“Urgh… it stained everywhere.”

Ana’s face was full of disgust and annoyance as she watched the white lumps—parts of the deceased Demon Lord—spread all over the warehouse.

“This’ll take forever to clean. Oh, wait…” The young girl realized she could simply make her Automatons handle all the dirty work.

There was no need to stain her hands.

“T-that was amazing, Anabelle… you didn’t even need my power…” A tiny voice emerged from within Ana.

Sparkling, yet appearing moist, the Naiad Fairy made her entrance.

She was Ana’s Familiar.

“Oh, Rhea, well… it would have sort of overkill. Besides, I can handle matters like this if I have enough prep time.”

The Naiad Fairy didn’t argue with her Host’s words. She wasn’t wrong, after all.

“Still… it’s a shame…” She murmured, watching the gory sight all around.

A lingering sound of regret dwelled in the Naiad Fairy’s voice. As if that wasn’t enough proof that she really wanted to get in on the action, the little thing made a point and crossed her arms.

“Relax, Rhea. We’ll be having so much fun together, researching the specimen I retrieved. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

The Familiar seemed to be wavering a little upon hearing about the research. It was true that she preferred stuff like that to violence.

“Well, you have a point…” The cute Naiad Fairy finally blurted out.

Her compensation for being a spectator in the earlier fight would be none other than research. It was a fair deal.

“But, don’t you think it was risky? Handling things on your own. What if the Demon Lord exceeded your expectations?”

Ana shrugged slightly upon hearing the question.

“I would have retreated. In the first place, this Warehouse was created to trap enemies inside.”

“That’s true. You could escape and leave the enemy here…” Rhea murmured.

“Right? In the first place, the Device placed here isn’t the real deal. It’s just an illusion we made with your Bond Magic.” Ana grinned at the Naiad Fairy.

“Well, anyhow… we got what we wanted, didn’t we? Will you be reporting this to Neron, Aloe, and Maro? Or do they not need to know?”

The young girl smiled to herself and looked above her. Her eyes appeared to have spotted something since she squinted, but she didn’t lose her composure.

“Something tells me they are already aware…”

Even though Ana never outrightly said so, the main reason she was so confident in her victory was that her comrades were on standby.

If she was in danger, Ana was certain that Neron would swoop in to resolve the scenario.

‘Well, that would mean I’ll get reprimanded, so I was looking forward to resolving things on my own…’

Even though Jared had told Ana that the Demon Lord was Neron’s prize, she couldn’t help herself from being interested in the being.

“I solved the puzzle, so it’s mine by right… don’t you think so too, Rhea?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Both of them were of like mind, so it was already a given that they would support each other’s choices.

“We should start cleaning things up and—”

>CREAK<

The entrance opened and three people stepped into the room.

“Is it over?”

“Sheesh, this place is a mess.”

“You just had to go on with your crazy plan.”

The three individuals who had just appeared were none other than her respected colleagues and seniors.

“Neron, Maro, Vida. You’re here already?” Ana laughed awkwardly.

“Don’t pretend like you didn’t notice we were already close by. I knew you’d pull a stunt like this.” Neron sighed and shrugged, looking around him to spot the mess in the room.

“A-ah, don’t worry, I’ll have it cleared in no—”

Raising an index finger, Neron silenced Ana before she could complete her words.

A brimming light danced atop his hand and then, every body part of Lydia started resonating with the energy he released.

“I’ll clean it up for you.”

>SWOOOOSH<

Blood. Bones. Flesh—every aspect of the Demon Lord—became attracted to the ball of purple light that Neron released.

Like a black hole, it sucked everything into its abyss, leaving not a speck left of the deceased Lydia.

“There you have it,” Neron spoke calmly, returning his gaze to his colleagues.

At this point, Aloe Vida was pulling the ears of Ana while Maro reprimanded her for her recklessness.

It was a funny sight to see.

‘Should I join in on the fun and pinch her cheeks too?” Neron chuckled, noting how cute his student was.

Even with his lighthearted thoughts, he couldn’t escape the realization that dawned on him.

The realization of how powerful Anabelle had become.

‘Even though this one is most likely suited for espionage, rather than pure combat, it doesn’t change the fact that she was a Demon Lord. Ana’s ability to defeat one of their leaders at such a young age… is commendable.’

Had he been underestimating her capabilities all along?

‘Looks like you won the bet, Jared…’

~Of course, I did. In exchange, you know what you must do.~A voice appeared in Neron’s head.

It was none other than Jared’s.

‘Did you really see this coming? That she would win so easily?’ Neron responded, still surprised that Jared had anticipated something of this magnitude from a girl of merely fifteen years of age.

~Well, I gave her information beforehand, so she could plan ahead. If not for her preparations, as well as the environment being in her favor, things could have gone your way.~

Neron finally understood what happened. Even though Jared had made a bet with him concerning the Demon Lord Of Noir, he also reached out to Ana, making things easier for her.

‘So, you gave her a fighting chance? Isn’t that cheating?’

~I never said I wouldn’t assist her. Besides, all I did was give her basic information. Ultimately, she came up with the strategies on her own. She’s strong. Ergo… it’s my win!~

Neron sighed further.

The truth was that he had been conversing with Jared via Telepathic Magic. Usually, that would be impossible with such a far distance, but Jared invented a Magic Item that made something like that achievable.

Both mentor and protege—Jared and Neron—had always been in contact even after he left the Kingdom.