“Live happily.”
The moment Shekina heard those words, she felt as though time itself had stopped.
It was the first time.
She had never heard such words before.
Not in her past life before entering the game world, nor in the 90 years she had lived in this world, had she ever heard anyone say something like that.
Moreover, it was hard to believe that the one who said it was the Demon King, Lucart.
He was the one who had threatened to kill her and had doubted her existence until now. But why was he suddenly…?
Shekina looked up at Lucart with a somewhat suspicious gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was wondering why you’re suddenly saying this.”
Instead of answering, Lucart stared down at Shekina. From her point of view, it was probably unexpected.
Lucart was somewhat surprised that he had considered Shekina’s perspective, but then he smiled bitterly and placed his hand on the top of Shekina’s head.
“Don’t overthink it.”
Then, in an unusually soft tone, he spoke again.
“Do as you wish. I will stay by your side.”
“……They say people change when they’re about to die.”
“I’m not a person, though, am I?”
“True.”
Why was he saying such embarrassing things when he wasn’t even dying? Shekina rolled her eyes and then remembered what she needed to do.
She needed to open the portal to the demon realm and place the demonic energy from the Black Spinel into it.
Sighing deeply, Shekina clasped her hands together.
“Please make sure I don’t die while I’m doing this.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t push me.”
“Okay.”
“……I don’t trust you.”
Lucart’s unusually calm responses were strange. Shekina squinted at him and turned to look at him again, but he simply shrugged without saying more. Hmm, she thought, I don’t know what’s going on with him.
But first, she had to focus on what she needed to do.
Shekina closed her hands together and concentrated.
‘Activate the demon realm portal.’
Whooosh—
The surroundings darkened. As the pitch-black darkness enveloped her, Shekina felt that the demonic energy had grown stronger than before. But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Focus. Focus. She needed to concentrate if she didn’t want to be pulled into it like before.
Boom, thud!
The monsters began to move.
Before, Shekina had thought of these monsters as vile creatures, but now, knowing that they were part of a plot orchestrated by the elders, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for them.
“Give me the Spinel. I’ll try putting it in.”
Shekina extended her hand like a doctor asking for an instrument from a nurse. Lucart was momentarily surprised but quickly handed the bundle of Spinels to Shekina. Shekina swallowed nervously and sent the bundle beyond the portal.
In that moment…
“Kwaaa!”
“Kwaa!”
The same situation unfolded as before.
A wailing sound spread like a wave, and the monsters began charging toward the portal, as though they were intent on grabbing Shekina.
“What the hell is wrong with them?!”
Fortunately, Shekina had sensed the danger in advance, so she managed to pull herself out. However, the Spinel remained.
Even though she didn’t know much, she knew that if she took the Spinel out too soon, it would be ineffective. So, she had to stall for more time, but the speed at which the monsters were coming toward her made it clear that if she kept stalling, she’d end up dead.
What should she do?
Should she just give up?
But she had worked so hard to get this!
Just as Shekina’s mind wavered, a voice came from behind.
“I’m holding on.”
A gentle voice spoke from behind her.
“I won’t let you be dragged away. So don’t worry.”
Hearing those words, the tension that had surrounded her body suddenly melted away. At the same time, she felt a sense of comfort. To have someone to lean on brought her peace of mind.
Up until now, Shekina had tried to do everything on her own. Now, even the demons were waiting for her input.
But Lucart, the Demon King, was telling her she was not alone. And he wished her happiness. It was an unbelievable situation.
“Well…”
Shekina chuckled softly and muttered to herself.
“I guess we’ll see how long this lasts.”
In that instant, a monster’s hand grabbed Shekina, and the darkness around her exploded like an eruption.
***
“Ah, I’m bored.”
“There’s nothing to do.”
“Why is it so boring?”
The demons of the first legion were all lounging in the training hall, muttering about how bored they were. However, one of the demons in the group was nowhere to be seen. He was off in the distance, continuously swinging his sword.
“Hey, Salmon. Why are you training all alone?”
Salmon didn’t answer and just kept swinging his sword. Another demon clicked his tongue and spoke.
“Leave him alone. That guy is still grinding his teeth after getting smacked by a human child.”
“A human child? The one named Dehan or something?”
“How old is he?”
“He’s five years old, I heard.”
“Ha ha ha! He got smacked by a five-year-old human? Is he out of his mind?”
Salmon finally stopped swinging his sword and shouted at the demons who were laughing.
“Hey!”
“What?”
“That can’t be true, right? I didn’t get smacked, right? It was just a little hair tug, right? I was just caught off guard, right?”
“Off guard? Caught off guard?”
“Imagine if it were a real battle. It wouldn’t have just been hair—it would’ve been your head! You’ve been slacking off lately. Ha! Keep rolling! Do more!”
“You’re going to do it even if I don’t say anything, right? So just shut up, will you?”
Salmon gritted his teeth and threw a punch in frustration before swinging his sword again. The sound of the sword cutting through the air was as menacing as always.
The demons who had been quietly watching Salmon exchanged words among themselves.
“Humans are getting pretty strong lately. It’s different from before.”
“They’re still just humans.”
“If you keep underestimating them, you might end up like that guy with his head cut off.”
“Ha, actually, Salmon’s the weakest among our Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Shut up.”
As they laughed and chatted, one demon suddenly exclaimed.
“Oh, I heard there’s another human in the castle.”
“Is it the prince or something?”
“Have you seen him?”
“No. I didn’t want to.”
“Hmm.”
The demons squinted and fell into thought. Then they grinned.
“If he’s a prince, he’s probably a lot more talented than someone like Dehan, right?”
“Well, if he’s from imperial blood, he must be.”
If the imperial family received the blessings of the gods, then in terms of talent, the prince would definitely be superior to Dehan.
“Oooh.”
“What’s with that? You planning to face him?”
“No, not really. Just curious.”
“Forget it. That human guy has been holed up in his room and hasn’t come out once.”
“Huh?”
The demon who had mentioned talent pointed at the back with a confused look.
“Then who’s that?”
Looking back, they saw a strange human standing there. But they weren’t alone—Dehan was with him.
Dehan, who had been guiding the human, smiled brightly when he saw the demons and waved.
“Hello, everyone.”
He then stretched his mouth into a wicked grin, similar to the one Shekina often showed.
“I’ve brought His Highness, the prince.”
So please treat him well.
