"Dad, what are demons?" I asked my father what are demons? Are they real? And where are they now?
My father set down his cup. "Well, son, I wouldn't know for sure. Long ago, I believe they did exist. But now? We haven't heard of a demon for thousands of years. No one knows why they stopped coming to our World.But don't get them wrong, son. Demons aren't bad. Most of them, at least. And even if they came back, and they were evil, I'd protect you and your siblings. As a knight of Jisak and as a father. So don't worry about it."
I was intrigued by a lot of things back then, always asking questions. My dad thought it was a bad trait of mine, but my mother thought otherwise.
"I'll find out what happened to them, Dad. And I'll be a genius."
My dad laughed. "Yes, I'm sure you'll be a genius one day."
Genius... isn't that what everyone called you, Demon Prince Arkvel?
Two men, or rather, two demons stood across from each other in a lab.
The demon wearing a coat took a quick look around. How had everything turned into such a huge mess? How could he say this nicely? Fuck you, Luran. "Fuck you, Luran," he cursed at the tall man in front of him.
Luran adjusted his long black hair, then examined his watch.
"Listen, Arkvel. I know you think I had something to do with the unfortunate 'incident' that happened. But I assure you, I had no involvement." Luran checked his watch one more time. "I came here to warn you. Get out of here. The royal family has requested your arrest. I'm pretty sure they'll sentence you as with the traitor."
Arkvel's face twisted with anger. "Honestly... I thought we were friends, Luran."
Arkvel knew Luran had something to do with the devices' malfunction. Otherwise, that wouldn't have happened. "I'll do no such thing as running away. You think I'm a coward like the Vencers?"
Arkvel's comment obviously had an effect on Luran, but he had no reaction.
The two waited in silence for a few minutes, until a group of guards and even two demon princes swarmed the lab.
The scene that greeted them was an odd one. The lab was in a complete mess, almost everything was destroyed. And what was even odder was the two standing in the lab, glancing at each other like they were ready to fight at any moment.
The captain hesitated at first, then spoke in a loud voice. "Demon Prince Arkvel Servik, you're under arrest for the deaths of Unit Eleven."
Arkvel knew some of the guards here. He had even fought alongside them in battles. But the people he was most wary of were the two princes, Medber and Jun.
Medber glanced at Luran, then focused on Arkvel. "Arkvel, tell me it isn't true. There's no way you could have done that."
Arkvel stayed silent for a few seconds. Then he looked at the guards, completely ignoring Medber. "I comply. No need to use any violence. This lab has already had enough."
Arkvel approached the guards, who then put him in restraints.
"Arkvel, answer me, damnit!" Medber grabbed Arkvel's shoulder to face him.
A smile appeared on Arkvel's face. He first glanced at Luran, then back to Medber. "What? You already have your answer. I rigged the devices. That's all there is to it."
Jun, who had been silent the whole time, grabbed a device from her pocket, then spoke into it. "He confessed, my lord."
Arkvel's attention was brought to Jun. "Still a dog to him, huh? That's all you're ever good for, anyway."
A few seconds of silence passed, broken by the device in Jun's hands.
"Arkvel... I wonder what made you rig those devices. It doesn't matter anyway. You'll be brought up to face your sentence in a few days. My family will be sure to give you the longest sentence available. You really have dishonored the name of all Serviks. I truly pity them. You were such a bright mind as well. Medber, Jun, bring this filth into the castle immediately."
"Yes, sir," both princes responded to the order.
---
"Hey, Dad, can I have some money? I'm going to go get some bread," I said to my father.
"Of course, Zeclierz. And here, take some for yourself." He handed me some bills.
I was confused by what my father handed me. I'd never seen something like this. "Uh, Dad? What are these papers you're giving me?"
My dad laughed. "These are the new currency, son. They issued them yesterday."
I glance at the papers my father just handed me. "Huh? So you mean coins are useless now?" I glance back at my father, intrigued.
"Kind of, yes. But of course you can go to the city hall and exchange your coins for the new currency."
"Why the sudden change of the global currency? What's the point?" I'd never heard any news beforehand of this change.
"It's because coins are small and annoying to keep track of, and they can get heavy real fast."
"But these are just made out of paper. How can they have any value?"
"Honestly, son? I won't try to look cool in front of you right now, because I have no idea how they have any value. But they are the standard currency."
"I'll ask Master about it. Alright, see you, Dad."
"Be careful on your way, Zeclierz."
I waved goodbye to my father and left the house. After I closed the door behind me, I breathed in the air outside. Then I glanced at the kids playing around and the older women chatting. Various kinds of activities. I then headed toward the bread shop on the main street of the lower district. The street my home was on was a side one near the main street.
Man, I've been training so hard these past few weeks with little progress. I didn't even have time to look for demons!
Before I realized it, I was already at the bakery. Lucky that the bakery is close.
Then I noticed a girl with silver hair at the bakery. Hey, a girl with silver hair? I only know one person in this country with that hair.
I took a deep breath and—"HEY, SYLVIE!"—called out to the girl standing near the bakery's window.
She turned around and saw me walking up to her.
"Lucky me, finding you here, Zeclierz." The girl had unique silver hair, which was very rare here in Jisak. She reached my shoulder in terms of height, and had big silver eyes to match her hair.
"Yo, how are you, Sylvie?"
"I'm doing well," she responded.
I took a quick glance at the dress she was wearing. I had never seen it before, but I definitely liked it nonetheless.
Sylvie was my guildmate and childhood friend from my guild, Cadmus.
"Are you going to keep staring or what?" Sylvie's stare scared me for a moment.
"My bad. It's just, this dress is pretty nice on you. Who picked it out for you?"
She looked at me for a while with annoyed eyes, then answered. "Leon brought it back with him. He said he saw it and thought it would look great on me."
Leon... why can't you stop spoiling her? At least give me something.
After the jealousy I felt, I continued my praise. "Well, he was certainly right about it looking good on you."
"It doesn't really feel the same when you say it." She responded to my praise with indifference.
I ignored her, then realized something. "Wait, so Leon is back? When was that?" I asked, surprised. "I thought he had a week left on his quest."
"He was lucky and found the ring pretty fast."
"Now he's going to have bad luck. What does Cider think?"
"He said it was pure luck, no skill involved."
"That's something he would say... Anyway, I see it's your turn getting the baked goods today." I pointed out the bag of bread Sylvie had in her hands.
"Yes, and good thing you're here, because I want you to help me carry them."
"Just use your wind magic. It would be a breeze. Heh, a breeze."
"I'll use my wind magic to crush you to death. That would be a breeze."
"Are you angry? I really can't tell." I tried to test my limits.
"So you do want to be crushed?" She said it with a face straighter than a poker face.
"I'm joking. I'll help. Just let me take some bread back to my house and I'll be back real quick."
"Good. I'll be waiting."
I know for a fact if I don't help her, I'll be killed later, so...
I entered the bakery and purchased different types of bread, then sprinted back home. I opened the door to my house and put the bread on the table.
"Zeclierz, why are you in such a rush?" my dad asked.
"Sorry, Dad, I can't help you with your sword today. I gotta go to the guild." I said in a worn-out voice. Then I headed out of the house quickly before my dad could catch me.
"Zeclierz, WAIT!" my dad shouted, but I had already dashed out of the house. "Fuck, that damn kid."
"Don't swear, Zane. It's not knight-like." A woman with black hair and pink eyes scolded her husband for swearing at their son.
"I'm sorry, honey. It's just that he promised me he'd help me this time."
"Well, I'm sure he has his reasons for leaving so quick, so don't judge him, Zane."
"Reasons? Honey, lyr, you know how zec is. That kid only has camdus and demons on his mind, I doubt his brain can handle any other concepts."
Lyr lightly hits zane on the head.
"Ow that the hell?"
"Stop talking like that about your son and come help me make breakfast."