First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 3

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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 3

“His Majesty has sent you a gift.”

A few minutes after Zeroph Gamilan’s return.

A maid visited the residence where I live.

She handed me a flower pot containing violets, saying it was a gift from the Emperor.

‘I’ve never seen that human before.’

Must be a newly arrived maid.

Well, it’s not like I know every human working in the Imperial Capital.

‘But a gift, how unexpected.’

He didn’t seem like the type to do such things.

The Wet Nurse carefully placed the violet pot on the sunny windowsill.

And night fell.

“Hush now, hush now. Our little prince~.”

The Wet Nurse sang a lullaby while patting my belly as I lay in bed.

My eyes gradually closed as drowsiness washed over me.

“….”

How much time had passed?

The singing had stopped at some point.

I could no longer feel the gentle patting on my belly.

This is strange.

Usually, the Wet Nurse never falls asleep until she confirms I’m sleeping.

Moreover, my condition is also a bit different from usual.

Even for a child’s body, the drowsiness was overwhelming me excessively.

Rustle rustle.

A sudden noise reached my ears.

I turned my head.

Seeing the scene before my eyes made my head spin.

“…What the hell.”

The flower bud by the window opened, revealing a maw with sharp teeth sprouting from it.

The maw trembled and convulsed as if ready to devour prey at any moment.

“What is that thing.”

Saliva stretched like threads between the opened teeth.

An appearance so disgusting it killed one’s appetite just looking at it.

It was the moment when a beautiful violet transformed into a ferocious carnivorous plant.

“Hey, you damn bastard.”

You call this a gift, you son of a bitch.

I vowed that the next time I see the Emperor, I’ll definitely smash his face in.

That thing is supposed to be a violet?

What a load of bullshit.

Swoooosh!

The stem shot up and the maw flew toward me.

“Can’t be helped.”

Grrrrowwwwl!

Fierce, dark energy blazed from my palm.

Magi.

The most powerful proof of being an entity belonging to the Demon Realm.

Since everyone was fast asleep anyway, there was no risk of being caught.

This would be my first real combat in seven years since reincarnation.

Hissssss-!

The pitch-black magi struck the creature’s maw.

The leaves that came into contact with the magi corroded and melted away.

[Kieeeeeek!]

The creature let out a piercing scream from the agony of its body rotting and falling apart.

Perhaps because of its small size, its vocal capacity was nothing impressive.

Swish-!

The stem curved like a tentacle and retreated to its original position.

Fortunately, subduing it didn’t seem too difficult.

[Kieeeeeek!]

Was its pride hurt from being blocked by a little kid?

The creature’s counterattack continued.

‘That distinctive noise.’

Plus its appearance and attack pattern.

The puzzle pieces I’d been uncertain about fell into place.

Information about the creature instantly surfaced in my mind.

‘Plant-type monster, Papuwa.’

A low-grade monster inhabiting the Demon Realm, characterized by scattering sleep-inducing spores during hunts to put prey to sleep before devouring them in one gulp.

“No wonder I was so damn sleepy today.”

I almost fell victim to spores from a mere low-grade monster.

Had there ever been a time when I lamented my weakened body as much as today?

Well, even if I had fallen asleep, I would have woken up immediately the moment it showed killing intent anyway.

[Kieeeeeek-!]

I shot magi toward the monster that fearlessly thrust its head at me.

Under the dark night sky, black energy surged like a torrent.

The crackling sound of burning and the musty scent of ash filled the room.

Whoooosh!

The Papuwa evaporated along with its pot.

All that remained at the windowsill where it had been were some scorch marks and burn traces.

It vanished without leaving even a trace of its existence in this world.

“Phew….”

I had eliminated it for now, but I couldn’t let my guard down until I found and eliminated whoever was behind this.

‘Did the Emperor really pull this stunt?’

At first, I naturally assumed it was an event the Emperor had prepared to mess with me.

But after confirming the Papuwa’s identity, my thoughts changed.

No matter how low-grade, a monster is still a monster.

It’s an uncontrollable variable for humans.

Sending something like that to his son’s bedroom?

It was basically telling me to die.

‘Besides, if the Emperor really wanted to kill me, there are plenty of other effective methods available.’

The Emperor is not the culprit.

There was a real mastermind behind this damn scheme.

‘Who is it? Who pulled this stunt?’

This is also a really important issue, but.

More pressing is what’s bothering me right now.

‘How is Papuwa, a creature species from the Demon Realm, here in the Intermediate Realm….’

The Demon Realm and Intermediate Realm are separated by dimensional barriers.

Generally, traveling between the two worlds is nearly impossible.

There’s only one exception: when a being from the Demon Realm responds to a summoning ritual performed by humans.

The Papuwa probably came over this way too.

‘Monster summoning ritual.’

Feasibility aside, ordinary humans would never do such a thing.

In this world, everything related to the Demon Realm is subject to exclusion.

Something like summoning monsters is considered a sin worse than murder just by committing it.

Without any pangs of conscience, there’s only one type I know who would brazenly pull off such acts.

‘Demon Worshippers.’

The Demon Cult.

Those bastards must be the culprits.

I don’t know how far their sphere of influence extends, or what kind of relationships they’re entangled in with influential figures in the imperial family.

One thing is clear.

There are Demon Cult members in the Imperial Capital.

And they’re trying to kill me.

…This is driving me crazy, really.

* * *

In this world, there are not only Demon Lords but also Celestial Gods and neutral deities, and religious orders that serve each of them exist as well.

Simply put, it’s a polytheistic world.

However, while religious orders serving Celestial Gods and neutral gods receive support from many humans and actively operate in the open.

The Demon Cult operates in the shadows, to the extent that they face immediate execution the moment they’re caught.

I hear that what they actually do is mostly anti-human acts like human sacrifice.

I don’t know the details myself.

You ask why I don’t know what my own believers do when I’m also a Demon Lord?

‘Well.’

I wasn’t particularly interested in such things even in my previous life.

That bastard Vergil seemed sincere about caring for his believers though.

I found it bothersome, and I wasn’t particularly desperate for the faith they offered me.

I was already strong enough without needing to replenish my power by consuming faith.

“Could it be that other Demon Lords noticed my reincarnation and issued an oracle… no, that can’t be right.”

If it had been an attack targeting the reincarnated Pluton rather than Prince Cael.

They would have used more reliable means instead of such low-grade tricks.

‘I wonder which bastard’s followers they are.’

It’s a misconception that all Demon Cults are the same.

The Demon Cult that serves Pluton.

The Demon Cult that serves Vergil.

Or the Demon Cult that serves someone else.

They’re all separate factions.

Their popes and doctrines are all different.

All eight sects of the Demon Cult probably aren’t involved in this incident.

“Anyway, the only likely suspect is that bastard who directly handed over Papuwa.”

The maid I first saw in the Imperial Capital.

She could be a Demon Cult member herself, or a spy for the forces behind this.

Either way, if I take her down, I can get one step closer to the truth.

‘She might have already left the Imperial Capital though.’

Still, I should check.

Hiss.

The demonic energy that billowed up in clouds began to gradually shape into the form of wolves.

[Grrrrrrrowl.]

[Woof! Woof!]

The pitch-black wolves bared their sharp teeth along with undisguised killing intent.

It was a technique that used demonic energy to create simple life forms similar to golems.

“You remember the scent, right?”

[Woof! Woof woof!]

[Grrrrrrr!]

The two wolves barked loyally.

“Go.”

[Woof!]

The beasts forged from darkness ran down the corridor with glowing red eyes.

I leisurely followed behind them.

Moonlight cuts through the night sky and settles dimly on the corridor windows.

[Woof woof!]

“As expected, she escaped outside the castle.”

At least she didn’t seem to be anywhere nearby.

The black wolves faithfully pursued her scent.

I enhanced my body with demonic energy to increase my speed.

I left the residence through the window and ran at full speed across the Imperial Capital grounds.

‘Shadow Assimilation.’

My entire body was enveloped in darkness and completely blended into the surrounding scenery.

This eliminated any worry of being discovered by passing humans.

After crossing through gardens beautifully decorated with flowers and plants, I could see the castle walls in the distance.

Whoosh.

With a single leap, I jumped over the castle wall that was easily dozens of meters high and raced through the streets of the Imperial City.

Buildings made of brick and wood flashed by.

‘Found her.’

A signal came from the wolves.

Just around that corner was the target.

A secluded back alley.

In the darkness hidden between buildings on both sides where even moonlight couldn’t reach.

The maid was lying face down with her leg bitten by one wolf.

The other wolf had its front paw pressing down on her mouth, crushing it against the ground in case she tried to scream.

“Mmph! Mmph!”

The maid’s expression was filled with terror.

I could see a large luggage bag fallen beside her.

It seemed she was trying to leave the Imperial City.

Thinking that I would have missed her if I’d been just a little later made me feel spiteful.

Swish.

When I raised my hand, the wolf slowly lifted its front paw.

A voice came from the maid’s freed mouth.

“Pr-Prince! Ah, ahhhhh-!”

A scream burst out as the other wolf roughly tore at the maid.

Snap, when I flicked my finger, darkness spread like a curtain and enveloped the space around us both.

A sound-blocking barrier.

Considering what I was about to do, this was an essential process.

“Hello?”

As if I had never frowned.

I greeted her with a bright smile.

The maid’s face turned pale as if she’d seen a ghost.

“Pr-Prince Cael! How are you alive… I definitely successfully procured the monster…!”

“Well. How am I alive indeed.”

Crunch!

The wolves began to concentrate on tearing at the maid’s legs.

Bright red blood splattered noisily in all directions.

Bones protruded and grotesquely shaped chunks of flesh fell away.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

“Let’s start by breaking your legs first.”

Crack! Crack! Crunch!

Brutal sounds echoed through the cold back alley.

The maid screamed in agony.

Blood and saliva splattered in all directions.

“Kyaaaaaaah! Hak! Uhaaaagyagyagak!”

“Tsk.”

I burned away the maid’s saliva that had splattered on my cheek with demonic energy.

After a brief moment passed.

I smiled bleakly at the mangled chunks of meat that could no longer be called legs.

I pulled the wolves back from the maid.

Without legs, she wouldn’t be able to attempt escape anymore.

“Ah, aah.”

A single tear rolled down from the maid’s eyes as she looked at my smile.

It wasn’t a venomous expression or a cursed plea.

Just a single tear.

That alone made me feel that she had completely lost her fighting spirit and surrendered.

“That’s what you get for bothering people.”

I shaped a throne form with demonic energy and sat down with my legs crossed.

Resting my chin on my hand, I looked down at the maid with a gentle smile.

“I have so many things I want to ask you.”

“P-please spare me… please… please spare meee…”

Crack—!!

This time the wolves bit into both of the maid’s hands.

All ten fingers were severed and flew through the air.

“Kiyaaaaaaah! Kak! Kehheok!”

“How fascinating.”

I was still smiling.

“I thought for sure you’d start screaming about what I am the moment you saw me handling demonic energy. Aren’t you curious?”

“I-I’m not… not curious… p-please spare me…”

“Your survival instinct seems to far outweigh your curiosity. Good, I like that.”

Crack—!!

The two wolves tore into the lower parts of the maid’s elbows.

“I like quiet things, you see. If you had screamed noisily, I would have killed you as painfully as possible. You pass.”

Thick blood poured onto the floor in torrents.

The veil of darkness greedily absorbed the pooled blood like a puddle.

Having lost nearly half her arms in an instant, the maid rolled her eyes back and let out indescribable screams.

“Kieek! Kieeeek! Kieeeeeek!!”

“Ah, but this means you fail.”

Giggle giggle.

As I chuckled to myself, I felt the maid’s gaze looking up at me.

Fear, terror, anguish, pain, shock, despair.

She was looking at me with eyes where all negative emotions were tangled together.

“Now, I’m going to start asking questions. If you want to die peacefully, you’d better answer properly.”

I leaned forward slightly and brought my face close as I asked.

“Who is it? The one behind giving you that demonic beast.”

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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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