Chapter 2:

Chapter 2

My Strongest Familiar

Kade used to be an office worker in his past life. As someone whose teenage years were accompanied by games, he dreamt about becoming an adventurer. A strong person, capable of protecting his loved ones while traveling the world. Of course, such a job didn’t exist in the real world. Reality showed him a different path, one completely detached from his dreams. He was forced to take the accounting route.

After university, the only company willing to accept him was one of questionable background. This company worked him to death, literally. His lifestyle was a mess. Unpaid overtime became the norm. He hardly had enough sleep. His eating habit was a complete mess. All this led him to suffer a heart attack when he was still in the office chair, just two years after entering the company.

“And that’s how you got to me,” the girl standing in front of him said. She was stunning. Her long, blue hair looked as clear as the ocean. Her black eyes looked otherworldly. It was like staring into the void. Slightly scary, but at the same time, stunning. She wore a simple white dress with not a single decoration on it. She called herself a Connector, someone who protected the link between worlds.

“... Yeah…”

Kade couldn’t say much. Even back then, he was an awkward kind of person. That was one of the reasons he couldn’t land a good job. He did improve by quite a bit. Society forced him to.

He had little work experience, nonexistent organizational activities, and a mediocre set of skills. He had tried going for better, more reputable companies, but they all turned them down.

He felt absolutely no regret following his death. Getting to that step was scary. He was bound to fall from sickness eventually, so he expected it. The event itself happened in an instant. All of a sudden, he was gone. Maybe that caused him not to care about the situation he was in. About the fact that he was dead.

“... But you do have that dream, right?”

“Dream?”

“An adventurer.”

“... Yes.”

It was embarrassing to admit, but even in his adult years, his dream of adventure hadn’t faded away. It was still there, tucked deep in his heart. This yearning to go out and do something, to become a better version of himself.

“I… I want to go.”

“Go?”

“I don't want to keep living a boring, tiring life.”

He wasn't even living anymore. He lost his chance. The time had passed. However, her next words caused his eyes to go wide.

“That’s possible, actually.”

“... Can I know how?”

“Why of course, I was the one who offered it to you.”

Kade felt embarrassed for asking such a stupid question in the first place, but the girl gave him a warm smile. “There’s this world… In this world, there are external forces that try to disturb the peace and balance. You must stop these forces from doing so. If you’re willing to do that, then I’ll send you there.”

“What should I do?” Kade asked, slightly hopeful.

“Simple. Prevent the demon lord from fighting the hero at all costs.”

Kade was a bit surprised by this request. “Do you… Want me to fight the demon lord?”

It was the common plot point of many stories like this, but the girl shook her head. “There is no need. Just prevent her from trading blows with the hero, or more specifically, from fighting the hero’s sword.”

“Just the sword…?”

It was a very specific request, but it should be doable.

“Yes.”

“I’m willing.” Kade forced himself to answer in a resolute tone. He wanted this life. He wanted this adventure.

“Well, so far, the hero’s doing a good job of avoiding her, so you can relax a bit. Maybe enjoy your school life, if it lasts long.”

“... School life?”

“Yes. I’m going to send you into the body of a young child I altered. Oh, just to be clear, you don’t have to worry about the soul. This body never had one in the first place, so you’ll be entering an empty vessel.”

“Alright.”

“Good luck.”

His vision faded away.

•••

“... asked the villagers around. They said no one knew about a child.”

“What? How is that even possible? How could none of the parents realize that they’ve lost their own child? Ridiculous!”

“Maybe he didn't have parents?”

“That’s impossible! How would he exist, then!?”

Kade forced his eyes open. He was lying on a bed, looking up at a wooden ceiling. There was no lightbulb on it. Instead, torches giving off a yellowish glow shone on the building’s side.

He rolled around, looking at the two girls sitting there. One had long black hair and crimson eyes, while the other had her red hair tied in a bun, her light green eyes staring at a piece of paper.

She’s cute… Kade thought when he looked at the girl with crimson eyes. She had an air of wisdom around her despite her young-looking face.

“How long will you be staying here?” the girl with the crimson eyes asked.

“How long? I can’t let you take a human child back to demon land.”

“I have no plans of taking him, either!”

“You can’t, can you?”

“I-” The crimson girl pursed her lips. “I… I guess not.”

“I’ll be watching over you, then.”

“Stupid. Stupid idea.” She sighed. “But- Oh?” She shifted her gaze toward Kade. “You’re awake. Are you alright?”

“Don’t make him cry again,” the girl with green eyes said.

“Cry!? Of course I won’t! I’m the demon lord, after all.”

“The demon lord runs a daycare now?”

“I mean the demon lord doesn’t make the same mistake twice!” she stomped her feet. Kade, too, thought she was talking about a daycare. It was her fault for saying it in such a vague manner.

So she’s the demon lord…

She was the one he was supposed to prevent from meeting the hero. She didn’t look like an unreasonable person, to be fair. It made him wonder why she needed him watching over her in the first place.

“He’s not answering. He must be scared of you.”

“He- He is not! You’re not, right?” She turned to Kade and gave him a sweet little smile. She seemed genuine in her smile, not a smile he expected from a demon lord. She picked him up and began swinging him around like a little baby. This wasn’t a baby’s body, though. It was the body of a young teenager, maybe around middle school years. It felt weird being treated like this.

It was also surprising that she could throw him around like this. Was this body not heavy, or maybe she simply had the strength?

But Kade didn’t comment. The green-eyed girl took it as a sign that the demon lord was scaring him, despite that not being the case.

“You’re terrible with children.”

“I am not!”

“Hand him over.”

“Here, see if you can get him to talk.”

She carefully accepted Kade from the demon lord’s hand. Again, Kade was in the body of a middle schooler while being an adult himself. Being treated like a baby was extremely uncomfortable, but speaking up would be worse, so he didn’t say anything. Instead, he held the embarrassment deep inside, trying not to let it leak.

“See? He isn’t saying anything to you, either. Now, give him back and go home.” The demon lord took him from the girl’s arms.

“I can’t. There’s no way I’m letting you run with a child.”

“Just what do you think of me?”

As the two continued to bicker, Kade couldn’t help but wonder about their age. Both of them looked quite young, but this is a demon lord. In fantasy, it was common to have certain races live longer than others. He wouldn’t be surprised if the demon lord were older than him. Heck, the regular-looking green-eyed girl might be old as well.

Can’t you at least put me down, please?

It was incredibly awkward. As he was torn between escaping or continuing to shoulder the humiliation, a knock came on the door. He hoped that whoever this was could save him. But unfortunately, his wishes were quickly dashed away.

“Here’s some warm soup for the three of you.”

“Thank you very much.”

The person delivering the soup didn’t even enter. They simply gave the green girl the tray, then left. She brought the tray onto a small table by the bedside, the sweet smell filling his nostrils.

“... Is that chicken soup?”

Both girls jerked their heads toward him.

“You can speak?” the demon lord asked in surprise. Kade immediately covered his mouth. She finally let him down.

“Umm… yeah…” Suddenly being in the center of attention made him uncomfortable. More importantly, he wanted that soup really badly. His stomach growled, begging to be filled. It smelled delicious, better than anything he had eaten in a while.

“Oh, do you want to eat?” The green girl took over a bowl, scooped up some soup, and brought it to his mouth.

“I… can eat on my own.”

She immediately went tense, while a huge smug grin appeared on the demon lord’s face.

“So- sorry. Here you go.”

“Looks like someone got rejected. How hilarious. Absolutely, utterly, hilarious," the demon lord teased. The girl stood up, turned around, and planted her face into the wall. Kade could see the smoke coming from the top of her head.

“Tha- thank you,” he said as he began eating. It was delicious. A taste he missed. Tears began welling up in his eyes.

“H- Huh!? Are you crying?” the demon lord asked in panic. She frantically looked around, maybe searching for a tissue.

“Wh- What…? No…” he quickly wiped the tears off his eyes. It was so delicious that his emotions took over.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” The demon lord kneeled in front of him, smiling softly.

Ah…

“I’m… fine…”

“I see… Do not be scared. I won’t hurt you.”

…

Kade had a hard time believing it. “Time for introductions, eh? My name is Meline, and I’m the demon lord.”

“Also, your familiar. You’re her master, somehow.”

“That part is not important.”

“And I’m Linda, I hope we get along from now on.”