Chapter 97: The Super Spy

"Maybe I saw a shadowy figure while unconscious. I couldn't see him clearly, but I know he meant no harm. Perhaps he was the one who saved me." Agatha sounded uncertain.

"Maybe! Who cares? You're safe with us now—that's all that matters!" Sophie booped Agatha's nose, then suddenly clutched her stomach. "I'm starving! I need food!"

"Right away!" Serei bolted out the door. Sophie had lost so much blood earlier—maybe the baby was protesting.

"Mom, I want to sleep a little more." Agatha rubbed her eyes, exhaustion weighing on her.

"Rest up. I'll have Charles wake you when the food's ready." Sophie tucked her in gently before ushering everyone out, leaving Agatha to drift off with a smile.

---

"Mom, is Agatha really the Demon King?" Charles mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

"Yep!" Sophie gulped down juice between bites. After everything she'd been through—*including turning into a freaking phoenix*—Agatha's story wasn't even that wild.

*Talk about luck.* Charles had literally picked up a *demon queen* as a little sister. With her on their side, maybe they could avoid bloodshed altogether. Even if war broke out, Agatha was the ultimate insider—she knew troop deployments, tactics, everything. And even if she were clueless about military strategy, just *standing her in front of the demon army* would cause chaos. *"Hey, look, your missing queen is on *our* side now!"*

Sophie's grin widened as she mentally tallied their advantages.

Then she noticed everyone choking on their food.

*Oops. Too creepy?*

"Charles, go wake Agatha. She must be hungry too." Sophie eyed the boy, who was inhaling pastries like a vacuum. *How was he not exploding?*

"Got it!" Charles snatched two sweetmelon tarts on his way out. "Grandpa Hall, save some cream-whirl cakes for me!"

"Mm-hmph!" Hall didn't even look up, too busy battling Bradly for the last pastry.

---

Charles sprinted back with Agatha, praying there'd be *something* left.

The empty platters crushed his hopes.

"YOU MONSTERS!" He channeled his inner elf, swiping every remaining crumb. Who cared about grease stains? *Not his laundry problem.*

No one noticed. They were too busy staring at Agatha.

"Agatha, you…" Sophie blinked.

*She was a child again.*

"Mom, I don't know what happened! I just woke up like this!" Agatha tugged at her tiny dress, pouting.

"Honestly? This suits you better." Sophie scooped her up, relieved. *No more awkward "How do we treat our suddenly adult daughter?" dilemmas.*

"Your memories are intact?"

"Yep!" Agatha flicked a fireball across the room. "Smaller body, same me. Easier to play with Milta and Charles this way too."

"Good. Now eat, then brief your dad on demon military tactics. If war's unavoidable, we need intel." Sophie turned to the table—now bare.

*"Charles."*

"Uh… just kidding?" He sheepishly returned the loot, nibbling a cake mournfully. *All that effort for nothing.*

Laughter erupted.

---

**War Room, Later**

A four-year-old girl stood atop a strategic map, addressing a room full of burly generals.

"The Demon Realm has five territories. The East and West Domains feud constantly—we can exploit that." She pointed at the map. "Their command structure has three tiers: 23 first-rank generals, 62 second-rank, 170 third-rank. Units are organized in squads (10), platoons (30), companies (150), battalions (1,500), regiments (4,500)…"

It would've been impressive coming from a grizzled warlord. From a toddler? *Surreal.*

Sophie's brain short-circuited at the numbers. "Agatha, honey… *how many demons are there?*"

"Regular army: 9.215 million. Plus elite guards—each commander has up to 5,000 handpicked warriors. Total? Around 9.5 million."

"*NINE AND A HALF MILLION?!*" Sophie's jaw dropped. *That's like… 190 school stadiums full of demons!*

"Pfft. Only 9.5 mil?" Hillbert fake-swooned. "I thought they had *tens* of millions!"

"*Only?*"

"Sophie," Serei chuckled, "our kingdom alone has *30 million* troops. Not counting palace guards or noble retinues."

"Oh! So we outnumber them three-to-one! We'll crush them!" Sophie cheered.

"*Mom.*" Agatha deadpanned. "Demon soldiers survive brutal environments—constant monster attacks, harsh terrain. They're stronger and more experienced than humans."

Sophie's face fell. "So we're doomed?"

"Not at all!" Agatha's smirk returned. "We have *huge* advantages."

"*Tell me!*" Sophie's eyes gleamed.

**What game-changing strategy does the demon queen-turned-child have in mind?**