My name is Gelvin Armundis.

I'm the first prince of the Armundis kingdom.

From a young age, I have been strictly educated on how a ruler should act.

But despite all of that, I don't necessarily feel the need to become the next king.

As long as the kingdom stays well and prosperous, I don't mind handing over the throne to someone else.

However...

If I don't become the king, my younger brother Robert will probably be the one.

And I don't think he is suited to be the ruler.

It's mainly because of his personality.

Ever since he was young, he always wanted to be the next king.

This desire slowly evolved into an obsession over time.

He wants to be the next king no matter what.

It doesn't matter if others suffer as long as he becomes the king.

The other option would be our younger sister, Amelia.

Although still young, I think she would be quite capable as the queen.

But if she is the one to be crowned the queen, I'm sure Robert wouldn't stay silent.

That's why the next ruler has to be me.

A new demon lord has appeared.

Right after the kingdom's biggest supply of mana has been destroyed.

This could not get worse.

Without all that mana, we can't summon a hero.

And without a hero, we can't fight back.

What do we do...?

A messenger from the Henduria port has arrived.

And he brought some shocking news.

A new ancient monster has appeared.

Just a few days after the new demon lord's appearance.

This can't be a coincidence.

Even if the report says the monster is friendly I don't believe it one bit.

Apparently it has the appearance of a beastkin girl.

But it still has an aura of death is apparent to anyone, who isn't completely brain dead.

That's even more suspicious.

Could it be the actual demon lord herself?

...no, that probably isn't the case.

But why would it try to register as an adventurer?

It doesn't make sense...

Reacting to the report, father decided to send one of his court magicians.

And he was to be accompanied by the number one S ranked adventurer along with her escort.

Even if the monster turns on them, they should probably be fine.

Another messenger came.

He reported, that two more strong monsters appeared in Henduria.

Luckily, they were defeated by the squad sent by father.

The report said that the other monster helped them, but it doesn't say to what extent.

One of the defeated monsters was a giant turtle and the other one was a black dragon.

Defeating just one would be a great feat already.

As expected of the number one S ranked adventurer and the combat oriented court magician.

But there is a slight problem.

Even though the turtle was defeated, it left its massive indestructible shell behind.

It's too big and heavy to move, so it will most likely stay in place for now.

But the question is, what to do with it?

The task of figuring out the best way to use it was passed on to me and Amelia.

That night, I had a heated argument with my sister whether it should be used for living quarters or as the new storage room for mana.

The group my father sent to Henduria has returned.

And surprisingly, the suspicious monster returned with them.

I could see it from the window.

It really looks like some beastkin child.

But even then, I can feel that appearance is just illusion.

That thing is dangerous.

It may act friendly for now...

But if it were to side with the newly awakened demon lord...

We would be done for.

...

I need to prevent that.

I need to make sure this thing will be on our side when it matters.

But how...

It seems like Robert started scheming something.

He wants to contract the monster into his own slave with the help of his troops.

And that way, he will gain more favor and be more likely to be selected as the next ruler.

His plan is for a group of his best magicians to use blood seal on the monster and then inject her with a paralyzing poison.

And when she can't move, he will force her into the slave contract.

I think this is a good plan if it works...

But it's extremely risky.

If he fails, it won't end with just his death.

However, even if I tell him it's not a good idea, he refuses to listen.

He is blinded by the idea of having a strong monster as his own slave.

What should I do...?

The next morning I'm woken up by a servant, who noticed Robert along with his troop marching off in the monster's room's direction.

Normally, he wouldn't wake me up, but I told him to do it if he notices Robert doing something.

Right when I heard that, I commanded him to mobilize a few guards as soon as possible and to head to the monster's room with me.

I let my guard down.

I didn't think he would do it so soon.

Damnit...

There's nothing I can do now.

I guess I will have to back him up if it goes wrong.

It looked like it was working.

She was immobilized and couldn't cast any magic.

But then...in just a few seconds...

She managed to not only completely turn the tides on Robert's group.

But also stun me and all of my own men with a dragon-like roar.

I knew it was a monster...

But I didn't imagine it was to this extent.

"H-how dare you do this to me you filthy swine!"

"You will face consequences for attacking this Robert Armundis, the second prince of the kingdom!"

Shit, Robert just shut up already.

You are going to get killed!

I gathered my strength and managed to overpower the feeling of fear.

"P-please stop this!"

The darkness crawling all over the floor restraining all the people twitches.

The monster looks up right into my eyes.

"Who are you?"

I can feel death creeping onto my back.

This thing can kill me with a mere thought.

I have to calm myself and carefully choose my words.

"My name is Gelvin Armundis. I'm the first prince of this kingdom."

"Please forgive the kingdom for my brother's reckless actions."

"He did all of this completely on his own."

"The kingdom does not want to be in a bad relationship with you."

At that moment, Robert turned around at me and lashed out.

"G-gelvin! You bastard!"

"BE QUIET YOU FOOL!"

Ah...I raised my voice on reflex.

She is eyeing me up now.

It's even more intimidating then before.

"...you are lying."

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"H-huh?"

"...you appeared as I was about to kill him."

"...you were waiting for this."

"N-no...that's...I..."

Damnit...

I was only taking her as some monster...

But she isn't stupid.

Even if I wasn't planning to at the start, I WAS going to help him if it went wrong...

But now I know that was a mistake.

We can't win no matter what we do.

We're going to get killed...

But I should at least try to save the rest of the kingdom...

"P-please..."

"Take our lives, but don't take out your anger at the rest of the kingdom..."

She squints her eyes at me for a second and then faces Robert again.

At the speeds I can't even perceive, she cuts him.

"Argh!"

...

I almost thought his head would fall off.

But just his arm has a cut in it.

Robert's screams are stopped by the darkness crawling inside his mouth.

Scary...

Is she going to do the same to me?

The darkness suddenly starts making a circular space on the floor.

She extends her arm and Robert's blood starts floating in the air.

Blood magic...

No wonder she was able to break out.

Even if Robert successfully contracted her, she would probably break out anyway.

After drawing a complicated magic circle, it shoots out beams of light into Robert.

She didn't even need him to be on the circle...?

Her skill with blood magic must be even higher than Sophia's.

When she is done, the darkness covering the room dissipates.

"If you try to break the contract...I will kill you."

These words didn't contain a single hint of joking around.

Robert looks completely pitiful.

He wanted to make a slave out of her but got made into a slave instead.

She finally looks at me again.

'You are next' is what I felt she was saying.

Unconsciously, I gulp.

"...I'm done here."

"I won't contract you."

"...but if you attack me, I will kill you."

But surprisingly, she didn't intend to contract me...

Does that mean she is giving us another chance?

"U-understood."

I will value that decision.

I will make sure to never even think about going against you again.

Before I noticed, everyone except me and her left.

She walked out of the room and looked at me.

I bow down and thank her.

"I want to apologize for what happened again."

"And thank you for your benevolence."

"...don't mind it."

It felt like this incident wasn't even worth remembering for her.

She doesn't care all of this happened.

We are mere bugs in her eyes.

...

But I'm grateful for that.

For the first time in my life, I'm grateful someone doesn't see me as an important person.

Robert and I paid a visit to father afterwards.

Robert was absolutely furious he was turned into a slave.

But apparently the only commands she gave him were to not attack or obstruct her.

"Robert."

"Father! You need to execute that filth!"

Father frowns at his words.

"No."

"I'm going to punish you now."

"W-wha-?!"

"You ignored my command to treat her with respect and even got forced into a contract."

"I should disown you for this, but I will be lenient with you."

"Tomorrow, you are to go to the western regions of the kingdom and manage the rebuilding of Ghora academy."

"Wh..Father! You can't do this!"

"If you slack off or refuse to do it, I will have you kicked out from the royal family for good."

Father finally shows his angry face as Robert is left with his mouth gaping open.

"Go prepare for her audience with me."

"And after that, you will pack your things to prepare for tomorrow's journey."

"Gh...SHIT!"

Robert finally heads to the door and slams it behind him after leaving.

Father then finally looks at me.

"I will accept any punishment."

Before father has the chance to talk, I state my acceptance while looking into his eyes.

But despite me expecting a yell, father sighs instead.

"Gelvin..."

"You are the polar opposite of your brother."

"While he will do anything for his own good."

"You always think of the kingdom first."

"But just like him, you are obsessed."

...huh?

"Don't you remember?"

"The three rules on how to treat an ancient monster who isn't hostile."

The three rules...?

...

Right, I think there was some story from a few generations ago...

Some kind of friendly ancient monster appeared at that time.

The details have been lost in time and it's just known that a big city disappeared overnight because the monster got angered.

All that was left from that incident were these so called 'three rules' on how to treat a non hostile ancient monster.

I'm sure they were something like...

1. Do not antagonize them.

2. Do your best to fulfill their wishes.

3. Absolutely never try to force a blood contract on them.

...

Ah...I get it...

I'm so stupid...

I was completely tunnel visioned on getting that monster on our side no matter what.

But these three rules aren't just for show...

Since she was not hostile, I should have tried to get on her good side no matter what instead.

"Well, since you were the one to defuse the situation in the end, I won't punish you."

"But next time, you should tell others about these situations."

"Me, your mother, Amelia...anyone would be fine."

"There is no shame in getting help from your close ones if you need it."

That's right...

I should have told father about Robert's scheme right away...

Why didn't I?

He would have stopped him.

"But we were truly lucky..."

"Even after being attacked like this, she did not show any significant hostility."

"And the contract she made with Robert wasn't even all that strict."

"I intend to give her Azure judgment as a gift to appease her and hopefully erase any remaining grudge."

"Eh?"

"Isn't that thing way too heavy for anyone to wield?"

"I thought that was why it was made into a royal treasure that isn't meant to be used."

"Gelvin...she is level 4621 according to the reports."

"I'm sure she has enough strength to wield it."

"And if not, we will at least be able to see her limits."

"If that happens, I can give her Crimson fury instead."

...

My father truly thinks of everything.

That's why I admire him so much.

Later that day, at the audience, everyone was flabbergasted how such a tiny girl could lift that impossibly heavy sword.