Chapter 37
That night, after receiving Fedwick’s letter, Ariella sat in the library.
She had already sent a reply to Vaggis Fedwick — pushing the meeting date as far back as possible.
Seriously… first leeches, now jackals? They all think we’re weak.
The reason Vaggis could act so arrogant despite his crimes was because Ludwig’s Demon King’s Domain was weak.
Is this the side effect of not solving our biggest problems yet?
To Ariella, the two most urgent issues in the domain were defense and economy.
Because defense was weak, even economic plans were being held back.
It was good to make the slime adhesive and plan to sell it outside. But because the domain’s power was so small, instead of buying it properly, predators came to steal it.
If we want to survive, we have to cut off that jackal’s head.
She closed the document she was reading — evidence of Bephar’s corruption from before his death, just in case she needed to present it to the trading company. But she knew it might be useless.
No matter what they claimed, the trading company could simply crush them with force.
The Demon Realm is ruled by strength. The Human Realm was like that too, but here it’s worse.
To escape this crisis, she needed to shake the Fedwick Trading Company.
While she was thinking—
“Ariella?”
It was Philli, the fairy librarian.
“I brought you some tea. You should take a break.”
“Oh, thanks.”
The tea was one Ariella had tasted before — made from leaves that only grew in the Fairy Forest.
“Ahh, I feel better already.”
The fresh scent filled her mouth, calming her irritation and worry.
“Let’s have this with something special.”
Ariella cheerfully opened a box from the corner.
“What’s that?”
Philli’s eyes went wide.
A little later…
“…Is it really that good?” Ariella asked.
Philli, holding a cookie in each hand, chewed happily.
“I can’t stop. Sorry, Ariella… I’m eating too much.”
She had crumbs all over her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in days.
“Eat as much as you want. I can ask Rabo to bake more.”
Rabo was the castle’s cook.
“Rabo can make these?”
“I taught him. These are called cookies. In the Human Realm, we have them with tea.”
It seemed true that fairies loved sweets — just as the Demon Realm travel records had said.
“By the way,” Philli said, “you were sighing a lot earlier. May I ask why?”
Ariella answered calmly.
“I have to take someone’s head — and I need to do it neatly, beautifully, and make it look perfect.”
“…?”
Philli looked concerned.
“Oh, so that’s why you’re troubled.”
She thought seriously for a moment.
“Should I get you a really sharp blade? One that can even cut tough dryad roots?”
Her expression was so serious that Ariella almost laughed.
Philli clearly thought her problem was about tools. But it wasn’t — the real issue was how to make the kill look unrelated to them.
Still smiling, Ariella shook her head.
“No, it’s fine. The on-site work will be done by Ludwig… the Demon King.”
“I see.”
Philli nodded, clearly hoping Ariella’s problem would be solved.
Ariella found it strange — if she’d said something like this to a human girl, she would have gotten a shocked and horrified reaction. But this was the Demon Realm. Even a fairy, despite her appearance, was used to such talk.
I guess the strange one is me — a human planning something like this without hesitation.
But she had to stay cold.
She’d already lost her place in the Human Realm. If she lost here too, there’d be nowhere left for her to go. In fact, she might die before she found anywhere else.
For her survival and future, she was ready to do whatever it took.
Philli looked at her and said, “Come to think of it, you really are unusual.”
“That’s random.”
“You’re not like the humans I’ve read about or heard of. I knew it when you went through the financial ledgers. You’re not ordinary.”
Even though she hadn’t lived long in the Demon Realm or known their official formats, Ariella had uncovered Bephar’s corruption. And she was the only human here, surrounded by demons.
“And that strange slime thing you made… plus the magic you showed me? Even veteran demons can’t do that.”
Ludwig had said something similar — that controlling magic with such precision or tracking a mage’s magic after they’d left was impossible.
Ariella never understood why they were so surprised.
“Is that human magic?” Philli asked.
Ariella shook her head.
“Apparently not.”
Richmond seemed to have met human mages before and had told her it was unique to her, not to all humans.
“I’ve never met another human mage myself,” Ariella said.
Philli tilted her head.
“So you’re the only human in this domain. Doesn’t it feel lonely?”
“Not really.”
She didn’t miss the Human Realm or want to go back.
Guess I’ve really cut ties there.
She’d already cut all feelings when she decided to come here.
If there was one thing she missed…
“There’s one kid I’d like to see again, but it’s fine. If fate allows, we’ll meet.”
She looked at Philli instead.
“What about you? Are you okay living here? Fairies usually stay in the Fairy Forest.”
From what she’d seen, Philli was the only fairy in Ludwig’s domain.
The last time Ariella had brought it up, Philli’s reaction had been odd.
Sure enough, her face dimmed again.
“The truth is… I never fit in with other fairies.”
She’d loved books almost like an addiction since she was young — something she shared with Ariella.
“Fairies don’t like reading or writing. They find it boring.”
Most of the books she’d read as a child had been belongings of outsiders who’d died in the forest.
“Fairies prefer wandering around, playing tricks, or teasing lost travelers over turning pages.”
They were quick-tempered and could get violent when excited.
“And they never stick to anything for long — they can’t focus.”
Ariella nodded. So Philli was different.
As they talked, the tea cooled. Ariella poured more to keep it warm.
Philli smiled sadly.
“I always felt out of place. They called me strange because my personality and tastes were too different.”
In the Human Realm, she might have been called a kind girl. But among fairies, she was labeled abnormal.
“And I was bad at magic — another reason they teased me.”
Ariella remembered their first time catching slime — Philli hadn’t been very skilled.
Blushing, Philli continued,
“In the end, I left the forest. I found this domain and got a job here.”
“That was when the previous Demon King ruled, right?”
“Yes.”
“There are bigger places like Delrak’s domain… oh, I get it.”
“Yes. This domain has the largest library. Probably one of the biggest in the south.”
At first, she’d enjoyed having all the books to herself, but over time, she felt her worth as a librarian fading.
“But now that the building is repaired, maybe more people will visit?”
Philli looked up at the fixed roof.
“When the domain grows and more people come, the library will have visitors again.”
“Of course,” Ariella said with certainty. Because I’ll make it happen — for my own survival too.
Philli smiled brightly, her cheeks rosy like a peach.
She looks pretty cute like this — so different from my first impression.
Curious, Ariella asked, “Where’s your forest?”
“South of Dalgaru Lake.”
“And where’s that?”
“West of Blue Falls.”
“…I’ve never heard of these places.”
“Bring me a map?”
Philli flapped her transparent wings and flew off, returning with a scroll bigger than herself. She unrolled it midair.
“This is my forest.”
“Oh, it’s far.”
It was on the north edge of Delrak’s domain, beyond valleys with no towns or villages.
Ariella took the chance to check Ludwig’s domain again.
Our location is still bad.
She traced the map with her finger. To avoid this kind of crisis again, they needed their own military power.
But if they couldn’t wait to build it…
We’ll be eaten alive before we’re ready.
If we lack power, we borrow it from outside.
Her finger stopped at Delrak’s domain. She had once considered making peace with Delrak.
But Ludwig refused. She remembered what he said in the meeting:
“Delrak? He’d never side with us unless he’s gone crazy. Forget it.”
It sounded like he had a reason to be so sure — maybe something bad had happened in the past.
“Anyway, would being friendly with a neighbor help?” she muttered, scanning the map.
Her eyes landed on the area where the Fedwick Company’s headquarters was. A plan began to form in her mind.
Better to target this instead.
“…Philli?”
Philli was busy licking the last cookie crumbs off her fingers.
“Ah! Yes?”
“Hungry?”
“No, not really.”
“I’ll ask for more next time — enough for you to eat for three days straight.”
“Really?” Philli’s face lit up.
“They say fairies love sweets.”
“I’ve never met one who doesn’t. We eat honey and fruit as our main food — sometimes we fight bears for beehives.”
“So you do have something in common with other fairies — your sweet tooth.”
“True. Funny, isn’t it?”
She smiled wryly over her tea.
“Wake Geru?”
“Just for a moment.”
