Chapter 139 It’s Firing Up (1)

#1 Other Stories: A Daughter’s Story

Daddy is weird these days.

“Daddy! I finished weeding here!”

“Yes…”

I had run up to Daddy to report, but he looked at me with a weak face.

“Are you ill?”

“No, I’m all right.”

“Ah…”

He was doing it again as he stopped himself from stroking my hair again.

“You won’t stroke my hair?”

“I have dirt on my hands.”

While he smiled as he spoke, it was a lie. He had done so before and now was summer. It was natural to wash in the brook after farming during this season. He may have refrained in the winter, but summer was not a time to care about dirt. However, he had been making the same excuse for days!

“Are you angry?”

I carefully opened my mouth and wondered whether I had been the only one to think we had made up. Was he still angry for me not talking to him?

“No.”

“Umm…”

However, Daddy would just smile and shake his head. If not so, what was the reason? I returned to the field with trudging footsteps as I felt downcast.

“I shouldn’t be like this.”

It was summertime when the farmers were the busiest! We had to remove as many weeds as possible for our plants to grow, and I could not stay weak.

“Daddy will return to his normal self soon.”

I knew better than anyone else how much Daddy loved me, and he had to have a reason. However, I waited for a week.

“Unnie!!!”

“Yes, yes.”

I went and hugged my sister with teary eyes.

“Daddy won’t even look at me these days! Did I do something wrong? Do you know what it is?”

“Umm…”

My sister looked in the air as she avoided my eyes. That meant…!

“You know the reason!”

“No, I don’t!”

“It’s a lie!”

She had to know the reason why Daddy was avoiding me, as she kept avoiding my eyes and started whistling!

“What’s the reason!”

I shook her lightly in case she would strike back.

“He’s not angry.”

“Really?”

I was glad to know that, but she escaped when I was feeling relieved. She was too fast for me, and while I managed to get an answer, I did not know the exact reason. It could not be helped, and I had to act fast!

“Daddy, can I come in?”

I decided to talk to Daddy when there was time, which had to be around bedtime due to farming. I saw him as he opened the bedroom door.

“You should sleep alone since you’re all grown up.”

“Yes?”

“You can do that, right?”

“Yes…”

Daddy closed the door again after saying good night, and the light coming out from the door disappeared. I felt lonely as I went back to my room. The sun was going down, and I had to go back there fast. I would sleep with Misha and Coco and wake up tomorrow to eat breakfast with Daddy and farm again. I stopped walking there, as I wanted to hold Daddy’s hand when going out to work and be praised after removing weeds like usual.

I did not want those things to stop! I did not know what I did wrong, and Daddy may not like me anymore! But I want things to be like they were before!

I could not give it up, and I grabbed Daddy’s bedroom doorknob again and shouted, “Daddy!”

***

“Daddy!”

I flinched at seeing my daughter come in after roughly opening the door. She was quite oppressive as she stood in front of me.

“Daddy, look me in the eyes.”

“Yes.”

I did what she asked as she glared at me with folded arms.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

“You’re lying!”

Yes, I was. I had been avoiding her after knowing she was a demon. However, I remained silent as chaos would ensue if I spoke up!

“Say the truth. Did I do something wrong? Or…”

My daughter was glaring at me at first, but her eyes lowered to the floor, and I saw a tear fall on the floor.

“Don’t you like me anymore?”

I felt like someone pounded a nail on my heart, and my body began to shake out of remorse.

“I’ll do better if that’s the truth.”

She did nothing wrong. It was just me not being able to accept reality. So, please do not cry.

“Why would I not like you? That can’t happen.”

I kneeled and reached out with my arms to hug my crying daughter.

“How can you think that I would not like my precious daughter?”

“Really?”

She seemed to be pressing down on things she wanted to say. Alice was content that I was just looking at her, despite the fact she would have a lot to say. That made me sadder.

“Of course.”

Everything was my fault, as I let the fact my daughter had demon blood put distance between us.

“You’re my treasure.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

I hugged her as she cried in my arms. My life was chaotic enough already, so one more thing would not matter. Let the Demon King come!

I immediately hoped this was not an omen but pushed the thought back as my daughter cried.

#Other Stories: A demon’s story

The Demon King was dead. While demons lived in tribes, the Demon King was politically and spiritually important, especially when the dead King had been a noble ruler. After the King died, the demon society drifted apart into three factions and could go into war instantly.

The first faction was centered around General Agreart, who had served under the former King. They argued that the demon world should be unified first, and then the demons should invade the human world. They preferred war rather than politics, unlike the previous King.

The second faction was centered around the previous King’s daughter and argued for peace. They were those who believed meaningless fights between humans and demons should be stopped when the demons ruled a continent.

The third faction believed in oracles and thought the Demon God would grant them a new King. They argued that a true King who will endure the blessings of the Demon God will be born soon. While the three factions fought in secret to gain control of the demon world, they were still in battle.

There was only one reason for this chaos, as one could only become the Demon King by gaining the majority of the votes from the 101 tribes, excepting the blessing of the Demon God.

The first and second factions had fifty votes each, and the last vote would decide the fate of the demon race.

“Weren’t succubus extinct?”

The problem was that the last tribe did not exist in the demon lands.

“Princess.”

The small girl called princess beat her head on the desk.

“You haven’t found her yet, right?”

“Yes. Things are complicated in the human world, and there are restrictions.”

“That’s true.”

The girl lowered her head at the lizardman’s words.

“The oracle said that the succubus race lived among humans now, right?”

“Yes, it’s true.”

“And the number…”

“Is one. She is the leader by law and can vote as the succubus race.”

“To think that her choice could change the history of the demon race…”

Normally, tribe leaders had to gather the members’ opinions before voting, but the sole survivor would represent her entire race. Having her meant that the girl would become the Demon King. She bit her lip and looked at the previous King’s picture.

“Father, help me to retain peace.”

“Princess…”

The girl was certain that if Agreart got hold of that succubus, a war on an unforeseen scale would happen. She strongly believed that Agreart had something to do with her father’s sudden death.

“If Agreart becomes King, he will invade the human world. I have to prevent that.”

“We will do our best to make that happen.”

“Thank you.”

The only method left was to endure the Demon God’s blessing to become Demon King if Agreart got hold of the succubus. However, only three succeeded in doing so, and most of the demons died in great pain on receiving the blessing. While the girl was not afraid of dying, she was terrified that no one would stop Agreart.

“Please…”

The girl prayed that she would find the survivor first. However, she did not know that someone else other than the two would become the Demon King after receiving the Demon God’s blessing at the time.