Case 132: Upon a peaceful negotiation.

''Wha—''

Before the demon could utter a word, she was pinned to the wall.

A scorching yet bone-chilling cold pressure shackled her in place, inducing a wave of uneasiness. Her head was firmly pressed to the solid wall, the force crushing.

An unlikely possibility flashed into her mind—was she discovered?

No way. Her camouflage skills were top-tier on this continent. Even if the empire were to catch her, they wouldn't find a trace of demonic power on her body. Her special ability was total transformation, and she could maintain it for extended periods of time, making her a particularly useful agent.

In a sense, she was, at the moment, closer to being a human than a demon.

Constantly telling herself that it was a mere bully who had misunderstood her soft appearance, the demon craned her neck to catch a glimpse of the assailant.

''...!''

In an instant, her eyes widened. Tremors spread across her body, writhing.

'Isn't this the goddamn heroine?!'

Contrary to Lyra's expressionless face, the demon nearly broke down in tears on the spot. Even an idiot knew what this restraint meant. The heaven-sent heroine subduing someone unprovoked? That person must be guilty.

And indeed, Lyra's judgement was right.

''Don't try anything stupid.'' She whispered, stabbing a syringe straight into the woman's neck.

Not a sound was made.

The demon saw her body growing weak by the second, her consciousness blurring. The last thing she remembered seeing was those void-like black eyes.

After what felt like an eternity, she woke up.

''Ugh...''

A hoarse groan escaped her own mouth. She was bound tightly to a corner, her appearance reverted to that of a crimson-eyed, horned demon.

''Where... am I?'' She muttered, shivering.

Memories from before surged, and she couldn't help but cower at the heroine's ruthlessness. No wonder the elders told her to be careful around Lyra. And... well, she did. She didn't even dare to hover around that girl, yet here she was, caught in one go. Simply terrifying.

Nonetheless, surviving was a priority for her at this point.

It appeared she was being confined to an ordinary room. No windows, no vents, no furniture, only a flickering light bulb on the ceiling. After a brief wait, the sole door clicked open, revealing none other than Lyra herself.

''Let's not waste time.'' The heroine nonchalantly said, closing the door, ''You must feel weak right now. In that state, you won't be able to commit suicide, so don't think about it.''

'I wasn't going to in the first place, though...' The demon grumbled in her heart. What did this expressionless freak take her for? A brainwashed assassin? She was a top-tier specialist of the entire demon population!

''Answer some questions, and I won't torture you for now.'' Lyra continued, pulling a chair from nowhere to sit before her captive. ''If not, I can practice the methods Serendia taught me...''

A dangerous glint wet the heroine's eyes, sending the other person nearly panicking, ''A-Aren't you going to kill me anyway?''

''Not neccessarily,'' Lyra mused. ''I'm not some genocidal freak who vows to eradicate the demons whole. Some of you are negotiable, some can be tamed, some are useful, and some are even good. As long as your life can benefit me and my causes, I'll let you live.''

Although skeptical, the demon didn't have other options. Escaping was more suicidal than actual suicide, and with the tone that Lyra used, she probably wasn't kidding.

Thankfully, her life wasn't tied to anyone back at the demon land. She didn't serve anyone in particular either; instead, she served as a mercenary of sorts to those who were willing to pay.

''I'm Caelina, a contracted agent.'' She introduced herself politely.

''Lyra de Orleans. The heroine.'' Lyra nodded back, surprisingly amicable.

Still, hearing her announce the title 'heroine' so casually frightened Caelina. She took a deep breath and began to explain to Lyra her position within the demon realm, assuring that Lyra would find her worth keeping.

Lyra didn't immediately buy it, but she asked Caelina to provide her with some obscure intel about the demon nobility. She could then confirm this with Cecilia, verifying its validity.

Caelina, valuing her life, folded without hesitation. Seeing Lyra nodding along as she spewed out her contractors' secrets, she couldn't help but have her hopes up somewhat.

''Um...'' Caelina carefully lingered after the session wrapped up. ''It might seem weird when I say this, but I'm not like the other demons. I can't say I'm a hundred percent a good demon, but—''

''Stop.'' The heroine coldly injected.

For a while, the room felt suffocating. Lyra slowly stood up, approaching the cowering Caelina. The former decisively caught the latter's chin, forcing their eyes to meet, ''Don't speak unnecessarily.''

Unable to talk, Caelina could only nod.

After a pause, the heroine continued, ''I know who I'm talking to. The moment you sided with those demons and ran errands for them, you've already become the humans' enemy. On their moral standpoint, you are evil... but I'm not a saint—not their saint either. I don't care one bit if your hands are drenched with the innocents' blood or not. I'm not an arbiter. At some point, you will be judged, but not by me.''

The terrified demon's emotions were like a rollercoaster. One second, she was despairing, the next, overjoyed, and in the end, she didn't know how to feel at all.

''As long as you are useful to me, you get to keep living. Stop worrying about anything else.''

Leaving that remark behind, Lyra exited the room.

''W-Wow...''

'What a freak...' Caelina trembled. Facing Lyra was like actively spitting at the Grim Reaper. But now that the monster had left, Caelina realized that this was much more peaceful than what she had experienced in the past.

Being captured by the enemy usually came with prices to pay, whether with the body or the mind.

All in all, there was still hope for her.

After leaving the room, Lyra briefly considered going back home to 'recharge,' but time was pressing. So, she instead headed toward the next excavation point that Cecilia had told her.

At this point, Cecilia's lovers were probably doing the same, too. Most of the resources found would go straight to Lyra, but they, too, weren't leaving this fruitless.

[But can that demon survive without food and water?]

Out of nowhere, a sleek, scaly figure emerged, perched on the heroine's shoulder. Amethyst had now grown several times bigger than before, having to cast a weight reduction skill just to be able to cling to her owner. Clear traits of an adolescent dragon were present on Amethyst. It was a growth speed that made Jin, Rachael's Soul Guardian, feel insecure.

''I already made arrangements.'' Lyra shrugged. ''She won't die.''

Amethyst hummed idly, seeming bored.

[Rather, don't you want to check on Cecilia? With her mischievous temper, she might be scheming something while everyone is gone, you know?]

Lyra chuckled. As she discovered during her puberty, Amethyst had a personality that resembled her at least six or seven parts. Possessive and somewhat paranoid.

Although the heroine's heart was the same, she felt guilty this time around. For someone as meticulous as Lyra, she had been quite hasty in establishing a romantic relationship with Cecilia. If possible, she would have loved to take it slowly with her alluring caged bird, but...

''I need to let my little wife do her cute things sometimes, too, right?'' A faint smile crept on Lyra's face.

[You goddamn siscon...]