Sifni collapsed helplessly onto the sofa, no longer harboring any hope for the mission.
She just wanted to cleanse this unjust world with blazing fire as soon as possible.
Liami watched the slumped Sifni and shook her head, speaking with pity, “Sigh, what a pitiful creature. I wonder what happened to make her like this.”
Hearing Liami’s words laced with sympathy, Sifni only twitched the corner of her eye and made no other reaction.
It seemed that during this time, she had already grown accustomed to Liami’s mockery.
Seeing that Sifni remained unresponsive, Liami gave a slight smile and then said, “Ah, I just remembered! It’s because you came in last place ten times in a row that you’re so discouraged, isn’t it? Don’t give up—you might just win next time!”
The moment Liami finished speaking, Sifni’s body trembled violently for a moment but soon returned to stillness.
She had given up, refusing to resist any longer, resigned to her terribly unlucky constitution.
Seeing this, Liami lost interest and stopped teasing Sifni.
She turned to Colin and asked, “Why haven’t they arrived yet?”
“They should be close. They said they’d definitely get here today.”
“Really? They’re awfully slow, huh!”
After saying this, Liami slowly stretched. She had been sitting on this sofa for half a day, and her body was starting to stiffen.
Of course, the “they” Liami and Colin referred to were none other than Elinor and Lavinia.
After all, Liami wasn’t staying here with Sifni just because the game ‘Great Adventurers’ was fun, nor was she so drunk on the thrill of consecutive victories that she kept playing.
The reason Liami, Sifni, and Colin were hanging around here instead of going about their usual separate tasks was that tomorrow was the last day of their holiday.
And today, Lavinia and Elinor were supposed to return to the manor and meet up with them.
So Liami and the others stayed to play games, waiting for the two of them.
But Liami never expected them to be this slow!
She had already won ten straight games, yet those two hadn’t even shown a shadow of themselves!
What on earth were they dawdling on?
Colin noticed Liami’s impatience and comforted her, signaling that she needn’t be so anxious—maybe they’d arrive soon.
He was just as puzzled as Liami.
Lavinia was understandable, but why was Elinor so late? She was usually punctual.
Just as Colin and Liami were wondering about their slow pace, the manor’s front door suddenly opened, and a lively voice rang out from the entrance.
“Hey hey! I’m back! How’s everyone been this month? I’ve been having a great time!”
Lavinia bounced over to Colin while speaking.
“Hey! Long time no see, my dear captain! Here, I brought you some little gifts from my hometown.”
After saying this, Lavinia stuffed a bunch of strange items into Colin’s hands.
Not only that, but she also brought different gifts for Liami and Sifni.
Looking at the flute forced into her hand, Liami was utterly confused. Why would Lavinia give her this?
Sifni was equally surprised, staring at the item in her hand… a tree branch?
Colin’s gift was even more absurd—a body pillow with a picture of a beautiful girl!
And upon closer inspection, the girl on the pillow looked somewhat… familiar?
At that moment, Sifni noticed the pillow in Colin’s hands. Seeing the girl’s image, she immediately widened her eyes in shock.
Liami also realized why the girl looked so familiar—it was the same design of the gender-swapped Demon Lord body pillow they had seen before at Alec’s place! Even the pose was identical!
Colin recognized the item in his hands and asked Lavinia with a dark expression, “…Where did you get this thing?”
“Hm? This pillow? I took it from some demon tribe spoils I got after returning home. Since it’s related to demons and I don’t understand what it’s for, I thought I’d give it to you. What? Is there something wrong with it?”
Hearing this, Colin didn’t know how to explain the pillow’s purpose to Lavinia.
Because she had lived long in the Elf Forest, she lacked common knowledge of many human items.
Rather than force an explanation, it was easier to just accept it and reduce trouble.
Thinking this, Colin said only, “No problem,” and put away the gender-swapped Demon Lord beauty pillow amidst Sifni’s shocked gaze.
What he planned to do with it afterward, nobody knew.
Liami thought to herself she never imagined Colin would actually use that pillow.
After all, he was a Paladin—there was no way he’d hug a pillow bearing the image of a former Demon Lord to sleep, even if the Demon Lord was now a ridiculously cute girl after the gender swap.
Of course, Liami thought that, but others didn’t necessarily.
Lavinia was just puzzled by Sifni’s shock, while Sifni was stunned, staring at Colin.
After shivering, she etched this moment deeply in her mind.
“Oh, by the way, why’d you give me a flute? I do know how to play a little, but there’s no need to give me one for that, is there?”
After hearing Liami’s question, Lavinia leaned close to whisper in her ear, “Just try it first, and you’ll understand.”
At these words, Liami’s sharp senses detected something off in Lavinia’s tone.
Looking at the flute in her hand, a bad feeling welled up inside her.
She wanted to refuse, but Colin suddenly looked at her expectantly.
“Liami, you can play this? I never knew! Can you play something for me?”
Seeing Colin’s hopeful face, Liami found her refusal stuck in her throat.
In the end, she resignedly picked up the flute and began to play.
Her playing wasn’t very good, probably only a bit better than a beginner.
After all, she only learned it to fulfill some assassination mission and never practiced seriously.
But even so, when she finished, Colin led the applause.
“I didn’t expect you to have this ability. You’ve shown me a different side of you.”
Colin smiled and praised her, and Sifni and Lavinia clapped along.
But what Liami and Colin didn’t notice was that after Colin’s comment, Sifni and Lavinia exchanged a glance, seemingly reaching some silent agreement.
Just as Liami blushed shyly in response to Colin’s praise, she suddenly felt something wrong with her body.
Feeling the strange sensation within, she immediately looked at Lavinia and demanded, “What’s happening? My body feels weird! What exactly does this flute do?!”
The moment Liami finished speaking, everyone witnessed an incredible sight: a pair of cat ears sprouted atop Liami’s head!
Liami: “??? What kind of flute is this?!”