Solitär fell silent. In that moment, she truly understood the meaning of the prophecy from All-Seeing Schlacht.
No wonder Schlacht had told her to kill Fíliya the instant she met her.
After all... a future involving the "remodeling of the Demon Race" was far too uncertain. Who could know if this human girl would bring the Demon Race a new beginning or utter destruction?
To think Fíliya harbored an ideal of this magnitude.
Remodeling the Demon Race...
If any other human had said this to her, Solitär was certain she would have dismissed them as a lunatic.
But Fíliya... she was already mad beyond measure. So, when such an outlandish, crazy idea came from her mouth, there was, strangely, a small part of Solitär that wanted to believe it.
The current situation could hardly get any worse, after all.
And what was the meaning of Fíliya's incredibly sappy final statement?
Judged by human standards, wasn't that basically a confession?
How annoying... For the first time, Solitär felt an emotion called "vexation," because she was at a loss for how to respond to Fíliya.
"Well, that's about it. Is there anything else you want to ask, Solitär?"
Fíliya's voice rang in her ears again, forcing Solitär to compose herself.
"...I'm going to sleep."
Without another word, Solitär stood up, intending to leave the roof.
"Hey? Wait!"
Fíliya called out to her anxiously.
"Hm?"
With a whirlwind of emotions in her heart, Solitär really didn't want to talk anymore, so she frowned slightly.
"Um... we've been in this house long enough, haven't we? To be honest, I'm running out of inspiration lately. I really want to go for a walk."
Fíliya stated her request with some embarrassment, even making a cute gesture of tapping her finger against her cheek.
...A walk?
Hearing that word, Solitär tensed up instinctively, though she didn't know why.
"Well, I mean, could we leave this house and explore the depths of the Northern Plateau? I'd also really like to see that city that was turned to gold with my own eyes."
Fíliya continued.
Solitär remained silent. As a seasoned shut-in, these past two months had felt like a fleeting moment, but it was a moment that had changed her.
Solitär felt a slight urge to grant Fíliya's request. After all, this sort of thing had happened many times before, and even she couldn't understand why she was so lenient with Fíliya.
"Hmm... I know you're afraid of being discovered, Solitär. So I promise, we won't go near any human cities. We'll just wander around in the wilderness. Is that still not okay?"
Fíliya batted her large eyes, continuing her persuasion.
Solitär was still hesitating.
"Well, it's true, we can't rule out encountering humans in the wild. But don't worry, Solitär, your horns are small. You can easily cover them with a hat or some other accessory. As for Aura... if all else fails, we can just saw off those big ox horns of hers. They're just keratin, so it shouldn't hurt, and she has a lot of hair to cover the stumps."
"As long as the horns are hidden and you conceal your mana, ordinary people and mages of average skill won't be able to tell you apart from humans... Concealing mana is an easy technique for the Demon Race, right? You don't need to practice for hundreds of years like Frieren."
"Besides, your mana can easily sustain continuous mana detection, right? And if it comes to it, the moment we spot any humans nearby, we'll just run... Okay?"
Fíliya continued her verbal assault on Solitär's psychological defenses.
Sigh... Solitär finally let out a long, helpless sigh.
I'm really not myself anymore.
Even refusing a single human has become this difficult.
She gave a self-deprecating smile and then looked at Fíliya.
"Alright."
Hearing this, Fíliya immediately jumped for joy and pulled Solitär's slightly smaller frame into a hug.
"I knew it! You're the best, Solitär! I'll never forget this kindness."
...And so, this strange night finally came to an end.
The next morning, Miss Aura, the maid, was jolted awake by a sudden sense of dread.
The moment she opened her eyes, she saw it.
A handsaw was poised right in front of her, its sharp blade resting right on top of her head.
"What are you doing!!!"
A roar like that of a wild beast echoed through the entire house.
Standing by Aura's bed was, of course, Miss Fíliya. Today, she had foregone her usual teasing duties, intent on doing just one thing.
Sawing off Aura's very conspicuous, large horns.
"Oh... why are you awake so early? I was hoping to saw them off while you were still asleep, Aura."
Miss Fíliya pouted in annoyance.
"Are you insane?! The saw is on my head! Any person... any demon would feel that, right? Huh? I haven't done anything wrong lately, even Solitär isn't hitting me anymore. Why are you trying to saw off my horns!"
Aura frantically pushed Miss Fíliya several meters away and quickly covered her head with her hands. As she glared at Fíliya, a glistening teardrop could be seen in her eye.
"Mm-hmm, you're right. It does seem a bit inappropriate to just start without telling you."
After sensing Aura's clear resistance, Fíliya decisively stood there and reflected for a whole two seconds. Then, she raised the saw and approached Aura once more.
"Stay back! Don't think I won't fight back just because Solitär protects you! Touch my horns and I'll fight you to the death today!"
Aura shouted fiercely.
This left Miss Fíliya a bit bewildered. She took a few steps back and shouted from the doorway towards the kitchen.
"Solitär? Are horns that important to the Demon Race?"
...Hearing Solitär's name, Aura flinched, thinking Fíliya was calling Solitär in to beat her up. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that wasn't the case.
"I don't know? I don't think horns are important at all."
Solitär's voice drifted over.
"See? This useless keratin is just for decoration. Sawing it off should be fine."
Fíliya thought to herself as she slowly walked towards Aura.
"Don't come any closer! She might not think they're important, but I do! Without my horns, won't I have two bald spots on my head?!!?!"
_____
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