After bidding farewell to Uncle Zar, Arturo briefly scanned the surrounding environment. He noticed a demon orchestra performing masterfully, playing music that evoked classical pieces.

His gaze shifted along the edge of the hall, where a stunning woman sat sipping a glass of wine. Horns emerged from her dark hair tied up in a knot, and her posture and the way she held the glass made her appear like a high-class woman. Her eyes were empty, just like the glass she had finished, and as soon as she turned around, her eyes sparkled upon seeing Arturo. She placed the glass on the table and stood up abruptly.

She's coming closer!

She ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back decisively, her eyes becoming moist as they met Arturo's.

She's beautiful, wonder who she is?

As soon as the woman stopped in front of the master, she spread her arms and hugged him so tightly that Arturo's head bounced onto her chest.

"My son! What a joy to see you again!"

"MOM?!"

The mother caressed his face with her smooth palms.

"Is it really you, Artoris?"

"Well, yes, Mom, it's me!"

Tell me it isn't true!

Arturo's head slid up and down her chest.

That's... not fair though!

"Ha! How happy I am to see you!" She smothered him with kisses all at once.

What kind of world have I landed in?! I wanted to be born a hero!

Everyone remained in their places, waiting for the king's speech to begin.

They saw that Zar didn't even have the strength to stand, having drunk too much, as usual. They were already reluctant to make him the new king. He was definitely unreliable.

From the wall, Purply descended. Everyone fell silent.

As its limbs took one step after another, a deadly silence emerged in the hall.

"Silence! Master Artoris is about to give his speech!"

Arturo positioned himself in front of them, making himself visible, seeing all those demons with their eyes glued to him.

Are there so many?

"Cough...cough... Listen to me, people of Asyby- Asybiluma, Abyss!"

Purply whispered to him: "Abylissalum!"

"People of Abylissalum, listen to me, I know you thought I was dead for a while, but now I'm back, and I will reign... for centuries and centuries!"

The demons cheered immensely, shouting in a unified chorus.

These guys blindly believe in me. Better not to let down their expectations.

Four demons surrounded him, and Arturo jumped, because four demons unleashed from their palms a dark power that completely enveloped Arturo, he felt trapped as if in a barrier.

"What are you doing, stop!"

Arturo put his hands on his head and then fell to his knees.

"Please, don't hurt me!"

But when he opened his eyes, he noticed the demons lowered their palms. The power had vanished.

"Eh?"

The demons looked at him with satisfied grins. Arturo saw his reflection in a mirror hanging on the wall, noticing his horns had grown longer.

CORONATION COMPLETED.

LEVEL 3.

UNLOCKED:

FIRE RESISTANCE

RESISTANCE TO RANGED ATTACKS

SIXTH SENSE

Applause broke out. Everyone's eyes were moist, having witnessed the coronation of the king. Arturo's horns now curved upward, unlike the others'.

Arturo looked bewildered.

Ha! Is this what coronation is?

"Long live the king!" the demons shouted en masse.

Everyone celebrated uncontrollably; there had never been such revelry, even outside, the inhabitants celebrated in their own way, howling like mad.

"Long live the king!"

The reddish sun shone like a sunset over all of Abylissalum.

The sharp mountains formed a sort of chasm that enclosed the kingdom. The castle was positioned higher than the rest of the angular dwellings.

Jets of steam emerged from some cracks in the ground, reaching the clouds.

Inside Arturo's room, the servant had just arrived, bringing him breakfast. Burnt bread accompanied by wine.

"King Artoris, breakfast is served!"

Archeas was cheerier than usual. She enjoyed serving the master and especially seeing him smile like that.

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"King Artoris, you seem more at ease than before, you've changed a lot since your disappearance."

"What was I like before?"

"You were terrifying; just looking at you was scary, only your cousin could withstand your sinister gaze."

"Ha! Really?" Arturo said before biting into the bread.

Archeas twirled her hair with her finger and looked away.

"M-my lord, h-how do you intend to deal with the current situation?"

Arturo stroked his chin and then gave her an answer.

"The others will handle it!"

"I see! And what will you do?"

"I'm going to take a nice bath!"

After that hearty breakfast, it had become routine to spend an hour immersed in the hot water of the bathtub. Soaking in a spring so warm and relaxing that the thermal baths couldn't compare.

He brought the wine glass to his lips and sipped, enjoying the moment fully.

"This is the life! The best part is it's real, and it'll be like this until I die."

He submerged his entire body.

Later, he stepped out of the castle gate, taking a breath of fresh air. The sky was always red; he preferred the clear sky of his world, but he couldn't ask for everything in life. So he likened it to the view of a beautiful sunset. In the sky, he saw something approaching closer and closer, recognizing it as a demon with wings. It landed and bowed deeply.

"M-my lord, we have a problem!"

"How dare you interrupt my relaxation!"

"It's about the Kingdom of Heden!"

"Well? Out with it!"

The demon bowed even deeper.

"They've performed a summoning!"

"A summoning!"

"Yes, it seems they've summoned a hero to counter your rise. It appears the army has weakened after the last war, and they're relying on this hero."

"A hero? So where's the problem!"

"My lord, we fear summonings because the individuals summoned possess magical mana above the norm."

"Are you saying they're stronger than me?!"

"N-no! I didn't mean that, Your Majesty."

"How did you get this news?"

"From the messengers who scout the surface every day."

Arturo raised an eyebrow, stroked his chin, and finally responded to his messenger.

"Thanks for the heads-up, I'll consider how to act."

The demon bowed deeply and vanished into the sky.

A hero? I want to meet this hero!

Arturo sat comfortably on his throne.

I should try to negotiate a peace treaty with the humans. I have no desire to be involved in new massacres; I just want a peaceful life. But, considering the last slaughter by Purply, I doubt they're willing to make peace.

Suddenly, Arturo's ears perked up when he heard footsteps echoing through the hall. He turned his gaze towards the edge of the stairs. A figure completely shrouded in shadow was ascending the stairs.

When the figure reached the top, it stood before the throne. With one leg forward and a hand firmly on the hip, it made no gesture of bowing.

Before his eyes stood a young girl, her long fiery red hair interspersed with horns that slightly pointed upwards.

Arturo tried to maintain his composure. "Slave! Bring me some wine!"

"Slave?!"

Instantly, the girl's eyebrows furrowed. Arturo didn't even have time to think when...

"BAM!"

A well-placed spinning kick sent the king tumbling from his throne.

Arturo got up from the ground.

"W-who are you?!"

"Fool!" the girl scolded. "So you've decided to come back?"

Eh? What does this thing want from me now, how dare she hit her king like this.

"How dare you! Wretched slave, I shall have to punish you!"

The girl rolled her eyes.

"Slave? Again? Enough, I can't stand hearing it anymore!"

"You're not my slave?"

"Do you see angel wings on me? Idiot, I'm Kira!"

Who is this?!

The girl lifted her skirt, revealing her soft white panties.

"Now do you remember?"

Arturo blushed and covered his face with his hands.

"Depraved!"

"Your cousin comes to visit and you don't even greet her properly?"

"Cousin?! You?!"

Kira lowered her skirt and adopted a rather neutral look, relaxing her reddish eyebrows.

"Sorry." She said, stroking a lock of her hair but still with a grimace. "For missing the coronation ceremony."

"It's not a problem."

"I was told you were dead; I didn't expect to see you wandering around the castle."

Kira approached Arturo and kicked him in the groin.

"OUCH! What was that for?"

"Just checking if you're real."

Kira's my cousin, she's got all the makings of a tsundere, tough to deal with. She swished her hair, which, to be honest, I quite liked. Although, I don't know what kind of relationship I had with this depraved girl.

The demon world wasn't all that different from the human realm above. Here too, the rule was that the sovereign took precedence over everything. As for the demons, they just dared not mess with anyone belonging to King Artoris's royal lineage.

So far, things had been smooth sailing, but his neutral and peaceful life couldn't last forever, given he had a people to govern and a threat to defeat.

It was peak hour, and the dining hall began to fill up with royal members, or at least those who had survived the assault by the humans.

At the head of the table sat Artoris, as was only right. By his side was his mother, named Scarlet, who with her luscious lips, caressed Arturo's hand.

"You must be hungry after your long journey back from death!"

"Y-yes!"

Scarlet took his hand and rubbed it against her face.

"Oh...I can't believe it!"

She kissed the hand several times.

"Artoris, you're back!"

Mother stop, it's inappropriate, it's inappropriate, Mom!

Scarlet stuck out her tongue and licked the palm in one go. Something stiffened for Arturo, and it wasn't his horns; it was something much longer that his coronation couldn't compare to.

The lavish dishes were hidden under lids, and as the members at the table lifted the lids, everyone's mouth watered.

They dug in with their long nails and served themselves by tearing organs from a charred human body lying on the table.

Arturo avoided the human meat, preferring robbit meat, even though a whole lavish dish was reserved just for him. It made no sense to waste another cloak...

There was plenty of wine at the table, surely stolen from humans; the previous king had stolen a lot when he had pillaged human villages, Zar often talked about it. When it came to wine, Artoris wasn't good for much, as he was mostly busy bolstering the army and conquering lands.

The revelry bored him; it was destruction that made Artoris a true king.

Zar stood up and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Artoris, you know nothing about wine!"

Everyone was shocked.

"Your father knew how to plunder." He continued, guzzling the wine jug.

Scarlet's hand trembled at those words, she took a knife and drove it into Zar's palm, piercing through.

"ARGH! WITCH!"

"Don't you dare speak to my son like that!"

Kira was calmly eating a bloody arm, nibbling on the muscles and spitting out the remaining bone pieces.

"You haven't touched even an arm." Kira offered him a finger. "Want some?"

"No, thanks..."

Zar slammed the table with his palm, the knife still stuck in it. Every time he shook, blood spurted out.

"If I'd been king, I'd have ORDERED a better human COOKED!"

The others at the table raised their wine glasses and howled in drunkenness. Arturo almost found it amusing to see Zar dance with the other demons. Zar jumped onto the table, stepping on others' plates. His foot crushed Kira's meal.

"My daughter, don't eat that TRASH."

"Get off the table." With a kick, she flipped the table over, along with the demon.

"K...kira, I didn't mea-"

Kira's punch hit him square in the face. The blow was lethal, exploding Zar's head. Kira sat back down and continued to chew on the remaining human meat.