Void was utterly bewildered at that moment.
It wasn’t because Mino had brought a game Void had never seen before and asked her to play.
The game, which Mino seemed to have created herself, had clear rules, revealing the child’s sharp intellect.
Given Mino’s excellent explanations, Void wasn’t struggling with the gameplay itself.
“…Ugh.”
“Keuk.”
“?”
The true source of Void’s bewilderment was Mino’s tendency to pout and become sullen the moment she started losing.
Consequently, Void had already amassed a staggering record of ninety-nine consecutive losses since they began playing.
“M-Mino. Your unnie is tired.”
And indeed, she was exhausted.
While Void knew the child possessed incredible stamina, it was astonishing that Mino remained tireless after ninety-nine rounds of such a simple game.
Stunned once more by Mino’s endurance, Void suggested they stop, but to no avail.
“Ah! Just one more round!”
“T-This is really the last one, right?”
“Yes!”
It proved impossible to deter Mino, who had developed a taste for victory.
“Unnie, are you bad at this? Should I go easy on you?”
“…What?”
“Hehe.”
The child’s innocent smile was utterly adorable.
However, the words that escaped Mino’s lips severely ruffled Void’s composure.
It was, as they say, a ‘scratch.’
Indeed.
Void, an ancient being, had just been ‘scratched’ by a baby barely a month old.
An 800-year-old girl, nearing the end of her adolescence, was sensitive to every little thing.
The result was this:
“…Play again.”
“No.”
“…Waaah! You’re mean! You’re evil!”
“That’s right! Unnie is mean! Unnie is totally evil!”
The Demon King was about to show this child her true colors.
Seeing Mino’s puffed-out cheeks and her expression on the verge of tears, Void struggled to suppress a laugh, finding her utterly adorable.
****
“You crazy bastard!!!”
“U-Unnie, calm down!!”
“Lavender!”
“…Sigh.”
“E-Elders! Please calm yourselves!!”
Surt, Albinius, and Baal rushed towards Lavender, attempting to restrain her.
Yet, it was no easy task to pacify Lavender as she continued to breathe fire in defiance.
“Kuaaaak! Anuket!”
“…Hm.”
“Thank you!”
Her breath weapon exploded in all directions, threatening to demolish the building.
Witnessing this, Surt implored Anuket to block the attack.
With a dismissive air, Anuket created sub-dimensional portals in every area the breath weapon touched, swallowing it whole.
“…Wow.”
Damian, the Grand Mage’s Disciple from the Empire, could only gape in open-mouthed awe at the spectacle.
He couldn’t even begin to fathom the principles by which such a feat was accomplished.
“Hey, you damn flashy bastard! Are you kidding me? A Demon King, and now a Hero? And not even human?”
“Calm down first. I knew they weren’t human before they even entered.”
“No, can’t you tell just by looking?!”
Although Lavender declared that the individual was not human, no one present seemed surprised.
Not the King, nor the other Elders, nor even the Mage whom Han Yuri trusted.
Not a single soul was bewildered or found the fact peculiar.
Only Han Yuri wore an expression of utter bewilderment, unable to grasp the situation unfolding before her.
****
Gradually, the heated atmosphere of the conference room began to cool.
Whether this was due to Lavender’s breath weapon or her icy gaze, no one could say for sure.
Those who had been debating whether to spare the Demon King were now plunged into profound deliberation once more.
The reason was none other than the Hero before them, the first non-human Hero they had ever encountered.
“…Child, what did you say your name was?”
“Y-Yuri. Han Yuri…”
“Is that so? Is your name Han?”
“Ah, no… My given name is Yuri, and my family name is Han…”
Han Yuri was flustered, yet she resolved to answer the furious Dragon’s questions earnestly.
Despite her considerable nervousness, she found some relief in the fact that the blue Dragon before her seemed to regard her with pity.
As Damian whispered in her ear, urging her not to be nervous, Han Yuri gathered a little more courage.
“I-I want to live here!”
“I wish to apply for asylum in the Dragon Kingdom.”
Han Yuri declared with a brave, albeit slightly faltering, voice, while Damian politely lowered his hat and bowed his head in supplication.
Lavender’s expression twisted as she observed the two.
‘…The King is right there, so why are they asking me?’
With that thought vaguely in mind, Lavender glanced at Albinius, who was seated beside her.
Albinius, who had been deep in solitary contemplation, flinched, trembled slightly, and then regained his composure.
“You wish to seek asylum in my kingdom?”
Yuri and Damian, who had been solely focused on Lavender, simultaneously turned their heads.
Both appeared somewhat shocked that Lavender was not the King.
“However, I apologize, but it seems we are quite busy at the moment.”
“We are quite busy right now.”
As the King spoke, the Dragons beside him flapped their wings in agreement.
“It seems you’ll have to stay elsewhere until we resolve a certain matter.”
At Albinius’s words, Han Yuri nodded as if entranced.
Anything would be fine.
As long as it wasn’t that living hell of an Empire.
As long as these people weren’t going to subject her to vivisection.
“How could such a young lady endure such hardships…”
“…To have your species changed…humans…”
Han Yuri tilted her head, then shook it.
‘Species changed?’ she wondered. ‘What have they been talking about all this time?’
Her hair color had only changed slightly; there had been no other significant alterations, had there?
“Child.”
As Han Yuri racked her brain, the blue Dragon before her furrowed his brow, speaking as if observing something pitiable.
“The accommodation isn’t much right now, but will you be alright with it?”
“Yes, as long as it’s not a laboratory.”
“…Even if it’s a dungeon?”
Han Yuri cautiously glanced at Damian beside her.
She worried that even if she could endure it, a young master raised in luxury might not.
However, her concern was unfounded.
“It doesn’t matter. We’re in no position to be picky. If you would just consider our asylum request favorably…”
“T-That’s right.”
As Damian spoke with a faint smile, Han Yuri quickly added her own words.
“So…”
The Elders and the King whispered among themselves for a moment, then addressed Han Yuri and Damian.
“It seems we can only begin our review once this matter is resolved.”
“I apologize, but you’ll have to stay there for a while.”
“Elder.”
After Albinius finished speaking, he looked at Baal.
“It won’t hurt, so don’t be nervous, okay?”
“Y-Yes, yes…”
Baal approached Han Yuri, closed her eyes, and muttered something.
Immediately afterward, a green wind enveloped Han Yuri.
“Ta-da, it doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”
“Yes, yes…!”
The pain in Yuri’s body vanished instantly.
Along with all her various scars.
Just as Han Yuri and Damian bowed their heads in farewell and were about to leave.
“Hey, Bluey.”
From behind, Surt called out to Damian in a low, resonant voice.
“You can’t just leave. It’s that child we pity, not you.”
As he spoke, Surt’s red eyes flashed, and he roared.
[Magic Seal.]
The voice, which echoed directly into his mind, caused Damian to almost collapse to his knees.
Han Yuri barely managed to catch him, preventing him from hitting the ground.
“…Go now.”
Damian, his magic sealed by the Dragonic Tongue (TL Note: A powerful ancient language used by dragons, often for casting potent spells.), bowed respectfully to Surt before being helped away.
After Yuri and Damian had departed, every Dragon remaining in the conference room shared a common thought.
‘Damn it, if it weren’t for that blasted Demon King, we’d take care of them right away.’
Admitting a Hero as a citizen would cause significant backlash, so preparing the proper documentation and appeasing public sentiment were crucial.
If the current matters weren’t resolved, they couldn’t even prepare the paperwork, let alone sway public opinion.
“Let’s resolve this swiftly before a rebellion amongst the populace erupts.”
“Yes.”
Under the young King’s command, the hearts of the Elder Council united.
It seemed the fates of Void and Han Yuri would be decided sooner than expected.
****
“Mino~ Unnie said she’s sorry, didn’t she?”
“Hmph!”
At that moment, I was thoroughly sulking.
My tail, too, strongly conveyed my feelings, expressing my displeasure.
–Thwack! Thwack!
Although my tail thudding against the stone floor stung a little, my sulkiness showed no signs of abating.
How could she keep losing all this time, only to win at the very end?
It wasn’t fun anymore.
“S-Since Unnie is sorry, how about we play something else?”
“…Something else?”
“Yes, Mino, don’t you want to learn magic?”
Magic.
That single, thrilling word melted the frozen indignation in my heart.
“I love magic!”
Even if I didn’t know how to use it, I had always wanted to try.
It seemed there was a difference between skills and magic.
“But what’s the difference between a skill and magic?”
“Hmm… I suppose I’ll have to start by teaching you that.”
Void Unnie seemed to ponder quite seriously, then mouthed “Oh!” and clapped her hands.
“Magic is this: something I create myself!”
“And a skill is using something that’s already made!”
Hmm, I don’t understand at all.
“…I don’t get it.”
“Really? Was it too difficult for a baby?”
Involuntarily, I nodded.
‘No, I’m not a baby.’
‘I’m a robust adult male…’
“Ah.”
“Hm?”
I lowered my gaze, examined my body, and immediately grew despondent.
After all, I was no longer an adult, nor male.
Honestly, I couldn’t even truthfully claim to be robust.
“…Mino?”
“…Ah, yes!”
“Are you alright?”
Void Unnie asked about my well-being with a worried expression.
“Yes, I’m fine!”
“I-Is that so? Then that’s good.”
I made an effort to act as if nothing was wrong.
Just as I was receiving a detailed explanation about magic.
–Click, clack.
“Hm? What’s that?”
“Indeed? Someone else is coming?”
Someone was descending towards the dungeon.
“…The flow of magic is strange? Not human, not demon… It’s as if it’s dead…”
Void Unnie began muttering to herself, but I paid her little mind.
I was far too curious about who was arriving.
And soon, I was struck by considerable shock.
“Damian-nim, are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just a sudden drain of magic.”
A Mage awkwardly scratched the back of his head, offering a faint smile, while a woman supported him.
Soldiers marched before and behind them, catching my eye.
The moment my eyes met the woman’s.
As if my body reacted instinctively.
My mouth opened of its own accord.
“…Noo-na?”
My tiny voice, barely audible, spread quietly through the dungeon.
****
Damian.
Han Yuri, subjected to experimentation.
