“Whuh? You want to know how to become a demon?”
The sky had just begun to brighten when Faye was violently shaken awake from where she was sound asleep on her bed. Arms and legs askew like a starfish, she opened her eyes. Yvonne came into view.
“It’s the crack of dawn. You really know when to wake someone up.” Faye disgruntedly rubbed her eyes.
“Aren’t demons nocturnal? When did our Great Demon Lord begin to pass out at nighttime?”
“S-Shut up! I’m the demon lord, so I can sleep whenever I want!”
After living in the convent, Faye’s sleep schedule began to resemble the little kids’, with an early sleep and late wake time.
“Besides, did you hit your head? Why do you want to be a demon all of a sudden?” Faye stretched and yawned. Squinting, she saw the heavy look in Yvonne’s eyes and realized she was serious. She immediately sat down cross-legged. “Ooh… Were you maybe deeply moved by my strength and beauty? In that case, I could consider taking you on as a subordinat-”
“‘Moved’, yeah right!” Yvonne indignantly stuffed a tart fruit into Faye’s mouth, which served as both helper’s fee and breakfast. “I just want to know… Is there a way to turn a human into a demon?”
“Obviously. Don’t you know who you’re talking to?”
Faye took a large bite of the fruit in a huff. After tasting its crunchy sweetness, she immediately took another.
If even she didn’t know of a way as the Demon Lord, then no one in the world did.
“The requirements are stringent, but it’s not impossible. I can make you my retainer if I’m restored to the throne. Even a human will become a demon with my mark of blood.”
“…Even a human would become a demon?”
“But you know how things are with me… I’ve lost the powers of the demon lord, so I can’t do it at the moment.” Faye was left wanting more after finishing the sweet and sour fruit, so she also popped the core into her mouth and gulped that down. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you… Once the retainer contract is formed, you would be a demon forever. Humans can turn into demons, but demons can never turn into humans. It’s an irreversible contract. You’d better think it through.”
“Thanks, Faye.” Yvonne took advantage of her height to pat the small demon lord’s head.
“Waugh! Don’t mess up my cool hair!” Faye continued to act haughty, but Yvonne could tell that she was worried for her. “Hmph, I’m only telling you so much since you might become my retainer. That fruit was pretty tasty. Give me more next time!”
Yvonne might not be able to escape the system even if she turned into a demon.
But simply knowing that the system could also make mistakes and be affected by her actions and status was already a huge breakthrough.
The witch’s parting words made Yvonne feel ill at ease.
The witch had used a “glitch” in this world to let her temporarily escape the system’s restrictions. That was why she could confess her feelings to Elsa.
So she should find the witch to sort everything out, shouldn’t she?
But how was she supposed to find that elusive witch…?
Theoretically, the witch should still be in town. Yvonne should be able to find clues of her whereabouts if she asked around.
The countdown hanging in front of her continuously ticked down.
There wasn’t much time left. Yvonne decided to try her luck at the tavern where she met the witch.
“Evie…? You’re heading out? Why didn’t you call me?”
When Elsa woke up, the spot next to her in the bed was empty. She searched around in a panic before finding Yvonne holding Sphynx’s reins, bags packed and looking ready to go on an expedition.
“I’m sorry, Elsa…” Yvonne had wanted to sneak out, but she did want to say goodbye to Elsa if possible. She didn’t want Elsa to be too worried about her. “I might be gone for a while.”
“What happened? Take me with you if you’re leaving!”
“No…” Yvonne fumbled for words, not knowing how to persuade her. Elsa had given up attending the capital’s most prestigious academy in order to chase her into exile. What could she say without explaining the full situation that would make her give up now? “It’s really dangerous. I don’t want to put you in danger too.”
“Didn’t I already tell you? I’m staying with you no matter what happens. And besides, you’re not alone anymore. Two heads are always better than one, right? You can depend on me too, Evie!”
Elsa’s eyes were full of stubborn resolve. But Yvonne didn’t know what would happen once the system rebooted. She couldn’t gamble on nothing happening.
“I promise you that I’ll be back soon. On top of that, I want to take you on a trip to the north afterwards to meet my parents.”
“T-To meet your parents?! Just like that? Isn’t that too soon…?”
“No, no, they’re both easygoing. I don’t want to wait a minute longer to introduce you. Anyway, I’m off now.”
“B-But I’m not ready to… Ah! Wait, Evie! Don’t just leave!”
Elsa ran up and pulled out a basic wand that she always carried at her waist.
She was not letting Yvonne and Sphynx walk out the doors of the convent and abandon her, even if she had to use magic on Yvonne.
However, when the two of them arrived at the convent entrance, they saw a bunch of forest watchers in dark green garb crowded around it.
The forest watchers mostly patrolled the forest at night, returning to the town at dawn.
At this hour, they would normally be back home resting, but for some reason, they were anxiously clamoring outside the church instead.
“Miss Dahlia, there’s trouble! Really big trouble!”
“Magical beasts! A countless number of magical beasts are streaming towards us from the mountain!”
“It’s absolutely true! We have a mage who can cast surveillance magic, and she saw a gigantic number of magical beasts! They’re coming here from the depths of the forest!”
“A lot of guardsmen have already been injured. The whole town will fall to them at this rate!!!”
“…I hear you. I will first notify the holy knights so that they can send reinforcements. Every resident who lives by the forest should come to the church for refuge.” Standing in the crowd, Dahlia placed her hand over her chest, the spitting image of the Goddess’s statue placed in the church. “Elsa, Miss Yvonne, perfect timing.”
“Dahlia, what’s going on?!”
“Something abnormal seems to have happened in Capella’s forest. A large number of magical beasts are attacking. Things are looking grim.”
Dahlia extended an arm, and a messenger bird that looked like a falcon landed on it. Unlike the round pidgeos that they had seen before, this messenger bird had impressive wings and a long body.
Yvonne recalled seeing knights use these birds specifically to send emergency messages.
Dahlia pushed the letter she had written into the tube bound to the bird’s foot and then explained to the two of them, “I have to go bolster the barrier. Please look after the children for me. Have everyone stay in the convent. They must not come out. Since it’s an emergency, also let the townspeople take refuge here.”
“Dahlia, it sounds dangerous. Be careful!”
“Don’t worry about me. Take care of yourselves.” Dahlia looked at Yvonne. “Miss Yvonne, you seem to have some urgent business to attend to… If you’re going to leave, I recommend taking the long way around in the opposite direction. The forest is dangerous right now.”
“No… I changed my mind. I’m staying.”
“Evie!”
Elsa was nervous with the sudden appearance of so many magical beasts, but Yvonne deciding to stay was a good thing for her regardless.
However, she realized something was wrong when she saw Yvonne’s chalk-white face.
“Evie… Is something wrong? Are you feeling sick? Magical beasts do emit miasma, so we should go back into the convent.”
“…I’m fine!” Yvonne knew what she had to do. “We should notify the townspeople immediately and tell them to come here!”
“O-Okay!”
This was the “Attack of the Magical Beasts” event from the Demon Lord’s route in the original game!
In order to finish off the weakened demon lord, the faction of usurper demons devised a scheme. They secretly activated the demon realm’s portal and released berserk magical beasts into Capella Forest to tear through the town!
Goddamnit… This wasn’t the same as in the original storyline!
The event was the final chapter of the demon lord’s route. By all rights, it should have been a long time off.
But now, it had occurred in advance for some reason.
If the demon lord’s affection for the heroine wasn’t high enough, the townspeople would suffer heavy losses, and the demon lord would leave covered in blood after just barely turning back the magical beasts.
The true end could only be reached by having a high enough affection and combining the heroine and her destined soulmate’s powers to save everyone.
…
Given that they hadn’t met the affection requirement, then didn’t that mean…
Images of wholesale massacre left by the magical beast attack came to Yvonne’s mind.
No… Calm down-
Calm down, Yvonne!
Things were nowhere near that bad right now.
Based on what was originally scripted in the game, the magical beasts’ ferocious assault wouldn’t break through the last shelter, the convent.
The convent had a powerful blessing from the Goddess. No one else would be hurt as long as the townspeople and children were gathered there-
Of course, when it rained, it poured, like a domino effect.
“What did you say?!” Faye’s raised voice could be heard amidst the chaos of people surging into the convent. “Annie still hasn’t returned after going into the forest by herself?!”
riverFlower 
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