The weather was gradually turning cooler. In the days that followed, Fíliya led the three demons on a journey across the entire Northern Plateau, finally stopping at the border of the Empire.
Fíliya stood on a high cliff, gazing into the distance. She saw the smoke rising from a distant village, the busy figures of the villagers, and a returning shepherd with his flock trailing close behind.
The leaves on the trees lining the road had been dyed a golden red, and the wild grasses by the wayside were noticeably withered. A gust of wind swept by, making Fíliya instinctively turn her head. She pressed a hand to her hair, then pulled her clothes tighter around herself.
"It's already late autumn..."
Fíliya thought to herself. It had been nine months since she'd bid farewell to Sense and entered the Northern Plateau. Sense should be about due for her shift change and return home, right?
With this in mind, she turned back to face the three demons before her.
"It seems this is as far as we can go. Any further and we'll be entering the Empire's territory."
"Yes, we can only turn back."
Solitär responded.
The Empire was the nation with the most potent magical atmosphere and strength on the continent. In terms of the average power of its mages, it was not inferior even to Fíliya's hometown—the City of Magic, Äußerst.
Of course, when it came to top-tier powerhouses, the Empire certainly couldn't compare to the Continental Magic Association, where Serie presided. Fíliya was sure of this.
Moreover, the Empire had another very distinct characteristic: an exceptional hatred for the Demon Race. Although nearly all humans in this world disliked the Demon Race, if one had to name the "nation that hates demons the most," it would undoubtedly be the Empire.
After all, the Empire's lands were very close to the former Demon King's Castle, and it was one of the first nations to suffer invasion by the demon army.
Therefore, even a wild Greater Demon like Solitär would consciously stay far away from the Empire's territory.
It wasn't that Solitär feared the Empire's "Magic Special Operations Unit"; she just felt that once entangled with such fanatically faithful humans, she would surely not come out ahead. Anyway, she was just a reclusive demon, and "seclusion" merely required finding any uninhabited place to stay.
At that moment, Fíliya slowly walked up to Solitär.
"?"
Solitär looked at her with some confusion.
But Fíliya simply met Solitär's gaze calmly, then slipped her hands under Solitär's arms and hugged her.
"What a shame. We've been out for so long... and I still haven't been able to bring you into the human world."
...Solitär was slightly stunned. She didn't understand why Fíliya had suddenly brought this up again.
"Why bring this up now? Didn't we agree we wouldn't go near human settlements?"
"Yes, but I still find it regrettable. I dream of a day when I can lead you openly into a human city... Otherwise, you'll only ever get to be an expert in 'Fíliya Studies'."
Fíliya said with a light laugh. Solitär, of course, understood what she meant, but her heart was still very tense.
Throughout her life, she had adhered to a long-life policy of "must not be discovered by humans" and "must not be observed by humans." This had become her most important habit; how could she change it just like that? After all, Solitär was just such a coward.
"Besides, it's been a while since I've been back to a human city. I'd really like to buy something for you, like clothes or something."
Fíliya continued.
"Clothes... Don't we have those at home?"
Solitär averted her gaze.
"It's not the same. Solitär, you've surely never received a gift from a human, have you?"
"...But bringing a demon into a human city is a difficult thing. Even if we hide our mana well and, as you said, wear a hat or cut off my horns or something, if we run into a powerful human mage, the deception will still be seen through."
Solitär said hurriedly, her tone even slightly rushed.
Although when she heard Fíliya say she wanted to give her a gift, her heart did indeed surge with a faint, peculiar tingling sensation, she still wanted to dissuade Fíliya from the idea of "bringing her into a human city."
As for why? Perhaps it was because this Greater Demon, who had lived for a thousand years, was also afraid of "change."
"Well, about that, I've recently been developing an 'identity concealment magic.' If it's successful, it will, on a cognitive level, prevent others from identifying you as a 'demon.' The kind that even very powerful mages won't be able to notice anything amiss. When that time comes, maybe we can go for a stroll in a human city."
Fíliya's words made Solitär fall silent again. Of course, she wasn't doubting whether Fíliya could develop this magic.
Over these past few months, every time Fíliya met with that Flamme, her power would skyrocket. This made Solitär marvel at how quickly humans could grow. Her own identity as a "researcher of humanity" seemed to be less and less fitting.
Nine months ago, she could have easily killed Fíliya in an instant, but now... even if she wanted to take Fíliya down, it would probably take some effort.
The only thing that gave Solitär some relief was that Fíliya had said she was "currently developing" it. Which meant... she had at least a probationary period.
That's right, a probationary period... After all, for a Greater Demon who had cautiously scraped by for so many years, walking into the human world was just a bit too terrifying.
She even prayed that Fíliya would take her time with the research, preferably for ten or eight years, until she was truly mentally prepared.
"Alright, that's enough idle chat. It's time for us to turn back. We've been taking this detour for a long time; the guard at the Golden Land should have been rotated out by now. It's time to go back and take a look."
Fíliya said, letting go of Solitär's hands, and walked straight ahead.
Just as she naturally assumed that the three demons would follow obediently behind her as usual, Fíliya realized that a somewhat unexpected person had suddenly grabbed her wrist.
"Huh?"
Fíliya turned her head in confusion. She hadn't expected Aura to grab her.
"Tsk... There are just those kinds of people in this world, you know? They only think about the ones they care about all day long and are completely oblivious to their surroundings. It's just so detestable, don't you think? Linie."
Aura glared at Fíliya with a look of displeasure before turning to coordinate with Linie.
"Yes, Linie thinks so too... Lady Fíliya is being too unfair. No matter what happens, she always prioritizes Lady Solitär and completely ignores us. It's not like Linie is dissatisfied because Lady Fíliya ignored her, and she totally doesn't care about the gift Lady Fíliya mentioned earlier at all."
Linie spoke in a monotone, expressionless voice, but Fíliya could tell that Linie was clearly throwing a tantrum as well.
Ah, this... She really hadn't expected that Aura and Linie would feel jealous because she said she wanted to give Solitär a gift.
But looking at it from another perspective, isn't this exactly what she had hoped for? These three demons following her around are really becoming more and more 'human', aren't they.
___
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