NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Dreams and Despair, Nightmares and Hope
“Alex! Dad brought back a beehive!”
My childhood friend Claire was all excited, her face flushed.
“I saw where he keeps the honey jars!”
With a mischievous grin, she said, “Hey! Let’s sneak some and eat it!”
“What!? The important honey!?”
I—I, still just a brat—was taken aback and asked again.
“Is that really okay!?”
“Of course not! That’s why it’s ‘good’!”
The girl who learned the taste of forbidden honey at a young age— that was Claire. She was incredibly energetic and fearless, and I was always being led around by her. It wasn’t just once or twice that her antics got me in trouble.
—But it was fun. Those days running around the village, dragged along by her.
Everything felt nostalgic.
The peaceful village of my hometown and the sweetness of the honey we devoured together.
Claire’s dad, furious at losing the honey that was supposed to sell for a high price. Claire, teary-eyed after getting scolded. Me, similarly punished as her accomplice.
After being scolded, we were quiet for a while, but within days, we were back to causing mischief together.
And everyone watched over us warmly—
“Hey! They say the sap of the Akabane plant makes hair fall out! Let’s put it on the Village Chief’s head!”
“That’s bad! If we’re not careful, we could get killed! That’s way too dangerous!”
“You silly! It’s so dangerous, that’s what makes it fun!!”
Despite all our bickering, I ended up going along with Claire’s herb-hunting escapades.
—Ah. Before I knew it, the adult me was watching from the shadows. I knew that this fun, happy scene was nothing more than a dream.
And so was the ending.
That peaceful world was suddenly engulfed in darkness and flames.
“A horde of monsters!”
That night, we woke up to someone’s scream and strange sounds. The ground shook—like distant waves, cries approached us, growing louder. Panicking, we rushed outside to see the dark mountain filled with countless flickering lights like will-o’-the-wisps.
They were torches. Without any warning, the Demon Lord’s army had crossed the border mountains. Goblins, ogres, the cruel night elf mercenaries, and the demon race warriors overseeing them—
The young me had no idea about any of that. All I understood was that something terrifying was happening.
“Run!”
The adults were desperate. They grabbed whatever they could and fled the village. But we were too late. No, maybe the Demon Lord’s army was just too fast.
The village was quickly overwhelmed by the dark tide.
“Uwaah! Nooo!!”
The Village Chief, who was trying to carry out his belongings, was devoured by an ogre.
“Help! Just this child, please!!”
Cedric the baker fell to a night elf’s arrow while shielding his child.
“Noooo! Daddy!!!”
Claire, who had been protected, clung to her father’s corpse, crying.
“Help me! Anyone!!”
The last thing I saw was Claire being yanked down by a night elf, swarmed by goblins—
“Someone—”
I reached out, feeling like I locked eyes with her, all smeared with tears.
“Claire!!”
“Don’t look!!”
My mother forced me into her embrace and ran away. My dad charged out to distract them so my mom and I could escape.
“Not through here! You won’t pass!!”
“Hahaha, what a weak human! Die!”
My father’s dying scream echoed into the night sky. A demon with bright green hair laughed as it raised its spear. At the tip was something round, resembling a human head, illuminated by the flames of the burning houses—
“――――”
No sound came out. I could only shed tears in shock, anger, and despair. And so did ‘I’. Even knowing it was a dream, I was frozen, as if I was meant to relive that sense of helplessness—
If only I were an adult. If only I were a hero.
No matter how many goblins there were, it wouldn’t change a thing. I would scatter them all.
I’d take down the ogres while I was at it.
Night elves were nothing to me.
I could stand toe-to-toe with any ordinary demon on my own.
In other words, I could save this village! But still—
“Dad! Claire!!”
The young me could only cry, being carried away by my mother.
The sound of wind rushing by. A dull thud as my mother, carrying me, groaned. But she kept running, as if nothing had happened, even though it must have been painful for her, gently stroking my head.
“It’s okay… It’s okay, you see…”
—Miraculously, we escaped. The Demon Lord’s army didn’t pursue us any further.
Instead, the mocking voices of demons echoed around us.
“Run, you filthy vermin! And tell your lord! We await you here and will be ready anytime!!”
So, we did not escape; we were allowed to go free.
To serve as messengers calling for more victims—
We played that role.
“Please… look after this child…”
After a night of running, my mother finally reached the neighboring town, saying that before she collapsed.
Countless black-feathered arrows from night elves were lodged in her back. Not even a strong soldier could do that—running all night while wounded and holding a child.
In the end, I was the only one to survive. —At least, as far as I knew.
As a living witness to the Demon Lord’s army invasion, I was escorted to an even larger town and taken in by the Church Orphanage. Just the other day, the Demon Lord Kingdom beyond the steep mountains and the war felt like faraway tales. Everything had changed. It was all over.
After that, I began to train my body desperately.
—I will kill them all.
The Demon Lord’s minions. That was all I wished for. I decided to become a soldier. I’d show them what I’m capable of.
The subjugation force dispatched by the kingdom was reportedly swiftly repelled. Even while I was training, the army continued losing, and the situation worsened.
Finally, just when I was about to volunteer as a soldier, I exhibited a holy attribute during my coming-of-age ceremony, was sent to the Holy Kingdom, and became a hero-in-training.
And from there—for more days of rigorous training. But while I was dallying, my homeland fell. After managing to grasp the use of holy magic, I was immediately deployed to the frontlines and fought alongside veteran heroes. The battle against the Demon Lord’s kingdom was a back-and-forth. No, more like a progress of one step forward and two or three steps back. More often than not, we would retreat pitifully rather than raise a war cry of victory.
Any moment could have been my last. Yet I survived. As I fought with all my might for even a single second longer, to send the accursed Demon Lord’s army to the slaughter.
“—Death to the dark ones!”
It wasn’t enough. No matter how much blood I shed, the villagers, my father, my mother, and Claire wouldn’t come back.
“Help me—”
I can never forget that hand reaching out, drenched in tears.
“……”
I woke up.
In a marble room. I lay on a luxurious bed piled high with sumptuous pelts.
I looked at my hands.
Bluish skin.
—The colors of a demon.
“Good morning, young master.”
A voice. By the side of my bed floated a red-skinned girl in a butler’s uniform, wearing a monocle. Just when I thought I had woken from a nightmare, this damn reality hit me. I am now a demon prince, and every morning, a demonic butler comes to wake me—
It was the worst awakening imaginable. But.
Endure this. Keep enduring this situation.
If I do, I will surely—
Be able to strike a fatal blow against the Demon Lord’s army.
“…Good morning, Sophia.”
I forced a smile and greeted the demon.
It’s already been two years since I was reincarnated into a demon.