Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: 16. Burning Brightly. (1)
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# 152
#1 Their Circumstances: The Circumstances of a Certain Daughter.
Lately, Dad's been acting strange.
“Dad! I pulled up all the weeds here!”
“Yeah...”
I ran to him after finishing a fierce battle to report my results, but he just looked at me with no energy.
“Are you sick or something?”
“No, I'm fine.”
“Oh...”
It's like this again.
Normally, he'd reach out to pat my head right about now, but instead, he hesitates and doesn't do it.
“You're not gonna pat me?”
“My hands are dirty.”
He smiles and says that, but it's a lie.
Dad's always patted my head even with dirt on his hands.
And right now, it's summer.
After farm work, it's routine to wash up by the stream before coming inside.
It's not like fall or winter, when he skips baths to avoid catching a cold. In summer, he never minded a little dirt.
Farmers can't avoid getting dirty while farming, after all.
But now he's making excuses and not patting me!
And it's been like this for days!
“...Are you mad at me?”
I ask carefully.
Am I the only one who thought we'd made up?
Has Dad not forgiven me for not talking to him for months?
Is that it?
“No, I'm not.”
“Ugh...”
But Dad just shakes his head with a smile.
Is it really not that?
If not, then why won't he pat me?
I trudge back to the field, feeling drained.
No, I can't let this get to me.
It's summer right now.
The height of farming season!
The sun's blazing, weeds shooting up everywhere!
I need to pull even one more root so our precious crops can grow tall and strong.
If I lose my energy, it'll be a disaster!
“He'll be back to normal soon.”
No one knows better than I do how much Dad loves me.
He's just got something going on right now.
So if I hang in there a bit longer, he'll hug me tight and pat my head like always.
...And just like that, a week passed.
“Sisssster!”
“Yeah, there, there.”
I ran into my sister's arms, tears streaming down—but gently, since last time it hurt.
“Sis, Sis! Dad's acting weird! He barely even looks at me anymore! Did I do something wrong? Do you know?”
“Hmm...”
My sister averted her eyes and stared off into space.
Th-that means!
“You know!”
“N-no, Sis doesn't know!”
“Liar!”
Sis definitely knows why Dad's like this.
Proof? She's avoiding my gaze and whistling—something she never does!
“What is it? Why's Dad mad?”
I grab her collar and shake—gently, not too hard!
“He's not mad.”
“R-really?”
Phew, good.
Dad wasn't mad at me.
“Gotcha!”
“Eek!”
She bolts the moment I relax.
I reach out desperately, but can't catch her.
“Hmph.”
I got something out of her, but not the full truth.
No choice.
Time for bold action!
“Dad, can I sleep with you?”
I knock on his door, pillow in hand.
The village aunties said it: A woman's ultimate weapon is the pillow talk!
I don't get it exactly, but talking under the covers should work, right?
The door creaks open, revealing Dad.
And then.
“Our little girl is growing up, so you should sleep alone now.”
“Huh?”
“You can sleep by yourself, right?”
“Y-yeah...”
He says goodnight and shuts the door.
The light leaking from his room vanishes the moment it closes.
So lonely.
“Hng... Dad, dummy!”
I shuffle back to my room, dejected.
The sun's almost gone outside. It'll be dark soon, so I gotta hurry.
I'll sleep with Misha and Kkoko.
Tomorrow... eat breakfast with Dad, farm together...
But then, my feet stop.
“No way.”
I don't want that.
I want to hold Dad's hand tight on the way to breakfast and the fields, like always.
I want to weed hard and get Dad's praise, like always.
And sometimes... hug Dad tight and fall asleep.
I can't do that anymore!
No. Absolutely not!
Even if I did something wrong, even if Dad might hate me now!
I want things back to how they were with Dad!
I can't give up like this!
I drop the pillow on the floor and grab his door.
Then I shout.
“Dad!”
***
Bam!
“Dad!”
“Y-yes?”
Her daughter's sudden forceful entrance made me flinch.
What is this intensity?
Me, who didn't even flinch at an imperial princess!
“Dad, look me straight in the eyes.”
“Y-yes.”
Hands on hips, glaring at me—her intensity has me obeying, meeting her eyes as ordered.
“Dad, what's wrong with you?”
“Hm? Not sure what you mean, sweetie...”
“Liar!”
Yes, a lie.
Ever since I realized demon blood runs in her veins, I've been avoiding her.
But saying it outright would cause a huge mess, so I've kept quiet!
“Tell me the truth. What did I do wrong? Or... is it that...”
She clamps her mouth shut, glaring at me.
But her gaze drops to the floor, and soon a tear splashes down.
“You... hate me now?”
It feels like a spike through my heart.
An indescribable guilt makes my body tremble.
“If that's it... Ellis... Ellis will do better. I'll listen to you, work harder.”
She's done nothing wrong.
It's just this pathetic dad who can't accept reality.
“So... please...”
So, please don't cry.
“Don't hate me.”
I don't hate you.
“That could never happen.”
I kneel, reach out, and hug my crying daughter.
“How could I ever hate our precious little Ellis? Why say such nonsense?”
“Really?”
She looks like she has a ton to say, but she's holding it all back.
So much she wants to argue, to vent.
But she swallows it all, content just that I'm looking at her.
And that... makes her seem even more pitiful to me.
“Yeah, of course.”
It was all my fault.
My precious daughter, who just happens to carry a bit of demon blood—a succubus heir—and it's hurt her this much.
“To this dad, nothing is more precious than our daughter.”
“R-really?”
“Of course, of course.”
I hug her tight as she sobs silently in my arms.
Yeah, so what if she's a demon?
Next door lives a former sword saint, our pets are a dragon and a cat suspected of beastkin blood!
Plus, that iron bat mistaken for an evil god's spawn everywhere, and me, on the run from the empire!
Demon king? Bring it. I'm great at dodging—I'll evade that too!
“No way it'd actually show up, right?”
I briefly worry if I just jinxed it, but her loud sobs drown it out.
Nah, probably not.
#2 Their Circumstances: The Demons' Circumstances.
The demon king is dead.
Even for a tribal society of demons, the demon king—their representative—holds immense mental and political importance. Undeniable.
Especially if it's one of the greatest rulers in history.
After the previous demon king's death, the once-stable demon society plunged into chaos and fractured.
Now, demons are split into three factions, on the brink of war.
The first faction: radicals centered on Agreat, the human-demon general with the mightiest force.
Loyal to the former demon king, they demand unifying the demon world then invading the human continent.
Unlike their predecessor, they prioritize might over politics, favoring war.
The second: moderates, led by the former demon king's daughter, another human-demon, advocating peace.
They claim no need for demons—rulers of a continent—to fight humans without cause, upholding the late king's will.
The third: oracle faction, proclaiming the demon god's chosen king will descend this generation.
They believe a true demon king, enduring the demon god's blessing, is imminent.
These factions vie invisibly for demon world control, but none end the chaos.
Why? Only two paths to demon king: endure the demon god's blessing, as oracles claim, or win the most tribes' choice out of 101.
Radicals and moderates each hold 50 tribes.
One tribe decides the demons' fate.
“But weren't the succubi exterminated?”
The problem: that tribe no longer exists on the demon continent.
“Princess.”
“Urgh...”
The little girl called princess groaned, slamming her head on the desk.
“Old timer, still... no luck?”
“Yes. Hard to move freely in human lands; searches face many obstacles.”
“I see.”
At the lizardman's words—called old timer—she banged her head again, groaning.
“The oracle clearly said succubi survived, hiding among humans.”
“Yes.”
“And their numbers...”
“Just one. By demon law, as the tribe's head, she wields the succubi's rights.”
“One choice could rewrite demon history...”
Demons, unlike humans, are tribal.
Even a chieftain can't ignore tribe will easily.
But succubi: all extinct but one survivor.
She is the tribe entire.
Secure her, and...
“We won't lose the throne.”
Biting her lip, she glares at the previous demon king's photo.
“Father, for world peace, help me.”
“Princess...”
If that succubus falls to radical Agreat, history's worst war begins—she's certain.
She strongly suspects Agreat in the sudden death, too.
“The moment Agreat becomes king, he'll launch the invasion Father never did. To stop it, I must be king.”
“We'll do our utmost, Princess.”
“Yeah, push harder.”
Lose the succubus, and only endure the god's blessing remains.
But that's a curse only three demons ever survived.
Most perish in agony upon receiving it.
She fears not her sacrifice—but no one left to stop Agreat.
“So please...”
Find the lone succubus survivor first.
Praying to the demon god, she never dreamed:
Before she or Agreat claims the throne,
A true demon king, enduring the blessing, would arise.
She had no inkling.