The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death

eir position of power, they would have to show the people that they were worthy of the position.
Thus, the human kings must have a lot of work on their plate.

Seeing that the lights in the King's Office were still on even though it was already midnight, Alice judged that Chris Hatter must still have a lot of unfinished work.
It was also probably the reason why he had chosen to meet her in the palace.
Otherwise, if it was only for the sake of verifying her identity as the Hero, Chris Hatter could've simply chosen to meet her in his house.

“Lady Alice has arrived, Your Majesty.”

While Alice pondered the differences between the human and demon realms, Luna knocked on the door and notified the king of their arrival.
A tired but surprisingly young voice of a man came through the doors:

“She's here? Have her come in, then.”

Alice had heard this voice on the internet before.
It was none other than the Gryffin Kingdom's king, Chris Hatter's, voice.

“Understood.”

Luna promptly extended her hands and opened the office doors.
Then, she took a step back and made way for Alice.
King Hatter's words did not include permission for her to enter.
So, since she was currently taking on a maid's duty, she naturally wouldn't enter the office.

After taking a glance at Luna, Alice stepped into the office.
Then, she closed the doors on her way in.
However, the instant her right hand came into contact with one of the office doors, a block of information immediately appeared in her mind.

…

[Weapon: Custom-made Manawood Door]

[Quality: Not Bad]

[Effect: Strength +5, Control +5]

[Additional Effect: Soundproof Barrier (Passive Skill.
The door has been processed using special mana and is capable of stopping all vibrations transmitted through the air to achieve sound insulation.)]

…

“…”

Alice's gaze stopped on the closed doors for a moment before she turned around to look at Chris Hatter.
However, she didn't get to see the Gryffin King immediately as a mountain of documents separated them.
Only after the king had carefully pushed the documents to the sides of his desk did Alice get to see Chris Hatter's appearance.

Meanwhile, just like the information Alice found on the internet, Chris Hatter was a relatively young-looking man.
At first glance, he looked to be a young man in his twenties.
However, his actual age was already in the forties.
His layered blonde hair also gave him an energetic look, which led to him having many fangirls on the internet.

However, unlike the pictures Alice had seen on the internet, the Chris Hatter in front of her had a significantly paler complexion.
His eyes were also void of spirit, looking like he was incredibly weak.
The difference was so stark that Alice had a difficult time connecting the person before her with the spirited lad she saw on the internet.

“You're finally here, Lord Hero.” The moment Alice stepped into the room, Chris immediately recognized her as the person in the photo Father Kasandora had sent him.
After letting out a sigh of relief, he said, “This room has been soundproofed, so you don't need to worry about getting eavesdropped here.
We can freely discuss matters that cannot be made known to others.”

Matters that could not be made known to others naturally referred to matters relating to the Hero.

Alice had seen the information on the doors, so she readily nodded to Chris Hatter's words.
Then, looking at the king's pale complexion, she asked in confusion, “I heard from Luna that you are troubled by illness.
Looking at you now, you indeed don't look as energetic as your pictures floating on the internet.”

“Troubled by illness… I guess you can say that.
At least for me, this is definitely an incurable heart disease,” Chris said, letting out a long sigh.

Then, under Alice's shocked gaze, he extended his right hand, and dark mist began seeping out of his hand.
The dark mist wasn't some special effect as Alice could sense the incredibly dense dark mana it carried.

“This isn't my power.
My main affinity is wind, while my supporting magic is mind magic.
As for this intense dark mana of unknown origins…” In a troubled voice, Chris slowly said, “I'm sure you can guess where it comes even if I don't say it, right, Lord Hero?”