🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter – 09
It was only after an hour and a full twenty minutes had passed that Bunny opened her eyes, her face looking dark and gloomy.
As Bunny unfolded her hand, a pure white light floated up and popped with a soft burst.
“Ooh!!”
Exclamations of admiration were heard from here and there. At the same time…
Thud, roll.
The spreading light gradually faded, and something fell to the floor, rolling until it stopped at Bunny’s feet.
The buzzing of those who had been marveling stopped abruptly.
An egg…
No, it was a quail egg.
‘Total disaster…’
In Bunny’s imagination, the line of daddy candidates smirked, turned their backs on her, and walked away.
“No way…”
Flop.
Bunny ended up falling to her knees in front of the quail egg.
The moment Bunny placed her hand on the orb, her hand was sucked in, and Bunny’s world transformed in an instant.
It was because she was flying—right above the clouds. Surrounding Bunny, who was floating over a sea made of clouds, mysterious lights gathered in abundance.
They were beautiful lights of every imaginable color.
‘This! Light!’
Only then did Bunny realize that these lights were the same ones she had seen in the other children’s hands.
Bunny’s eyes sparkled as she pushed through the gathering lights. She knew instinctively: there was a dragon here.
‘A super big light!’
To fly through the sky, Bunny stretched her right fist forward and kicked her feet rapidly while lying prone. When she did, she surged forward.
For some reason, Bunny began to dodge the numerous clusters of light that kept approaching her, searching for the dragon instead.
“Luri, what is a Black Flame Dragon on the left arm?”
“Pardon? Oh, a Black Flame Dragon on the left arm? Ah… well… it’s a super-duper strong, pitch-black dragon that stays next to the Great Demon King. Um… if a Black Flame Dragon dwells in your left arm, immense courage wells up, and you can do anything.”
“Whoa…”
Black Flame Dragon on the left arm!
Bunny’s eyes shone brilliantly. If it was a Black Flame Dragon, it would definitely be a pitch-black light.
With that single-minded goal, Bunny ignored the many radiant lights creeping toward her and rummaged through the pure white clouds.
How long had she been kicking her feet and searching?
Bunny discovered a single cluster of pitch-black light tucked away in a corner on a tree. It was a small light, but regardless, it was pitch black.
“Found it!!”
Black Flame Dragon of the left arm! Just you wait!
Her eyes sparkling at the black cluster of light, Bunny ran toward it with all her might. Just as she reached out her hand…
A flash of white and bright red light suddenly lunged and tucked itself right into Bunny’s hand.
“Huh…?”
Blink, blink.
Bunny blinked her clear eyes a couple of times.
She turned her head to look at the black light, which was somehow shivering, then looked back at the white and red light that had forcibly wedged itself into her palm.
“Noooo!!”
The moment Bunny tried to quickly let go of what she was holding…
Suddenly, the world seemed to flip upside down, and Bunny’s small body was pulled downward.
“Waaaaah! My Black Flame Draaaagon…!”
Bunny’s cry, filled with sorrow, floated over the sea of clouds.
Of course, the Black Flame Dragon—or what was presumed to be it—never ended up in Bunny’s hand.
Sniff. Sniff.
Bunny swallowed back sorrowful tears while holding the egg—no, the quail egg—that was rolling on the floor.
“Black Flame Dragon…”
Every word was heavy with grief.
“Bunny… total disaster…”
Uwaaaaah.
Seeing Bunny clutching his leg and sobbing heartrendingly with her face buried in his white uniform, Roden Heiner looked at Jesse, at a total loss for what to do.
Trust this Luri-el. You will surely summon something incredibly cool and awesome, Little Miss.
Luri, you liar.
It’s not great at all.
Even so, because the light she held was so huge and bright, she thought the thing summoned would be huge too, but it was much, much smaller than Bunny’s palm. It was even smaller than a chicken egg. It was the smallest egg Bunny had ever seen.
Little Miss, you understand? If you leave the orphanage and go to be adopted, you must make a guardian. Even if it’s not a daddy, any human adult who stays by your side until you grow up will do.
Operation Daddy: Failed.
‘Bunny… can’t read human letters, doesn’t have a dragon… being a giant Great Demon King is a secret…’
…In that case, is Bunny totally ordinary?
It was certain that no daddy would want Bunny. In none of Luriel’s stories was there a super strong demon daddy who loved a child with no talent.
‘Because Bunny isn’t real; she’s just a future Great Demon King…’
Still, Luriel said a guardian was absolutely necessary.
Even if it wasn’t a daddy, she just had to make a guardian. A fake has to do their best in their own way.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Sniff.
Bunny rubbed her eyelids vigorously and quickly shook off her sorrow.
Traces of Bunny’s tears and snot remained clearly on Roden Heiner’s trousers.
‘Then next is Operation Money-Money!’
It was the “Everyone Loves a Rich Child” strategy.
Like the 28 Romance Fantasy novels Luriel told her about every day, such as <Is the Hated Illegitimate Demon Child the Richest on the Continent?!>, or <The Story of How I Became Rich at Age 4>, or <Self-Made Conglomerate Life Starting as a 3-Year-Old Low-Level Demon>!
Having changed her goal from “Adoption Operation” to “Acquiring a Guardian,” Bunny gave a loud sniff.
Sniff.
Wiping her tears away with her sleeve, Bunny peeked up and scanned her surroundings. As expected, no daddy candidates were lining up.
Letting go of the leg that had been so nice to hug, Bunny rubbed her eyes again and looked around properly.
If the daddy candidates weren’t lining up, Bunny would just have to go find one!
Sniff.
Swallowing a sob through her flushed red nose, Bunny recalled what Luriel had said.
No matter how many people are in line, the criteria for choosing is a handsome or pretty person. Originally, the importance of a role changes based on the order of handsomeness.
A handsome or pretty person…
After rubbing her eyes a few more times, Bunny’s gaze slid around as she surveyed the area. She paused when her eyes met those of a person sitting in the seat of honor.
Bunny’s eyes widened.
Sparkling red eyes.
Jet-black hair.
And…
‘He’s handsome…!’
Pass!
In her head, Bunny slammed down the “Pass” stamp three times. Clang, clang, clang.
Because every “Super-Duper Big and Strong Daddy” in the storybooks Bunny knew had black hair and red eyes. Moreover, he was handsome just like Luriel said, so his passing grade was certain.
‘Bunny’s guardian!’
Since the current Bunny had nothing special about her, it might be hard for him to be a daddy, but she thought he might be sufficient as a guardian.
Of course, while Bunny was lost in her imagination, the surroundings had become deathly quiet due to the unprecedented situation of someone pulling out something like an unborn Divine Beast’s egg for the first time in history.
Rudebreed Yudhia, his eyes narrowed, stood up from his seat in silence.
“Everyone worked hard for the summoning ceremony. There will be separate interviews later, so we shall conclude for today.”
At the Duke’s words signaling the end, everyone who had been watching stood up.
“Also, try to have everyone attend the banquet this evening. There may be some meeting their children for the first time in a while, so it would be good to relax and share stories.”
With a chilling voice, Rudebreed Yudhia stood up and vanished in a flash.
As soon as Rudebreed Yudhia left, the children who had been standing gallantly all began to bolt from their spots. Simultaneously, several people who had been sitting in the surrounding chairs quickly descended the stairs.
It was the moment Bunny turned her head with a puzzled expression
