Chapter 5: Demon King’s Homework -1

Seere walked around holding a teddy bear and the training journal that Nahin had given her.

It was for the practical task Nahin had assigned her in imperial studies.

“Oh my, Your Majesty!”

Cecily, a maid of the Demon King’s Castle, spotted her and greeted her warmly.

Cecily had been working as a maid at the castle since the previous Demon King’s reign, and today, her soft, glossy fox tail stood out as usual.

Seere, about to bow her head as usual, remembered the task Nahin had given her and held her head up stiffly.

Cecily smiled kindly and asked, “Why are you alone today?”

Today, neither Nahin nor Kain were by her side.

In response to Cecily’s question, Seere showed her the training journal in her hand.

Cecily glanced at it for a moment and then nodded as if she understood.

“Ah, that must be the homework from the new teacher who arrived.”

Seere nodded eagerly.

She had decided to put into practice the imperial studies task that Nahin had assigned her.

With an adorably exaggerated motion, she put her hands on her hips and commanded Cecily, “Clean up everything right now, Cecily.”

Normally, Seere would add polite honorifics when she spoke, but today, she spoke differently, dropping them entirely.

It wasn’t something she thought of herself; she was just repeating what Nahin had told her to say.

Learning how to appropriately command subordinates as a ruler was part of her imperial studies.

The task was meant to help Seere, who had not yet internalized the posture of a ruler, to grow accustomed to giving commands, even if it felt forced at first.

Cecily tilted her head slightly at Seere’s order.

“Your Majesty, but I’m already cleaning.”

“Huh?”

When Seere slightly opened her mouth in realization, Cecily chuckled softly.

After glancing at the training journal, Cecily quickly adjusted her behavior.

“Still, since it’s a direct order from Your Majesty, I must be more thorough. I shall obey your command.”

“Uh, uh-huh.”

Satisfied with the response, Seere trotted past Cecily.

Cecily smiled joyfully as she watched Seere’s small, white-haired figure happily running down the hall.

“She’s so cute,” Cecily said with a soft laugh.

After running down the hall and descending the stairs, Seere headed for her next destination: the kitchen.

Standing in front of the kitchen door, Seere stared at the doorknob with her wide, bright eyes.

She reached for it.

“Ugh…”

She couldn’t reach it.

Though she was seven years old, Seere had developed slowly and was smaller than other children her age.

As a result, the kitchen door’s handle was just out of her reach.

It wasn’t really Seere’s height that was the problem—the kitchen door handle was installed higher than normal as a precaution to prevent the young Seere from wandering into the kitchen and getting hurt by the hot stove or fire.

While Seere was now old enough to understand this, the kitchen door still denied her entry.

After struggling for a while, she murmured dejectedly, “I can’t reach it…”

“Your Majesty.”

Just then, someone arrived to help her. It was a demon with a sturdy blue-scaled body, a lizard-like face, and a long, impressive tail.

“Uncle Mark!”

“Oh my, what brings you here, Your Majesty?”

His name was Mark, a skilled cook of the lizardmen, and the one responsible for the kitchen at the Demon King’s Castle.

He was also the one who made Seere’s favorite pudding and cakes, so she was very fond of him.

It seemed Mark had just returned from the food storage, as he was carrying boxes of ingredients in both hands.

Seere instinctively bowed her head to greet him, then gasped, “Huh!” in surprise.

Mark tilted his head and asked her, “What’s the matter, Your Majesty?”

Seere shook her head quickly, indicating it was nothing.

Mark didn’t pry further.

He deftly lifted the box in his left hand with his tail and opened the door for Seere.

“Please, come in, Your Majesty.”

Following Mark into the kitchen, Seere glanced around.

The kitchen looked as it always did, a place where cooking with fire was done, and everything was always kept in order.

It was a testament to how much the head chef cared about cleanliness.

“Did you want something to eat?” Mark asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Seere responded, somewhat awkwardly.

Mark noticed the difference in her tone but didn’t press the issue.

He had always found Seere’s previous formality unusual—this was more natural.

“Just let me know, and I’ll make whatever you want.”

Seere swallowed hard, staring at Mark.

Normally, she called him “Uncle Mark” affectionately, but speaking to him in a commanding tone was difficult.

However, Nahin had told her she wouldn’t be allowed to eat pudding if she didn’t complete this task, so she had no choice.

With a raised index finger and as much dignity as she could muster, Seere commanded, “Make me pudding!”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Mark gladly set to work.

He prepared the ingredients and began the familiar process he had repeated countless times.

Seere watched him with bright, eager eyes.

The process of making pudding seemed like magic to her.

Before she knew it, she was completely absorbed, her mouth slightly open in concentration.

Making pudding takes time—there’s the baking and the cooling, after all.

But they were demons capable of using magic.

With a wave of his hand, Mark instantly cooled the baked pudding.

The finished pudding was served on a plate and placed before Seere.

“Enjoy, Your Majesty.”

“Yay!”

Seere’s eyes sparkled, completely forgetting that she was in the middle of a task, and she gleefully accepted the pudding like any child.

Mark smiled contentedly as he watched her.

Seere scooped up a spoonful of pudding.

“Mmm!”

As soon as the pudding touched her tongue, Seere felt as though heaven had opened up before her.

“Is it delicious?” Mark asked.

“Mm-hmm,” Seere nodded vigorously.

Seeing her reaction, Mark felt fulfilled.

After all, nothing brings a chef more joy than watching someone enjoy their food.

“It’s so good!” Seere chirped.

Though she wasn’t used to giving commands yet, she realized that sometimes, it wasn’t so bad.

***

Three days had passed since Nahin arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.

During that time, Seere had been receiving theoretical lessons from Nahin in the mornings and practicing what she learned in the afternoons.

“Good, Seere. Try moving your magic a little more.”

“Yes, yes!”

Seere was currently training to draw her magical power outside of her body.

The goal was to continuously pull out the mana trapped in her mana heart, extending her circuit.

“Impressive…” Nahin marveled at the amount of magical energy coming from such a small body.

Despite the fact that she had few circuits, more magic than expected was being drawn out.

“Is this the power of a Demon King?”

The description of Seere’s power in the game wasn’t exaggerated.

Even from what he remembered from the game’s plot, Seere’s magic was at an extraordinary level.

Her potential was far too great to be considered that of the lowest-ranked Demon King of the 72nd floor.

“At this rate, we can push a little harder.”

Nahin thought they could accelerate her training, but not just yet.

Seere still lacked the stamina.

“That’s enough for now, Seere.”

“Okay.”

When Nahin gave the signal, Seere retracted her magic and panted heavily.

That was precisely why they couldn’t push her too hard just yet—her stamina was lacking.

Having grown up sheltered in the Demon King’s Castle, Seere’s stamina was low for her age.

She should have had more energy, like other children her age who could play for hours without tiring.

“We’ll move on to stamina training after a short break.”

So, Nahin made sure to include stamina training in her daily routine.

It was written clearly in the training journal.

“Okay.”

Seere obediently followed Nahin’s instructions.

He nodded, grateful that she was cooperative.

Dealing with a disobedient child would have been far more difficult, and Nahin wasn’t confident he could handle that.

He was relieved she wasn’t difficult to teach.

After resting enough, Seere changed into comfortable clothes, leaving behind the cute dress she usually wore, though she still held her teddy bear.

“Are you planning to run while holding White Bear again?” Naen asked.

Seere nodded enthusiastically.

Nahin tilted his head.

No matter how much she liked the doll, her attachment to it seemed excessive.

“Is there a reason for it?” he asked gently.

“But if you run and fall, White Bear might get hurt. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“I won’t fall!” Seere responded confidently.

“You never know what might happen. Things can go wrong,” Naen warned.

Despite his caution, Seere hugged White Bear even tighter.

Seeing this, Nahin decided not to force her to let go.

“Alright, if you insist.”

“Yes.”

“Run as much as you did yesterday. Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Seere started running with determination, clutching her teddy bear in both hands.

It looked precarious, but surprisingly, she ran without stumbling.

“She has a good sense of balance…” Naen thought.

Curious, Nahin turned to Kain, who was waiting nearby, and asked, “Kain.”

“Yes, Nahin?”

“Is there a reason Seere is so attached to White Bear?”

“Oh, I forgot to mention.”

Kain glanced at Seere with a look of pity as she ran.

“That bear was a gift from the previous Demon King, Lord Seir, for Seere’s fifth birthday.”

Upon hearing this, Nahin immediately understood why Seere was so attached to the teddy bear.

It was her fifth birthday, the last one she had spent with her father, Seir von Devata.

White Bear was the final birthday gift her father had given her.

Nahin hadn’t known this, as it wasn’t revealed in the game.

It was probably part of the story’s background that wasn’t made public.

“I see…”

Nahin furrowed his brow slightly. He knew the truth about Seir von Devata’s death.

It was a crucial part of the game’s storyline, and Nahin was fully aware of the details.

But now wasn’t the time.

Nahin wasn’t heartless enough to tell such a young child, who hadn’t yet come to terms with her father’s death.

When the time came, and Seere was ready to seek revenge…

For now, education came first.