“Th-that was just a joke. You were just trying to play with kids like us!”
“A joke…?”
Kyriel Yudia, who had been squatting, tilted his head at Alan’s outburst.
“What is a joke?”
“Hah…? I mean, you lied just to tease us!”
“Why?”
Even faced with Alan’s shrill tone, Kyriel Yudia remained composed. Alan’s lips trembled; he bit his lower lip, hesitating.
“Th-that’s… because you wanted to enjoy watching us get our hopes up and act all excited…”
“Did you get your hopes up because I said I’d be your dad?”
Kyriel Yudia countered with a hint of amusement. Alan’s face turned bright red. As he struggled for a retort, Bunny’s eyes went wide.
“Young Master, do you wanna be Bunny’s daddy?”
“Didn’t you ask me to be your dad?”
“Nope… I asked you to be a guardian to raise Bunny…”
“You don’t like the idea of a dad?”
Bunny’s eyes grew round. Without a word, she wiggled her fingers, pulled a small, shabby cloth pouch from her rabbit bag, and held it out.
“I like it!” she answered with a beaming smile.
Kyriel Yudia blinked, staring at the offering. *Is this a gift for parents?*
“Thank you.”
Despite his confusion, he accepted the item and offered a faint smile.
“Oh, and! The medicine coming out of the… uh, Modern Trading Company. It’s gonna be a huge hit, so you gotta dump your money in!”
“Dump… what?”
“Dump your money in!”
“…‘Dump.’ You really know some strange words.”
Bunny tilted her head, then chuckled. *He doesn’t even know this. The Young Master still has a long way to go.* She shrugged, held her head high, and declared, “This is adult language.”
“Adult language? What does that mean?”
“Uh… like, take everything and shove it in.”
Kyriel’s smile deepened. Thinking that whoever taught her such vulgarity was quite the character, he spoke with easy grace.
“Since that’s adult language, it’s forbidden for Bunny to use it.”
“Hing… But Bunny is an adult.”
“You can’t be an adult with that shorty height…”
“Shorty?”
“Yeah.”
Bunny blinked. “What’s a shorty?”
“It’s a thing, small and cute.”
Bunny’s eyes widened and she grinned. *Bunny is popular after all.* The dads hadn’t exactly lined up, but she had one now anyway. Luriel said that as long as you arrive at the goal, the method doesn’t matter. Bunny is a great shrimp that doesn’t burst even among whales.
“Bunny, shorty.”
*Hehehe.*
As she stood there laughing, Alan looked at her as if she were pathetic. Bunny ignored him, giggling to herself.
“By the way, was there news about medicine coming out of the Modern Trading Company…?”
Kyriel muttered, rising to his feet. “So, what brings you here today?”
“I came to give you my allowance.”
“You want an allowance?”
Bunny shook her head vigorously. “No. Bunny is a good girl! I do well on my own. I’m not a bother. Right?”
“Well…”
Kyriel nodded. Bunny’s face brightened; she slipped closer, brimming with excitement. Kyriel hesitated as she thrust her face near his hand, but he eventually reached out to stroke her hair. Bunny’s cheeks turned fiery red.
When she grabbed Alan and shoved him forward, Kyriel chuckled and patted the hair of the flustered boy a few times as well.
Bunny beamed and bowed. “Then, bye-bye!”
She whirled around and scurried off. Kyriel watched her go, his hand lingering in the air before he slowly pulled it back.
*…As expected.*
His eyes narrowed. He’d thought it might be his imagination, but…
“I can definitely sense a faint aura of a demon.”
Kyriel shrugged. She was a child he’d kept around only to verify that nagging doubt. There might be some ulterior motive behind her approach.
*She is cute, though.*
*Well, it’s a bother, so I’ll just leave it be for now…*
Narrowing his eyes, Kyriel went back inside his room and burrowed into his blankets as if nothing had happened.
* * *
The Judia Dukedom holds a meeting once a year for the children who have undergone the summoning ritual. It was a vital opportunity for the head of the Judia Dukedom to provide direct advice regarding future plans or divine beasts.
“The Duke is a really scary person, so if you hesitate even a little, you get scolded really badly.”
“They say he hates lies an incredible amount, too…”
“I heard he doesn’t meet with useless kids ever again!”
“They say if he suddenly asks a question and you can’t answer, he secretly sells you off.”
“Is that all? They test your manners, too. Last time, someone got scolded terribly for eating a cookie in front of them without permission.”
Bunny gulped, listening to the murmurs at the gathering place. *The Duke, an incredibly scary, greedy human!* She hugged Magomi to her chest. Inside her rabbit bag, she had tucked the quail eggs wrapped in cloth and the money she’d saved from the market.
*Should I have brought the elephant, too?* she wondered, wiggling her fingers nervously.
*No. Bunny has an amazing egg.*
A Heugyeomryong egg.
Bunny chuckled, “Hehe.”
Since she had read Luriel’s secret notebook and brought information that would be helpful, he would surely think she was a useful child.
*Lying is essential to becoming a magnificent, super-duper Demon King!*
The egg was too small and weak right now, so she had to lie—but once the Heugyeomryong was born, no one would be able to ignore them. *Until then, Bunny will protect the egg!* As long as Bunny was here, no one could dismiss the Heugyeomryong egg.
*“Baby, baby. You must not trust humans too much. Humans will only stay by your side until you are an adult. So you must remain a child who is helpful so you don’t get hated. Understand?”*
*“Uung. Bunny doesn’t trust humans. Only trusts Luri.”*
*“Aww, good girl. If you ever don’t know something or it’s hard, just read this super-duper big Luriel’s notebook.”*
*“Hey, Luri. Bunny, can’t Bunny just stay with Luri? I wanna be with Luri. I hate humans… I like Luri.”*
*“Huk, you’re seriously too cute. Those wretched humans won’t persecute you, will they? How is a child like this the villain position?”*
*“Huh?”*
*“Oh, nothing, nothing. Luriel loves our baby so, so, so much. You know that, right? But, baby. Because you are a special baby, you have to stay with the humans for a while.”*
*“…Uung.”*
*“Understand? You must never hope for love. You mustn’t be jealous of friends, either. Humans are all users! A sucker! Stick a straw in and slurp, slurp!”*
*“Uung! Slurp, slurp!”*
Remembering those days, Bunny scrubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.
Bunny didn’t cry. She had the super-duper big Heugyeomryong egg, she had cool information, she earned money—Bunny is a good girl!
Bunny, one hundred points on the interview!
With her nose held high, Bunny clenched her adorable little fists.