"Today, the Stellar Sword Saint announced her withdrawal from the Hero Association and will no longer act as a hero from now on..."
"The United Government maintains a restrained attitude regarding the provocations of the Elf Empire..."
"A member of the United Parliament has proposed a motion requiring the actions of professional heroes to be subject to the supervision of the United Government..."
The television was broadcasting incredibly boring news, the noisy chirping of cicadas drifted in from outside the window, the air conditioner hanging on the wall continuously pumped cold air into the room, and the clattering sound of keyboard typing echoed in the small room.
A black-haired girl wearing pink cat-ear headphones sat in a gaming chair that was quite large for her frame, focusing intently on controlling the character on the screen.
She was only wearing a T-shirt with a cute girl printed on it, her snow-white arms and thighs completely exposed to the air, her beautiful obsidian-like eyes fixed intently on the sliver of health bar remaining above the enemy's head; anyone who didn't know better would think she was fighting some monster to the death.
"Damn it!" As the character's health bar hit zero, the girl ripped off her headphones and slammed them hard onto the table, "Finally won!"
She had spent ten whole days preparing for this victory.
"Your Majesty, please keep it down, and... show some restraint." The closed door opened, and a maid poked her head in from outside.
The maid was very beautiful; her top-tier appearance, which could rival any big star, combined with the revealing maid outfit that should only appear in anime, gave her an air of unique allure.
But the maid's expression was not good.
Seeing the room, which she had just tidied up only half a day ago, already messy again, and the girl who refused to dress properly no matter how many times she told her, the maid sighed softly.
The clothes on the girl were clearly a size too big, which caused her right shoulder to be completely exposed, and looking inward along the shoulder, the maid shook her head again.
Still refusing to wear underwear underneath?
"Don't worry, Luna, the only people in this building are us and the little girl upstairs, and at this time of day, that little girl is still at school." The black-haired girl said with an indifferent look, and as she spoke, she stuck out her tongue and licked the corner of her mouth, where a small crumb of potato chip had just been stuck.
Cute, lazy, sloppy; this was the first impression this girl gave people.
To describe it more appropriately, she was... a very pretty internet-addicted girl.
The news anchor on TV was still deadpanning news that meant nothing to the average citizen; honestly, in this day and age, there are very few people left who still watch news channels.
"Demon Empress Leticia Inferno remains out of contact, and the United Government has expressed deep concern regarding this."
"Tch, a weasel paying respects to a chicken." The girl curled her lip disdainfully.
"By the way, Your Majesty, have you heard the news about the Stellar Sword Saint resigning?" The maid named Luna consciously ignored the girl's previous comment.
"Resigning, huh? If she's resigning, let her resign... Wait, who resigned?!" The girl's voice suddenly rose.
If she hadn't misheard, that Stellar Sword Saint had resigned?
Really?
"You heard correctly, that Stellar Sword Saint has resigned; she will no longer act as a hero." Luna repeated the news she had just seen very seriously.
The girl didn't speak, but instead reached out and pinched her own waist hard.
"Ow!" That hurt!
"Your Majesty, what are you doing?" Luna hurriedly ran to the girl's side and handed her a tissue.
Taking the tissue handed over by the maid, the girl hissed in pain while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, "It's nothing, I just wanted to confirm that I wasn't dreaming."
That Sword Saint actually retired without a word? Could something have happened?
Otherwise, with that person's level of abnormality, how could she possibly retire at a time like this?
Don't even suggest it's because of internal power struggles among humans forcing her to leave; those lies might fool ordinary people, but try to fool her? Impossible.
"The Guardian God of humanity, the ruthless slaughter machine, the cold-faced god of death... she actually retired." A trace of melancholy entered the girl's voice.
"This should be good news, for us demons." Luna didn't understand why Her Majesty would show such an expression; clearly, the relationship between the Sword Saint and Her Majesty was very bad.
Yes, this girl was the protagonist of one of the news items just on TV, the Empress of the Demon Race, Leticia Inferno.
"Neither good nor bad." The girl shook her head. The Sword Saint had only retired, but she was still alive. As long as she was alive, she was a bargaining chip that no other race could ignore, one capable of changing the entire balance of power.
"Sigh, why care so much? I've already been kicked out anyway."
"If Your Majesty is willing, you can return to the Imperial City at any time; I don't think Her Highness and the others would oppose your return." Luna lowered her head, her expression complex.
Leticia did not go missing voluntarily; she was forced to leave because the then-Princess and the Four Heavenly Kings had staged a coup, which had always been the root of Luna's frustration.
When faced with the rebellion, her Majesty had actually taken her and left without a word.
She could have easily suppressed the rebels, but Leticia refused to do so.
"Forget it, forget it, why go back? The Demon Realm isn't as fun as the Human Realm." Leticia shook her head as usual. Having spent so long in the human world, she had become a second Liu Shan, perfectly embodying the idiom "too happy to think of home."
Look at her now: sloppy, with faint dark circles under her eyes, not even leaving the house once a month, she had completely become a social reject.
Who could have imagined that such a girl was once a monarch?
The empress who danced gracefully on the battlefield in a black dress had completely disappeared into the river of time; what remained in this world now was just an ordinary shut-in named Leticia.
"Is the Sword Saint really that strong?"
If not for that battle, Her Majesty should still be as noble and inviolable as before. Luna didn't know what happened that day; all witnesses had been left on that wasteland.
She only knew that Her Majesty was in a sorry state that day; the beautiful longsword, designed by Her Majesty herself and forged by the best craftsmen of the Demon Race, had been cut in half, Her Majesty's right hand hung limply at her side, and the dress she was wearing was so tattered it could barely cover her body.
The moment she saw Luna and her younger sister, Leticia collapsed; her body had reached its limit.
"Her strength has surpassed the limits of humanity." Leticia's expression was not good; recalling that battle, her heart was filled with endless helplessness.
"Enough said... there's a little guest outside the door, Luna, go open it."