The Hero Who Became a Monster Girl Will Never Fall to Evil

“D-Don’t kill me!”

Hu Xiaoqi was terrified. The soft white fur on her fox ears stood straight up. Just as Vieya tensed, thinking she was about to make a move, the girl instead fainted on the spot like a dumb rabbit that had run headfirst into a tree stump.

The white-furred fox collapsed onto the floor, her nine large tails drooping weakly behind her, trembling faintly.

“......”

Is every villain like this?

Or is she just pretending?

Vieya wasn’t sure. She didn’t even feel like taking advantage of the moment to draw her sword and stab a few times. She only thought that if all villains were like ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) this, then world peace might not be far away.

Could it be that this fox really is just a poor little thing dragged here to act as a stand-in?

“Hey, little fox. I’m not going to kill you.”

Vieya crouched down in front of the white-furred fox, curiosity flickering in her eyes. She reached out and flicked the fox’s furry ear with her finger.

Snap!

“......”

Hu Xiaoqi sat up, clutching her ear. She stared blankly at Vieya across from her, scarlet eyes welling with tears. Her small lips trembled, and then she sat back down on her knees and started to cry pitifully.

Oh heavens, this fox girl was beyond saving.

Watching the white-furred fox sitting there crying louder and louder, her voice growing more miserable by the second, Vieya’s expression went blank as she muttered to herself,

“I actually suspected this thing was a hidden boss just now. Looking at her now, she’s not even as clever as the dumb cat I used to raise... Whoever thought up the idea of putting this thing in charge of guarding anything, their boss must have hired a fraud as a strategist...”

But still—

There was no extra time to let Hu Xiaoqi cry.

Vieya stood up, one hand on her hip, glancing around the enormous theater hall. She had to admit, whoever built this place must have paid a tremendous price.

All sorts of facilities were complete; hundreds of windows lined up neatly; red silk ribbons tied across gilded railings that swayed without wind; every guest room lit brightly.

Unfortunately—

This enormous theater didn’t hold a single trace of living breath.

If not for the little fox crying on the floor, Vieya would’ve thought she had wandered onto the set of a horror movie.

“Little fox, stop crying.”

“Uuuhhh...”

“I told you to stop crying. Are your ears deaf?!”

“Uuuh...”

“If you keep crying, I’ll really hit you!” Vieya raised her fist, her tone full of threat and authority.

“...”

Hu Xiaoqi was terrified. Her nose twitched, her painted lower eyelids blurred by tears until the red makeup smeared.

Finally, it ended.

Vieya sighed in relief. This crybaby, seriously... She swore she had lived this long and had never met such a useless, sobbing creature before.

After a moment of silence—

Hu Xiaoqi’s courage returned bit by bit. As though remembering her task, she asked hesitantly,

“G-Guest... are you hungry? This humble one has fresh food... and juice...”

“Forget it, I’m not hungry.”

Vieya glanced at the white-furred fox and shook her head.

Her teammates were still outside, fighting life-and-death battles against unknown enemies and dangers.

And yet here she was, not only failing to find Flaviel, but getting herself trapped inside this strange theater.

Talk about losing both the wife and the army.

But come to think of it—

If that little fox hadn’t lied just now, why did the mastermind only plan to trap her here?

Even going so far as to leave a fox girl behind to keep her entertained?

Thinking about it that way, their leader was actually... kind of considerate.

Uh, though maybe not human.

“Right, little fox. You said I have to stay here how many days before I can leave?” Vieya asked.

“Of course, the longer the better.”

“Say that again?!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

Hu Xiaoqi’s knees buckled, and she dropped to the floor with a slap. “This humble one heard they’re preparing to break the space-time barrier around Mount Aisa Town. It might take one or two days...”

“So what you’re saying is... your leader doesn’t plan to rob me? They’re actually kindly planning to send me home?” Vieya found it unbelievable. Her past experience told her there was no such thing as a free pie falling from the sky.

And even if one did land in her hand, it was guaranteed to be poisoned—maybe not enough to kill her, but enough to take away ninety-eight percent of what she valued in life besides her actual life.

“......”

Hu Xiaoqi said nothing, but the bundle of tails behind her began to sway happily.

Apparently, she was admitting it: Yes, we’re sending you home.

A fox was still part of the canine family, right?

Vieya thought for a moment. “Does your leader know me?”

Hu Xiaoqi shook her head. “This humble one doesn’t know. But this humble one is ordered to ensure that the new Swordmaster spends these days happily here.”

“I can’t possibly be happy... You should be familiar with this place, right? Then tell me about it. Maybe I can find an exit, and along the way, free your brothers and sisters you mentioned.” Vieya said. “Also, can you stand up and talk to me?”

“......”

Hu Xiaoqi stayed silent for quite a while before finally standing up slowly. But she kept her head bowed, never looking at Vieya.

“Guest, did this humble one do something wrong that displeased you? Could you tell this humble one... so that I may correct it?”

“I have no issue with you.”

Vieya tapped the armrest of a chair, producing a tock tock tock sound, and said firmly,

“I need to leave. I’m the same as you—you have your precious brothers and sisters; I have my dear family and friends. They’re waiting for me.”

“Just imagine—if you were forced to be separated from your siblings, while they waited day and night to see you again, and on top of that, they were facing danger...”

“At that time, could you really lie around in a safe zone eating and drinking, chatting happily?”

“This humble one... can’t quite understand the guest’s lofty reasoning...”

Hu Xiaoqi looked troubled for a while, then gave Vieya a soft, charming smile. “...But this humble one can understand how the guest feels right now.”

“As long as you understand...”

Vieya was about to continue, but Hu Xiaoqi interrupted her, “But I’m sorry—even so, this humble one still cannot allow you to leave early...”

“However, this humble one can report your concern to the leader. Perhaps the leader can resolve it...”

“Resolve it? You’re too naïve!” Vieya was getting irritated. She suspected the enemy had studied Sun Bin’s horse-racing strategy—sending this stupid, crybaby fox precisely to counter her!

“Guest...” Hu Xiaoqi looked at her worriedly. “Excessive emotional fluctuation can be harmful to one’s health. There’s a rest area here to relax. Why don’t you come rest a while with this humble one?”

“If it’s too boring, this humble one also knows many kinds of dances for your entertainment,” Hu Xiaoqi said softly. Just like when they first met, her scarlet eyes held no hostility at all.

She only kept trying to offer comfort, as if desperate to soothe Vieya’s mood—to make her truly set aside all worry and sorrow, and devote herself to this not-so-pleasant yet fleeting encounter.

Vieya had never thought being a Hero was a happy thing—especially now, even after retiring, no longer a Hero.

Those experiences had already seeped into her bones long ago.

Even during the early days of becoming a slime girl, she would often tell herself:

This world has nothing to do with me anymore. Let it be. Whether it’s destroyed, whether human civilization is crushed by the demons—it has nothing to do with me.

And yet, whenever something unfortunate happened before her eyes, she could never control her hands or her feet.

Just like now—she couldn’t bring herself to harm a harmless, kind-eyed, underage fox girl who was simply trying to care for her.

“Little fox.”

Vieya suddenly called out to Hu Xiaoqi, who was busily preparing food and pastries.

“Mm? Did the guest call for this humble one? Please wait a moment if you’d like tea—these pastries will be ready soon.”

As she spoke, the little fox swayed the tea cakes and teapot in her hands.