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Chapter : 11
“Hey? Shut your mouth! You little demon!”
“Aaaah! A ghost!”
Talking wasn’t working, so I jumped down and lunged at him.
Then I grabbed the little demon who was trying to run away, covered his mouth with both hands, and dragged him next to the fallen rainbow stone.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“Little demon. I’m hiding here! All demons can hear! I’ll be discovered!”
“Mmmph!”
“If you shout, that’ll happen to you!”
I pointed at the long-necked animal statue lying on the ground. The little demon blinked, then looked back and forth between it and me.
He nodded.
And the moment I let go of his mouth, he shouted:
“You’re an intruder! I know everything! Why are you here? My big brother said not to play with you!”
“Little demon! You shouted!”
I immediately smacked him, turning him into something like the long-necked animal statue.
The little demon fell sideways and lay there staring at the ceiling, then suddenly burst into laughter.
His eyes sparkled brightly.
I watched him quietly, then asked:
“Did you use magic on your eyes? Can you see better that way? What kind of magic is it?”
“You talk weird! Are you a grandpa?”
So the little demon could understand me too.
But although he understood, it sounded strange to him.
“Is that an answer?”
“I asked first!”
“I asked too!”
We blinked at each other for a moment, then I shouted again:
“Close your eyes, little demon! Candles must be put out during the day!”
“Candles? What are you talking about? And why am I a demon! I’m Theo. Theo. What about you?”
“I am No. 1… no, that’s not right! Go away!”
“But why did you hit me earlier? You’re really strong. Are you a magical beast? Hey, magical beast, let’s spar. Yeah? My brother said not to play, but sparring is fine!”
I really couldn’t tell if he was listening to me or not!
“I am not a magical beast!”
“Then are you a monster?”
“That’s right!”
“Then are you dumb?”
“Little demon, I am not dumb!”
“Aw, you didn’t fall for it.”
“…!”
For some reason, what the little demon said suddenly made me want to break something.
“Then what are you? What was that ‘No. 1’ earlier? Why won’t you tell me your name?”
“Tch. My name is No. 1!”
“That’s your name? That’s weird. Why is there a number in your name?”
“That’s because I’m a monster!”
“What does being a monster have to do with that? I’m a monster too, but my name is Theodor!”
“…!”
I blinked, my mouth falling open, then swallowed and asked:
“You said you’re a monster too?”
“Yeah! All my teachers said I’m like a monster! Hehe.”
The little demon liked being called a monster.
I tilted my head, then carefully spoke again.
“Are you… smart too? Like me?”
“I’m smarter than you!”
“Can you walk on ceilings too? Like me?”
“Of course! If I want to, I can do anything! But why do you keep changing the subject? Why is your name the only weird one?”
I moved my lips, then shouted:
“No. 1 is my name!”
“Uh…?”
The little demon frowned slightly and tilted his head.
Then he leaned closer to me and, for some reason, spoke in a softer voice—like that blue-clothed demon.
“Hmm. You’re young, aren’t you?”
“What did you say!”
“You’re young. A baby. Hmm.”
“Y-you!”
“You dummy. If you say ‘No. 1,’ it sounds like the name of an object!”
“…Huh?”
“That’s not a monster’s name. If you ever get a monster name, tell this big brother. Or maybe I’m more like a hyung? Anyway, tell me. If you do, I’ll call you Theo!”
What is this?
Since yesterday, these unfamiliar feelings kept rushing in, and I couldn’t bear it anymore.
“I am! No. 1! Immortal No. 1!”
“Huh? Immortal?”
It felt like the butterflies in my stomach all turned into flames.
While the little demon said, “Hey, say that again! What did you just say…,” I screamed and lunged at him, grabbing a fistful of his golden hair.
“Use your fists! You sneaky intruder!”
“Uaaaahhh!”
“Ah! Hngh, waaah! You! Why are you trying to turn me into a bald old man! Waaah!”
The little demon wailed as he picked up the clumps of hair that had been torn out, his hands trembling.
After pulling his hair, the fire inside me calmed down a bit, but when he started crying, I hesitated.
Then, after a moment of thought, I rushed at him again.
“Little demon, crybabies must be hit!”
Crybabies must be hit. That was something I heard often from the researchers.
That’s why I don’t cry.
“Huh? …What? Wh-what is this? Ah! Why are you so strong? You’re seriously at the level of a mid-grade magical beast! What is this?”
The little demon, who had been dazed and got hit a few times, suddenly started laughing.
“Uhehehe, so you decided to play with me!”
Then he swung his hands and feet back at me.
Thud! Thud! Bang! Crash!
We hit each other with all our might.
Since I’m a monster, I fought like one—using magic, but only hitting places that wouldn’t kill.
When someone cries and gets hit, they must not die.
That way, you can confirm when they stop crying.
“No, when kids spar, using magic is forbidden! H-hey? Ah! I said it’s forbidden!”
“You must not cry!”
“You’re the one making me cry! And you’re supposed to say that first!”
“I did say it!”
“…I surrender! I lost! I lost! If you say that, it’s over!”
The little demon shouted that he surrendered.
Since he wasn’t crying anymore, I decided to stop too.
Just then, the skirt-wearing demons who had arrived opened their mouths wide and rushed toward us all at once.
“Young master! Your face is injured! What about the rest, the rest!”
“He fought evenly with the young master. My goodness, how long has it been, young master?”
“Two years! Uhehehe. Ah… I found it!”
While being carried away, the little demon kept saying “I found it!” before suddenly fainting.
“No, more importantly, how did they even meet?”
“Yuan, go inform the butler! Our young master, it’s okay. Let’s take a quick look here, alright? We need to treat you…”
I was breathing heavily, then bit the hand of the skirt-wearing demon who approached me.
“Oh my?”
She tilted her head, then picked up my eyeball that had fallen out during the fight and placed it beside me.
I quietly watched, then hugged the eyeball tightly.
My breath kept trembling.
When I stayed still, the demon examined me carefully, then spoke gently:
“Then I’ll treat you here. I’ll bring medicine, so please wait just a moment, alright?”
I wriggled my fingers and toes, then stared at the demon’s brown eyes.
They looked very sweet.
So I nodded.
“Okay.”
“Oh my, what a good child.”
While I waited, a yellow-haired demon quietly cleared away the rainbow stones around me, then sat nearby, crouching down to my level.
I looked at her for a moment, then quickly turned my head and looked around the room again.
Earlier, it had seemed fascinating. Now it didn’t.
“I am No. 1.”
“Young master? What did you say?”
The demon beside me said something, but I didn’t hear it.
Because what the little demon said kept echoing in my head.
‘If No. 1 isn’t a monster’s name but an object’s name… then am I an object?’
Whenever I thought about it, flames rose inside me again. Even when I tried not to think about it, it kept coming back.
I already knew.
That in this world, only my name was made of just a number.
Even old emperors like Aldor I had many things attached to their names besides the number.
I had never hated that difference before.
But now…
I wanted to see my nanny.
“Young master. May I come closer?”
The yellow-haired demon who had been beside me asked softly.
I blinked, then said:
“You may!”
I definitely shouted loudly, but the sound that came out was too small. Startled, I bit my lip, hugged my eyeball tighter, and hurried out of the room.
“Ah, young master!”
Then I swiftly climbed along the ceiling toward the spot I had noticed earlier while escaping—the place where sunlight came in best.
It was a space between a pillar and the ceiling, wide enough for me to fit.
If I climbed there, I could stay on the ceiling for a while without using magic.
It was evening, and everything was dyed red, like a red cloth had been spread across it.
Feeling my body also turning red, I hid myself on top of the pillar.
Then I held my breath and curled up as tightly as possible.
So that not a single sound would escape.
