First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1

Desolate rocky peaks and blazing hellfire.

The Demon Realm, world of demons and demon races.

At the edge of such a Demon Realm, atop a cliff stretching high toward the black sky.

I lay collapsed pathetically on the ground, breathing my final breaths.

“Cough!”

Thick blood flowed from the massive hole pierced through my chest.

My entire body trembled from the burning pain.

My consciousness was gradually fading away.

‘Ah, is this the end now…’

The grand title of Demon Lord.

Though I ascended to the divine throne last, the world’s assessment that I was the strongest among the eight Demon Lords.

None of it mattered now.

Indeed, there’s no beating sheer numbers.

“What a pathetic sight you are, Pluton.”

A quiet chuckle echoed in my ears.

I struggled to lift my head and looked at the beings before me.

‘Six…’

The eight gods of the Demon Realm, each possessing catastrophic power.

Of the seven excluding myself, a full six gods had gathered here.

‘Did everyone come except one? Just to kill me.’

A hollow laugh escaped me.

I was the only one among the eight Demon Lords to ascend to the divine throne in the body of a demon race, a subjugated species.

In contrast, the other seven gods had their roots in demons, the ruling species of the Demon Realm.

My very existence was essentially the only case that broke the great premise that demon races were inferior to demons.

“So… is this why.”

Every time I opened my mouth, blood pooled inside dripped down.

“Was it so infuriating that I, in a demon race body, ascended to the divine throne.”

“From the beginning, you were never suited for the seat of a Demon Lord. Weak and easily swayed by emotions. But do you think we moved for such trivial reasons?”

The long-haired man standing at the front, First Throne Vergil, sneered like that.

“Then, why exactly…?”

“Hmm. Well, fine. This much should be okay.”

Vergil smiled as if doing me a favor, then extended his index finger to point at me.

“There was a prophecy about you, Pluton, from the Great Seer of the Demon Realm.”

“…A prophecy?”

“He said you were born with a rather unusual fate. A very dangerous fate, at that.”

“…”

“Originally we had no intention of killing you… but what can we do. It’s best to prevent sparks before they ignite.”

The Great Seer of the Demon Realm, who wasn’t among them now.

Of course I knew him too.

The only demon who earned the trust of the Demon Lords despite not ascending to a divine throne.

But suddenly talk of fate and prophecies.

It was all news to me.

“Since you’re going to die soon anyway, I’m telling you this. Think of it as final mercy. It would be too unfair if you didn’t even know why you’re dying.”

Soon, along with black heat haze, a massive spear was grasped in Vergil’s right hand.

Crunch, I bit down on my lips.

If it hadn’t been many against one, but one-on-one fights instead.

Or at least if I had fought in perfect condition.

‘…Damn it.’

Frustrating.

But there was nothing I could change now.

I no longer had even the strength to speak.

Swoosh!

With the sound of Vergil’s spear blade cutting through the air, my head was completely severed from my body.

The Eighth Throne.

Demon Lord Pluton met such a futile end.

* * *

I died like that.

But what was this feeling of drifting through space without purpose or destination?

Then beams of light poured from afar and rushed into my eyes.

“Haaah!”

I opened my eyes quickly.

A spotlessly white ceiling came into view.

Luxurious furniture including tables and beds with exquisite embossed patterns.

Overall, it was a room with a splendid impression.

‘Where is this?’

I thought I had died for certain.

How exactly did I open my eyes?

Then a cheerful voice rang out beside me as someone appeared.

“Oh my, Your Highness. Are you awake?”

A being with apricot-colored skin appeared before my eyes.

As far as I knew, there was only one race with such an appearance.

‘A human? How is a human from the Intermediate Realm in the Demon Realm?’

I tried to converse with her.

Where this place was, how I who thought I was dead was alive.

I had so many things I wanted to ask.

“Abu, ababu.”

But my wishes were endlessly mangled by underdeveloped vocal organs.

Only then could I face what situation I was in.

Thin, flesh-colored arms and legs.

A body that wouldn’t move as intended.

Could it be…?

‘Did I reincarnate as a human?’

It seemed I needed to sort out the situation first.

* * *

Seven years had passed since being reborn in the Intermediate Realm.

It was sufficient time to roughly grasp the environment here.

This country’s name was the Argent Empire.

Located in the center of the continent, it was the strongest nation as a single country and a massive power that divided the world along with the ‘Western Alliance.’

And my new name was ‘Cael de Argent.’ I was a prince of this country.

A direct heir, at that.

‘A human royal.’

The first few months, accepting that I had reincarnated as a human wasn’t easy.

But now I decided to acknowledge the reality I faced and seek ways to live here.

After confirming no one was in the room, I stretched my small hand up toward the air.

Whoosh—.

Fierce and destructive black energy gathered at my fingertips.

It was demonic energy that only beings of the Demon Realm could use.

‘My demonic energy is intact too.’

Though I had clearly reincarnated as a human, somehow I could still summon demonic energy.

However, there was one disappointing aspect.

‘It’s a bit… difficult to control.’

It couldn’t be helped.

There was no way to put a Demon Lord’s body and a mere human baby’s body on the same level.

While the total amount of magic power remained the same, it seemed it would be a long way off before I could produce the same output as in my previous life until I resolved the imbalance between body and soul.

‘It would be better to hide that I have this kind of power.’

Magic power, demons, demon race, monsters.

And Demon Lords.

This world had a strangely strong tendency to reject anything related to the Demon Realm.

Moreover, humans originally cannot handle magic power due to their physical structure.

‘From what I heard in the maids’ conversations, those who worshipped Demon Lords were slaughtered again this time. And yet I’m a human born with magic power…’

If discovered, it would be the perfect position to become a public enemy of the continent.

If all the humans in the world came rushing to kill me, I’d go crazy from the annoyance.

“Your Highness~ Look here~.”

Late afternoon.

Beside me as I lay face down on the soft blanket, the Wet Nurse was shaking a rattle I’d been using since infancy, grinning foolishly.

The rattle covered in glittering powder moved dazzlingly.

How should I put it.

Here I was, thousands of years old, receiving this kind of treatment.

I felt like I’d die of embarrassment.

“Hmph.”

I turned my head away sharply.

“Prince Cael is quite shy, isn’t he.”

The Wet Nurse brought the rattle right in front of my eyes wherever I turned my gaze, shaking it with a smile.

‘Ah, just get lost, please.’

Damn it.

How long do I have to live like this.

Even when I tried to practice handling magic power with my new body, there were always watching eyes, so I couldn’t do anything.

A few minutes later.

The maids entered the room carrying loads of clothes and accessories.

“Today you will go out for an inspection outside the castle.”

They called it an inspection, but it was just a walk.

What the hell would an 8-year-old brat have to inspect.

After finishing preparations that took a full hour, I left the castle gates with the maids and guards.

The Argent Empire is a powerful nation.

The view of the Imperial Capital I saw after coming outside reminded me of that fact once again.

‘Damn huge.’

In terms of scale, it was similar to my sanctuary in the Demon Realm.

Of course, the sanctuary was a space I used alone, while at least hundreds of people lived together in the Imperial Capital.

After walking through the streets of the Imperial City for several minutes, a white, massive stone building came into view in the distance.

A maid explained from beside me.

“It’s the Temple of the Celestial God Gabriel.”

The Celestial God is a deity at the opposite end from Demon Lords.

It seemed that while they rejected Demon Lords here, they actively worshipped the Celestial God.

‘No, they just don’t show it openly.’

Demon Lord worshippers.

Those commonly called the Demon Cult.

I knew better than anyone that they actually existed openly.

Because I was the very one who had received that faith.

‘They must be operating in the shadows. They’d be burned at the stake if caught.’

Someday I would definitely find the Demon Cult hidden throughout the continent.

Because I would need their help to cross back from the Intermediate Realm to the Demon Realm.

‘First, I’ll recover my strength and cross to the Demon Realm.’

And then I’ll catch and kill every last one of those damn Demon Lords who drove me to death.

“Kyaaak!”

A scream that seemed to tear the sky.

“Grrrowl!”

In the distance, a wolf with two heads was prowling through the streets.

It was a low-level monster, a Prime Wolf.

Behind it, a carriage lay overturned with its cargo cage open.

It seemed to have escaped from its cage while being transported in the carriage.

“Oh no!”

The knights guarding me gathered their momentum and charged at the Prime Wolf.

“Grrr! Bark!”

“P-please save me!”

However, the Prime Wolf was already rushing at a nearby child, baring its sharp teeth.

‘Too late.’

The knights wouldn’t be able to save the child in time.

I picked up a stone from beside me.

I concentrated all my body’s energy into my grip and swung my arm like throwing a pitch, hurling the stone.

Whoooosh!

The stone burst through the surrounding air and rushed forward like lightning.

Then it instantly passed the charging knights and cleanly penetrated and burst the Prime Wolf’s head.

Splat!

The creature collapsed to the ground with a thud in the same position it had been charging.

“…”

A deathly silence descended.

I slowly looked around.

The guards were looking back at me, their mouths hanging wide open in disbelief, paralyzed with shock.

Their mouths were opened so wide their jaws nearly touched the ground.

Was there some problem with my actions just now?

‘Ah.’

Come to think of it, an ordinary 8-year-old child can’t throw a stone at sonic speed to burst a monster’s head.

‘Shit.’

It seemed I still had a long way to go to adapt to life as a human.

* * *

“You bastard, say something that makes sense.”

“It’s true! His Highness threw a stone and the monster’s head went boom and exploded!”

“Do you know how old he is? He’s 8 years old, you fool. He’s just at the age to start learning martial arts. Even the founding king, who was a superhuman among superhumans, couldn’t have done that at age 8.”

Cael’s monster instant-kill incident.

The Imperial Capital was in an uproar over whether this incident was true or not.

The knight who had witnessed it directly pleaded with his senior knight to believe him, but the senior knight crossed his arms and shook his head as if it was out of the question.

It was that absurd and bizarre an event.

“Hmph, you should fool someone who can be fooled.”

“Why is that? I think it’s quite possible.”

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice interjected into the conversation.

Upon confirming the identity of the voice, both knights gasped and quickly knelt on one knee.

“We greet His Imperial Majesty!”

“We greet His Imperial Majesty!”

The Emperor.

Brunei de Argent.

A Sword Master himself, he had led Argent to prosperity through countless wars of conquest, but due to his ruthless nature, he was also known by the epithet ‘Blood Martial Emperor.’

“Originally, the Argent Imperial Family was a renowned swordsmanship house known throughout the continent. That bloodline continues even now. Even if Cael has talent in martial arts, it wouldn’t be anything extraordinary, would it.”

If the talent to burst a monster’s head with just a stone at the age of 8 wasn’t extraordinary, then nothing in this world could be called extraordinary.

“Therefore, I should go and confirm it myself.”

The Emperor, Brunei, made his way toward Cael’s bedroom.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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