Amelia suddenly rose to her feet, staring fixedly at the ring in her subordinate’s hand.
This ring had been forged from her own blood. There was only one like it in the entire world, so it was absolutely genuine!
But five years ago, hadn’t Eileen worn this very ring when she charged into the forbidden domain and sealed the ancient demon god at the cost of her life?
Logically speaking, the ring should have been destroyed along with its master by that overwhelming magical power. It should have been impossible for it to be brought out, let alone appear before her eyes again.
Eileen was still alive?
Eileen’s face flashed through Amelia’s mind over and over again. Every moment they had shared five years ago played out like a revolving lantern in her memories.
She really was still alive!
Otherwise, how could this ring—which should have been destroyed—reappear before her?
Eileen must have brought it out from the forbidden domain. There was no other way to explain what was happening right now.
“Demon King, is there something special about this ring?”
This wasn’t Cassandra’s first time meeting Amelia.
In her impression, Amelia had always been an extremely composed and overwhelmingly powerful figure. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to push through all opposition to establish friendly relations with the human world.
Yet even someone like her was now losing her composure over a single ring. Cassandra found it rather surprising, and she couldn’t understand why.
To her, the ring didn’t look special at all. The magic power contained within it was pitifully weak. It was nothing more than a piece of junk.
The sheep-headed demon shot Cassandra a sideways glance the moment he heard her words.
Special?
This was a ring refined using the Demon King’s own blood!
Just holding it in his hand, he could clearly feel the pressure that only the Demon King could emit. He truly couldn’t understand how those bandits who had robbed the merchant caravan had managed to get their hands on something like this.
If he hadn’t been careful and kept an eye on them, those bandits would probably have thrown such an important item into the river.
“My apologies, Miss Cassandra. I got a little too excited.”
Realizing there was still an outsider present, Amelia gestured for her subordinate to bring the ring over. She held it in her hands as if it were a priceless treasure. “This ring… was actually something I gave to my fiancée. But five years ago, she went missing because of an accident. Seeing it again now… I got a little emotional.”
Amelia had a lover?
Cassandra was shocked.
Just who was capable of winning the heart of someone who had fought her way through the entire Demon Realm?
Now that she thought about it, five years ago… she had also lost someone very important to her…
“I understand how you feel, Demon King. There’s no need to apologize.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
Amelia took a deep breath. Originally, Cassandra had come to discuss the magic power leakage from the Demon Realm, but Amelia no longer had any interest in continuing the conversation.
“Then, Demon King, shall we continue—”
“I’m afraid today’s meeting will have to end here, Miss Cassandra.”
After a brief moment of sorrow, Cassandra steadied her emotions and prepared to press further. After all, this concerned the lives and safety of millions of citizens in the Principality.
But before she could finish, Amelia cut her off bluntly. “I understand your country’s concerns. However, until we have results, there is nothing I can do. As an apology, I will make an exception and open the Demon Realm Gate to personally send you on your way.”
“Huh?”
Cassandra was stunned.
The Demon Realm Gate?
That was the only passage connecting the human and demon realms!
It wasn’t that one couldn’t enter the Demon Realm on foot without opening the gate. Rather, if the gate remained closed, the magic power between the two realms wouldn’t circulate. That was why human teleportation magic didn’t work in the Demon Realm, and why traveling from the human world to the Demon Realm could only be done by walking.
As the magical pathway between the two realms, opening the Demon Realm Gate carried enormous risks. Under normal circumstances, it would never be opened unless absolutely necessary.
This showed just how much sincerity Amelia was offering…
But why did Cassandra get the feeling that Amelia simply wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible?
“Miss Cassandra, please inform the other members of your delegation. In one hour, gather at the palace. I will personally open the Demon Realm Gate and send everyone back to the Royal Capital of the Navora Principality.”
“This… On behalf of the entire delegation, I thank you, Demon King.”
Cassandra was momentarily speechless from shock. Having the Demon King personally open the Demon Realm Gate to send a human delegation back was probably a first.
Still, she could understand Amelia.
Suddenly seeing the ring she had given to her lover who had been missing for five years… it was only natural that she couldn’t sit still.
After sending Cassandra away, Amelia immediately questioned her subordinate about how he had obtained the ring.
After hearing the explanation, Amelia could no longer hide her excitement.
According to her subordinate, the ring had been found on the way back to the palace from a group of bandits who had robbed a merchant caravan.
The Demon Realm was vast, and human nations had no authority to arrest people within it. As a result, the Demon Realm often served as a temporary refuge for criminals. Those bandits were probably the same.
Unfortunately for them, their luck had been terrible. They had run into someone who worked directly under the Demon King. If it had been any other demon, they would probably have turned a blind eye and let them go.
“Immediately investigate the origins of that merchant caravan. Notify me the moment you find any leads.”
“Yes, Demon King.”
……
“Ugh…”
“Blegh…”
Inside the church in Eldorado City, the Royal Capital of the Navora Principality, Eileen and Atia were bent over trash cans, vomiting their guts out.
Kate helplessly brought over a few bottles of healing potion from the priest and handed them to the two girls. “Eileen, I can understand Atia vomiting since it’s her first time using a teleportation array. But what’s going on with you?”
Five years ago, when Eileen had left without a word, she had already been an A-rank adventurer. Whenever she needed to go somewhere, she basically always used teleportation magic.
Back then, Kate had even joked that Eileen probably wouldn’t even know how to walk without teleportation magic.
But even so, why was Eileen throwing up this badly?
Eileen felt incredibly bitter inside.
She had always played from outside the screen before. Who would have thought that using a real teleportation array would make her this dizzy?
If she had to describe it, riding a teleportation array felt just like motion sickness. Her body was fine, but she felt horribly nauseous.
“Maybe… my level dropped too much, and I haven’t adjusted yet…”
Eileen made up an excuse and grabbed the healing potion beside her, chugging it down in big gulps.
After finishing one bottle, the dizziness finally eased considerably. She felt like she had come back to life.
Kate looked at her with a pained expression and gently held Eileen’s small hand. “You’ve suffered a lot these past five years.”
Suffered?
The real suffering was this teleportation ride today…
“Lady Kate, we’re already quite late compared to our scheduled departure time. Shouldn’t we head over to report to the Duke now?”
Mia asked.