“Of course! I’m the guardian spirit of the Demon King’s castle, and you’re the guardian spirit of the Hero’s Sword. If we’re not of the same kind, then what are we?”
“An elf allied with the wicked Demon King is by no means our kind!” The elf shouted, her pouty pink cheeks looking cute. Queen Lily intentionally poked at them.
“So squishy~ What’s your name anyway?”
The elf swatted away Queen Lily’s hand and said, “To inquire about another’s name without first providing one’s own is an act of rudeness.”
“Oh right! Let me introduce myself first. I am the guardian spirit of the Demon King’s castle, known as ‘Radiant Peony.’ Most people call me ‘Queen Lily,’ so you can call me Lily too.”
Whether met with cold indifference or insults, this elf named Lily persisted. The elf girl reluctantly responded, “I am the ‘Blood-Red Goddess Elena,’ named Lena. Please refrain from speaking to me.”
“Called Lena, huh? Such a super cute name. But seriously, stop with the ‘I’ and ‘thou.’ It sounds so weird. I can barely understand half of what you’re saying.” Queen Lily began to play with Lena’s clothing, while Lena sat still, ignoring her.
Guardian spirits cannot stray too far from the object they are bound to, so the sword left on the ground restrained Lena’s movements. If the hero in the cell did not summon the Hero’s Sword, Lena would remain stuck in place.
Queen Lily excitedly displayed a brilliant, flower-like smile, circling around Lena. For no apparent reason, in this brief and fleeting moment of encounter, Queen Lily found the answer to the question she had been pondering not long ago.
“A man’s other half is a woman, night’s other half is day, the Demon King’s other half is the hero. So, what is my other half?”
She is my other half!
—
“Lena, Lena~”
On the second day, the platinum-haired elf remained silent, kneeling on the ground as if oblivious to the calling.
Queen Lily rushed over, forcefully toppling onto the petite elf and said, “This flower is for you.”
Lena, a charming young girl, had a mature appearance, while Queen Lily, with a mature look, had a personality that was the opposite of her appearance.
“What’s this?” Lena blinked, curiously looking at the small bouquet in Queen Lily’s hands.
Soft, light purple flowers connected to form a small bunch, resembling Queen Lily’s hair color.
“This is called Wisteria. Do you like it?” Queen Lily kept adjusting the bouquet near Lena’s ear.
“…,” Lena remained silent.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Vffwr ilxf sbe vbc’a ilxf la. Yt kfii atfc.” Heffc Olis, ecvfafggfv, abbx atf Qlrafglj ybedefa jcv vlrjqqfjgfv bcmf jujlc klatbea j agjmf.
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The next day, Queen Lily hurriedly ran over again and, once more, threw herself onto Lena.
“Lena, Lena! Look, these are peach blossoms.” Graceful and soft pink and white petals adorned Lena’s face, and Queen Lily took a moment to admire before taking them away.
“…,” Lena remained silent.
“Seems like they don’t match your hair color. I’ll go find something else.” After saying that, Queen Lily, like a whirlwind, swept away again.
“…Ah.” Lena, accustomed to Queen Lily’s assertiveness, was at a loss for words. However, she also considered if her solo performances might be a bit impolite. With these thoughts in mind and still concerned about the imprisoned human hero, Lena silently prayed and pushed aside the disturbance caused by Queen Lily.
“Lena, Lena!”
The next day, upon hearing this voice, Lena knew it was Queen Lily, and as expected, she received another intense pounce.
“Hello.” Lena sat properly, expressionless, and greeted Queen Lily.
“Since it’s ‘you you you’ after ‘I I I,’ are you some kind of honor student? Relax a bit when you talk.” Delighted that Lena finally agreed to talk to her, Queen Lily sat down next to Lena.
Lena reluctantly nodded and deliberately moved a little away, not wanting to get too close to Queen Lily. Seeing Lena move a bit, Queen Lily immediately pressed closer, and Lena could only sigh in resignation.
“Hey, today it’s peonies.” Queen Lily presented the flowers to Lena. The elegantly blooming petals seemed as if they were cut from clouds, layer upon layer, unfolding into the charming king of flowers in delicate shades of red.
It was the first time Lena had seen such a dignified and elegant flower, and her gaze was immediately captivated.
Queen Lily once again tried placing the flower near Lena’s ear, but this time Lena spoke first: “Please…please leave this flower.”
“Oh, you like this one? That’s great, but I won’t give it to you.” Queen Lily adorned the peony behind her own ear, revealing a playful smile. Her vibrant appearance created a stunning image with the peony.
Lena couldn’t help but be dumbfounded and felt a twinge of disappointment. She didn’t expect to be rejected by Queen Lily. She wondered if Queen Lily refused to give her the flower because she had consistently declined her before, making Queen Lily unhappy.
“Alright, let’s go.” Queen Lily suddenly stood up, taking the wide-bladed sword on the ground with her.
“Wait, please don’t move me randomly! Where are you taking me?” Guardian spirits could interact with each other, so Queen Lily could lift the Hero’s Sword. Lena was startled and anxiously tried to stop Queen Lily. Now she couldn’t determine where the hero was located. If she was moved randomly, she feared she would drift farther away from the hero.
“To a fantastic place, don’t be so nervous. Let’s go.” With that, Queen Lily single-handedly lifted the Hero’s Sword and wandered around the city. Lena, with a face full of distress, was forcibly dragged not far behind the Hero’s Sword, growing more and more concerned about the hero’s situation.
“Here it is!” Queen Lily rudely plunged the sword into the soil of the palace garden, and Lena emitted a small sigh. However, Lena’s attention was quickly captured by the sight before her: a garden with peonies competing for beauty and various flowers standing proudly.
“So beautiful,” Lena couldn’t help but praise.
“Pick them yourself. There might be others you like. The one I just picked is already a bit withered,” Queen Lily suggested.
“No, these flowers are too beautiful. It would be too pitiful to pick them. Because the flowers are so beautiful, I dare not take them and wear them,” Lena gave up the idea of picking flowers to wear because they were too beautiful.
“You’re not an elf, but a saint. Beautiful flowers should be picked for admiration, right? But it’s up to you. As long as you’re happy,” Queen Lily pulled out the sword stuck in the soil, preparing to move to the next location.
Although Lena said she didn’t want to, she kept looking back at those beautiful peonies with reluctance.
“Lena,” Queen Lily suddenly called her name.
“Yes?”
Queen Lily turned around, took the peony from behind her ear, and pinned it in Lena’s hair, saying, “This is for you, welcoming you to the Demon King’s Castle.”
Under normal circumstances, coming to the Demon King’s Castle was definitely not something to celebrate. However, Queen Lily’s cheerful expression made Lena momentarily forget about this.
“Thy thanketh thee, Queen Lily.” Lena shyly lowered her head, expressing her gratitude.
“Ugh! If you want to thank me, use ‘you, me, him’ to speak properly in the future and call me Lily. Calling me ‘Queen Lily’ is like playing some weird role-play. Who taught you to address others like this?” Queen Lily scolded Lena while casually hitting her head.
“Ouch.” Lena rubbed her head vigorously, feeling the pain. Queen Lily showed no mercy, causing Lena’s eyes to well up with tears. However, Lena couldn’t help but smile slightly at Queen Lily’s free-spirited way of speaking, finding it charming despite the pain.
—
The two arrived at the rooftop of the Demon King’s Castle’s tall tower. The wind at high altitude sometimes scattered their long hair and, at other times, twirled it around.
Queen Lily, facing the wind, let her flowing hair sway with the breeze, presenting a majestic appearance. On the other hand, Lena’s entire face was awkwardly entangled by her hair, and she had to desperately push aside the troublesome platinum strands.
Queen Lily loved heights, although it was dangerous. Being close to the sky always made her feel happy, as if she ruled the world.
“Aren’t you the Sword of the Hero? Do you have any special moves?”
“N-No, Queen Lily… I mean, Lily, don’t you think this place is very high?” Lena anxiously gripped the roof tiles. This was the pinnacle of the castle, towering several dozen floors high.
“No special moves? No wonder your Hero always loses to the Demon King. Okay, okay, don’t be afraid of this height. How long do you want to keep trembling?” At some point, Queen Lily found it amusing to deliberately tease this stiff yet adorable elf.
“T-Then, how should I practice special moves?” If it was information that could increase the Hero’s chances of winning, Lena wanted to know as much as possible. She restrained her trembling body and asked, but fear was still evident.
“Let me think. Before practicing special moves, the first thing you need to practice is making a grand entrance!”
“What do you mean by a grand entrance?”
“It’s about making a dazzling entrance, one that leaves everyone in awe or scared witless.”
“How should I do that?”
“A grand entrance, a cool entrance, an incredibly powerful entrance… Ah, I’ve got it!” After muttering a few sentences, Queen Lily suddenly exclaimed.
“What is it? Please teach me no matter what.”
“To defeat the Demon King, it seems a grand entrance and special moves are necessary. Why didn’t I notice this before?” Lena reflected earnestly, sitting upright and waiting for Queen Lily to impart her wisdom. She seemed like a straightforward elf easily led by the nose.
“It’s that ─ falling from the sky!” Without warning, Queen Lily raised her sword, and before Lena could comprehend the situation, she threw the sword off the high tower!
“WAHHHHHHH!”
A scream echoed through the sky, and even the entire Demon King’s Castle resonated with the miserable cries of the elf.
—
“What on earth can you, this elf, do?”
Queen Lily laughed the entire morning, feeling her abdominal muscles almost cramp from laughter before weakly sitting down and asking.
“Cough, well, cough, what can you do?” Lena, who had been screaming all morning, replied with a hoarse voice, and her attitude towards Queen Lily became less polite.
“Hmph, I can do a lot! Like building castles, building castles, building castles, and building castles, and finally, building castles. A total of six specialties.”
“That can only count as one! It’s all building castles… cough, cough, cough, cough.”
“Oh dear, you actually found out.” Queen Lily covered her mouth in surprise.
“How could I not find out! You, ignorant fool.” After thinking for a moment, Lena chose what she thought was the most fitting and most damaging word to insult Queen Lily.
“Haha! What is this insult? Okay, I’ve decided, next is the training for swearing. As embodying spirits, we can’t interfere in the battles between heroes and demons, so we have to win with our tongues. If you keep insulting with words like ‘fool’ it will only bring shame to your goddess. Come on, insult me a bit more, let me hear it.”
Wait why is this so cute 😭 Lily and Lena are so amusing I’m giggling and kicking my feet
I think now I know why she knew how to swear at the thret when they first met. It’s because of his subordinate 👍😂