The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 51

‘Well, whatever.’

I laughed for a while, clenching my fists in determination.

‘I have to thank Lakius.’

He deserves it, after all, as it was all thanks to his help that I came up with this idea.

It wouldn’t be enough to just say thank you, so should I prepare a gift?

…… Yeah.

But then, I remembered the way Lakius had looked earlier.

His face was red, as if it was going to burst.

‘Did I surprise you too much by hugging you suddenly?’

Maybe it’s because I’m young, but my mental age tends to follow my body sometimes.

If I count my past lives, I’m much older than Lakius…

‘Okay, I’ll be more careful from now on.’

I decided to be considerate of our male protagonist’s delicate feelings.

* * *

That night.

The training ground of the Imperial Knights was completely deserted.

A boy walked out.

In one hand, he clutched a wooden sword, hanging at an angle.

The boy was none other than Lakius.

He was a loner, shunned by the entire palace, including the emperor and empress.

But Lakius’s expression was not so dark.

‘Tatiana.’

He felt strangely thirsty at the mention of her name.

‘You know, Laki.  What do you think is essential to selling a lot of things?’

She looked up at him, leaning back on the couch, chin resting on her hand.

And then.

‘Laki, thank you so much!’

…….Even though he just gave her some simple advice.

Her thin arms wrapped instantly around his neck. Her warm body temperature pressing against his. The way she felt light as a feather, even though she was hanging on with all her weight.

‘Laki, you’re a genius!’

She probably meant it.

It had already been six years since he and Tatiana had known each other. During that long time, Tatiana had never once drawn a line or lied to him.

And Lakius, well…….

‘It’s strange.’

Sometimes he wondered if he deserved her kindness.

Tatiana, who was loved by everyone. Tatiana, who sparkled and shone.

Meanwhile, he was still like a ghost of the palace. Even after six years, the palace people still feared him.

They wouldn’t even talk to him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Despite all that, he could now completely ignore such things. The only reason why he felt okay is…….

‘I’m sure it’s because of Tati.’

Lakius chewed on the words he couldn’t bring himself to say earlier.

‘Tati, sometimes you seem so far away.’

Even though he was trying his best, he felt like he was not enough for her.

‘But still…’

For a moment, determination flickered in his red eyes.

‘I don’t want to grow apart from you like this.’

If Tatiana was going to surpass him with her exceptional achievements at such a young age, Lakius thought he could at least follow in her footsteps somehow.

She was the one who discovered him first and reached out to him. She helped him breathe in the hellish palace.

She was the one who became his one and only light, his one and only sip of water when he was like a withered plant that couldn’t drink even a drop of water or see the sun.

The one and only.

She was the only person who couldn’t be compared to anyone else.

‘So, I mean ……’

His red pupils deepened.

‘So, I want to be someone special to Tati too.’

He knew it was a selfish desire.

However, sometimes there are desires that one cannot help having, even though they know they shouldn’t.

Since some time ago, Lakius had a dream. He dreamed of being able to walk side by side with Tatiana. He never wanted to show her any shameful aspect of himself.

In other words.

‘I’m going to be a much…. better person than I am now.’

His grip on the wooden sword tightened.

‘Somehow.’

Whew.

He took a short deep breath, and then Lakius began to swing his sword.

It was a textbook horizontal cut that he had learned directly from Siegfried.

He trained until the darkness of night became deep, and until the moon began to rise in the sky.

Lakius’s training did not stop.

* * *

I was sitting by the window where the sunlight was shining brightly.

“Hmm.”

I sprawled out on the couch, studying the storybooks in front of me with serious eyes.

Since I had decided to make a biographical comic in the form of a cartoon, it was urgent to find someone to do the character and cartoon work.

So, I decided to start by looking at children’s books.

Basically, since children’s book illustrations are generally aimed at children, it should be easy to match their tastes and make a successful comic with one of these illustrators.

But even if I couldn’t find the right person, I was considering asking a job agency or something….

“Tatiana, why are you doing that?”

Siegfried poked his head in just in time.

I looked at him with wide eyes.

Strange, Siegfried should be stuck in his office at this time, shouldn’t he?

Anyway, Siegfried steadfastly asked another question.

“Do you want to read a story? Do you want me to read it to you?”

“…….”

Hey, first dad.

You have no talent for reading children’s books. Isn’t it about time you realized that?

Although such a criticism rose up to my throat, I just smiled brightly.

“No, I’ll read it myself.”

And as soon as I answered, I was interrupted.

“That’s right! Let the young lady read it!” Suddenly, the butler popped out. “There are piles of documents that Your Excellency needs to take care of.”

“No, wait a minute….”

Before Siegfried could even get a few words of retort out, he was dragged away by the butler.

I watched his blurry figure and waved my hand gently.

“Cheer up, Dad.”

And then.

“Phew.”

I leaned against the back of the sofa.

When Siegfried left the living room, it became so quiet that I could hear the sound of a needle dropping.

This silence felt somewhat new.

‘It’s rare for the house to be this quiet.’

No wonder, since the three dads always used to bustle around me.

But recently, they’ve each been busy with their own work, so we’ve been seeing each other a little less.

Kirios hasn’t been able to get out of the tower because of his work with the sticky notes, and Cesar is being held captive by the priests.

‘I feel a little lonely somehow…….’

I thought to myself, and then pursed my lips.

The human mind is so simple.

Just a moment ago, Siegfried was all excited about not going to work.

And now I’m already lamenting that I haven’t seen my dads for a few days.

‘Maybe… I like my dads more than I thought.’

At the same time, I felt pathetic.

‘No, who am I to have such idle thoughts?’

Although I haven’t fully awakened yet, I am unquestionably the Demon King.

And they are the heroes who defeated the five demon lords and brought freedom and peace to humanity.

In other words.

We have a relationship that will someday have to come to an end.

What’s the point of getting needlessly attached to them?

‘Forget it, let’s focus on my original purpose.’

My objective is to have a Plan B in case I don’t awaken as a Demon King.

It’s to build up an independent fund that can support myself without the help of the heroes.

I can’t lose sight of my goal.

“Hmmm…….”

I flipped through the pages of the storybook, frowning.

There didn’t seem to be anything special about it….

“Huh?”

For a moment, my eyes widened.

‘This picture, isn’t it nice?’

To be honest, it wasn’t a particularly colorful drawing that really stood out.

It wasn’t a fluffy, adorable drawing that would fit into a children’s story.

It was just a well-drawn picture.

The figure was clear, and the ability to draw a variety of poses and expressions appealed to me.

Would you say they had the basic skills of a comic artist?

Of course, I would need to research more about panel division and direction, but….

‘Okay. Let’s inquire about this person for now.’

I checked the cover first.

But.

‘Huh, why isn’t the illustrator’s name listed?’

There’s just the publisher’s name in big letters on the cover.

The illustrator’s name was nowhere to be found.

‘That’s weird.’

I scratched my head.

Wouldn’t a big, illustrated book, like a children’s book, usually have the illustrator’s name on the front cover, where it’s most visible?

And then.

After scouring the cover and inside of the children’s book for a while, I finally found the illustrator’s name tucked away in the corner.

“Why is the illustrator’s name so much smaller than the publisher’s?”

I grumbled, then froze in place.

“Wait. Nicholas Moore?”

The name sounded familiar.

I mean…….

“This person was the illustrator who drew the record of Lakius’s Demon Lord Subjugation, right?”

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