~ Chapter 162: A little sister’s smile ~

[Nanya’s point of view]

“I-I’m happy you are alive, you foolish daughter of mine.”

These words of hers sent a shock through me. I did not even know what to say or to believe when I heard them. I always thought that whatever happened to me was not something either my parents would care about. I was just that weak daughter of hers, not even worth looking at when comparing me with my older sister Entupia, not to mention my older brothers. They were the true pride and joy of this family, the ones who succeeded far more than I ever did in the demonkind’s eyes.

“Thank you...” was all I could say as I was overwhelmed with emotion.

I was genuinely happy to hear those words. It made me feel as though my journey here wasn’t for nothing, as though maybe just maybe, I still had a home here.

Sure, mother’s words were harsh, and my father looked like an insensitive jerk for the most part, but I always believed, deep down inside of me, that they really did care for me, that they appreciated me and loved me as their daughter.

Still, it wasn’t as though any of my other siblings received any special treatment. Mother behaved the same way with all of us, it was just that my weakness caused them to take some drastic actions. Father, especially, he sent me to his dungeons to train and fight, going up in levels little by little at a snail’s pace.

It was indeed true that Dungeons and Half-Dungeons would have a slower growth rate than others, but I had an especially slow one. When Illsy treated me, he did tell me that my Magic Channels were severely damaged, but the growth rate I experienced after he healed me couldn’t be compared to the one from before.

Maybe my inability to grow powerful like my other siblings did was because I had problems with my Magic Channels long before I ever met Illsy? That could explain a lot of things, but this also meant that once again I felt grateful for having met such a wonderful man like him.

I wasn’t worried about my upcoming duel at all. Just as I had told mother, there was no way someone like that High Demio could ever defeat me. I was far more powerful than I let out and there was always my trump card, the Over Supreme Rank Spell that allowed me to smash through enemies of over level 3000 with an incredible ease. Against someone like that demon, this spell was overkill. A simple [Boost] would have been more than enough to overwhelm him.

What I was more interested in right now was to see if mother kept my old room as it was when I left. When thinking that back then I was a weak child who could die at any time on the Demon Continent, it wouldn’t have been surprising if mother removed my room entirely so as to erase any trace of my embarrassing existence. But… maybe I was taking this idea a bit too far? If mother wanted to get rid of me back then, there would have been no one to stop her.

With such thoughts going through my mind, I made my way through the large open corridors of the castle, following the path I remembered from when I was still living here. The decorations, walls, doors, everything was different from how I knew them, which told me that this place had been rebuilt already a few times. The closer I got to my room, the more I felt as though I wouldn’t find any trace of my previous existence in this castle.

On the way, there were a few guards and demios who were curious about my identity and presence in this wing of the castle, but I only gave them the minimum reply so as to avoid any immediate conflict. Getting in a scuffle with the demons who were doing their job protecting this castle was not my intention.

When I reached my room, I stopped and gazed in wonder at the door.

“Mother… kept it the same, down to the scratches made by my young self, who couldn’t properly use her claws and tail.” I said in a whisper.

Not even a single nick or tick was removed from this old door, although, it was very easy to do so if they wished to maintain the beauty and harmony of this newly renovated corridor. Keeping this scratched up old piece here was like tossing mud on a white marble floor, yet… right now, for me that mud was far more valuable than the rest.

Looking over it brought back many memories from when I was young. Back then, I didn’t really have a good control over my tail’s behavior. I ended up pocking a lot of people with it. My clawed hands didn’t make things easier either and retracting my claws was always a bothersome thing to do.

The handle had to be replaced several times because I broke it from careless use. Right now, however, such a thing was impossible. Illsy also made sure to keep things tidy and clean back at home. If there was a scratch anywhere, he did not waste a second to repair it.

This place, however, had all of my marks left on it.

Was this because my mother ordered for my room to be left as it is or was it because no one bothered to do it? I wondered and then turned the handle.

The familiar click was there and so were the squeaking joints, but after so many years, I would have thought that they had already fixed it. Adding a bit oil on them wasn’t such a hard thing to do, or was it that mother wanted to preserve this place as it was?

But why? I wondered as I stepped in.

The smell, the air, everything was the same as it was over a century ago when I left the palace to travel on my own. My books were still on the shelves in the same order and with the same old crummy bookmarks in them. My training gear, although a bit rusty now, was still here, even the broken one. Father always made me train until I broke my sword. That was his weird way of estimating when I had enough.

Several time I broke it intentionally because I wanted to be over with the training faster than usual. As a young demoness I still had my hobbies and play time. Walking around shopping for dresses wasn’t my style but pulling off a prank on mother or some other demio was almost a routine. I didn’t really prank my siblings though; they couldn’t take a joke.

Hah, there was even a time when the demio were especially wary about me and checked almost everything at every step so that they wouldn’t get pranked. I, on the other hand, tended to always be one step ahead of them. The guards were the tough ones to prank. Their ability to avoid my pranks was almost godlike. I thought and then let out a sigh.

Walking over to my old desk, I took a sit on the chair and gently moved my hands over the flat surface. There were so many scratches and spilled ink marks on it, a testimony of my younger days when I tried my best to study everything my tutors tossed at me.

Looking over to my bed, I remembered how I received it. My old one was very tough and very uncomfortable. I couldn’t sleep properly in it, so one night, before I went to bed, I went to my parents and with tears in my eyes asked them to do something about it.

Father changed my bed the next day with this one. He didn’t say a word, just crossed his arms at his chest and pretended not to care. I gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek as a reward for it.
“This place is filled with so many memories... my memories.” I said and then let out a sigh.

Although I could have went back to the inn, I felt like sleeping in my old room was for the best. I actually missed this place and wondered why I didn’t just bring all of my stuff together with me when I left? This Inner Mind ability was tremendously helpful in regard to living an easy life; no need to pack up your stuff for the long journey ahead.

That evening, I was invited to dine with my mother and my other siblings. Lucianus and Krimarea weren’t too happy about me sitting at the same table as them and constantly tried to poke fun at my past, but I ignored them completely. Mother did the same, but there was one person here who caught all of my attention, it was the little Sunsun.

She looked like a twelve-years-old little girl with blonde curly hair and a pair of big fluffy white wings on her back. She was so cute with her big green curious eyes, and an adorable smile that simply made you melt. How mother could withstand so much cuteness in one big fluff package, I had no idea, but since she was my little sister, this meant that I had the possibility to get close to her and cuddle her up.

Looking at Sunsun, I am reminded of my beloved Kormian and Natrasku... Sigh, I wonder how they are doing? Are they missing their mommy? Should I worry about Illsy teaching them that Colly Tos spell? By the gods, I hope not! I thought and then shook my head.

There was no day that went by when I didn’t think about my little ones. This feeling of love I had for them was overwhelming and didn’t let me take a single moment of rest. No matter how I tried, there was no way to escape its grasp, but I didn’t want to. I really loved those two.

After we ate our dinner and my other two siblings scurried off to some place I didn’t care about, I tried to get better acquainted with Sunsun. Mother helped by saying that there was no reason to fear me, which apparently worked. Well, she had always been like that, a demoness of a few words, but those were enough to make you act as she pleased.

“So, you are big sister Nanya?” Sunsun asked while cutely hiding behind her big fluffy wings and shyly peeking at me.

“Yes, and you are my little sister Sunsun. So, care to tell your big sister what you like to do?” I asked.

Sunsun looked at mother for reassurance and she merely cast a nod her way. Seeing this, the little girl pulled back her wings.

“I like to do lots of things, big sister.” she told me.

From this point on, we talked about many different things, and through this conversation, I felt as though our sibling relationship deepened. It was nice to have someone in the family who didn’t immediately look at you with a gaze of contempt, mockery, or pity.

Sunsun told me that she liked frilly dresses and the colors pink, yellow, and white. She also told me that she felt awkward about her strange wings as they were so different from mother’s or those of our other siblings. Mine weren’t exactly charming either, but they were far from being as adorable as hers.

Before she went to sleep, I read her a bedtime story like I once did to my children. I picked one of those from Illsyore’s collection, which he remembered from his past life. They were pleasant to hear, especially since they had a happy ending with a moral lesson as well.

The following day, Sunsun was more open towards me, but nothing changed with my other two siblings present at the palace. However, while we were walking around, we happened to come across a demio who came to the palace for some official matters regarding a certain matter.

He made a bow to Princess Sunsun and myself and then he wished me luck in the upcoming duel, or rather, it was a curse?

“May you lose swiftly without embarrassing yourself any further or the name of your esteemed mother.” was what he said.

It kind of ticked me off, but for the most part, I did not plan on saying anything back to him.

Sunsun, however, didn’t like this demon’s attitude.

“Big sister Nanya is strong! She won’t lose!” she declared with absolute confidence in her eyes, which surprised both me and the demio in front of us.

As the demon excused himself, I nuzzled Sunsun and then headed back towards the training field, where the knights of the kingdom were currently practicing. The little demoness had such an innocent laughter that it made all my gloom just dissipate into thin air.

Once we reached the training grounds, I placed her near one of the guards and then joined the training. Using just two wooden sticks I enchanted, I told everyone there to come at me with everything they had. The demons obeyed my request and tried to show off their training and strength, but... they were too slow.

Their strikes were also very weak, but insanely strong for the average demon. They didn’t just try to hit randomly but rather strike at the vitals with the intention of incapacitating or knocking me out. Of course, I did not plan on just letting them have their way. I played around with them as I would with my students back at the academy. When they made mistakes, I pointed them out, when they tried their best, I congratulated them, but at the end of the fight, they were the ones huffing and puffing, tired from all the energy they spent trying to at least put a crack in my Magic Armor.

Meanwhile, Sunsun was so proud that I was so powerful and fought so well, her big eyes were sparkling, and her wings were fluttering. She was such a joyous little girl, which made me feel as though I was looking at a little angel. I couldn’t see her tail though, maybe she kept it hidden? When I was young, I also tended to do that quite a lot. I was afraid of the many times that I would accidentally scratch others with it or have it got in my way.

I spent most of those three days just playing around with Sunsun, deepening my connection with her, but I also spent my time with mother. When I first saw her back in the audience room, I wasn’t really sure of it, but the more I observed her, the more I realized that something was wrong. She didn’t make excessive movements and didn’t try to spread out her presence too far. It felt almost as though she was trying to conserve her power.

What I found most curious, however, was how protective she was when it came to Sunsun or myself. The few demios who dared to insult either of us in front of her, she would end up getting her revenge against them in various ways.

The more I saw it, the more I felt as though there was something wrong with her. These symptoms, these reactions, I knew them all too well as well, but I had to ask her in order to be sure of it.

Then, on the day of the big event, we flew towards the Proving Grounds together as a family. The guards surrounded us tried to keep up, but everyone was rather slow. I could have flown on my own all the way over there but traveling together with mother and Sunsun seemed like it was going to be fun.

“Are you ready?” mother asked me while we approached the big crater known as the Proving Grounds.

“Against someone like him there is no need for me to be ready. I can easily defeat him, have faith in me, mother.” I replied with a smile.

“Big sister is strong! I saw it! She beat up all the guards on the training field!” Sunsun declared with a smile as she held tight to mother.

Unlike us, she couldn’t fly as fast or precise. She would get tired fast too, but despite her cuteness, I learned during these three days that this little beautiful girl held an immense strength inside of her. Although quite young, she was already level 137 and was powerful enough to bend a steel sword. This fact made me wonder if maybe I was indeed born with some sort of health problem that kept me from becoming strong like my other siblings, Illsy did mention he repaired my Magic Channels after the battle with Dankyun, but was that due to forcing the seal open or were they like that from the beginning?

True, Sunsun didn’t know how to properly control her power yet, and her Magic Armor was all over the place, but in time, she would probably become one of the more powerful Demonarkiar siblings. Of this, I was quite certain, no, I would even bet one million goldiettes on it!

Still, what I wasn’t expecting to see today was the insane number of demons and demonesses who came to spectate my battle with the High Demio Dragmator Avarice. Be it flying or standing in special tribunes designed to withstand powerful attacks through the form of a shield cast and fueled by several powerful demons and demonesses.

The Demonarkiar family had one such tribunes as well. It was made by my father and looked far more elegant than those of the other demons did. Theirs had the appearance of molten rock that formed stalactites on the edge, giving a very intimidating and primeval look, while ours was covered with white marble and decorated with the flags of our family.

The many important High Demios who arrived today also exposed their flags with pride, and from what I could see there was no one that was missing.

“It looks as though the whole kingdom had gathered here.” I said.

“It’s quite possible that they did. Three days ago, after that insufferable oaf left, I received a report stating that he was inviting everyone to the Proving Grounds where he would display his might and power against the feeble and weak Nanya Demonarkiar the 2nd.” mother said as we made our landing on our private tribune.

“Big sister is strong!” declared Sunsun.

“Oh, mother, esteemed siblings, you have arrived!” Lucianus greeted us right away.

“Indeed, this humble daughter of yours greets her Majesty, the Queen.” said Krimarea with a polite bow before her.

Apparently these two came here before us because they weren’t able to fly such a distance without a problem.

“Get to your seats.” was all that mother told them.

“I will also take my leave. I hope you will enjoy the show, mother.” I said and then winked at Sunsun.

While I did plan on fighting here against that idiot, upon seeing this impressive crowd, I decided to change my approach. Initially, I simply wanted to slap him once and bury him in the ground, but since he made the effort of bringing all these demons and demonesses here, who was I not to give them a show?

When I was about to jump off the ledge, mother called out to me.

“Nanya.”

I stopped and turned to look back at her.

“Your father will be here soon to see your fight. Don’t disappoint us.” she narrowed her eyes at me, but it didn’t feel like was being looked down upon by her, rather... it felt as though she was worrying about me.

That’s so weird... I thought but I decided to reply to that feeling with a smile and a single line “I will be fine, mother, but thank you for worrying about me.” and then I jumped off the ledge.

With a single push of a wind spell, I glided over to the center of this gigantic ring, where the High Demio whom I forced into a challenge was waiting for me with a smug look on his face.

Now if only Natrasku and Kormian were here to see their mommy being awesome! And Illsy and my sister-wives to pull a prank on them! Hehe! I thought as I approached the fool before me.

“And here I thought you were going to flee from me!” he scoffed.

“Fleeing from you would be like Melkuth fleeing from his own shadow, pathetic and ridiculous.” I retorted.