusted her with some things. So it seemed like this was the first time she had come to the Borg Chamber of Commerce alone.

But I can't keep relying on Ning... I need to let her know that I can be myself on my own...

This is what Li is thinking now. The reason she sent Ning away wasn't just for the planning and research; there were also some personal reasons. She wanted to prove herself to Ning, to prove that she could manage on her own and didn't need Ning's excessive protection.

Although Ning didn't say anything on the surface and regarded Li as an irreplaceable family member and partner, she had felt this way a long time ago, as early as the labyrinth period: Ning was overprotective of her.

Li can only truly work together with Ning in some emergency situations. In normal times, he is under Ning's protection. Whenever Li wants to do something, Ning has already done it. When Li acts recklessly, Ning gets very angry. Ning lets Li act recklessly because Ning has made sufficient preparations.

This is not what she ideally wants. She wants to stand on equal footing with Ning, not as someone who needs to be protected.

So Li Zhi left Ning, wanting to use his own strength to complete this task while Ning was away, in order to prove himself.

"What are you doing?" Li asked.

“Heh, as you can see.” Olitto casually handed over a piece of parchment. “These are all post-war supplies, some from the Duchy’s army and some from the demons. And now the other branches are also operating at full speed. After you finished fighting yesterday, people in the city started buying up wartime supplies, like rations. Because of this, the workload has suddenly increased a lot.”

"What a role model for working hard to make money..." Li was a little dumbfounded.

It's practically wartime now, and everyone is frantically preparing what they need. During this time, Olito didn't miss the opportunity to make a killing, which led to the scene before us.

"So, you've come here to say something?" Olitto lay back in the chair for a short rest. "If you have something to ask of me, I'm still able to help, so please don't hesitate to speak up."

"...Since you put it that way, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Originally, after seeing this scene, Li planned to give up and leave, but now that Olitto has said so, getting support from the Borg Chamber of Commerce would definitely be a great help.

“Here’s the thing, you know I took office as the ambassador to Akihabara yesterday, right?” Rie got into the swing of things. “In other words, I now have autonomy over Akihabara, so I want to use your help to concentrate the ‘power’ of Akihabara.”

"Hmm..." Olitto nodded.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Li slowly exhaled. “It’s the whole plan, right? It might surprise you.”

"Well, anyway, you go ahead and tell me." Olitto showed an interested expression. "At least, you haven't disappointed me too much yet."

"I see..." Olitto fell into deep thought after hearing this.

After hearing Rin's thoughts, he understood what she meant and realized how much hidden power Akihabara possessed. If things went according to her plan, Akihabara might indeed become that kind of place in the future.

"Xia Shu, what do you think?" Olitto looked at the second-in-command of the Borg Chamber of Commerce.

“I think it’s fine,” Natsuki said as she wrote. “If that’s the case, the cost we need to pay won’t be much, and it won’t matter even if we fail. Besides, you were planning to agree from the beginning, right?”

“Haa—who knows?” Olitto shrugged and extended his hand to Ri. “That’s it. Go for it, Ri. We’ll give you our full support. It’ll be a pleasure working with you.”

"Uh... I'm sorry, I'm a little unavailable right now..." Li looked at the hand somewhat awkwardly.

"Haha, it's okay, go do it." Olito didn't care at all. "Lemme, go help. You're in charge of this."

"Yes." Lemming bowed to Olitto with high spirits.

Through her efforts, she successfully obtained the help of the Borg Chamber of Commerce (it is said that Olito intended to help from the beginning, so why pretend otherwise!). To be honest, she didn't even know if she could succeed.

Compared to Ning, Li lacked knowledge, eloquence, and cunning; she was very naive, so she chose the simplest path, doing her best to express her thoughts to Olito.

Li was initially uneasy because Olitto was a businessman, and a businessman who was obsessed with money, he would definitely cling tightly to profits. If Li was to succeed, she had to demonstrate to Olitto the benefits she could offer the Borg Chamber of Commerce.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and she is about to begin her first job as the Akihabara ambassador. So, how will it go...?

"Let's go home and check on things first..." Li suddenly said.

Before everything is ready, she also needs to go home to make some preparations and, incidentally, visit the Dragon King.

Chapter 31 Fino Er After Awakening

At night, the Ice Queen awoke. She looked around blankly at her unfamiliar surroundings. This was not her domain; the bed was strange, the room was strange—this should have been a human dwelling.

But why? Why is there the aura of another Dragon King? This is Finoir's biggest question right now.

The aura of the Dragon King is present here, and there is more than one.

"Time," "Black," "Flame"... three?