What a predicament…

Xania and Anise are both holding their hands above their head, showing they mean no harm as the top of the walls are covered in elves, aiming their bow at them.

My lord, can't we just kill them?

Yea but if I do that, nobody will be here to teach me elf magic since I doubt Elvia and Ella would be willing if I killed the elves right now.

Annoying.

You two! Stop talking and state your identity on why you're here! The one Xania assumes is the leader shouts confidently despite his obvious nervousness, most likely due to how Xania wiped out all the monsters along with all the nearby land.

Anise, why do they not know who I am? I have wings and a tail for goodness sake.

Well, wings and tails aren't exclusive to demons, and not all demon lords have them.

Oh.

Have you not been listening while I was teaching you?

Who can pay attention for hours, and your lessons are so boring!

You two! Stop chatting and state your identity and why you are here, I will not repeat!

How annoying honestly.

I agree my lord.

As the guy opens his mouth to shouts again, someone starts calling for them to stop, clearly panicked and annoyed.

Stop it! Wait! Elvia pants, clearly having ran from where Xania left her as Ella follows behind, panting too.

Elvia walks up to Xania, clearly annoyed due to being left behind.

Hey! You left us on the shield! If not for being able to fall slowly, I would have died when the shield disappeared!

Calm down, you're alive are you not?

That's not the point!

Elvia, Ella?! Xania looks over at the guy on the castle wall along with everyone as they lower their bows slightly, surprised at Elvia and Ella's presence, as if seeing a ghost.

Why are they so surprised?

The fact that we were spying for you was a secret incase of spies, so they believe we were both dead.

Dead? Not captured?

Elves have a treaty with humans, so it wouldn't have been suspected that the king behind one of the biggest kingdoms was the cause of our disappearance.

Right, the king of that kingdom was petty enough to capture the dwarves and torture them out of being jealous.

Indeed.

Suddenly, the castle gate opens, an elven woman wearing a crown stepping out with some guards behind, including the guy shouting at her just now.

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Your queen, I assume?

Indeed.

Ella, Elvia, I see you're both still alive, are you two okay? The queen's words are laced with concern and surprise but Xania can tell that she doesn't actually mean what she's saying, probably already knowing about them being alive, and probably who Xania is as she signals for the guards to stop being so alert.

Come here you two, let's get you treated.

Ella and Elvian both look at Xania, not wanting to go in case of looking like they are not fulfilling their part of the deal or betraying her, feeling relief as Xania nods, letting them go without any misunderstanding.

Guards, being Elvia and Ella for treatment while I have a talk with our guest, privately.

The guards all go away, the bare minimum staying with Elvia and Ella to escort them, most likely towards a location to meet with the queen later, to tell her what they know.

You two, esteemed guests, please follow me.

Sure.

My lord, don't we just need the magic? What are we doing now? Anise whispers, trying to make sure the queen wants to hear as she stops for a moment before continuing like she didn't hear anything despite it being obvious she heard.

Right, they have great hearing. Anise uses telepathy to talk with Xania, making sure the queen really cannot hear her this time.

It would be better to remain cautious in case they have a way to fight back, and they already have a bad relationship with the humans I would assume.

Yea, to the public, elves and humans get along, but the higher ups know that the only reason they “get along” is due to elves being decently strong enough to somewhat fight back along with the fruits provided by the world tree which contains amazing healing properties so an all out drawn out war would be more beneficial to the elves.

This could benefit us.

As they keep walking, Xania is intrigued by how there are also many trees within the wall, with mana flowing into the ground the the world tree and getting absorbed into the surrounding trees, speeding up their growth, along with how there is a complete lack of houses and the elves all live in the overgrown trees.

As Xania and Anise keep following, eventually they reach an old abandoned looking building near the walls, far away from anybody else where a teleportation circle is.

What's this?

A teleportation circle.

Obviously. To where?

You'll see.

The queen gets onto the circle, teleporting away as Xania and Anise follow along, ending up in a small room, oddly similar to an interrogation room as the queen sits down, gesturing to the two chairs opposite her as Xania and Anise take a seat too.

So, what do you want? Stop wasting my time.

Patience demon lord, I simply would like to talk with you.

Stop wasting my time and hurry it up then.

Sure then, please protect us.

Huh? You're asking me to protect you guys?

Indeed, unlike the others with biases against you, I believe that you're different.

What's the basis for your trust?

Secret.

How would I even benefit?

We could stop the world tree from creating new heroes.

How?

Simple, we just need to stop initiating the ritual to do so.

Ritual?

I can't tell you about it, it's a secret too.

Fine, but will the other elves accept this arrangement?

Not at all, but I should be able to convince them with time.

My lord, shouldn't we discuss this? Anise uses telepathy as Xania just ignores her.

Very well.

Nice to see we could come to an agreement, I'll bring you to see Elvia and Ella now, take them back with you if you and the both of them agree.

Do you not want them?

It's up to them, but I have a feeling they'll choose you since apparently, they are rather good friends with the dwarves, especially Ella.

Ella? The quiet one?

She's not as shy as you think, I heard that you commited a small massacre I'm the dwarves' dungeon which probably made her scared of you.

I suppose that could be the cause.

Either that or it's your wings and horns which are pointy.

So what if they're pointy?

Well, she watched her mother die by a sword so anything sharp or pointy scares her.

So I can't fix this. Nevermind getting close to Ella won't benefit me anyways, I'll go meet themater.

Your choice, feel free to leave by the teleportation circle, and the library if you intend to learn spells without them.

Very well.

As soon as Xania and Anise teleport out, Anise turns to Xania, annoyed that Xania didn't consult with her.

Yes Anise?

My lord! Do you think the demons will just happily accept this?!

Obviously not.

Then why did you do this?

I'll just tell them that I defeated them but they have benefits and eventually I'll keep telling them more, then I'll pretend that I treat them normal after a while for good behaviour.

My lord, if you're going to do this, I suggest properly learning elf magic. They have one that helps influence the mind which is a lot more controllable than seduction magic along with another one that helps you know what others are feeling.

Sure.

Xania hums happily while walking away, looking for the library despite Anise beside her, still annoyed but satisfied enough with Xania's agreement to the point she isn't arguing back.