Don’t Be Afraid, I’m Not a Good Person

“Ughh…”

The elf mage let out a dazed, confused sound, confusion swirling in her emerald-like pupils.

It seemed to take her a few seconds to focus, her vision shifting from blurry to clear.

After another moment, she seemed to have adjusted to her surroundings, and then her jade-green eyes met Vivian’s.

“Eek! D-Demon Lord…”

When Vivian’s face, with its slight, mocking smile, came into clear view, in an instant, the vast mana radiating from Vivian made the girl tremble.

Her pupils contracted.

The elf mage named Mira even recalled the fear and sense of death she had felt just before fainting, when Vivian had gripped her by the neck.

Clearly, she knew who the being before her was.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Vivian smiled, looking at the elf mage hero before her, her voice carrying a strange, soothing quality.

“I’m not a good person, you know.”

Mira: “…”

‘She’s definitely not a good person. She’s a good Demon Lord.’

“Your name?”

“…M-Mira.”

Vivian looked at the hero before her and asked softly, her tone light and casual, as if meeting a stranger on the street.

Faced with Vivian’s “amiable” attitude, Mira swallowed and answered truthfully.

“Mira… hmm.”

Vivian’s brows lowered slightly.

“Don’t worry. I just have a few questions for you. I won’t be taking your life, for now.”

“…”

Hearing Vivian’s words, Mira couldn’t help but tremble.

She clearly had never imagined she would be abducted by a Demon Lord.

Of course, one always picks the softest persimmon.

Vivian had spotted Mira in the hero squad at a glance.

The seemingly timid girl was the easiest to bully, the easiest to break.

So, she had acted decisively, taking advantage of the brief window when they fell into the trap to abduct her.

Although in terms of battle losses, Vivian’s casualties were certainly far fewer than the crusading army’s, the numerical disparity of two thousand against twenty thousand was simply too great.

Without a battle of annihilation, harassment alone would never be enough to completely defeat them, but she didn’t feel confident enough for that right now.

‘If all five thousand of my soldiers were to attack, it might be possible. Two thousand… I should probably dismiss that thought for now.’

Taking advantage of a surprise attack was good enough.

She didn’t delude herself into thinking she could actually defeat them with a one-to-ten force ratio, especially since they showed no signs of splitting their forces.

Therefore, to force them to retreat, she had to approach it from another angle.

For example… the other heroes accompanying them.

And so, Mira became the unlucky one chosen by Vivian.

But this did not come without a price.

A considerable amount of the strategic magic stones and crystals from the Demon Lord’s Castle’s reserves had been consumed to set up the magical traps.

“You’re a hero squad, I presume? Accompanying the Hero of the Blade of Radiance, Galen, to crusade against me?”

“…I-I won’t say anything!”

In response to Vivian’s question, Mira apparently still had some backbone.

But at this, Vivian’s eyes instantly turned cold.

She shot out a hand, and her icy fingers, with an irresistible force, viciously clamped onto Mira’s chin, forcing her to tilt her head up and look directly into her own crimson, bewitching eyes!

“Ugh!”

“I hope you understand something, my dear little hero.”

Vivian looked down at Mira with a blank expression, her voice devoid of any fluctuation.

“Although I essentially captured you to serve as a deterrent hostage, since your crusading army can’t even find a trace of us now, it wouldn’t matter if I killed you right here.”

“Let me guess, the other elf in your squad is your sister, isn’t she? What kind of mood do you think she and the others will be in when they see your hands tightly clutching that pretty little head of yours? But even if I don’t kill you, there are many energetic young men in my army. I don’t mind letting them vent their anger over their homes being destroyed by humans on you first.”

“Why don’t you guess how many males we have here who are just itching for a chance?”

“Eek… N-no…”

Vivian spoke coldly, and at her words, Mira’s face went white with terror.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, which were now filled with nothing but the purest, near-breaking fear.

As a former male, Vivian wasn’t one to play games.

If non-violent non-cooperation was the choice, then fine, no cooperation it was.

She could just toss her outside to experience the warmth of the world first.

Just because she had gender-bent into a pregnant Demon Lord didn’t mean she wouldn’t be ruthless.

She had no interest in playing games of persuasion and reform.

But right now, she was also testing something—testing whether her charm ability worked on heroes.

Judging by Mira’s reaction, it didn’t seem to have any effect.

Was it because heroes inherently had high resistance to this kind of passive ability, or was the fear in her heart canceling out the effect of the charm?

“Now, back to the previous question—the purpose of your trip?”

Vivian released her grip on Mira’s chin, as if the terrifying threat had never happened, her voice returning to its previous calmness.

“…To… to follow the Hero Galen, to crusade against the Demon Lord, and to gain practical experience in fighting demons…”

Mira lowered her head and began to answer Vivian’s questions obediently.

“How many people are in your squad in total? What are their names and classes? Tell me honestly.”

“F-five… Our squad’s name is the [Blades of Dawn].

The leader is Rein, a warrior.

Kael’thod, a warrior.

Caesar, a priest.

My sister, Serra, is an archer, and I’m… a mage…”

Vivian listened quietly, her fingertips tapping a rhythmic beat on the cold stone table beside her.

Then, she changed the subject, her tone now probing as she continued to ask.

“Why are you two elven heroes mixing with humans?”

“W-we…”

After asking the most basic questions, Vivian shifted the topic to their team composition.

And at the mention of this, Mira began to stammer, as if struggling to find the right words.

Vivian saw through this at a glance and, frowning, barked out an order.

“Speak! Don’t even think about lying! My patience is limited! If you keep delaying like this, I think I’d rather let you have a good chat with the other males before coming back to talk to me!”

“Y-yes! I’ll talk!”

Mira was scared out of her wits, almost screaming out her reply.

“W-we are an experimental squad for joint cooperation between elves and humans! P-please don’t hand me over to the other males… sob…”

“Continue. Why?”

“It was the decision of the Elven Council of Life… The Great Seer seems to have divined a shadow in the future, a very terrifying, very vague shadow! S-so we are now trying to establish a deeper connection with the humans… S-so my sister and I joined a human hero squad…”

“…”

Vivian continued to stare coldly at Mira.