(AN: Yay ;3;)// 50th Chapter!!! So proud of myself. I seriously thank you all for reading my story and keeping up with my irregular schedule. I love you all <3

With that, the chapter!

Enjoy!)

""EVERYTHING!!!""

Myria and Scarlet exclaimed at the surprised Amanda who seemed to be taken aback far more than us. She looked quite cute if I was fully honest. It looked like any other flustered high school girl after all. But that is, of course, if we're completely ignoring the fact she's almost as strong as Azazel, Scarlet's father and could likely render Scarlet and Myria unconscious in a matter of minutes...

Yeah... I'm not really sure how her personality works...

"Wah, why?!?! I did nothing wrong?!?!"

Amanda loudly declared in confusion while she flinched thanks to the sudden accusation from my friends. I mean, I would've likely reacted the same way if I was in her position, but her reactions were just a bit over-the-top.

Same, thing for Myria and Scarlet actually...

"THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE STRONGER THAN US!!!"

Both Myria and Scarlet looked like they had just been told the most unbelievable thing ever. I would probably be startled too if I was randomly told an easily flustered girl was stronger than me as well but isn't she a demon general? They are supposed to be strong right?

...

'Hmmm, quite strange'

I kept pondering over the possibilities as my friends carried out their accusations when suddenly, Amanda's expression changed completely. It went from a deep confused state to a relieved and a rather calm expression.

This threw me off, forcing my focus to immediately shift to her as I was not expecting her to react this way.  And as she began regaining her composure, she opened her lips once again in a strangely soothing and satisfied voice.

"Oh, that? Don't worry Scarlet-sama, Myria-sama. I'm not stronger than any of you."

...

'What...?'

'She's joking right...?'

I literally just saw everyone's statuses...

That Amanda girl is a lot stronger than Myria and Scarlet. Even both of them fighting Amanda at the same time would prove to be hard.

I was left wondering in confusion regarding Amanda's seemingly trustful and innocent voice. But as I was spacing out, I heard a quite deadly and obviously familiar voice headed my way.

"Reika-Chan~n, you weren't lying, were you~?"

"Wut?"

"Were you lying?"

Yeah... It was obviously Scarlet who was almost literally staring daggers at me. It seemed as if one of her forehead veins was ready to pop at any minute. I was not really sure why she was mad this time. I mean, it is clear that Amanda is lying, right? I guess, she's still mad of everything that has happened up to now, huh?

Anyways, I know I hold the truth this time! My ability is quite literally impossible to break or override. As such, I don't mind committing on this, if it means to gain back Myria's and Scarlet's trust.

And thus, without waiting a single more second for doubt to take over, I immediately replied quite loudly:

"No! Of course, I wasn't! Believe me god's sake!"

I am trying to say the truth here after all. I believe my actions are justified, and as such, I will not budge on my point...

However, it is clear that Scarlet is not convinced, as she looks at me in disbelief while raising an eyebrow...

'You're kidding me, right...?'

...

You're telling me, she actually does not believe me anymore...?

...

'I might've messed up worse than I thought...'

...

I felt quite guilty inside. I felt a strange anxiety building up in my stomach, immediately followed by awkward nausea.

I'm pretty sure I was mortified almost immediately... And I'm kinda scared what expression my face contorted into because the moment those ominous feelings came over me, Scarlet suddenly turned pale for a second before shaking her head and continuing on.

*Sigh*

"Fine, fine, we'll believe you, Reika"

You gotta really hand it to PTSD at moments like these...

I wonder just how bad I looked there for Scarlet to turn pale so suddenly...

ANYWAYS, IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT PROVES MY POINT! I'LL REGAIN THEIR TRUST REGARDLESS!!!

And as I was basically proclaiming victory inside my mind, Scarlet turned to the curious Amanda and calmly asked:

"In any case, Amanda, mind showing me your status through [Greater Athos]?"

...

I was a little doubtful for a second, wondering if Amanda would accept in the first place...

But, I guess, she's just so transparent, she seems deep...

Because the very moment Scarlet asked Amanda to show her status, a huge smile appeared on her face:

"Un! I don't mind at all Scarlet-sama. Go right ahead!"

...

I mean, not what I was expecting, but I'm not going to complain...

Anyways, as I became prepared to receive a solemn apology from Myria and Scarlet alike, Scarlet took Amanda's hand and chanted:

"[Greater Athos]"

"..."

There was a sudden silence as Scarlet began looking through what I presume to be a transparent screen. Though, in reality, it looked as if she was using thin air as a tablet...

'Thinking about it... It does look really awkward...'

...

I felt quite self-conscious as I remembered every time I've used [Master Appraisal] in public and gotten weird stares... No wonder I stopped using it...

...

*Sigh*

I guess I'll just have to endure them, huh?

...

But, as I had already become calm, I noticed something at the corner of my eye.

Scarlet's face had hardened...

But... It wasn't surprise or astonishment... Her face showed a different emotion...

...

Disappointment...

I wasn't sure what was causing that reaction from Scarlet, but before I could say or do anything... Scarlet turned to face me once more and coldly asked:

"Reika-Chan~n, why do you lie~?"

...

"What?"

"Simple question, why do you lie~?"  

"I am not lying! Didn't you just see her status?! It's absurd!!!"

I wasn't sure what had just happened... I was sure she would be able to see what happened... After all, she was able to see my status, right?

I was falling into desperation and anxiety once more before I was snapped back into reality by Scarlet who caught my attention:

*Sigh*

"Look, there is nothing wrong or abnormal with her status, and she clearly isn't stronger than what Myria or I am. You lied"

"What!? No, I didn't!!!"

I WAS TELLING THE TRUTH!!!

I KNOW WHAT I SAW?!?!

WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!

I thought this would be solved the moment they saw her status, yet I'm the liar now?!?

*Sigh*

"Reika, seriously... Just stop... I like you and all... But what you are doing is just pitiful... Check for yourself"

"..."

...

There's no way I got it wrong, right...?

There's simply no way... right?

"[Master Appraisal]..."

...

'Everything is the same as I saw last time?'

...

Well, it's good to know I didn't make a mistake...?

Anyways... What did Scarlet just see?

"Scarlet, are you sure you're seeing it right? I just checked again."

"Ugh, yes, Reika... I'm sure I'm not blind..."

Scarlet rolled her eyes in a bored fashion as she remained unamused by my words. I, of course, found this utterly frustrating, and quite outrageous... But I couldn't do much more...

All I can do is plead for what I know is the truth...

"Please don't be mad, but I swear, what I'm telling you is re-"

"-REIKA! SHUT UP! PLEASE!!!"

"..."

...

Scarlet had snapped...

She had interrupted me as she covered her face with her hands in embarrassment...

Once again, the anxiety and stress began building up, but for the sake of my consciousness, I managed to repress it... Even if just for a little...

But, as I tried really hard to hold my feelings back... Even more, fuel was added to the fire...

"We literally just talked about this... Come on, Reika... Please just stop..."

...

"Just... stop..."

...

"Scarlet... I didn't..."

...

"Reika, just stop, please... Don't disappoint me further..."

...

"Scarlet, I'm not actually lying! I swear her stats show absurd values!"

...

But that's when I couldn't take it anymore...

My anxiety, stress and uncertainty had pretty much reached their climax... And I could no longer hold them back...

I was desperate...

And as such, before Scarlet could even utter her next sentence, I took matters into my own hands...

"Reika... why do you eve-"

I was a little too frustrated, and today hasn't really been my day if I'm completely honest... Besides, I think maybe acting more and more out of impulse now... Since, I didn't even wait for her to finish her sentence, as I grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to face me.

"Scarlet look at me in the eye and tell me if I'm lying"

I looked deep into her beautiful, sparkling crimson eyes...

She seemed to become flustered real quick as her cheeks reddened...

Small crystalline tears began welling up in her eyes like orbs that meant to stream down her face...

We stared deep into each other's eyes for some seconds...

Until, her expression softened... and following that, she began to fidget with her hair and fingers as she tried to avert my sight... I did not care though. Knowing Scarlet, this is just teasing... Besides, I just wanted to prove my point.

But, as I kept staring into her eyes, she began to grow even more restless...

When it suddenly happened...

  "It's... it's... my.... fisht.... ti.... so... pweash... be gen...tle...~"

...

...

...

'I did not quite catch that actually'

All I could hear was some strange muttering noises which I wasn't able to make out. And it seemed to be quite important seeing how restless and fidgety she had become. And as such, in my innocence, I had to ask...

I know I'm stupid and basically walk into these situations...

"Uh, Scarlet, could you repeat that, please? I did not quite catch it"

...

I'm too stupid for my own good...

As I remained innocently staring into Scarlet's glittering eyes she slowly turned to face me once again with a flushed expression...

And as she began opening her lips to utter some quite heavy words...

It hit me...

Her fidgeting, her restlessness, her blushing...

'Wait... This is... No, there's no way...'

...

Yes, if I've learned anything in this world, is that there's always a way...

As disturbing as it may be...

She looked at me with tender eyes and spoke those... Venomous words...

"It's my first time so please be gentle~"

...

...

...

"WHAT?!?!?!??!?!"

I immediately let go of Scarlet's shoulders as I jumped back in between my blushing and confusion.

'She didn't just say what I think she did, right...? RIGHT?!'

I could not think straight as my entire face was burning from the blushing...

'Of course, it had to be Scarlet...'

I could not even think straight as I grabbed my head in despair and doubt of what to do or say next...

...

*Giggles*

...

When all of a sudden, I heard some slight...

Chuckling...

...

...

...

"Awwww, Reika-Cha~n, I never thought you would be so direct~"

...

'Of course, it had to be Scarlet...'

I immediately turned to find a smug smile across Scarlet's face as she stared at me with teasing and playful eyes...

...

She had been fooling around...

...

Without wasting a second, I immediately looked at her and stared daggers at her, as I screamed at the top of my lungs:

"SCARLET!!! DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN IN YOUR LIFEEEEEEEE!!!"

...

But of course, I was dealing with Scarlet here...

What else was I expecting?

As I remained blinded by my anger, Scarlet suddenly let loose even more deadly words that petrified me once again.

One would think that after becoming a girl, one would develop a resistance to these, huh?

"Hehe~ You actually wanted my first~?"

"..."

'Why do you do this to me, God? Just why?'

Seriously, each one of Scarlet's teases was a little too much for me... And this one... Yeah, this one was one of the worst up to now...

But, as I was left panicking and blushing from Scarlet's most recent tease, she caught my attention once again.

As her expression changed completely once more, she let out a loud sigh as she became calmer, but not quite her "normal" state...

*Sigh*

"Fine, fine... Well, if what you're saying is true, it could be a reason for Amanda over here being appointed as a demon lord out of nowhere..."

...

"What?"

"Yeah, Amanda was appointed as a demon general the very second she showed up"

...

'Ok, that's definitely suspicious...'

Like, who would appoint a random person/demon as, no less, than a demon general?! That would be absurd!

I'm pretty sure fallen angels could be rare and all, but... With this attitude?! Yeah...

Azazel might've been a b***ard of a father, but he was definitely no fool in his actions...

His escape, his controlling of Scarlet, even his last-second strike. All of it had been carefully calculated, despite him failing in the end...

"Uh... Do you happen to know why, if I may ask? I mean, Azazel, despite being a terrible father and a horrible person, was no fool, right?"

Scarlet seemed to flinch ever-so-slightly for a second, before regaining her composure immediately after. It was barely noticeable, but just barely enough for me to notice it...

And she clearly caught on...

*Sigh*

"Look, I honestly don't know what went through my father's mind. He was simply a degenerate freak. He did nothing but seemingly irrational decisions for his own benefit. If I'm quite honest, all of his plans and ideas seemed ludicrous at first but somehow worked in the end... I did find strange that there wasn't a single test for Amanda to become a demon general..."

...

That... that was even more suspicious...

That man was definitely no fool...

I had fought with him face-to-face and despite his lowly actions, I did not lay down my guard for a single second...

This was honestly all of the evidence I needed...

Now, to drive my point home.

"So... Scarlet, do you think...? ...Do you think it is possible tha-"

"-ANYWAYS!"

'Huh?'

"We should get going. Isn't that right Amanda?"

"Ah yes, sorry Scarlet-sama. We have everything ready as requested."

"Perfect"

I didn't understand at all what had just happened, and turning to Myria showed me just how lost and confused she was as well...

I guess the argument, the distrust and the shock from simply being shunned from her own kingdom had left her in a state of... uncertainty...

But this obviously can't remain like this...

"Uh, Scarlet, what is going on?"

"Oh, don't worry, nothing important..."

"Ah, is that s-"

"-We just need to crown you as the new Demon Queen"

...

...

...

"Waih wah?"

  ※  

It had been nearly 6 hours of reluctant running, trekking, and being quite literally dragged along by Myria and Amanda, who I was still suspicious of. But after all of that time and walking, we had reached another huge fortress...

By the way, at that time Boukyaku had already returned to me, but I kept it hidden from Myria and Scarlet just in case...

Anyways, of course, the fortress was much smaller than the 'Galvan Fortress' we had raided some time before, but still quite impressive...

But the most impressive thing of all was the fact no demons would even dare to approach us. They only whispered in astonishment as we walked...

I don't know if this is important or not, but for some reason I felt some strange sights headed my way? Like, the demons would turn to me for a second and when I would face them, they would turn away? Nah, it's probably my imagination or a coincidence, right?

In any case, after some more walking, some more dragging and even more stares, we were now in front of a huge dark door...

Just looking at the door gave me the chills. It looked like a door from an ancient tomb...

But sensing my unease, Amanda and Scarlet simply grinned at my state as Myria stood behind me like a cowering child...

Well, in her shoes, I'd be even more scared...

Anyways, as the grins disappeared from their faces, Amanda pushed the heavy-looking doors open without breaking a sweat...

...

But that didn't even surprise me the most...

What was revealed was a large open room filled to the brim with crimson jewels, black crystals, fire everywhere, some ominous brick, and platinum lining as decoration for the entire place...

The entire floor was made out of luxurious black marble and in the ceiling were crystals similar to those in the 'torching caverns'...

It seemed like any throne room any other royal would have at their disposal...

Only... creepier...

And of course, much deadlier...

Inside said throne room, stood dozens of strong armored, winged, and even humungous demons of all shapes and sizes...

And most importantly...

They were all staring at us...

...

...

...

Can you guess who was their center of attention?

...

...

...

I hope you guessed it because if you didn't I'll personally burn you all.

...

Anyways, as I stood there in disbelief and shock, I sensed a gentle tap on my should followed by a teasing whisper from a voice I knew all too well...

"Welp, good luck, Reika-Chan~"

And without me even having a chance to respond or do anything about it, Scarlet pushed me into the center of the room in the middle of all of the demons...

Nearly tripping all the way to the middle, I now stood awkwardly as I tried to gaze around with a stupid smile across my face...

...

The room became silent as every pair of eyes fell on me in unison...

"Hehe~ Hello?"

...

...

...

Everyone remained silent as I stood awkwardly in the middle of the crowd...

...

'Oh god, the shaaaameeeee'

...

I did not know what to do or say as I felt quite literal disgust from the demons staring at me...

...

...

...

When suddenly a loud sound echoed in the room...

*CLANK*

I turned to face the origin of the loud metallic sound only to find a winged, horned, scary-looking demon had dropped his sword as she looked deep into my eyes...

"Uh, hi?"

I honestly did not know what else to say. I mean, the situation was already pretty awkward, and with my own weirdness factor, this was about to become even more awkward...

However...

Contrary to all expectations...

As I smiled and waved stupidly at the horned demon, he suddenly dropped to the ground and kneeled before me as he loudly declared:

"MY EMPRESS!!!!!"

...

"wut?"

...

I did not know how to react once more as I simply stared stupefied at the kneeling demon.

"Uh, what're you doi-?"

*Clank* *Clank* *Clank* *Rustle* *Rustle*

In a matter of seconds, every single demon present had kneeled dropping their spears, armor, shields, or anything they had...

I immediately turned to where my friends should've been standing, only to find my two friends and Amanda kneeling as well...

'What in the actual *%& if going on...?'

I was so lost right now...

...

But that didn't last much longer...

Because as I remained gazing around the room in stupefaction and disbelief, my doubts were resolved by a horrific, blood-chilling unison...

"""""""""""""""MY EMPRESS, WELCOME HOME!!!!!"""""""""""""""

...

...

...

It takes me a while to process things like these, ok?

...

Anyways, here's my response:

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!?!"

(AN: HEY THERE ;3;)// 3.2k word chapter. Pretty nice, huh?

Does it deserve a vote? :3 (please do)

Anyways, I have a really important question that I MUST know the answer to. And I think most of you will find quite interesting...

Who would like to see a Scarlet v.s. Myria?

...

Count me in!

Anyways, as always, thanks for reading, voting and sharing my story!

Thanks!)