* * *
*Thump!*
Bunny held her nose high, let out a satisfied chuckle, and pried the lid off the elephant-shaped piggy bank. She tilted it forward.
*Clink, clink.*
A cascade of coins tumbled from the elephant’s trunk.
Bunny spent a long while sifting through the pile, selecting only the shiniest, cleanest coins. With her tiny hands, she transferred a small handful into a cloth pouch, stuffed the rest back into the elephant’s trunk, and pressed the lid down with a decisive snap.
She packed her bunny backpack, tucking in the cloth-wrapped quail egg and her precious pouch, then grabbed Magomi for a boost of courage.
Today was the day!
Bunny was going to get in line to find a guardian.
She hadn’t exactly delivered a stellar performance during the summoning ritual, but the moment it ended, she had retreated to her room to diligently study Luriel’s secret notebook.
[A pro-tip for little ones who cried after failing to summon something cool and amazing!
Don’t worry. You can just approach them first. Go to the person you like and say exactly this:
If someone asks how you know, tell them that what you summoned told you. Then, you’ll be the baby who summoned something cool and amazing!]
“Luri, you really are a liar…”
[Of course, you kind-hearted baby might think it’s a lie.
But since you are going to become the world’s most evil, super-duper strong, and gargantuan Great Demon King, you must learn how to deceive humans brilliantly!
And after saying the words above, make sure to read the rest of the secret notebook.]
Forget what I just said.
“Luri, you really are a genius.”
Thinking this, Bunny wiped beneath her nose.
Having memorized the two sentences, she hid the notebook back in Toto’s belly and donned her backpack with a determined look.
The gift was ready. The script was burned into her memory.
*Bunny is going to go make a guardian now.*
She marched out of the room and stood at the end of the line. Surrounded by children in crisp, sharp suits and beautiful, colorful dresses, Bunny looked small in her rustic outfit, her bunny backpack dangling limply behind her.
“…You.”
At the voice behind her, Bunny tilted her head and turned around.
“Oh, it’s King Snake.”
“I’m Alan!”
Alan looked at Bunny’s shabby attire with a complicated expression.
*Who is this kid? She just keeps approaching me like it’s nothing…*
She’d just find his true form gross soon enough anyway. *Why did she pick an outfit that looks like she scrounged it from the trash in the first place?*
Whether Alan was lost in thought or not, Bunny sniffed, puffed out her chest, and subtly turned her back to him, letting the limp arms and legs of her backpack dangle.
*Are you jealous?*
Alan’s lips twitched at the look, which seemed to broadcast the question clearly.
“…Clothes.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll buy you some clothes later. Let’s go.”
Alan, his earlobes slightly reddened, spoke bluntly, turned away, and held out his hand.
Bunny’s eyes went wide.
Before long, amid the sea of children clinging to their parents’ hands, Alan and Bunny marched forward, their fingers tightly interlaced.
* * *
The Yudia Duchy banquet was packed, with both direct and collateral branches of the family in attendance.
Though the event was in full swing, no one approached Bunny.
Well, except for Alan.
The other children, mostly from the collateral family, huddled in small groups to catch up. A silent barrier seemed to isolate Bunny and Alan—no one dared cross it.
“I’ll be right back.”
Bunny, who had been nervous since entering, didn’t notice.
“Huh? Where are you…”
Alan reached out, but he was too slow. He froze as he watched Bunny trot away through the dense crowd.
“Hey!”
Alan pushed through, his face flushed with panic. It was only natural—Bunny was heading straight toward the direct descendants of the Yudia Duchy.
And not just any of them.
She was approaching the children who had placed high in the Mansion Of Trials, those destined to lead the next generation.
Bunny squeezed through the throngs, stood tall before one of them, and bowed at the waist. Her hair brushed the floor again, but she spoke with practiced precision.
“Hello.”
“Hey…!”
Alan rushed to reach her, but he faltered, turning pale under the weight of the surrounding stares.
“Uh, I am four years old. Bunny.”
When she held up her hand with four fingers spread wide, jaws dropped across the room.
The person Bunny had approached was the most indifferent and lethargic of the direct line—Kiriel Yudia. He was a man whose only merit, according to some, was his appearance: sacred, holy, and utterly untouchable.
Kiriel Yudia didn’t acknowledge what he didn’t care for. He ignored people—child or adult—more often than he spoke to them. Born as the youngest of the Yudia Duchy, he had overcome the curse of the demons and was blessed with divine power that would be etched into history. During his own summoning ritual at age seven, he had produced something that shocked even the stoic Duke Yudia himself.
Because he was unique from birth, he had become an eccentric, spending most of his time in a private chamber in the temple. He was known as an arrogant man who lacked emotion and refused to deal with anything he deemed beneath him.
He sat in his chair now, chin in hand, surveying the room with dead, bored eyes, clearly uninterested in the banquet.
“Tsk, tsk. How did she…”
A ripple of tongue-clicking went through the crowd.
Kiriel Yudia would never pay attention to a child who had summoned something as pathetic as a quail egg. While many children admired him, the list of those who had actually held a conversation with him could be counted on one hand.
The man found speech itself a chore; he was, to put it mildly, impartially cold. He ignored everyone with perfect equality.
“Loti Empire year 887!”
Having successfully nailed the difficult phrasing she had fumbled earlier, Bunny exhaled and wiped sweat that wasn’t even there with her sleeve.
“May eighteenth! Southern Rubia… territory? Rubia, hello…?”
Bunny paused, having accidentally started greeting “Rubia.”
*That’s not it…*
Her pupils darted around. Watching her with clinical focus, Kiriel Yudia smirked and parted his lips.
“Rubia Territory?”
At his amused voice, jaws dropped all over the room again.
Kiriel Yudia had laughed.
That Kiriel Yudia had spoken.
He had even corrected her.
“Ah. Yes! Thank you.”
Bunny, delighted, bowed again and pushed forward with her script.
“Rubia Territory! —a strange illness broke out! The ingredient for the cure is the sap of the Minella Tree!”
Having delivered the lines she’d memorized so diligently without checking the notebook, Bunny straightened her shoulders and puffed out her chest.
*Hmph.*
Bunny, genius status: confirmed.
Kiriel Yudia blinked once. He moved with agonizing slowness, crouching until he was eye-level with her.
“A strange illness breaks out in the southern Rubia Territory on May 18th, 887th year of the Loti Empire?”
*Wow, Bunny really is something.*
She’d said it so perfectly. Bunny wiped beneath her nose, her bridge arching with pride, and raised a hand to answer.
“Yes!”
“And the ingredient for the cure is the sap of the Minella Tree…?”
His drawling tone might have frustrated others, but Bunny just beamed and nodded.
Kiriel Yudia rubbed his chin, pondering. “How did you know that?”
*Hmph.* She had already perfectly mastered the answer to this question, too. As expected of Bunny, the king of kings recognized by Luriel.
A super genius.
“This! Bunny’s eggie told me!”
Bunny said confidently, pulling the tissue-wrapped quail egg from her bag with the dangling rabbit arms.