"Haaaa~"
"Cough, cough, cough—"
Just as Aura was about to complete a ferocious, wide-mouthed yawn, Flamme's frantic coughing echoed from the stage. Aura froze mid-gesture, retracting her sharp demon teeth with visible irritation. She shot Flamme a look full of childish resentment. The look was the kind a child gave when chastised for something she did not believe was a crime.
Then, with a tiny, defeated tilt of her head, she simply… slumped forward.
Her chin touched her chest. Her body loosened. Her breathing softened.
And within moments—
She was asleep.
Not a single snore. Not a twitch. Not the slightest movement. Just the faint rise and fall of her chest beneath her uniform.
She looked less like a living demon and more like a stuffed toy that someone had gently set down.
The beauty of demons always carried an uncanny, artificial quality.
Aura herself had no idea what was happening to her. Perhaps living in Kribi, pampered by humans, enjoying too much comfort—she had grown used to the ease.
Her instincts had dulled. Her wilderness-honed vigilance had melted away like snow in spring sunlight.
Her stomach now growled if she skipped a single meal.
Her eyelids drooped the moment the sun dipped below the horizon.
Her mind slipped into sleep at the slightest lull in conversation.
'Ridiculous… I am a great demon… How can I—how can I live such a pathetic, fragile life? If this continues… I will… I will…'
She never finished the thought.
Her consciousness slid away like water through open fingers, her mind sinking into instant, dreamless sleep.
All of her worries—her demon pride, her disdain for humans, her self-proclaimed dignity as a sage—evaporated like mist.
"Has Minister Aura fallen asleep?"
Someone at the meeting finally noticed the doll-like Aura with her head drooping forward.
"Looks like it…"
"It's quite fine," an elderly man murmured. "Let her sleep. Today's agenda concerns border defenses—nothing the Education Department needs to handle."
He lowered his voice with sympathy.
"A child her age should be studying in an academy like my own daughter… Instead, she's weighed down by responsibilities far beyond her years. Truly… poor girl."
Another minister snorted. "Don't underestimate her. The previous Aura achieved the same brilliance at this age. Mistress Serie's most trusted aide, founder of the Continental Mage Association, the legendary examiner—"
"Yes, yes. A frightening lineage indeed."
"Prodigies, the whole line of them."
"Admirable."
"Terrifying, more like…"
Their murmured admiration trailed into a hush.
————————————
On stage, Flamme's voice faltered as she stared down at the sleeping demon. Her words stuck in her throat, forming a rare silence the entire assembly noticed.
With a long, weary exhale, Flamme stepped down from the podium. Every eye followed her.
Without a word, she unclasped her cloak and draped it over Aura's small head just as the girl's hat slipped to one side. Flamme adjusted the fabric with gentle, practiced movements—an instinctive gesture, as if she had done this countless times before.
Looking at Aura's completely defenseless, drooling sleeping face…
Flamme couldn't help but knit her brows.
Her mouth still claimed she despised humans, that she longed to tear flesh and drink blood—but her body contradicted every word. Her resistance to humans weakened by the day.
She had already thrown away several hats Flamme gifted her. At this rate, one day she really would walk into the Association headquarters with her horns bare for all to see.
'This won't do—'
Flamme pressed a hand to her forehead, feeling a throbbing pain pulse at her temples.
Why were all the demons on the battlefield so cunning they gave her headaches? And now, after finally finding a stupid demon, she was so stupid she still gave Flamme headaches?
Was she simply destined to be incompatible with demons?
Someone in the crowd whispered loudly:
"Look, Vice President Flamme's forehead vein is popping."
"Well, wouldn't yours pop too? Someone fell asleep during her briefing."
"True…"
"But if she's that angry, why doesn't she wake the girl?"
A hush fell briefly. Then one mage lowered his voice conspiratorially.
"That's where you're ignorant. The previous Aura and Flamme… had a special connection."
"Special? I've never heard of that."
"It's a rumor," he said solemnly. "A whisper among the Association elders. They say the previous Aura guided Flamme. Same generation, yet practically teacher and disciple."
"You just said it's a rumor."
"Rumors often hold truth. And if it were false, the Association would deny it. Have you ever heard Flamme deny it?"
"Now that you mention it…"
"Everyone knows she held… special emotions for the previous Aura. People just don't say it aloud."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, after the first President retired, Flamme immediately entered the headquarters. Later she wrote the previous Aura's biography herself. Even sculpted the statue in the main hall with her own hands."
"So their relationship was that deep?"
Another mage leaned in.
"And the current Aura?"
"Daughter of someone Flamme once admired deeply. As for her attitude toward the girl now…"
He smirked.
"Well—those who understand, understand."
"..."
————————————
When Aura woke up, all she saw was darkness.
She lifted her head from inside the oversized mage cloak draped over her.
The meeting had ended long ago. She was the only person left in the entire room.
"Huh?"
Aura tilted her head.
Completely unaware of what had happened.
But her clever mind quickly pieced things together.
Seeing papers and documents still scattered across the surrounding desks—
"An important meeting room… confidential documents… and I'm the only demon here?"
Aura instantly realized what she should do. Before anyone returned, she darted across the room, rummaging quickly. From a nearby seat, she found a document titled Border Mage Deployment.
Aura clutched it like a priceless treasure.
This would be incredibly useful for future demon offensives.
She cracked open the meeting room door, looked left and right, and seeing no one paying attention to her, slipped out immediately.
Three minutes later, Flamme returned.
During the meeting, they had moved to another room to use magical tools for demonstration. Seeing Aura asleep—and the topic having nothing to do with the Education Department—everyone tacitly agreed not to wake her.
The other mages hadn't cared that she didn't follow, and Flamme turned a blind eye as well. Once the meeting ended and the crowd dispersed, she finally had a chance to come back.
Click—
The door opened.
The room was empty.
Only a mage cloak lay on the floor, covered in footprints.
Silently, Flamme picked it up and put it back over her shoulders.
Then she took the Education Department documents from Aura's desk, glancing at the empty spot beside it where the border document had disappeared.
She chuckled helplessly.
"Minister Aura really is careless. She even took the wrong department's file."
Flamme bent down and picked up a purple pointed hat, patting the dust off it.
She sighed, weary and resigned.
"She forgot to wear her hat again."