The Scent of a Demon Lord

The two members of the Hero’s squad had reassembled, their initial mission proving to be the rescue of the kidnapped Demon Lord.

Before embarking on the Demon Lord’s rescue, however, they first needed to ascertain her whereabouts.

Cruising through the city on a motorcycle was hardly a viable strategy, for unlike the Demon Lord herself, neither Li Yue nor Alezno possessed a grand radar capable of pinpointing otherworldy souls.

The video footage yielded no discernible information; the kidnapper had left a paltry trail of clues.

At present, the duo found themselves in a sporting goods store, in the midst of acquiring weaponry.

“Moon,” Alezno began, examining a bow, “this one’s performance is passable. Any stronger, and my current body simply wouldn’t be able to draw it.”

Alezno tautened the bowstring, adopting a shooting stance as she aimed forward.

Her hands, though exerting considerable force, remained remarkably steady.

Indeed, Li Yue caught a distinct glimpse of the golden-haired elf from her previous life within her movements.

Yet, one aspect left her less than satisfied.

“Alas,” she murmured, “these arrowheads are far too blunt.”

She twirled an arrow around her fingertip, then held it vertically before her eyes, scrutinizing the black carbon fiber tip.

“With these arrowheads, any opponent donning armor would be nearly impenetrable. I fear they would shatter upon impact.”

“It is, after all, a competition bow, and the arrows are merely for target practice,” Li Yue pointed out. “Naturally, power isn’t a factor to consider; in fact, a lack of destructive force is preferable.”

Alezno neither pressed the matter further nor acted unreasonably.

She simply stated, “I’ll find a solution for the arrowheads myself. We’ll take this bow. Do you want to check out a new stick?”

“Hmm…”

Li Yue had initially intended to select a new baseball bat, but the ‘Holy Sword’ strapped to her back seemed to possess a will of its own, protesting with persistent vibrations against Li Yue’s apparent desire to seek a new favorite.

The store even featured a rudimentary shooting range, where Alezno, with a mere flick of her wrist, sent an arrow whistling directly into the bullseye, utterly dumbfounding the nearby store clerk who had been observing.

It was as if the resurgence of her memories had simultaneously reawakened the muscle memory from her past life.

“…Never mind,” Li Yue conceded. “Just buy this bow then.”

In addition to the bow, they purchased a bow case designed to be slung across the back.

Once Li Yue had settled the bill, Alezno, cradling the bow case, climbed onto the back of Li Yue’s motorcycle once more.

“It will have to suffice for now,” Li Yue muttered.

With Li Yue’s baseball bat bag slung across her back and Alezno carrying the bow case, they departed from the storefront on the motorcycle.

Unbeknownst to them, not far behind, the female police officer with her slightly unruly hair remained, observing from a distance, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

“A bow?” she mused aloud.

****

“Do not strike to kill your enemies,” Li Yue cautioned. “You wouldn’t want Su Luoli to become a murderer, would you?”

Li Yue admonished her thus.

“Yes, I know,” Alezno replied.

While she believed the kidnapper’s demise would be no great loss, she also understood that society did not permit casual killings.

Instead of returning home, the pair ventured into a suburban wooded area, allowing Alezno to familiarize herself with her new bow and arrows, all while contemplating how to locate the vanished Demon Lord.

“Moon,” Alezno inquired, “you mentioned earlier… that the Demon Lord still retained traces of the Holy Sword’s energy?”

She posed the question, simultaneously drawing her bowstring taut and embedding an arrow into a shadowy tree stump.

Li Yue affirmed, “Yes, that’s what the Goddess claimed.”

“Then is there no way for the Holy Sword to track her?”

In response, Li Yue sighed, drawing the golden baseball bat — her Holy Sword — from where it rested on her back.

“Hey,” she murmured to the bat, “can you sense the Demon Lord’s location?”

She spoke to the Holy Sword in this manner, yet it offered no reaction whatsoever.

Indeed, a reaction would have been the truly surprising outcome.

Tossing the baseball bat onto the motorcycle’s back seat, Li Yue sighed. “Sometimes I feel as if this sword possesses sentience, yet when I truly inquire about something, it remains utterly unresponsive. It’s just like that useless Goddess, always failing us at the most critical junctures.”

“Perhaps your method of use is incorrect,” Alezno suggested. “Moon, do you happen to have anything the Demon Lord has used?”

“Huh?”

After a moment’s thought, Li Yue retrieved the spare helmet from the motorcycle’s storage compartment, the very one Alezno had refused to wear.

“She wore this,” Li Yue confirmed.

Alezno pressed on, “Allow the Holy Sword to ‘smell’ it, perhaps?”

“…What do you take it for, a bloodhound?” Li Yue retorted.

While Li Yue found the idea highly improbable, she reasoned that trying wouldn’t cost her anything.

Thus, she acquiesced to Alezno’s suggestion, tucking the baseball bat inside the motorcycle helmet.

Predictably, nothing whatsoever occurred.

“How could it possibly be that simple?” Li Yue exclaimed. “This thing isn’t a dog; it can’t just sniff out a person’s location!”

Alezno paused for a moment of contemplation before offering another suggestion. “The Holy Sword lacks a sense of smell; it is, after all, merely a baseball bat. I believe you should personally undertake the smelling.”

“A-ah?!”

Li Yue let out a cry of sheer protest, for Alezno’s request would undoubtedly make her appear nothing short of a pervert.

“Y-you… you must be joking!”

“I am not joking, Moon,” Alezno insisted. “The Holy Sword is a divine artifact bestowed upon you by the Goddess; you and it are inextricably linked. The Holy Sword is akin to an extension of your very being.”

It was not ‘akin to,’ but an undeniable truth.

The Holy Sword was a divine artifact acquired in exchange for niuniu (TL Note: A euphemism for breasts or sexual favors.), serving as Moon’s cheat code, her ‘golden finger,’ as a Hero.

Yet, she had never managed to disclose the full truth to Alezno.

Each time she had almost found the courage to speak, an untimely interruption had thwarted her.

Now, it seemed, she had irrevocably missed the optimal moment for such a revelation.

“Moon, do not allow your pride to become an impediment,” Alezno urged. “Consider the larger objective. Just try it.”

Confronted by Alezno’s earnest persuasion, her own reluctance to sniff the motorcycle helmet suddenly made her feel as though she were the one in the wrong.

“I…”

‘Whether an act is perverted depends on one’s intent,’ she rationalized internally. ‘I am merely doing this to save Mo Linyu!’

As Alezno continued to prod her with an insistent gaze, Li Yue waged a fierce internal battle.

Finally, she lowered her head, bringing it close to the helmet’s opening.

The mingled scents of hair, shampoo, the leather lining of the motorcycle helmet, and the subtle fragrance of some ester compounds coalesced, forming a distinct, personalized aroma.

Thump-thump—

Li Yue felt her face flush and her heart pound at the sheer impropriety of the act.

She even found herself recalling the ambiguous sensation of Mo Linyu embracing her from behind.

What followed was a cascade of memories from their recent interactions.

Despite numerous unpleasantries, the Demon Lord — whose audacious behavior often verged on outright impropriety — had nonetheless carved her presence deeply into Li Yue’s mind… and, indeed, into her very being.

“I’m starting to understand why her live streams are so popular,” Li Yue mumbled softly.

Her accelerated heartbeat signaled a rapid surge in blood flow.

A familiar sensation emanated from her lower abdomen, and the Holy Sword, resting on the motorcycle seat, responded in kind.

With a subtle tremor, it inexplicably lifted itself into the air.

“It worked?” Alezno asked, astonished.

“Tsk, could it be that…”

Li Yue had, it seemed, deciphered the secret to manipulating the Holy Sword, though it was an answer she was far from eager to embrace.

“To think it’s actually driven by… impulse. How utterly dreadful.”

Despite her protests, a blush crept across her cheeks as she straddled the motorcycle.

“Alezno, get on. We’re going to find the Demon Lord.”

Alezno gathered the bow case and settled onto the motorcycle’s back seat, while Li Yue donned the very helmet Mo Linyu had worn.

As Li Yue twisted the throttle and the motorcycle engine roared to life, the baseball bat, suspended miraculously in the air, shot forward.

Yet, it would then appropriately decelerate, maintaining a steady pace, always hovering ahead, guiding their direction.

“…Hah,” Li Yue sighed, a wry smile gracing her lips. “So it turns out I’m the dog after all.”