Volume 3 - CH 2.2

Act 3-2.2: God of Treasure and Blacksmith

「This is…?」

「Modes told me about you. He asked me to make you a weapon. That’s why I made this one for you.」

Heibos handed the scythe to Kuna as he spoke.

Kuna held the scythe shaft. The shaft was neither too long nor too short, its size perfectly fitting her hand. She looked at Kuroki, checking if he was fine with her accepting it, and he nodded in response.

Though Kuroki didn’t want Kuna to fight, he didn’t wish to see her completely vulnerable either. That’s why he always took some time to train her; he wanted her to become strong enough to protect herself, but made sure to always keep her far away from danger.

「Thank you very much, Heibos-dono.」

Kuroki bowed to Heibos again to express his gratitude.

「Even you have something that you won’t yield to others… make sure you always protect it.」

Heibos turned around after he said that.

That’s all he wanted to say to Kuroki.

Kuroki bowed for the third time to Heibos’ retreating figure as he decided to go back to Nargol.

◆

Kuna returned to the Demon King castle with Kuroki by using transfer magic.

She stared intently at the scythe she received from Heibos. She felt excited since, with this weapon in her hand, she could finally help Kuroki in battle. She swung the scythe repeatedly, trying to accustom herself to it, and soon enough, she had already gotten used to it.

（But, this isn’t enough. If I want to become strong enough to help Kuroki, I need to train like him.）

Kuroki would swing his sword every morning and would never cut down on his training. Though her weapon wasn’t a sword, Kuna believed that she had to do the same swinging practice with her scythe to become just like him. Naturally, she would train with Kuroki!

「Ah, welcome home… Kuna-sama.」

As she was lost in thought, walking through the corridor, she suddenly found a certain woman in front of her. That woman was now bowing her head to her; she would always do that when she saw her.

The name of that loathsome woman was Regena. Kuna couldn’t bring herself to like her. She always felt irritated every time she was near that woman—she knew that she was trying to seduce her beloved Kuroki. She could never fool her with her innocent demeanor.

Kuna wanted to monopolize Kuroki. She wanted him to only look at her. Regena’s existence was a lump she couldn’t swallow, especially since Kuroki always treated her kindly.

「Regena.」

「Y-Yes! Is something the matter, Kuna-sama?!」

Regena replied with a frightened look on her face.

Kuna never liked to address that hateful woman, the only reason she had called on her was due to the things she was holding in her hands.

「What’s that?」

「L… Laundry!!」

Regena replied with a quiver.

「Who’s laundry does this belong to?」

「M… master.」

Regena replied with an almost inaudible voice.

Kuna had already known that the one who Regena referred to as “Master” was Kuroki. Whenever she heard her calling her beloved like that, Kuna felt as if a seething black flame was about to explode in her heart. She wanted to rip everything in front of her into shreds, starting with this woman.

「Are you going to wash it?」

「Y-Yes.」

「A princess isn’t supposed to do that, right?」

Kuna was now knowledgeable of the fact that Regena was the princess of a kingdom called Algore. From what she knew, or rather, from what Kuroki had taught her, princesses weren’t supposed to do these chores.

""

Kuroki had read various books to Kuna, teaching her the letters and words of this world at a fast pace; many of these books recounted stories about the human race. To Kuna, the experience felt as if Kuroki was reading her a bedtime story every night—falling asleep while hearing Kuroki’s deep and gentle voice was the most blissful moment for her.

Among the books Kuroki read to Kuna as her bedtime story was one about princesses. None of the princesses in those stories ever did what Regena was doing right now. It was supposed to be their attendant’s job. That’s why Kuna was really surprised upon learning that Regena would volunteer to do someone’s laundry.

「N-No, I just want to show my gratitude to MASTER… and washing laundry is something that I learned from my wet nurse… that…」

Regena replied in a fluster.

「I see…」

Upon a closer look, Kuna discovered that Kuroki’s underwear was mixed amongst the laundry. It was undoubtedly the one Kuroki wore yesterday.

「… DiD yOU SUcK iT?」

「… EH?」

Confused, Regena then followed Kuna’s line of sight, only to find out that her gaze was locked on Kuroki’s underwear.

「IIIIIIII-I WOULD NEVER DO SUCH AN EMBARRASSING THING!!!」

Regena vehemently denied Kuna’s statement the moment she realized what she meant.

「PUttINg IT oN YoUr FAce… LiCkinG It…」

「NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NEVER!」

Regena strongly shook her head in denial.

「I NEVER SUCK IT! NOR DO I LICK IT! I JUST SNIFF IT SOMETIMES!」

Trying so hard to prove her innocence and absolve herself from Kuna’s claims, Regena didn’t notice that she had accidentally confessed about a different perverted action she had done. Kuna, of course, didn’t overlook it.

「You sniffed it?」

「Ah…」

An awkward silence enveloped the place.

（This is bad… if I don’t do anything soon…）

Kuna shook her head, warning signals ringing non-stop in her head.

「Regena!」

「Y-Yes!」

「Teach Kuna how to wash laundry!」

Kuroki had forbidden Kuna from killing Regena, so she couldn’t do anything about that ugly woman—Kuna would never dare to disobey her beloved Kuroki. Hence, to protect his underwear, she had to learn how to do laundry.

「Eh? Are you serious, Kuna-sama?」

Regena showed a baffled expression, she couldn’t believe what she just heard.

「And not just laundry, tell me everything I need to know so I can look after Kuroki, I shall become a dutiful wife.」

「Making Your Majesty, The Demon King’s Daughter, do that is…」

Rena replied with an apologetic look on her face, trying to politely refuse.

Rumors about Kuna being the Demon King’s daughter had spread like wildfire in the Demon King’s castle. The main reason was because Kuna’s appearance strongly resembled that of Mona. Since it was too troublesome for her to take care of those rumors one by one, adding on to the fact that it would take away her time with Kuroki, Kuna ended up letting those rumors spread without clarifying them.

「I just want to learn how to become a dutiful wife.」

A plan had already formed in her head—as long as she could do anything, there was no need for Regena to become Kuroki’s attendant. And when that beautiful time finally came, Kuna could send Regena anywhere she wanted to.

（I have to plan where to send her off to, I can’t just send her to a place in the middle of nowhere since Kuroki is a gentle and kind person… Let’s think of the most suitable place for her.）

As Kuna pondered about this matter, a name suddenly popped in her head.

Algore Kingdom.

That was the name of Regena’s country.

（Should I just return their princess back to them?）

That way, neither Kuroki, Regena, nor Algore Kingdom would have any reason to refuse.

It was a win-win situation in Kuna’s mind.