# Chapter 54
Chapter 54
“Squeak?”
“Mm.
All gone.”
The black dragon, who had been sitting on top of Bunny’s head, let out a small cry before rolling off and landing softly on the pillow.
“Bunny too, sleep.”
Snuggling Toto beside her and tightly hugging Magomi, Bunny closed her eyes.
She had practiced sleeping alone many times, so Bunny wasn’t afraid of the night anymore.
‘It was a little scary back then…’
Anyway, now she was growing into a great adult, so she wasn’t scared at all.
“Good night, Toto.
Magomi.
Grumpy dragon.”
“Squeak!”
Bunny, deeply buried in her blanket up to her neck, closed her eyes.
Then she lifted her hand and gently patted her head, which had been petted by many people today.
Human hands were warm.
‘It’s been a pleasant day!’
Today had indeed been a fun and wonderful day for Bunny.
‘Bunny, win first place tomorrow and get praised by Daddy.’
Surely, everyone would be astonished by Bunny’s greatness.
‘The main character always appears at the moment of crisis.’
The grumpy dragon would surely unleash incredible power in a dangerous moment too.
Heh heh.
Wiggling her legs a few times, Bunny soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
The long-awaited ranking competition.
Bunny stood confidently on stage as the first contestant.
“Go, Grumpy Dragon!!”
“Squeak!!”
With a triumphant expression, Bunny placed one hand on her hip and pointed at her opponent with her other index finger, giving a loud command.
The grumpy dragon—who was also a sparrow—shot off like lightning,
Thud.
Degururu.
And then, the boy who summoned the relic was knocked flat on the ground after being hit by the grumpy dragon.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The hundreds of spectators, including the branch family and servants, were suddenly engulfed in complete silence.
“Grumpy dragon!!”
“Squeak...”
Bunny rushed over to the grumpy dragon, who was making dying sounds, and embraced it in her arms, shouting.
“U-um, sorry.”
“Eh?!”
The opposing boy scratched the back of his head with a perplexed look, glancing around at Bunny and the others.
Then, he grabbed the back of Bunny’s neck while she was still holding the grumpy dragon on the ground, and lifted her up, dropping her outside the training grounds.
“…Ah.
Miss Bunny is disqualified!
Lord Gladys wins!”
Before the flustered voice of the referee could even finish, Kiriel quietly walked down from the high seats and gently cradled Bunny, returning to his seat.
“…Boo-hoo.”
It was a bitter, painful, and glorious defeat—at least, that’s what Bunny thought.
“Daddy… Bunny didn’t win first place… Huuuu…”
Bunny, almost sobbing, clung to Kiriel’s leg and buried her face in it, crying.
Luri said Bunny would get the big prize!
Luri is a liar…
“Huuu...”
She had practiced every day.
Now, even the grumpy dragon could drop the apple!
First place was impossible.
Kiriel looked down at Bunny, who was crying bitterly, and his eyes trembled slightly.
He spoke with an expression that tried to appear nonchalant.
“Your daughter is still young.”
“But Bunny’s not a baby...!”
Boo-hoo.
Kiriel, who was more flustered by the constant stream of tears falling from the child’s eyes than by the tears smearing his pants, quickly reached out his hand.
‘What if she dies from dehydration?’
Though a little crying wouldn't actually cause dehydration, Kiriel, being a first-time father, had no idea.
He only knew that young children were fragile.
“Do you want some pudding?
Or maybe chocolate... no, should I give you some cookies?
I have cookies, candies, and juice too.”
Having anticipated Bunny's defeat and prepared various treats according to Levon’s advice, Kiriel spoke quickly.
Levon, who was nearby, placed a variety of snacks on the table next to the chair.
“But Bunny’s not a baby...”
“Do you want juice?”
“Do you have it...?”
“Of course, I do, Miss.”
Levon filled a cup with apple juice and handed it to Bunny.
Bunny took the straw and slurped the apple juice.
“This... this life is hard.”
With a heavy sigh, Bunny muttered while slurping the juice, causing both Levon and Kiriel to flinch slightly.
At the same time, a small sound came from somewhere in the upper seats.
“…Cough.
Ahem.”
“Hmm?”
When Bunny turned her head, she saw a man with dark skin laughing heartily.
‘Bunny knows this person.’
Because Bunny was a genius who remembered everyone she had seen, it was clear to her…
“Krien Udia!”
Bunny pointed at the man with her finger.
The man, who had been shrugging his shoulders with his head down, raised his head and grinned.
“Oh, you know me?”
“Yes.
You were with Daddy when we summoned the grumpy dragon.
And... you said bad things to Bunny—Daddy of Calvad!”
Bunny nodded eagerly and shouted proudly, causing Krien to widen his eyes before breaking into a quiet laugh.
“Calvad said something bad to you?”
“Yes.
And to Aaron too.”
“Aha, I see.
That guy thinks he’s so great just because he summoned a divine beast.
He can’t even take care of himself.
He’s such a headache because he’s so reckless.
Tch.
I didn’t raise him like that.”
Krien lightly rubbed his temple with his thumb, looking annoyed.
Bunny tilted her head slightly at the sight.
“I’ll teach him a lesson later.”
Bunny, who had been staring at Krien, nodded.
As long as he didn’t say anything bad, it didn’t matter.
“Now, the next match is...!”
As the referee shouted, Bunny gazed absentmindedly at the training ground.
She could see much bigger kids than her battling with divine beasts and relics.
They had fought for a much longer time than Bunny.
“Daddy.”
“Yeah?”
“Is Daddy a king?”
“Maybe?”
“When will Bunny become a king?”
Kiriel Udia froze for a moment at Bunny's question, then gently patted her head.
“Well, you’ll need to grow a bit more than you are now.”
“I want to become a king soon and be a great adult.”
“Why?”
Bunny blinked quietly when she heard Kiriel’s question while watching the other kids fighting with their big divine beasts.
“Then I can do everything well on my own, so I won’t be a burden.
And I’ll make lots of money... and there’ll be a lot of people who like Bunny.”
Kiriel softly patted her head as she spoke in a calm voice.
Though Bunny was only five years old, Kiriel knew that her life had been anything but simple.
Still, hearing her talk like this made him uneasy.
“There will be plenty of people who like you, even if you’re not a powerful king.”
Despite his often stern expression, Kiriel's voice was sincere.
Bunny knew that.
There was a difference between people who lied and those who didn’t.
‘But Bunny’s not human...’
Humans would eventually all come to hate Bunny.
Her dad, her grandfather, even Aaron...
Everyone.
Her dad hated demons, and Bunny was a demon.
A demon who would one day become the great demon king.
So, just like Luriel said, if she melted everyone’s hearts and took control early on, maybe, when Bunny became the great demon king in the future, they wouldn’t hate her.
Bunny nodded in silence instead of answering.
After all, this was something she shouldn’t tell anyone.
She had made a promise with Luriel.
She would never reveal that she was a demon.
Even if it came to light... she would hide the fact that she was destined to become the great demon king.