Chapter 30

“Ready?” Kade turned to his wife. They had done the deed. The new link between them as a married couple had replaced their old link. They were no longer master and familiar, but husband and wife. Meline was no longer restricted to being close to him, although ever since their marriage, they had grown even closer.

“Ready,” Meline replied, standing right beside him. They were in their home in Nordeux. If Meline collapsed, then she wouldn’t be able to teleport, thus the risk of having the three humans stranded in demon territory.

Kade turned back to the scroll. Today, they will be continuing their investigation of the scrolls. Tila was ready to take notes with her book.

“Lorem ipsum!” Kade said, the letters changing in front of him. This scroll was the tale of how the demons came to be. They weren’t always called demons. They used to be humans as well. The term demons came from the word dararemon. Dararemon meant change, at first used to describe how they were no longer regular people. Humanity’s hatred caused the demons to be compared to daremons, which was this world’s equivalent of actual demons on Earth.

Other than that, there was no new information.

“This is a waste of time!” Meline complained right before collapsing. Kade couldn’t hold himself for any longer, and he too fell.

•••

“And here we are,” Linda said. With Meline’s familiar link broken, she could now go wherever she wanted. Thus, the time had come for a girls’ trip. Meline was still recovering, and what better way to help her other than a tour of the shopping street?

They didn’t go to the shopping street in Nordeux, however. Despite currently recovering, Meline’s mana was enough for several teleports, so Linda kept pestering her for a trip to the capital. She agreed, under the condition that they wouldn’t talk about her love life.

“Whoa, there are so many stylish cafes!” Tila said, looking around. Nordeux was already a large city, but the kingdom’s capital was three times as large. As such, the options had multiplied as well.

Various shops filled the shopping street. Trendy cafes, fancy restaurants, and large boutiques lined up the street. They didn’t come for clothes shopping, however. Tila had access to her own tailors, unsurprising considering her noble status.

Meline was confident in her cooking, so the only difference between her own food and the food that the restaurants and cafes provided would be the atmosphere. Linda knew this, hence why she would be taking them to a different place.

A doll exhibit. It occupied a large building at the end of the street. 

“Whoa… even from the entrance there’s a lot of dolls,” Tila commented as she looked around the entrance of the exhibit.”

“There’s more inside,” Linda said, delighted after seeing her excitement.

“Dolls? We aren’t children, I tell you.”

Of course, Linda struggled to believe Meline’s words when she stared so intently at one of the dolls. This one was in the shape of a brown bear. It looked fluffy and adorable.

“There are so many of them…”

And the dolls displayed weren’t just those of stuffed animals, but a lot of others as well. Wooden dolls, paper dolls, porcelain dolls, and many more. All of them displayed an impressive level of craftsmanship.

“This one is made from wood, right?” Tila asked, pointing to a large door in the shape of a woman mage.

“She looked much more dignified compared to Linda,” Meline said, laughing.

“Well, at least she can’t move,” Linda spat. Right as she said that, the doll moved its face toward her, causing all three girls to jump back.

“So there are mechanical parts, huh?” Meline murmured after seeing the doll’s head turned the other way. It just happened to look toward them. It didn’t have any magical device in it, just some classic mechanical gearing.

The doll’s back part was attached to a wooden wall, and if one paid attention, they could see some wiring coming out of it.

“That surprised me,” Tila said.

“Same.”

Meline wanted to take a closer look. Craftsmen in the Demon Lands could make something similar, but there were a lot of ways to move parts. She wanted to know which method the crafter chose and why. Unfortunately, after circling the doll multiple times, she didn’t find anything.

Reading the description didn’t help, as it discussed mostly the abstract concept of the doll, with no hint regarding the production method. Meline tried asking a staff member, but unfortunately, the staff member also didn’t know.

“Likes to keep secrets, this one…” she murmured.

“Let’s move on,” Linda suggested. They continued looking around.

“Isn’t this more of a sculpture at this point?” Tila pointed at a doll made out of rocks. Well, due to the material, it looked much more like a proper sculpture.

“Whoa, look at the details…” Tila observed the clothes on the statue. It looked incredibly detailed, mimicking real fabric. Not just that. From its hair all the way down to its feet, all have been meticulously sculpted. They could see the sculpture’s strands of hair.

“What are the chances of you making something like this?” Linda asked.

“... Close to zero. I don’t have time for this!”

Even if Meline had the skills for it, she wouldn’t waste time making a sculpture for no reason. She wasn’t an artist.

Besides, what would she make? A sculpture of Kade? The idea itself was hilarious.

“... Or maybe…”

Both Linda and Tila gave her a cold stare, realizing what she was thinking.

“Le- Let’s move on!”

As they continued walking around, Meline noticed a small doll.

“This… is very similar to you, isn’t it?” Linda pointed out. At first, Meline thought it was a coincidence, but upon closer inspection, it indeed looked similar to her.

It depicted her lying on the ground, a spear stabbing through her chest, with some human soldiers standing above her. It was a doll far different from the other dolls on display. It looked so out of place. Linda took a step back to check, making sure they hadn’t wandered into a different part of the exhibit.

“This is… eerily similar,” Tila murmured.

“Yep, pretty sure we’re still in the doll exhibit,” Linda said.

“We apologize for the similarities.” One of the staff came. “Please don’t be concerned, young lady. This doll is depicting the demon lord.”

The staff didn’t realize that the demon lord herself stood before him.

“I see… What does this doll mean, then?” Meline asked, keeping her expression neutral. She didn’t look angry or offended, but she didn’t seem pleased either.

“It means triumphant over the demon lord.” The staff then explained what it meant to the creator. The creator, believing that peace could only be achieved after the demons were wiped out, depicts this doll as the final scene of the confrontation between humans and demons.

At the demon castle, Meline lying on the floor. It was an eerie sight, especially with how detailed the doll was. It was also a criticism of the heroes' party. The creator believed that they weren’t doing their jobs properly, hence the regular human soldiers in the sculpture. Strangely enough, it didn’t mention the invasion eleven years ago. Everything the staff said came from the period before that, right after Meline took the throne.

“I see… Thank you for the explanation.”

“You’re very welcome.”

The group walked away.

“That… was weird…”

“I’m sorry, Meline.”

None of them stopped the staff member from speaking, not even Meline. They just listened.

“You don’t need to apologize, Tila. It wasn’t your fault.”

Meline had endured something like this numerous times before. Not just humans, many demons doubt her rule. The wolfkins wouldn’t be against her if they respected her. It was simply a part of being a ruler. Rather, it was a part of life. No matter how good one could be, haters would still be there.

“What should we do about it?” Linda asked.

“Nothing. Let them believe what they want,” Meline said. “If anything, forcing them would only make things worse.”

She flashed them a proud grin. “I am her, after all. And someone of her standing wouldn’t be bothered by such little things.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Linda said, and the three of them continued going through the exhibit.

•••

“Welcome ho…me…” Kade stared in surprise at the number of bags the three girls brought back. Souvenirs filled all of them. Well, most of them were dolls, but they had brought some other stuff as well.

Like a wooden carving of the royal castle, for example. It had a ring and some small chains, serving as a keychain.

“This is for you.” Meline handed over the keychain.

“Thanks.” It looked pretty good. It wasn’t as well-detailed as the sculptures Meline saw at the exhibition, but that was expected. It was a cheap keychain, after all. It couldn’t be too detailed.

“I’ll treasure it.”

Meline smiled. A feeling of warmth filled her heart when she saw Kade liking her gift.

“Welp, I’m heading home, then. Enjoy your night,” Tila said, turning around.

“Please don’t do it too loud.”

“Shut up!” Meline shouted, her cheeks flushed.