Since we cannot go outside today, I should go brag to Grandma and Grandpa.
Noona declared, then lifted my body.
“Alright, let’s go~”
Receiving praise didn’t sound so bad.
Thus, I found myself dangling from Noona’s grasp as we headed towards the Elders’ Chamber.
****
Inside the quiet Elders’ Chamber, Void was kneeling, her hands raised high in a position of punishment.
“No, why would you touch that? What are you, an idiot? Do you want to die?”
“C-calm down, Anuket.”
“Let go of me, Oppa, I need to kill them.”
Anuket, her face contorted with fury, was vehemently scolding a tearful Void.
Damian, her disciple, watched the scene unfold from a corner, conjuring popcorn with magic and casually popping each kernel into his mouth.
This was a wise action, stemming from his knowledge of just how terrifying his new master could become when angered.
“Why did you eat that?! Are you insane?! Who told you to just pick up and eat anything?”
“…I apologize…”
“I’ll teach them properly.”
“Just stay out of this, Oppa. Why are you defending someone who even stole your name?!”
“…Ahem.”
Hader cleared his throat, seemingly at a loss for words.
“You learn this as a child! From your parents! I painstakingly crafted that for our disciple over several days!”
“…Demons, well, they are born without parents…”
“So what?”
Anuket was well aware that demons were born from the mana of dungeons.
“It was a lifespan-extending potion… what did you intend to use it for, having eaten it?”
“…I was thirsty…”
“Haa…”
Anuket, who had been raging, suddenly slumped.
“…It’s fine. It’s not like you can spit it back out now.”
Only then could Void finally relax.
Even as the First-Ranked Demon King, she lacked the power to contend with a Dragon Elder.
‘I-I almost died.’
To nearly die just for drinking the wrong beverage.
Void felt quite wronged, yet she had no choice but to endure.
Even for a Demon King, the Grandmothers and Grandfathers here were simply too terrifying.
“Hey, hands.”
“H-hic.”
Spotting Void’s arms slowly lowering, Anuket shot her a chilling glare.
“You’re being punished. Stay like that until dinner.”
“…R-really?”
“Do I look like I’m lying?”
“……No.”
Watching the scene, Damian felt as if he had gained a comrade.
Though his initial impression of Void in the dungeon had been unfavorable, seeing her face quite often recently made him realize she was a surprisingly decent person—or rather, a decent demon.
The fact that she was also being disciplined by their master, just like him, made them practically kindred spirits.
“Damian.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Keep a close eye on them to make sure their hands don’t drop.”
“Yes, Master.”
Damian tucked his popcorn into a sub-dimension and approached Void.
“Haa…”
Void sighed, discontent at being monitored by a human.
“A sigh?”
However, Anuket’s icy voice instantly cut through the air, causing Void to break out in a cold sweat.
“N-no, that’s not what I meant.”
“I’ll let it slide just this once.”
“…Yes, Master.”
Void maintained a blank expression as she stared at Damian.
‘What. are. you. looking. at.’
‘……’
‘Go. f***. yourself.’
Damian remained completely unfazed by Void’s mouthing.
With the protective spell Anuket had cast, there was no one who could stop him now.
Damian scoffed, returning the favor to Void.
‘Idiot.’
“!?”
Damian, having grown up on the streets, possessed a wild tongue, however warm his heart might be.
His momentary surprise at Damian’s unexpected coarseness quickly faded.
Void moved her lips once more.
‘You. like. the. Hero. don’t. you?’
“??”
‘One day, I’m going to…’
What followed was a string of truly vulgar and depraved curses, befitting a demon.
Damian was utterly shocked that such words could issue from such a beautiful face, leaving him speechless.
Void, basking in a sense of victory, puffed out her chest.
This act stemmed from the joy of triumphing over a human and the pride that, as a demon, she naturally belonged above humans.
“…What are you two doing?”
“…Nothing at all.”
Anuket, who had been standing by the door, ready to leave, asked Damian, who seemed unusually deflated. However, Damian, his pride wounded, simply brushed her off, claiming nothing was amiss.
The moment Anuket tilted her head, puzzled, and opened the door…
“Ta-da!”
“Oh, Your Royal Highness!”
“Hehe.”
Han Yuri, who had been waiting by the door, thrust a fresh Mino right into Anuket’s face.
“Hello.”
“…I suppose the research lab can wait a little longer.”
As Mino, dangling in mid-air, offered her greeting, Anuket murmured this before re-entering the Elders’ Chamber.
Of course, she did not forget to claim Mino from Han Yuri.
“…Are you truly alright?”
“I’m fine. I’ve been holding her a lot.”
“Even your words are so lovely! To have two such adorable babies!”
With an expression of utter bliss, Anuket drooled slightly as she hugged Mino and Yuri tightly.
“Ah… I should have just refused to be an Elder and gotten married when I was young…”
Anuket grumbled this, embracing Mino, but no one paid her any mind.
Anuket frequently spoke such laments to herself.
Except for one person.
The one who loved to interject.
“You couldn’t have anyway. Lake was the only one left for you.”
“…I know.”
“Then that’s fortunate.”
Anuket, accustomed to such jabs, merely responded with a sigh and relieved her stress by hugging Mino and Yuri even tighter.
“Hehe, baby scent.”
“D-do I have it too?”
“Yes, Yuri does too~”
Anuket, emboldened, began speaking informally, yet no one seemed to notice.
****
Noona also smells like a baby.
Is it because she was with me?
I knew I smelled like a baby, but it’s surprising that Noona does too.
“D-do I really?!”
“Yes, I told you~”
Grandmother Anuket said, stroking all of us affectionately.
Noona’s face flushed crimson, evidently embarrassed by being treated like a baby.
“…Technically, for a Half-Dragon, she is still a baby…”
Noona muttered, seemingly trying to console herself and lessen the shock.
Somehow, being embraced by both Noona and Grandmother Anuket felt incredibly warm and comforting.
“…Ehehe.”
“Oh my, Mino has melted, hasn’t she?”
“Grandma~”
“So cute.”
From Grandmother Anuket’s eyes, looking at me, honey seemed to drip.
Though I felt a little shy, I simply beamed.
Just then, Void, who was still holding her hands up in punishment but inexplicably wore a joyful expression, caught my eye.
…?
Had she developed a peculiar taste after playing with Grandfather Hader?
It was entirely possible.
“Grandmother, why is Void doing that?”
“Hm? Oh, she stole Damian’s potion and drank it.”
“She stole a potion?!”
I had always believed her to be a kind Demon King.
Now, I felt betrayed.
No, had all her kindness been an act until now?
Where was the Void who used to smile so gently at me?
Where was the Unnie who always welcomed me with a smile whenever I visited the dungeon?
To think she had kleptomania…
With trembling pupils, I stared at Void.
Void, who seemed to have overheard my conversation with Grandmother Anuket, began to explain that it wasn’t true.
“N-no, it wasn’t like that! It was just sitting on the desk, so I drank it!”
“That *is* stealing.”
“…Ugh.”
Void hung her head low at Grandmother Anuket’s sharp retort.
How long had she been like that, I wondered?
“W-was she doing that since this morning?”
“Yes, she was.”
“Gasp.”
That seemed a bit too harsh.
“P-please don’t torment my friend so much…”
“Mino!”
“Uh, huh?”
Grandmother Anuket looked flustered, while Void gazed at me with eyes brimming with emotion.
After all, wasn’t she the woman I had brought here? I had to take responsibility.
“Can’t you stop punishing her?”
As I gently tugged on Anuket’s cloak, Grandmother Anuket groaned, glancing back and forth between Void and me.
Then, she let out a sigh.
“…Alright, little one. I understand. I’ll let it go just this once.”
“Hehe, thank you!”
So grateful was I that Void was released, I couldn’t help but hug Grandmother tightly.
In response, Grandmother smiled and stroked my head.
“…How enviable.”
“You were here?!”
“Yes, I was, Your Royal Highness.”
Grandfather Hader had been sitting in a corner, idly scratching the austere floor.
Though I felt a slight reluctance to hug a man, I simply ran over and embraced him once.
“…Hmph.”
Grandfather Hader then cast a satisfied smile towards Void.
It was a clear sneer.
Void, who had been continuously tapping her arm, likely due to numbness, scoffed at his derision and suddenly stretched her arms towards me.
I knew exactly what that meant.
“Hehe.”
“Oh, my dear Mino~~”
Void subtly opened her eyes to confirm my face, then pulled me into a hug and rubbed her cheek against mine.
Suddenly, Noona, who had been quietly standing nearby, huffed and snatched me away from Void’s embrace.
“Why is Mino yours? What if your filth gets on the child?”
Gasp, what harsh words.
“Is that something a Half-Dragon should say?”
Gasp, even harsher words.
Noona held me close, then tauntingly displayed me to Void.
She even pulled my cheek, grinning widely.
“Ughhhhh…”
“How about that?! You’ve never done this, have you?!”
“K-kuh! So cute. But you’ve never seen *this*, have you?!”
Void then conjured an illusion, playing a video of a tiny me stuffing my cheeks full of jewel jelly and munching away.
It seemed to be footage recorded during my last visit to the Demon King’s Castle.
“Ugh, how embarrassing.”
“W-what?!”
“Hmph.”
After that, their trivial quarrel continued.
The subject: who had seen more of my unique antics.
Meanwhile, Damian had been entrusted with looking after me.
“Thank you, Damian.”
“Why am I not ‘Oppa’?”
What do you mean?
“Try saying ‘Oppa’. Oppa~”
“N-no, I don’t want to.”
“Huh!?”
Damian, rejected by me, looked utterly shocked.
…I-I’m sorry.
Even if he was the benefactor who saved Noona, ‘Oppa’ just didn’t feel right.
“…How amusing.”
“This is quite a spectacle.”
In the corner, Grandmother Anuket and Grandfather Hader watched Noona and Void’s battle unfold.
The Elders’ Chamber had truly become a complete mess.
That mess…
“Why is it so noi—”
…only ended when Lavender Icicle arrived.
“What the f*** is this?!”
These were Lavender Icicle’s first words upon seeing the Elders’ Chamber turned into a complete disaster.
