(Hello, who is it? Don't you know this Demon Lord is reading manga!)
(Milim, it's me.)
(Eh? Draco?)
(Why do you have a ring of the demon lord? Have you become a Demon Lord?)
(No, you'll find out when the time comes. Hanging up.)
Beep beep beep... "He actually hung up on me! This guy, how irritating!"
Milim puffed out her cheeks and went back to flipping through her manga.
On the other side, Draco took off a magic ring and put on the ring of the demon lord.
"This thing is quite convenient. Thanks."
Guy waved his hand. "It's nothing. It'll be yours sooner or later anyway."
The two chatted for a few more moments, and then Draco left... A week had passed since the Holy Empire of Lubelius dispatched its troops.
As the Captain of the Temple Knights and one of the Ten Great Saints, Hinata Sakaguchi was leading the solemn and majestic Holy Knights toward the Kingdom of Ingracia.
According to the plan, tens of thousands of Temple Knights guarding the Western Nations would converge here, and finally, Hinata would lead them to attack the Monster Country.
However, halfway there, whether by coincidence or design, Hinata obtained a piece of intelligence from an Eastern Empire merchant.
"You all continue forward. We will meet at the destination."
Hinata gave the order to Sarei behind her with a cold expression and a flat tone.
"Hmm? Captain, has something happened?" Glenda asked, puzzled.
Hinata shook her head without much explanation, and riding her warhorse, she galloped toward the Kingdom of Ingracia.
Watching her captain's retreating back, Ritiss couldn't help but frown.
"Alas, these are troubled times!"
...Hinata thought of the news in the intelligence, her eyes narrowing slightly.
The murderous intent in her eyes gradually condensed, turning into a chilling light as sharp as frost!
According to the intelligence, her beloved teacher Shizue had died at the hands of a monster. The monster's name: Rimuru Tempest.
Unforgivable!
...Hinata Sakaguchi, the meaning of her name was "a place facing the sun."
Unfortunately, Hinata's experiences had no connection to the warm and peaceful sunlight.
She had an alcoholic father addicted to horse racing and a mother who abandoned everything to believe in a deity.
Born into such a family, Hinata's childhood was filled with gloom and darkness.
That creature known as "Father" would always shout, "This time I'll definitely win," then take all the family's savings, over and over again, eventually even racking up a mountain of debt.
Yet, the entire family had to pay the price for such disastrous consequences.
Under such pressure, that creature took his anger out on his family. Whether it was Hinata or her mother, they lived every day amidst beatings and curses.
Such days did not last long; her naturally weak mother, coaxed by certain people, hid herself away in religion and began to escape reality.
From then on, the beatings and curses were borne by the girl alone.
Growing up in this cold, loveless environment, the girl eventually became a heartless machine that saw no good or evil, acting solely based on self-interest.
An extremely cold realist.
The moment the girl ceased to have any expectations for this family, a terrifying thought emerged in her mind, born from the fear buried deep within her heart.
One day, that creature known as "Father" vanished into thin air.
Everything went exactly as the girl had calculated; the plan was logically rigorous and seamless, without a single flaw.
Even how to obtain the insurance money afterward had already been planned out.
She had intended to use this to lead her mother out of her grief, but her mother was already too deeply addicted to religion to be saved.
"It seems that the person who brought Mother into religion cannot be left alive either, and perhaps... even Mother..."
In the end, Hinata chose to give up, deciding to leave this broken family and head to school to escape this place.
Until the day she entered her first year of high school at the age of fifteen.
She was walking home alone as usual, but when she passed by a certain shrine, a sudden gust of wind blew. By the time Hinata opened her eyes again, a strange scene lay before her.
"Did I transmigrate...?"
The level-headed Hinata quickly analyzed her current situation.
She felt a sense of relief; she no longer had to carry that secret and live in pain.
"Here, I shouldn't have to kill anyone, right?"
Soon, this naive thought was crushed by reality, for several men appeared in her field of vision.
"Ho ho ho, isn't this a fresh, tender woman?"
"Looks like we're in luck."
"Before we sell her, it shouldn't be a problem to have a little taste, right!"
Looking at the three male creatures approaching her, in that instant, Hinata realized the truth.
"So, this new world is just as gloomy, ugly, and full of malice as the one back there..."
The next moment, Hinata looked at the three men spewing filth with cold eyes.
"I will plunder, and no one shall take anything from me!"
"Confirmation complete. Unique Skill "Usurper" acquired... Success."
"My calculations have never been wrong. I am right; the world has never changed!"
"Confirmation complete. Unique Skill "Mathematician" acquired... Success."
The voice of the world responded to the intense emotions within Hinata's cold heart, bestowing upon her two powerful unique skills.
"Usurper" possessed two major powers.
"Usurpation," which steals the target's abilities, and "Copy," which learns the opponent's abilities.
Both effects were identical, with the only difference being whether the opponent's ability would vanish or not.
If this skill was used on a target weaker than herself, it would be judged as "Target Invalid"; the skill would have no effect on targets weaker than her.
The weak had no qualifications to be plundered, so this skill could only be used on targets stronger than herself.
The judgment result would appear as either "Success" or "Failure".
When these two results appeared, she would know the opponent was stronger than her. Conversely, if "Target Invalid" appeared, then the opponent was weaker.
As long as the judgment result was "Success", she could fully see through the target's abilities and skills.
Even if it was a "Failure", it didn't matter; as long as she had enough time, she could attempt it an infinite number of times.
Theoretically, as long as she had enough time, Hinata could become infinitely stronger.
People called her "Little Guy."
"Mathematician" possessed three powers: "Analysis and Appraisal," "Thought Acceleration," and "Predictive Calculation."
With all three, Hinata could easily calculate the enemy's attack routes. The thousand-fold thought speed enhanced by "Thought Acceleration," combined with "Usurper," allowed her to plunder the opponent's abilities at an extremely fast speed.
Thus, Hinata Sakaguchi, possessing the potential to become the strongest in the world, was born.
Upon acquiring the skills, Hinata's mind became clear; a vast amount of information emerged in her mind, which she analyzed and absorbed one by one.
After Hinata plundered the knowledge and abilities of the people before her, shrill screams echoed in the alleyway.
After that, Hinata began her journey in the other world alone, "Usurping" everything of value she saw along the way.
As time passed, the girl's cold heart became increasingly closed off.
Until... a beautiful girl wearing a mask and wielding flames appeared before her.
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