(POV - Daniel)
(King Finder's Kingdom)
I've dealt with the slave issue. I freed all those enslaved for not paying taxes, but I didn't free the criminal slaves; from what I understand, they deserve it. I'll look into that matter more later.
I head to the King, who's seated on his throne.
"Daniel, you're back awfully soon."
"You could say I had some family issues."
"Family issues?"
… I shouldn't hide anything from this King if I want his help.
This King is trustworthy, Daniel. Don't withhold information. If he finds out later that you hid something, he won't trust you anymore.
"I guess my companions haven't told you… One of the demons who came yesterday… was my mother. My biological mother."
The King's eyes widen, and he looks at me with fear… Well, he thinks I'm the son of a demon. I suppose he assumes I'm evil.
Judging by race. All humans in this world are the same, huh?
But it's understandable. After all, demons are humanity's enemy, and being the son of a demon makes me look like the enemy, despite my past actions.
Your fear is understandable, King, but please consider my past actions.
"You're the son of a demon?!"
"Well, technically, my mother gave birth to me when she was human, but yes, I am. But please, let me—"
The door suddenly bursts open.
Molly and Zero enter the hall, and Molly runs toward me excitedly.
Sorry, Molly, I'm not in the mood to deal with your sexual harassment.
"You're back!"
"Stay away from that demon, Molly!"
… That hurt. That hurt a lot.
Molly stops and looks at me, confused.
"Demon?"
I'm not. I'm not a demon! I didn't inherit my mother's evil! My grandma didn't raise a demon; she raised an angel!
"King, my mother is a demon, but I'm not a demon."
"Your mother is a demon?!" the King's children say, confused.
"I swear, all I want is to help people. I'm not a demon. My mother gave birth to me before she became a demon. The only demonic thing about me is my magic, but that's it. Besides, you know my power perfectly well. If I were a demon, I would've left Sandro lifeless. I could kill anyone if I wanted to, but I haven't, because I'm not a demon—I'm human."
I kneel before him… I'd never do this, but I have to. I really need his help.
"Please, I need your help. I just ask that you understand my situation. It's not my fault my mother is a demon. She's her, and I'm me. Please, don't judge me without truly knowing me. Don't act like the other kings."
The King hesitates for a few seconds, but… he smiles at me. His expression tells me he's no longer afraid.
… That was faster than I expected. I guess reviving his children helped him trust me more.
"Alright. I trust you. I like you a lot, Daniel; you're a really good kid, I can feel it, and your actions have proven it. Sorry for doubting you… What do you need?"
"King, I know it's hard to truly trust me, but I can—"
"No, no need for more explanations. All types of magic, able to use ancient spells, capable of defeating a demon in one hit, you defeated Sandro and brought him back to life. Well, only an idiot wouldn't trust someone with your record, and if you're really a demon and deceiving us, it doesn't matter. If you're a demon, humans are definitely doomed, so it's worth trusting you, hoping you're truly on our side."
"I am, Your Majesty. I know I'm suspicious, but I promise I'm trustworthy, and I'll prove it with actions."
"Yes, I believe you."
Thank you… Seriously, thank you so much… I don't want to be treated like the demi-humans treated me. That still hurts.
"I want you to give me any spell books you have and your best adventurers, please."
"Adventurers?"
"I need to train, so I want them to train me. I have great power, but my experience is almost nonexistent. The only thing that's saved me is my spell to see attacks in slow motion."
"Training, huh? I see. Alright. Sora!"
Sora? Huh? Something drops from the ceiling. Oh, I get it.
The bodyguard descends from the ceiling and kneels before the King… Wow, wow… Awesome. She's like a spy. I didn't see or sense her presence.
So her name's Sora, huh? What a short name.
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Get the best adventurers, immediately. Money's no object; get me the best."
"I'll do it right away."
She turns to me and licks her lips.
A chill runs down my spine. That girl definitely terrifies me.
"Hey again."
"H-hey."
She darts out of the hall quickly.
She really scares me. Why does she scare me so much? That's excessive; I barely know her.
Weird… I'll look into her more later.
"I'll give you the Royal Family's spells. Follow me."
"Yes… Thank you so much for your help…"
I stand and smile.
"Thank you, King."
He returns the smile and winks.
"Thanks to you."
I really like you, King. I promise not to let you down.
I follow the King to the library, where he picks up a small red book.
They should guard important books better. Or is the castle that secure? I don't know.
Well, it doesn't matter; it's not worth wasting time thinking about it.
"These are the Royal Family's spells. Take it."
Royal Family, huh? Could it be…? Please, God, don't let it be what I think it is.
I check the book and realize it's indeed the same book the King Freis gave me. Nice job, memory, you did well this time.
"Sorry, King Freis already gave me this book."
"King Freis gave it to you?!" he says, confused… I guess he didn't expect that.
"Yes, he did."
That voice…
Rose appears out of nowhere behind us… Or so it seems. Her voice came suddenly.
She really startled me at first.
"He gave it to him because he thought he wouldn't be able to use them."
I turn to her.
"Rose? Hey, good morning."
"My sister told me what happened. I'm sorry, Daniel."
"It's okay, don't worry… Thanks."
"Well, if you already know those spells, I can't help you with more," the King says.
… Huh?
But there are more books… Or so I thought. Seriously, no more?! There are supposed to be thousands of spells! There have to be more!
"But the other King said there were secret books."
"Secret books? I think you mean the ancient spells. Those haven't been used in thousands of years. No one knows if they were ever actually used. No one can read them because they're written in an ancient language."
Fufu. King, you're talking to Daniel, the guy whose magic has no limits. If I can revive the dead, I can use ancient spells.
Plus, I have my phone; I can translate them instantly. And if I'm right, I can use every existing spell.
I'm the warrior sent by God to save this world; no spell will be impossible thanks to God's magic.
… Or so I hope.
"Would you show them to me? If I could use the Royal Family's spells, maybe I can use these too."
"Alright, we lose nothing by trying."
The King takes three books.
Seriously, you should guard them better.
"I think there are 10 spells in each book. Good luck."
Wow. And they're really thick books. Are the spells that complicated, or do they just have blank pages? We'll see.
I open the books. I really don't understand anything, but I knew that if I took pictures, the spells would save automatically. So many scribbles and drawings… Ugh, I can't make sense of the writing.
I take photos of the pages.
Wow…
…
…
…
Ugh…
…
…
…
Damn. There are like 500 pages in each book, all with information! Seriously, only 10 spells per book?! Arghhh! Thank you, God, for letting me use spells without training! T-the spells in this world are really complicated to perform.
Ugh, I saved myself months, even years, of training. Thank you, God!
… Alright, done.
After an hour, I'm done! Arghhh! I hope it was worth it!
"Alright, I guess they're saved. I-I hope so."
"Let's hope so. I'm eager to see the result," Rose says.
"I share Miss Rose's opinion. Let's hope it works," the King says.
Please, God, tell me I didn't waste my time.
I open the spell app and…
"Yes!! Thank you, God!!"
Wow, wow. It actually worked!
"It really worked?!" Rose says, shaking my shoulder.
"Seriously, seriously?!" the King says, shaking my other shoulder.
"There are 10 new wind-type spells. 10 new… demon-type spells? And 10 new angel-type spells!"
Yes, angel and demon-type spells, just what I needed! I-I hope they're useful. They have to be! They're ancient spells, so they must be really powerful!
"Incredible, can you read them?!" Rose says, looking at me with those enthusiastic eyes and smiling.
So cute. You're really a girl addicted to new knowledge, huh? I like that intellectual side of yours.
I look at the demon-type spells.
Hmm… Oh…
"'Gres fer me,' demon and summoning-type spell. It lets you summon five Zoriens. The more magical power you have, the stronger and larger they'll be. I used that one yesterday."
"Incredible!"
While I was taking photos of the spells, I told them what happened in the demi-human country and my fight with my mother, so they know which spell I'm talking about.
"If it's demon and summoning-type, why didn't it also save under summoning-type spells? It only shows up under demon-type spells."
"I think it was created for demons with summoning-type magic. For example, the 'Cel Luz Sar' spell uses light-type magic but saved under fairy-type spells because we fairies created it," Rose says.
"Wow, wow… I get it."
Sort of.
I start reading the other spells.
"'Demon conver' lets you transform into a demon…"
…
…
…
I read all the spells. My conclusions? Well… They're really useful, powerful, and awesome spells! They'll be a huge help!
Thank you, God, for sending such useful spells into my life at my lowest moment!
But one spell caught my attention the most.
"Dex Sword. It summons a sword capable of easily cutting through enemies… Now it all makes sense. No wonder I can cut demons so easily. This is a legendary sword!"
"They're all really incredible spells! If you can master them perfectly, you'll definitely be able to defeat the Demon King!" the King and Rose say, both excited and perfectly in sync.
"Is the Dex Sword an angel-type spell? Since I never took a picture of that spell, my phone didn't save it… And Muslar asio is a demon-type spell."
"Didn't you notice something else?" Rose says.
"Something else?"
"There's a different sword in the wind-type and demon-type spells."
"I know… I'll test them later."
I wonder if they have unique abilities or serve the same purpose. For now, I'll focus on training.
We leave the library, and I scratch my right cheek… I need to start training as soon as possible.
"Please, King, let me know when Sora arrives with the adventurers."
"Of course."
"See you."
I walk away toward the exit.
I've wasted too much time; it's time to finally train.
•
•
I enter the house, and my grandma immediately approaches me.
Worried about your one and only favorite grandson, huh? Thanks for caring about me, Grandma. Knowing you care so much keeps me going.
"Good morning, Dani… Are you feeling better? Are you okay?"
I'd love to talk more with her, but we can't waste time on my emotional issues anymore. It's time to get serious. My mother and that demon will be back soon. They probably fled and didn't kidnap me because they realized my great power, but they'll return, and they'll come better prepared.
I need to be ready for anything.
I see most of my companions sitting at the table, except Liz and Alex.
"Rem and Cristina, come with me."
"Just them?" Sara says.
"Find Alex and Liz and tell them to come to the backyard."
•
•
Liz, Alex, Rem, my grandma, and I are in the backyard. Sonia, Cris, and Sara are watching us.
For now, I only need them.
"You guys have wind-type magic, and Cristina has angel-type magic. I just got 10 angel-type spells and 10 wind-type spells. I'll teach them to you so you can help me find the rocks."
"Rocks?" Alex says, confused.
Oh, she doesn't know? Well, time to explain everything.
…
…
…
Done. I explained what's going on with the rocks… Though I can't explain much since I'm not that informed myself.
"I'll help you!" Liz and Alex say excitedly.
"Me too!" Rem says, excited.
Well, at least they're enthusiastic. They'll need that to keep up with the training because it won't be easy.
No pain, no gain.
"Get paper and pens; I'll teach you how to use them!"
They all grab paper, pens, and some ink.
"Alright, Cristina, write down what I'm about to say."
"Of course."
"'Fore nole lu me' lets you fly. 'Dael Melo' lets you talk to animals. 'Angel conver' lets you transform into an angel. 'Arco celestial' uses angel and light-type magic; it summons a bow that can shoot light arrows. 'Sol nade' lets you use your wing feathers as knives… Though I'm not sure what that means. 'Dex Sword' is a sword that can easily cut through enemies, but you already know that one. Those six spells are the ones you can use; you won't be able to use the others because they require other types of magic you don't have."
"I wrote it down, I think. Though it'd be easier if you sent me the photos so they'd save in the 'Spells' app."
"It's a precaution. These are very dangerous and deadly spells… I'd rather avoid risking them leaking for any reason."
You never know; better safe than sorry.
I check her notes. Wow, they're written correctly. Nice ear, Grandma.
"You wrote the spells correctly. Now take a photo so they save on your phone."
I turn to the others.
Alright, this'll be trickier with them.
My grandma and I have special magic, which lets us use spells without training, but they don't have special magic. They need to train to use spells, and considering all the pages in those books, there's a lengthy process to perform them. For now, they'll try using the spells based on their names and purposes, and if that doesn't work, we'll figure out how to make it work later.
"Now the wind-type spells. I only have 5 spells that just require wind-type magic; the others need other types of magic. Write this down!"
"Got it!" they all say.
"'Viens flam' lets you use wind as a barrier, basically a shield. 'Falis Torn' lets you form a small tornado with wind, very effective for pushing enemies away; it doesn't do much damage and requires a lot of magical energy. 'Nun Poch' lets you use wind as armor; anything that tries to penetrate it will be destroyed, but it requires a lot of magical energy, can only be used for a minute, and then you'll run out of magical energy. 'Puño Dres' lets you unleash a powerful gust when you throw a punch… I think it's like 'Akaso Wind.' And lastly, 'Dix Sword' summons a sword that can use wind as a blade; it's very effective for dealing damage. That's a brief summary."
"Incredible!" they all say excitedly… Well, of course, they're amazing spells, but they didn't impress me that much.
I prefer the demonic spells… Ugh, that sounded bad.
"Did you write it down?"
I check their notes… Well, I guess they wrote it, but I can't read the handwriting.
"I don't understand, but I assume it's written correctly. Listen, I really don't know how to use the spells; I just say the words, and the spell works. I don't know if there's more to it. But try using them by just saying the words."
"Yes!" they all say, nodding.
"Hey, Daniel."
Sara approaches me.
"Do you have spells for me?"
"I don't think so… Sorry."
"Oh… I see… Alright."
Sara lowers her head… She seems a bit down… It makes me a little sad to see her like that.
Sorry, Sara, I didn't find spells that require the types of magic you have, and the spells I do have for your magic types are the ones you gave me, which I assume you already know how to use.
But don't worry, I promise to find you new spells.
"Come on, don't get discouraged."
I pat her head and smile.
"Don't worry, you know a lot of spells; you're like the second-in-command. And now you'll have an even more important role. I want you to be the girls' teacher. All I have are the names and purposes of the spells, but I trust you'll figure out how to make them work. I believe in you, Sara."
Sara lifts her head and looks at me. Her face is a bit flushed… Ugh, I accidentally made another move on her… I'm an idiot.
"Thanks!"
But it's too optimistic to think they'll be able to use the spells without knowing the process.
Hmm… I wonder if…
It's a basic internet tool, so… Well, it's worth a shot.
I pull out my phone.
"Alright, phone, do you have the translator tool?"
[Opening translator.]
… Yes, it does! Thank you, God!
"Sara, go to the King and ask for the books; he knows which ones! Use the translator tool to translate the books, just pre—"
Knock, knock, knock
Someone's at the door. Right at the most important moment!
"Mr. Daniel!!"
I'm still young.
"I'm not a mister… Wait."
I go inside and open the door.
"Sorry, the adventurers have arrived. They're outside, by the walls."
"Outside? Thanks."
The guards leave, and I head to the backyard.
"Let's go, training's about to start… By the way, Sara, I want to know something."