Linne's Heart Stirs

The earl's residence, lounge.

Lügner sat in the seat of honor, with two demons, a man and a woman, standing beside him.

The demon girl was named Linne.

She was petite, dressed in a maid's court dress, with soft pink hair in fluffy twin tails.

Her face was delicate, and her skin was as fair as jade.

Her purple eyes were utterly still, silent as the void.

The male demon, named Draht, was a subordinate of Aura of the Seven Sages of Destruction and a notorious member of the Executioners.

"I never expected this! To meet two elves today, and one of them is the person I most want to kill."

"Should we eliminate them?"

Linne touched her heart, her expression indifferent, but her words brimmed with killing intent, making for an endearing contrast.

"No hurry. First, we'll capture Granat Earl and make him lift the barrier over his domain. Then... we absolutely must not act rashly. Elves are an immortal race; attacking recklessly will only bring needless losses. Our task is simply to lift the barrier and leave everything else to the invincible Lady Aura."

Knowing that the two elves, Frieren and Dugu Qing, were no ordinary opponents, Lügner decided to proceed cautiously, dealing with the weakest first and picking them off one by one.

Having agreed on a strategy, the three headed for the council hall.

Granat Earl gazed at the portrait on the wall of his late son, handsome and dignified, and missed him dearly.

Lügner spoke up to comfort him.

Granat Earl flew into a rage and drew his sword on Lügner and his two companions, who had come to negotiate peace.

A group of well-equipped soldiers rushed out and surrounded Lügner and his two companions.

"So he never intended to negotiate from the start. But it doesn't matter. Frieren has appeared, and I've come before the earl. Our objectives have been achieved, so let's show our hand!"

Looking coldly at the human soldiers, Lügner gave the order.

Linne reproduced the martial arts techniques of Eisen, a dwarf warrior she had witnessed more than eighty years ago. Mana surged and gathered in her palm, forming a giant axe with a chilling gleam in an instant.

She swung the axe in wide, sweeping arcs, spinning and slashing through the air. Its chilling edge swept in every direction, and wherever its gleam passed, soldiers' heads tumbled to the ground.

"So... so powerful!"

Granat Earl stared at Linne in shock. He had never expected someone with the appearance of a little girl to be so heroic and decisive in battle.

Damn it! He had agreed to the peace talks in order to lure the demons into an ambush and avenge his son!

Instead, he had invited wolves into his home...

"Now, please lift the barrier over your domain at once. Otherwise, my lord, your daughter, your wife, your mother, your younger sister... I will kill them one by one."

Lügner knocked Granat Earl's sword aside and walked up to him, his eyes radiating utter malice as though he were looking at an amusing toy. A thousand tortures surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

"You... you..."

Granat Earl finally realized how dangerous the demons were, but it was too late.

He looked out the window. In days past, the lights had shone brightly, and his family had lived in happiness and comfort.

Once he agreed to lift the barrier, the demon army would descend from the sky and turn his domain into hell.

Granat Earl's thoughts churned, and he was thrown into complete confusion. Overwhelming terror bore down on him, and cold sweat spread from his back across his body, leaving him chilled all over.

"Think it over carefully!"

Lügner pulled up a stool and looked at Granat Earl mockingly.

Granat Earl wanted to agree in exchange for his family's safety.

Yet once he entertained the thought of compromise, the knightly honor his ancestors had won through bloodshed and countless hardships, the family legacy built over hundreds of years, and the good name celebrated by bards would all be destroyed.

The price was too great.

"What kind of joke is this? I'll never agree."

Granat Earl clenched his teeth and made a difficult choice between survival and destruction.

"I see. What a pity."

Lügner raised his sword and struck the earl in a vital spot.

"Aah!"

Blood spurted, and Granat Earl's agonized scream pierced the heavens.

In an instant, the magnificent earl's residence became a cruel hell on earth.

Night fell, quiet beneath moonlight that flowed like water.

After imprisoning Granat Earl, Lügner worried that Frieren and her companions might interfere. He therefore sent Linne, who specialized in Imitation Magic, to lie in wait around the Northern Inn and keep watch on Frieren and Dugu Qing.

Northern Inn, second floor, guest room.

Dugu Qing finished cultivating, rose to his full height, and pushed open the door.

Moonlight poured down beyond the door like the Milky Way, spilling over Dugu Qing.

His clothes were whiter than snow, his plain white robes shimmering with an otherworldly radiance. Their flowing sleeves were like clouds and moonlight, ethereal and untouched by worldly dust, like an immortal.

"S-so handsome, so beautiful."

Linne descended from the sky and stood atop a tall building, gazing entranced at Dugu Qing as her heart stirred.

Dugu Qing walked downstairs and looked at the cherry tree in the inn.

Pink and white petals drifted down through the air like flowing clouds and scattered snow, brushing gently past him and swirling around his robes.

Dugu Qing's nose twitched slightly. As if Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly, he seemed to merge with the flowers, the lines of his face appearing even more graceful and gentle.

A breeze stirred his robes, making them dance and blossom like a white lotus, elegant and sacred, standing apart from the world.

"Is he that male elf? He really is dangerous."

Linne watched Dugu Qing and swallowed involuntarily.

A voice roared in her heart.

I want him so badly. I want to hold this guy in my arms and crush his head.

No, if I crush it, I'll never find another toy so exquisite and pleasing to the eye.

So I should capture him, lock him up forever, and make him my toy!

He's an elf, and I'm a demon. We can live happily together for hundreds of years and have a few little demons.

Ha.

Gazing at the beautiful future she imagined, Linne's heart raced and her blood surged. An alluring pink light shone in her eyes, dangerous and captivating.

"A demon!"

In her guest room, Frieren closed a book and prepared to sleep.

Suddenly sensing a powerful fluctuation of mana nearby, she put on her shoes at the speed of light, grabbed her staff, and rushed out of the room.

Hearing the noise, Linne felt an acute sense of danger. She jumped down from the building and used Imitation Magic to imitate an ordinary person, leaving only a faint flow of energy around her.

"Huh? The demon's gone!"

Frieren stepped out of her room, but the presence had vanished. She searched the area in frustration.

There were too many pedestrians around the inn, and she could only return empty-handed.

"Good evening, Frieren!"

Dugu Qing looked up and greeted Frieren.

Frieren looked at Dugu Qing's undisguised mana and said irritably:

"Dugu Qing, you did learn magic to conceal your mana, didn't you? Can't you suppress it and disguise yourself as a pure warrior?"

"We've already met the demons. Is there any need? They're not blind!"

"Now that you put it that way, you have a point."

Frieren thought about it and let Dugu Qing have his way.