"Yes."
In response to Fíliya's follow-up question, Sani calmly nodded.
Fíliya then wrote in her notebook.
"Through friendly exchange with the Demon Race, the following intelligence was obtained: The Demon Race does not hunt humans out of a necessity for survival; it is currently hypothesized that they classify humans as both a 'tonic' and a 'delicacy'."
"Then, for the second question, does the Demon Race have any preferences when eating humans? For instance, a preference for won, or for children."
Fíliya continued to ask.
"...No. I can't feel any difference in how humans taste."
"Oh? But just now, I distinctly heard that male demon say that humans driven mad or witless by fear taste worse. How do you explain that?"
Fíliya stared at Sani's face with suspicion.
"I don't know. Perhaps his senses are different from mine."
Sani's reply was calm, or perhaps it's more accurate to say that the emotions of the Demon Race are inherently stable.
Fíliya silently nodded at Sani's answer, then continued writing in her notebook.
"Correction: Individual differences among the Demon Race are greater than anticipated. This is an area worth paying more attention to in the future."
Then, she looked at Sani again.
"Third question: What is your opinion of humans?"
"Food."
This ti, Sani's answer was swift.
"That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking what impression or evaluation you have of the 'human' race."
"...Weak, short-lived, and foolish."
"Oh? Regarding the foolishness, please elaborate."
"...Once, I attacked two humans. I killed one of them with ease, but the one who died bought the other a chance to escape. The one who fled had already survived, yet for so reason, they suddenly turned back... shouting sothing about 'revenge' and 'monster'."
"Naturally, he imdiately beca my second al. Therefore, I sincerely believe that this human behavior of willingly walking to their deaths is exceptionally foolish."
Hmm?
This ti, it was Sani's turn to be confused. Fíliya wasn't asking her another question with that sa beaming smile; instead, she was silently jotting down more words in her notebook.
Fíliya's research continued. Although she had made several discoveries that delighted her, it wasn't enough.
This demon was decent enough, but she was still a bit too weak. Fíliya couldn't get answers to more profound questions from this one.
She sincerely hoped for the chance to have a heart-to-heart talk with a great demon on the level of the Seven Sages of Destruction.
And as Fíliya looked at the system interface, where her emotion points had increased by less than 1,000, she felt both annoyed and delighted.
Annoyed, naturally, because she had talked with this demon for an entire day only to earn so few points.
And delighted because she had actually managed to get points from a demon. This ant she had successfully provoked an emotional fluctuation in one of them. Though the fluctuation was exceptionally faint, it was still the difference between 0 and 1.
As expected, there are no absolutes in the world of magic, Fíliya thought. Who said the Demon Race is 'absolutely' incapable of any emotion? These extra 1,000 points are the best refutation.
Ti passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, evening had arrived.
"It's about ti to wrap this up... It's getting late."
Fíliya glanced up at the sky, then continued.
"Question seventy-four: Miss Sani, are you afraid of death?"
...In response to this question, Sani just blinked dryly, her expression one of utter confusion.
"Oh? You can't comprehend the phrase 'afraid of death'?"
Sani nodded.
"Now that's strange. You clearly attempted to flee and save yourself. Isn't that proof that you want to live? And wanting to live... should correspond to being afraid of death... Could it be?"
Fíliya frowned slightly, lost in thought, and finally wrote in her notebook.
[Hypothesis: The Demon Race will instinctively attempt any action that favors survival, but they hold no fear of death itself. Before death arrives, they will struggle to survive at all costs, but when death cos, they won't feel much of anything... In this respect, they are indeed like beasts acting on pure instinct.]
"Alright, Miss Sani, thank you for your support and cooperation with my research."
Fíliya said with a light chuckle.
And Sani finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Can I finally get away from this madwoman... she thought, subconsciously standing up.
Just as she was preparing to use Flight Magic to leave, Fíliya suddenly called out to her.
"Oh? Miss Sani, where are you planning to go?"
Fíliya clasped her hands behind her back, her legs crossed as she lightly stood on her tiptoes like the girl next door.
Sani's heart felt as if it had skipped a beat. That feeling of being coiled by a venomous snake surged up from the depths of her soul once more.
"You... didn't you say... that if I cooperated, you would let go?"
Sani looked at Fíliya, completely bewildered.
"Oh, that... Of course I was lying. No matter what, you have to die here today."
Fíliya said with a beaming smile.
"But you promised..."
Fíliya cut Sani off before she could finish.
"Oh? Now this is interesting. Miss Sani, when you are eating, do you ever show great rcy and spare your food? Ask your own heart. Does such a 'kind' promise exist in this world, especially for a mber of the Demon Race like yourself, Miss Sani?"
"But you said you were... a Demon Race enthusiast..."
The female demon nad Sani seed to be trying to make a final struggle.
"Mm, I wasn't lying about that, you know. Look, if you were to grab 100 people in this world and interview them, 101 would express their desire to slaughter every last mber of the Demon Race without a mont's hesitation, right? But I don't see it that way. Complete extermination is a bit too extre. In my ideal world, it would be quite nice to kill the Demon Race until only a few dozen are left, then establish a sanctuary to keep them for my amusent. A person like —can I not be considered a 'Demon Race enthusiast'?"
Madwoman... Although she had long since realized the human before her was a lunatic, Fíliya's words were still too piercing for Sani's nerves.
And so, she could no longer maintain her usual composure.
The female demon nad Sani began to charge forward recklessly, activating her Flight Magic, trying to escape from this madwoman at top speed.
"Hmph. Trying to escape?"
Fíliya seed to have been prepared for this. She stretched out her right hand and made a grabbing motion in the direction Sani was flying.
Sani's body shot straight back as if ti were reversing, and she was caught by the throat in Fíliya's grip.
Sani was completely unable to comprehend her current situation, so Miss Fíliya kindly explained it to her.
"'Magic to Fetch Objects from Afar' is a type of folk magic from a thousand years ago, you know. Of course, I've made so slight modifications."
To Miss Fíliya, the 'folk magic' of this world was truly fascinating. Although most 'folk magic' was created for convenience in daily life and possessed no direct combat ability, the complexity and ingenuity of these seemingly ordinary spells could rival that of large-scale offensive magic.
Every ti she deconstructed and improved a folk magic spell, it was an imnse enjoynt for Fíliya herself.
...
Watching Miss Sani's expression shift from shock and struggle to despair, Miss Fíliya delivered the finishing blow at just the right mont.
"Now then, let think... What kind of death should I grant you, Miss Sani."
____
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