The maid squad is too strong, what use is there for me, the Demon King?

"That's good."

Seeing Philippa's smile, Gray, as a friend and family member, offered his blessings.

The caged bird is now free and is enjoying the scenery in the mountains and forests.

Unfortunately, he was a demon king, and had touched upon... an even higher prison...

As expected, they didn't want to be enemies with this guy.

While his identity was still intact, he could still inquire about their progress from Philippa.

Gray abruptly changed the subject, naturally steerning the conversation towards this question:

"But the Demon King? I haven't heard of him appearing anywhere, not even among the demons. Or am I just out of the loop, and you actually already know the Demon King's whereabouts?"

Gray immediately added, "Of course, I'm not doubting the authenticity of your becoming a hero, Philippa. You've shown me the mark yourself. If you weren't a true hero, your 'Old Deng' wouldn't have let you out."

In front of Philippa, it was common for the two to refer to the current King of Olmec, Reginald Ravenhill, as "Old Deng." In fact, Gray would not address His Majesty the King of Olmec in this way on other occasions, but it was generally unexpected that "Old Deng" would refer to the monarch of a country.

Upon hearing this, Philippa didn't blurt out all the information they had about the Demon King just because she was in love.

It wasn't that I suspected Gray of anything, I was just afraid that "walls have ears" or something.

Philippa winked at Sofia and Taric.

The intention was to ask them if they could talk about this.

They gave slightly different answers.

Sofia: "It doesn't matter, does it? There's nothing to hide anyway."

Taric: "You're the captain, you make the decisions."

Of the three votes, one was in favor and one abstained. Considering that Philippa herself wanted to answer, the result was obvious.

“Indeed, there’s nothing to hide,” Philippa replied. “I only encountered the Demon King once and witnessed his existence firsthand. That’s all the information I have.”

Gray knew that the time referred to when the three members of the Hero Squad were surrounded by cultists from the Desire and Truth faction of the Demon Order during their pilgrimage to the Holy Light, and he casually stepped in to save them.

It seems the hero team doesn't currently have any information about the Demon King's identity, so I can rest assured for the time being.

"There really is a Demon King? Well, that makes sense, otherwise where would the heroes come from?" Gray feigned surprise, his tone slightly teasing. "So it seems finding the Demon King is more difficult than defeating him?"

Philippa chuckled: "Haha, yes."

Although the Demon King is powerful, his greatest strength lies in his ability to hide; he has only appeared once or twice in all these years.

Once or twice?

Gray was puzzled when he heard this.

As the Demon King, I should have only met Philippa once, right? During the Holy Light Pilgrimage, where else have I seen her?

Shouldn't the one time she secretly spyed be recognized as the Demon King? Or did Philippa count her rescue during the Holy Light Pilgrimage and her killing of the Demon of Knowledge and Truth, Thurt, as two separate events?

Although he had his doubts, Gray was even less likely to directly ask Philippa which two times, right?

Given his persona as an adopted son of a noble family, it's fine for him to ask questions that imply concern for Philippa, but being overly concerned about the "Demon King" is like trying to hide something obvious; it's as if he's afraid others won't know he has something going on.

After chatting with Philippa for a few more minutes, Gray felt it was time to slip away.

"It's getting late, and I'm feeling a bit tired. Let's continue another day."

Gray said to Philippa, who was clearly in high spirits.

Philippa felt as if she had been doused with a bucket of cold water; she deflated completely, her enthusiasm for seeing Gray vanished, and the fatigue that had accumulated throughout the day overwhelmed her instantly.

"Yes, it's getting so dark." Philippa forced a smile. "Let's talk again next time we meet..."

Sofia was secretly pleased to see that the two were showing signs of parting ways so quickly.

It was Grey Brant who wanted to leave; she stood there and barely said a word, let alone caused any trouble.

It's clear that Grey Brant genuinely intends to keep his distance from Philippa, after all, he has a fiancée.

Could it be that this Grey Brant is actually a good man?

"that……"

As Sofia waited for the two to part ways, and Gray was about to turn around, Philippa spoke up again weakly.

Sofia was shocked.

No, sis, what kind of trouble are you up to now?

Also, with that weak tone, when will you say something to me?

To be honest, it sounds a bit exciting.

"what happened?"

Gray was called to a halt.

"Hmm...where are you planning to go next? When are you leaving?"

Gray paused for a moment and replied, "I'll just wander around the area and do some less dangerous commissions. After a few years, I'll return to Bifeng Territory. By then, I'll be spending most of my time there. Lia will handle the family affairs, and I'll just assist her. I shouldn't be too busy. I can't say I'll have time all the time, but I won't be busy all day long either."

It means that if the timing is right, we can invite Philippa to have a chat.

"Oh."

Gray suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, the wedding should be around that time. Would you do me the honor of giving a gift, sir?"

From Gray's perspective, sending wedding invitations to friends is perfectly normal.

Isn't a wedding a joyous occasion where family and friends gather together, with him and Iota as the main characters?

Upon hearing this, Philippa froze, or rather—her heart and lungs stopped.

Upon hearing this, Sophia immediately cursed in her heart, "Poet Li, you're a jerk!"

What does it feel like to receive a wedding invitation from someone you like?

The feeling at that moment was like having your heart clenched tightly by an invisible hand, then suddenly released, leaving behind an empty, throbbing pain.

The world seemed to fall silent for a moment. All the sounds around me became blurred and faded away, leaving only my rapidly accelerating heartbeat and the buzzing of blood rushing to my eardrums.

My mind went blank, my thoughts went blank. It took me several seconds, or even longer, to process the meaning of that sentence.

Like a tiny icicle, it pierced the softest part of my heart without warning.

All those vague expectations and cautious fantasies of the past vanished instantly in the face of the word "wedding," bringing a sharp, almost suffocating pain.

Following closely behind was a deep, diffuse, dull pain.

It pressed heavily on my chest, spreading to every part of my body. It was the immense loss and sorrow brought about by the complete annihilation of emotions that had been accumulating for so long, that unspoken or hopeless affection.

It felt as if a large part of my heart had been hollowed out, leaving only an empty echo.

"Yes, yes, I'll definitely make time to attend. I certainly won't miss your wedding..."

Gray chuckled softly and turned to leave.

Philippa stared intently at that figure until it disappeared from sight, then her delicate body collapsed to the ground.