The Siren King McMillan raised his long-stemmed glass as a gesture towards the Siren generals in the hall. The generals did not refuse his toast and drained their drinks in a single go. To blend in, Bella and the other girls pretended to do the same as well.
There was no rule which stipulated that one could not wear armor in the banquet hall. This meant that many others were dressed in full armor and thus no one suspected that Bella and her friends were imposters.
During the feast, Bella did not have much of an appetite. The food that the Ocean Demon King had gifted the Sirens seemed to be the human-food. She recalled that for a few dozen bronze coins, one would be able to buy a large amount of food like this within the various human empires. This Ocean Demon King was too shabby. Such food was typically used as a perfunctory gesture, how could she take something like that and give it as a gift to her subordinates?
Bella watched as the Siren generals around ate with gusto and began to suspect that this bunch of Siren had some taste issues. Otherwise, it would be an exaggerated act by the generals as they ate human food as though it were exotic delicacies.
The doors of the banquet hall were left open as these Siren banquets were typically rather casual. Every once in a while, someone would leave their seat and step outside. Using their secret signals, Bella gestured Kriss and the others before leaving the banquet, as though she had something on her mind.
As many Siren generals were moving in and out of the hall, no one paid much attention to Bella leaving the banquet. Lisha and the others remained inside and would play by ear to find an opportunity to leave as well. They had brought special communication tools along with them. Even if they were separated for a little while, they would still be able to swiftly track each other’s location.
After leaving the hall, Bella intended to look for the Siren King McMillan’s bedroom where Poseidon’s Trident was likely to be kept in. Earlier, she did not take any chances for McMillan to be alerted about the fact that someone was looking for the trident and thus did not try to hunt for any information during the banquet.
The Siren King McMillan’s bedroom was not difficult to find. Along the way, Bella simply had to ask a Siren general who was completely inebriated about the location of McMillan’s bedroom and she was immediately given directions.
“Loren… you punk, why are you strolling around here? Come, we’ll go back to the banquet and your old buddy here will drink… raise a toast to you.”
“Erm, buddy, do you know where the Siren King’s bedroom is? I have something I wish to give to him in secret.”
“Oc… Ocean King? You have guts, young punk. I would never expect you to learn from humans… it’s right over there. Loren, buddy – don’t be so eager to leave! Let’s have another drink… the Ocean Demon King does not accept any gifts.”
Bella was terrified that this sloppy drunk of a Siren general would vomit all over her at some point and wanted to leave as quickly as she could. It was so sloshed that he barely made any sense. Besides, the general did not hear her clearly either and had mistakenly heard the Siren King as the Ocean Demon King. In his inebriated mess, he had directed Bella to the Ocean Demon King Victoria’s room instead.
As Bella was in a rush, she could not hear what the Siren general had said at the end. If she had heard everything, she probably would not want to seek any trouble with Ocean Demon King, Victoria. As she had an unpleasant experience with Ockham – the Demon King of the Heart, she did not have the best impression of the original Twelve Demon Kings.
As Bella walked up to the entrance of the Siren King McMillan’s room, she found that the doors were left unlocked. After some hesitation, she made sure that the coast was clear before she slipped into the room.
There was a strange floral arrangement on the doors of the Siren King’s room. Even though that feminine decoration piqued her curiosity, she did not give it much thought as there could be a possibility that the Siren King had some unique interests.
With a soft thud, Bella opened the door right into someone walking out of the room. The other person was incredibly strong and had almost knocked her off her feet. It was not the first time that Bella had walked right into someone, but it was her first to nearly knock someone to the ground.
“Hey, you… what’s your problem? Don’t you know that you should knock before entering a room? I’ll smash your head in!”
The other party who had been knocked to the ground was a girl. She had long navy-blue hair and her eyes were an intriguing shade of blue. Bella had seen quite a few blue irises but this was the first time she had locked her eyes with a pair of blue eyes that were so bewitching.
As she looked at what the girl was wearing, Bella was internally screaming all sorts of profanity at the Siren general who had given her directions. There was a mark on her clothes that looked exactly like the one on Ockham’s clothes. Since Ockham was one of the Twelve Demon Kings, which meant that this girl was Victoria – the Ocean Demon King.
Initially, Bella was only slightly suspicious as the Ocean Demon King’s name was feminine, but she had never expected the Demon King to be a girl at all. Moreover, she was gorgeous. The vibe that Victoria gave off was a perfect cross between seduction and innocence. When she did not speak, she looked like a naive little girl.
Now, Victoria was staring at Bella with a furious expression on her face, obviously blaming her for knocking her to the ground. However, no matter how you look at it, her face of anger simply looked as though she was teasing and baiting you to do unspeakable things to her. Those bewitching blue irises were constantly giving “come hither” looks. Together with her stunning looks, she was a “deadly poison” to any weak-willed human.
“Honorable Ocean Demon King, my sincere apologies. I must have gotten the wrong room. I shall…”
“Stop right there, did I give you permission to leave?”
Bella turned to leave but was called back by the Ocean Demon King Victoria. A strong wave of mana swept over her and froze Bella in place. She did not even dare to move a muscle. Based on the strength of the mana, the Ocean Demon King Victoria was many times more powerful than the Demon King of the Heart, Ockham. Besides, her recovery time would be much faster as well.
“Honorable Ocean Demon King, this is a misunderstanding. I am… I mean, I’m here to present a gift.”
“A gift? I find how the human practice of gift-giving is deplorable. Do you have a death wish…”
“I do not mean anything like that. I am just passing by. Oh Honorable Ocean Demon King, please have mercy on me! I have a family of young and old who is dependent on me!”
“Come in then, if you do not wish to die.”
The Ocean Demon King Victoria was vastly different from the Sirens here as these Sirens could only differentiate gender based on a person’s appearance and not their voice. This was the main reason why Bella and the others did not get identified as imposters even if they spoke in a female’s voice.
However, there was nothing wrong with the Ocean Demon King Victoria’s hearing as she was not a Siren. Bella’s voice was feminine and there was no way that she could not hear that! Also, when they bumped into each other earlier, Victoria realized that the humanoid form of this Siren was female as well.
Up until this point, she had never met any Siren who chose to have a female humanoid form. Victoria could not help but feel curious. This came at the right time as she had something that she needed help with.
Furthermore, Victoria spoke in the Demon King’s tongue. In her anger, she forgot that no one would understand what she had said other than the Siren King McMillan. None of the other Sirens spoke the Demon King’s language.
Bella panicked and responded in the Demon King’s language. This time, she had gotten herself into so much trouble. When she realized what she had done, it was too late and Victoria already had the upper hand.
“You’re a girl, right? You can’t fool me with that voice. This is my first time meeting a female Siren. Come in, there is something that I need you to do. Furthermore, you do not have the authority to refuse. No one can refuse my requests unless it is another Demon King.”
“But I am… Yes, I understand, Honorable Demon King.”
“That’s more like it. What is your name?”
“Be… Belle.”
