Part 1

Shin then felt something sharp poking his cheek. Shin tilted his head to the side to find two big silver eyes staring at him – it was the girl, Inoue.  Shin stared into her eyes silently as he pondered how to deal with nuisance.

How should I respond to her? If it were my former self, I would have blown her into smithereens for daring to touch me! But no….I can no longer avail that remedy….

It must be understood that Shin was at the age where he had no interest in the opposite sex. Even in his past life, Shin had no interest in the opposite sex. In fact in his previous life, Shin had no romantic interests or pursuits. This was largely driven by the fact that Shin was subjected a hellish training from the day he was born and never had time to pursue other interests.  After he was recognized as Maou-sama, his life was filled with constant battles and wars. Even amongst the demon clans, there was no female courageous enough to display their attraction to Shin openly. Hence, the subject of ‘love’ never made it to the ears of Shin. As Shin continued to ponder about how he would deal with Inoue, he continued giving Inoue a blank gaze. It was a long silent deep gaze, which made began making the little girl feel uncomfortable.

At first Inoue thought there was something on her face, it would have been unsightly of her to turn away and start rubbing her face just to check. To avoid unnecessary awkwardness Inoue gazed back into Shin’s eyes hoping to catch a glimpse of her own reflection.  However this turned into a staring contest for Inoue, and became more awkward and difficult for her to look away.

What is he staring at!!

Inoue then touched her face unconsciously, just to be sure there was nothing on her face. It would be very unbecoming of her if she were speaking to a little boy while looking like a clown.  For various reasons, the little girl had a very conscious attitude towards outward appearances and mannerisms.

Thank goodness there is nothing on my face!

Inoue quickly confirmed there was nothing on her face but Shin was still intently gazing at her! Inoue opened her mouth many times to ask him what it was that he was staring at but every time she opened her mouth, she would immediately close it. The words never came out! What kind of magical hypnotic gaze did Shin have!

Inoue only grew frustrated with herself – what is wrong with me! I can’t even hold a simple conversation with a boy!

Inoue cutely pouted in anger but decided not to give up – the staring contest was one she would not lose.

The two were now staring at each other for more than ten minutes. It was not a gaze filled with love and affection for each other but rather one where you could see lightening sparks clashing violently against each other.

What am I doing!!! Inoue wondered. What did she want him with anyways to begin with? She had now completely forgotten the reason why she had approached Shin. Shin had aroused the competitive spirit in Inoue and for now she would stare back at Shin till he acknowledged her. However, the silly girl didn’t realize, the fact that Shin was staring at her was an acknowledgement in itself.

The only reason Shin continued to stare (observe) Inoue was because her physical appearance caught his attention. Once again, it needs to be clarified that Shin is not attracted to Inoue but rather, her silver coloured eyes were unique. The more Shin stared into her eyes, the more he was certain that this eye colour were a certain racial characteristic. Even her skin was jade white – unusually white….another feature shared in common with those ‘beings’….but then why did she feel so human? This girl was emitting no mana….nor was her body cold, like the dead, when she touched him.

The longer Inoue stared into Shin’s eyes, the more certain she felt that Shin’s gaze did not belong to that of a child. Young children’s eyes sparkle with anticipation and life. However, Shin’s eyes were cold, indifferent and mature; like that of an adult. It was similar to the contemptuous gaze of an adult but wouldn’t that imply Shin was simply looking down on her?  No Shin’s eyes were focused, ever since they began staring his eyes never moved and were intently staring at something on her face….or may be something deeper…. could he see directly through her….the true her?  

Inoue began feeling uncomfortable. Her face was growing hot and her heart was beating uncontrollably faster. As the physical discomfort grew in Inoue, the staring contest came to an end.

The flustered girl tore away her gaze and turned to face the ground. Her breath was haggard and her cheeks were flushed red. That was an intense gazing contest! But what were those weird feelings?

When Inoue calmed herself down, she turned to look back at Shin but found him facing the other. For some reason Inoue found this little twerp very irritating. She wasn’t used to being ignored…..or stared at!!

First he stares at me and now he ignores me!! How rude!!!

 “Don’t you ignore me!!” Inoue cried out and as she began beating her weak fists against Shin’s back.

Part 2

Shin continued to ignore the little girl beating his back. The girl had no strength in her arms and it couldn’t be considered as a beating. Furthermore, he realized that ignoring the little girl was surprisingly and effective way to deal with her. However, that was not the reason why Shin turned around – he had felt tiny ‘killing’ intent directed at his back. It wasn’t a monstrous unrestrained killing intent but rather a very controlled type of ‘intent’ used to grab Shin’s attention. Technically, it couldn’t even be considered as killing intent – it resembled something similar to the feeling when someone continuously stares at a person with ill intent like a ….stalker. It is mostly harmless however as a response to possible danger a human being’s sixth sense usually picks up on it.

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On the other side of the bed, Shin was greeted with dichromatic pair of eyes – one green and one blue. The boy who was staring at Shin was Ozutsuki Akito. He was also the one who gave of the weak ill intent. Akito was not standing by Shin’s bed but rather several feet away, his eyes sparkled momentarily like that of a cat’s in the darkness. Clearly Akito did not want to make his interfering presence known to Inoue which is why he kept his distance from the bed and only directed an intent.

Shin furrowed his eye brows – didn’t he have black coloured eyes when we first met? No more importantly, that killing intent was very real…could he be an assassin sent to finish me off? But …. No I should have the appearance of a human, no one would think I am Maou-sama…..no…even when I tell the humans I am Maou-sama, they laugh it off….

For some reason, this trail of thoughts left a very sour taste in Shin’s mouth and also depressed.

“Do not ignore Inoue-san.” Akito softly spoke. His voice was stern and it certainly did not sound like a request but an order.

No wait!! That wasn’t even the Japanese language!

Shin could feel a strange pressure on his mind coercing and bending his will – the over bearing pressure wanted to force him to turn away and speak to Inoue.  No….it wasn’t just speak, Shin felt that he must kneel in front of Inoue.

Like hell I will kneel to her!! – Shin thought as he resisted the mental pressure. However, Shin could not even hold against the invisible pressure for more than two seconds, he could feel his mental defences crumbling instantly! This was not some weak technique which Shin had previously imagined it to be…..

No it is an absolutely shitty weak technique!! I just haven’t trained sufficiently enough to resist it!

Shin lamented mentally how feeble, weak and useless he has become. To be unable to fend himself from such a weak attack! Thankfully, just before Shin caved in completely and was about to turn around to face Inoue, the strange power came to an abrupt halt.

“Akito!” Inoue shouted out angrily when she discovered that Akito had dared to use his ‘power’ on Shin.

Akito instantly retracted his power and bowed in front of Inoue. “Yes, Hime-sama!”

“We have sworn to never use our powers!” Inoue reiterated the ‘Law’ that was drilled into her head as a child.

“But this puny child dared to ignore you….Hime-sama….also I did not like how he was staring at you….” The last bit of the sentence was mostly mumbling which Inoue could not hear.

“Sorry…” Under Inoue’s furious gaze, Akito could only mutter an apology to her. Akito regretted his mistake – getting caught. He was willing to be the darkness for Inoue as long as she continued to walk in the light – unscathed, untouched by the vile darkness.  Those who dare to harm the Hime-sama, those who dare to make fun of Hime sama and those who make Hime sama cry – will all be answerable to me….Akito repeated these words in his mind as his eyes shined with determination to carry out the duties entrusted to him no matter what. Even if carrying out his duties meant incurring the wrath of Inoue, Akito would not hesitate.

Inoue turned away from Akito, and bowed her head in front of Shin. “I apologize for my friend’s actions but please forget everything you experienced.” She meant it sincerely.

“Hime-sama!” Akito growled out with a frown on his face. “Let me be the one to apologize!”

“As your master, your mistakes are my faults. Hence, it is also my duty to apologize when you make a mistake.” Inoue replied back like a true leader. She did not have an ego that did not let her lower herself nor did she hold on to the pride of being a princess when she knew her side was on the wrong. However, there was another reason why Inoue was so willing to lower her head…Shin would not remember any of this after tonight.

Inoue’s words…no voice…too contained bits of power however her power was far gentler. It was more like subtle persuasion than coercion. Shin easily defended himself against her power. He had no intention of forgetting anything especially the last bit which he just heard.

Initially, he was only vaguely interested in the two children when he realized they were not human. After all encountering non-humans is normal? Even though Shin did not see any of them since he was born in the mortal realm, Shin believed that it was due the fact he was in human territory. How can one encounter any non-human being while living in a human territory? So naturally, Shin wasn’t shocked or surprised when he realized that these two children were not humans. After all, non-human beings, like beast men etc., do exist. The only curiosity towards the children Shin did have was as to why they were located so deeply within human territory. However, he did not really care about their personal troubles. Beyond this Shin had no interest in the children. After all, they were only children and their power was too weak and of no use to him. But when Akito addressed Inoue as ‘Hime-sama’ and Inoue referred herself as ‘master’… Shin had to ask, “Since when did the cats begin serving the bats?”

Inoue’s calm and soft expressions stiffened. Her entire body froze on the spot.

Akito rushed in front of Inoue, standing between Shin and Inoue, while raising a small curvy dagger pointed at Shin. “Who are you?” Akito asked in a cold voice, there was a murderous look in his eyes and he was emitting an unholy killing intent – a killing intent that should not be possible to be emitted from a child. This killing intent was several times stronger than what Akito had previously released and a normal person would be stagnated in dread and fear.

However, Shin was unmoved by the killing intent. He had experienced far worse ‘intent’ in his previous life. Shin continued speaking in his casual manner of speech as though what he was asking was a trivial matter, “Me? Maou-sama.”