With one last look at the dying Rina, the woman in the negligee jumped out of the window onto the roof of the neighbouring building. After confirming that nobody was present to witness her, she deactivated her magic spell. Two black wings slowly sprouted out of her back and a long, thin tail with a heart-shaped end grew out of her rear, while the negligee she was wearing, transformed into a maid's outfit.

Her name is Serena, a loyal retainer and personal maid of the Demon Lord.

To inform her master of the success of her mission, Serena formed a small seal with her index finger and held it to her right ear. After a few seconds, a child's voice came out of the seal.

[Serena?]

“Milady, it's done.”

[And?]

“You will be highly satisfied, Milady”

[Kukukuku], laughter rang out from the seal, [That's good to hear! Give me a moment, I'll summon you back to our world.]

“...”

[Serena, if you want to say something, then do it.]

“Milady, would you please wait a bit?”

[Why?]

Serena clenched her left fist.

“There is someone I have to kill.”

[…]

[Serena.]

“Yes, Milady?”

[You know, that it's mainly thanks to him?]

“Yes.”

Serena could perceive a loud sigh coming out of the seal.

[Very well. You have my permission. I give you thirty minutes. After that, I'll summon you no questions asked. Are we clear, Serena?]

“Yes, Milady. And thank you.”

[… Be careful.]

With that, the seal on Serena's finger disappeared and the connection to her master was cut. Immediately after, she activated her senses to locate her target and headed for it. Her destination: Rina's former home.

***

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Meanwhile in the Valkyria Kingdom.

Milia was kneeling before the king, surrounded by a bunch of high-ranking nobles. She knew her future was grim, as all the nobles around her were grinning from ear to ear.

Two days had passed since the incident during the ritual to retrieve the hero candidate from another world. A few minutes after Knight Commander Rick and the two intruders had entered the portal, it suddenly dispersed which caused High Priestess Fran to collapse and fall into a coma. As a result, the potential hero could no longer come to save this world.

Since then the king and his ministers had gathered to discuss how to proceed, and how to punish Milia.

As one of the leading figures who had organised the security for the ritual, she had no doubt that she was one of the most responsible for the failure. As the political situation of the Valkyria Kingdom was now, she would not come out of this unscathed.

In this country, the king usually held all the power and had the last word in every decision, whether it was making laws, judging crimes, or commanding the military. However, after the failed ritual, the tide turned in favour of the aristocrats. As the two remaining protagonists, Vice Knight Commander Milia and High Priestess Fran, both commoners, only came to power through a law enforced by the king, he was also partly responsible for the failure.

Thus, Milia concluded, the king was no longer able to protect her from the noble's ploy, who had undoubtedly forced their verdict concerning her on the king. She was sure the gallows awaited her.

“Vice Knight Commander Milia, I will announce your verdict.”, the king spoke up in a monotonous voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You have failed in your mission to fetch the hero candidate and thus made our chances to overcome the upcoming crisis considerably worse! … You are hereby dismissed as the Vice Knight Commander! You are to go to the Royal Knight Academy to train our new recruits as a teacher! Redeem yourself by training our future soldiers!”

Shocked Milia looked up at the king. She was not the only one though. The surrounding nobles were quite surprised as well, probably not expecting him to ignore their suggestion.

“Your majes...”

“Furthermore”, the king continued before any minister could object, “High Priestess Fran will be not accounted for the failure whatsoever. I will take full responsibility.”

He paused and took a deep breath.

“Thus, I, King Thor Miriculan XXXVII, hereby step down as the king and pass the throne to my son, Crown Prince Loki!”

***

At the same time as King Thor Miriculan XXXVII denounced this throne, a new life was born in a small temple on the outskirts of the royal capital.

A sister carried the newborn baby to its mother, who was breathing weakly on the bed and laid it on the pillow next to her.

"Madam, congratulations. It's a healthy girl," said the sister, who received a slight nod in return.

Afterwards, she stepped back and waited quietly in a corner of the room. The fact that the baby was not crying, was strange, but since it was breathing, she did not mind. There were more pressing matters at hand after all. The woman, the baby's mother, was dying after giving birth, so she had to give them some time to communicate for the first and last time in the baby's life.

The baby's mother slowly turned her head towards her child. With all the strength she had left in her body, she lifted her hand and gently poked the cheek of her daughter, while the tears welled up in her eyes. It broke her heart to think that this child would have to live without her parents, but she could no longer hold on to life.

She had always had a weak body, but her condition worsened after her beloved husband died in a demon attack while protecting her and their child, who was already in her womb at that time. Nevertheless, she fought through the depression of her loss and the physical pain her body had caused, and held on to life to this day so she, their, baby could see the world. But any longer was already impossible.

So, with tears streaming from her eyes, the woman summoned all her strength for the last time in her life to tell her daughter everything that was on her mind.

“Dear... I'm so sorry... that neither your father nor I are here to see you grow...Please, dear...”

“...eat well and sleep well... it's important for your health...”

“... don't forget to study... and train your body... you will need knowledge and strength to survive... *cough*”

She spat out blood.

“... make lots of friends … *cough* … hold on them and protect them... because this seemingly gruesome world... is much, much more beautiful with them... *cough* *cough* *cough*...”

“...find a good boy... fall in love... find someone you can share your life together with... *cough* ... but look out for bad guys... as you will be at least as beautiful as I am... hehehe... a lot of them will flock around you... so be careful... *cough*”

“...by the way... girls are fine too, hehehe... your mother appreciates love in all forms... *cough**cough*...”

“...don't give in to bullies... you don't need to endure it... if you have to defend yourself, then do it...”

“... please be happy... laugh a lot... cry a lot... worry a lot... experience all kinds of emotions... *cough*”

“... and dear... I'm sorry that I have to leave you alone... but always keep in mind... your father and I...*cough* *cough* *cough*...”

She caressed her daughter's cheek.

“We love you, Rina.”