The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 138
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 138
Leptha’s words deepened the furrow between Kiriel’s brows.
When I lowered my gaze, I saw Bunny blinking her wide-open eyes. She didn’t seem particularly startled.
“Did you know what that Elf was saying, Bunny?”
“No. But Luriel told me before that the Demon Clan isn’t necessarily all bad.”
At Bunny’s explanation, Kiriel nodded slightly. Seeing Kiriel’s serious expression, Bunny hesitated before quickly opening her mouth again.
“Because when evil is just… pure evil by itself, it’s so foolish it doesn’t understand anything, so it just wanders everywhere causing mischief. But the Demon Clan can still speak and think, so they can be managed, right? That’s what she said.”
Her explanation was a bit halting as if her thoughts weren’t fully organized, but it wasn’t incomprehensible.
“You understand well. As expected of a seed. So you instinctively grasp the fundamentals.”
Leptha, who had murmured softly, stroked his chin leisurely.
He nodded once and opened his mouth.
“Uncontrolled evil clings to even the smallest negative emotions of humans. Because of that, disputes that should end as quarrels become fights, and fights that should end as fights can become wars.”
Hearing this story for the first time, Kiriel Yudia’s mouth fell slightly open before closing slowly.
Leptha tilted his head slowly, lightly licking and biting his lower lip.
‘Modern humans truly know nothing.’
It was quite different from the old days.
In the past, humans and other intelligent beings never ceased their exchange with the Demon Clan. They were aware of what they did.
They are not mere lumps of evil.
Originally they were pure evil, but the Demon King granted them intelligence, reason, and emotion.
Thus, beings that should have moved by instinct alone became intelligent entities.
“The Demon Clan was born when those things were gathered and given intelligence, and the Demon King is what maintains their reason. So, strictly speaking, the Demon Clan is a necessary evil.”
“…What if all the Demon Clan were eliminated?”
“If the Demon Clan didn’t exist? Well… newly born evils would simply wander about, clinging here and there, plunging the world into chaos.”
Leptha explained.
Bunny’s eyes widened. This was the first time hearing such a detailed explanation.
She had only heard Luriel say that the Demon Clan wasn’t such bad beings.
“What happens if the Demon King doesn’t exist? Especially if there’s no successor?”
“The Demon Clan’s reason comes from the Demon King, so… well…”
Leptha trailed off, but what lay behind those unspoken words was not difficult to discern.
The Demon Clan’s reason would vanish, leaving only pure evil. If those things truly seeped into the world as he said, I couldn’t even bear to imagine what would happen.
“Why… wasn’t this knowledge passed down?”
“That much, even I don’t know. What humans thought, what happened at that time—I don’t know. We don’t. Our time stopped back then.”
Leptha strode forward and knelt on one knee before Bunny.
At this sudden action, Bunny blinked. Kiriel Yudia’s eyes narrowed further.
“So, young master, please save my brethren too. Those of my kind enduring in the deep underground, where demonic energy accumulates…”
As Leptha trailed off, Bunny blinked before slowly turning her head to gaze at the moon hanging brightly in the sky.
From this moment on, I decided to use only holy power.
Because the moment I used demonic power, I could never return to being fully human again.
“I know you’re only half-awakened. I know you’re still young, living a span of time similar to humans. But… I also know you can already control the demonic energy pooling in that place.”
“….”
When Bunny was young, Leptha had made a request of her.
“I offer myself to you. Save the Elf Clan, young Demon King.”
“I am not asking for your aid now, young Demon King. What I hope for is that when you come of age and safely awaken as the Demon King, you will save us.”
“Will you do this for us?”
Leptha, who came to reside in the Dormitory Mansion, did not show himself often, but he would visit from time to time to check on Bunny.
And occasionally, he seemed to venture to the Ruins where his companions waited.
As Bunny’s mind matured, he explained to her the “Elf’s Oath” he had sworn. It surely must not have been an easy thing to discuss.
“Father, is the Elves’ Ruins far from here?”
“…It will take several days.”
Kiriel Yudia answered Bunny’s question.
Bunny gazed down at Leptha, who knelt on one knee before her, looking up at her with reverent eyes.
Seven years still remained until her Coming of Age Ceremony.
Bunny turned her head silently away.
A crisp breeze always swirled around the Elf Leptha, and now it danced around Bunny as well.
“Father, may I go visit the Ruins for a bit?”
“Bunny.”
“From now on, I’ll only use holy power, and if I do that, Leptha’s friends will have to stay there until I become an adult.”
She had heard it was a terribly dark and damp place. Situated deep underground, it was said to be the worst possible environment for an Elf.
Helping them later would not be a problem. They would not die. But….
“That would be cruel. Leptha would be lonely too. I want to help him.”
Kiriel Yudia slowly stroked Bunny’s face with an impatient hand as she spoke each word with careful precision.
The child had grown so quickly, and now she was already trying to walk toward places he could not reach.
“I’ll be back soon, okay?”
Watching Bunny smile brightly and cling to Kiriel’s legs as she always did, Kiriel pressed his lips firmly together.
“I want to stay with Father until I’m grown up, and if something urgent happens, I might need to help….”
Kiriel Yudia gazed silently at the child.
‘She seems far too kind to be a Demon King….’
I wonder if she will ever be able to fulfill the role of Demon King properly.
The title of Demon King suited this small, young child far too little.
“Shall we go together?”
“…Really?”
“Let’s go with Father. It will take about a week going and coming back.”
“But Father is busy.”
The wide-eyed child looked at him with an expression asking whether it was truly all right for him to accompany her despite his busy schedule.
Kiriel Yudia chuckled softly and tousled the child’s hair with his rather rough hand.
“Bunny.”
“Yes?”
“If you wish it, I will go anywhere with you. And how could I send you off with only that man and no one else?”
At Kiriel Yudia’s words, Leptha, whose brow had twitched, slowly lifted his head.
“What exactly did you just say?”
“How could I possibly entrust our child to you without knowing what to believe in?”
“I have sworn an oath as an Elf. I have pledged to serve this child as my master until death. Are you now insulting me and the Elf Clan?”
At Leptha’s words, Kiriel Yudia shrugged his shoulders. Leptha was spouting nonsense that didn’t even make sense.
“Didn’t you say you understand the position of a parent with children? You’ve kept yourself hidden all this time—what am I supposed to see and believe in?”
“I remained hidden simply because there was no need for me to appear.”
Leptha countered.
Suddenly, sparks crackled above, and Bunny blinked her eyes before tilting her head.
‘Oh dear…’
Father and Leptha are having an absolutely fierce argument over me.
Perhaps this was the moment when the lonely wolf—no, rabbit Bunny—would finally be embraced by everyone.
Lost once more in an unexpected flight of fancy, Bunny’s body trembled slightly. At that, Leptha and Kiriel Yudia, who had been locked in their tense exchange, lowered their gazes to look at her.
“Bunny.”
“Yes?”
“Your horns won’t retract right now, correct?”
“That’s… right…”
Bunny pressed her horns down with her palm.
They still wouldn’t retract or disappear. Bunny exhaled softly and rubbed her eye sockets.
“Are your eyes strange too?”
Her pupils were stretched vertically in a way that didn’t look ordinary. From a distance, one might not notice anything amiss, but up close, anyone would catch on.
“If the young master travels on the wind, there is no need for her to worry about those around her. Even if that weren’t the case, I could easily manage the attention of those nearby.”
“The wind?”
Both their gazes turned simultaneously toward Leptha.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————