Chapter 2

Alice prepared the warp point and we finally arrived at Seir’s villa. This feeling, so I’m finally back here huh? It feels like only yesterday that I escaped the Panopticon but the atmosphere of hell overall hasn’t changed.

I felt my demonic energy surge and remembered how much more comfortable I felt here, I’m gonna make it so that my kind can also enjoy this feeling without constantly being persecuted for something as simple as existing.

That person's face flashed in my mind and my demonic energy surged even more, it was time, It would be a long battle, but I was more than ready now.

“Y-your highness, my spiritual power is increasing out of nowhere!”

“Oh Shiro-chan don’t mind that, it’s the atmosphere, let’s just say that there’s more room for your power to breath haha.”

“Ah OK.”

“I know we just got here everyone but let’s quickly unpack and make for the site of the summit. It will be a good way to mingle with the locals, as well as scope out some of the competition. Alice, prepare some casual clothing for me.”

“...Yes my lord.”

“There’s two weeks till the summit Seir, isn’t it too early to do this?”

“Oh? The summit is like a festival Kuro, it’s the biggest event and rarely comes round. The area that is chosen to host it tends to prepare months before, there will be plenty of stands and people, even now.”

“Ugh, sounds like there will be a lot of tourists…”

“Yep, there’s a lot at stake here, the summit attracts a number of people and creatures from all regions and mythologies.”

“...Great.”

We proceeded to unpack, changed into more comfortable clothing and made our way to the site for the summit.

Shiro’s POV

After changing, we made our way to the site that would be hosting the event, it was huge. I had attended a number of festivals throughout my life, whether as a human or a yokai, there was nothing that matched the magnitude of this.

The surface area of the site was that of a large metropolitan city, there were shops and what I could only describe as merchants everywhere. In addition to this, there were creatures and people from all over the world. You could not turn a corner without seeing different species, there were a lot of devils but we also came across many other creatures that were not in their human form.

His highness requested that I not use my yokai form because it would attract too much attention, but in this amalgamation of supernatural creatures, I don’t see how.

“Tickets to the Opening Ceremony! Tickets are on sale!”

“Come and visit our shop, we have the best magical items from around the world!”

“Get your fortune told! Will one of Hell’s elite’s fall head over heels for you!?”

There were sounds and smells from every direction, it was even a little suffocating. Kuro never let his guard down for a second, I can only imagine how he feels about coming back here after so long.

Despite the different kinds of people you could see around you, one thing stood out as being the same no matter where we turned in the City. There were posters of who I could only guess was someone from the ruling House of Bael everywhere. Whenever one was in his highness’s line of sight, I could just about detect a hint of bloodlust, despite his highness coming across as his usual easy going self. This was something that I would not have been able to do a year ago and was proof that I had come a long way after my training with Grandmother.

“Yahhhh, I didn’t expect this many people, look Kuro, that’s a Faerie, that’s totally a Faerie!”

“Calm down Seir, she’s staring at us, I-I’’m sorry ma’am, he’s just excited for the Summit *bow *bow.”

“Hahahaha.”

“Damn it Seir! Get back here.”

A few hours passed and his highness decided to stop for a rest and some food. He led us to a small cafe and bar off the beaten track and we all ordered what we wanted.

“Phew, I’m so tired, looks like we’re gonna have our work cut for us *sigh*”

“YOU’RE tired? Who were the ones running around after you and apologising when you were causing trouble for people?”

“Awwww I’ve already apologised to my cute Alice for that *pat*”

“...It is quite alright my lord.”

“WHAT ABOUT ME!”

“Haha, well from what I’ve seen today, it seems like we’re going to have our work cut for us.”

“Huh? Why’s that.”

“I’ve seen evidence that Earl Paimon is here and is likely to be involved in the summit.”

“Paimon? Isn’t he…”

“That’s right, the ruler of China and the territories of Hell that go with it.”

“Is he strong your highness?”

“Not just strong, judging by how many people he has scattered around the site scouting the competition, I can tell that he is serious too. Earl Paimon is the only one that ever came close to dethroning the House of Bael, he even married his daughters off to all the major houses to get support by way of political marriage. He may come across as a middle aged man obsessed with strength and fighting but he can be very calculating and is likely one of the favourites.”

“Don’t tell me all that fuss and commotion you made today was to…”

“Haha yep! I wanted to see how the people around us responded, that’s how I managed to determine Earl Paimon’s many scouts keeping an eye out for potential contenders.”

“Eh? But your highness, wouldn’t that mean that you would stand out too?”

“Nope! My face isn’t really known around these parts, I might be from one of the great families but the Seir house has never competed in the Summit. If anything, we looked like you’re average tourists, the main reason why I didn’t want you to transform was exactly for that purpose.”

“Eh? So it’s like hiding in plain sight.”

“Ah huh, now you’re getting it Shiro-chan.”

His highness never ceases to amaze me with his insight. I was once again reminded about how competent Prince Seir was.

We continued discussing the potential threat of the Paimon household until we heard a commotion coming from outside. We all turned to the window of the cafe and spotted a girl being chased by two questionaly looking men. She looked to be of about 17/18 and without a doubt a Devil. In fact, her demonic energy gave me the same feeling as Prince Seir’s, so she may also be nobility. The men giving chase were huge and had two horns on the sides of their heads, maybe they were some sort of ogre?

“H-Help! Somebody please HELP!”

Just then Kuro stood up and began making a run for the door.

“Kuro don’t! It’s most likely…”

But before his highness could finish his sentence, Kuro was already out the front door.

“A trap...”

“...Should we give chase my Lord?”

“Ah, no need Alice.”

“Eh? But your highness, you said that this may be a trap, we need to stop Kuro before it’s too…”

“Oho it may be a trap Shiro-chan but then again it may not be haha. Kuro has good instincts, I don’t think he’d have rushed in if he thought that it was a trap. Let’s see what happens, I don’t think there’s anyone in the vicinity that could give our Kuro any problems anyway. I’m sure you can sense that too.”

“...Yes your highness.”

“Haha, right! Who wants some desert?”