Reincarnated as a Dragon and Raised by a Demon

The reason the Demon King needed a Dragon wasn’t really that important.

“I think I just said I wanted to see a Dragon. Looks like they misunderstood a bit.”

Considering Riki’s attitude, it seemed entirely possible for him to think that way.

It was just that he didn’t intend to do it.

If he set his mind to it, he could easily overthrow an emperor.

“Shouldn’t you tell others?”

“Why not?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

The Demon King slightly reddened his face and awkwardly scratched his cheek.

A variety of dishes began to appear one by one on the table.

“There’s plenty of food, so eat your fill.”

After finishing the story, we were treated to a meal that the Demon King had made himself.

Everyone started eating in a rush since they hadn’t eaten anything since leaving the village the day before.

In the middle of that, Aila asked me what I talked about with the Demon King, but I couldn’t answer.

“He said it’s a secret.”

“Really? Niv, come here.”

Despite being the Demon King, he hurried over when Aila called him.

“What?”

“What did you talk about with Ririan?”

“We became friends.”

“Is that all?”

At Aila’s question, the Demon King just nodded lightly.

“Aila treats the Demon King very casually. Riki is too formal with him.”

“He said to treat him casually. Riki prefers to be formal.”

“I don’t really care about that since I’ve lived a long time.”

The Demon King answered my question as he sat down.

“When I go to the village, people think I’m a child.”

“Really? They don’t know the face of the Demon King?”

“They won’t believe it even if I told them. Who would think a child is the Demon King?”

“Outside of royalty and their close aides, not many know about the Demon’s existence.”

I stared at the Demon King for a moment, thinking.

Dressed like a maid in a child’s form. Who would think of that person as the Demon King?

Seeing him eat with remnants of food on his face made him look just like a child.

After finishing the meal, we headed to the bathhouse within the castle.

After a long time, I washed up comfortably and enjoyed the refreshing feeling.

“Everyone can use whatever room they’re comfortable in, but Ririan, come with me for a moment.”

The Demon King called me aside and took me to his room.

The dim light made the room feel a bit dark.

By the time I noticed, the Demon King had changed into pajamas and sat on the bed.

“Come sit next to me.”

As I settled next to him, the Demon King rested his head on my knee.

“This is the first time so many people have come to the castle.”

“Do you usually stay alone?”

“Yeah. Sometimes Aila comes by, but she’s busy, so she can’t come often.”

“Why do you live alone in a place like this?”

Someone like the Demon King could have lived comfortably in the city.

“This is originally my home.”

“Were you born here?”

“Probably. It’s been so long that I don’t remember well.”

As various topics started, the Demon King spoke non-stop.

In the moment when fatigue started to drag me down, there was a knock.

Knock, knock.

Aila came in after knocking on the door.

“Are you telling old stories while keeping the children captive again?”

“But Aila doesn’t listen.”

As the conversation between Aila and the Demon King gradually faded away, I could no longer hear them.

I awoke in a room filled with sunlight.

In one corner, the Demon King was curled up sleeping.

It seemed I had fallen asleep in the Demon King’s bed the previous night.

The bed was large enough for three adults to lie side by side.

I wondered why the Demon King was sleeping all crumpled up in the corner like that.

I carefully approached and woke him up.

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“Why are you sleeping here?”

“I wanted you to sleep comfortably. I heard you couldn’t get proper rest running away for so long.”

In the meantime, I had only rested in lodgings sporadically. I wondered what Aila had talked about the previous night.

“This place is safe, so it’s fine.”

“Thanks to that, I slept well.”

“Yeah, you looked like you were sleeping well.”

Breakfast was, as expected, a spread of bread and soup made by the Demon King himself.

While everyone was focused on eating, Aila addressed the Demon King with a formal title, drawing everyone’s attention.

“You have a favor to ask?”

“Did you catch me?”

“When you act all formal, it usually means you have something in mind.”

Aila took out a piece of paper from her possession and handed it to the Demon King.

“It’s an Academy application, right?”

“I can manage Jema and Ririan, but that one is out of my authority.”

The Demon King’s gaze fixed on Catherine.

“A slave from Latnia’s nobility… complicated.”

“But you can still do it, right?”

“Do you want to adopt a daughter, Aila?”

The Demon King smiled, turning the conversation to another subject as if joking.

“For now, I’ll loosely make contact.”

“Um, excuse me? Why am I going to the Academy?”

Catherine cautiously interrupted the conversation between the two.

“If they are sent to the Academy, who will protect them?”

“What?”

“You need to attach at least one capable bodyguard. And send regular reports every month.”

At Aila’s suggestion, Catherine couldn’t think of a rebuttal and just stared blankly.

In fact, from the moment she came to Roran, Catherine was free to go anywhere.

Yet, she followed us without any complaints.

After wrapping up the conversation, we prepared to leave again.

We had to take a train to Roran’s capital, but there was no suitable means of transport to the station, so we had to walk.

“Riki, can’t you hire another carriage?”

“That was in Latnia. Here, I’m a public servant.”

It was clear that Riki’s attitude had changed significantly since coming from Latnia to Roran.

“Well then, take care, everyone! If you’re bored, let’s meet again!”

As we came out of the castle with the Demon King’s farewell, surprisingly, the fog had completely lifted.

“The weather is nice today.”

“It’s thanks to the Demon King. The fog.”

“Can you control the weather?”

“It’s a kind of magic. Usually, I keep it hidden so people won’t notice.”

Compared to the rugged mountain path we had taken the day before, the exit was quite pleasant.

The road was clean without a single pebble and led smoothly to a main road.

“That way.”

Aila and Riki pointed in opposite directions at the same time.

“Why? Is there something urgent?”

“Isn’t it busy?”

When Riki asked back, Aila couldn’t counter effectively and fumbled before speaking up.

“Right. You can’t hold back a busy person.”

“Exactly. See you all in the capital.”

On the main road, Riki wandered off alone in another direction.

“What’s over there?”

“A teleport facility.”

“Why aren’t we using it?”

“It’s expensive.”

Aila cut off the conversation, but it seemed it wasn’t just about the fee.

“How much is the fee?”

“About 100 gold for one person?”

The incredibly convenient method had an exorbitantly high cost.

If all of us used it, it would come to a significant amount of 500 gold.

In contrast, the train was very cheap, making it a natural choice for this many people.

As we walked toward the town with the station, I felt an itch all over my body.

My vision brightened, and I felt my body swell up.

“It seems the potion has worn off. I’ll change my clothes.”

I hurriedly ran to the nearby forest and tossed aside the clothes I had on.

Horns sprouted, a tail emerged, and wings grew.

After a long time, changing back into my original clothes felt somewhat refreshing.

“You’ve returned to your original form?”

“I haven’t grown much taller.”

Catherine compared herself to me and made a slightly puzzled expression.

“Your face doesn’t look that different from the wanted posters. Why didn’t anyone recognize you?”

“Who knows?”

“It’s probably because of the effect of the potion made by Solche. And crucially, you drank a potion for women.”

As Catherine moved, she kept staring at my face.

“Why do you keep looking at me?”

“No, I just think you have a really pretty face.”

While we exchanged unnecessary chatter, the city began to come into view in the distance.

“The city is closer than I expected.”

“Yeah, but there’s no station there. We’ll need to hire a carriage from there.”

Even though it was said we would hire one, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wouldn’t be a legitimate method.

When we arrived at the entrance of the city, there wasn’t really anything to see except for a sign.

In Latnia, we had to pass a checkpoint to enter any town or city.

Despite being a city located near the border, it was surprising that there was none in Roran.

The atmosphere of the city didn’t seem very different from Latnia.

Various races walked the streets, and children’s laughter could be heard everywhere.

“This is a lively city.”

“Because it’s the holiday season.”

Following Aila, we arrived at a familiar signboard.

JS Group.

Entering the building, Aila talked briefly at the reception desk.

In the meantime, we rested in the lobby lounge.

“They’re ready.”

Following a well-dressed man, we arrived at a parking lot located underground, where a carriage awaited.

“Feel free to use it and just leave it at the branch over there.”

The well-dressed man left, and we each took our seats.

Jema, Catherine, and I sat in the back seat, while Aila took the front passenger seat.

“Who’s driving?”

“Ah….”

Aila sighed heavily.

“Can I really do it?”

“I’ve never done it before.”

Among us, Jema, who had the experience of driving once, took the driver’s seat.

At first, I enthusiastically offered to drive, but since my height didn’t allow me to see outside properly, Aila said it was dangerous and stopped me.

“Where do I go from here?”

“Do you see the sign? Just follow the road straight.”

Inside the carriage, there were no safety belts whatsoever.

Everything was magically handled, so safety features had long since disappeared.

As tension filled the air, Jema began driving with a determined expression.

Silently, we glided out of the city streets and safely joined the main road.

“I see the JS Group is also in Roran.”

“From Latnia’s perspective, they’d want to get rid of it in a hurry.”

“Why?”

“You experienced it firsthand.”

The JS Group had been the biggest help when we escaped from Latnia.

Providing a resting place, meals, transportation, and personnel.

“But how do they keep doing business in Latnia?”

“It’s a trade secret, I heard?”

Unless there was someone extremely competent at politics within the group, that was an impossible task.

Conducting business while traveling back and forth between two rival countries is certainly not an easy feat.

Jema soon got used to driving and attempted to activate the autopilot magic.

“Is this how it’s done?”

“You’re doing well.”

“There was a manual here.”

The carriage was progressing smoothly.

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