Chapter 138: Sweet day (3)

That evening, upon returning to her room, Sion walked sluggishly without a word and stood in front of the full-length mirror.

She gazed at her reflection and began striking various poses, almost like a model.

Watching from behind, Exia asked in a baffled tone.

-“What are you doing, Sion? Suddenly putting on a whole performance in front of the mirror?”

“……”

At Exia’s question, Sion froze and fell silent for a moment, as if contemplating how to respond.

After a brief pause, she slowly opened her mouth.

“Exia.”

-“Yeah?”

“Would you say I’m… reasonably pretty? What do you think?”

-“???”

Upon hearing that, Exia’s mind was instantly filled with question marks.

What? Has she finally lost it?

-“Where is this nonsense coming from all of a sudden? Did you suddenly awaken as a narcissist? An explosion of self-love?”

“It’s the opposite. Until yesterday, I was confident, but today, that belief has been challenged.”

Sion spoke with an unusually serious expression.

“I hate to say this myself, but I genuinely believed I was quite popular.

I mean, isn’t this a flawless, perfect appearance? It’s so divine and beautiful that one could believe the goddess Lafrey personally sculpted and sent me down from the heavens.

On top of that, my outward behavior is beyond reproach—model conduct, selfless and noble.

So naturally, unless someone was consumed by jealousy, they would have no choice but to admire me. That’s what I thought.”

And yet…”

Sion narrowed her eyes and glared at her reflection in the mirror.

“Then why… am I the only one who received zero cookies from any guys?”

-“WHAT?????”

Exia blurted out in utter disbelief, her brain now spiraling even more than before.

What the hell is she even talking about?

-“Wait, Sion. Have you lost your mind? Why would a guy even care about something like that?

Don’t tell me… have you been in this body for so long that even your mind has started turning female? Huh?”

“As if! What do you take me for?”

Sion clicked her tongue in irritation.

“Regardless of how other males see me, I have no intention of ever marrying a man. That is an unshakable, eternal truth.”

-“Then why are you even concerned about how many cookies you got? If you’re not interested in romance, you can just ignore it.”

“You fool, that’s not the problem!”

Sion snapped, clearly frustrated.

“The issue is that there’s a huge gap between the way I perceive my public image and how it’s actually being received!

This face should be undeniably attractive to men!

Unless every man in modern society has collectively gone blind, it only makes sense that they would find me appealing!

And yet, not a single one has approached me—that means there’s some critical flaw in the public persona I’ve been projecting!”

-“Oh…”

At that moment, Exia finally started to grasp what Sion was getting at.

-“So basically, you’re saying that there’s a possibility your reputation has taken a major nosedive due to some factor you haven’t noticed yet?”

“You finally understand. That’s exactly it.”

Sion slumped onto the edge of the bed, biting her lip with a troubled expression.

“You may not realize this, but there is a massive difference between being beloved by the people and being ignored.

As long as someone enjoys widespread popularity, even their minor mistakes will be overlooked.

Their followers will defend them no matter what.

But once that popularity fades, that shield disappears.

Even the smallest slip-up will invite harsh criticism, and at any moment, they could be dragged down from their throne over the tiniest excuse.

And in my case, since I’m disguising myself as a hero while secretly being the Demon King, I’m already in a precarious position.

If I make even one wrong move, someone could catch on.

So this situation is far more dangerous than you realize. Do you understand now?”

-“Oh, come on, isn’t that a bit extreme—”

“No, if you don’t know what you’re talking about, just stay quiet.

Everything I just said comes from experience.”

Sion declared with absolute seriousness.

In truth, back when she ruled as the Demon King, Sion was more mindful of her reputation among her subordinates than anyone else.

After all, no matter how powerful a Demon King might be, she couldn’t single-handedly defeat the entirety of the demon race.

This was especially true when it came to the Legion Commanders—formidable warriors she had personally selected with great care.

If even three of them conspired against her and launched a surprise attack, not even the great Sien would be able to fend them off easily.

And given that demons were inherently untrustworthy creatures with no concept of loyalty, she had to always consider that possibility.

That was why Sion constantly made sure to conduct herself in a way that positioned her as a ruler just slightly better than any potential replacement.

She studied the long history of demon world coups, analyzing their causes and identifying the mistakes that led past rulers to ruin.

She made sure never to commit the errors that would provoke resentment from her subordinates, instead taking inspiration only from the long-reigning Demon Kings.

She was always careful—extremely careful—to ensure that while her followers feared her, they did not perceive her rule as unjust.

Her obsession with public reputation, even now, was deeply rooted in these past experiences.

She had learned firsthand that sheer power alone was not enough to maintain authority; popularity was just as crucial for survival.

And while there were significant emotional differences between humans and demons, she knew that fundamental truths like this remained the same.

That was the biggest reason why she saw her current predicament as a crisis.

“If everyone else also received zero cookies, I wouldn’t be as concerned. But even that gloomy shut-in Marianne got two, didn’t she?!”

There had to be a reason. Some factor she had overlooked…!

Sion anxiously chewed on her nails, lost in thought.

To clarify for the sake of her dignity—Sion was not unpopular among men. In fact, the truth was quite the opposite.

Among the first-year boys, there were very few who hadn’t entertained certain thoughts about her.

In the privacy of the male dorms, Hero Sion was the undisputed cause of countless wasted tissues.

If—though such a thing would never happen—she were to seriously confess to someone, even if that person were from the rival nation of Espera, they would accept without hesitation, in less than a second.

That was how incredibly popular she was among the male student body.

So then, why had she received zero cookies?

The answer boiled down to two key reasons.

The first was that Sion was simply too perfect—like a flower blooming on an unreachable cliff.

Her sheer power surpassed human limits.

Her beauty was otherworldly, as if an angel had merely been stripped of its wings.

And her every action was so graceful and righteous that no ordinary man dared to even imagine standing beside her.

Among not only the first-years but the entire student body of Anatolia, not a single male student truly believed he was worthy of being her equal.

The sheer gap in existence was overwhelming.

Of course, if that were the only issue, she might have received fewer cookies, but not zero.

After all, there were always bold men in the world willing to take their chances.

However, whenever such individuals stealthily slipped a love letter under Sion’s desk after school, it wouldn’t take long before the Shadow Order of Sion would emerge and tear the letter to shreds.

Their leader, in particular—one Pingcheng—was especially terrifying.

She didn’t just block advances toward Sion. She went a step further, systematically eradicating them before they could even bloom.

If one were to gather all the poor souls who had met tragic ends at her hands, they could probably be arranged into military formations.

Of course, Sion was unaware of these behind-the-scenes operations.

No matter how capable she was, she couldn’t possibly keep track of events beyond her sight.

All she did know was that she had received zero cookies.

And that single piece of information filled her with an overwhelming sense of crisis.

“This won’t do.”

Sion muttered in a solemn tone.

“I can’t just sit back and let this happen. Drastic measures must be taken.”

-“What… exactly are you planning to do now?”

Exia asked warily.

Whenever Sion made statements like this, the results were almost always absurd.

And Exia, having learned this the hard way, couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

But whether she noticed her partner’s growing concern or not, Sion responded with utmost seriousness.

“First, I need to analyze why I’m not as popular among men as I should be. And then—”

-“Then?”

Sion stared at her reflection in the mirror once more.

Then, with unwavering determination, she declared:

“I will execute my plan. A plan to restore my popularity to the heavens!”

A fierce fire of resolve blazed in her crimson eyes.