LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 87
Chapter 87: The Prince’s Daily Life
――I was weeding the field under the blazing sun.
I thought it was some sort of prank I got caught up in, and this was the punishment for it.
As I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a breather, I heard rustling in the bushes beside me.
“Hey! Alex!”
Out popped the root cause of it all. My childhood friend, a girl whose face and name were already vague in my memory, was the one who got me wrapped up in this prank.
“What is it? I’m really busy right now.”
I answered, half-annoyed, in my youthful voice.
“By the way, what happened to your punishment?”
“Hmph! Of course, I sneaked out!”
My childhood friend boasted with a smug face. It wasn’t something to be proud of. She would just end up doubling or tripling the punishment and would be crying in no time.
“Hey! Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“They’re getting married—my brother and sister!”
I barely caught the names; they were muffled and hard to hear. But pretending not to notice, I widened my eyes and replied, “Oh!”
“I just heard it… Hey, I was thinking, shouldn’t we do a surprise to celebrate their new beginning?”
“Give me a break!!”
I looked up to the heavens.
“If we mess up again, I’ll end up with another bump on my head!”
I pointed at the sore spot on my head caused by my father’s fist, the pain still fresh.
“And if we ruin the wedding, it won’t just be a punishment!”
“Don’t worry! I thought of something that won’t get us caught!”
“Who else would play such a prank but us!?”
“Stop whining! Just hear me out—”
I was about to be roped into my childhood friend’s outrageous prank scheme.
…No doubt, I’d end up going along with it somehow. I’d come up with all sorts of excuses to keep an eye on her so she wouldn’t go too far—
But if my memory serves me right, that “wedding” never happened.
Because before that, my village was—
“—Lord Zilbagias, it’s evening now… please wake up…?”
I was gently shaken awake.
“Hmm…”
As I opened my eyes, I found Leila, dressed in a maid outfit, looking timidly at me before quickly releasing my hand.
“Ah… good morning…”
“Ah… good morning.”
As I rubbed my eyes and got up, I realized it was already dark outside.
…I hadn’t had such a vivid dream in a long time.
Right after my reincarnation, I had been tormented by nightmares, but lately, I hadn’t been seeing those dreams as much.
Maybe it was because I was getting used to my current life. But… I was starting to worry that my very memories were fading away…
But still.
I would never let the fire of this anger deep within me die out—!
The fact that I had seen a dream from my past life after such a long time might be—
“…?”
Leila tilted her head. It might be because I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately. The daughter of the White Dragon, who lives in a world completely different from mine—
That aside, I usually wake up earlier, but today, it seems I overslept quite a bit.
“I really slept in.”
“Yesterday, well, you seemed really tired…”
Leila replied with a grin, her affectionate smile lighting up the mood.
Lately, she had been engaging in conversations more, even when I didn’t force it.
I wanted to believe we were getting quite close.
†††
A while had passed since the debacle with the drunken demon girl.
I continued to have a fulfilling day in my own demonic way. Training, training, attending meals with the Demon Lord family, training, attending lectures on necromancy, and more training…
No, it’s mostly training… (spits blood). More like a bloodbath for me…
“Ahhhhh!!!”
Even so, watching Antendeixis wake up sober was a sight to behold.
“Ah! Ughhh—!!!”
He was clutching his head in bed, kicking his feet. Normally he acts cool like the ancient Demon God, but now he’s throwing a tantrum like a toddler.
He was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even muster a reaction, turning red and writhing in shame.
“W-What… I don’t remember…!!!”
And Sophia was in complete shock.
“My memory… it’s completely blank…!!!”
Being a demon of knowledge, she never forgets what she sees or hears. Yet, after she yelled, “I’m drunk!” everything just blanked out in her mind.
“What… what happened…!!”
She was so flustered that her very identity and foundation seemed to be at risk.
“Oh no, oh no…!!”
“Ah! Me too! I got so drunk I don’t remember anything either!!”
Next to the shaking Sophia, Antendeixis shot up from the bed and yelled.
“I feel like I showed some disgrace, but man, isn’t it funny? Is this the magic of alcohol? I don’t remember a thing!”
Even with those wild eyes, it had zero persuasive power…
“…I too want to be pampered.”
I muttered quietly, and Antendeixis let out a squawk like a strangled chicken.
“…You are mine.”
“Kuh—”
Antendeixis fell over, having seemingly died.
“O-You fool… I won’t ever…!”
Next to her, Sophia, trembling in horror, cried out in a devastating tone.
“—I’ll only drink when I want to forget something!!!”
She’s still planning to drink!?
This was the moment a debauched demon had been born among my comrades.
Anyway, I attended the monthly meal party, which was a tradition.
Right after the ridiculous incident, the topic was nothing but me.
“That’s just unbelievable how you got dragged into such a troublesome mess afterward.”
The Demon Lord looked exasperated.
“To break a horn with your bare hands? What a frightening fellow.”
He said this with a hint of pride, somehow.
“—But how did you do that? You’ve improved remarkably since our last encounter.”
The first prince, Aiogias, looked at me skeptically.
“Still, the horns of a demon of a Count’s status aren’t so soft as to break from a knock.”
“That’s what he said. That dumb guy’s horn must have been particularly fragile.”
The second prince, Rubyphia, interjected with a teasing tone.
“Otherwise, that adorable kid would have to be somewhat on par with us in strength.”
She smiled as if it was amusing, sizing me up.
“Hmm… what do you think, Zilbagias?”
“Well, saying that, it was my first time punching someone’s horn bare-handed and breaking it,” I shrugged in reply to Aiogias’s inquiry. Then I glanced over at the Demon Lord.
“…By the way, can I try hitting Father’s horn for fun?”
If I happened to catch him off guard and break it, that would be a surprise!
“Feel free.”
The Demon Lord replied leisurely while sipping his tea.
“—However, remember, if I get hit, I’ll hit back, that’s how Father operates.”
“Never mind, I think I’ll pass.”
No way!! If I get countered and my horn breaks, it would be a total disaster!!
“Um, about that Count fellow…”
Twisting his hair, the usually disinterested third prince, Diagias, finally spoke up. He always looked bored and uninterested.
“The Count Megalos, was it? Is it a woman or a man?”
“Huh? He was a male akin to a goblin.”
“Ah, I see. Then it doesn’t matter.”
In an instant, he lost interest, pulling out a hand mirror to check his own beauty.
So… what if it had been a woman…?
I was about to ask whether my brother was siding with Rubyphia just because she was a girl, but I thought it might touch on “politics” and kept my mouth shut.
By the way, during this time, the glutton prince, Spinethia, was munching away at food while the sixth prince, Topazia, was sleeping with a cracker topped with cheese and smoked fish stuffed in his mouth.
And that green guy was absent today.
I thought I’d gotten lucky not to see his face, but according to Aiogias, he was out on the front lines.
…He apparently was trying to reclaim what I had taken from Faravgi.
Even now, human soldiers could be dying for his sake, and when I thought of that… it made my food taste bad.
Damn it. Life is hard.
I also attended the second and third sessions of Enma’s necromancy lectures.
I learned spells to seal the emotions of souls and inflict pain or pleasure, steadily walking the path of the forbidden.
“Wow, once I start cleaning, it just never ends, huh?”
By the way, the necromancy lectures were still held in the courtyard.
“Once it’s a bit cleaner, I’ll definitely invite you, Zil-kun! Just wait a little longer!!”
Enma smiled brightly, her manicured hands resting on her cheek. She was getting more and more dolled up every time I saw her…
Just how messy was that undead lair?
I can’t wait to visit… (rolls eyes)
†††
And so, I’ve been leading this busy daily life.
“Well then, I’m off!!”
Leila’s flying training, of course, continued.
With a flap, Leila took off in her dragon form, gaining momentum with a run and soaring into the sky.
She glided gracefully, catching the wind with her wings—but when she tried to flap them, she fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Not just fell but went thud!
“Ugh…”
Leila was downcast, frustrated after experimenting with her wing movements every time, hoping, “This time for sure!”
“Maybe… I’m just not suited for this…”
No, I can’t let her get discouraged.
“…Leila, I’ve been watching, and I think…”
It felt presumptuous to offer advice as a demon, but I called out to her.
“Yes… what is it…?”
“When you flap your wings, can’t you put a little more magic into it?”
“…Magic, you say?”
Leila blinked with her white dragon eyes.
“Yeah. Actually, I went to the dragon landing area and observed how other dragons fly.”
—Leila had been forced to remain in human form all this time and hadn’t received any essential guidance in her draconic nature.
While I wasn’t facing open opposition to treating Leila well, if I asked for her help, she’d conjure up excuses to avoid a proper lesson.
So, I took it upon myself to observe the dragons flying.
“—So, I noticed that… It’s hard to express in words, but it feels like dragons create a sort of swirling strong magic in their wings when they fly…”
Even with the perception of a demon, it hadn’t registered clearly since it was so quick…
“I see…”
Leila looked deep in thought, as though the idea had never crossed her mind.
“…I’ll try again! One more time!”
“Yeah, not just once, let’s do this as many times as needed!”
“…Yes!”
She straightened her posture.
Flap, flap, her wings began to move.
“Magic—”
Light ignited in her golden eyes.
“Swirl around—”
Flap, flap, whoosh! The power surged!
“Right… just like my dad and mom…”
She murmured softly.
With a powerful push off the ground, the great white dragon took flight.
A gust of wind.
The silvery dragon soared into the sky—!
“Wow… that’s amazing!!”
Leila flew up light as a feather, just like the other dragons, and with excitement, she yelled—
“Oh no!”
Her wing movements got a little off, and she fell down with a thud.
“…Leila!!”
I rushed over worriedly, but as if nothing happened, Leila stood up.
“Ehehe… I just had a little slip-up.”
With a shy squint, Leila no longer looked downcast.
She was regaining her confidence, that tangible sense of achievement.
“That was really great! Want to try again!?”
“…Yes!!”
With a proud swish, Leila spread her wings wide.
The day when she takes off freely into the sky—
Surely, it won’t be far off.