Every Morning, My Mirror Saves the World - Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Tio appeared without warning on a clear evening.

The Dark Elves she had sent to cause trouble and deliver a message vanished the moment their mission was complete. Only the one called Landatini stayed behind. He shamelessly moved into the imperial palace and, fortunately, apart from wasting food from Juvina’s national treasury, he did not cause any trouble for the Alliance Army that had yet to fully take shape.

Aside from occasionally staring at Ruiyin with a gloomy, sinister gaze, this Dark Elves man spent most of each day resting with his eyes closed. He would lean against a marble pillar, eyes gently shut, his long, mithril-silver hair, smooth as moonlight, brushing over deep honey-colored skin. In that moment, his wild, bewitching face looked utterly serene. Though he was an exceedingly dangerous creature of darkness, Landatini still swiftly stole a large batch of female admirers from Juvina.

“Those women must be out of their minds,” Galahad said unhappily. “That sinister, vicious bastard clearly did such horrible things. Why would anyone still like him?”

Vigia sighed. “Because for men… as long as they have the face and the body, that’s enough. Never mind those women who don’t know the truth. Even Lord Vigia… sometimes has trouble holding back when he sees that face…”

That evening, the sleeping Dark Elves man suddenly opened his eyes without the slightest warning. He reached out, and a bloodred butterfly that had appeared out of thin air landed on his finger. Landatini stared at it for a while with emotionless crimson eyes, then lowered his crossed arms and stood. “Her Majesty the Queen has arrived.”

After half a month, Ruiyin finally saw again this Mad King who had once been locked in a tower.

Tio wore an ornate black robe, its hem embroidered with nine white roses in full bloom. Her face was as beautiful as it had been the first time they met, and framed by a silver-white night-marten fur collar, it looked even more graceful and noble. When she pressed her lips together with a solemn expression, she actually gave off an awe-inspiring dignity that seemed impossible to violate.

Aside from her outward gender still being cause for concern, Tio truly looked like a great queen now.

Tio jumped down from the ground lizard, grabbed the hem of her magnificent robe with both hands, deftly tied it around her waist, and charged boldly toward Ruiyin and the others with two pale bare legs flashing as if she were about to wade into a rice paddy. She greeted them with a grin. “Long time no see. You actually made it out of prison alive. How unpleasant.”

“…” So sorry we didn’t die in the pit you dug for us!!!

No matter how normal she looked on the outside, the moment she opened her mouth, anyone could recognize that this was still the same Tio. Ruiyin was, however, extremely relieved to discover that this time she was actually wearing underwear.

Juvina led his entourage forward, extending one white-gloved hand as he bent in a courteous greeting. “Her Majesty the Dark Queen, I am Juvina. On behalf of the Sunan Empire, I offer you our most sincere greetings, and thank you for gracing us with your presence despite the hardships of the journey.”

Tio carelessly reached out with a hand still sticky with syrup and clasped Juvina’s spotless white glove. “Mm, it wasn’t hard. I slept until noon before setting out. I actually meant to come a few days ago, but some things held me up.”

Juvina smiled with gentle refinement, not minding in the least. “Her Majesty the Queen is so diligent in government affairs. You are truly a worthy monarch.”

Tio scratched her head, embarrassed. “Oh, it’s only right. If I don’t pile up a few more official documents for those people, I’d feel like I was letting myself down.”

And just like that, the only normal sentence in the original letter, “Once I have dealt with enough official documents, I will personally visit you in the Sunan Empire,” had been destroyed too.

Tio shaded her eyes with one hand and looked greedily past Juvina. “Are the things I asked for ready? Where are the sweets and meat?”

“…The banquet has already been prepared.” Juvina’s smile stiffened slightly. “We have also prepared rooms for your attendants.”

“Aww, you’re so considerate.” Tio beamed. “I actually didn’t bring that many people. It’s just that there are a few who need special arrangements.”

Tio waved her small hand, and a line of people slowly emerged from among the Dark Elves behind her. Unlike the other elves, they did not cover their faces. Their beautiful or heroic features were fully exposed, and their short vests failed to conceal much flesh. Lean, powerful chests and neat rows of abdominal muscles were displayed in perfect order.

Tio introduced them. “Mm, this is male consort number one. This is male consort number two. This is male consort number three, four, five… Please arrange for all of them to stay in my residence.”

Juvina felt that official pleasantries along the lines of “As expected of Her Majesty the Queen, what magnificent virility” seemed deeply inappropriate…

The only person capable of leaving even Juvina unable to find an official reply was probably Tio. Ruiyin carefully examined Tio’s harem. Almost every type of handsome man could be found there, and without exception, their revealing outfits showed off expanses of exposed skin and physiques of frankly astonishing proportions.

…Should she be making a jab at Tio’s terrifyingly robust body, or at the fact that Tio’s face made her look like she belonged in a boys’ love manga no matter which one of them she stood beside?

The great Prince Juvina had never before entertained so many gluttons in his palace all at once. When everyone sat down in the conference room to discuss proper business, everyone from the dragon to the Dark Elves was filled with the drowsiness that came after a full meal.

“Mm, business, business.” Tio patted her little belly, now full of pudding and roast meat, yawned, and said, “Then, Prince Juvensen, regarding my proposal, does this mean you agree?”

“My name is Juvina. As for the alliance, rather than asking whether I agree, it would be better to say it depends on your attitude,” Juvina said courteously.
“My position is perfectly clear. We all beat him up together. I’m being very sincere.”

The problem is, all we could smell from your letter was syrup!

“You cannot possibly be unaware of humanity’s attitude toward the Dark Elves, can you? Under these circumstances, it will be very difficult for me to persuade everyone to agree to this alliance,” Juvina said. “If you truly are sincere, then I hope you can provide us with something convincing enough to believe in.”

“What a pain. Why does everyone need me to come up with reasons for them…” Tio muttered, rubbing at her hair.

“We don’t need reasons.” Lars leaned sideways against the armchair, his emerald eyes narrowing with distrust. “Right now, you’re preparing to join hands with us against your former allies. If you can’t produce something that will make more than half of humanity agree, then everything else is empty talk.”

“And don’t try to fool us with a magic contract,” Juvina added gently. “For Dark Elves, ordinary magic contracts are very difficult to enforce.”

Tio rubbed her aching head. After a long while, she turned to look at Ruiyin with an expression as though she had made a very difficult decision. “Fine, then. To show my sincerity, I’m willing to give you half of my male pets. Being with these two must put a lot of pressure on you, even if their bodies are very useful, right?”

“No need!” all three shouted.

In the end, Tio handed over her Soul Crystal. Juvina placed a curse on the crystal with a special spell, then carefully sealed it onto the contract scroll.

“Under no circumstances are the Dark Elves permitted to betray the allied forces. Otherwise, everyone under your leadership will fall forever into the Abyss of Nothingness,” Juvina said, looking at her. “Likewise, before the war ends, we will not make a move against you.”

“Got it, got it,” Tio called lazily. She kept looking at Ruiyin. “Seriously, are you really not going to consider letting me give you a male pet? If you’re under too much stress, girls age faster, you know. A male Dark Elf’s beep-beep is very good for a human woman your age!”

“…” Why was she always the one getting hit by stray fire today?! Had she said a single word during this entire discussion?!

“Don’t be mad.” Tio grinned at Ruiyin and Lars’s faces, which had darkened at the same time. “Business is over. Wouldn’t it be nice for us to chat about a few topics between women?”

No matter what topic about women they talked about, it felt way too wrong coming from someone with the face of a beautiful young man!

Tio completely ignored their coldness and went on talking to herself, poking her own cheek. “You know, I’ve actually always thought you and I are very alike.”

“I don’t think so,” Ruiyin said flatly.

“We don’t have especially powerful strength, but in a group of people, we’re unexpectedly important. Protected by everyone, trusted by everyone. Sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it?”

Tio cupped her face nostalgically. “Ah, whenever I think about the fact that I once had such cool days too, I can’t help getting excited.”

“You don’t have especially powerful strength?” Ruiyin couldn’t help asking. “But Landatini said that whether in magic or in will, you are the strongest of the Dark Elves now.”

Tio waved a hand indifferently. “Am I not allowed to reminisce about myself as a baby?”

“…”

Since Lars still had to continue discussing future battle plans as the Deputy Commander of the Alliance Army, Ruiyin left that gathering of idiots first. She walked down the sunlit corridor, and as she rounded a corner, Landatini’s figure abruptly appeared in her field of vision.

He was not asleep as he usually was. The Dark Elf was leaning against the wall with his head lowered. When he heard her, he raised his head, the corners of his mouth splitting into a wicked smile.

“What do you want?” Ruiyin said coldly, her hand closing around her dagger. “Lars is right behind me. And I assume you aren’t stupid enough to attack me right after the alliance was formed.”

“Alliance?” Landatini said softly. “I’ve never cared about any damned alliance. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. The most delicious prey, of course, has to be saved for last and savored slowly.”

Every time Ruiyin saw this man, goose bumps rose all over her by reflex. This disgust was completely different from the disgust Lars caused when he was being shockingly embarrassing. It only made her want to draw her blade.

“I want to know why you put on that whole performance when you were only here to deliver a letter,” Ruiyin said. “It brought you no benefit at all, and it would only increase humanity’s distrust of the Dark Elves.”

“Because I liked it.” Landatini crossed his arms, his malicious gaze sweeping over her from head to toe. “To me, there is no should or shouldn’t. There is only like or dislike. I don’t care about any alliance or Queen. The only reason I stay here is because I like it.”

Ruiyin held back for a long time, but in the end, she still could not resist the urge to provoke him. “Then of course you also liked locking up your own bird, right? Just like the first time I saw you?”

“That’s right.” Landatini shamelessly revealed a charming smile. “As long as I like it, there is nothing I can’t do. So I hope you prepare yourself for this.”

“Even with that Little Wolfdog at your side, I will personally watch you get torn apart inch by inch before my eyes.”

Author’s Note: In commemoration of Ruiyin’s first defeat in a battle of words: Xiao Lan is a huge pervert! Anyone who argues with him has something wrong with them!

Also, now imagining the Queen’s army of male pets…