"Enemies?" Melanie was confused by Leticia's words. "Are we enemies?"
In her memory, there was no reason for Leticia to be her enemy.
"I suspect that little brain of yours isn't filled with brains, but with mush." Leticia reached out and pressed a few keys on the keyboard, exiting the game and voice channel.
The next part of the conversation couldn't be overheard by the Leader.
"We don't need to talk about the circumstances of our first meeting, right?" Leticia asked, crossing her arms.
"Oh?"
"Please, Malanie, you almost killed me! Doesn't that make us enemies?" The black-haired girl looked directly into the young woman's eyes and said, word by word, "How can I be friends with someone who tried to kill me?"
Melanie fell into contemplation. After a moment, she looked up: "What if I give up the intention of killing you?"
"Are you kidding?"
"The current you doesn't feel as threatening as you did seven years ago. If you can remain this stable, I have no reason to kill you." Melanie's voice was serious, which made Leticia realize that the young woman was not lying.
"Should I take that as a threat?" But Leticia scoffed at Melanie's words. "Who do you think you are? Why should I listen to you?"
"I just want to make friends with you." Melanie stood up from the chair and walked toward Leticia step by step.
"Friends? What nonsense are you talking about? Even if I jumped off this building, I wouldn't be friends with you." Leticia snapped. "I am the Demon King, and you are humanity's Sword Saint. It's impossible for us to be friends!"
"But you just said that I should have my own life, just like you. Are you truly still that Demon King now?" Melanie walked right up to Leticia and repeated Leticia's previous words expressionlessly.
"I... of course I'm still the Demon King." Leticia realized her heart was racing. Looking at the young woman so closely made the subtle feelings in her heart gradually stir.
After all, she didn't really dislike Melanie.
When she didn't know the Sword Saint was Melanie, she truly hated the Sword Saint fiercely, but once she realized that the person beneath the Sword Saint's facade was a girl like Melanie, that intense resentment gradually vanished.
Leticia simply couldn't muster any negative feelings toward a girl as beautiful as Melanie.
"But I am no longer the Sword Saint. I am just Yori's older sister now, a very ordinary girl." Melanie naturally noticed Leticia's hesitation. Although the black-haired girl spoke harshly, everything that had happened these past few days made Melanie realize that she wasn't truly repulsed by her.
"Stop talking nonsense! In my eyes, you are the Sword Saint—you were before, and you still are! I absolutely will not be friends with you!" Leticia slapped Melanie's outstretched hand away. "Get out of here! Don't bother me!"
Melanie, whose hand had been slapped, showed no expression of displeasure. The force Leticia used was so light that Melanie couldn't even feel pain. "If that's what you think, then fine."
Perhaps I should ask the Leader how to get a tsundere girl like Leticia to honestly express her feelings?
Melanie knew that her communication skills were lacking, and dealing with a complicated girl like Leticia was beyond her abilities alone.
In that case, she needed to call in outside help.
Time was still plentiful, and she had enough time to make Leticia realize her true feelings.
Turning around and picking up her computer, Melanie quietly said to Leticia, "Then I'll be going now."
"Go! Hurry up and scram! Don't let me see you again!" Leticia showed an impatient expression.
Melanie disappeared from the room. Leticia looked at the spot where Melanie had just stood, feeling uneasy.
"Is there something wrong with my head? She's the one who tried to kill me! Why am I..." Sitting down abruptly on the chair, Leticia began to reflect on her recent actions.
She felt she had been seduced by beauty, just like the emperors of ancient times.
She actually felt a tiny bit of goodwill toward Melanie—a feeling that should not exist.
Melanie is the Stellar Sword Saint. Even though she has retired, she is still the Sword Saint who tried to kill her on the battlefield.
She is an enemy.
Developing positive feelings for an enemy is absolutely forbidden.
"I am the Demon King... Argh, so annoying!" Although she didn't want to admit it, Melanie was genuinely very pretty.
If she weren't the Demon King, perhaps she would happily become friends with Melanie.
But there are no ifs in the world. She, Leticia, is the Demon King.
She should not, and cannot, develop feelings for humanity's Sword Saint.
Melanie's thinking was actually correct; the Demon King truly still resided in Leticia's heart.
But Leticia herself actually didn't want to be that Demon King.
"Seriously, whoever wants to be the Demon King can be it!"
If she could, Leticia would even hand over her position to her younger sister right now, but she knew that wasn't possible.
Kira's personality was too dominant; making her the Demon King would inevitably lead to very serious consequences.