It's Troublesome That My Doting Dad Became A Villain

“!”
What?

I flinched but quickly composed myself.
Yet, it was impossible not to be shaken by what had just been said.
Did Meteor’s grandfather really just tell me to kneel and revere him?

I had never expected my divine power to be measured at the Atetamas level.
Who would have thought that receiving 30% of Astina’s divine power would push it to such an extent?
After completing the quest to eliminate Cyrillote, I had not only become a saint but also absorbed Astina’s power as my own.

Thanks to that successful quest, I had received a one-time special item as a reward.
And now, it seemed that was enough to be recognized as Atetamas.
“I greet Atetamas.”

Adrian’s voice drifted through the air like a dream as he lowered himself. The rustling of priestly robes followed, filling the space.
“I greet Atetamas.”
My eyes widened.

Like a row of falling dominoes, the priests knelt on one knee, placing their hands over their left chests. Their gazes were all fixed on the floor.
Bishop Baldwin and a few other priests hesitated, their expressions reluctant, but they, too, bowed. Even they could not deny it.
At last, every single person in the room had lowered themselves before me.

Not a single one remained standing.
I felt a slight tremor in my hands and instinctively curled my fingers into a light fist.
This was not the situation I had wanted, but it was not something I could avoid.

The divine stone continued to emit thousands, tens of thousands of transparent rays of light.
***
“You will be staying here from now on. Since it was prepared in a hurry, please let us know if anything is lacking.”
“Yes, thank you.”

I responded plainly to the priests.
They bowed before leaving the room.
Once the door closed, I finally took a look around my new living quarters.

This was the same place where I had woken up earlier. Seeing it again, I couldn't help but wonder—was there always such a luxurious room in the temple?
After spending so much time in the cramped dormitory, this opulence felt surreal.
I feel like I’m just piling up more sins.

How betrayed would people feel once they found out my true identity?
The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it off.
More than anyone, I was giving my all—heart and soul—to eliminating the Demon King.

Even so, I couldn’t stop a faint sense of bitterness from creeping in.
I let out a small sigh.
“Congratulations.”

“?”
Out of nowhere, a low voice called out.
It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time.

Deep and smooth.
I turned my head toward the source of the voice.
As expected, the person standing there—no, the demon standing there—was the very one I had anticipated.

In this sacred, gleaming chamber of silver light, he somehow seemed even more dazzling.
Prima's eyes curved into a subtle smile.
“Congratulations on killing Cyrillote.”

“That’s not something I want to be congratulated for.”
It was a memory I wanted to forget as soon as possible.
If the demon I had killed hadn’t been Cyrillote, I might have thrown a full-blown celebration—fireworks and all.

“But it is something to celebrate. You avenged yourself against your enemy.”
“And why the hell are you here again?”
I didn’t want to keep talking about this, so I changed the subject.

“I was going to congratulate you no matter where you were. Even if you were in heaven, I’d have followed you there.”
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I exhaled sharply, suppressing the anger rising within me.

Why did demons always have to mess with my head?
“And one more thing—congratulations. You’re a saint now. Now we’re finally on the same level.”
“…What are you even saying?”

How could the top delinquent of the Demon Realm and a saint possibly be on the same level?
Even if he was the strongest there, he was still a demon. A saint was obviously leagues above him!
I turned my back on Prima.

“If you’re done congratulating me, go back. I’ll kill you later.”
“I’m not done yet.”
“?”

What nonsense was he going to spout this time?
I flinched unconsciously but didn’t look back at him.
With his usual leisurely tone, he continued.

“Congratulations on becoming the Duke of Time. Just thinking about how His Majesty the Demon King is waiting for you to grant him an audience… It’s killing me.”
Prima’s voice trembled slightly, as if he was holding back laughter.
I bit the inside of my lip hard.

Oh.
Right.
There were three highest-ranking demons in the Demon Realm:

The Duke of Dimensions, the Duke of Time, and the Duke of Space.
This translation is the intellectual property of .
Their power and rank were inherited by whoever defeated them—whether it be human or demon.

As long as one desired the position, they could ascend to the rank of the highest demons.
Since I had absorbed Cyrillote’s power, Prima was right. The situation was ridiculous.
I hadn’t just knocked the Demon King down a peg—I had completely crushed him.

He had gone through all the trouble of sending his most trusted subordinate to kill me, only for me to steal his power, title, and authority instead.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer.
“Hahaha! So your mighty Demon King does know, huh? His head must be spinning! I bet his jaw dropped to the floor in disbelief!”

“He’s completely lost it. He was already insane, but now he’s fully unhinged. As for your father? He hasn’t eaten or drunk anything—he’s just been laughing. Apparently, he’s been laughing so hard he can’t even sleep.”
“…Really?”
For the first time, my interest was piqued. I glanced at Prima.

Dad was happy.
He probably hadn’t had a reason to laugh in a long, long time. But now, he was laughing his heart out?
Just imagining it filled me with warmth.

“Tell Dad this—” I said with a smirk. “I’ll make sure he has plenty more reasons to laugh in the future.”
“He’ll be delighted to hear that.”
“…What? Did you just call him ‘Father’?”

I glared at Prima.
A demon calling my dad “Father”? That was enough to give me chills.
Despite my sharp gaze, Prima only smiled.

“From now on, you can visit the Demon Realm whenever you want. Shouldn’t you check out your new territory? I’m sure the former Duke of Time left behind plenty of gifts for you.”
“…Shut up.”
Gaining overwhelming demonic power in addition to my divine strength was useful.

But that didn’t mean I was happy about it.
In fact, I had a choice when it came to inheriting Cyrillote’s power.
Refusing it would have been the right decision.

No matter how strong it was, it was still demonic power.
With my divine power alone, fighting the Demon King was still possible.
But rejecting it would mean losing an immense advantage.

The fact that I could now freely travel to and from the Demon Realm was already a huge benefit.
So… should I accept this power?
But that would make me a demon.

I had sworn to kill the Demon King—did it make sense to become a demon myself?
Even though I was his blood, I had always taken pride in being human.
If I embraced this power, even that would be stripped away.

But if I rejected the Duke of Time’s power, it would return to the Demon King. Or worse, another demon might take Cyrillote’s place.
I couldn’t let that happen.
At that moment—

“Well, well. Crescent, looks like I’m quite popular.”
“…What?”
What the hell was he talking about now?

Before I could react, Prima moved in an instant, closing the distance between us in a single breath.
Before I could step back, his hand brushed against my hair.
“!”

“See you in the Demon Realm soon.”
The touch lasted less [N O V E L I G H T] than a second.
And in the next moment—he was gone, without a single trace left behind.

Knock, knock.
At the same time, a knock sounded at the door.