CH 3

“Heuk.”

“Tina.”

“Sniff.”

“Tina. Don’t cry.”

“But… Devil…”

“I’m fine. So stop crying.”

I patted Tina’s messy hair carefully. Even a small action like this hurts my wrist.

‘It was reckless.’

It was really reckless of me to jump out of the window. It was hard to save Tina, and both of us could’ve died. I would never do this if I were a normal person, but this time, the feeling felt almost natural.

‘The devil’s body will not be destroyed.’

I remember the magic that naturally appeared to me just before I hit the ground. Even though my powers were sealed, there was still a small amount where I could use almost instinctively. Maybe if I study more about it, I can use magic whenever I’m also not in an extreme situation. Of course, I got hurt a little here and there because I failed to land perfectly. Still, Tina was safe.

“ I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You were hurt because of me…”

Tina kept apologizing to me in tears. I sat gently beside her.

“Tina. I saw you tied up all your sheets and made them into one big string. Were you trying to sneak out? Through the window?”

“That’s…”

“And then the string came loose in the middle because it wasn’t tied.”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

She answered in a weak voice. I stretched my arms while smiling and hugged her shoulders.

“I’m very scared. I miss my home and my family.”

“…”

“Sorry. I also want to send you home as soon as possible, but I don’t think it’s going to be easy right now.”

Here’s the situation. From the background story I know, the Kingdom of Lochastin – Tina’s motherland – was at a time of a great civil war and a terrible battle between the royals. Even though she’s still young, she’s part of the royal family. It’s clear that if she goes back like this, it would be dangerous. In fact, some of Tina’s cousins and siblings died during the war.

“But tell me whenever you want to go back home. I’ll help you get back.”

“…It’s not.”

Tina’s head, which was facing against me, now turned.

“I don’t want to go back home.”

Tears welled up in her big, shiny eyes again.

“I can’t go back to the kingdom.”

“How come?”

“My father said before I left that I shouldn’t run away even if there’s a chance for me to… And if I don’t stay here like the Devil wants me to, it’ll create a big problem for the kingdom….”

Tina, who was mumbling and pouring out her words, soon grabbed my arm and began to cry.

“Well, I’m not running! I’ll stick by your side, so please don’t bother my kingdom!”

“…I won’t bother it.”

Of course I’m going to bother it. You handed over your cute little princess to the Devil’s Castle and then slept comfortably afterwards? And, it’s not even the Kingdom of Lochastin that comes to rescue her after a long time, it was a good empire warrior. I patted Tina as she looked up.

“Then why did you try to sneak away on your own? If you didn’t want to go home then why…”

“The star.”

After pausing for a while, Tina murmured softly.

“I missed my mom so much. I’m sorry.”

“Your mom… where is she now?”

“In the sky.”

As soon as I heard that, I felt suffocated. Tina said it as if nothing bad happened.

“His Majesty Lochastin said she became a star a long time ago. I look at the night sky whenever I want to see it. But when I’m in the kingdom, I could never see her star there… so I wanted to try looking for it here but I didn’t want to bother the Devil. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay.”

I forced some words out. As I hugged her softly, I realized why I threw myself out to save her recklessly. I didn’t want Tina to be lonely, and I don’t want her to think I was left alone.

“Let’s go see the stars.”

***

After that day, we often went to see the stars on the hill near the Great Wall. We continued to do it even after Tina grew older and realized what it meant to be a ‘star’.

“That was a shooting star! Devil, did you make a wish?”

“No, I missed it. What about you?”

“He-he. I did!”

“What did you wish for?”

“Um…”

Tina looked worried for a moment and then smiled.

“It’s a secret!”

She was no longer afraid of me. Rather, we became quite close by talking to each other first or her recommending to me anything delicious to eat.

10 years have passed now…

“Devil, let’s go out to the village!”

“Devil, can I share this cake with you? It’s delicious.”

“Devil, as always, you get prettier everyday.”

“Devil…!”

“Stop!”

…She stuck to me like a shell and followed me around all day. I sighed slowly when I saw Tina with a clear smile as I was tidying up my hair.

“Tina, do you still want to go home?”

Now that the civil war at Lochastin Kingdom is over, the king announced that he will visit the princess himself. It felt like the right time for her to return home. But contrary to my expectations, she spoke sweetly with a sharp blade behind her words.

“I don’t.”

“As expected.”

I sighed and opened my mouth again.

“I think I know, but why?”

“I will live here with the Devil for the rest of my life.”

Tina had a pretty smile on her face.

…There needs to be a doctor somewhere. I don’t want to be abandoned in this stupid castle forever. I couldn’t figure out how she came to that conclusion and what I did wrong while raising this child for the past 10 years. However, I couldn’t say no to her determined remarks, and Tina burst out laughing.

I know from experience that remark was not a compliment. When she was little, she even thought of running away from the castle by tying bed sheets together. Anything is possible when it comes to Tina.

‘…Scary princess.’

It seems like the future of being killed by the warrior is coming closer, but it also feels like an illusion…

***

“Devil! Can we go to the town and have a meal there today?”

Tina zoomed toward me before I knew it with her blonde hair tied up prettily on both sides. She used to be just cute, and now she is becoming a beautiful lady. It was like a feeling of seeing my well-raised daughter…

In fact, even if I didn’t raise her, she would’ve grown up to be a pretty and upright princess. I remember Tina’s appearance in the game trailer, which was seen as a little gloomy beauty trapped in the castle. She was pretty even then, but she looked even better now with her cheerful expressions.

Compared to her, I haven’t changed a bit since I first possessed the Devil 10 years ago. I usually feel like I’m in reality, but in this aspect, it still feels like a game. Still, I was 23 years old before all this.

“Okay, Tina. What should I eat? Is there anything you want to eat?”

“The grill chicken I ate at the store last time was delicious!”

“Alright, should we go eat that?”

“Okay!”

I made Tina get ready to go out and then we went to the underground of the Fortress. When I first came here 10 years ago, I didn’t know anything about the castle, but now I knew all the places around here since I’ve been wandering for quite some time now.

The most important place among them was the Devil’s underground vault, and that’s where I’m going now.

“Deran, Derakal.”

[The Devil. Did you call me?]

[Did you call?]

Two black jaguars loitered around the pitch-black darkness at my call. They were the first creatures I could use after I was possessed.

“Yes, I have an order.”

Few of the monsters originally used by the Devil listens to my orders. Others may have subtly noticed that the owner has changed. In this situation, there were many that didn’t obey my words, so it was a tremendous advantage to have advanced monsters like Deran and Derakal on my side.

It was still amazing. In the game, there weren’t any detailed explanations for such things, so you had to read the book to know more, and it was said that advanced or intelligent creatures could communicate in languages. The growth of the monsters were divided into 4 stages, and the monsters above the upper levels could become humanized when they grow.

However, unlike humans who naturally grow as they get older, there are also many magical aspects that make the monsters not grow at all in their entire life. Deran and Derakal are high quality creatures that can bite off a human neck in one breath and they still have not yet been in the final stage of growth.

‘I like them, but they will probably treat everyone else like chewy gummies.’

Before I knew it, the two of them came to my side and began rubbing their faces against my hands. They looked more fierce than any other wild monsters. The polite one was Deran and the wild one was Derakal. I patted them roughly and then pocketed some money from the safe.

“I’m going down to town today, so escort me. Hide in the shadows as usual.”

[That’s easy!]

[Please leave it to us. We won’t let anyone touch the Devil.]

“No, I always say this, focus on Tina, not me.”

The two looked unhappy at my added words, but since it was an argument we had every time, they quickly gave up and nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

I smiled and went to pick up Tina.