≈ Chapter 6 ≈
Kyrios glanced at me.
“Even now. I’ve been picking on you this whole time, and all you do is keep smiling.”
Ah, so you do realize you’ve been picking on me?
I thought you treated me like this because it was just your normal personality.
Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.
So I just made up a reasonable excuse.
“Umm… I am scared… But if I make a bad impression on you, something even scarier might happen.”
Kyrios immediately frowned.
“Hey, I wasn’t planning to hurt a little kid like you!”
“But… you don’t like me.”
“…”
Hearing my answer, Kyrios stiffened.
He quietly looked at me for a moment before awkwardly closing his mouth.
Heh. Bet you didn’t expect me to hit the truth so directly.
Feeling a little satisfied, I continued.
“It’s okay. It’s natural that you don’t like me. Demon blood flows through me.”
“H-Hey, kid. That’s not…”
“Besides, we met inside the Demon King’s Castle. If I were you, I’d be suspicious too.”
Standing in front of Kyrios, whose expression had become complicated, I shrugged my shoulders.
“The demons don’t like me either. So don’t worry about it.”
Neither human…
Nor demon…
A person who belonged nowhere.
Someone welcomed by no one.
That was me.
And honestly…
I had gotten used to being treated that way.
Kyrios didn’t say anything after hearing my words.
But he still looked troubled.
Well…
At least he had stopped asking me annoying questions.
That’s good enough.
I decided to think positively.
Now then…
I should put the food on a tray and carry it over.
I walked toward the table with my little steps.
While I was struggling to pull out a tray…
Kyrios suddenly called me.
“Kid.”
“Yes?”
When I looked up at him, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed.
Then he said,
“I’m not sorry. Not at all.”
…So?
I blinked at him for a moment before nodding.
“Okay.”
Did anyone ask you to apologize?
What a strange person.
His face immediately twisted into a frown.
“Give it here.”
“Huh?”
“The tray.”
Kyrios quickly picked up the tray of food and started lecturing me.
“I’m carrying it because you’re too slow. With your tiny steps, it’ll take forever just to walk from the kitchen to the central hall.”
“O-Okay…”
Did anyone even ask?
I barely stopped myself from shaking my head.
Kyrios walked ahead with his long strides before turning back.
“Hey. Aren’t you coming?”
Just then—
“Cough!”
A cough suddenly escaped my mouth.
Startled, I quickly covered it.
My chest felt tight.
My throat burned.
…This is bad.
I have a feeling I’m about to cough up blood again.
Why did the side effect of absorbing demonic energy have to happen now?
Kyrios frowned.
“What’s wrong?”
“M-My throat feels itchy.”
“…Really?”
He still looked suspicious.
But coughing once or twice wasn’t unusual.
After hearing my excuse, he seemed to accept it.
I slowly stepped backward.
“U-Umm…”
“What?”
“I’m going to the bathroom first. Please go ahead.”
“Fine.”
Without even looking back, Kyrios walked out of the kitchen.
I hurried toward the bathroom.
“Cough! Cough, cough!”
The moment I closed the door, violent coughing burst out.
I quickly covered my mouth with both hands.
“Cough… Ha…”
After coughing so hard it felt like my lungs would come out…
I looked at my hands.
…This is bad.
They were covered in blood.
Come to think of it…
I was starting to feel cold too.
I hugged my shoulders.
“Ha… My luck is seriously the worst.”
I let out a long sigh.
I thought everything had ended after coughing up blood last time.
But my body still hadn’t fully recovered.
On days like this…
The best thing to do was cough up the blood a few times…
Then sleep.
But I couldn’t stay locked inside the bathroom forever.
“Okay…”
I stood up.
First, I carefully washed every trace of blood from my hands.
My pale face was reflected in the bathroom mirror.
“Alright. I’ll just say I’m tired and go to bed early today.”
I forced strength into my shaky legs and walked outside.
My legs trembled so badly that I felt like I could collapse at any moment.
Sigh…
My life as a four-year-old…
Was way too hard.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Umm…”
Tatiana carefully peeked into the central hall.
“You’re here, Miss Tatiana.”
Caesar immediately greeted her with a warm smile.
“I’ve been waiting for you. Shall we eat together?”
“No.”
Tatiana shook her head.
“I’m going to sleep early today.”
“…Already?”
Caesar gently frowned.
Tatiana looked up at him with tired eyes.
“Yes. Titi is sleepy.”
“Hmm.”
Thinking about it…
She really must be tired.
She was only four years old.
She had spent the whole morning searching everywhere for medical supplies.
Then she had even prepared food in the kitchen.
Besides…
Caesar glanced out the window.
The red light of sunset had already covered the entire sky.
“Still, you should eat before sleeping.”
“It’s okay. I want to rest by myself.”
That made sense.
When someone was tired, they wanted to be alone.
Caesar nodded.
Then he picked up a plate of food and placed it into the child’s hands.
“Resting is important, but you shouldn’t skip meals. Alright?”
“…”
Tatiana quietly looked at the plate.
Then she smiled brightly.
“Okay!”
After Tatiana returned to her room…
The three Heroes looked at one another.
Kyrios was the first to speak.
“So…
Who exactly is that kid?”
The topic was, naturally—
Tatiana.
“How could such a tiny little girl survive inside the Demon King’s Castle?”
“According to her, she’s half human and half demon… and she worked here as a slave.”
“What?!
A human-demon half-breed?”
Kyrios snorted.
“How can you believe that? There has never been a single half-breed before.”
“But I can feel a faint trace of demonic energy from her.”
Zigfried looked directly at him.
“You felt it too, didn’t you, Kyrios?”
“…”
Kyrios had no answer.
At the same time, Caesar nodded.
“I agree with Zigfried.”
“Damn…”
Kyrios clicked his tongue.
Caesar used holy power—
The exact opposite of demonic energy.
If even Caesar was certain…
Then Tatiana really did possess a tiny amount of demonic energy.
Feeling annoyed for no reason, Kyrios asked,
“You’re only saying that because she’s cute, aren’t you?”
After all…
Caesar was naturally compassionate.
The problem was…
His kindness was very selective.
Especially toward small children…
And little animals.
That was why he always supported orphanages.
And he constantly brought home injured animals, giving the other priests endless headaches.
But Caesar simply looked at Kyrios as if he were being ridiculous.
“Of course not.”
“It’s true that Miss Tatiana is extremely adorable.”
“…”
He’s still saying she’s cute at a time like this…?
Caesar continued calmly.
“But I don’t judge someone based on cuteness alone.”
“If what Miss Tatiana told us is true…”
“Then she must have suffered greatly while living inside the Demon King’s Castle.”
“…”
“…”
Silence filled the hall.
After all…
They knew better than anyone how the demons treated other races.
Even at a glance…
Tatiana didn’t look healthy.
She was terribly thin.
Her pink hair was dry and messy.
Her clothes were worse than rags.
Only her clear sky-blue eyes still shone like precious jewels.
“And don’t you think she behaves far more maturely than a normal four-year-old?”
“…That’s true.”
“Her life must have been so difficult that she was forced to grow up early.”
Caesar looked quietly at Kyrios.
“An ordinary four-year-old doesn’t act like that.”
“They cry, throw tantrums, and act selfishly.”
“But Miss Tatiana is different.”
“Isn’t she just like an angel?”
…An angel?
How did this conversation end up here?
Kyrios frowned.
“So…”
“If someone can’t even feel a little sympathy for such a lovely child…”
Caesar spoke with complete seriousness.
“Then that person is truly cold-hearted, without blood or tears, and even God would never forgive someone so cruel…”
“Alright! I get it already!”
Unable to endure the lecture any longer, Kyrios waved both hands in surrender.
“I’ll keep watching her for now!
Just stop lecturing me!”
Caesar clicked his tongue.
“The future of the Magic Tower is truly dark if a man like you is its leader.”
“You really want to die, don’t you?”
Kyrios glared at him.
Watching the two argue again, Zigfried shook his head.
“You two aren’t children.
How long are you going to keep fighting over such childish things?”
Only after arguing for quite a while…
Did the three Heroes finally go to sleep.
But when the next day came…
Tatiana still didn’t appear.
