The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

Chapter 245: Demons in Hot Water

Similar to the human kingdoms, the demon kingdoms also had teleportation arrays that allowed quick travel between important locations in the demon realm. So, teleportation between the Fear Kingdom and the Windy Kingdom was possible.

Alice only brought Andusia with her when she left for Demon King Castle. She didn't bring Zauna, Lalu, and Luna with her since this was something that concerned Demon Kings. Otherwise, if Zauna and Lalu accidentally discovered her identity as the Demon King, she'd need to wrack her mind coming up with an excuse to fool them. She also wasn't fully confident she could fool them successfully.

Zauna and Lalu also understood that Alice had come to the demon realm for business. Only, Zauna assumed that Alice's business was related to her identity as the Hero, while Lalu assumed that Alice's business was related to her identity as the princess. Hence, although both of them were wrong in their assumptions, neither of them whined about following Alice. Instead, they followed Heris in touring the demon realm's cities.

Luna, on the other hand, knew about Alice's Demon King identity, so Alice could bring Luna with her if she wanted to. However, despite knowing that Flaman would send some powerful guards to escort Zauna and Lalu, Alice still couldn't help but worry for their safety. She'd feel much more assured if Luna was by their side. Meanwhile, as Alice's maid, Luna naturally did not refuse Alice's request.

When Alice was ready to set off for Demon King Castle, Flaman had initially thought of sending some guards to accompany Alice. However, after thinking it over, he felt that if Alice and Andusia came into a situation that even they found dangerous, any guards he sent would be useless to them. So, he eventually shelved this idea.

After visiting the teleportation hub in Teli City, Alice and Andusia found the room labeled "Plit City" and used the teleportation array inside.

Plit City was just your average city. It was neither the Windy Kingdom's capital nor a city with historical significance. Out of the Windy Kingdom's 29 cities, Plit City was only average regarding its economic and cultural situation.

If one had to point out something special about Plit City, it would have to be its close proximity to Demon King Castle. Specifically, Demon King Castle was located in a forest outside Plit City.

Previously, when Alice and Heris had left Demon King Castle, they had stopped by Plit City to buy some snacks before they made their way to the Fear Kingdom. Hence, Plit City was also a resupply point for people wishing to visit Demon King Castle.

"Are you also going to visit Demon King Castle, missy?"

It was already noon when Alice arrived at Plit City, so she decided to get some food before traveling to Demon King Castle. When she entered the restaurant she chose randomly, the shopkeeper warmly greeted her and instantly deduced her plans when he saw the backpack Alice carried.

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"That's right."

Alice nodded, responding to the shopkeeper's question with a friendly smile. She wasn't fond of behaving coldly to others. The only reason she treated the March Academy's nobles coldly was because of their impure motives in approaching her. However, this shopkeeper did not know about any of her identities. He was only treating her like he would with any customer, so there was no need for her to put on a cold and arrogant attitude.

"I knew it. Ever since the new Demon King destroyed the Radioactive Soul Stone over a month ago, many people have been trying to visit Demon King Castle," the middle-aged uncle with bat wings on his back said, nodding with an "as expected" expression. "There is also a popular rumor going around saying that Demon King Castle might be housing the treasures of past Demon Kings and that you'll be able to learn the abilities of past Demon Kings if you manage to find their treasures."

Alice couldn't help but chuckle a little when she heard the shopkeeper's words. In reality, the claims made in the rumor weren't wrong. Since Grant had lived in Demon King Castle, he must have stored the taboo magic books he had collected somewhere in the castle. Some, if not all, of those taboo books, should come from Demon Kings of past generations. So, if one managed to find Grant's taboo collection, it wouldn't be wrong to say that one would obtain the abilities of past Demon Kings.

The problem was that Grant evidently wouldn't keep his taboo collection out in the open. He must have kept it hidden deeply. Moreover, it was likely to be a place that one couldn't reach without triggering some kind of mechanism. For example, the entrance to Grant's taboo collection might need a large amount of mana to open.

However, even if someone managed to find Grant's taboo collection, it was unlikely they could gain the so-called "abilities of past Demon Kings." After all, few people had the talent to learn taboos, and even fewer had the necessary strength to cast taboos.

Of course, it was a different story if Grant had weapons made from the Demon King's Power's essence in his collection. Even ordinary people could wield these weapons. While an ordinary person might not be able to unleash the full strength of these weapons, they would still gain a massive boost to their combat power.

"Hmph."

The sound of Andusia's contemptuous snort appeared in Alice's ears. Evidently, she, too, knew that the treasure hunters in Demon King Castle were fated to end up empty-handed.

After her short conversation with the shopkeeper, Alice placed her order and got her food a few minutes later. Unfortunately, since she was in the demon realm, the quality of the food she was served was rather worrying.

This wasn't a problem with the chef's skills. It was mainly because most of the ingredients in the demon realm were negatively affected by the polluted environment. The food served in the Four Heavenly Kings' abodes might be fine since they used the finest ingredients available in the demon realm. However, ordinary demons evidently wouldn't get to enjoy those high-quality ingredients.

"The longer I stay in the demon realm, the more I can understand why demons yearn for the human realm's environment" Alice said, setting down her cutlery after taking only a few bites of her food. Although the food tasted good, the texture made it unpalatable. It felt like she was eating seasoned cotton wool.

It went without saying that the human realm's currency couldn't be used in the demon realm. However, Alice had the demon realm's payment applications installed on her phone. Flaman had also transferred a lot of money into her account. So, she had no problems settling the bill.

After paying the bill, Alice got ready to head for Demon King Castle and search for Grant's taboo collection. It was imperative that she get her hands on the past Demon Kings' taboos since they were developed specifically to target the Demon King's Power's essence.

If she could learn these taboos, she might have an easier time dealing with the Demon King's Power in the future.