Kondo, Lable, and Shin froze in shock after hearing those words.
None of them had expected Kim and Kint to turn out to be a prince and princess.
All three shouted together—
"PRINCE AND PRINCESS?!"
The monster soldiers finally noticed the three humans standing behind Kim and Kint.
One of the soldiers stared at them suspiciously before asking Kint,
"Prince Kint… who are these humans standing behind you?"
"Oh, them?" Kint replied casually. "They're my friends. I met them in the forest."
"I see," the soldier said respectfully. "In that case, we should hurry. His Majesty has been waiting for you."
"Alright, let's go," Kint said happily. "I'll introduce my new friends to Dad too."
He turned around toward the three of them, only to find them still completely stunned.
"Eh? Why are you all so shocked?"
Kondo rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"Of course we're shocked! You never told us that you and Kim were a prince and princess!"
Kint made a confused face.
"Really? Wait… let me think…"
He paused dramatically before suddenly snapping his fingers.
"Ah! You're right. Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention it."
Then he smiled brightly.
"Anyway, forget about that for now. Come on, let's go. I want you all to meet my dad too."
The five children began following the monster soldiers deeper into the village.
Kondo was incredibly excited.
He never imagined he would one day meet a real monster prince.
He wanted to ask Kint dozens of questions, but after noticing all the monsters around them staring, he decided to stay quiet for now.
Meanwhile, Shin and Lable had become even more nervous after learning the truth.
Now both of them genuinely felt like this might be their final day alive.
As they walked further ahead, Kondo suddenly noticed a huge building in the distance.
It was enormous… and beautiful.
The house was made almost entirely of wood and had two floors, resembling the residence of a samurai lord. Intricate carvings decorated the walls and pillars.
Kondo's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Even Shin and Lable looked stunned by how magnificent it was.
Eventually, they arrived at the entrance.
The monster soldiers stopped outside while Kint and Kim stepped in first.
Kondo, Shin, and Lable carefully followed behind them.
At the entrance, all five removed their shoes.
Kint smiled proudly.
"Welcome to my home."
Then he looked toward Kim.
"I'm going to meet Dad first. Kim, can you take everyone to the guest room? I'll come there soon."
"Okay," Kim nodded softly.
Kint headed toward the left hallway while Kim guided the others toward the right.
Soon they arrived at a spacious guest room.
"You can rest here for a while," Kim said politely. "I'll return shortly."
After saying that, she quietly left.
Kondo looked around curiously.
All the doors in the house opened by sliding sideways.
"This really feels like a samurai house…" he muttered.
Shin and Lable were equally amazed.
They never imagined monsters could possess homes this elegant.
"Kondo," Shin whispered while looking around the room, "the furniture here is amazing. Even the walls are made of polished wood. I seriously didn't expect monsters to have homes like this."
"What exactly were you expecting?" Kondo asked.
Shin scratched her head awkwardly.
"I thought it'd be some dark cave where everyone would attack us the moment we entered."
Kondo laughed softly.
Then he noticed Lable staring at the small wooden table placed in the middle of the room.
Lable slowly touched its smooth surface.
"This table is so clean… and beautiful…"
Kondo walked closer.
"Looks like you really like it. By the way, tables like these are usually used for eating meals."
Lable's eyes widened in horror.
"What?! They're going to kill us and eat us here?!"
Kondo immediately shouted in frustration.
"Why do you always think the worst possible thing?!"
Even Shin laughed a little.
"Kondo's right. This place looks way too peaceful. Besides, if they wanted to hurt us, they could've captured us already."
Hearing that, Lable finally calmed down.
Kondo sat down near the table, and Shin and Lable sat beside him.
Several minutes passed.
Eventually Shin grew bored and groaned loudly.
"It's already been ten minutes. Did they seriously forget about us?"
"Relax," Kondo said calmly. "They'll come soon."
Right then—
The sliding door opened.
All three turned toward it.
Kim entered the room, and behind her walked a beautiful monster girl with crimson-colored skin carrying a tray in her hands.
Kim approached them politely.
"I apologize for making you wait."
Shin smiled.
"It's alright. We were just waiting for you anyway."
Kim glanced toward the monster girl.
The girl carefully placed the tray onto the table.
Three cups of tea rested on it.
She handed one cup to Shin and another to Lable.
The final cup, however—
Kim personally handed to Kondo.
Seeing that, Kondo smiled awkwardly.
"Thanks."
Kim looked slightly embarrassed.
"It's nothing…"
Shin and Lable silently watched the entire interaction.
Both of them slowly started drinking their tea.
Kondo also took a sip—
Then frowned.
"…This tastes bland."
Shin blinked.
"Huh? But ours is sweet. Right, Lable?"
Lable nodded in agreement.
Kondo took another sip.
"No seriously, mine actually tastes bland."
Then he looked toward Kim.
"Can you tell me why my tea tastes different?"
Kim answered softly,
"That's because I added special herbs to your tea. They help improve health."
The moment she said that—
Shin and Lable slowly turned toward Kondo with suspicious expressions.
"Ah…" Kondo scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I see… but next time can I have normal tea too?"
Kim smiled shyly.
"Okay. I'll make sure to give you normal tea next time."
After that, Kim and the monster girl quietly left the room.
The moment the door closed—
Shin placed a hand on Kondo's shoulder with a serious face.
"Kondo… don't you think that girl is acting way too formal around you?"
Kondo instantly panicked.
"You're misunderstanding things!"
Lable suddenly held her forehead dramatically.
"What if our tea contains poison… and they're planning to eat us later?"
Kondo immediately yelled,
"Lable! Why does your brain always work like that?!"
Lable groaned.
"I think I'm getting dizzy…"
"That's just your imagination!"
Ignoring them, Shin narrowed her eyes at Kondo.
"Forget that. Explain why she's treating you differently."
"How would I know?!"
Shin crossed her arms.
"Fine. Then I'll ask her myself."
"Do whatever you want…"
Right then—
The sliding door opened once again.
All three looked toward the entrance.
Kim and Kint entered the room.
Behind them walked a tall monster wearing royal clothes, and beside him was a beautiful monster woman dressed in an elegant kimono.
Both of them had horns on their heads.
The moment they entered, Kondo, Shin, and Lable immediately stood up respectfully.
Kint walked beside Kondo and smiled proudly.
"Kondo, this is my dad… and this is my mom."
The three children bowed politely.
Kondo introduced himself first.
"It's an honor to meet you. My name is Kondo, and these are my friends Shin and Lable. We heard that you are the king of this village…"
Kint's father stared at them for a moment.
"So these are the children you were talking about, Kint?"
Kint smiled brightly.
"Yes, Dad."
His father let out a deep laugh.
"Hahaha, you were right. I am the Ogre King, King Rose… and this is the queen of this village, Queen Melonda."
Kondo looked at them curiously before speaking carefully.
"U-Um… may I ask you something?"
King Rose continued staring directly at Kondo. Before he could answer, Queen Melonda gently nudged him from behind.
"Dear husband, aren't you staring a little too much?"
"Oh? Am I?" King Rose cleared his throat. "My apologies. Yes, you wanted to ask me something?"
Kondo nodded.
"Yes. I heard that monsters usually don't live together peacefully in forests. But when we came here, everyone in this village was acting just like humans."
Hearing that question, Shin panicked internally.
(Ahhh! What are you asking?! At this rate, you're definitely going to get us killed!)
But King Rose simply chuckled.
"No, that's not entirely true. Most monsters are intelligent creatures. They prefer living in groups for survival. Only monsters who lose control of themselves attack human village… and humans hunt down those kinds of monsters."
Kondo's eyes sparkled after hearing the answer.
"Then can you tell me something else? Compared to the other monsters here… why do only Kim and Kint look so human?"
King Rose and Queen Melonda calmly sat down on the floor.
"You children may sit as well."
The three sat down nervously. Kim sat beside King Rose, while Kint sat beside Queen Melonda.
King Rose continued,
"Normally, we would never tell outsiders this… but since you are my son's friends, I suppose it is fine."
He folded his arms thoughtfully.
"You see, before a child is born in our clan, we perform a special ritual. During that ritual, the Spirit Queen may grant her power to the child. However, not every child receives her blessing. Only a chosen few are acknowledged by her."
He looked toward Kim and Kint proudly.
"But Kim and Kint were fortunate. The Spirit Queen blessed them both. Kim received the power of the Water Spirit, while Kint received the power of the Fire Spirit. Because of that blessing, they evolved beyond normal monsters and gained forms closer to humans."
Kondo became even more excited after hearing that.
(So Spirit Queens really exist in this world…!)
"Can I meet the Spirit Queen someday? And… what does she look like?"
King Rose laughed softly.
"You truly are strange. Looking at you reminds me of someone."
Then his expression turned serious.
"As for meeting her… no one can seek out the Spirit Queen. She appears only when she wishes to."
His gaze sharpened.
"And speaking of strange… you yourself are quite unusual."
Kondo blinked in confusion.
"Unusual?"
King Rose let out a long breath.
"I'm talking about your aura."
Kondo's expression stiffened.
"My aura…?"
"Yes. For example, your friend Label possesses a blue aura, while Shin's aura is gold. A golden aura itself is extremely rare…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"But your aura is black… and incredibly thin compared to ordinary humans."
Kondo instinctively looked at his own hands.
"My aura… is that a bad thing?"
King Rose thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"Not necessarily. But in all my years… I have never seen anyone with a black aura."
He waved the matter aside.
"Forget it for now. If I discover anything later, I will tell you."
Then his expression darkened slightly.
"I also heard that some humans were chasing my children."
Hearing that, both Shin and Label became nervous, but Kondo answered honestly without fear.
"No, I don't think they were truly after them. I believe it was all a misunderstanding. If those humans had known Kint and Kim were your children, they would never have made such a mistake."
Kint snorted lightly.
"I doubt they didn't know. But forget it. Kondo already gave them the punishment they deserved."
Then Shin suddenly remembered something.
"But Kint… what about that sketch we saw?"
"Oh right! I almost forgot." Kint looked toward his father. "Dad, while we were in the forest, we met some strange people. They showed us a sketch with a star-shaped pattern."
King Rose frowned slightly.
"What kind of star pattern?"
"The same one you told me about that day. The sketch looked exactly like it, so I told them about the cave to the east."
The atmosphere in the room instantly changed.
King Rose's expression became serious.
"It's a good thing you told them."
Everyone stared at him in confusion.
"No one except demons would search for that magic circle."
Shock spread across the room.
(Demons…? So those people were demons?) Kondo thought in disbelief. But they looked completely human…
King Rose spoke calmly.
"For demons, changing into human form is not difficult. They can live among humans without anyone noticing."
He paused.
"And I assume they introduced themselves as well. Demons always reveal their true names to those weaker than them."
Label nervously spoke from behind.
"Y-Yes… their names were something like Yina, Yirina, Yokzo, Yeld, and Yonk…"
The moment King Rose heard those names, his face darkened.
"The names you mentioned… belong to the five highest commanders of the Demon King."
Shin and Label instantly turned pale.
Even Kondo felt a chill run down his spine.
(The Demon King's commanders…? We actually spoke to them… We barely survived.)
Kint looked confused.
"But why would the Demon King's commanders search for that magic circle?"
King Rose slowly shook his head.
"I don't know. Even I don't fully understand what that circle can do."
His voice became heavy.
"But if demons are searching for it… then a great disaster is surely approaching."
Kondo immediately asked another question.
"What can demons do with that magic circle? Can't we investigate it ourselves?"
"No."
King Rose answered firmly.
"If we interfere, the demons may target us as well. The best option is to stay as far away from this matter as possible."
Before the atmosphere could grow even darker, Queen Melonda suddenly interrupted.
"Ahem! Enough about all these troublesome matters. Let us talk about the real reason I came here."
"Oh, right."
King Rose straightened his posture and looked directly at Kondo.
"Kondo, listen carefully."
"Y-Yes?"
Kondo wondered why the mood had suddenly become so serious.
King Rose spoke calmly.
"Tell me about your parents."
Kondo looked confused.
(What do my parents have to do with any of this?)
Still, he answered honestly.
"My father is Sam, the financial minister of this kingdom. And my mother is a housewife named Lawine."
The moment they heard that, both King Rose and Queen Melonda looked surprised.
Then King Rose suddenly burst into laughter.
"Vahaha! So you're Sam's son! No wonder you felt strangely familiar."
Kondo blinked in surprise.
(They know Dad…?)
King Rose continued,
"Well, that makes things even better."
He smiled warmly.
"Kondo… I have a request for you."
Kondo quickly shook his head.
"But why are you asking me for a request? You're a king."
King Rose glanced at Melonda before sighing dramatically.
"When it comes to family matters… no man remains a king."
Kondo, Shin, and Label exchanged confused looks.
Then King Rose turned toward Kondo and declared,
"I want you to marry my daughter, Kim."