chapter 6
“Get more surprised, you bastards.”
I chuckled and shook the bracelet in my hand as if to show it off.
After accepting the sub-quest earlier, I had read the system’s “Raising the Hero” guidebook and come up with a plan.
A plan big enough to draw the attention of all the demons—no, even the Demon King himself.
For that, I needed something important. Luckily, it was in the twins’ room.
Yeah. This bracelet.
—
- Meow? (What’s this?)
- Ah, this! Lord Riat told me to touch it once!
—
A bracelet with a large ruby at its center, surrounded by tightly embedded diamonds. It was clearly made to fit an adult wrist, but that didn’t matter.
“That thing… you knew what it was, didn’t you?”
Riat’s gray eyes flashed as he spoke.
“Myaa! (Of course I do, who do you think I am!)”
To anyone else, it might look like a normal accessory—but it wasn’t.
It was a relic.
A relic is an item that contains a very, very, very faint trace of the Demon King’s sealed power.
If you bind it to yourself, you can use a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of that power—and also track locations where the Demon King’s power is sealed.
That’s why relics appear as key quest items in “Raising the Hero,” boosting the hero’s magic stat as extremely valuable equipment.
And the demons? Unfortunately, they can’t use them. Even knowing what they are, they simply cannot activate them.
The reason is simple.
Only humans can bind relics.
Later, the demons would learn this and forcibly capture humans to bind relics and extract information—but by then, the hero would already have gathered too many relics and taken control of everything. It would be too late.
But now—
Now, it’s me.
Only me. The great me.
I will bind the relic.
To help the Demon King. To get closer to him.
‘The hero hasn’t even properly started yet. If I collect all the relics now, I win.’
What if they find out I’m human?
‘Then I just make sure they never realize only humans can use them.’
I had already planned everything.
With a grin, I slid the large bracelet onto my wrist.
And then—
Flash!
A bright light engulfed me. A system window immediately appeared.
—
[SYSTEM]
You have equipped a relic that increases defense.
User compatibility check in progress……
[SYSTEM]
Check complete! Compatibility rated at 100%!
[SYSTEM]
Warning! Deviation from main scenario detected. Penalty applied.
Penalty: Relic effectiveness reduced by 50%
—
Apparently, a penalty triggered because I wasn’t the hero.
Still, half reduction? That’s just petty.
I grumbled, but honestly, that wasn’t important.
Because the moment I equipped the relic, cheers erupted around me.
“W-What? I felt the Demon Lord’s power just now!”
“That kid actually activated a relic?”
“He really bound it?”
“Even Lord Riat couldn’t do it! After decades of trying!”
The demons murmured loudly, while only Riat remained silent.
He adjusted his monocle and stared at me before raising a hand.
“Who said it was useless effort.”
“….”
“Head down.”
“Y-yes sir.”
One demon immediately bowed in fear.
Riat turned back to me.
“So you understand what that bracelet is, what it does, and you can bind it as well.”
“Myaa! (That’s right, I’m awesome!)”
“Hah.”
Riat laughed lightly, licking his lips.
“…I see.”
He slowly stood up.
“A path to locate the sealing site has opened.”
At those words, the previously quiet demons erupted.
“Waaah!”
“Finally!”
“We can return to the Demon Realm!”
So they really hated the human world that much…
I smiled faintly at their excitement. Riat frowned slightly, but it was only for a moment.
“Quiet. We are not returning yet. This is only a glimpse—a single grain of sand on a vast beach. We are still far from reaching the Demon King’s power.”
“Boo!”
“Lord Riat is ruining everything!”
“Please scold him!”
Riat forced the noisy demons into silence again before looking back at me.
“Even so…”
He snapped his fingers lightly.
“You are useful.”
Ding!
—
[SUB QUEST: Pass the Test!]
Congratulations!
Not only did you find a way to survive—you’ve climbed straight into the sky itself! From now on, most demons will treat you with great respect.
Reward 1: Survival (Success)
Reward 2: Demon Affection (Success)
—
Yes!
I passed the test—and gained demon favor too. At this rate, my existence would surely reach the Demon King.
Let me see the Demon King. I want to see him.
My eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Hm, but you don’t have a servant yet.”
Riat’s voice snapped me back to reality.
Right.
According to the twins, passing this test meant getting a subordinate assigned.
That meant I wouldn’t need to stay in their room anymore or worry about food. A servant was essential.
“Myaa! Myaa! (Give me a servant!)”
I nodded vigorously.
“Then your attendant will be…”
Riat looked around, narrowing his eyes.
Several demons stepped forward eagerly, hoping to be chosen.
But no.
I don’t want any of these nameless extras.
I need someone who can protect me, not become Riat’s experiment material, and ideally connect me directly to the Demon King.
“Uwaaah! (All of you, go away!)”
I pushed them aside and crawled toward the door.
Then I shouted at someone dozing near it.
“Myaa! (You—you will be my servant!)”
It was Martin Jonasei, commander of the Demon King’s army.
—
Meanwhile…
Woken by the noise, Martin yawned and looked around.
The test seemed to be over—most demons were already standing, and even Riat had approached.
“What’s going on?”
He asked, confused.
Riat silently pointed at Martin’s leg.
“…This?”
Martin looked down.
A baby smaller than half his thigh.
“…What is this?”
Confused, he stared at the infant. Probably a homunculus created by Riat—an artificial human-like baby.
Babies usually cried when they saw him.
But this one didn’t.
It just stared back calmly with bright, clear eyes.
Not crying at all.
Strange.
Martin was even more confused.
“This is the homunculus that defeated the Cerberus earlier.”
“…Earlier? What?”
Riat sighed deeply.
“A highly capable one. I was about to assign it a guardian for its first trial—and it chose you.”
“…Me?”
A guardian assignment meant a demon would act as caretaker and protector for a growing homunculus.
Usually a mid-ranking demon would do it.
But—
Martin slowly understood the situation.
“…I’m this baby’s servant?”
Even high-ranking demons stared in shock.
“Myaa! (Yes, servant!)”
Riat glared at the shouting infant.
“You may refuse.”
The baby’s face immediately panicked.
“Myaa! (No! It has to be you!)”
It clung tightly to Martin.
Martin’s eyes widened.
“It doesn’t cry.”
Carefully, he lifted the small body.
It laughed.
Strange.
Something unfamiliar stirred in him.
“…I’ll do it.”
He said calmly, holding the baby in his arms.
Cheers erupted from the demons.
“Wooooah! The commander himself!”
“Will it surpass Julian?”
“No way, Lord Julian is still the best!”
“I’m betting on the baby!”
“Bet money?”
“Let’s go!”
Riat clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Then he placed a palm-sized artificial crow onto Martin’s shoulder.
“Take this. It will show me everything you see.”
Martin nodded absentmindedly.
“Baby.”
Still not crying.
Just staring at him with bright eyes.
“Strange.”
Not quite understanding it, he muttered:
“…Cute.”
Then he began walking down the corridor with the baby in his arms.
Caw!
He casually snapped the neck of the artificial crow circling him.
Of course—
He had already forgotten Riat’s instructions.
