Chapter 105: My Head Hurts, I Feel Like I'm About to Grow a Brain
"Sigh..." Ariel let out a long, heavy sigh, her voice dropping. "I'm just in a bad mood, that's all."
Sophia blinked. *What on earth does that mean?*
*Knock, knock~*
A sudden knock echoed at the door, and a maid walked in carrying a tray filled with food and wine. After setting the items down quietly, she left the room without saying a word.
Once she was gone, Ariel spoke up again. "Looking at that maid just now, did you guys notice anything?"
"Though she didn't show outright hostility, she looked very unhappy," Merazophis was the first to answer.
Sophia was completely exasperated. "You just barged into their place and caused a massive headache. Who would give you a pleasant face?"
Ariel glanced at Sophia and calmly lifted her wine glass. "If it were just that, it would be normal. It wouldn't go as far as showing hidden resentment, or even a trace of killing intent."
"...Oh! I get it now!"
Sophia had a sudden epiphany. After all that acting, it turned out Ariel was intentionally testing Agner's people to root out any traitors hiding among them. Now that she thought back, a few of Agner's subordinates had indeed behaved very suspiciously.
"Is that one-eyed guy harboring some kind of issue?" she asked, trying to be sure.
"Heh, he's an old-guard elder after all; his behavior is perfectly flawless," Ariel took a sip of her wine, explaining casually. "Even if his subordinates have big problems, it doesn't mean he does. Looking at his perfectly respectful attitude just now, no one can find anything to criticize him for."
"At worst, he'll just take a minor punishment for failing to discipline his unit. That old fox is incredibly cunning."
After listening to the explanation, Sophia felt a sharp throb behind her temples. Her head hurt so badly it felt like she was actually about to grow a brain.
As for everyone else, their expressions were completely flat, as if they had seen through it from the very beginning.
Deep down, Shiro was secretly letting out a massive sigh of relief. *Thank goodness I naturally have a perfect poker face; my expression management is doing great. Even though I actually just figured it out this exact second too, as long as I look deeply mysterious, absolutely no one will suspect me, hehehe.*
Detecting the tiny upward curve on Shiro's lips, Shirazawa instantly guessed exactly what she was thinking. *This girl is usually so sharp; why has she completely given up on thinking right now? Is it really true that a woman's IQ drops to zero when she falls in love?*
Shirazawa raised his head to look out the window. The sunlight shone on his handsome face, and a soft, gentle warmth swirled in his eyes.
When it came to Ariel's actions, the rest of the group was still just looking at the surface. There was a much deeper, more heartbreaking truth underneath that she hadn't told anyone.
Shirazawa looked at the giggling little loli Demon Lord and shook his head with a faint sigh.
This exact look was caught by Ariel, making her brows knit together in pure irritation. "Hey! What's the big idea shaking your head at me like that?"
Shirazawa didn't say a word.
"Hey!" Ariel glared at him. "I'm serious, your attitude toward me has been getting worse and worse lately. Are you honestly too lazy to even say my name anymore?"
Staring at the white-robed girl comfortably snuggling in Shirazawa's arms, a wave of jealousy flared up inside Ariel. *Ugh~ I want to cuddle and hug Shiro too!* She didn't really understand why, but every single time she saw this couple acting all lovey-dovey, an unexplainable surge of irritation would hit her.
This was definitely not normal. There was definitely a problem here.
Ever since her soul had fused with a fragment of Shiro's consciousness, she had been acting a bit weird, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong. The unexplainable restlessness made her want to pick a fight.
Yet, in this entire group, arguing with Shirazawa was the only thing that could actually soothe that irritation. In fact, a strange feeling would always spread through her mind afterward.
Was it... fun?
Yes, it was pure entertainment. Bickering with him always left her feeling refreshed for a long time, and sometimes she would even catch herself secretly giggling about it later.
This was completely abnormal!
Ariel tried to remember, and she realized she had started acting this way after meeting him just a few times. What was this madness? *Damn it, I'm getting annoyed again.*
"Hey, don't stare at me with such a weird look," Shirazawa raised an eyebrow. What kind of temper tantrum was this child throwing now?
"You can be so gentle even when dealing with your subordinates, so why do you always fight with me?" He let out a long, exhausted sigh, genuinely unable to see what the Demon Lord was getting angry about.
"Ha?! Me, gentle? Where?" she argued, her big eyes wide open. Unfortunately, she looked completely soft and non-threatening right now, without an ounce of real intimidation. Instead, she looked exactly like a textbook tsundere who had just been called out.
Shirazawa had his own limits too. Since you want to hide your true feelings so badly, I'm going to lay your entire soul bare for everyone to see.
"Since you're asking so sincerely, I'll be kind enough to tell you."
He looked around the room. Everyone was staring back at him with absolute anticipation, waiting for him to deliver an epic explanation.
"Before long, you'll be leading the Demon Army to launch a massive invasion against the humans. In order to achieve your ultimate goal of saving this world, a huge number of demons must die on the battlefield."
Shirazawa began to lay out the deep, hidden layers of Ariel's mind.
"Because of that, as the Demon Lord, you can't allow yourself to form close, friendly bonds with your subjects."
"You would much rather have them completely hate and despise you, instead of allowing them to admire you."
"Carrying the collective hatred of the entire demon race strictly on your own shoulders... in a way, this is your own version of penance, your way of atoning for your sins."
"Even though the final result is exactly the same–you will still ultimately send them to their deaths–you are honestly too much of a self-sacrificing softie."
"This whole crisis is a mess their own ancestors made to save themselves, so why should you be the only one taking the blame, forcing yourself to be remembered as a bloodthirsty tyrant?"
"In the end, the survivors get to live their lives with a perfectly clear conscience, while you're permanently stamped as a ruthless monster."
"It's really..."
As he spoke, Shirazawa felt a genuine surge of anger ignite in his own chest. The mistakes of the demon race were something they should be paying for themselves; why should an outsider have to foot the bill for their survival? Damn it, just thinking about it was infuriating.
"You..."
Ariel's mouth fell open in absolute, stunned silence, her eyes completely bewildered. *Is this guy a literal mind-reader? How on earth did he figure that out?!*
She was completely shocked, mostly because she thought she had been hiding her true feelings perfectly. To think that in this world, there actually existed a single person who could seamlessly read and understand the absolute depths of her soul.
Her heart began to race, her mind temporarily going blank.
Sitting right beside them, Sophia was entirely frozen, her brain locking up. *Holy cow... to think there was such a massive, tragic calculation hidden beneath the surface. Why didn't I notice a single shred of this?*
She instinctively glanced over at Merazophis, who was calmly pouring wine without a hint of surprise on his face.
Then she looked at Shiro, who had remained perfectly calm from start to finish–quietly keeping her eyes closed while peacefully sipping her tea and casually petting the small goblin sprout in her lap.
Needless to say, this white-robed girl had undoubtedly figured out this deep layer of the board a long time ago. The brains on these people were terrifying. *What on earth are their heads made of?* Sophia felt her confidence completely shatter.
Clearly, she was just not built for high-level thinking games.
Merazophis: *For this chapter, my only job is pouring wine. The rest has nothing to do with me.*
Shiro: *I'm hungry. When are we finally going to eat?*
Leest: *zZZ...*
"Hmph... I'm not nearly as noble as you make me sound."
After a long silence, Ariel finally calmed down and sat back on the sofa.
Shirazawa looked at her, smiling without saying another word.
"Let's eat, rest for the night, and then we'll head straight to the Demon Lord's Castle." Desperate to drop the subject, Ariel forcefully changed the topic.
The exact second the word "eat" was mentioned, Shiro's eyes lit up. *Finally, the food is here.*
Merazophis: *Excellent. I can finally stop pouring wine.*
Sophia: *Thank goodness that brain-crushing storm is over. I almost had to grow a second brain.*
Leest: *zZZ...*
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