It was as if the cold air had crawled up from under her feet.
　Tina looked at the demon tribe that was speaking to her as if it were now talking to her about something, and opened her mouth after she was ready to draw her sword at any time in the waist pool.

''What do you mean by that?''

People are so stupid, don't they ever think for themselves?　-- just as there is no justice without reason, there is no evil without meaning, as far as I know.
　Annalicia said, as if Tina's words were a heartfelt mockery.

'I wanted the tool that is you - your title to be exact, fire dragon priestess.
　Tina felt like she was being drained of her venom as she faced him.
　Analicia spoke to Tina as if she were at a tea party.

'But I've failed - the curse of domination doesn't work, and you won't respond to the price of your life - then I'll ask you to be sincere in the end.
　I was tempted to say, backwards, backwards, and guffaw at it.
　Instead, I took out the frustration that surged through my chest.

'What now--!　Do you have any idea what you've done?
　Annalicia looked at Tina's accusatory manner and grumpily gave her a look.

What did you do, you know - I guess I was just trying to satisfy a hobby and a business interest - hey, Tina, what did you do? --Estor's pride and joy, the Fire Dragon Priestess.
　Slowly, as if speaking to me.
　The words fill the place quietly.

'Well, okay - that is, did you not learn that when you were little?　You're supposed to take care of your stuff and--

..........
　Tina held her tongue, unable to understand what she was trying to say.

'-- I have. Or rather, it's the only thing I received in my childhood that was worth the words I was given. Hey, do you know - the creatures of this world are always in a struggle from the moment they are born.
　Two dolls alighted at her side.
　The man, who was approaching middle age, towered as if to show off his robustness with no sign of age, and a woman with pale golden hair cuddled up beside him.

'This was my father and mother - they're just dolls now.

"H--!　You are--!
　For a moment, I stopped breathing.
　That's how hard it was to believe.
　Not the fact that the puppet she was manipulating told her so, that she was her own parents.
　What truly startled Tina was the lack of humanity in her tone, which told her so calmly and nonchalantly, as if she were watching a toy.

　Her whole body shuddered involuntarily.
　I felt an unintelligible fear in the fundamental darkness of my heart, which was different from the violence.
　Tina never knew her own parents because she was an orphan, but the church priest who raised her is still a father figure, and the children she grew up with are like family.
　They are the ones we would rather have than our own lives.
　And yet, this is how indifferent he has made them into dolls.
　It's frightening to see them playing with live flesh and boasting that it's theirs, but I don't understand it.　
　It didn't seem like a very rational creature.

'This guy over here - he's usually hidden behind his hair, but if you look closely, you see.
　As I turned my gaze as I was told, I saw the aftermath of something being cut off on my head.　

''Horns...?''

Yes, I know you seem to think I'm a demoness - and I gave the prince the information to make that happen - but I'm half human and half demon, to be exact.

... lie.... are you human...?
　Nothing else entered her mind.
　It was the biggest shock of the day to Tina.
　A brutal, tyrannical female demon race - that was supposed to be Analicia.

'Excuse me, but that's fine. I'll tell you everything--convince me, understand, cooperate--
　Is there really common sense there?
　Is there a compromise beyond the conversation?
　Will there be a consensus of opinion?
　Uncertain, Tina listened to the conversation.





◇





　Three years after I was born, when my self-consciousness was born, my most memorable image is of my mother, ugly and flirtatious.
　My mother's voice, falling into debauchery and screaming out in adultery, is strangely memorable.

　My mother was a nobleman of Estor.
　The man she took for a son-in-law was a commoner, not to mention a man of unknown origin.
　But the man had an exceptional talent for magic, and as per her mother's insistence, the two were united and the one born was Analysia.
　The man's name as a nobleman is Annalicia Leynfil.

　It was said that the man's talents were so great that no one in Estor was better than him when it came to magic.
　But that's just as well.
　The man is not a human being.

　He was a deceitful whore, an agent sent from the magical world to the human world, and the first invader to reach Estor.
　Most of all, he wasn't that loyal to his duties, but his abilities were good for intelligence.
　As a child, Annalicia remembered the cursed words.

'Good thing, Annalicia - you will grow up to be a woman worthy of your father.

When you become a woman, your father will give you the greatest pleasure.

　Yes, they told me.
　It was when I was about five years old that I was terrified to find out that that was the only love they had poured out for me. I can still remember the moment I understood and spit out everything in my stomach. I vividly remember the heat that burned my throat, and the sickening feeling of being alive in my mouth.
　Those words from her parents were Analicia's first struggle.

　Is the time limit five years or six?
　Kill her parents before the first tide arrives.
　I must kill them at any cost, by any means necessary.
　Otherwise, this body will not only be defiled.
　I will be made like that mother.
　I will be reduced to a toy that throws off even thinking and only screams.
　The thought of that terrified me to the core.
　Terrified, terrified, terrified, terrified, terrified, and yet Annalicia chose to fight.

　Driven by her obsession, she learned magic like crazy, scavenged for knowledge, stole forbidden books, learned martial arts, and even gained her own skills (skills).
　When he counted his eleventh year, he trapped and killed his father when he visited Analicia's bedchamber.
　She turned her father into a doll with her skill (skill) and killed her mother.

'Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha Ha ha.
　I laughed.
　For the first time in my life, I laughed from my heart.
　In fresh blood.
　Looking lovingly at the two mutilated dolls.

　Then, for the first time in her life, Analicia was free.
　For the first time in her life, she was free.
　But she never found peace.

'Are you?　What does this mean?
　And...
　A voice called out to me.
　A terribly young, depressing woman appeared in front of Annalicia.　
　A woman of the demon tribe.
　The ancient demon race that people feared and hated as a legend.
　The source of the old and great demon race.
　The bloodline of the late Demon King, Scarlet, stood in front of Analysia.

''What, did you kill her?　Hmmm, well, okay--so you'll have to change today.
　Refusing was not an option.
　I didn't want to die yet.
　Another appearance as a demon race, that was Analicia Regen.




◇





"Ancient demon race is a legend?　You're making me laugh a lot. You're really trying to escape reality, aren't you? A little history will make it easy to understand. People have persecuted them brutally, held them accountable, robbed them, and allowed them to flourish - they say that the Electors have exterminated all the demons, but the truth is that they haven't. They have abandoned their dominion and fled south. They abandoned their dominion and fled to the south - beyond the ruptured continent.
　Annalicia said that emotionlessly.
　There is no sentimentality there, as if to say so.
　Tina could understand from her tone that she was just telling the truth, that's all.

'Well - have we had enough hints?　But with that face, you still don't seem to understand - then I'll tell you some more. What do you think the demons who were driven out of the human realm have been doing for two thousand years?
　Gulp.
　My throat rumbles with a sound.
　That would be the worst sight.
　The infamy of the ancient demon race, and the sheer might of it, Tina has heard more than she would like to.

'I've been grinding my fangs - fangs to gouge the throat of the hated human race, you know - and soon the age of humanity (people) will be over.
　It is said to be comparable to a dragon.
　If it's going to be a human being, its destination will be destruction.

Then, you're still trying to destroy us--
　It was a reality of an even worse nature than Tina had assumed.
　However, Annalicia denied Tina's words.

''Pfft!　 That's not the reason. I don't even feel sorry for them. Humans were smarter and stronger back then, that's all.

Then why?

What do you think?　Would you rather be on the side of the humans or the demons who will be persecuted from now on?
　It also sounded pale, as if it were telling the truth.

'I take care of my things--I can't think of anyone taking them away from me--Estor, my aristocratic status, this mansion, my life of fulfillment, the dolls I've made, and the dolls I've made are too good to throw away. I think--
　That would be the real story for Annalicia.
　I don't think she was lying to me after coming this far.
　But that's why I was wondering.

'Then why!　You've done a lot of horrible things: turning the king into a puppet, covering the dream world, what you did to me, attacking an orphanage, and a whole bunch of other terrible things!

I know what it is, because I have to. What would be the first thing a demon would hate?　The answer is simple, that would be the source of the persecution of the demon race - elective theism. So, first of all, it was necessary to remove elective theism from this country. Take away the salvation they hold up and strip them of their brainwashing-tainted education. We created special development zones to replace the politicians who did nothing to achieve this. A side effect of this is the phantom puppets. It was enough to use them for Bale Sale and Izuna in the first place, but unfortunately they were uncontrollable powers, so some people played with the dolls they had placed in the special development zone - but most of them woke up from their dreams quickly, and the people who told them it was really a dream. Mostly, no problem, right?
　'Yes,' said Annalicia, as if to assure him.

'People are afraid of things they can't explain, that's why we need religion. But we can't have human supremacy and persecution of demons. We don't need a god that suits our needs.　It took you, Tina, to get another religion into the people.

So, the invasion...

'Scoring points - the kingdom was originally ruled by the Grimoire family in the first place, so it's reasonable to give it back to them, right?　The kingdom is rife with electoralism, though, and the result would be the same even if I didn't mess with it.

As for the girl with the magic eye...

''That's what Izuna - Tina, the Fire Dragon Priestess, Kiria, the character-breaker of the assassination guild, and Leana, the head of the court magician, are the people you also wanted in this country. Well, there are other influential members of the nobility, knights and merchants as well - what's a lousy way to reduce national power for nothing and not be able to fight in a time of need?

..........

''I've taken steps to ensure that my Estor will be in peace and quiet even if the world is ruled by the demon tribe - fortunately their king is rational. So, for now, I have to be a good neighbor to the demon tribe--

But...
　Annalicia gave one sigh of dismay.

'Are you trying to tell me you can't admit it?　They're sweet, they're all too sweet and frustrating. Life is not as easy as you think it is.　Did I do something bad?　Of course not!　We are all fighting for our lives, our interests, and all of them, you know?　A fool who has done nothing deserves to be taken from him-- you'll avenge the evil that is me with justice-- but what happens after that?　Return to a politics where nothing can be decided, impoverish the people, allow elective theocracy to come and go - and then what do you think awaits you?　　

..........
　Annalicia says to Tina, who shuts up.

'Well, the choice is yours, Tina - cooperate with me - and I will at least ensure the safety of the country.'
　The hand that was held out to me was close.
　It felt like the hand that should have been so far away was beside him.
　Something unfathomable was someone who had fought and resisted much more than Tina had.

　What were you doing?
　Looking back, I feel like that voice was her own denunciation.
　I realize now that I was asked what I was doing in my corresponding position.

I was...
　What did I want to do?
　It's obvious.
　I wanted to keep it.
　My family, my little happiness.
　I was willing to sacrifice my life for it. In fact, I almost died not once, but twice.
　And for that reason...

I'm afraid I can't help you.
　I told him in no uncertain terms.

'Wow, I'm too stupid to know the hard stuff but your way is wrong - I know that much.
　Tina doesn't know what's right.
　But there's something right about Tina, and she's right about Tina.
　I don't think Tina can keep up with the way she is forced to sacrifice because she has to. If it's not just Tina herself, if she is forced to sacrifice for the sake of Tina's preciousness because it's necessary, Tina will not hesitate to cut down the woman in front of her.
　No, indirectly, she's already involved in it.
　So, after all, I couldn't cooperate with her.

'Yes, I'm a little sorry to say - time's up - goodbye, Tina.
　As soon as she said that, the two dolls were moving suspiciously in response to her intentions.
　Annalicia turned her back to Tina, who prepared herself.

'He-----?'

I'll miss my country, but I've done my job. So goodbye, I'm not going to fight you.
　After discarding that, Annalicia disappeared, held by a doll in a butler's uniform.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get your hands off the hilt that you were clutching.

''Come to think of it, Nacht-san only told me to show you around--''
　A stunned murmur disappeared, echoing sadly.