Light Novel Adaptation by J.C. Staff
Streaming on Crunchyroll

Premise

In a world where humans have subjugated fairies by clipping their wings, Anne Halford is leaving her town in pursuit of her dream of becoming the greatest confectionery artist in the country. As the road to the capital is fraught with danger, Anne decides to spend what little money she has on a bodyguard in the form of Shall fen Shall, an enslaved fairy who—oh dear lord, here we go again.

Aqua’s verdict: MORE 👏 FEMALE 👏 SLAVE 👏 OWNERS

Once upon a time, in a country far, far away, a wicked demon ruled with an iron fist. Having toppled the country’s king and thrown him into the deepest pit in the realm, the demon now slouched on his mighty throne, pacifying the people with a horrible curse. Trapped in an eternal slumber, the country’s nobles were haunted by odious dreams — they dreamt of dying and being born over and over again, and of being trapped in an a twisted world where debauchery and moral decay were commonplace — all while the common people were forced to watch the realm falling into decay due to the king’s absence.

Cackling at the misfortune of nobleman and peasant alike, the demon relished in their despair, ravaging the once beautiful country until nothing remained but a hollow, empty shell inhabited by vapid husks of what were once humans.

One day, however, much to the demon’s surprise, a group of nobles appeared at the castle’s gates, offering the demon tribute in exchange for more odious dreams. Grinning from ear to ear, the wicked demon ecstatically accepted their gifts, but not without mockery. “Pitiful fools,” he asked, “have your lives become so devoid of any meaning you now beg for torture in return?”

One of the nobles shook his head. “No, dreadful master,” he replied, “the truth is that your curse has given us more life than ever. Under the old king’s rule, times were tough for us nobles. We were expected to set the example for our fellow countrymen, to show restraint and modesty, and to speak with dignity! The old king, damn him, he even demanded we renounce our titles and share our wealth with the common rabble.”

“I see,” the demon guffawed, clearly entertained.

“Under your rule, however, dreadful master, we can do whatever we want!” the noble continued. “In your world no one will hold us accountable! We can have all the riches and women we want! We can kill with impunity and still be worshipped as we should! We can even own slaves without having to be looked at with such utter contempt!”

“But what about the constant dying? The emptiness of it all? You would rather live in this mind-eroding, thought-devouring nightmare I specifically created to torture you for all of eternity than you would feel something? Live? Be human?

“Aye, dreamful master. To a peasant, that may sound like torment. But to us nobles, it is all we’ve ever wanted,” said the noble, and along with his fellow men bent the knee to their new lord.

“Oh, how dreadfully wicked,” cackled the demon, “you humans are more wretched than I could ever be!”

As the demon continued his glee, the sudden sound of wood shattering cut off his ghastly laughter, pouring daylight into the murky shade of the throne room. Backed by a shimmering halo of golden dawn, a small, yet imposing figure stepped into the throne room, self-assuredly puffing out her chest and putting her hands on her hips. She was unfathomably gorgeous, yet in a tremendously effortless way, her natural face exuding confidence and feminine might. “Not on my watch we are!”, her sonorous, but pleasant voice boomed through the room.

Smugly, the demon leaned back onto his throne. “And who might you be, little girl,” he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain.

Unexpectedly, the nobles didn’t share their master’s carelessness. In a pathetic gasp for breath, one of them squeaked “D-Don’t you know, o dreadful master? That is Princess Girlboss! She must be here to liberate the country from your wicked reign!”

“A princess?” the demon scoffed? “A princess is going to stop me?”

“Y-You don’t understand, o most hateful overlord! P-Princess Girlboss is… She’s not like other princesses!”

“You can bet your ass I’m not,” replied Princess Girlboss, and all else present gasped in indignation, for she had used a bad word. “I’m not your ordinary princess, who has tea parties and sucks up to nobles. I’m the people’s champion, and on behalf of the people, I’m telling you all that this ends now.”

At this point, only the demon still had the gall to speak up against this overwhelming force of raw determination, charisma and pluck. “And what, pray tell, is it that you will be coming to an end, then, girl?”

“This whole charade. Nobles colluding with horrible demons so that as they burn the kingdom down, they’ll still be the ones ruling the ashes. For centuries, you parasites have hoarded your privileges that should belong to all. You have stepped over us, then wiped us off of your soles like dirt! And yet, you now dare to claim that you’re being threatened, being humiliated because my father demanded nothing but the tiniest speck of accountability? So threatened that you’d welcome this abomination into our kingdom, just so you can dream about owning slaves all day? For shame! Aren’t you supposed to be nobles?”

One of the few nobles who hadn’t yet been reduced to a blubbering mess of shame and existential regret by the Princess’ wise words pathetically raised his voiced and yelped: “B-But what would you have us do, Your Grace? W-We are but nobles! We can only bend the knee to this vile demon, for kowtowing to power is all we have ever known!”

With a gracious smile, Princess Girlboss strode forward and took the shivering noble’s hand in hers. “It’s simple, dearest Duke. As is my demand for this demon.” She rose with glory and bravely cast her deep blue eyes at the demon’s. “Mister demon. Allow me to appeal to your better nature!”

“… I’m sorry, m-my what?” the demon responded, somewhat nonplussed.

“I know that if we both were to debate our intentions, we can reach across the aisle and find a solution that will be mutually beneficial to all parties involved. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Um…”

“So, tell us, demon. What is it you want from this transaction?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the demon responded. “I’m a demon. I want to torture innocent humans for all of eternity. I relish in their screams and their despair. I want them to be devoured by torment from the inside out!”

“I see,” Princess Girlboss answered, in all her wisdom, followed by: “a truly heinous desire, if I do say so myself. I would even dare to call it reprehensible. Nevertheless, I admire your dedication to bringing it to fruition. You must have worked very hard to achieve all of this, so who am I to judge you?”

The demon, baffled, didn’t respond.

“So, how about the following…” the Princess continued. “Why not torment everyone for all of eternity with this recurring dream of looping deaths, hollow existences and debauchery, yada yada yada, instead of only the nobles, you know? It’s only fair that everyone gets to dream about living an utterly meaningless existence!”

“D-Don’t forget about the slaves!” peeped the Duke, barely audible.

“And about owning slaves!” declared the princess, and pointed her finger right into the demon’s puzzled face. “I, Princess… no, Queen Girlboss, hereby demand the right to dream about being tormented forever—”

“—and owning slaves —,” added the Duke.

“—to be extended to anyone! Not just to the ruling class! We are all entitled to the fruits of your labour, demon!”

An eerie silence fell over the throne room, which didn’t subside until the demon muttered “… Is that it?”

Confidently and awesomely, Princess… no, Queen Girlboss nodded, and with a snap of the demon’s fingers, true equality in the newly established Queendom was achieved. While nobles writhed in their sleep, giggling like children as the demon’s curse continued to gnaw at their souls, now also the common folk joyfully screamed in agony as they were subjected to the same insufferable, repetitive nightmares as their former oppressors, until Death pried them from this world.

Meanwhile, in the very highest room of the highest tower of the Royal Palace, Queen Girlboss too lay in her queen-sized bed, next to an empty spot. Her late nursemaid had always told her that one day, a man would lie there, next to her. Yet she had no need for a man, for she was strong and independent, and in her dreams, a slave owner.

And he reluctantly and broodingly served her happily ever after.