Volume 1
1: The Disheartened Demon King
"Today, Stellar Sword Saint announced her withdrawal from the Hero Association and will no longer act as a hero..."
"The United Government maintains a restrained attitude toward the Elven Empire's provocative actions..."
"United Parliament Members have proposed a bill requiring professional heroes' actions to be subject to United Government oversight..."
The television broadcast utterly boring news, while the annoying chirping of cicadas came from outside the window. The air conditioner mounted on the wall continuously pumped cold air into the room, and the crackling sound of keyboard typing echoed in the small space.
A black-haired girl wearing pink cat-ear headphones sat in a gaming chair that was quite large for her frame, completely absorbed in controlling the character on screen.
She wore only a T-shirt printed with a cute girl design, her snow-white arms and thighs completely exposed to the air. Those beautiful obsidian eyes stared intently at the enemy's health bar with just a sliver remaining—anyone who didn't know better might think she was fighting some monster to the death.
"Shit!" As the character's health bar reached zero, the girl yanked off her headphones and slammed them hard on the desk. "Finally won!"
She had spent ten whole days preparing for this victory.
"Your Majesty, please keep your voice down, and... show some restraint." The tightly closed door opened, and a maid poked her head in from outside.
The maid was quite beautiful, with top-tier looks that wouldn't lose to major celebrities, combined with a revealing maid outfit that should only appear in anime. Her entire being radiated a unique seductive charm.
But the maid's expression wasn't particularly good.
Seeing the room that had become messy again just half a day after she'd cleaned it, and the girl who refused to dress properly no matter how many times she was told, the maid let out a long sigh.
The girl's clothes were obviously a size too big, which caused her right shoulder to be completely exposed. Following the shoulder line inward, the maid shook her head again.
Still refusing to wear undergarments?
"Don't worry, Xue'er. There's just us and that little girl upstairs in this building, and at this time of day, that kid is still at school." The black-haired girl said nonchalantly. As she spoke, she even stuck out her tongue to lick the corner of her mouth, where a small crumb of potato chips had been stuck.
Cute, lazy, slovenly—that was this girl's first impression on people.
To put it more aptly, she was... a very pretty internet-addicted girl.
The news anchor on TV continued reading meaningless news with a straight face—news that had no significance whatsoever for ordinary citizens. Honestly, in this day and age, very few people still watched news channels.
"Demon Empress Leticia Infinoi remains missing, and the United Government has expressed great concern about this."
"Tch, like a weasel paying New Year's respects to a chicken." The girl curled her lip disdainfully.
"By the way, Your Majesty, have you heard about Stellar Sword Saint's resignation?" The maid named Xue'er consciously ignored the girl's previous comment.
"Resignation? Well, if she resigned, she resigned... Wait, who resigned?!" The girl's voice suddenly rose.
If she heard correctly, that Stellar Sword Saint had resigned?
Really?
"You heard correctly. That Stellar Sword Saint has resigned and will no longer act as a hero." Xue'er seriously repeated the news she had just seen.
The girl didn't speak, but instead reached out and pinched her waist hard.
"Ow!" It hurt!
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Xue'er quickly ran to the girl's side and handed her tissues.
Taking the tissues from the maid, the girl hissed in pain while wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "It's nothing, I just wanted to confirm I wasn't dreaming."
That Sword Saint actually retired without a word? Could something have happened?
Otherwise, given that guy's perverted level of strength, how could she possibly retire at this time?
Don't say it was because of internal power struggles among humans that forced her to leave—that nonsense might fool ordinary people, but fool her? Impossible.
"The Guardian of Humanity, the Merciless Slaughter Machine, the Cold-faced God of Death... she actually retired." There was a hint of melancholy in the girl's voice.
"This should be good news, right? For us demons." Xue'er didn't understand why Her Majesty would show such an expression—wasn't the relationship between the Sword Saint and Her Majesty quite bad?
Yes, this girl was the protagonist of one of the news stories just broadcast on TV—the Demon Empress, Leticia Infinoi.
"Neither good nor bad." The girl shook her head. The Sword Saint had only retired, but she was still alive. As long as she lived, she remained a chip that all non-human races couldn't ignore—one that could change the entire balance of power.
"Sigh, why worry so much? I've already been kicked out anyway."
"If Your Majesty wishes, you can return to the Imperial City at any time. I believe the Princesses won't oppose your return." Xue'er lowered her head, her expression somewhat complex.
Leticia hadn't disappeared voluntarily, but had been forced to leave because the Princess and the Four Heavenly Kings had staged a coup. This had always been a knot in Xue'er's heart.
When facing the rebellion, Her Majesty had actually left without a word, taking only her along.
She could have easily suppressed the rebel army without any effort, but Leticia had refused to do so.
"Forget it, forget it. Why go back? The Demon Realm isn't as fun as the Human Realm." Leticia shook her head as usual. Having mixed in the human world for so long, she had become Liu Shan the Second, perfectly interpreting the idiom "happy to forget one's homeland."
Look at her now—scruffy and unkempt, with faint dark circles under her eyes, not leaving the house even once a month, having completely become social waste.
Who could imagine that such a girl had once been a monarch?
That figure in a black dress, dancing gracefully on the battlefield, had completely disappeared into the river of time. What remained in this world now was just an ordinary shut-in girl named Leticia.
"Is the Sword Saint really that strong?"
If not for that battle, Her Majesty should still be as noble and inviolable as before. Xue'er didn't know what had happened that day—all witnesses had been left on that wasteland.
She only knew that Her Majesty had been in a very sorry state that day. The beautiful longsword that Her Majesty had personally designed and had the Demon Realm's best craftsmen forge had been cut in half. Her Majesty's right hand hung limply at her side, and her dress was so torn it could barely cover her body.
The moment she saw Xue'er and her sister, Leticia had collapsed. Her body had reached its limit.
"Her strength has already surpassed the limits of what humans can achieve." Leticia's expression wasn't good. Recalling that battle, her heart was filled with nothing but endless helplessness.
"Let's not talk about it... there's a little guest at the door. Xue'er, go open it."