Chapter 175: Demon King's Queen(s), I Hate Cliffhangers!

"It's… restored?!"

Hijiri Kasuga gazed in shock at the scene unfolding above the skies.

"Don't get too excited. Your brother is still an issue, and his condition isn't looking good," Rei Ao reminded her.

"What? What's wrong with my brother?" Hijiri Kasuga asked anxiously.

"Your brother just awakened the Demon King Element, but it's highly unstable. If left unchecked, he could be drawn into the paths of dark magic in the future," Rei Ao explained.

"The Demon King Element…"

As a mage, Hijiri Kasuga fully understood the implications of the Demon King Element.

"And by the way, if your brother fully becomes the Demon King, this world will fall into endless cycles of destruction and rebirth."

This was the fate Rei Ao had glimpsed—a destiny of perpetual loops.

"..."

Realizing her brother could face such a dire future, Hijiri Kasuga pleaded, "Rei Ao-kun, can you help my brother?"

"Of course. This is part of our deal, after all," Rei Ao replied confidently.

Raising his hand, Rei Ao extracted the unstable Demon King Element from Hijiri's brother, who lay unconscious in the classroom. The dark energy surged toward Rei Ao and was swiftly absorbed by him.

But then Rei Ao extended his hand toward Hijiri Kasuga, transferring a portion of the Demon King Element into her body.

"This..."

Black markings appeared on Hijiri's body, leaving her puzzled as to why Rei Ao would do such a thing.

Calmly, Rei Ao explained, "In the future, you would inevitably be entangled with the Demon King Element. This is just accelerating the process slightly."

"Besides," he added with a smirk, "I've decided that, as the Demon King, you'll be my queen. What do you think?"

"A q-q-queen?!"

Hijiri Kasuga's face flushed bright red.

Rei Ao approached her, gently ruffling her hair as he chuckled. "After all, when it's time to finalize the terms of our deal, the only thing you'll have left to offer is your body, right? Don't worry—I'll take responsibility and make you the Demon King's queen."

"Ugh..."

Hijiri Kasuga understood the situation.

Deep down, she knew that once she gave herself to Rei Ao, she'd likely never fall for anyone else.

"But… this is all so sudden…"

She fidgeted nervously, clasping her hands together tightly.

"Haha," Rei Ao laughed. "Don't be so tense. I'm not saying the deal needs to be completed now."

Hearing this, Hijiri Kasuga sighed in relief.

It gave her some time to mentally prepare for what lay ahead.

Rei Ao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "We'll discuss the next phase of the deal later. For now, I need to get back and meet my future mother-in-law."

He turned to Hijiri Kasuga. "As for the Demon King Element now within you, it's not suitable for you to remain in the surface world. You'll need to return to the inner world, right?"

"Mm…"

Looking down at the surface, Hijiri Kasuga sighed. "It seems I'll have to say goodbye to my brother."

She had long been prepared for this moment.

Besides, her brother was mature and didn't need her assistance.

"Will you say goodbye in person or leave without a word?"

"I'll leave without a word. I hope he can forget about me."

"Forget?"

Rei Ao offered, "I can erase his memories of you if that's what you want."

"Huh? Is that really necessary?" Hijiri Kasuga asked, blinking in confusion.

In response, Rei Ao pulled her into his arms and said firmly, "I don't want my queen lingering in another man's thoughts. I'm quite possessive."

"Shall I erase his memories of you?"

"Mm!"

The intensity of Rei Ao's gaze and the warmth of his embrace made Hijiri Kasuga's heart race. She instinctively nodded.

Rei Ao grinned and sent a strand of black energy into Hijiri Kasuga's brother's mind.

All memories of Hijiri Kasuga were erased from his consciousness.

"As for you, Hijiri, I have a plan for your next destination," Rei Ao said. "You'll be attending the Royal Biblia Academy."

"But… I'm an investigator sent by Royal Liber Academy," she protested, her innocent eyes filled with doubt.

"Heh, have you forgotten? I'm the Demon King now," Rei Ao replied with a smirk. "Whether they want you or not, I'll make sure you're admitted."

"Let's go."

The reason Rei Ao insisted on sending Hijiri Kasuga to the Royal Biblia Academy was simple: the existence of the Trinity Seven.

As the Demon King, he wouldn't settle for just one queen.

Taking them all was the true path of domination!

...

Sakurajima Mai glanced at the empty bathroom with a sigh of exasperation.

Her mother was arriving soon, yet Rei Ao had left.

So, she decided to ask about the situation in the group chat.

Sakurajima Mai: "@Rei Ao, are you coming back? My mom will be here soon."

Rei Ao: "Of course, but it'll take a bit. I'm almost done here. Just make up a reason for my absence for now."

Sakurajima Mai: "Alright."

Seeing Rei Ao's assurance, Mai felt relieved.

Facing her mother alone still made her feel uneasy. With Rei Ao around, she could remain much calmer.

Especially after the outrageous things she had said to her mom in the past—it was hard for her to face her now.

Frieren: "What's happening with the newbie? It seems urgent."

Shinoa Hiragi: "Yeah, something about a Breakdown Phenomenon. Sounds exaggerated."

In the middle of class, Shinoa wasn't paying any attention to the teacher's lecture. Even her usual surveillance of Yuichiro Hyakuya had taken a backseat.

The group chat was far more intriguing.

Rei Ao: "It's not an exaggeration."

Shinoa Hiragi: "?"

Stella: "Are you serious?"

Rei Ao: "Literally. The entire surface world is collapsing—think of it as the Earth's surface disappearing."

Yukinoshita Yukino: "The Earth's surface? That sounds like… the apocalypse?"

Kato Megumi: "Doesn't sound much different from the end of the world."

Kato Megumi: "If the Earth's surface disappears, won't all life on it vanish too?"

Rei Ao: "Calling it the apocalypse wouldn't be wrong."

Sui: "Does that mean Hijiri Kasuga's world is beyond saving?"

Shizue Izawa: "Velgrynd always said planetary destruction could be reversed, but she also said Rei Ao's power isn't at that level yet."

Both Velzard and Velgrynd were confident they could achieve such feats.

But based on their understanding of Rei Ao's abilities, planetary restoration or reversing life's destruction seemed nearly impossible for him.

Yukinoshita Yukino: "So, her world is doomed…"

Hijiri Kasuga: "Not at all."

Hijiri Kasuga: "Rei Ao has already restored everything and resolved the Breakdown Phenomenon."

Shizue Izawa: "Huh?"

Shizue Izawa: "Velzard and Velgrynd would be shocked. They'd want to know how that's possible."

Rei Ao: "To put it simply, I became the Demon King of that world and gained the power to reshape it."

Stella: "…And?"

Rei Ao: "That's it."

Stella: "!!! You can't just sum it up like that! What about the process?"

Rei Ao: "I've got other things to handle. I'll explain later."

Frieren: "Sigh, it's a shame we didn't ask Rei Ao or Hijiri Kasuga to livestream it. We missed the entire process."

Hijiri Kasuga: "Actually, from Rei Ao's arrival to him becoming the Demon King and resolving everything, it all took less than two or three minutes."

Saeko Busujima: "Then it must've involved some kind of mysterious miracle."

Stella: "Ugh, I really want to know! Not knowing is driving me crazy."

Mabel: "Emmm, knowing or not won't change anything. I'd rather enjoy some delicious snacks."

Yukinoshita Yukino: "...Snacks are canceled for today."

Mabel: "Ah! Nooo!"

"What are you doing?"

Shizuku Kurogane gave Stella a look as she scratched her head in frustration.

"Hmph, I hate it when people leave cliffhangers!" Stella fumed, her face dark with annoyance.

Not knowing what had happened left her itching with curiosity.

"Aren't you curious?" she asked.

"Nope."

Shizuku shook her head decisively.

"If Rei Ao wants to tell us, he will. As one of his women, it's unbecoming to pry too much."

She smirked smugly at Stella.

"???"

Stella was full of questions.

Her expression and tone hit a nerve.

"What do you mean by that?" Stella demanded, veins popping.

"Nothing much. Just showing off," Shizuku replied with a smug grin.

"Ha? Showing off?"

Stella's voice rose as if she'd heard something absurd.

"Do you think being Rei Ao's girlfriend lets you show off to me?"

"Who said I like him? You're the one making assumptions."

"Is that so?"

Shizuku's smirk grew.

"If you don't like him, why are you so worked up?"

"Admit your feelings already. I think I overestimated you as a rival."

"I don't need to admit anything! I don't like him, and that's that!"

Stella clenched her fists tightly, sourness welling in her chest, though her pride kept her defiant.

Shizuku chuckled knowingly.

Having watched streams and conversations with Stella before, she understood her personality all too well—Stella was the ultimate tsundere.

"Alright then. If that's how you feel."

As a friend, Shizuku offered some advice:

"Just so you know, if you don't act honestly, you might get overtaken again, Stella."

"If you don't believe me, just look at Touka Toudou."

~~~

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