Girl in the Box: Please tell me why I was reincarnated as a mimic monster!

I never expected Rielfa to kick me from behind. The impact was huge, sending me flying into the crater, but thankfully I had my shell. The slime is quite resistant to physical attacks, so it was fine after the fall. But it only has about a third of its HP left, which seems a bit dangerous.

"You two keep it up, I'm going back now." Rielfa waved her hand and turned away irresponsibly.

Wait a minute? Hey boss, aren't you coming down to help us level up?!

I thought Raelfa would come down and help us level up, but she chased us down and then left. Wow, I think I got tricked.

"Save your breath...you can't beat her," the slime advised me.

The slime's words sounded as if it had already fought. Had it already tried? It seems it didn't win... Did the hydrogen bomb magic not work either?

As I was still pondering these things, a hand suddenly reached out from the ground, grabbed my crab leg, and tried to pull me down. At the same time, all sorts of monsters began to appear around me and the slime, all of them the kind of monsters you only see in horror movies, their bodies shrouded in blood mist, constantly approaching us.

Hey?! Where did all this stuff come from?!

I quickly used pliers to break off the hand that was grabbing my crab leg. Even after it was broken off, the hand was still gripping my foot tightly. It was terrifying. I quickly pulled it off and threw it aside.

The monsters, upon seeing the hand, pounced on it like hungry wolves spotting food, wrestling and fighting over it. Hmm, they don't seem very intelligent.

"Don't you dare hold us back..." the slime glanced at me.

Huh? Holding someone back?

I didn't quite understand what the slime was saying. Then, the slime turned golden in front of me and charged into the monsters without hesitation. Simply wrapping itself in lightning, it rammed back and forth among the monsters without slowing down at all. So, does leveling up mean you have to do it yourself?

Hmm, thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem wrong. In short, relying on Rielfa is not as good as relying on yourself right now...

So why did it turn out this way? Hmmm, it seems like if they resisted, they'd be killed... so the slime just became very obedient...

It's terrifying to think about, let's get started quickly.

※※※

As she walked back, Rielfa was pondering how to deal with the humans. She estimated that several should have arrived by now, but the maze was too crowded and there were too many people, making it difficult to identify who it was.

Among these people, there are definitely a few who came to the labyrinth to find the caster of that magic. Since they can't find it anyway, they should focus on protecting Nao.

'Layfa.'

As soon as Lerfa walked back, she saw Nao anxiously waiting for her not far away.

It was obvious what she was worried about. Lerfa was a little jealous. She had arrived first, so why was Nao more concerned about the box? With a very displeased expression, she walked up to Nao step by step.

"What's wrong?" Rielfa asked absentmindedly.

"How is Xiaoli?" Nao went straight to the point.

“Nothing much, I just left her there,” Rielfa said casually. “With the slime there, she’ll be fine. Besides… I don’t really want her to die here like this.”

Li, the mimic, is a member of the goddess's retinue. While she is lower in rank than dragon kings like Laelfa, the goddess who bestows her protection is extremely protective of her own. Her retinue is recorded in dragon lore as consisting of only a few individuals, but those few are all dead—of course, from natural causes. Therefore, she is the only remaining member of her retinue.

No... actually there is another family member, but their whereabouts are currently unknown.

Although Li doesn't receive much protection among the goddess's retinue, it doesn't mean she isn't noticed or loved by the goddess. It's just that she doesn't quite understand what the goddess wants to do right now.

Personally, Rielfa simply found it very interesting; it was the first time a goddess had chosen a monster as her familiar—something unprecedented. If the kingdom's church only knew about this, they'd probably be furious. But her real thought was that she wanted to see a new world.

Li's existence is special; she is an otherworldly treasure chest monster, an unprecedented race, and there is only one of her. She is a visitor from another world to this world.

The hero is also a visitor from another world, but he's rather single-minded, obsessed with divine justice, punishing evil, and destroying the world... oops. In short, he's a bit difficult to communicate with.

Unlike heroes, she wasn't burdened by anything; instead, she was unburdened, free to do as she pleased. Her existence had already changed this labyrinth, and perhaps it would change the world.

For example, Rie's knowledge comes from another world. After the slime became familiar with her knowledge, the outrageous hydrogen bomb magic appeared. This slime is also an unprecedented existence. Raelfa is very curious about what great things she and the slime will do in the future.

Maybe... we can entrust our hopes to them...

"Leelfa?" Nao beckoned to her. "Did you hear what I said? You seem to be spacing out. What's wrong?"

"No, nothing, I was just lamenting how much the world has changed," Rielfa said, half-jokingly, then looked at Nao with a resentful expression.

"Are you really alright?"

Nao brushed aside Lelfa's bangs and pressed her forehead against hers, feeling her body temperature. Lelfa, who was fine before, was startled by this action. Not daring to leave, she looked at Nao's face up close, making her heart race and her face burn.

"It's very hot! Are you really okay?"

Nao, completely oblivious to anything amiss, innocently asked Raelfa if it was related. Of course it was, you clearly… sigh…

Why is this happening?

Chapter 4 The Various Forces in Turmoil

“…………zzzzzz”

"Lord Demon King? Lord Demon King?"

"...? Hmm. Ah... I'm listening, please continue..."

"I can't tell at all that you're listening..."

"Isn't that Silena...?"

"If you can listen to it, then go listen properly, you bastard Xuanze?!"

The Demon King's castle, the Demon King's office, is almost unrecognizable now, with parchment piled up everywhere, containing documents that haven't been processed yet.

However, upon closer inspection, a bed could still be found in the corner, though it had been buried under parchment. Amidst this chaotic mountain of parchment, Silena painstakingly cleared a space for the Demon King and his subjects to communicate.

But Xuanze wasn't listening at all...

"Demon King? Wouldn't you rather take a rest?"

Aye, one of the Demon King's subjects and the current leader of the vampire clan, is a pure-blooded vampire with long, light blue hair tied in twin ponytails. She wears a white dress, and if it weren't for her eye color and wings, probably no one would guess she's a vampire. Don't let her teenage appearance and good figure fool you; she's actually… emmm, best not to say, it's a rather dangerous question.

"...Hmm? Ah...I wish I could...but Sleina won't let me sleep..."

"Who wouldn't let you sleep?! You brought this on yourself, okay?!"

The fairy Serena, the Demon King's...pet, right? A little fairy who guards the Demon King every day, the Demon King's confidante. As for the origin of this fairy, it is said that the Demon King snatched her back from the humans, probably to vent some indescribable emotions.

"I'm listening to the narration?! Do you want to die?!" Sleina yelled at the empty air.

"...Hiss~~ Serena, what are you yelling about over there...?"

Because Serena was hovering right next to Xuanze's ear, her roar had a tremendous effect on him, causing him severe ear pain, as if his eardrums were about to burst.

Xuanze had no idea what Serena was yelling at, and his barrier wasn't reacting either. There were only the three of them here: him, Aye, and Serena.

However, being yelled at like that really woke him up, even though it was because his eardrum had been damaged by Serena.

"Damn it... my ears hurt so much..." Xuanze covered his ears, hoping it would feel better. "I feel a little dizzy..."

"Ah... I'm sorry!"

Serena hurriedly flew onto his shoulder and used magic to heal him.

Watching this scene, Aye couldn't help but smile. She really envied the two of them. As an elder, she should take good care of them. She really wanted to show those old geezers in the clan this.

"By the way, Aye, what were you going to say just now? Say it again, I wasn't fully awake just now." Xuanze picked up a piece of parchment and started working on it.

“I think the Demon Lord must know about the Corridor of Time, right?” Aye said. “Not long ago, a strategic-level magic explosion occurred there, but the magical power involved was not the same as that used in a strategic-level magic attack…”

"It consumes less mana than a typical strategic-level spell, right?" Xuanze looked up. "Of course I know that. That thing isn't from this world."

"Could it be... magic left behind by a hero from the past?" Aye's question was indeed reasonable.

With no heroes left in the kingdom, the only way to use this magic, relying on the power of heroes, is through something left behind by them. However, Aye doesn't believe that the heroes of the past could have left them anything, except for the Holy Sword.

Besides this, there is another duchy, but the duchy has no intention of fighting the demons, at least not now.

“Do you think there’s anything in that labyrinth that would warrant someone using strategic-level magic to bombard it? Impossible.” Xuanze rejected her idea. “The only possibility is the master of the Time Corridor, the Time Dragon King, Raelfa Elie. But this Dragon King usually doesn’t do anything; in fact, it’s as if she’s disappeared, so we can rule her out as well.”

“So, I would like to ask for your permission to go over there to investigate.” Aye got to the point; her purpose was to go out for a trip.

"Fine, but why are you asking me?" Xuanze asked matter-of-factly. "According to your usual style, shouldn't you do it first and then talk about it?... Ah, it flew away..."

Having just received permission, Aye had already flown far away in one breath, leaving Xuanze somewhat confused about what the guy was up to. In any case, he had been thinking about investigating the labyrinth sometime soon, because something intriguing had appeared there, but…

Xuanze glanced at the mountain of documents piled up in the room and sighed...

When will this work ever be finished...?

I wonder if the summoned hero will get involved in this... I need to deal with that hero quickly.

※※※

"That magic was truly amazing..." Xia Que exclaimed as she sat on the rooftop, looking at Shuangyue. "The power of that explosion is almost comparable to Earth's weapons..."

She has no idea just how terrifying this magic is for the people of this world; the entire Kingdom of Alyas is currently gripped by panic. The power of this magic is already at the level of strategic magic.

To use an analogy from Earth, if a nuclear bomb were to suddenly explode in a certain country, would other countries just sit idly by?

So far, the war in this world has only been against the Demon King's territory, and there have been battles with the labyrinth, which is something I've never heard of before.

Moreover, the labyrinth is not located at the border between the human and demon territories. So, how could a battle take place there? Why would strategic-level magic appear there?

The appearance of this magic has caused quite a stir in the city, while the royal family seems to have remained completely silent. When asked about it back then, Hao Er said that it was better that it wasn't happening now, and he hoped it wouldn't happen in the future either.

Why do you keep coming here?

"Wowaaaaaaaa?!"

Hale suddenly appeared behind me again. This time I was startled, but not so much that I almost fell. Why does Hale always walk so silently?

"It's time to go." Hao'er pulled her up.

"Huh?" Xia Que looked at him blankly.

"I was summoned by the king."

Although Hao Er spoke casually, the expression on his face was terrifying. Xia Que had spent so much time with him, and although he was a stoic man, she could already see some subtle changes in him.

Whenever Hao'er's expression turns like this, something troublesome is bound to happen, and this time, even the brave Xia Que has to be mobilized.

After leaving the church, Hao'er immediately took Xia Que and boarded the carriage that had been prepared in advance, heading at full speed towards the royal city.

Upon arriving at the royal city, after disembarking from the carriage, Hao'er led Xia Que quickly into the heart of the city. No one stopped them along the way, for they already knew the brave Xia Que well.

However, every time they encountered a nobleman, they had to stop and exchange pleasantries. These noblemen and their servants all cast expectant glances at Xia Que, which made Xia Que feel somewhat uncomfortable, because not long ago, their gazes towards her had been barbed.

"If only Alice were here," Xia Que thought, but Alice wouldn't come here; she probably wouldn't want to see the king.

Finally, Hao Er stopped in front of the audience hall. He thought for a moment, then turned around to look at Xia Que, scrutinizing her carefully from head to toe.

"W-what's wrong?" Xia Que asked hesitantly.

"Don't blush," Hao said expressionlessly. "I'll help you tidy up."

"Eh?"

Hao'er reached out to help her fix her hair, which had probably been messed up by the wind on the roof. Her clothes were also messed up; she probably wasn't used to them yet and hadn't dressed properly. Hao'er fixed everything for her.

"Don't be nervous when you meet the king, you won't be made to face any difficulties," he reminded Xia Que. "Come on, you should walk in front of me, and I will follow behind you."

"Um……"

Xia Que placed her hand on the door. She was very nervous. Hao Er's words had not been ineffective. If it were any other time, she would have run away by now.

Calm down, Xia Que... you are a hero...

She used the word "hero" to numb herself, then pushed open the door and silently walked in. She had been here before; it was still the same as last time. Several knights lined both sides of the red carpet, and at the end of the red carpet, on the marble steps, stood the majestic King—Serik Aryas.

The bloated and short Prime Minister Varos stood to the side and behind Serik, smiling as he looked at Xia Que and Hao Er. To be honest, Xia Que couldn't help but want to run away after seeing the Prime Minister.

“Welcome, Brave Summer Sparrow.” Seric stood up. “How has life been at the church?”

“Thanks to you, it’s very good.” Xia Que used the phrases Alice had taught her. “Your Majesty, you don’t look well? Has something happened?”

“To be honest,” Serik frowned, “my prince, Pelle, died in the labyrinth. Varos.”

"exist."

Varos, who was standing behind, came over carrying something wrapped in cloth. He removed the cloth, and what was wrapped in the cloth was a gray gemstone.

“Brave Warrior, this is the life crystal connected to Prince Peller’s life, capable of reflecting Prince Peller’s vital condition in real time.” Varos presented it to Xia Que. “As you can see, it has turned gray.”

The crystal is normally red; when it turns gray, it means the linker is dead.

Hao'er's whisper came from behind, and Xia Que finally understood how to react.

“I see… May the departed rest in peace.” Xia Que pretended to pray for Peller.

“My son Peller died in the labyrinth, supposedly at the hands of its master,” Serik said sorrowfully. “I never imagined it would turn out this way. The master of the labyrinth is the Dragon King, a group of unpredictable monsters who do whatever they please. To prevent further victims like Peller, I have decided to destroy the labyrinth.”

“Indeed, it would be very dangerous if left unchecked.” Xia Que nodded.

“So…” Seric changed the subject, “Your Highness, please lend us your power?”