First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 52

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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 52

 

A magnificent full moon rising in the black night sky.

 

Tens of thousands of stars serving as guideposts for those who have lost their way.

 

The sky of the Intermediate Realm always evokes nothing but feelings of beauty whenever I look at it.

 

During the day, a clear and refreshing blue sky greets me, and at night, a sky where all kinds of celestial bodies sparkle like jewels welcomes me.

 

When I sit on the roof like this, gazing at the sky without any thoughts, all my worries and concerns seemed to disappear at once.

 

‘…Peaceful.’

 

A gentle breeze pleasantly brushes past my ear.

 

The cold night air has settled over the streets.

 

But it wasn’t cold.

 

The warmth of the world seemed to be infused in the passing wind.

 

Creak-

 

The window of the tower opened.

 

“I wondered where you were at this hour instead of sleeping, and here you are.”

 

A bright and cheerful voice like a young girl’s.

 

Someone approached me sitting on the roof, stepping on the roof tiles.

 

Though the essence inside was an aged demon who had lived for thousands of years, the outward appearance was like that of an innocent girl – the sage of the Demon Realm.

 

It was Deront Ikulain.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

– Are you pathetically staring out the window again?

 

In Deront’s appearance with her long straight hair let down, I could see Seria’s face overlapping.

 

My chest ached sharply.

 

“Why did you come here?”

 

When I asked indifferently while keeping my gaze fixed on the moonlight, Deront pouted her lips.

 

“I come here often too, you know? The sky of the Intermediate Realm is really pretty. Unlike the gloomy sky of the Demon Realm.”

 

“I guess everyone thinks the same way.”

 

“So Lord Cael has something called sentiment too. I didn’t know.”

 

“Want to get hit?”

 

Deront quietly approached and sat beside me.

 

We sat side by side on the roof, gazing at the night sky.

 

Not a single word was exchanged.

 

Occasionally, I could feel Deront glancing at my face.

 

We probably sat like that for about thirty minutes.

 

“Shall I guess why Lord Cael is acting like this right now?”

 

“…”

 

Deront broke the silence and spoke up.

 

“It’s because of that human brat, isn’t it? The princess or whatever, that kid who was always with Lord Cael when you were young.”

 

A sage is indeed a sage, I suppose.

 

To immediately guess the worry residing in my heart.

 

Deront’s expression changed as if puzzled.

 

“Actually, I don’t understand Lord Cael’s current state.”

 

Her chatter continued.

 

“The Lord Pluton I saw in the Demon Realm was extremely cruel and merciless. You were strong and firm enough to be the only one to ascend to the Pantheon with a demon’s body. For such a person to become so gloomy over just one human…”

 

“…”

 

“Why are you acting like this? What did those imperial humans mean to Lord Cael?”

 

I silently looked up at the night sky.

 

The light clusters of the Milky Way poured down like rays.

 

Though the surroundings were filled with darkness, the stars glowing in the dark forest were clearly proving their existence.

 

“Well.”

 

I turned to look at Deront.

 

My eyes reflected in Deront’s red pupils also sparkled like starlight.

 

“I guess I quite liked playing family.”

 

At those words, Deront seemed quite surprised.

 

She probably never dreamed such words would come from my mouth.

 

She seemed to be asking with her eyes, “Are you serious?”

 

A chuckle escaped me.

 

“You know what, Deront?”

 

I stretched my legs and placed my hands beside my hips.

 

Changing my posture made my body much more comfortable.

 

“When I was in the Demon Realm, I never once lived according to my own will.”

 

This was my true inner feelings that I had never confided to anyone.

 

“Every moment was a continuation of survival. You, who were born as a demon with great power from the beginning, wouldn’t understand. What it means to live as a demon in that damn world.”

 

I wanted to live.

 

I just wanted to survive.

 

“Among demons, there are many bastards who slaughter other demons for no reason. To survive, I had to fight. I fought and fought again. Actually, I didn’t really want to fight.”

 

In truth, I wanted to live peacefully.

 

Without conflict or strife.

 

I wanted to happily enjoy the remaining lifespan given to me.

 

“I think I fought like crazy. Killing, killing, killing, killing, killing… Before I knew it, I had become so strong that no one could oppose me. As a little more time passed like that… I had become a deity, and the demons were praising me as a Demon Lord.”

 

I had no desire to ascend to the Pantheon.

 

It was just a position I naturally came to occupy regardless of my will, as I desperately repeated battles just to survive.

 

“After becoming a deity, the fighting decreased somewhat. Who would dare challenge a deity? Thanks to that, I finally had more time to be alone…”

 

I was lonely. I was solitary.

 

There were no beings to fight, but there were also no beings to share life with.

 

Other deities seemed to resolve their loneliness by gathering among themselves or caring for their believers.

 

But the other Demon Lords were busy ostracizing me, and caring for believers didn’t suit my temperament either.

 

“Even as a deity, in the end, you’re just one living being.”

 

The creator deities of each world who made the Heavenly Realm, Intermediate Realm, and Demon Realm.

 

Excluding those whose whereabouts are now mysterious, the rest are closer to superhumans who have acquired divine authority rather than actual deities.

 

“Then I died and was reincarnated.”

 

At first, I had nothing but thoughts of revenge against the Demon Lords who killed me.

 

Of course, that vengeful feeling hasn’t diminished even now.

 

If anything, it’s grown stronger.

 

But as I gradually immersed myself in life in the Intermediate Realm and shared emotions with humans.

 

I felt something inside me gradually changing.

 

– What kind of grandfather are you? Don’t be so pathetic and run around and play like a child.

 

Seria.

 

– Cael! I was worried! You almost died! Waaah!

 

Max.

 

– I’m so glad you’re safe! *sniff*

 

Carno.

 

– How mean! Of course Mom came because she missed Cael!

 

And, Ellia.

 

It was an emotion I felt for the first time.

 

A ticklish yet pleasant feeling I had never experienced in the Demon Realm.

 

It wasn’t difficult to recognize the identity of that sensation.

 

‘Happiness.’

 

Yes.

 

I was happy.

 

The 13 years I spent in the Imperial Capital were the only happy time in my life spanning over thousands of years.

 

What I had longed for so desperately.

 

What I had yearned for so painfully, over and over again.

 

“….”

 

Deront quietly listened to all the words I poured out.

 

I had no intention of telling this story to anyone else again.

 

Only Deront, who knew my entire past.

 

Only Deront, who knew everything including my experiences in the Demon Realm and all that I had gone through since my reincarnation, could truly listen to this story.

 

“Even though you appear cruel on the outside and unshaken by any situation, there were such circumstances behind it all.”

 

He probably couldn’t understand it completely.

 

Even so.

 

Just having him listen beside me was incredibly grateful.

 

“It must have been very difficult for you.”

 

Strangely, it felt comforting.

 

Tap.

 

Deront rested his head on my shoulder.

 

His long, flowing black hair cascaded down to my chest.

 

We remained still like that for quite a while.

 

“Next… you said you’re going to Millennium Academy, right?”

 

I nodded.

 

“That’s right.”

 

I didn’t really have a choice.

 

Above all, Baal’s Sect harbored deeper hatred than other Demon Cults.

 

Even at this very moment, I was suppressing the urge to rush over and scream at them about why they tried to kill me.

 

“How are you planning to get in?”

 

“Well. There’s the method of sneaking in secretly. Or there’s the method of disguising myself with the Trickster’s pendant and entering.”

 

True to its reputation as the Empire’s finest educational institution, Millennium Academy’s security was at a jaw-dropping level.

 

It wouldn’t be easy to infiltrate secretly through ordinary methods.

 

“Instead of such dishonest tricks, couldn’t you enter proudly through legitimate means?”

 

“What?”

 

“How old are you now, Cael?”

 

“Hmm, about nine thousand three hundred…”

 

“No! I mean your human age!”

 

“Seventeen.”

 

Deront pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

 

When unfolded, it was a poster with an announcement written on it.

 

[July 20th.

 

Millennium Academy departmental transfer examination.

 

Application registration must be completed one month prior.]

 

Deront thrust the poster right in front of my eyes.

 

“Don’t think about entering through the back door and go in proudly through the front gate!”

 

“…Are you telling me to attend school?”

 

“Think about it. This is the most efficient method! Of course, you’re truly amazing and perfect, Cael, but your opponent is also an Agent of the Divine. They won’t be caught easily.”

 

“That’s true.”

 

With my current level of insight, it would be impossible to instantly identify a hidden identity just by glancing at them.

 

I would need to personally collect evidence one by one over a long period.

 

All of that process would naturally take a very long time.

 

“Wouldn’t it be incredibly bothersome and difficult to keep infiltrating secretly during all that time? It would be much more convenient to obtain official student status instead.”

 

“Hmm.”

 

It was persuasive.

 

However, I didn’t want to be bound by the academy’s curriculum.

 

As I was internally weighing which approach would be more rational.

 

“I agree with Deront’s opinion.”

 

“Me too.”

 

“I feel the same way.”

 

Three voices interrupted simultaneously.

 

Merry, Kise, and Diago were standing in front of the window, looking this way.

 

“Hiek?!”

 

Deront threw both hands up, thoroughly startled.

 

I, on the other hand, remained calm.

 

“I was wondering when you’d come out.”

 

Since I knew they were secretly watching us, I had put up a thin barrier of magi to prevent our conversation from leaking out, then removed it.

 

“Your Highness. Revenge is fine and saving the world is good, but what’s more important is your happiness.”

 

Merry gazed at me with a sad smile.

 

“I want Your Highness to be even a little happier. Living a normal school life and getting along with children your age.”

 

Kise spoke, his blazing red hair fluttering.

 

“I still can’t forget the expression Prince made when he saw the Princess’s name written during the operation.”

 

I remember.

 

Back then, Kise had advised me to do whatever I wanted without regrets.

 

“This time, truly choose what Prince wants to do without any regrets.”

 

The moonlight softly illuminated Kise’s beaming smile.

 

Diago opened his mouth.

 

“I said earlier, didn’t I? Even if the world ends tomorrow, if you live happily today, that’s enough.”

 

Diago looked at me with a warm expression.

 

“Which choice do you think would be more enjoyable?”

 

The more enjoyable choice.

 

A choice just for me.

 

A choice my heart desires.

 

“….”

 

If that was the case, the answer was already decided.

 

I answered simply, as if it were nothing special.

 

“I’ll enroll.”

 

I would become a student at Millennium Academy.

 

I absolutely would not let Baal’s despicable minions extend their evil claws toward the children.

 

Whiiiiing-

 

A blue comet streaked across the night sky between the stars of the Milky Way, trailing a long tail.

 

We were momentarily captivated by that mystical sight.

 

I still don’t know much about these people.

 

Having lived alone for thousands of years, I’m also terrible at human relationships.

 

But today.

 

I feel like the transparent wall that separated us has become a little thinner.

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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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