After a blur of inscrutable maneuvers, like smoke whipped by wind, Ling and Alicia finally reached the house Rafi uses as the Demon King’s seat. Inside, Miss Nina was in the middle of chores, fingers slick like river stones.

Shock hit Nina like a bucket of ice. If Rafi hadn’t dashed in like a gust, that bucket would’ve crashed, and we’d have gotten the legendary wet fanservice scene, splashes and all.

With Rafi’s soft words settling like warm rain, Nina finally understood and calmed. Her legs still trembled like willow leaves; that trembling wouldn’t stop for a while.

Still… am I really that scary? Like a shadow behind the door?

“Spill it. What dragged you all the way to the Underworld?” Rafi lifted her teacup with the grace of silk, sipping red tea whose steam curled like incense. Becoming Demon King had polished her manners, but her love for black tea hadn’t changed.

“We’re here to rule the world.”

Pffft—! A mouthful of tea sprayed out like sudden drizzle. Rafi hadn’t expected a topic that explosive.

“Hey! You’re kidding, right?! Rule the world? I’ve barely been Demon King for days! You wanna drag me off the throne already? Pick a fight with me on purpose?!”

She didn’t notice that her excitement wasn’t just noise; tea-flavored spit scattered like rain, dotted across the room.

Alicia couldn’t stand that spray, especially when it spattered Ling’s face. For a Ling-obsessed soul, that was unforgivable.

She reached out and palmed Rafi’s entire face, the old Vajra Grip clamping down like iron.

Rafi felt those big hands shroud her face. Before she could resist, a crack echoed from her skull, like thin ice breaking on a winter pond.

“Ahhh! Stop, stop, stop! I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!”

A Daemon? No—far beyond a Daemon. That blow landed real on a Demon King; terror rose like a cold tide.

“Alright, sis. Don’t kill her. We came to talk.” Ling’s voice settled like a hand on the shoulder.

Hearing Ling, Alicia let go, obedient as a cat released from a scruff. She knew jokes shouldn’t go too far, but enemies meeting always spark red; she’d leaned in a little harder, like grinding flint.

Truth be told, in that instant of cracking Rafi’s skullcap, Alicia felt a hidden thrill, a joy surging from the heart and flooding the limbs like spring melt. It was intoxicating.

She felt she’d flipped a switch in the dark. She wasn’t planning to turn it off.

“Alright, no more jokes. I’m here for Nina.” Ling’s tone was calm, like a lake at dawn.

The moment Ling named Nina, Rafi’s tail shot up like a flagpole. She yanked Nina into her arms and wrapped around her like an octopus, hands and feet entwined.

“Y-y-y-you—what do you want with Nina?! I’m warning you, don’t mess around! I’m the Demon King now; protecting Nina is something I can do!”

At Rafi’s mother-wolf shielding her cub, Ling gave her a dead-fish stare, flat as a calm sea.

“Don’t paint me as the same kind of loli-obsessed creep you are. Nina’s just an old… friend. Yeah. Maybe, probably, possibly more than twenty-four hours old. Anyway, not the point. I’m here to ask Nina for a favor.”

Even so, Rafi didn’t loosen her hold. Nina was her most precious treasure, a jewel she wouldn’t let anyone smudge.

“Achoo—who’s badmouthing me? Whatever. Can you lend us Nina?” Ling’s words fell light, like feathers.

“Hey! Who shows up to borrow someone without saying the purpose first? What if I lend her and she comes back all trained into something else?”

“No, no. I’m not into that. I’m a loli myself. If I’m a loli-lover, I’m loving me.” Ling smiled like a cat in sun.

Rafi wanted to deny it, but she had to admit Ling was a perfect loli; rebuttal stuck like rice.

“Fine, barely pass. But you still need to say what for. At least give me the aim. And don’t say ‘rule the world.’”

“Well, the endgame is ruling the world. But right now, I want Nina to use her ability to find all Beastfolk who aren’t in the Beastfolk tribes.”

“Huh? Nina, you can do that?” Rafi blinked, surprise fluttering like a moth. If Ling was right, Nina had some strange gift—so why didn’t she, after all this time, know it?

“Nope. Nina’s never heard that Nina has a power that sounds that awesome.” Nina tilted her head, voice soft as marshmallow.

So it was just wishful thinking? Makes sense… globally syncing every Beastfolk’s location—only the GM would have that. Asking a loli made me look like an idiot, like tripping on my own tail.

“Sorry for the trouble, Nina. Don’t take it to heart. Not being able to do it isn’t your fault. It’s mine—Ling-jie took things for granted.” Ling’s apology fell warm, like a blanket.

Knowing Nina’s little-heart nature, Ling figured she’d spiral if left alone; soothing was a must.

“Well… Ling, if you mean just getting the Beastfolk back, I do have a way.” Rafi’s eyes lit like lanterns at dusk.