The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 44

Anyway, the gift that Lakius picked out was…….

“A pen?”

It was a high-quality pen with my name beautifully engraved in gold.

“I …..chose that because I thought it would be good for studying.”

Lakius muttered, averting his gaze slightly.

“I’ll get you something much nicer later. I understand you don’t like this one but…….”

“Why? When I really like this pen?” I asked back, dumbfounded.

At that moment, his red eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“……really?”

“Of course! I’m going to study with this pen every day!” I grinned sheepishly, clutching the pen in both hands. “Then it will feel like I’m studying with Laki, right?”

“Ah…….”

Lakius’s face flushed bright red.

Siegfried and Cesar, who had been watching, clicked their tongues in agreement.

“Don’t you think kids are a little too precocious these days?”

“I agree. And Lakius, I wonder if you’re getting a little too friendly with our innocent Miss Tati.”

Even Kirios whispered in my ear. 

“Tatiana, what are all the men called?”

“…….”

I’d been through this a few times already, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t freaking me out.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at the three dads.

“Dads, it’s childish.”

As I spoke, the dads came to their senses and clung to me.

“Mi-Miss Tati?”

“Kid!”

“Tatiana, but why?”

I protested, having kept my mouth shut for a long time.

“We’re just friends.”

For a moment, Lakius’s shoulders stiffened.

‘What?’

I looked back at him, however, he hadn’t flinched; he was just looking at me with a silent gaze.

‘…… Am I wrong?’

I said again, feeling a little weird.

“I mean, friends are allowed to be close, right? What if you keep giving him glares like that?”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three dads fell silent in unison.

……Why do they all look so resentful?

Anyway, this is what happened.

I decided to put the nail in the coffin.

“Dads, when me and Nora play, you never say anything.”

“No, that’s just…….”

“Then why do you only say things to Laki?”

I narrowed my eyes, unwilling to relent to my unreasonable fathers.

And then I snuck a glance at Lakius.

‘Look, I’m defending you this far!’

……But.

‘What?’

I blinked.

If I’m backing him up, why does he look so shaken? He’s forcing a smile, but it’s like his mood is strangely subdued.

No…What? The dads are like that, and Lakius is like that.

I had no idea what was going on.

* * *

After all these twists and turns, the birthday party ended.

I went to see off Cesar, Kirios, and Lakius.

“Dads, I had fun today. See you later!”

I waved, and Kirios, who was just about to board the carriage, pinched my cheek painfully.

“Hey, kid, maybe next time you should come to the Magic Tower.”

Cesar’s eyes narrowed and he glanced at Kirios.

“You’re going to invite Miss Tati to the Magic Tower, where there’s an explosion every time?”

“Oh, well, with me around, what the hell could possibly go wrong?”

Kirios rubbed his hands together annoyedly. Then he pushed up the corners of his lips and turned to face Cesar.

“You don’t even get to invite the kid.”

“Come on, Kirios…….”

“So, does it really get to you that I’m inviting a kid to the Magic Tower?” Kirios finished his question with a twisted smile.

Ouch.

Cesar was still grinning from ear to ear, but I could see it.

The way he tightened his hold on his collar.

And then I saw the blood rushing up the back of his hand!

“Are you jealous? But what can you do, when the Great Temple would be bad for the kid’s health anyway?”

As if to make sure he heard, Kirios whispered in Cesar’s ear.

Cesar’s eyes lit up and he glared at Kirios, but he couldn’t bring himself to protest.

I watched the two men exchange words with trepidation.

‘Ha, if only I could control my demonic energy…….’

In fact, I had planned to go see the famous sculptures and paintings owned by the Great Temple once before.

‘Because I can’t bear to see even the slightest harm to Miss Tati’s body.’

Cesar had stopped me from going to the Great temple with a look of bitterness on his face.

‘Is it really that dangerous?’ I asked, feeling just as bitter as he did.

‘No, I mean, actually, you’d be fine for a quick visit, but…….’ He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes filled with concern. ‘You still can’t do it.’

I sighed heavily and shook my head…….

Well, here we go again.

Aren’t you tired of it?

I walked over to Kirios and tugged on his collar.

“Kirios, my dad.”

“Why?”

“If you keep making fun of my dad, Cesar, I’m not going to go to the tower with you.”

“…….”

With those words, Kirios was instantly quiet.

Anyway, sending the two dads off first.

I turned to Lakius, who was standing in the back of the group.

“Be careful out there, Laki!”

“Ah, mmh.”

He nodded quickly. Strangely, though, he stood there, hesitating, as if he had no intention of returning to the carriage.

‘Is there something you want to tell me?’

I looked at him, puzzled.

At the same time, Lakius called out to me.

“Tati– you know…”

“Mmh?”

After a moment’s pause, Lakius spoke in a calm voice.

“Maybe the masters are right.”

“……Huh?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, so I narrowed my eyes.

He took a couple of steps back and smiled at me.

“I’ll see you in the next class, then, Tati.”

And with that, he strode off to his carriage.

No, is he going to play riddles with me?

What the hell is he talking about?

* * *

 In the carriage, traveling back to the palace.

Lakius was rubbing his chin, thinking over what he had said to Tatiana.

‘Maybe the masters are right.’

Why had he said that out of the blue?

Because the masters were frowning at him for showing a bit of affection for Tatiana?

Well, there are many reasons.

But one thing is certain.

“I don’t want to be a….. normal friend”

Lakius frowned and then laughed. 

Being just one of Tatiana’s many friends, he hated that idea.

But to be her only friend.

He wanted to be her one and only friend, the one she wouldn’t trade for anyone else.

* * *

About a week later.

The words turned into action, and I unexpectedly visited the magic tower.

So why did I go to the tower…….?

‘I have to find a way to live on my own somehow.’

I clenched my fists in determination.

One cannot always be lucky.

I have to be prepared in case I fail to control my demonic energy, or even worse, fail to awaken as a Demon King.

Right now, I’ve got my warrior dads looking after me, but I can’t rely on them forever.

‘To do that, I’ll have to earn some…… independent funds first, right?’

With that in mind, I headed to the library first.

Stocks and investments, business, auctions, real estate…….

As I picked through the books and stacked them on my desk, Nora’s mouth dropped open.

“No, Miss. Why on earth would you want these books……?”

“For me! To make some money,” I replied, opening the books with determination.

In the fantasy novels I had read in my previous life, making money off of the information from the original work was a common trope.

The problem is that <The Prince Becomes a Hero> doesn’t have any money-making information…….

In a fantasy novel where the main character grows up and goes to slay a demon, so it would be a bit odd for it to have such information, wouldn’t it?

Anyway, beginning with that, I spent a few days in the library battling through the books.

“Phew, everyone has to have an investment fund, right?”

I sighed heavily, closing the book with a thud.

Of course, it’s not like I don’t have an allowance.

Siegfried is surprisingly attentive to this, and I know he transfers his allowance into my account on a regular basis.

But how much pocket money can you really give a ten-year-old?

……but you never know.

“You know, Nora,” I coyly called out to Nora. “Do you happen to know how much money I have?”

“Huh? Money?”

For a moment, Nora’s expression became puzzled.

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