NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 110
Chapter 110. The Usual Courtyard
“—Ngh!”
Well, it’s me, Zilbagias, the Demon Lord’s Prince, who woke up thanks to my own snoring.
I feel like I had a dream, but the moment I woke up, I forgot it. That happens a lot.
By the way, Antendeixis, can you see the scenes when I’m dreaming?
“It depends. Sometimes I only receive jumbled images and your emotions, but at times I can see the actual scenes you’re witnessing. By the way, just now, you were having a dream where you were covered in horse manure as a child!”
Ugh, I barely remember that—thanks to Claire’s horse manure pit trap…!!
Damn it, remembering it just makes me angry. Right now, I could use the power of the Demon Lord’s Prince to make that happen to her, too… but it would be way too out of character for Zilbagias.
That guy has an unnerving intuition, and I don’t want to expose my previous life in weird ways. It’s best to hold back…!
Not too long ago, I almost got exposed as a virgin because of that weird intuition and magic!
Still, the curtains outside are bright.
“…Wow?”
I glanced to the side, and Liliana was peering into my face, as if to say, “Are you awake already?”
“Did I wake you up? Sorry about that.”
When I stroked Liliana’s cheek, she squinted her eyes and nuzzled closer. So cute.
…Even though a beautiful High Elf is lying half-naked right next to me, I feel so much like a pet thinking “how cute!” about it, I must really be beyond help…
Even though my heart is human, is my body still that of a demon? Is my mind being influenced by my physical form…?
“Isn’t your evaluation of humans a bit too favorable? Humans adapt to anything!”
Is that so?
Anyway, I woke up at a pretty half-hearted time.
After training yesterday, I was exhausted, so I went to bed earlier than usual. However, thanks to Liliana, I seem to have recovered my strength, and I woke up early.
Finally, in training with magic, I managed to take Platy down to her knees. I’m getting pretty used to her spear techniques, pain magic, and other curses.
In contrast, I’m combining necromancy with bone manipulation magic, and with the help of the spirits of veteran soldiers, I’m acquiring quite a high level of physical defense.
With Platy’s demonic arm and about three spears, I can now trade blows evenly. I remember the look of utter frustration on Platy’s face when I dodged all of her attacks and landed a clean hit on her horn, making her stumble.
“…You’ve improved. Terrifyingly so, in such a short time…!!”
Well, it’s frustrating for a demon who has trained for decades, possibly close to a century, to lose to a five-year-old.
Despite that, she also had a somewhat proud expression—
“Well then, I’ll go all out next time!”
But I think it would be childish to activate another lineage spell right there…
“I never expected you’d harden the darkness into blades; you’re quite the scary one.”
The spell Platy inherited from her maternal line allows her to condense dark magic and transform it momentarily into blades with physical strength.
It’s subtle, but for a spear user like Platy, it’s far too dangerous. I thought I narrowly dodged at just the right distance, then bam! The tip extended and slashed me. Plus, she injected a pain curse through the wound! If I tried to block with bones, my magic defense wouldn’t be enough to withstand it…
Demons have way too many tricks up their sleeves. “I’ve been holding back on this lineage magic, thinking it wouldn’t benefit you, but it seems that’s no longer necessary!”
Yup, I got pummeled. If it wasn’t for Liliana, I’d have been a goner…
“But, it seems you’re finally seeing the limits of your mother’s skills, huh? The oversight in your bone magic defense is what led to your defeat. Just keep your distance, and you might eventually surpass her with sheer ability.”
Hey, it’s easy for you to say that since you’re just watching…!
“It’s an extremely objective opinion, so be grateful for it!”
I can practically see Antendeixis puffing up with pride…
Just then, a cute sound echoed.
“Ku~un.”
Liliana looked all pathetic. …Is she hungry? Now that I think about it, I barely remember what we had for dinner last night because I was on the verge of losing consciousness. She might have barely had enough.
“Shall we get some food?”
“Woof!”
Today, I’ll take it easy and enjoy being up early. Maybe I’ll bask in the sunlight for the first time in a while.
“Good morning, dear♪”
When I asked the little demon servant for a light snack, Leila, blushing, brought the food.
“Good morning, Leila. Is it alright to be awake this early?”
She always gives off the impression that she’s already awake. Is she getting enough sleep? I’m starting to worry about the Demon Lord!
“Yes. I seem to feel better when I wake up around this time.”
With a strong grip on both hands as if to showcase her vitality, Leila smiled.
She’s a White Dragon, so apparently, she feels better when exposed to sunlight. Lately, she’s been waking up super early (by demon standards) and starting her activities around noon.
When she first came to us after being presented to the Dark Dragon King, she had terrible dark circles, looking like she hadn’t slept enough…
“Now that there’s a personal room prepared, I can sleep quietly and soundly…”
There are no more dark circles under Leila’s eyes as she softly smiles.
…I hear in the dragon’s cave, she had to deal with deliberate loud noises and surprises, which were pretty nasty harassment.
It’s amazing she didn’t go insane in such an environment. At the very least, I want her to rest well while she’s with me…!!
So, lunch it is. Yup, a literal lunch.
“Wuff, wuff!”
Liliana is happily stuffing her face with a fruit platter, getting juice all over her mouth. With all the Night Elf servants taking a nap, it seems Liliana is a bit more relaxed than usual…
Liliana is also a High Elf, so it’s genuinely better for her to get sunlight.
Though she used to tan easily and is now completely fair-skinned…
“I think I’ll go for a little walk. Leila, do you want to join?”
“Yes, happily.”
“Wuff! Woof woof!”
Liliana jumped around excitedly at the word “walk.”
Leila and I stroll leisurely through the quiet afternoon of the Demon Lord’s Castle.
Most of the servants we encounter are beastmen, and alongside her is Leila in human form, with an energetic Liliana.
…If I ignore the fact that Liliana is missing limbs and that I’m the Prince of the Demon Lord, it hardly feels like a Demon Lord’s castle.
If there’s a place to relax in the castle during the day, it would definitely be the courtyard.
It’s a place where I always ran into Enma, but he’s out on the front lines handling corpse removal. He shouldn’t be back yet.
Today, it seems I’ll get to relax.
“Woof, woof!”
Bathing in the sunlight, Liliana is frolicking and running around on the grass. I’m sitting on a bench with Leila, watching her.
Autumn is drawing to a close, but the sunlight is still warm. I wonder what this winter will be like. Will the Demon Lord’s army finally hold back their invasion?
“…”
Leila gently rested her head on my shoulder.
Whoa. I couldn’t help but glance around. It’s not that I dislike being seen; I just thought maybe she did it to show our closeness because someone was watching.
However—there was still no one in the courtyard at this hour.
Only a squadron of dragons flying far above.
“…Did that make you uncomfortable?”
Leila immediately lifted her head, sensing my tension.
She looked worried and somewhat apologetic—
“Of course not.”
I quickly shook my head.
“There’s no way I’d dislike that.”
Well, duh!
“Hum! What kind of nonsense face are you making? No wonder your virginity is at risk!”
Shut up! That’s irrelevant!!
But thanks to Antendeixis’ meddling, I managed to regain my composure.
“So, uh…”
Just then, Leila still wore an uneasy expression. No, no.
“I was just a bit surprised.”
I smiled and pulled Leila closer to me. “Ah…” she looked surprised, but quickly leaned against me.
So warm…
I can hardly believe how peacefully and leisurely I’m spending this time.
Right now, I want to refrain from talking or thinking about the future of the Demon Kingdom or the Dragon Clan. I just want to quietly soak in the moment.
In my line of sight, Liliana is lying on the grass, soaking up the sunshine and admiring the autumn flowers…
I wonder if that’s alright… I remember those flowers had some poison… But Liliana should be fine…
“…”
Leila half-closed her eyes, a smile gracing her lips.
“If you’re sleepy, it’s okay to sleep.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m not sleepy or anything.”
Leila giggled a little shyly.
“Are you really getting enough sleep? You don’t have to push yourself.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“If you want, it’s okay to head to bed early at night too.”
“That is…”
She frowned a little, her brows forming a worried V.
“…It’s just…”
“Huh?”
“…If possible, I’d like to be together, you know…”
…Huh.
Leila’s cheeks flushed, but my face was equally hot.
What… what is this girl saying…!!
“Gah! What’s with that face! No wonder you’ll get exposed as a virgin!”
Shut up! That has nothing to do with it!!
But thanks to Antendeixis’ teasing, I somehow came back to my senses.
“S-Sure…”
Though nodding was all I could manage—
Just then, I heard footsteps behind me.
“What’s this, hmmm?”
It was somewhere—a voice that creaked like metal.
“Isn’t this Zilbagias-sama?”
When I turned around, emerging from the shade of the corridor was a tall figure dressed entirely in black.
Cold, ice-blue eyes stared at me—
“It’s been a while, I see. How have you been?”
Standing there was Orphen, the Dark Dragon King.