Child Rearing Hero and Children of the Demon King

The children heard a voice.

“Now, you who will become the new Demon King… conquer this world and trample the people to fulfill your own desires!!”

“What does trample mean?”

“It means to continuously step on them. I want you to step on people. Iric, how about you step on me?”

“Eh~ that’s gross, no way. How about you, Ilya?”

“I also find it disgusting, so that is a no for me. Let’s ignore her.”

“Alright, let’s do that!”

That was all the reaction the strange voice got from the children.

———

Looking at Pochi’s state in the courtyard, he was baring his fangs. He had a large mouth filled with sharp fangs, but he was not scary at all. It must be because of the fancy collar with a floral pattern.

“You bastard, how long do you plan on handling me as a pet?”

“I have not done anything, right? That collar was the children’s work. Isn’t it cute, though?”

“This collar with strange functions was given to Prince and Princess by that lass though! You bastard!!”

Aura who is talented in making magic tools must have attached some functions to the collar. It has various effects when attacking a human. When I asked for clarification of “various” they are apparently “various” to an extent. Although Aura was smiling, her smile was telling a greatly turbulent story. She was a bit scary, so I restrained myself from asking further.
She must have been accumulating stress. I don’t know the reason, but it’s probably because of research or something.

“If you do not want the collar, you could disappear somewhere far away, Pochi.”

“Yeah. You are going to turn Nii~chan yellow with age.”

The twins clung to both of my sides.
“No! I have no dissatisfaction with something Prince and Princess bestowed upon me!! My emotions have reached the pinnacle from your grace…! It’s just this strange magic the lass attached to the collar that’s unappetizing!”

Pochi ground his teeth. He apparently likes the collar itself. Does he not notice that by gifting him the collar, the twins are treating him like a pet?

“Ah~ but well, this is the royal castle, you see? There are quite a lot of important people here. They know that you are a monster too. You have to declare that you are docile, no? Aura has worked hard because of that, so don’t oppose it too much.”

I smiled with my fists grasped.

“You don’t want to get exterminated, right?”

“… You fiendish Hero…”

Now then, what are we going to do today? Pochi is lively as always, the twins are clinging to me as usual. Aura is working at the royal castle’s research institution to study. Although she learned only by observation, her ability to seal magical power into tools is outrageously good, so she was apparently seriously invited to work for them. I know of Aura’s skill firsthand, so I don’t find it strange at all.
Her dream is becoming a Sage, but she will become a Sealing Magician at this rate.

“Nii~chan, Nii~chan, let’s play.”

Iric invited me to play. Fundamentally, I have no work at the royal castle. I was questioned about this and that in regards with the Demon King at first, but since we are waiting for the results of the investigation now, I only continue tempering myself and playing with the children. Occasionally, I get invited for a spar with wooden weapons by the castle’s soldiers, talk with my ex-coworkers, and help here and there with the little things.

I am also escaping from the mature beauty, running away from the Princess and keep His Majesty company.

“N? What do you want to play?”

“A game of tag.”

“Iric, if it is playing tag, then we can do that.”

Saying that, Ilya clung to my arm.

“The Princess is coming.”

“”Geh.””

As Ilya pointed out, both Iric and I groaned. A presence was certainly approaching. I cannot confirm whether it’s really the Princess or not, but if Ilya is saying so, then it’s definitely her. Recently, Ilya’s perception powers have increased. The children are frequently being chased after by the mature beauty and the Princess, so it came along with the physical ability.

“Let’s run away, Onii~san.”

“Run, Nii~chan!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

Generally, it’s peaceful—so far.