Almost at the exact moment when Valo calculated the timing and triggered the cooldown of the [King’s Vessel] teleportation ability, a figure made of yellow sand—Emma, frantically touching the beacon—appeared before her.
This time, the teleportation ability wasn’t used on herself; instead, Emma was the one sending herself back—who said teleportation could only be used on the user?
[The King’s Vessel remains silent, only protesting: This is malicious use of a bug!]
“Shut up.”
“Valorant has no bugs, only mechanics.”
Soon, Emma’s form became clear and solid before Valo.
Then…
This silly dog, the moment she fully teleported back, missed her step and fell flat on her rear.
“Ah wah wah wah! I was about to be killed… Ugh! That hurts… Huh?”
Immediately after, not even bothering to yelp like a drowned dog, she opened her little mouth and stared dumbly at Valo’s approaching figure.
“Can you not bark loudly like that once we’re home, Emma?”
Valo complained helplessly, but still pulled the fallen Emma to her feet. “How could I make a mistake with the Holy Relics’ operation? You’re safe, Emma. Welcome back.”
The pink dumb dog before her finally panted like a puppy that had just made it to shore and relaxed.
Then…
She knelt down again, hugged Valo’s leg tightly, and rubbed her face against the black stockings nonstop.
“Wow! Demon King, it’s so good to see your great face again. I’m truly blessed.”
“Alright, alright!”
After tugging a few times and failing to kick off this pink dumb dog, Valo gave up and asked her the question she cared about most—whether Emma had actually passed on her intention for peace talks with the Blood Tribe’s True Ancestor to the high-ranking members, ensuring it would reach the True Ancestor in the end.
“Emma, when I left, quite a few Vampire Kin had already noticed something unusual at the beacon. Did you see any high-ranking members there qualified to pass my message to the True Ancestor?”
“Gah…”
Emma, who had just been using Valo’s thigh as a violin and her face as a bow, going “win~win~” while rubbing, suddenly stopped her dumb dog behavior with a strange yelp.
The Blood Tribe girl shrank her neck, slowly stood up, carefully glanced at Valo, and then gave a silly laugh.
“Well… more or less, Demon King. I saw Hilo-chan… Oh, Hilo-chan is…”
“Ah, Hilo.”
Valo nodded, cutting off Emma’s explanation.
The “Hilo-chan” the pink dumb dog mentioned wasn’t unfamiliar to her.
Hilo was a member of the Wolfman race—slightly less rare than Anqi’s Skywing race, but still a very uncommon tribe—and the second kin who accepted the Blood Tribe True Ancestor’s contract.
In the game, Hilo couldn’t be chosen as a starting daughter, but in Emma’s opening route, there was a path involving Hilo—the [Two Daughters Route].
Emma’s timid smile carried a bit of bitterness.
“You know Hilo-chan too, Demon King? Hilo-chan is really amazing.”
“She’s definitely better than you, dumb dog.”
If Emma was a pink dumb dog, then Hilo was a black cool wolf.
But Valo still patted Emma’s dog head and added, “But I don’t require my servants to be smart—just useful enough. You don’t need to compare yourself to her. Don’t stress, Emma.”
“Hehe…”
The pink dumb dog immediately showed a delighted expression, looking like she might drool.
Valo gave her a hard punch to wake her up and raised her voice, becoming serious.
“So, did you convey all the peace talk contents I instructed to Hilo?”
After all, the Wolfman kin Hilo was the smartest and most troublesome among the True Ancestor’s followers.
In Valo’s plan to manipulate the True Ancestor, her biggest concern wasn’t the True Ancestor herself, but Hilo’s attitude!
If the True Ancestor was Liu Shan, then Hilo was equivalent to Zhuge Liang… No, no, how could she use that metaphor?
Wouldn’t that make her the eunuch Huang Hao?
“Emma? I’m asking you.”
Seeing no reaction from the pink puppy in front, Valo reminded her again.
Emma finally shrank her shoulders and nodded. “Haha~ Demon King, I more or less… told Hilo-chan everything. Then I felt the beacon activate, so I teleported back immediately.”
Tsk, dumb dog! At least observe Hilo’s reaction after hearing that!
Valo sighed in frustration.
But it didn’t matter much; as long as Emma faithfully relayed her instructions—learning that the villainous Demon King Valo Lante II was still alive, Hilo, with her diplomatic skill, would inevitably report to the True Ancestor before making a decision.
That was enough. Valo was confident she could slowly manipulate the Blood Tribe True Ancestor.
Next, Emma suddenly raised her hand nervously.
“Um… Demon King…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
Valo blinked, thinking the pink puppy in front was asking for praise.
No problem: though Emma’s actions had been a bit cowardly and ended poorly, she had delivered the message while Valo couldn’t show herself before the Blood Tribe—that counted as a merit!
“You did well this time. This is more like what one of my servants should be.”
Emma, who had been about to say something, immediately fell silent.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to reward you with now, so don’t complain about my empty promises. I’ve seen everything you’ve done. Once my ambitions are realized step by step, you won’t be left out.”
“Hehe… How could I say you’re making empty promises, Demon King? Your praise is my greatest honor! I… I won’t wash my ears for the rest of my life!”
Can you act normal, dumb dog?
“Anyway, Emma, continue using the Blood Tribe’s methods to contact Hilo and wait for the True Ancestor’s reply regarding my peace proposal.”
“In this plan, Emma, you’re a crucial link. Don’t mess up. Understand?”
In response, Valo only got Emma’s weak, silly laugh.
Come to think of it, when she praised her just now, the pink dumb dog was surprisingly calm?
She’d expected Emma to immediately spiral into a kneeling slide, hug her thigh, and start licking the black stockings.
So.
The secret room in the chapel annex was no ordinary place, and Valo didn’t intend to linger. She beckoned for Emma to follow and quickly leave quietly.
Her expression was serious, put on for the dumb dog behind her.
But in reality, Valo was quite happy—she felt like Yagami Light swapping two Death Notes, reaching the peak of intellectual battle at this moment.
Informing the True Ancestor that she wasn’t dead and expressing her desire for peace talks was only the first step—
If the True Ancestor obediently submitted, “Demon King, you’re not dead? Fine.”
Or if she thought, “If that bird Demon King can sit on the throne, why can’t I?” — “Fine.”
She could handle both. The key was to create an opportunity to meet with the Blood Tribe high-ranking members, gradually advancing, slowly controlling the Blood Tribe, and achieving the reputation conditions for the Blood Tribe in the [Empress of All Females Ending].
That would be her next command to Emma.
Brilliant~ Meow.
Until Valo left the secret room and forcefully pushed open the chapel doors, she was still quite pleased.
But the next moment, two familiar figures blocking the entrance made her realize: the secrecy of her plan might not have been sufficient.
“Uh, Kaika, Finney?”
Who else could the two girls blocking the evacuation point be but her daughters!?
Valo immediately felt her mouth go stiff. And Emma?
What use was the pink dumb dog behind her? Could she expect Emma to bite someone to protect her?—
The moment she saw her two serious-faced daughters, the dumb dog froze and started playing dead!
At first, Valo tried to bluff.
“Ahaha~ Good morning, my lovely daughters.”
“Mommy was just chatting with this nun sister in the chapel.”
But she quickly realized: Kaika, Finney, and even Anqi, who wasn’t here…
The relationship between her daughters, unbeknownst to her as their mother, seemed much more unified than she thought.
“Mommy, you didn’t think that getting permission from the Saintess would make her hide it from us, did you?”
The filial daughter Kaika wore a mocking expression as if looking at an idiot—which made Valo slap her own head in regret: what a fool!
Last night, she was so focused on Mother ASMR to get Anqi’s permission that she completely forgot to ask Anqi to keep it secret!
So, given the Saintess’s concern for her mommy, telling her other two daughters that “Mommy got permission to enter the secret room to see the Holy Relics” to prevent accidents…
Was perfectly reasonable.
Thus, Kaika and Finney, who already knew more of her mother’s secrets, couldn’t possibly sit still!
Realizing this, Valo quickly said, “Stop!”
“Wait, daughters, Mommy can really explain! I’m not doing anything bad!”
This time, Finney answered.
“I know you’re not doing anything bad, Mommy, but you really should explain. Because just now, you activated the Holy Relics, didn’t you?”
With that, the Hero directly expressed her “concern” through action—taking a stride to stand before Valo!
Leaning down. Then…
She hoisted Valo onto her shoulder like cargo!
Kaika from the side waved for the terrified Emma to follow, and the two daughters carried their mother quickly toward the clock tower’s first-floor infirmary!
During the morning study period, the clock tower was full of students, so…
Valo being carried on her daughter’s shoulder was completely exposed to everyone’s attention.
Stares.
During that time, she even saw Knight Princess Ain!
And you’re just staring!? Ain, aren’t you her junior? Save Mommy!
“OMG! Finney, Kaika, where are you taking Mommy?”
In response, the Hero gave a glare that could scare off an army.
“We’re taking Mommy to the infirmary to chat. Move along, Ain. This doesn’t concern you.”
Then the junior was scared off.
Valo’s face immediately fell. She squirmed like a worm, but then, seeing Emma, she had to maintain a dignified composure.
Ahem! Emma, I’m not being weak. I’m just a mother who can’t resist her daughters’ rough treatment.
However… just as Valo tried to convey this with her eyes,
Now being carried on Finney’s shoulder, swaying back and forth, she noticed something strange about the pink puppy following them?
She seemed distracted, dazed, barely able to walk, as if she had a fever?
Even though her “great and majestic Demon King” was being carried off like a big toy by her daughters, not only did Emma not laugh at her or think her “image was shattered”…
She hadn’t even glanced at her?