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

"It was supposed to be Lady Zeta who bestowed magic upon you..."

Number 0233 looked helpless; this Lord Zeta never gave them a moment's peace.

She's currently sharing a room with Lord Shadow, so it's not appropriate to disturb them...

The next morning, Linia witnessed the farce in the washroom area.

"Humanity?"

Back at their base, Gray and his servants no longer needed to wear the black robes used to conceal their identities.

Linia could naturally see the distinctive animal ears of the servants, including number 0233.

After all, this is the land of demi-humans, so it's naturally better for demi-humans to move around in the Kingdom of Demir. Therefore, most of the demi-humans among the servants are here.

"That is our leader of the Shadow Court, Lord Shadow," a servant beside him introduced softly.

Linia was greatly alarmed.

I initially thought the Shadow Court was just an organization of demi-humans, but its leader is actually human. (It would have been better if he were human.)

It's more likely that the Shadow Court would have expanded from a human country to the demi-human country than a human specifically traveling to the Kingdom of Demir to find a demi-human to form an organization.

In her mind, the only organization that had developed into a transnational and transracial entity was the Demonic Cult, which she had only recently come to know about.

Linia watched Gray and Zeta playfully bickering, lost in thought.

Number 0233 walked up behind her and patted her on the shoulder.

"Let me tell you about the arrangements for you going forward."

"Lord Shadow personally ordered that you be sent back to Saint-Tian to join Lord Beta's forces. The journey begins today. Lord Shadow will first take you to the Kingdom of Olmec to meet your attendants there, and then they will escort you back to the Kingdom of Saint-Tian."

Upon hearing this, Linia felt a mix of emotions.

His country was in the midst of war and peril, and he had been captured by the anti-king faction and sold to the land of demi-humans. Now, after many twists and turns, he was finally returning to his homeland.

"In our Shadow Court, the one whose status is second only to Lord Shadow is the Ten Shadow Attendants personally appointed by that Lord, and Lord Zeta is one of them."

Beta, the second of the Ten Shadows, is also an elf. He'll probably take care of you since you're from the same race. (Supplementary note #0233)

After all, it's a trip back to their hometown, and they have people from their own clan helping them, so they shouldn't be unwilling.

Little did she know, her words stirred up a storm in Linia's heart.

After Princess Ivy Wendy ran away from her arranged marriage and disappeared, missing person notices, or rather, wanted posters, with her portrait were posted all over the Kingdom of Saint-Tian.

More than a decade has passed since Princess Ivy ran away from her arranged marriage, and the arrest warrant has never been removed.

If the royal family of Saint-Tian did not deliberately spread false information to mislead others, then it means that they have never found the princess who ran away from her marriage.

After more than a decade of searching, there was still no news. Either the princess was no longer alive, or she had fled to another country. The elves' reach couldn't extend that far.

Now that she has learned that Beta, one of the Ten Shadows of the Shadow Court, is an elf, it's hard for Linia not to think of the princess, after all, she was once the princess's maid.

Is it a coincidence, or is Beta actually Princess Beta?

With such questions.

You'll see when you meet them.

—————————————————————

Gray, accompanied by his servants from the Shadow Court, arrived at Emily's village. After giving them a few instructions, he took Linia and prepared to return to the Kingdom of Olmec.

Before leaving, Zeta hugged him and wouldn't let him go. It took Gray a lot of effort to finally get him to leave.

Since his adoptive father, Ed Brandt, sent him out to gain experience and set him free, Gray has been constantly on the move.

They only stayed at Bai Lin's and Delta's places for a few days.

Having learned that the archbishops of the various factions within the Demon Order likely possessed the information he desired, Gray became somewhat anxious.

Although he was able to hide from Felipe Pago for a long time and his life was not in imminent danger, Gray was certainly not at ease with the sword of Damocles hanging over his head.

The main targets of our attention now are the Archbishop of the Demon Order and the Church of Holy Light.

Alpha had previously reported some information to him: the power-hungry and domineering factions of the Demon Order were most deeply rooted in the Kingdom of Olmec, and perhaps the Archbishop could be found there.

There was another reason why Gray was in such a hurry to return to the Kingdom of Olmec.

That's because his adoptive father, Ed Brandt, told him to come back and visit often, even while he was training. He's already written over fifty chapters, so it's time to go back and check on things.

You can also visit Iota, who lives a reclusive life in the orchard.

On his way to the Kingdom of Olmec, Gray noticed that the elf would occasionally glance at him, as if she wanted to ask something but was hesitant to speak.

“Don’t be so reserved. Ask me anything you want to ask, and I’ll answer most of them.” Gray’s sudden words startled Lynya.

She had been hesitant to speak to Gray until he finally spoke to her, which gave her the courage to do so.

It wasn't that Lynya was too socially awkward to talk to Grey, but rather that Grey's aura after donning the black robe was too intimidating, giving off a feeling of unapproachability, and the pressure he exuded was truly worthy of the title "Supreme Ruler" in his oath.

"Lord Shadow, I would like to ask about Beta... Lord Beta."

Ask Beta? Gray raised an eyebrow.

You care about the affairs of your own people, right?

"That girl... no, she's much older than me, what's wrong with her?"

Linia, still trembling, asked, "May I ask, when did Lord Beta join the Shadow Court?"

Although he found it a bit strange that Lynya would ask this, Gray still answered, "She is an elder of the Shadow Court. She joined the Shadow Court just a few days after it was established, specifically 14 years ago."

Linia was deeply moved.

The timing matches up; that was the year the princess ran away from her arranged marriage!

Asking for her name would probably be useless if I were to ask for further information, as Her Highness would likely not use her real name.

Speaking of other characteristics of the princess, there is only her outstanding appearance, which stands out among all the handsome men and beautiful women in the entire clan.

It would be difficult for humans to distinguish between the beauty and ugliness of elves; it would be very difficult to pick out the best among them when they are all good-looking.

Neither of these two features seems to be very useful, but we can only give it a try.

"Lord Shadow, what was Lord Beta's original name?"

Gray was taken aback by the question.

Um... what's her name? I've never asked, and she's never told me.

After a moment's thought, Gray decisively gave up: "I don't know."

If... you don't know?

Linia moved on to the next question: "So, what's your opinion of her appearance?"

Why are all these questions so strange?

Instantly, Beta's stunningly beautiful face appeared in Gray's mind.

He gave the highest praise that Gray, who was at a loss for words, could offer.

"It's unbelievably beautiful."