Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

And that was the time in the country of Fulltale...

"I'm back..."

Sluggishly, Haneo... I mean Philip, entered the throne room of the Fulltale royal castle in a blood-stained state.

Sitting on the throne was Persephone, with the crown prince and his attendants kneeling at his feet.

Seeing this, Philip asked, "Huh? Where's the king? And the old men attendants... I don't see the queen either."

"Hmph, the king and those old men attendants were in the way and not beautiful, so I put them in the dungeon. As for the queen... hehe, she has been... e-eaten up~ I've taken the minimum amount of magic from her, so she's no longer of any use."

"Eh... eaten? Unfair! When did this happen?"

"Right after you left, I think?"

"Aww... If I had been eaten too, I might have recovered from these wounds quickly..."

"Well, I didn't expect you to come back all covered in wounds... That queen, that woman, tried to belittle me, you know? So I ate her. But that queen is lucky... she became a part of my beauty."

With a blissful face looking up at the sky, Persephone suddenly turned to Philip, surveyed his whole body, then frowned, descended from the throne, approached Philip, and said, "By the way, about those wounds... who did this to you?" as she gently touched his blood-stained cheek, her words carrying both consolation and intimidation. Philip lightly brushed off her hand and answered, "Oh, just a little nuisance. Couldn't kill 'that', but I think 'that' won't be able to move for a while."

"Who is this nuisance? Is it Lily Gresha?"

"Nope."

"Then who is it? Surely not the crown prince Siegfried and Regalus?"

"No way! I'm not gay! I'm not interested in men, and I understand that they're Persephone's possessions. They did get in the way a bit, but I didn't harm them at all."

"I see... then who is it?"

"Well, if I had to say a man, it would be a man. It was a fairy who stole something of mine."

"A fairy? That's quite unusual... and you won't tell me what the fairy did to you, right?"

"No, I've been fighting that fairy."

"What? You mean that tiny, fluffy creature? You, who are collecting magic for the revival of the demon race, couldn't defeat a fairy?!"

"Well, you see, that fairy could change into a human form. And it had considerable magical power... it might even be the Fairy King."

"The Fairy King? I've only heard rumors about it, does it really exist?"

"I don't know."

"Philip! Don't kid around!"

"Haha! I'm kidding, I didn't say it was the Fairy King, so it must be different. But it was totally different from the fairies I know around there... it was too strong."

"So what did you do?"

"I wanted to kill it, but it seemed to be protected by something, so it wouldn't die. I had to weaken it and curse it. It got in the way, and it seemed like it would be even more of a nuisance later on. It probably won't wake up for a while. Lily Gresha's light magic won't be able to wake it up."

"I see... Hey, what was that nuisance that the fairy did? Where were you going and what were you doing?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Today was the martial arts tournament at the academy, and I was just checking it out in case there was anyone strong. I managed to obtain a silver-haired doll infused with magic there. I thought it would help with collecting magic... but that fairy stole it from me. So I cursed it."

"I see... I understand. First of all, we need to heal those wounds on your face."

Saying that, Persephone enveloped Philip's face with her hands and licked the wounds one by one. Then both of them shared a passionate kiss.

Philip's face is covered in saliva, as a result, the wounds quickly closed up, leaving no trace.

"That should do it... but since I used magic for healing, I'll have to replenish it again. It's really hard for the people in this country to gather magic because they're so weak... I wish we could have a base in RGC or ECS instead."

"But isn't it impossible for just the two of us there? RGC is descended from a goddess, and ECS is protected by the Sword of... With the second largest country, Starry Stars, they have a history of making pacts with demons, so our enchantments won't work there either. It might be possible if the royal nobles were greedy, but you surveyed Starry Stars and decided it was unreasonable. That's why we decided to make Fulltale, the next largest country, our base, right?"

"I know. I know, but... that's why it's taking time to gather magic..."

"If you're talking about time... didn't you cut off communication for a while to turn Fulltale's king into a puppet? That's why there are rumors circulating from neighboring countries that 'Fulltale has fallen to demons', right?"

"Of course... so it wasn't just my imagination that there was a decrease in human traffic... It's difficult to gather magic without people coming and going. Oh well, I guess I'll have to bring the king out of the dungeon... Hey, Crown Prince Levant."

Turning back slowly, Persephone addressed the man kneeling at the foot of the throne chair.

"Oh... Persephone. You finally called my name."

Levant, the man addressed, approached her with a mesmerized look.

"Hehe, will you grant my request? Could you bring the king we have locked in the underground dungeon here? And clean him up... Yes, dress him nicely in the king's attire, okay?"

"Got it, leave it to me, my Persephone... I'll be right back."

Levant kissed the back of Persephone's hand and left the throne room.

"... He's completely under our control."

Watching Levanth's unsteady departure from the throne, Philip said.

"Of course? That's only natural. I've been captivating everyone here long before entering the academy!"

"But hey, what are you planning to do by bringing the king out of the dungeon?"

"Of course, I plan to have him attend the meeting where representatives from various countries gather. Besides, I want to gather information from the meeting as well."

"I see... Once it has reached this point, the charm won't be easily broken even if we are far away. But really, can this generation be conquered? Lily Gresha, the user of light magic, with that level of magical power, it's truly a great help."

Philip chuckled gleefully, a seductive smile on her face.

"Indeed... but we must not let our guard down. The Sword of Sol is still missing, and if Lily Gresha is acting as the dawn goddess, she might awaken to something in the future."

"Is human magic something that can awaken suddenly? Isn't it something you're born with?"

"I don't know about that. We are not humans, after all. We weren't even born during the last time 1000 years ago... I heard that it's something you're born with, though."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. But more importantly, we need to find the Sword of Sol quickly... To find Sol's sword, do we have to charm the Pope or the Headmaster? But I remember the Headmaster mentioning that once the charm is cast, our position will be stripped away..."

"Then it's meaningless. It's somewhere in a cave in this world. The problem is which cave, but..."

"Did you check all of Fulltale?"

"I did. But it wasn't there."

"Then should we search in the caves of Terran? Could we go under the pretext of being an 'embassy'?"

"That's it! That's a good idea. Since we're sending the king to the meeting anyway. And while searching for the cave, Philip can tag along. It's a nice plan, right? Philip, as expected."

Saying so, Persephone patted Philip's head.

"...Even though there's no reward for compliments... But more importantly, what are we going to do about the reason for the lack of communication?"

"Well, let's see..."

After a moment of silence, Persephone said, "Let's use the queen. Fortunately, the king and queen of Fulltale are known to have a good relationship, so how about saying 'the queen was bedridden with illness and the king was too distraught to communicate' and then 'he became inactive due to her death'?"

"Hmm... it feels weak as a reason for neglecting the affairs of the country... What about saying there was a civil war?"

"That would make it even more suspicious if other countries knew nothing about it. 'The grieving king' sounds more appealing."

"...Well, if Persephone thinks it's good, then it's fine. But can we really do all this in a puppet state?"

"When you're a puppet, you can do anything. According to my will... right."

This time, Philip's crimson eyes sparkled, and she smiled seductively.