NOVEL NEXT Ch 71. The Ice Lady
While everyone was talking about what have just happened could meant and what should we do next, the weird looking door opened by itself and a beautiful woman walked in as she bended over in order to fit through the opening.
The woman was wearing fancy looking clothes highly ornamented with gold details and embedded jewels. Her hair was white as snow and her skin was pale. That, along with her light blue eyes and gaze as cold and piercing as steel, made her yield a cold and impenetrable aura. She had a smile drawn on her face, but it looked awfully fake. It felt like she had no emotions at all or if she was just putting on a facade and giving us the face that we could expect of a host.
“Let's see what we got here~!”
Playful words came out of her mouth. However, maybe due to her fake expression or to the menacing aura surrounding her, everyone was put on guard.
“Uh?! Isn't it a little bit too crowded here? Who are you guys and how did you manage to enter the Lost Library?”
She looked surprised by the size of our group or maybe she was upset? Either way, you normally wouldn't expect more than 50 Demons warping to an unknown place just by a single portal. Not unless there's a Great Demon among them.
Seeing everyone at my back being on guard, I decided to try to change things out and took a defiant posture against her.
“N-No, I think we should be the ones asking questions here. Why did you bring us here in the first place?”
“Uh?!”
She looked puzzled for a second, but before she said something to retort my words, I decided to keep on pushing my luck and started giving her a little class of manners.
“Well, before that, I'm pretty sure that we don't know each other so I'm going to start introducing myself and my group. First of all, I'm Beatrice and the ones around me are Phlum, Kaashi, Fluph, Afallen, Nero…”
“Wait, wait! Are you telling me that each one of you has a name?!”
Isn't that a really dull question? Everyone has a name, right? Humans do that at least, so I dont get why each one of us shouldn't have one… I decided to give her a simple question as an answer. Honestly, dull questions deserve equally dull answers.
“Of course we do. How else could we be considered as an individual?”
After a few seconds, she started muttering words that I could barely hear. It seemed like she was just talking for herself but…
“That’ll explain why they were being chased by… No, wait a bit… Doesn't she looks like…? Such a strong Demon couldn't go unnoticed until now… Beatrice, she said…”
“E-Excuse me?”
“Sorry, I was lost in my thoughts. My name is Anastasia, the Demon Lord who rules over this castle! You better remember it. Also… Did you by any chance eat something from that table over there?”
“I think each one of us did that.”
Suddenly, the until now silent Phlum, shouted with a shocked and scared expression drawn on her pale face.
“Are you going to charge us?! Is this some kind of over elaborated scam!?”
“Of course not! It's just… Jeez!”
The Demon Lord waved her hand through the air while muttering a spell in a cursed lenguaje. Before we could realize, Phlum and I were back to our normal body shapes. I guess that's what it is, right? I wanted to ask her the meaning of the spell and the effect that the food has, but I couldn't. Somehow, I managed to eavesdrop on some words the Demon Lord muttered. <<What a shame…>>, she said.
The Demon Lord walked out of the so-called “Lost Library” and shouted back at us.
“Are you guys staying there, or are you coming to the castle? Is up to you.”
I looked around in order to figure out what the others thought about it. Even if I'm the one in charge of making the final choice, it is always wise to know what others think about the matter, that way, you’ll avoid having a narrow view of the things around you.
However, it was clear that we had no other option. There was no way for us to go back to where we were, and even if we could, it was clear that none of us wanted to go back. But, even if we somehow escaped from a difficult situation, it was also clear that this Demon Lord was hiding something, so we couldn't call ourselves safe just yet.
Still on guard, we decided to follow her to the “Demon Lord’s Castle”.