Sequencee was in the study humming to himself as he flipped through the pages of the various grimoires scattered across the table. He would every so often call one of the elemental beads over to tamper with it. A repeated process of trial and error to polish his methods to a refined efficiency.

‘I wonder where my mom got all these books.’

A spell capable of turning an entire piece of land into a world of ice, another which could cause a lava earthquake to spread apart the earth for miles, or even a spell to turn sentient creatures into brainless slaves loyal to your every command. Spells simply inconceivable for any human to come up with.

Yet there were hundreds of these guides simply lying around in the manor’s library. It was inevitable Sequencee would’ve found it suspicious. It still remains a mystery who it was that came up with this sorcery.

Sequencee took one of the more leveled ice spells and tried to incorporate it into the glacier elemental bead.

Each bead was a composition of trace amounts of mana compressed to its utmost. Seqeuncee took it one step further by compressing multiple small scale spells into it, likened to practicing how to make a house that was a hundred times smaller than the actual scale.

The dark blue bead started to distort, cold air swept through the room causing the papers to fly. Sequencee’s expression contorted as the other beads around him flickered out. He focused his mind to stabilize this single element.

When the bead stopped trembling, perspiration covered his forehead.

“A mini blizzard in bead. Nice,’ Sequencee pumped his fist. He had found a way to practice large scale spells despite the lack of a necessary field to do so.

Hurried footsteps resounded outside as chattering of the maids were faintly heard.

Curious, Sequencee regressed the blizzard bead back into its simple glacier elemental form before rising from his chair.

With illusion magic, he hid all traces of magic and his horns before he stepped out of the room. When he came down the stairs, he saw his mother, Anna in her mercenary outfit. She had just returned from some secret journey.

“Mom!”

“Welcome back dear.”

Sequencee rushed up to her and gave her a big hug.

“Hm? Who’s that?” Sequencee tilted his head.

Ten steps behind Anna was a girl with long auburn hair clipped with a black pin ornament of a bat wing. Her body was rigid, tense; her cheeks and pointy ears were rosy, complemented by her crimson eyes, it gave her an adorable yet bewitching countenance. She was wearing a unique foreign dress, also black. The maid and butlers were charmed by her cuteness, humming away in a good mood.

“That? Come here and introduce yourself. Don’t worry, he won’t bite.”

“U-Uh.. Schwii Arch, nice to meet you!” the girl curtsied.

‘Schwii Arch?’

“Schwii, didn’t I say to be careful?” Anna warned.

“Ah sorry. Schwii Archnne…”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sequencee.”

‘So cute. Who is she?’

“Mom, who is she?” Sequencee asked again, tugging on her sleeves.

“You see, a friend of mine is going to be busy for the next few week, so she asked if I could take care of her daughter.”

‘Did mom have a friend like that?’ Sequencee’s gaze shifted between her mom and Schwii a couple times.

This began the first meeting between Sequencee, 5 years old, and Schwii, 6 years old.

Ever since then, Anna would bring Schwii to the manor every year for the duration of approximately two weeks with the same excuse, saying her mom is ‘busy’.

During her time here, it was almost guaranteed that every time you search for one, you’d find the other. They were always doing something together. Be it in the study, playing around in the garden or some other place; today they were frolicking about in the backyard.

Blue flame hovering around Sequencee like wisps, he twirled his fingers like a conductor, commanding each flame to form a line before him.

“Wow, so pretty,” Schwii leaned it to stare at the beautiful blue twirls that would form at the fringes. She brought her hands close but didn’t feel any heat, what she felt instead was a biting cold.

“It’s cool isn’t it?

“Why is it cold?” Schwii tilted her head.

“Ah, don’t put your fingers–”

Against his advice, she poked her finger into the blue flame and quickly retracted. A layer of white frost could be seen at the tip of her skin.

“See, it’s dangerous,” Sequencee said with both his arms to his hips.

“You don’t need to tell me that. Hmph,” she looked away.

“Hey..”

Sequencee spent the rest of the afternoon trying to placate her. Soon the sun began to fall, evening colours painted the sky.

“Want to see my magic?” Just as they were about to leave for the manor, Schwii asked.

“Sure. What kind of magic do you normally use?” Sequencee who didn’t know any better couldn’t help but be curious.

Schwii got up from the ground and patted her dress clean. She twirled around, her dress spread open like a blooming lily, her hair swirled in the wind. For a moment Sequencee fell into a daze, until he saw two tiny horns on her head, black wings that grew out from her lower flank and a devil’s tail.

“How do I look?” Her eyes sparkled in a dangerous light as her lips curled up into a bright smile.

Sequencee had his breath taken away, ensnared by the adorable figure of this 11 year old child. He couldn’t move, couldn’t think. He felt that the only thing left in his world was her. It was an unusual feeling.

‘She is a succubus..’

“Don’t tell Auntie Anna I showed you this okay?” Schwii lightly placed her fingers on her lips as she hid her true form.

It was since then that Sequencee felt this sort of camaraderie with her, as the only other demon friend he had in his life.

“Schwii, what kind of person is your mother?”

One time when Sequencee was 11 years old, he finally thought to ask something that had been bugging him for a while. If he was a half demon and she was a succubus, doesn't that mean their parents were high demons?

“My mother? She’s a super strong person, and an S– I mean! She’s very beautiful too!” Schwii’s sweet voice cracked.

“What is an S?”

“N-Nothing! It’s sweet! Sweet!”

‘What? S? Sweet? Why is she blushing?’

Sequencee thought to not pay mind to it.

“How about your father?”

“My father is a popular man.”

“Popular?”

“Un. He’s always with other women. I don’t like seeing how my mom has to beg for his attention,” a cute frown surfaced on her face. Sequencee’s heartstring was tugged at the sight.

“O-Okay..”

“How about you? What kind of person is your father?” Schwii asked, leaning in. Sequencee flinched.

“My father…”

What should he say? That he didn’t know?

“I heard from Auntie Anna that your father is a demon too?”

“Yeah.. but I don’t think I’ve ever met my father..”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t know,” Sequencee tightened his lips.

An unusual emotion of pity surfaced from the depths of her heart. Schwii fell deep into thought.

“We’re both the same then,” after a while, Schwii said.

“Same?”

“It’s always the mom who takes care of us. It’s unfair isn’t it? How the dads always go out and flirt with other women.”

‘She sure knows her stuff for a 12 year old. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I don’t think I would've understood what she meant.’

Since he was 10, Sequencee would go on long adventures with his mother, normally lasting months at a time. And from those adventures, he got to learn a lot about the world. Culture, emotions, human relations and various issues around the world which helped in expanding his understanding. He recalled vividly one of the missions his mom had to undertake. During his stay at a noble’s home, he saw the harsh reality of what it means to be the woman of a husband with many wives.

“Don’t you feel the same way?” Schwii leaned in even closer.

“U-Uh.. yeah..”

“I don’t want that. Isn’t it hard to see your mother having to take care of you all alone?” her bewitching eyes sparkled, drawing Sequencee in.

‘I don’t know about that.. I’ve never known my father so I don’t know what it’s like to have one..’

“Sequencee, is it alright if I marry you?”

“H-Huh? Marry?”

‘Isn’t this something only adults do?’

“But promise me I’ll be your only one.”

Sequencee stared at her blankly for a couple seconds.

“No?” a hint of disappointment could be heard from her voice.

“What does it mean to marry someone?” Sequencee asked.

“You don’t know?” Schwii titled her head.

“Isn’t it a bad thing?”

For an 11 year old who hasn’t yet come to be exposed to the feelings of love, he didn’t have a good opinion of marrying someone. The general idea he had was that you would stay with someone your whole life, have kids, and then suffer. Sometimes the decision of tying the knot wasn't even up to you.

“Bad thing? Where did you get that idea?” Schwii looked at him as if he were a frog.

“I’m I wrong then? People that marry are unhappy people, aren’t they? I don’t get why people would even do that.”

“Heeh.. you have such weird thinking. Oh well. Then shall I give you a taste?”

Schwii licked her lips as her eyes curved into a smile, Sequencee felt a shudder up his spine.

Schwii got off her seat and into Sequencee’s, she sat on his thigh. The sweet smell of her supple skin made his senses go silly, the carasses of her hands on his chest numbed his mind. She brought her face up to his, and with her currently larger stature, she overwhelmed him.

“People that get married can do naughty things every day. Do you want to try?” she whispered seductively.

“WWaH!?”

“Ah?!”

Sequencee reflexively jumped off the chair to escape. Alas, both of them fell on each other.

“Geh..”

“Oww…”

“Hikh?!”

“U-Uh!?”

Suddenly their positions were reversed, Sequencee was now on top of her. Her cheeks burn in embarrassment as a dark desire sprung forth from the depth of her heart. As a young succubus, there was nothing more enticing than an ‘accident’. She was paralyzed by the proximity of their bodies, she could feel the thumping of his heart untied with her’s.

Her breath grew hot, her vision hazy.

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Schwi– nm?!”

And took his tasty lips.