Jon did not expect Lily’s acting ability to be so formidable.
He did not know if it was because her foundation was well-laid by The Demon King’s Jokes or if she was truly a natural at playing the role of a domineering yet elegant hegemon.
In any case…
When Lily gathered a large group of Pupus, reshaped herself into the image of Demon King Lia, and added a layer of Mist Mirror Art, she looked almost exactly like the “True Demon King Lia” had stepped out of a painting.
Of course, at this point, Jon was only thinking, ‘The Pupus’ mimicry ability is truly impressive,’ and ‘Pupus can transform into anything; they really are treasure pets.’
These were mostly idle thoughts.
Even though Lily had taken on the appearance of the Demon King, she remained timid.
Her expression was a mix of shame and hesitation, likely due to her internal anxiety.
“Do… Do I really have to act…?”
Lia murmured softly.
“Yeah, it’s fine, Lily.”
Jon very patiently provided roleplay guidance for Lily, coaxing her along.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t act well; we can adjust as we go. You just need to imitate about seventy percent of the Demon King’s temperament. Haven’t you read a lot of Demon King jokes? Just immerse yourself in the role and pretend you really are Demon King Lia.”
“Then… Then I’m really going to immerse myself…”
Lia closed her eyes and desperately told herself in her mind: ‘Watch the scale! I must watch the scale! Whatever I do, I shouldn’t act too much like my true self!’
“Very good, Lily. Imagine that if you were Demon King Lia and you were standing in front of me, what would you say?”
Jon continued to lead the little Pupu into the scene.
“Uh… Have you eaten yet? Hero?”
Lia searched her mind for a long time before picking out a suitable greeting.
“Silly Lily, you’re the Demon King, not someone’s housewife.”
Jon couldn’t help but laugh.
He beckoned to Lia and continued to encourage her.
“Lily, think about it. If you were Demon King Lia and saw the enemy who killed you standing right there, wouldn’t there be at least a little flare of anger in your heart? Say something fierce!”
“Something fierce… Hmm…”
Lia’s face flushed red with embarrassment.
Her anger was indeed being poked, but her rationality had to suppress it to keep herself from blurting out something that would be difficult to explain.
This feeling of needing to release while also needing to suppress was truly torture for a Pupu.
After a long silence.
She turned red and forced out a threat: “You big dummy! I’m going to drown you in Pupu water!”
Jon was amused.
He continued his persuasion and guidance.
“That won’t work, Lily. That won’t do at all. You have to get into character more and bring out the Demon King’s aura. How about this? Don’t think of yourself as Demon King Lia; just think of yourself as Demon King Lily.”
Knowing that if she did not cooperate seriously, she probably wouldn’t be able to move past this, Lia had no choice but to close her eyes and cautiously release a portion of her seal.
Fine — she would just bring out thirty percent of her former aura.
“Then Lily… then Lily… is really going to get into character…”
She reminded the Hero softly.
“Go for it, Lily! You’ll definitely be the best actress!”
Jon continued to encourage her with gentle words.
“You’re the one who asked for this, friend…” she muttered again.
“Yes, I know. I’m looking forward to it!”
Jon still did not realize the severity of the situation.
He stared intently at Lily.
For some reason, he hoped to discover Lily’s talent for acting.
Just like when he had arranged for “Anna” to be Lily’s teacher, he had hoped Lily would become smarter, speak more vividly, and learn to dance.
He always wanted Lily to become better.
Although this “better” was not entirely out of pure care, it was also mixed with a trace of his own simple and shy selfishness — a selfishness he only felt toward Lily.
The wind suddenly stopped.
It was as if autumn had sensed danger, as if a falling leaf had shed its mortal coil.
At that moment — Jon suddenly saw the Lily in front of him and that mass of Pupu aggregates instantly relax.
She was no longer nervous, and she no longer radiated that slight sense of discordance.
The Pupus began to act as a single entity, like a true, handsome, young king.
The body formed by the Pupus slowly opened its crimson and bright eyes, revealing a somewhat cynical smile.
The figure looked toward Jon, causing Jon’s heart to momentarily stop.
Jon even had an illusion — that Demon King Lia was looking back at him from across The Underworld, across the boundary of life and death, through Lily’s eyes.
“My nemesis…”
“It’s been a long time. This time, I won’t lose again.”
Demon King Lia spoke slowly.
Every word was like an electric current running down Jon’s spine, even triggering an instinctive reaction from his nerves.
His blood began to boil, and his magic power churned in unease.
Within his battle-hardened body, every cell seemed to be cheering, celebrating the return of the only powerful opponent who could make his blood boil for a fight.
Jon was dazed.
He suddenly felt caught up in the emotion.
In the heat of the moment, he actually responded with a line:
“Even next time, I will be the winner!”
“Is that so?”
Demon King Lia’s voice tilted upward playfully.
Within that lazy and elegant smile, there was a hint of charm that a male should not possess, yet it was by no means effeminate.
Instead, it was a kind of masculine allure that drew villains into submission.
“Then show me your limits once again.”
“Before me, there are only hills; there have never been any rivals.”
Those twelve resounding words carved themselves into Jon’s heart, as if pulling him back to that most glorious and unforgettable battle.
The Demon King stood not far from him, robes fluttering, standing as straight as a pine tree.
Boundless loneliness and pride radiated from that thin gray shadow, like a natural-born king who never feared and never bowed his head.
He scrutinized Jon, and Jon scrutinized him.
The moment their eyes met, the difference in strength was decided — Jon was actually the loser because he had been nervous after all and failed to maintain his elegance under pressure.
Lia, however, possessed an aura that was always worthy of the title “Demon King.”
Right now.
It was exactly like that moment.
It wasn’t until his hand reached for the Holy Sword that Jon suddenly snapped back to his senses.
He was first shocked, then his expression became somewhat complicated.
His instincts even strongly urged him to strike down with the sword.
His hand trembled slightly as Jon screamed in his heart, ‘Are you kidding me! What are you trying to do, hand? This is my precious pet Pupu!’
Fortunately, Lia could no longer maintain her “acting.”
The entire swarm of Pupus broke apart, and the domineering, magnificent Demon King Lia in front of Jon turned back into a group of cute and dorky Pupus.
“Friend~ Friend~ How was Lily’s acting just now? Did I pass?”
Lia, having returned to the form of a petite girl, looked over shyly.
Her clear gaze flickered with innocence and naivety.
Jon swallowed hard.
Only after a long time did he speak slowly…
“…Tone it down a bit.”
“Hmm, did Lily act with too much force?”
Lia’s heart was pounding, but she still tried her best to play dumb on the surface.
She never expected that by only imitating thirty percent of her past self, she could awaken that “Demon King Hunting Instinct” in Jon’s genes.
“No, you acted very well.”
Jon waved his hand.
He hesitated for a moment before saying, “It’s just…”
It’s just that it didn’t look like acting.
But when it came to acting, there truly were geniuses in the world who were born to inhabit a role.
For example, Teacher Coriolio’s mother, that famous actress from the Imperial Capital.
Compared to the wild speculation that ‘the cute Pupu I’m raising is actually the Demon King,’ Jon leaned more toward the idea that ‘Lily has a superlative talent for acting.’
Besides, this would be easy to verify.
He would just have Lily act as other people in the future.
If she could be just as convincing to the point where he couldn’t tell the difference, then that previous absurd speculation could be completely put out of his mind.
“Then friend, are we going to catch the nobles now?”
Seeing that she had passed Jon’s test, Lia felt a genuine sense of relief.
She continued to ask in a silly, cute way.
“Yeah.”
Jon nodded.
He glanced toward the direction where Amier was hiding.
“Wait a moment. Someone was eavesdropping just now. I’ll go bring her back.”
Before he finished speaking, Jon’s figure flashed.
A moment later, a little Succubus girl appeared on his shoulder.
Jon tossed Amier onto the ground.
“Ouch!”
Amier let out a few soft moans and opened her eyes a crack to peek at Jon’s expression.
Seeing that he didn’t show much rejection or disgust, she immediately hugged Jon’s ankle and began to wail.
“Waaaah, Lord Hero~ Amier finally found you~ Just let Amier follow you~ Amier wants to save the refugees too~~”
Jon knit his brows tightly.
He turned to ask Lily, “She seems to have heard us just now. What should we do?”
“Let’s bury her~ Next year, a bunch of little Succubuses will grow~ Otherwise, she’ll go snitch~”
Lia wanted to silence her in her heart, but she couldn’t say it outright, so she used a joking manner to remind Jon.
“That makes sense. We can’t let her go out and talk nonsense, or our plan will have a huge hole in it.”
Jon nodded in deep agreement.
“Then we…”
Lily’s tone was probing.
Jon thought for a long time but couldn’t think of a better solution than silencing her, yet silencing her felt too extreme; things hadn’t reached that point yet.
“How about letting her be your mount?”
Jon gave a bitter smile, originally only intending to make a joke.
To his surprise, Lily readily agreed.
“Okay, okay!”
She looked at Amier with a grin.
For some reason, that pure and innocent gaze of a child made the tip of Amier’s tail twitch.
“No! I want to be Lord Hero’s mount! I don’t want to be the Pupu’s! I beg of you!”
She pleaded tearfully.
However, two rejections came at the same time.
“No way.”
“In your dreams~”