After chasing away the knight who blocked her path, Ai Yue was finally able to sit down and enjoy her meal.
“Um… Lady Ai Yue, the kitchen says it was so sudden that they need a little more time to prepare the food.”
“…”
As the saying goes, the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. She had thought she would be eating immediately, but it turned out to be for nothing.
What was she supposed to do? She was so hungry! She wanted to throw a fit!
…Wait, what was wrong with her? Her old self shouldn’t have thoughts like these.
“Um… Lady Ai Yue, though it’s a bit late, I found a recent newspaper. I thought it might help.”
Bululu hadn’t forgotten the question Ai Yue asked earlier. Since the food would take a while, it was better to read the paper and gather information; perhaps the time would pass quickly.
“…Mm.”
It was a timely arrival. Ai Yue completely agreed with the idea.
‘Endure it! Any distraction is a good distraction!’
With that thought, Ai Yue flipped open the paper.
[July 20, Revelation Era 1132]
[Headline: The Third Demon King severely reprimands a publisher, claiming novels should have at most two volumes and he refuses to count to three. Author: Wei Wo Hua Sheng]
“…What does this even mean?”
‘Is this that thing?’ It was a report modeled after a certain famous game company from her previous life that couldn’t count to three. After all, the scale of this game was massive. Not only did the developers add a lot of personal touches, but the auto-generated portions also incorporated many real-world materials.
But it was hard to keep a straight face, you know? Especially since the one speaking up was the “Third” Demon King.
“Speaking of which, has the ranking of the Demon Kings changed over the last ten years?”
Suppressing the urge to complain, Ai Yue asked.
“I don’t know much about world affairs, but I know this much when it comes to the Demon Realm. As far as I know, no.”
“Fine.”
Ai Yue remembered that this Demon Realm was led by the Great Demon King — which was her — at the very top. Under her were six Demon Kings, from the First to the Sixth, ranked according to their strength.
Just as nobles had their own territories to rule, the Demon Realm was governed by her and the six Demon Kings in their respective lands. However, as the Great Demon King, she held ultimate authority. Besides the capital under her direct control, she could intervene in other territories. But by setting, she almost never bothered with such things, so that right was basically never used.
“The Third Demon King… I remember he specializes in intelligence, right?”
It was called intelligence, but in reality, he controlled the media, such as newspaper offices, and secretly owned intelligence organizations. One side outputted information while the other received it. The newspaper headline was likely his way of using that power to pressure the publisher.
However, it seemed that because of his information gathering, he also placed great importance on literary works. That was probably why he didn’t hesitate to use the media’s power.
It couldn’t be helped. Demons were basically as self-indulgent as they pleased. She was the one who set it that way.
As a side note, the other Demon Kings were: the First Demon King, an all-rounder proficient in all areas; the Second Demon King, who was responsible for general warfare but had recently undergone a change in leadership; the Fourth Demon King, who excelled at dominating and manipulating the collective consciousness; the Fifth Demon King, who specialized in magic; and the Sixth Demon King, who had made great achievements in industry and alchemy.
According to Ai Yue’s memory, every one of the six Demon Kings was a top-tier powerhouse at least above Level 80. If they went all out, sinking a continent with a single blow would be no problem. They were the kind of terrifying characters who could wipe her out just by breathing.
“But the rankings haven’t changed? It seems they’ve been fairly well-behaved. Usually, they can’t stand each other and are ready to fight a bloody battle for a position at any moment.”
Since they were demons, they naturally possessed warlike traits and a pursuit of strength. Thus, in the settings, the six Demon Kings below the Great Demon King often competed with each other. In extreme cases, they would even issue challenges, and the winner’s rank would rise.
It wasn’t that no one had ever challenged Ai Yue, but those were things that happened before the game started and existed only in the settings. Now, most demons recognized Ai Yue’s strength — the kind where even the six Demon Kings combined couldn’t defeat her. So, without a special reason, they didn’t dare to rebel rashly.
This brought up the game’s power levels. Roughly, Levels 1 to 5 were for ordinary people, rated as F-rank in the game system, which was also the rank for the Adventurers Guild. After that, Levels 6 to 20 were E-rank, and Levels 21 to 40 were C-rank. Levels 41 to 60, as D-rank, were the levels the development team expected most Players to reach. In the Adventurers Guild, this level of strength would be among the best in a city.
Going higher, Levels 61 to 80 were already the realm of high-level Players. Even Closed Beta Players who had invested a lot of time, money, and had explosive luck couldn’t reach this level before the end of the beta. But it was only a matter of time, as the game was meant for long-term operation.
Unreal Garden was a fantasy-based game that also possessed realistic features. The flow of time in the real world was equal to the game. There wouldn’t be a situation where game NPCs became stronger faster than Players due to a faster time flow. However, because Players were different from NPCs and could respawn with a minor penalty, Players still grew stronger faster than NPCs.
In other words, Ai Yue was at a disadvantage regarding time. She estimated that the Players logging in right on schedule had already started grinding for levels, while she was still waiting for her food to be served.
No, just the thought of the food not being here made the hunger return.
‘So hungry… I want food… I want to eat… I want… something lewd…’
Without Ai Yue’s knowledge, a certain invisible, special magic began to drift from her body… No, rather than saying she was emitting magic, it was more like her magic itself was attracting the surrounding mana in an eerie way. The result was that any being with magic nearby was unconsciously drawn to her, while simultaneously receiving an effect that quickened their heartbeat and heightened their desires.
And as it happened, there was someone with magic right beside her.
‘Strange. Why does Lady Ai Yue seem even more beautiful and moving than before…?’ Bululu watched Ai Yue, who had unconsciously tensed up. It felt as if her vision were covered by a thin pink veil. Within Ai Yue’s originally blue-and-white pupils, a pink heart-shaped light appeared, making it impossible to look away.
Ever-expanding desire, an Ai Yue who seemed even more charming, and the strange atmosphere of being alone in a room — it all made Bululu feel like her heart was gradually becoming strange. She wanted to rush forward and pull Ai Yue into her arms immediately…
‘No, no, no! This is an act of treason! How could I, a maid, dare to think of doing such a thing to my master?’
‘Calm down. Count prime numbers. Calm yourself…’
‘Two, three, five, seven, nine… No, that’s wrong…’
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
At that critical moment, the dining room door was pushed open, followed by the aroma of various foods.
As soon as she smelled the fragrance, Ai Yue jerked her head up reflexively. At the same time, the Charming Aura in the surroundings vanished, and Bululu was able to return to normal.