# Chapter 46
Chapter 46
Among the demons, those who rise to the highest ranks can disguise themselves as humans so naturally that it becomes almost indistinguishable.
Even among demons, only the higher-tier ones can detect such disguises.
The reason Kiriel didn't notice this was because of that.
The man’s disguise was even more natural than that of Burnie.
"What do you mean…?
From today, I’m hired as Miss’s guard knight, Barrian…"
Burnie blinked once.
Then, his pupils vertically slit, turning red for a moment before returning to normal.
'Not you.
It’s you, the chef, Holly Holly.'
Burnie’s fluent demon language made Barrian pause, then smile, his lips stretching wide.
"Heh heh..."
Sharp fangs protruded, his eyes gleaming, and soon Barrian’s pupils shimmered with a sticky, blood-tinged red.
Barrian, still grinning, locked the door and leisurely approached Burnie.
'Holly Holly...
I’m not sure what that means, but it was I who cast the illusion magic on the chef.
It was just a game, a prank.
I only intended to greet Miss...
No, our great god.
I merely wanted to pay my respects.'
Barrian swiftly knelt before Burnie, placing one hand on his chest and bowing deeply in front of the child, now sitting on the bed.
The dark, large horns that had grown above his head were now visible.
'Once again, I offer my respects.
To the new breath of the demon realm, the center of it all, and the source of the dark night, the small moon.
My name is Belial, the fourth pillar of the seven pillars of the demon realm.'
'Ah, hello.
But right now, I can't leave.
Luriel said I must become a great adult here to become the Demon King.
So I can't leave.'
At Burnie’s words, Barrian—no, Belial—raised his head slowly, keeping his hand on his chest, then smiled crookedly.
'I know.
I’ve been waiting for you here all along.
I’ll wait until you grow and become a king, reigning again beneath the night sky.
I, Belial, will serve you as your faithful servant until that day.'
'Why?'
At Burnie’s innocent question, Belial only smiled in response.
Without a word, he gently took Burnie’s small hand and kissed the back of it.
Burnie didn’t ask any further.
“Burnie, right now, I’m pretending to be a human like Luri said.
I must be a great adult, so I can’t interfere.”
“Of course~!
I’ll keep it a secret and guard you as a knight.
By the way, you really are as cute, soft, and lovable as I heard.
Sigh...
How did you end up looking like such a doll?”
Having hidden his horns and sharp fangs, Belial stood up and casually picked up Burnie, speaking as he did.
“Barrian.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Still smiling, Belial placed Burnie back down and crouched in front of the child, answering her.
“Do you know Luri?”
Belial hesitated at Burnie’s question.
He seemed to pause for a moment, before his expression softened, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he nodded lightly.
“Yes, I do.
It was her who told me that the small moon would be here.
She told me to come here and take good care of Miss.”
At Belial’s words, Burnie’s face brightened.
Her expression bloomed like a flower, causing Belial to hesitate.
“Is Luri strong?
Burnie’s really strong… Is Luri strong too?
When I become an adult, I’ll meet Luri again.
Luri has to be strong too, so please tell her that!”
“...”
Belial stared down at Burnie for a long while with wide eyes.
He inhaled quietly, then, after Burnie tugged at the corner of his sleeve, slowly blinked.
“Well...
I haven’t seen her in a long time either.
She told me not to think of seeing her until the small moon becomes a king safely.
Sigh.”
With his expression melting into a sigh, Belial remained crouched, and Burnie nodded resolutely.
“It’s okay.
Burnie will soon become a great adult.
I’ll become the Demon King, the great one.”
At Burnie’s determined words, Belial smiled at the child, nodding his head.
“To do that, you first need to win in the Sacred Rites competition.”
“The Sacred Rites?”
“Yeah.
Fight against divine beasts.
If you win first place, Burnie will become a big shot.”
Luri had said that.
Life is all about one big break.
Burnie would climb to the top by winning first place in this.
Burnie thumped her chest as she spoke.
Belial watched her silently, then slowly nodded.
“Do you have a divine beast?”
“Yeah.
This is Burnie’s divine beast.”
“...Is it a chick?”
“No!
It’s a black dragon!”
“A black dragon...?”
Belial turned his head to look at the sparrow.
The chick-like sparrow was lying on a pillow, sprawled out and snoring.
“Oh, a black dragon!
A very excellent and dignified name!
Whoever your master is, they will definitely win first place against these foolish humans.
And if not, I, Belial, will make it happen.”
Belial smiled widely.
At his words, Burnie’s nose lifted proudly as she giggled.
“You don’t know, but the little one will go through very tough times.
So I must change that.
Someone so cute like you can’t go through such unfortunate times.”
“…So, are you leaving?”
“You might live without me, but the little one can’t.
I’m sorry.”
Suddenly, a memory came to Belial, and he slowly raised his head.
The red sunset outside the window stood out sharply before his eyes.
There were three months left until the ranking competition.
Burnie decided to begin her special training.***
“Go!
Black Dragon!!”
“Peep!!”
Flap, flap.
The sparrow flapped its wings and flew hard, crashing into a small apple hanging from a tree.
The apple wobbled, but the sparrow fell straight to the ground.
The apple didn’t fall, but the sparrow, its divine beast, plummeted to the ground.
Burnie narrowed her eyes.
“…Burnie’s Black Dragon is too weak.”
At this rate, she thought, first place was impossible.
“Oh, it’s tastier than I thought.
I thought it would be low-level food, but it’s a surprise.
Ah, nice to meet you.
I’m Kalvado Udia, son of the Grand Knight Commander, Klein Udia.”
“The beast raised by your family can talk?
Honestly, I didn’t expect you to be adopted...
Your uncle is quite unique.
Looks like he didn’t train you well after getting beaten in the rankings competition.”
“Is that why you’re selling such lousy food?
Fits you, sitting on the floor and selling stuff.”
At this rate, Kalvado wouldn’t be able to win.
“Little one, this should be your lifetime motto.
If someone hits you once, you must hit them back ten times.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s life.
Better to be a mad dog than a fool...
I mean, better to be a mad dog than a fool.
Woof woof.
Got it?”
“Meow!”
‘Maybe Burnie will become a mad dog.’
While Burnie stroked her chin thoughtfully, a loud crash caught her attention.
Turning her head, she saw Allen’s enormous snake crushing a much larger tree and shattering it.
Burnie glanced back at her divine beast.
“Peep!”
The immortal bird struck its chest with its tiny wings, as if to say, “Trust me.”
When Burnie raised her head, the apple was still dangling from the tree.
“…Black Dragon is weak…”
With a heavy sigh, Burnie picked up the red sparrow, which was rolling around in the bushes, and placed it back on her shoulder.
“Peep?”
“I didn’t know.
It must be Luri’s notebook.”