The sun rose and fell; time flew by like an arrow.
The reforms within the Mage Association, led by the Minister of Education, were finally coming to an end. Aura only managed the parts concerning the training program—anything that later expanded into a large-scale purge of the Association's regional branches had, in her opinion, nothing to do with her.
Although authority had once again returned to the central headquarters which suited Aura perfectly well, the unified Mage Association now exercised far stricter control over mages across the continent. This, of course, meant the humans could mobilize their mages far more efficiently against demons.
On that matter, however—Aura felt it had nothing to do with her.
Within the tedious power games of humans in Kribi, Aura maintained a detached stance. She had no social ties within the Association, meaning political struggles could not touch her. Yet, with Serie's and the two president's silent approval, she was free to interfere in those same struggles whenever she wished.
The demons' perspective is very different from that of humans. It is a perspective that abandons personal emotions and only focuses on the most efficient structural thinking. This means that the problems in the magic association system are invisible to humans, but Aura can spot them at a glance.
Zanze often sought Aura's opinions on various issues within the Association, and she always came away enlightened.
Of course, Aura herself never realized how unique her insight was.
She simply thought Zanze was making small talk. To Aura, the "problems" she pointed out were so obvious that anyone with a pair of eyes should have seen them.
'Humans are so stupid~'
'Zanze is especially stupid~~'
Every time, Aura would mock Zanze loudly and proudly—her tone full of arrogance and disdain—as she lectured about humanity's inherent flaws, declaring that the inferior species would inevitably be replaced by demons one day.
Then, inevitably, Flamme would appear without warning, catch a glimpse of the scene, and Aura would immediately freeze—tongue out, eyes wide, kneeling on the floor, hastily blurting out flattering words about the greatness of humanity.
And thus, her leisurely days went on, one after another.
Until, at last, Aura achieved another milestone in her long-term plan—
She was granted the right to attend the Mage Association's High Council meetings.
Those meetings were the pinnacle of authority within the Association. Every decision made there could shape the future of human magic for the next hundred years.
The attendees were either great mages whose names had been etched into history or ministers who currently wielded major influence within the Association.
Aura's qualification as the Minister of Education had been under review—until now. The recent success of the Education Department's reform had earned her a formal invitation.
————————————
Early that morning—
Aura got up and spent a while looking through her own room. Finding that all the clothes piled on the floor were dirty and unwashed, and none of them were wearable, she went into Zanze's room and picked out a set that barely fit her from Zanze wardrobe.
As Zanze blinked groggily, half-asleep and confused, Aura calmly shut the door and walked out.
In the living room, she changed into the clothes, then stood before a mirror, brushing her hair.
Although she didn't care how humans viewed her, it was, after all, her first meeting since returning to the top of the association's power structure, and Aura would still adhere to some formalities.
She chose not to braid her hair; that was too troublesome. She simply combed it straight. Her long, purple hair now reached her waist—she hadn't cut it in years. No matter where she lived, there had always been someone to tend to it, so she had grown used to keeping it long.
Her outfit was simple: Zanze's formal conference attire, plus a tall hat draped over her shoulders. Her hair flowed smoothly down her back. It was all very plain, and coupled with her eternally youthful face, she looked more like a mage apprentice heading to class than a high-ranking official.
Wearing such formal clothes felt awkward—unnaturally mature.
Of course, those who don't know the inside story might think that way, but those who do know the inside story naturally know that this young body already contains the soul of a five-hundred-year-old female demon.
No one would ever call Aura "cute."
Click—
The door opened.
"So cute~"
As Aura stepped out, she turned her head and saw a tall woman with orange hair standing at the door for a long time, holding a pile of documents and expressionless.
"Hi. Good morning, Aura~"
"Ah—Ahhh! Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! I haven't tried to destroy the Mage Association lately! I haven't eaten any humans either! I've been good! Really! Please—don't kill me right now!!"
Aura dropped to her knees, clutching her head, bursting into tears.
She thought her time as an "experiment" had finally come to an end—that Flamme was here to dispose of her.
"Zanze didn't tell you? I'm chairing today's meeting. Since it's your first time attending a ministers' session, I thought you might get lost—so I came to get you."
Flamme's face remained stoic, but she stole a few quick glances at the teary-eyed demon.
She would've liked to watch Aura cry a little longer—but duty came first. As Vice President, she couldn't afford to mix personal amusement with official business. Still, she silently sighed in disappointment.
She led Aura down the corridor toward the conference hall.
Aura spent nearly the entire walk wiping away the tears on her face. Just before they arrived, Flamme suddenly stopped. Aura, lost in thought, bumped straight into her.
With her demon strength, the impact made Flamme stagger.
Aura's eyes welled up again.
But thankfully, this time, Flamme said nothing. She merely opened the door, pointed out Aura's seat among the circular arrangement of desks and chairs, and went to the podium to prepare her notes.
Ding—dong… ding—dong…
As the meeting's starting chime echoed, ministers and senior mages entered one after another.
Every single person noticed Aura immediately—a face none of them had ever seen before.
Then they noticed her red, tear-stained eyes. Naturally, their gazes turned to Flamme—the only person who had been with Aura before the meeting.
No one showed an expression outwardly, but inwardly, everyone was speculating.
Had there been a dispute between the Vice President and the new Minister of Education?
Why would Lady Flamme bully such a young girl?
She was rather adorable, after all—and a few of the older mages, those with children of their own, couldn't help but think of how their kids looked when they cried. They smiled faintly at the resemblance—then quickly straightened their faces again.
Those who had smiled looked around and silently scolded themselves.
'This is simply outrageous!'
——————
Human meetings, Aura quickly discovered, were even duller than she remembered. She had attended many in her past life as the first president of the Mage Association, but back then, she had mostly sat idly as a figurehead—a symbolic mascot at the top of the hall.
In truth, Zanze had handled nearly all administrative affairs.
But this time was different. Aura wanted to climb higher—to seize real power. She couldn't just sit there idly anymore.
She had to stay focused—had to participate actively.
She had to make these humans see her worth.
'They had to willingly raise me back to the position of… President… President of the—'
Haaaa~
Maybe she had woken up too early. Aura suddenly felt drowsy.
Her once-clear vision began to blur, her consciousness flickering in and out.
Normally, demons didn't experience drowsiness. Aura's physique far surpassed that of humans—stronger even than the best-trained warriors.
After all, warriors could train their muscles and bones, but no amount of exercise could overcome the inherent weaknesses of human organs or their fragile biology.
A human warrior might train enough to split a mountain in half—but would still die before a hundred years passed. No amount of discipline could let them go seven days without sleep or water, nor resist disease and infection as demons did with ease.
Aura could do all of that.
She should have been able to…
"Haaaa~"
She yawned again—her mouth opening nearly twice as wide as a human's. For a brief moment, the sharp, inhuman fangs hidden behind her lips became visible.
Luckily, no one was looking her way. Otherwise, her identity would've been exposed on the spot.
The only person who noticed was Flamme, standing at the podium. She paused mid-sentence, gave the faintest glance in Aura's direction—then continued her speech as if nothing had happened.