Chapter 4

  Alexander

  Alexander was at the pace, practicing his swordpy at the military training grounds. There was a group of new soldiers huddled in a gossiping bundle to the side, all watching him with admiration in their eyes.

  He did his best to concentrate and ignore the stares but it wasn't easy, when every time he swung his sword, he could hear gasps and murmurs from the distance. He sighed. Didn't these new recruits have anything better to do?

  As he was about to quit and head back to his room, he heard a familiar voice.

  ”What are you doing, loitering around?! Fifty ps around the ke!” It was Jeanne, she stepped into the training grounds with a proud expression, her chin held high and her badges of honor glistening in the sun.

  Though she was Alexander’s personal knight, she also was in charge of training new recruits. She came from a military family and was trained for this particur purpose so she naturally took command and made all the soldiers scramble in panic.

  A unified ”Yes ma'am!” resounded before they all scampered off to run as she had ordered.

  Jeanne humphed at them with a mean gre before walking over to Alexander. The moment she was in front of him her expression changed completely. Her brows rexed and a smile appeared on her face, removing the illusion that she was a scary person (At least to Alexander).

  ”Does your highness need a sparring partner?” she asked excitedly, eyes sparkling and her hand already at her hip where she held her sword.

  Alexander knew that she was someone who enjoyed fighting, and he didn't have any real reason to reject her. He also needed to find new ways to make himself stronger so he nodded and accepted her challenge.

  Jeanne was a straightforward opponent. She thought that underhanded tricks in fights were dishonorable and thus only ever fought her opponents straight on. In this way, she was very simir to Alexander. She wielded the nce but also the sword. And since Alexander only used the sword, she used the sword when sparring with him. She was swift and precise. With countless days of practice behind her, her movements were particur and had a strong foundation. Alexander was used to her movements and always knew when to block her and so the fight was going to be very long. It usually would come down to who got tired first in these spars.

  Jeanne could also use ice magic, her sword circling in the air and leaving behind frost and sharp spikes of ice. Alexander could shield against anything but his shield took mana to cast and he was very bad at managing his mana. This was a weakness he had noticed during the time he had almost been killed.

  He didn't cast a big shield around his whole body like he used to do. Now, he focused his mind and cast a shield only at the spot that Jeanne’s sword was about to hit. This technique was much more efficient in using mana but it was not easy and if his opponent were anyone else but his childhood friend, whom he had sparred with countless of times with, he wouldn't be able to deflect the attacks so easily.

  After half an hour of expending their energy, Alexander managed to flick Jeanne’s weapon off her hand. They were often evenly matched and Jeanne had won and lost to him an equal amount of times, so she didn't look dejected at her loss this time.

  In fact, she looked like she was happy and glowing. She wiped sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her white uniform jacket, ”Whew, I haven't gotten the chance to go all out in a long time! That was fun!”

  Alexander offered a small smile to her, ”Thank you, I’ve learned a lot from this spar”

  ”I noticed what you were doing with your shield, are you changing your tactics because of what happened a few months ago?” She was of course referring to his assassination attempt.

  Alexander felt that she could see very easily through him. ”I have to get stronger,” he said, knowing there was no need for him to expin any further.

  Jeanne smiled with a troubled expression, ”Or….you could learn to rely on others. I’m here for you”

  Alexander knew she was sincere. He also knew that he could trust her. But her father was the head general of the entire human army, getting her involved in his own schemes, especially when she hated lying, was something he could never do. Maybe when his and Shion’s goal was achieved, he could finally tell her. And hope that she would choose his side in the end.

  He nodded, ”I know, thank you” He wished he could truly expin to her how much he appreciated her. But it would have to wait until the dust would settle. In the meantime he would make sure to keep his guard up when he was at the Capitol.

  Sun had begun to fall down, causing the sky to turn a gentle shade of orange and yellow. Looking at something so beautiful in a pce that made Alexander feel so horrible was a conflicting feeling. He’d much rather go see Shion and his new familiar and watch the sunset with them. Though Jeanne was his ray of light in this stupid castle, he could never be fully be himself in front of her and so he still felt trapped even when in her presence.

  He decided it was time soon for him to leave again. He might have to lie and distract Jeanne so she wouldn’t end up secretly following him.

  —

  Adder

  After receiving a book on magic, Adder studied in earnest. Shion had told him he could use the library room for his studies and didn't say anything else on the matter.

  Adder wasn't stupid, he knew that people were not this kind and generous for no reason. Shion obviously had some sort of reason to take him in, something about him must have appeared useful somehow.

  Adder didn't really mind being used, it meant that he was relied upon. In his previous life he had been only a burden to those around him, so in this life he wanted to be reliable. Of course he knew that blindly letting others use him was bad as well, and that he should not lower his head so easily. But for now at least Shion had shown him kindness, had given him a part of his own power so he could use this human form, had given him shelter, food and clothes as well as an opportunity to study.

  To not pay back such things would be incredibly selfish and Adder was not keen on just letting others take care of him anymore.

  He studied magic and practiced wielding a knife in his human form so that he wouldn't have to turn back into a snake every time there might be a dangerous situation. Though the town seemed peaceful on the surface, Adder had spent the first days of his new life in the wild. He knew there were countless dangerous monsters everywhere and not taking them seriously was a deathwish.

  He hadn't seen many creatures near the manor, none actually. There was a possibility that the barrier surrounding the town also prevented monsters from getting in, or maybe wild monsters had some sort of intuition that told them they shouldn't go near the manor, Shion was a strong demon after all.

  Learning self defense earned him the skill [Knife wielder lvl 1] and he intended to level it up gradually while he was staying at the manor.

  He also did his best to find servants and help them in any way he could while Shion was working (he didn't know what Shion’s work entailed but it kept him rather busy).

  Now that he thought about it, wasn't he just acting like a servant to Shion? Well Shion was his master but still. He had made it very clear that he didn't have to obey him for no reason– or serve him for that matter. But Shion had done a good job at making him feel greatly indebted, whether it was intentional or not.

  He didn’t have too much pride to not serve someone else, especially someone who had helped him. And there was still a feeling of uneasiness he felt if he just stayed in the manor without doing anything.

  He should go find work soon in the town. He’d get his own money and he would be able to save up enough to buy his own pce, a small cottage sounded nice. And then he’d try and think of ways to repay his debt to Shion. That sounded like a good pn for now.

  After studying for a few weeks, Adder had learned that there were many different types of magic to choose from. Not everyone could learn magic, as it was predetermined at birth if a person or a demon had an affinity to a specific type of magic or if none at all.

  To determine magical capability was surprisingly easy, all that was needed was a small test.

  Shion had been happy to assist him and had prepared objects that were now spread out on the table in front of him. There were rocks, water, a candle and a leaf. There was a pack of cards and a crystal ball. And stly, there was a dead bug.

  The first ones were for testing elemental magic. Adder focused his mana with his instincts and stared at the objects to his right. Nothing happened.

  ”Hmm, too bad, if you had been able to use elemental magic, I could have taught you” Shion sighed, slightly disappointed in this outcome.

  Adder turned to look at the cards and the crystal ball next. The ball had no reaction to him and the cards showed no help either. This meant that he could not do divination magic either.

  The st thing on the table was the dead bug. Adder had a bad feeling about this.

  Surely he wouldn't be given a natural attunement for necromancy.

  He focused on the bug and felt almost relieved when nothing happened at first. But then he saw a red swirl of magic appear around the bug. Nooooo!

  The bug began to move, twitching its legs in the air. It flipped around and began to walk on the table. It was merely reanimated and not really brought back to life, so its deteriorating body began to fall apart after just a few steps. Its legs broke and soon the red mist disappeared as well and the bug was moving no longer.

  Adder felt like he wanted to cry. What the hell kind of scary power is this!? Divination would have been much more useful! I don't want to reanimate corpses!!!

  Shion looked at him amused. He patted him on the head, ”This is a rare type of magic, you should feel lucky, ahaha!”

  Just as he was being ughed at, a system screen popped up next to Adder.

  [Congratutions! You have gained a new skill

  Necromancy lvl 1!]

  I don't want it! Put it back! Adder sighed. What was he going to do with a scary power like this? How was he even going to practice using it? No, he shouldn't use it, he would just have to forget about using magic altogether.

  He looked at his master, feeling dejected, ”I’m sorry, you went through a lot of trouble for me and I ended up having a strange affinity in the end. This was all wasted effort”

  Shion shook his head with a smile, ”Oh my dear Adder, you are so entertaining!”

  Adder stopped feeling bad instantly and looked annoyed instead, ”Sir…”

  ”You're a snake monster, you know? Using necromancy isn't that strange” Shion tried and failed to comfort him.

  Adder sighed and pouted his lips, ”But I used to be a human…using magic to…to desecrate a corpse is just….” Was just too immoral!!! He was absolutely not going to use this magic! He was just going to have to try and be capable in other ways!

  Shion didn't seem to empathize with his troubles and merely chuckled, ”Well it's not like you have to reanimate humans, you could use dead bugs like that one there”

  Adder looked at the bug on the table and then gave his master a look that said he really didn't like the idea.

  Shion then seemed to come to a realization, ”Actually, why was using human bodies your first thought?”

  Adder was speechless. It was just because that was usually what necromancers did in fiction, okay! But he couldn't expin it like that to Shion so all he said was, ”Uh, I just think about the worst scenario first before anything else '' And though it was a distraction, this statement wasn't a complete lie. He did tend to think of the worst scenario quite often.

  To clear his mind, Adder went to help Mari with her errands in town. Whilst there, he had noticed a few interesting things. Firstly, the town was rather newly built, construction was still going on in many parts here and there and the buildings didn't look very old. Though the town was closely built and people and demons walked around everywhere, the popution wasn't that big either. With what Adder could guess there were maybe around two or three hundred citizens living here.

  Secondly, the barrier that he had noticed before went around the entire town, parts of the forest and all the way around his master’s mansion. The dome was huge and invisible to anyone that wasn't already aware of it. For someone to cast such a huge barrier it would have taken a lot of skill, time and mana.

  Everyone who greeted them, as Adder and Mari walked over to a market pce, was very friendly and happy. Perhaps because the barrier kept monsters away, the people here felt safe and sound.

  ”Sir Adder, would you mind holding these?” Mari asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

  Adder nodded and took the heavy bags of potatoes and radishes from the vegetable seller. The seller was a young woman with strong and muscled arms, appearing to be someone who worked a very physically taxing job. She had a brown leather eyepatch covering her right eye, partly hidden behind a lock of dark wavy hair. She smiled cheerily and chatted with Mari as though they were old friends.

  The next stall was selling meat. Mostly deer and boar. The owner was an older man with surprisingly good posture for his age. He had burn scars that travelled from his neck to the left side of his face and over his ear. When he listened to Mari speak, he turned slightly to listen with his right ear. Perhaps he couldn't hear well with his left one.

  By the time they reached stall number three, with the owner having both a wooden fake arm and a wooden peg leg, Adder began to wonder what exactly had these people experienced. Was this world truly so dangerous? Could all of the injuries he had seen been done by monsters? Adder supposed that he had witnessed the way monsters had been in the wild, knowing that they really were that fearsome.

  They took a break and sat by a small fountain in the town square.

  ”Sir Adder? You seem to be deep in your thoughts today, is something the matter?” Mari asked, concern painting her usually calm face.

  Adder shook himself out of his thoughts, ”Mm? Oh… I was just wondering that this world is a lot more dangerous than the one I came from. I wonder if people here knew my true form was a snake monster, would they be scared of me?”

  Mari looked at him with an unreadable expression. Then she directed her gaze to the stream of people walking by, ”The people here have been through a lot, but I don’t think sir Adder needs to worry so much. There are way more terrifying things in this world than just monsters”

  Adder felt a bit confused by what she meant but when he tried asking more Mari simply changed the subject. Maybe she wasn't allowed to talk about it.

  Just then, there was a sound of tiny footsteps approaching. A young demon child was running over with a gleeful expression. ”Are you uncle Shion’s new friend?” the child asked as soon as he reached the fountain. Adder felt tiny hands grab onto his clothes and felt a bit stupified by the child's curious gaze. He had never had to deal with children before so he wasn't sure how he should interact with one.

  He did his best to appear non threatening so he wouldn't accidentally scare the child. He smiled, “Um, that’s right, I am his friend” that was at least the easiest way to expin their retionship to this child.

  “I heard from mom that uncle Shion has many friends but they always end up leaving him after getting ... uh…fed up with him” The child said with innocence, clearly not knowing much of what those words meant.

  “Well… haha” Adder didn’t know what to say.

  Soon the child’s mother ran over in a hurry. “I'm so sorry, Faon is just a very curious child. Come, Faon, I've been looking for you everywhere! We need to go home and help your father”

  The child looked happy and carefree and undisturbed by the strange expression on Adder’s face. He took his mother’s hand obediently and let himself be pulled away, “Ok….Bye mister snake!”

  Adder felt stupefied, “Wait, they already know I’m a snake?”

  Mari showed a troubled expression as she began to expin, “This town is small and rumors run fast. The church dy has been busy talking about it”

  Adder sighed, “Then I guess I really was worried for nothing. If everyone already knows and treats me this nicely then surely they aren’t afraid of me”

  Mari seemed to find his words amusing, so she covered her mouth as she let out a chuckle, “As I said, sir Adder doesn’t have to worry about it”

  Adder found his worries quelled for the moment, until a thought came to him, But then…. could it be that the injuries weren’t caused by monsters?

  After Adder had returned to the mansion, Shion and him were having dinner together.

  ”By the way, Adder, how old are you?” Shion asked, spinning his fork in his hand leisurely.

  Adder thought about it, ”I’m not too sure, I was born into this world as a snake and spent my time in the forest. I had no real sense of time and didn't feel like trying to keep track of it. It must have been many months. I did see some seasons change, but I haven't seen winter yet and I don't even know if there is winter here. I’d say this body isn't even a year old”

  ”Hmm, snake monsters live around three years typically, so they mature very fast, it checks out. Winter exists here too, haha”

  Adder almost choked on his food and smmed his hands on the table, ”Three years??! Will I die so soon?!”

  ”Haha, no, I shared some of my power with you, didn't I? This makes you my underling and as long as I don't die, you won't die either.” Shion reassured him and acted as if the topic wasn't insane.

  Adder wasn’t sure if he was feeling thankful or angry, ”My life is tied to yours?! And you didn't think to tell me this earlier??”

  Shion gave him an amused gnce ”Ah well, I kind of forgot about it, it's not that relevant”

  What do you mean it's not that relevant!? Crazy demon!

  Shion continued, ”But you had a previous life, right? That means you are older than just a year old surely?”

  He sure was quick to change the subject…

  ”In my past life I managed to live until 25. It was a miracle that I hung on for so long actually” Adder recalled how his doctor in his past life had given him grave news many times over. Each time he’d been under a knife and survived the procedure, the doctor had been pleasantly surprised.

  In the end he had still died in the hospital. To Adder, his life had been rather short and restrictive, but it hadn't been all bad. Now in this new world at least some of his previous nerdy hobbies turned out to be useful after all.

  Shion tilted his head to the side, ”Oh? That's still pretty young, no wonder you're so easy to tease!”

  …

  Adder was fuming a bit, ”You….sir please, I am an adult” he seemed to remember his politeness in the midst of his sentence and reverted to a more humble way of speaking.

  ”Haha, I’m joking I’m joking, but you know, I am more than 200 years old. Compared to you, people would say I’m old!”

  Perhaps others would have been shocked by this information. But Adder was an avid fantasy reader and this world was quite fantastical so he wasn't moved by this at all. He stroked his chin in thought, ”You are over 200? Well, you are a demon, so I’m assuming that there are actually many demons who have lived for far longer than that”

  Shion nodded, ”You’re right, I’m actually the youngest of my family and I’m also younger than most of the people in my homend”

  Adder raised his brow, ”Your homend?”

  Did he mean the demon realm? Adder hadn’t yet seen a map of this world and most of his studies had been on magic and self defense so he had no idea of the geographical, historical or political structures of this world. He promptly decided that he should study more.

  Shion didn't seem to want to talk about this topic any longer though, and he looked like his gaze had fallen to something very far away. ”We can talk about it another time”, he said, his tone gentle.

  Perhaps it wasn't an easy topic to approach.

  They finished their dinner in comfortable silence after that. Adder’s mind kept falling back to his necromancy skill and he only hoped that he wouldn't have to end up using it in the end. Demons, humans, monsters…It was likely that there would come a day when he would need to fight for his life once again.

  He looked at the empty pte in front of him in thought. He wondered why Shion was not telling him much at all. Was there a reason he was being kept in the dark?

  —

  He decided to snoop. He was a sneaky snake after all. When night fell, he pretended to go to sleep and then once he didn't hear any sounds coming from the hallway he activated his sneak skill and silently made his way downstairs.

  He knew Shion always used his study when he worked, it was very likely that he might find some information there, so he snuck in undetected and quietly rummaged through the things on the desk. He was careful with putting stuff back exactly where he had found it as he flipped through mostly unassuming paperwork.

  Then he saw a letter, it was open and in pin view. Almost too visible… He took it and read through it:

  To your highness prince Shion,

  Our troops have made progress on the front lines. The human Capitol has sent more forces in retaliation. General Peridot has decided that the demon army will make a tactical retreat in a few months, as your highness has requested.

  The bird will fly high this afternoon

  with regards,

  Finch

  Adder felt a mix of emotions as the words on the page registered. There really was a war going on and it was a war between demons and humans. Shion was royalty and he was friends with Alexander who was also royalty. What did all of this mean? Was he hiding his identity from Alexander? Did he know? Or did Shion not know who Alexander was? Was Alexander on the demons’ side? Or was Shion on the humans’ side?

  There were too many possibilities to come to any real conclusions. He could ask about it but then again if his master turned out to be not as nice as he seemed, he’d be powerless against him.

  He snuck around some more and saw another letter, this one was from someone named Al. It might be Alexander…

  To Shion,

  I tried to talk to my father about the matter we discussed, but he didn't listen. It feels like this war will not see an end soon despite our efforts. I hope you’ll look after your health,

  -Al

  Adder hummed as he pieced together what was going on. Perhaps Shion and Alexander had been working together to try and stop the war from happening but the rulers of the opposing sides were stubborn and wouldn't hear them out. Or maybe it was only a ploy and Shion was using Alexander…but somehow Adder didn't feel like that was the case.

  He really should feel more suspicious of Shion. But he was very good at making himself likable.

  Adder returned to his room, no one having noticed a single thing. As he y in his bed, he watched the ceiling in contemption. If Shion and Alexander were trying to stop the war then he was willing to help them. After all, war was never a good thing. But things were still uncertain so he felt like he couldn't do anything just yet. He’d observe things for a while longer before making any rash decisions.

  He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  A few days ter, Alexander came to visit. He looked as pristine as ever with his clean white royal garb, spotless and clean. He was like an untainted piece of paper. And frankly a bit too bright to look at directly. Adder thought that he gave off the air of legendary heroes who syed dragons and saved the princess. Speaking of that, it sure would be exciting if dragons existed in this world too!

  Adder had just helped Mari hang out some undry when Alexander came by. For some reason he didn't look happy when he saw Adder.

  ”Do you get paid to do that?” he asked instead of a greeting.

  Adder smiled with a troubled expression, ”I declined when I was offered a paid job. I’m just helping because I feel indebted. I’ll look for a job somewhere else ter…”

  Alexander looked like he had eaten something very sour. It was baffling to Adder why he would make such an expression all of a sudden. Surely he hadn't said anything strange just now?

  Just then Shion emerged from the manor, casually strolling over with a happy smile, ”Al, don't look so bitter haha! I've opened a bank account for him in the demon realm. I've already paid him there, he just can't get access to it until we go visit a demon city”

  Adder was so shocked he almost dropped the clothes he was holding, ”What?!”

  ”Good” Alexander nodded and his expression returned to neutral.

  Adder was troubled. He pced the clothes he was holding quickly on to the hanging rack and ran over to his master, ”Sir! I said I was just-”

  But he was then interrupted ”Adder, if I don't pay you and you stay at my manor and do my housework what do you think other people will see you as?”

  ”Uh….” the first thing he thought was a wife. But he wasn't going to say that out loud. Surely that's not what Shion was trying to say.

  Alexander saw him struggling and sighed in annoyance, ”People will think you are a sve bought by him”

  Adder was shocked, ”There is svery in this world?” It now made a lot more sense why Alexander was so angry. But the situation was different here! Adder wasn't some helpless captured victim! He was doing things out of his own volition!

  Alexander nodded and answered his previous question, ”Unfortunately. And it's a problem we've been trying to solve”

  ”But it's really …” Adder sighed. He was being looked at with weirdly pitiful eyes. ”Argh, fine! But I will pay you back someday sir! I don't like feeling indebted!” he stood his ground in this matter and looked as determined as he could. He narrowed his eyes and stared into his master's perplexed face. Shion eventually ughed and thankfully agreed to it.

  Later, Alexander gave Adder some pointers on his martial arts. He watched from the sidelines as Adder struck at a training dummy in the manor’s courtyard. The dummy was sshed many times, most of the damage having been done by Adder's relentless practice over many weeks.

  He had managed to level up and he was now much more confident in his capabilities in this human form. At first he had started with just one knife but then he thought that since Shion also used a knife, he had to make himself differ from him somehow. After all, in fantasy settings like this it would be boring if everyone had the same abilities.

  That is why he decided he would practice dual wielding. It was also because it was cooler to have two knives instead of just one.

  Alexander was very straightforward and helpful with his advice. He didn't mock or reprimand him for holding the knife a bit wrong, instead showing him how to hold it properly.

  Shion had taught him some basic moves but hadn't stayed to watch him practice so his master had not known to correct him.

  Adder’s knife wielder skill was already at level 4. He still had a lot to do to catch up to his other skills and his own level but he was already starting to feel a bit more confident. Somehow he felt that learning new things was a lot easier in this world than it had been in his previous life.

  He voiced this thought out loud ter when the three were having dinner together in the dining room.

  Shion was quick to tease him, ”Isn't it because you are but a year-old baby snake? I've heard children learn a lot quicker haha!”

  ”My fangs are venomous, sir” Adder threatened with an angry expression.

  ”Now now, if I died then you’d only have two years left to live,” Shion said casually.

  It wasn't like Adder wasn’t aware of this, he was just joking anyway. He rolled his eyes and ate his dinner quietly. The silence was then quickly filled with Alexander and Shion’s arguments and banter. It was very lively indeed.

  A few months ter, Adder had gotten used to his life at the manor. He had also completely forgotten to look for a job in town. Everytime he had begun to think about it, Shion had asked him for something— favors, tasks, debates. It was like he had somehow gotten an obsession to find him whenever he was bored or tired out from work.

  Adder of course did everything that was asked of him, though the tasks were very simple and often even things that benefitted himself rather than Shion.

  He was asked to buy things like pastries and then Shion would try to feed them to him. He was tasked with cleaning some weapons in the storage room and got a lesson on weapon maintenance from Mari in the process. He was also asked to go hunt some game in the forest nearby, which gave him experience and added to his leveling.

  Adder wasn't upset by this at all, in fact he was rather happy with this lifestyle. It was just that he felt like he was being spoiled in a very cunning way. He wasn't sure if that made any sense but that is how he felt!

  At least after so many days of observing his master, Adder was now pretty sure that he could trust him to be a good person. Not only was he kind to Adder but also to the people of the town.

  He had seen Shion always pay a lot more money to every store owner than what was needed and he also bought things very frequently from each seller in the town. It was as if he was very determined to make sure their business did well and received a lot of happy smiles and kind words in return from the townspeople.

  Whenever Adder would follow him into town he felt like he was walking with a celebrity. Everyone seemed to know Shion and seemed to want to chat with him whenever they saw him. It was a bit overwhelming but Adder often activated his sneak skill in these scenarios and walked a bit behind his master.

  This did not always work, since sometimes, Shion was adamant at talking directly about him and directly to him with the townspeople. It was all praise and it made Adder feel a bit awkward. Like he was being shown off (Though he wasn't sure in what way).

  From the people and the demons living here in harmony and looking so happy, whenever Shion was around, it was pretty clear that he was a very loved person. Adder decided to trust him and so he talked to his master about having sneaked around his office a while ago. Shion’s reaction would also show things about his character so it might have also been a test.

  It wasn't surprising though, that Shion didn't seem at all angry or bothered that Adder had looked through his letters. In fact he wasn't even surprised. This made Adder suspect that he had probably known this entire time, that Adder was still unsure and suspicious of him.

  Shion set down the cup of tea he had been sipping, ”I know I haven't told you much and that has made you more cautious as a result. But please know that I only didn't want to get you involved unless you were willing to risk your own life”

  So the situation was very dangerous to be involved in. Adder didn't want to admit that he was a bit of a scaredy cat sometimes but since he was already this informed on the matters, he didn't want to pretend that everything was fine and live carefree in a mansion while there were probably many people dying on the battlefield even at this very moment.

  He twisted his fingers in his p, ”So are you and Alexander really trying to stop the war that is going on?”

  ”Yes, and we are trying to do much more than that. But humans and demons have been mostly brainwashed by their own leaders to hate each other. To make the world a better pce, we need to make small and tactical changes over time” Shion expined. His expression was very serious, which was a rare sight to see.

  Adder nodded in understanding. A sneaky plot behind the scenes to end a war and save the world? Now that sounded rather exciting! And it was actually perfect for a sneaky snake like him to join in on the effort, right? Sure his reasons right now were rather naive and silly but after being reincarnated in a fantasy world, of course he would expect his life to be filled with adventure and heavy stakes!

  He thought of dragons and wild battles and celebrations after the war would be over and he was filled with excitement that showed in the way his leg began to tap against the floor.

  Then he remembered something and asked finally, ”And you ... you're demon royalty?”

  Shion smiled at his question, ”I am the third prince of the demon realm. Being third in line lets me be more free in my movements. I have my own generals that unfortunately have to fight on the front lines. My father, the demon king would notice if they weren't there”

  ”I see….”, Adder thought for a moment, ”should I call you your highness then?”

  He had used the term ”sir” thus far but he supposed that he should change it to something else now.

  Shion humphed for some reason, ”You can call me anything you like, but you never call Al that so why do you want to give me such a title?”

  ”Right!” Adder remembered and rubbed the back of his head, ”I forgot he is also a royalty”

  He really had forgotten. Alexander was very royal looking but he always talked so casually to him and also was so rude to Shion that somehow the fact of his status kind of slipped through Adder’s mind.

  Shion folded his arms across his chest ”And he is the first prince too, next in line to be king! His status is much higher than mine yet you never act as polite in front of him as you do in front of me…”

  Somehow Adder thought that Shion’s voice sounded slightly bitter for some reason. Shouldn't he be happy he was being respected??

  ”Then…should I talk more casually?” he asked carefully. He wasn't sure if this was what his master wished for but he couldn't think of any other reason why he looked so dissatisfied at the moment.

  Shion finally looked calmer and said, ”yes!”

  So Adder began to try his best to sound more casual when speaking to him. It was going to be hard to get used to and he wasn't sure if he could abandon the title of sir yet. Calling his name so suddenly when he hadn't used it this far felt a bit too intimate all of a sudden.

  ”I’ll do my best…”, he said and drank the rest of his tea in silence.

  A/N: Chapter 3 was so short, that I decided to publish chapter 4 early :)