System? Help me, System!

Mordred began pacing restlessly on the dais before his throne, muttering under his breath.

“What’s wrong with that little girl? She used to write every day, so why did she suddenly stop? Did I say something wrong and make her angry? Or has Gurem already found trouble for her? Vivian hasn’t replied at all?”

Seeing his lord stride back and forth, the attendant beside him could only cautiously venture a reminder.

“My lord, perhaps Lady Vivian is simply busy managing her territory and has no time to write.”

“Managing her territory? What could she possibly have to manage? Isn’t it just planting fields and running a few workshops?”

Mordred retorted stubbornly, though an inexplicable unease gnawed at him. “Hmph. It must be that petty little brat holding a grudge.”

For some reason the connection felt suddenly severed. Mordred pursed his lips.

The attendant watched his master’s obvious duplicity and secretly rolled his eyes, thinking to himself: My lord has clearly become addicted to chatting with Lady Vivian, hasn’t he?

Mordred had no idea that Vivian’s mind was already back to her daily rhythm.

In the mornings she checked on the researchers’ progress in the laboratory and reviewed documents and proposals sent from every corner of the territory.

In the evenings she carved out time to help Luna practice basic mana control.

Her days were full and busy, leaving both her own leisure and Mordred’s temporarily on hold.

Then one noon, while Vivian was discussing production improvements for the magic-crystal workshop with Fernando as usual, Aria suddenly burst in like a gust of wind, barely containing her excitement.

“Lord Mordred—no, my lord! We’ve made a huge catch! Our special squad captured three lone abnormal adventurers alive! This is the first time we’ve actually taken them living!”

“What?!”

Vivian shot to her feet, the quill in her hand nearly clattering to the floor.

“You really caught them? They didn’t turn into white light and vanish?”

“No, my lady!” Aria nodded vigorously. “Thanks to the mana-sealing chains and silence-barrier scrolls you had the mages prepare in advance, they were subdued the moment they made a move. They never got the chance to trigger their escape skill!”

Vivian instantly lost all interest in workshop productivity.

She snatched her coat and strode toward the door in great strides.

“Take me to them at once!”

The two hurried at a near run toward the temporary detention site outside the city.

It was a facility Vivian had ordered built specifically for this purpose: walls and floor inlaid with magic-suppressing stones, layered with multiple containment arrays—everything designed to prevent players from easily escaping or “logging out.”

The moment they reached the entrance, intermittent complaints drifted out from inside.

“What the hell kind of place is this?!”

“I knew we shouldn’t have accepted this sabotage quest. The demons here are way too strong!”

“You think they’ll torture us? Demons are supposed to be super cruel, right?”

“Damn it, why can’t I teleport out? System? System! Somebody help!”

“…”

Vivian was momentarily speechless. These people didn’t exactly seem… reliable.

Aria pushed open the heavy door in front of them and turned to Vivian with a proud smile.

“Demon Lord, they’re inside.”

Vivian nodded and stepped in.

Immediately she saw three humans in strange leather armor bound to stone chairs.

Their wrists and ankles were locked in restraints that glimmered with black light—mana-sealing shackles.

The air around them rippled faintly with barrier light: the effect of the silence barrier, capable of blocking any magical signal below Demon-Lord rank.

The moment the three players saw Vivian enter, they fell completely silent, eyes wide with curiosity.

The short-haired girl whispered to her companion beside her:

“Holy crap! So this is the Demon Lord of Evernight? She’s way too pretty! Doesn’t look anything like the demons I’ve seen before!”

“Shh, don’t talk. What if she attacks us?”

The bespectacled boy swallowed hard, voice trembling.

Vivian walked up to them and studied the trio with great interest.

This was her first time observing players from such close range.

Of course, in a certain sense, she was a player too.

Or rather, a transmigrator.

But from the scraps of conversation she’d just overheard, she was clearly not in the same camp as them—she didn’t have a “system” after all.

“Hello there.”

Vivian greeted them first, keeping her tone as gentle as possible.

“I’m Vivian, Demon Lord of Evernight. I’d like to have a little chat.”

The three players exchanged glances. No one spoke.

“May I ask where you’re from? And why you sneaked into Evernight Territory?”

Vivian continued patiently.

“Oh, right—I’ve encountered many other abnormal adventurers just like you before. Are they friends of yours?”

The bespectacled boy turned his head away, radiating “you’ll get nothing out of me even if you kill me” energy.

The tall, burly one beside him stuck out his neck and barked defiantly:

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! We were just passing through and accidentally entered demon territory! Kill us or torture us, do whatever you want!”

“Passing through?”

Vivian raised an eyebrow. That excuse was truly terrible.

“You really remind me of some warriors I used to know. Same lack of brains.”

She didn’t say that out loud—she still wanted answers—but Aria had already run out of patience.

“Our Demon Lord is speaking to you politely! If you don’t start talking, don’t blame me for getting rough! Let’s see whose is harder—your mouths or my torture tools!”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and conjured a wisp of black mana that sharpened into a wicked spike.

The short-haired girl shrank back with a squeak.

“Aria.”

Vivian’s voice was calm as she lifted a hand to stop her, inwardly sighing.

Fine, fine.

If reasoning won’t work on these stubborn idiots, then I’ll stop being polite too.

It’s all Mordred’s fault—after bickering with him so long, I’ve picked up his tricks.

Far away in Ash Barrier, Mordred suddenly let out a thunderous sneeze, rubbed his nose, and grumbled.

“Who’s badmouthing me behind my back? It’s definitely that little brat Vivian again!”

Vivian, naturally, paid that no mind.

She rolled up her sleeves and stepped right up to the three players.

“What are you doing?!”

“Nothing much. Just looking for something.”

As she spoke, her hands began patting them down.

“Ah! You’re molesting us!”

The short-haired girl—who had already imagined all sorts of perverted demon lord fetishes—shrieked, her face flushing crimson.

“Pervert! Let go of me!”

The bespectacled boy struggled and yelled.

Vivian completely ignored their protests, her fingers nimbly searching through their backpacks, pockets, and every hidden lining.

The guards stationed outside the door heard the commotion and whispered among themselves.

“As expected of the Demon Lord—making these invaders panic the moment she makes a move.”

“Of course!”

The other guard puffed up proudly, having no idea what was actually happening inside.

It didn’t take long before Vivian fished a rolled-up magic parchment from the bespectacled boy’s backpack.

She unfurled it, and her eyes instantly lit up.

It was a detailed map of the area surrounding Evernight City.

Not only were the new army’s defensive positions marked, but the coordinates of the magic-crystal workshops and granaries were clearly labeled as well.

Even the recently constructed water pipelines were drawn with perfect accuracy, and certain spots were highlighted with special symbols as “priority targets.”