Chapter 39

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 4, 2025

Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Pinterest Telegram

Previous life.

While imprisoned in Tartarus of the Babel Tower.

Back then, in that scorching hellhole shrouded in hot mist, spending seven days and nights with the saintess was quite enjoyable. But despite that…

No matter what, boredom was unavoidable. Being tied up in a dull prison with nothing to play, nothing to watch, and no work to do was truly terrifying.

At that time, I had a conversation with the saintess about boredom.

“Saintess-sama, aren’t you ever bored? You’re always sitting there quietly, just smiling.”

“Haha.”

Then, she gave an answer very much like her.

“I’ve learned that enjoying the pleasure of patience is the key to enjoying life.”

“Patience? Pleasure? Is that some kind of mental masochism?”

“How could that be? You can think of it as a form of spiritual training. By cultivating the virtue of waiting, we prepare ourselves not to falter when evil temptations come.”

“Virtue of waiting? Are you saying being bored is good? Then should we spend our whole lives waiting?”

“Not only waiting, but also calmly letting go of any hardships that come our way—that’s what true virtue is, isn’t it? That’s what I believe.”

“Hehe, when life’s already busy enough playing around, what’s the point of cultivating that?”

What a truly human response.

A spiritually enlightened human response.

That’s why I was moved.

“And who knows?”

“Hmm?”

“Maybe someday we’ll face a grueling trial where we have to endure and wait for an incredibly long time.”

“You’re gonna die soon, so what nonsense are you spouting, Saintess-sama?”

“In this chaotic world, there’s nothing we can guarantee.”

“Hehe, His Majesty the Demon King is coming to kill us—so that’s a pretty certain future.”

Looking back, at that time I dismissed her words as meaningless chatter.

“…Still.”

“Hm?”

“Still, I…”

Looking back now…

“Whenever such a situation comes, Joker-sama, I hope you won’t forget me.”

“What does that mean?”

“I won’t forget either. No matter how much time passes, I will never forget Joker-sama. Not even the blessed seven days and nights we spent together here in this dark Tartarus.”

“Puhahaha! Was today’s meal spoiled? Why are you suddenly talking nonsense!”

“Haha. This means the virtue of patience is that noble and important.”

“Hehe.”

Her words back then weren’t just empty talk.

Isn’t my current situation somewhat similar? How funny. Does the saintess have some foresight into the future?

Anyway, anyway, so…

I used to not understand this ‘aesthetics of waiting’ at all, but now I do.

I’ve been waiting for Aru to submit for hours already, but I’m having fun.

“Keee…”

It seems Lady Aru, our wolf king, isn’t doing so well.

Aru still hasn’t touched the meat. In other words, she’s been starving for hours. Since they wouldn’t feed the goods at the auction house, she might have been hungry longer than I thought.

I’m relaxed because this is a victory already decided by waiting.

If she keeps starving, eventually Aru will die. But Aru mustn’t die because she’s the queen.

Aru has the destiny to somehow survive and lead the wolves. The one born to be queen is Aru.

“Hmm?”

“Grrr…! Grrrr…”

“Are you not getting tired, Aru? You have amazing stamina?”

“Keeeng… Can’t bark anymore? Good that it’s not noisy.”

Oh no, I shouldn’t let this happen.

Though I spoke leisurely, hurting Aru’s neck isn’t good.

Why is it okay to hit the head but not the neck? Because the neck is harder to regenerate.

I need to feed Aru quickly. But if she eats voluntarily, it’ll take some time… Ah, I have a good idea.

“Auu, I’m sleepy. I need a nap.”

“Grrr…?”

“Can Aru stay quiet? Don’t wake me up, or you’ll get punished again?”

With a graceful flick of my magic staff, Aru trembled greatly.

“I haven’t slept at all, so I’m really sleepy. Let me close my eyes…”

Speaking to myself in a voice Aru could hear, I leaned against a nearby tree. My eyelids closed dramatically.

Whether human, demon, or beastman, when there’s no one watching, everyone becomes more lenient with themselves. Conscience shrinks too.

Now there’s no one watching Aru. Meaning, whether Aru eats the meat or not, no one will see it.

Of course, since only Aru and I are here, if the meat disappears, it obviously means Aru ate it. But the tempting sight of juicy meat right in front of her, as a descendant of wolves, would be hard for Aru to resist.

Unlike someone who has reached the level of a sage like the saintess.

“Cool…”

“Grr…? Are you really sleeping…?”

“Cool cool…”

“Kee… I’m hungry…”

The scene that will unfold after a short nap is quite anticipated.

*****

The fresh scent of ominous undergrowth tickles my nose.

The burning sunlight makes me feel hot as it passes through the air.

This is the Demon Forest.

I’ve just woken up from a nap.

As soon as I regained consciousness, I immediately turned my head toward the cage where Aru was imprisoned.

“Wow!”

“What, what are you looking at! KONG!”

In my line of sight, there was no trace of the bloody prison cell that used to be there.

Which means my plan worked.

“Finally ate it! Good job! Aru!”

“GRRR! Stop lying! I didn’t eat anything!”

“Really? You didn’t eat anything?”

“KONG!”

You little brat, learning how to lie from a young age.

“Is that so? Then what’s that bright red stuff on your mouth?”

“Grrr…? On my mouth…?”

I grinned slyly and pointed at Aru’s mouth. Aru wiped her mouth in confusion and immediately panicked.

“KONG KONG KONG KONG!”

“Hahahahaha! Aru, was the meat that delicious? So much that you forgot to wipe your mouth?”

“A, ah, no! Grr! I didn’t eat it!”

Aru hurriedly covered her face with her small hands. Her face, which turned red out of nowhere, strongly denied it.

Strong denial equals fact, even a child knows that.

“Aru, was it delicious?”

“Ugh…”

“Was it delicious, Aru? You should answer, right?”

Whoosh-!

“!”

I picked up the magic staff I used to beat Aru before going to sleep and twirled it lightly.

“M, it was delicious! KONG! I answered! Don’t hit me!”

Aru’s pupils shook like an earthquake upon seeing the magic staff. As expected, my magical tool is still effective.

“Wow! Good answer! Since you followed the order well, I should give you a reward again, right?”

“KONG? Reward?”

“If you don’t follow orders, you get punished! If you follow them well, you get rewarded! Didn’t I say that before?”

“I heard it! I remember! KONG KONG!”

“That’s right, our Aru is really smart.”

I took another piece of meat from the basket and put it in the cage. Aru glanced at the meat sideways.

“What, aren’t you going to eat it?”

“Grrr…”

“Then I have no choice! I’ll take it away!”

“KONG? KONG KONG KONG KONG!”

As soon as I reached for the meat, Aru fiercely barked.

I smiled softly and spoke.

“What, don’t want me to take it away? But you said you weren’t going to eat it, right?”

“KONG KONG! You left it before! Why are you taking it now!”

“That was a special service! If you’re not going to eat it, I should take it away. Wolves might develop bad habits.”

“Keeeng…! A, are you really going to take it away?”

“So am I faking it? Make your choice. If you say you’ll eat it right now, I’ll give it back. If you say you won’t eat it now, you won’t get this meat anymore.”

Aru’s dusty face shrunk like a panic attack. For a brief moment, Aru was deeply contemplating.

To preserve the dignity of a noble king or to get the delicious meat?

“Keeeng, nyang, keeeng…”

Eventually, Aru crawled around on all fours inside the cage, making weak sounds. The sight of the beastman who looks human spinning around the cage was quite ridiculous.

“Aru, are you throwing a tantrum?”

“Keeeng… nyang, keeeng!”

“Nope. Can’t help you. Go back.”

“Keeeng…”

Aru’s head drooped. Her neatly dried ears reflected her feelings.

“Simple. Say you’ll eat it all in front of me, and I’ll give it to you.”

“Keeeng…”

Crossing a line once is difficult. But once you cross it once, crossing it twice or thrice becomes easier. Aru has already crossed the line once.

All living beings have something called conscience in their hearts. When I closed my eyes, Aru, thinking no one was watching her, made the choice to betray her pride. Having done it once, there’s no reason she can’t do it again.

Even though I’m watching her with my eyes open now, it’s a bit more embarrassing than before.

The hunger from fasting for quite a while can’t be satisfied with just one piece of meat.

“Still not saying? I’ll take it away? It’s your choice, I gave Aru a chance, right?”

“W, wait! KONG!”

“Wait? I don’t want to?”

“Mu, I’ll eat it! KONG KONG! Eating it is fine, right!”

Ultimately, Aru succumbs to the temptation of the meat. Thus, we’ve become a little closer.

“Keeeng… bad demon… I’ll kill you someday… someday I’ll definitely kill you…”

Well, “closer” is subjective. By my standards, we’ve indeed become closer.

“Very good thinking! Now eat it right away! Or I’ll take it back!”

“KONG KONG! Don’t take it away! Mu, I’ll eat it!”

Wolves naturally have a strong sense of possession towards food. As I reached for the meat again, Aru immediately rushed forward and grabbed it with her mouth.

And so began Aru’s mealtime.

“Yum yum…”

The piece of meat disappeared into Aru’s mouth in an instant. It’s like watching a black hole. That’s how recklessly Aru chewed, tore, and swallowed the meat.

“Aru, is it delicious?”

“Grrr…”

“If you say it’s not delicious, I won’t give you any more.”

“Ma, it’s delicious! KONG! It’s delicious!”

“Hahaha! It makes me happy too that you say the carefully prepared meat is delicious!”

As Aru was focused on eating, I subtly extended my hand. Seeing the shadow of my hand hovering over her head, Aru growled for a moment but then quietly continued eating the meat, probably fearing it would be taken away again.

Swoosh-

Aru’s head felt soft and fluffy like a cloud thanks to her fur. Slowly petting it, I felt great satisfaction knowing I had mercilessly beaten such a cute head with my magic staff earlier.

Hehe, I’m already looking forward to the next time she doesn’t listen.

“Keeeng… nyang…”

“Aru, what’s wrong again?”

“Don’t touch my head… please…”

“Hmm? Why?”

“That’s something only my parents did…”

Ah, so petting feels good then?

Did recalling childhood memories soften her expression a bit?

“Don’t taint the memory of my parents with my mom and dad… Grr…”

…Ah, so that’s why.

“What shall I do!”

“KONG…?”

“Aru doesn’t have a choice! If I, the leader, say so, that’s final!”

“Keeeng… keeeng…”

What fascinating beasts, wolves are.

They’re fun to tame. Teasing them is amusing too.

Alright, what should I command next… Hmm?

Already here?

Rustle-

At the artificial sound of foliage, both mine and Aru’s heads turned immediately. A foreboding premonition of a perilous future enveloped me.

“Finally found you, you damn brat.”

“Is the wolf king these days fraternizing with demons? Sitting still while having your head petted?”

“They say dogs and wolves share the same origin. Demons wagging tails are all the same.”

“Didn’t you almost die three years ago after getting thoroughly beaten by Cerberus? Should someone like you look down on dogs?”

“…Damn, got nothing to say there. How am I supposed to beat a guy with three heads?”

Two burly men emerged confidently from behind the trees. Their appearance meant they were confident they could defeat me.

Such arrogant confidence. We’ll see about that after a fight.

“Didn’t notice the handsome gentlemen following me. How long have you been trailing?”

“Since you caused a ruckus at the auction house. We put a tracking spell on you.”

“I see. Actually, I knew. Just surprised you came earlier than expected?”

Other demons are still on their way.

My enemies aren’t just them. Several demons tracking me… Anyway, as long as it’s not Lilith. At this point, anyone stronger than me with the saintess’s rosary poses no great threat.

Ah, I shouldn’t meet that mustached man who sat next to me at the auction house. He had extraordinary power.

“Early birds catch the worm.”

“Seems you don’t know early worms get eaten first.”

“…Are you telling us to eat you?”

“Why, feeling hurt? Your intuition is spot on!”

“Che. What’s the point for a mere phantom to boast.”

Swish-

One of the two demon men drew his sword. Silently, I reached into my pocket and touched my secret weapon – the saintess’s rosary, which only I can use throughout the vast Demon Realm.

“Ey, must we fight? Can’t we talk this out?”

“After all your bold taunts, are you trying to back out now?”

“I’m just concerned. We don’t necessarily have to fight, right?”

“If you quietly leave with the wolf king, we might consider it.”

Saying that, the man smirked wickedly.

Nonsense. How could they let me live as the only witness?

“Grrrr…”

Aru growled at the unfamiliar men, further chilling the already cold atmosphere.

“Looks like you’re rejecting our offer. Well, doesn’t matter anyway.”

Should I reveal that I’m the third son of the Northern Duke’s family? No, there’s no one here anyway. If these two demons kill me, no one would suspect them. Similarly, if I kill them, no one would know it was me.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong-

Drumbeats from somewhere heighten the tension. This drumbeat that exists only in my mind always excites and arouses me. Like Pavlov’s dog responding to a bell, or Lua flinching at my magic staff. Blood rushes to my head.

Thump thump- My heart beats violently. I tightly gripped the angular cross.

Simultaneously, the two demon men kicked off the ground toward me, exchanging unknown signals with their hands.

*****

Delicious.

Tender.

Give me more.

Hurts.

Unpleasant feeling.

Cold smell.

The smell of iron that Dad warned me to be careful of.

Scared.

After smelling that smell, Dad disappeared.