The Shopalace was in fact much closer than they had realized. Rostir Castle should’ve been multiple miles away, but they arrived at the new castle after traveling only a few feet.
The distance had probably been filled in by shovels.
“Looks like Lithisia is here.”
The shovel-shaped castle, as large as a mountain, was constructed entirely of shovels. From afar, it appeared to be a tower made from all kinds of rubble, but up close, that rubble actually consisted of countless small shovels. It was an incredibly uncomfortable sight.
“It’s so dang hard to walk!”
“Let’s hurry. Lucy and Gabriella will only be able to hold the Sun God’s attention for so long.”
“What happens if they notice us?”
“It’s possible that Rostir—no, the entire continent—will get roasted.”
“Isn’t that going overboard?!”
“That’s how gods are.”
And just like that, Catria shouldered the fate of the continent. As a knight, this was all terribly exciting, but she couldn’t find it in herself to laugh or smile. After all, she’d soon be directing the tip of her blade at her beloved (at least when she was human) mistress.
Catria swallowed as her body quaked with nervous energy. What form had Lithisia taken while waiting for them?
“This is it.”
The pair stood in front of a towering door to the throne room (the door was also made out of a bunch of shovels). The sign on said door had a message written in familiar feminine handwriting.
“Here lies the Great Demon King, Sho Ve Lithisia”
Shovevevevevel…
(The sound of Catria’s anxiety being instantaneously washed away.)
“What the hell are you thinking, Your Highness?” Catria sighed, though she at least understood that it was nothing good.
“We’re going in, Catria.”
Shoshoshosho…
Alan opened the large door and an extremely stupid sound filled the air. This was the throne room Zeleburg had once taken over for himself. In the center of it was a young woman in a princess dress. Her left hand held a shovel, while her right hand also held a shovel. She had a shovel in her mouth and was using shovels as stilts. She was simultaneously wielding five shovels, and her eyes were hidden behind a mask. A mask shaped like the head of a shovel. Actually, it was just a shovel head. Above her head, all seven orbs floated in midair. They formed a beautiful shovel (four orbs for the handle, three orbs for the head).
She was completely a shovel. Or was she a scoop at this point? Did it really matter?
“W-welcommemefe, pperrf. Th-thiffgf haf?!” Because of the shovel in her mouth, she couldn’t speak properly. Said mouth-shovel fell to the floor, causing the self-proclaimed Great Demon King Sho Ve Lithisia to panic and try to pick it up. She attempted to sho-ffle over to it, but in doing so she slipped, causing the shovels in her hands and her mask to fall off as well.
Her face was plain for all to see.
“What the hell are you thinking, Your Highness?” said Catria, which was the second time she had said this in thirty seconds.
“Shoooooo?!” Lithisia was stunned that her identity had been discovered, not that anyone had ever actually questioned who she was. The only princess dumb enough to do this in the history of the entire continent was Lithisia, and there was no way this idiot was that unfortunate soul, Elise of the Reflection. “I-I’m no cute and pure Shovel Princess, shovel!”
She was already falling apart.
“The shovel at the end of your sentence kinda gives you away, to be honest.”
“Sho?! I mean, uh, er, scoop!” Lithisia cleared her throat before continuing. “I-I’m the Great Demon King, Sho Ve Lithisia! I will fill this world with shovels, scoop!”
“This hurts to listen to.”
“Scoop, I said!” Lithisia insisted with tears in her eyes.
Catria no longer knew what to do.
Then the silent Alan finally moved. He gripped his shovel. “Lithisia, right now, you really are a scoop.”
“!!!”
With a super happy smile on her face, she nodded enthusiastically.
Catria no longer had the energy to interject, so she just gazed out the window. The impaled sun still burned brightly.
Ah, jeez. Maybe it’s for the best if you just burn this whole world to a crisp, Sun God.