Scarlet

Actually, come to think of it, since the royal line of ascension is based on the power of the royal fae’s Guardian, shouldn’t that mean the top five Guardians should be the Demon King and the Demon Lords? And if that’s the case, why is White contracted with the third prince?

Tar doesn’t say anything for a moment, and out of the corner of my eye, I find what I’m guessing is White and her fae talking between themselves. But after a second, Tar brings my attention back to him by answering, “That’s not technically correct.”

Oh? Why?

“The top four fae royals were indeed contracted with the Demon Lords, but recently, White has surpassed the weakest of the Demon Lords in level. And at the same time, another Demon Lord has severed the contract they had with their partner, abandoning the fae royal in the process,” Tar says, sounding slightly grim in the process. “Your cousin Aria is actually contracted to that fae royal nowadays.”

My eyes widen in surprise at that.

That… explains why Aria was contracted to the fourth princess despite being less than level ten.

“She has thus lost her rank as the fourth princess since you last saw her, something that was long overdue but was delayed for unspecified reasons,” Tar says, answering my next question before I can even ask it.

Huh. And what about that Demon Lord? The one who severed their contract? I know humans don’t have any losses from losing their contract outside of losing the advising their fae gives them, along with the assistance the fae gives them in managing their System notifications. But are demons the same?

“Demons are indeed the same, so the Demon Lord didn’t lose anything in severing their contract,” Tar answers, briefly pausing as we both notice the third prince vanishing, apparently finished talking with White for now. Unless they’re just continuing whatever they were talking about in their heads. “From what I understand, the Demon Lord in question and Princess Rowena had a disagreement, so… well… her contracted partner ate their contract.”

I blink at that.

They ate it?

“Yeah,” Tar says with a nod while floating in front of me.

A contract?

“Yeah,” Tar repeats.

Wow.

“Yeah,” he repeats again for no reason.

I briefly glance down at the stadium when Black’s voice rings out, the man finally beginning to speak, “Hello everyone and welcome to another wonderful Primary tournament! I will once again be your wonderful host, Will Wright!!”

Out of the corner of my eye I can’t help but notice White stiffening up at the sound of his voice.

Interesting.

I guess the dislike Black has for White is mutual.

I glance down at Aria to find her sleeping peacefully before I look up at the tanuki again as I remember something.

You said that the top four ranks for the fae princes and princesses were normally for the Demon Lords. So where does that leave the…

My eyes widen in realization.

The Demon King is contracted to the Fae King, isn’t he?

Tar just nods his head in response.

That’s… wow.

In hindsight, it makes perfect sense. The highest ranking fae contracted with the most powerful mortal in existence. After all, who else would fit the king’s image as a contractor?

Doesn’t that make a conflict in interest though? The fae are always talking about how they’re neutral in the war.

“We are,” Tar nods before floating over and sitting on my shoulder, making me briefly wonder why everyone’s sitting on me today. “Father doesn’t make any decisions in regard to the war between the humans and the demons. All of those decisions are passed to his children in a council format so as to avoid a conflict of interest.”

That’s… not a bad way to deal with it, I suppose. And am I to assume there are other measures in place as well?

“Of course,” Tar says as Black continues introducing the teams for the Class I Team Primary tournament, starting with the team representing Lion’s Heart. A team that actually does have some familiar faces, such as Necro for example.

Actually, something I’ve never really thought to ask about, but how does the Demon King know about my existence?

“I cannot say anything on this topic,” Tar says before pausing and adding, “You may be able to get some information from White though.”

White?

I turn to look at her, finding the woman staring at me and Aria with a light smile on her lips. One that goes serious when she notices my attention.

“Tar said that I might be able to get some answers about this from you,” I start, making White blink in surprise at my words. “How does the Demon King know of my existence?”

She flinches. The White Knight of Humanity, the strongest human in existence, actually flinches.

Then again, she’s done so before. But mostly just from me saying things like I won’t forgive her and stuff. Not just from a casual question like this.

White takes a deep breath and holds it for a moment before letting it out and saying, “I can’t tell you.”

My eyes narrow, but right when I’m about to speak, she raises a hand and adds, “What I can tell you though is that he doesn’t know where you are, he doesn’t know about the prophecy, and he doesn’t have any intensions of harming you.”

I close my mouth again.

The first and second parts I didn’t know, but the third part should’ve been relatively clear to me. Considering how Tar mentioned I was given an order by the Demon King once.

“And?” I prod the woman, but she just shakes her head.

Damned fucking prophecy. Despite her insistence on ‘making up for her past wrongs’ she still insists on keeping this shit from me?

I scowl at her for a moment before focusing solely on the trickster Knight who is currently commentating up a storm in the stadium.

“If you keep this up, I might never forgive you,” I comment without even bothering to look at the woman who is still keeping things from me.

And if I had to guess, she probably flinched at those words.

I can’t help but feel what I’m assuming is anger at her words. Something that I’m not really used to, if I’m being honest.

Aria suddenly shifts in my lap, taking my mind away from the woman next to me.

Very glad she came along.