The demon girl didn’t look friendly. Her eyes remained fixed on Mil, like she was sizing up her target.
Mil quickly raised her hand to use Goddess Eye.
Name: Mary / Level: 108
HP: 1750
MP: 1093
STR: 880
DEF: 755
INT: 889
DEX: 1203
SPD: 982
LUK: 259
Passive Skills: demonkin, demon eye, mana replenish, night vision, dark magic resistance (max), fire magic resistance (high), ice magic resistance (high), lightning magic resistance (high), one-handed sword proficiency (mid), great scythe proficiency (high)
Active Skills: dark magic, death scythe, cross wave, scythe hurricane, rock eibra, dark hit
“Mary?”
The name was familiar. Perhaps, Mil wondered, this girl was the Demon King’s daughter.
Whoever she was, she was a strong opponent with an impressive list of passive skills. Night vision in particular sounded really handy for fighting at night. Her stats were also far above almost everyone else in the Demon King’s forces. She was comparable to Graun of the royal guard.
“Mil Arphilia, is it? Father mentioned you.”
“Father?”
“You’ve met him, I’m sure. He’s the one who brought you here.”
“Ahh.”
That confirmed it. This was the princess the lizardman had mentioned when she’d visited the armory.
The pair of horns on her head and demonic wings on her back weren’t as big as those of the Demon King, but she certainly shared the same features. But what really mattered was how cute she was.
The demon girl was beautiful, albeit still slightly babyfaced. She had the body of a fully grown woman, with breasts far bigger than Mil’s and a lean build that was obvious even through her clothes.
“Father would be so sad if you disappeared. I can’t let you go.” Mary brandished her scythe.
Mil looked at the weapon with great interest. She’d never seen anything like it. But as the scythe started spinning Mil had to stop staring, and drew the magic sword at her waist.
“All I know is that I wanna go adventuring. I can’t stand being here anymore.”
“Then you’ll have to go through me!” the demonkin princess shouted as she began running at Mil.
She’s fast!
Mary had closed the distance in a mere few steps, barely giving Mil enough time to raise her sword. The sound of clashing metal rang in the air as their blades met and ground against each other.
But it didn’t end with that one attack. Mil had to deal with a shower of blows. She managed to block each swing as Mary tried a multitude of different attacks, but only just.
If she was the Demon King’s daughter, then it stood to reason that she’d be stronger than any orc or giant. Mil was confirming that firsthand.
“Yah!” Seizing an opening, Mil knocked the scythe aside and backed off a good distance. Then she sheathed her sword and adopted a peculiar stance.
“Huh...?” The Demon King’s daughter froze for a moment.
Now’s my chance!
“Demon slash!” Mil drew the sword from its scabbard, sending a black shock wave flying ahead.
“Hngh!” The Demon King’s daughter met the attack with her scythe, parrying it without much effort. Once redirected, the airborne slash cut a nearby demonic statue in two.
“Wow! Wow!” Mil began jumping up and down on the spot. “I did a perfect demon slash that time, but you still parried it no problem!”
“How...? Where’d you learn it? It’s a demonkin technique.”
“Hm? Crowell taught me. And a lot more swordplay besides.”
“Crowell?!” Mary’s eyes went wide with shock.
What’s so surprising about that?
The Demon King’s daughter lowered her gaze and thought for a while. “Don’t tell me Crowell already knows you’re planning to leave?”
“She knows. She even gave me supplies for my adventure.” She hadn’t handed them over to Mil personally, but it amounted to tacit approval.
The Demon King’s daughter fell to even deeper contemplation. Then she lowered the scythe. “So you really wanna go home?” she asked. Her willingness to fight had vanished.
Mil shook her head. “Truth is, I’ve seen a lot of adventurers back in the royal capital. I always wanted to do some adventuring of my own.”
The Demon King’s daughter listened quietly as Mil continued.
“But I’m a princess... I couldn’t just do whatever I wanted. Being brought to the Demon King’s Castle is like an opportunity for me.”
“An opportunity?”
“Yep! An opportunity for adventure! I will head back to the royal capital since I know my father’s worried, but I’m planning to enjoy the journey first!”
To Mil, the promise of adventure was everything. She’d held back her curiosity all this time, and she could resist it no longer.
“So it’s the same for humans.” The Demon King’s daughter laughed softly.
Mil didn’t understand it, but she sensed something self-deprecating in her laugh.
“All right,” Mary continued. “I get it. Maybe it’s Crowell’s way of showing me that there’s more than one way to live.”
“What do you—?”
Before Mil could ask her to explain, the Demon King’s daughter said, “I’m Mary Garland. The Demon King’s daughter. I doubt we’ll meet again, but take care on the road.”
“Oh. Um, I’m Mil Arphilia, princess of the Holy Arphil Kingdom,” she replied politely. She’d heard Mary’s name enough times that it didn’t feel like their first meeting.
“I know,” Mary laughed. The coldness in her eyes was completely gone now.
What if... Mil wondered. A concern she’d long held came back to her—the thought that adventuring alone might be lonely.
“Um! Would you like to come with me...?” Mil asked.
“Me?” For a moment Mary was stunned, but she soon shook her head. “I can’t. I’m the Demon King’s daughter. Father would never let me go traveling. Especially not with a human.”
“Oh...”
That much should have been obvious. They’d only just met. Of course Mary wasn’t going to agree to join Mil on a long journey.
“You should go,” Mary said. “Before I change my mind.”
“Aww. Well, I’ll be seeing you! Thanks for letting me go!” Mil hurried toward the castle gate.
Mil stopped for a moment to gather her courage. Her preparations were complete. She’d gained the strength to face what lay outside, and she’d learned a bunch of forbidden spells too!
“Here goes...” My adventure...starts here!
Mil reached out for the towering doors.
“Heh heh heh.” Behind her she heard bitter laughter from Mary.
“What is it?”
“Heh heh heh... Sorry. I never thought the first human to lay a hand on these doors would reach it from inside the castle. It’s funny—you’re inside and breaking out.”
“Is it?” Mil didn’t get why that was funny, but she was no expert on demonkin humor.
“Be proud. You may be the first human in all of history to make it back alive from the Demon King’s Castle.”
“Thanks. See you.”
Mil put her hand on the heavy door and gave it a firm push. The door began to open loudly.
“Wow...”
With the door fully open, she could see that the castle was atop a hill. A drawbridge lay ahead, and farther down the hill were the ramparts that surrounded the castle. She still had some way to walk before she was truly outside the castle grounds, but she was outside nonetheless.
She took in the view from the hilltop. Ahead of her were plains, stretching out as far as she could see.
Her expectations had reached a new high.
“Here I go! I’m gonna find those dragons and all kinds of new monsters!”
Mil rushed toward the castle gates.