haytham_

In the church's prison, a man looked at his shackles.
'Little girl... is this the ending you wanted to see?' Thinking back to that resolute and pretty face in his memory and that golden hair like the blooming sunset, Lister sighed.
'If I had known that my end will be like this, I might as well have abandoned that little useless princess, opened a small tavern, and found a woman to spend my life with.'
"Man, how unlucky am I..."
Lister remembered that while he was playing with these little fluffy monster girls, he used to often tease a certain witch that she would accidentally end up on the stake, making her puzzled, but he didn't expect that he would be the one to go up first.
"If all this could start over... I should have chosen the monster girls after all."
"Oh? Really?"
A cold yet teasing voice sounded beside him. As he turned his head to look, powerful magic energy gathered and swirled, and finally, a tall female figure walked out of it. She wore a tight black dress that showed off her curvy, mature figure.
Lister knew her... or rather, should have known her. 
'The Sinful Dragon Demon Lord, Priscilla'
"Did you really mean it when you said you'd choose monster girls?"
"...I wonder if the mighty Demon Lord has decided to grace me with a heart-to-heart in this cozy little prison."
"As expected of the mastermind who single-handedly helped that incompetent woman to the throne. Even now you have the energy to crack jokes?"
"You flatter me. I think it's quite humanistic for a Demon Lord who has children for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to chat with a dying man in prison."
"Tsk, getting upset over a little teasing already?"
"Sigh, alright, I don't have much time either. Let me get to the point with you. What are you still waiting for here, waiting to die?"
"I don't know, maybe waiting for a female Demon Lord to come swoop in and save me?"
"You know Aurola has abandoned you. What are you still hoping for?"
"...So what does this have to do with the Demon Lord? We only have a very shallow cooperative relationship; I don't think it matters if I die or not."
"Of course it does."
Priscilla smiled and pressed the blunt end of her dragon horn against his forehead.
"Because I want you, but I'm different from Aurola. What she gave you, I can give. What she couldn't give you, I can also give. Didn't you want to choose monster girls? In the Demon Capital, there are all kinds of monster girls. You can pick whichever you like."
"Then, are there fluffy and warm ones?"
"...I think the ones with hard scales and slender, elegant physiques are not bad either."
"Ahem, I digress."
"Anyway, I understand you better than you think. As long as you come with me to the Demon Capital, I will satisfy your everything within my power. As long as you promise me one thing..."
"I know."
Lister picked up where Priscilla left off, smiling back at her.
"You want me, right?"
"What a smarty~. So, you agree?"
"Mm. I'll go with you."
'And come on, it's fluffy monster girls'
'I can't refuse.'

The Dragon's Shadow

Huaiya and Enya were both clear-headed characters.

At least that's what they thought of themselves.

One of them had been isolated since childhood, not good at and disliking communication, forced to get used to seeking comfort from within herself; while the other was even more heavyweight, having taken over her mother's heavy responsibility early on, yet feeling the helplessness of faith amidst the daily prayers and the daily suffering of her tribespeople, forced to walk alone on a path of self-salvation that did not match her identity.

So, even though they were both awake at this point, they were both considerate enough not to make a sound to avoid disturbing Lister beside them.

Chapter 141: Feeling Like I Got Screwed Over, But Not Sure