Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

Page 259

“Fim, and Mino, eat together.”

His empty eyes drooped slightly, and Fim asked somewhat timidly:

"no?"

“Of course… you can!” Mino immediately gave a thumbs up.

Fim's ahoge (cowlick) immediately stood up happily again, and he snuggled up to Mino, helping him change clothes and wash up. Mino stood in front of the mirror, somewhat belatedly realizing what was happening:

"So, Fim, you worked so long on an empty stomach today so you could have breakfast with me?"

Behind him, Fim nodded slightly, out of Mino's sight:

"Mino, lately, I've been feeling a bit lonely."

"Fim, I'll stay with you."

Mino looked up and recalled how he had spent his time holed up in the cell researching that useless power of the stars, which did indeed give him a somewhat gloomy and reclusive air. He rubbed his forehead and quickly realized that Fim had misunderstood.

"Well, it's not bad this way either."

In front of the food cart, the big bow on Fim's back swayed happily for a while, and soon, two stacks of freshly sliced, hot bread were placed on the plate, drizzled with brightly colored jam.

Fim and Mino sat side by side on the floor at the edge of the bed and enjoyed their meal together.

“Fim, you also prepared this.”

From beside the bed, Fim pulled out several brand-new books. Mino recognized them; they were popular magazines and weekly publications in the kingdom.

The Demon King's Castle regularly subscribes to the kingdom's most popular new magazines, and it seems that the latest batch has just arrived.

Fim probably wanted to enjoy breakfast with me while reading some magazines to pass the time. Mino nodded knowingly and was about to pick out a weekly food magazine from the Kingdom of Kur that she often read when suddenly her eyes flickered.

"Hey, what is this?"

Among the many magazines, a somewhat unfamiliar weekly caught my eye: "Frontier Weekly?"

Mino took the weekly magazine from Fim, spread it between them, and began flipping through the pages:

"Wow, a dimensional city. I didn't expect to find a city like this on the border... It's not bad at all."

Mino chewed on the soft bread while glancing around with slight interest:

"They even have demon clay figurines and maid outfits... wow... how come they're so expensive? That's enough for so many rye bread meals!"

Somewhat bewildered, Mino turned to look at the sweet-smelling, soft-spoken maid beside her, her face filled with disbelief.

"Why would anyone spend so much money to buy maid dolls that can't move or talk? It's really hard to understand—?"

Why didn't they hire a real maid?

Chapter 374 The Otto-style trench is still chasing me

"Fim, can you understand?"

Mino turned her head and looked at Fim, who was leaning on her shoulder, and asked casually.

Fim raised his head, thought carefully for a long time, then shook his head and earnestly expressed his opinion:

"I can't understand it."

"Why is it that, similarly, inanimate objects cannot move?"

Mino was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized that Fim meant that these magically created clay figures, which were lifeless like her, were unable to move, which she found strange.

In Fim's eyes, he probably regarded these dolls as his own kind.

but.

"Even if you put a life-size figure next to FIM, the performance is still an order of magnitude lower."

Raising her head, Mino still sighed:

"As expected, I still can't understand what kind of people are obsessed with dolls."

Before we knew it, the bread was finished, and the weekly magazine had turned to its last page.

"Hey, here comes the one that can move!"

Pointing to the text on the last page, Mino read it aloud with some curiosity:

"The fourth anniversary tour of the border songstress, Cuiyin, is being held in the capital of the Kingdom of Kuer? That virtual songstress is going to hold a concert within the kingdom?"

As a former brave warrior who guarded the border, Mino naturally had some impression of the songstresses on the border, but he had never seen them in person.

As far as he knew, the virtual singer had always been active on the border, so she wasn't very famous in mainland China and had never toured outside the border.

"An unusual tour...the border...the boundary between humans and demons..."

Mino pulled himself together. As the strongest warrior among humans, he keenly sensed that there seemed to be many strange things going on here.

"Could it be——"

"Mino." A faint scent of cream wafted from nearby.

Fim held a bowl of creamy soup, its color round and smooth. He scooped up a small spoonful, brought it to his lips, and tilted his head: "Drink?"

"drink!"

Mino's spirits lifted, and the wariness and doubts in her mind were instantly thrown to the back of her mind.

Who cares?!

Anyway, with his witty and perceptive best friend Otta around, how could any conspiracy to invade the capital possibly escape his detection?

After a satisfying meal, Mino lay down on the edge of the bed and let out a contented burp.

"As the defeated hero, all I need to do is endure humiliation in the Demon King's castle, but my dear friend Ota has a lot more to consider..."

……

"His Royal Highness Prince."

"These are suitable candidates for princesses from among the nobles' social circles. Would you like to take a look first? I'd like to organize several court parties, inviting nobles from different factions."

Inside the Prince's study at the Royal Palace of Cour.

Tus placed a thick stack of documents on Ota's desk, his eyes gleaming with dark circles, quite pleased with the result of his meticulous work.

however.

"Compared to this."

Prince Ota glanced at the information he had carefully researched and then absentmindedly placed it in the corner of his desk.

"Tus, how are the tour arrangements for that border songstress coming along?"

Ota asked in a friendly tone, seemingly very concerned about the matter.

"Border songstresses?" Tus was slightly taken aback. He had naturally heard of such matters, but he wouldn't have paid special attention to them.

"For that kind of thing, all the palace needs to do is issue permission, right? The location will be the opera house in the capital, and the schedule has already been arranged..."

"An opera house?" Upon hearing this, Otta shook his head in dissatisfaction, his brows furrowing deeply.

"Tus, here comes the kingdom's purest and most beautiful songstress! Her songs, rooted in the borderlands, have soothed countless hearts wounded by war!"

Now, this is her first time setting foot on foreign soil, and it's for a highly significant fourth-anniversary birthday concert—holding it in an opera house seems far too hasty! Don't you think so?!

Eh?

Standing in front of the desk, Minister Tuss was momentarily stunned.

Is that border songstress really that famous? Even His Highness the Prince knows her deeds by heart?

"Then, according to Your Highness, what should we do?" Tus asked cautiously, bowing his head.

"let me see."

Gently tapping his temples, Ota slowly revealed the location he had long ago, excitedly saying:

"Let's place it in front of the capital's square. It's spacious enough to accommodate any number of spectators!"

"The Royal Capital Square...? Your Highness, that's a place that's only open to the public for important festivals and ceremonies!!!" Tus exclaimed in surprise, instinctively wanting to dissuade him:

"She's just a border songstress, isn't the opera house enough for us? Besides, is it really possible that many people will come to a mere fourth-anniversary concert? I doubt it will even fill half of the capital's square."

"Superficial!" Ota shuddered as he stood up, clenching his fists as if he had been offended.

Looking at Tus, he reprimanded him loudly and with great emotion:

"—Don't underestimate the dreams of all music lovers! Kora!!!!"

"Huh?!" Tus exclaimed in shock.

"That's it!"

Having made this decision so forcefully, Otta quickly added:

"Furthermore, in order to prevent any accidents on the day of the concert, we will invite Cuiyin and the others to stay inside the palace. We must ensure that the Knights protect the virtual singer's safety!"

“Until then, such trivial matters as the election of the princess should be put on hold for the time being... We must not let a small matter cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture, Tus!”

Step by step, Tus retreated from Prince Ota's study, closed the door, and was still somewhat confused about the situation.

In the past, even if he couldn't understand his prince's arrangements, he could sense that they were part of a far-reaching plan than his own. But this time... He took out a concert ticket that his prince had just recommended to him from his pocket, and looking at the exquisite virtual singer image on it, Tus fell into deep thought.

This time, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he still couldn't see through his prince's deeper meaning.

"It's impossible that His Highness is just abusing his power for personal gain, isn't it?"

Looking up, Tus gave a self-deprecating laugh and quickly dismissed the absurd thought.

That was a proud and aloof king, about to ascend the throne, with a heart as cold as steel.

How could he possibly abuse his power for a mere songstress? His Prince Ota is no stranger to women; Tus has never seen him so enthusiastic towards any real woman, let alone a virtual phantom.

"Let's do it anyway."

Tus knew that as a propagator of Ota's will, the songstress's tour would only proceed in a more grand and spectacular manner if he arranged it.

At that time, such a tour will likely have an impact that spreads throughout the entire capital, making security and prevention quite challenging.

but.

Without giving the matter much thought into the pros and cons, Tus decided to carry out Prince Ota's orders meticulously: