The Daily Life of the Demon King

Chapter 140 - 140: Hanako Arasaka's Shock

After Alex sent the girls home and headed to Hanako, they immediately shared all the news with Gloria, especially about Rebecca's behavior. She had somehow managed to steal a powerful bomb from Alex's desk and caused a small explosion. Upon hearing this, Gloria looked at Rebecca in a way that made her immediately shrink into the chair, avoiding her gaze. After all, Gloria was always considered the most responsible one in their group. She continued to look at Rebecca expectantly, waiting for an explanation.

«Is there anything you'd like to explain, Rebecca?» Gloria asked in a calm but firm tone.

Rebecca flinched at her words and tried to hide her embarrassment. Normally, she could act confident, but under this gaze, she felt like a child caught misbehaving.

«I didn't know the bomb would go off that strongly,» Rebecca mumbled, looking away.

Raising an eyebrow, Gloria clearly didn't believe a word. This wasn't the first time Rebecca had swiped something from Alex's desk, and he usually managed to stop her before she could use any dangerous items.

«And wasn't that enough for you? Like last time, when you almost demolished the building with that massive gun Alex made?» Gloria continued with the same calmness.

Rebecca guiltily turned away. She couldn't help herself; her nature constantly drew her toward destructive devices and powerful weapons. Gloria simply sighed heavily, deciding to hold back further reprimands—Alex had promised to talk to Rebecca personally. But Gloria already knew how that would go: Alex would scold her a bit, then forgive her, as always. She also noticed that Alex and GIR were still not home.

«Where did Alex and GIR go?» Gloria asked, glancing around.

«He said they'd be a little late—they had some things to take care of,» replied Kiwi, already dressed in her home clothes.

Gloria nodded and returned to watching TV until a news report about an explosion at one of the warehouses appeared on the screen. The scene was impressive—the explosion had been powerful, and once again, she shot a stern look at Rebecca, who was, however, watching the news with shining eyes, like a child seeing something incredibly exciting. Sensing Gloria's gaze, Rebecca immediately shrank back into the chair. But as soon as Gloria looked away, Rebecca resumed watching with the same wide smile.

Just then, Lucy returned from the kitchen carrying three cups of coffee. She placed one in front of Gloria and one in front of Kiwi, who nodded in gratitude. Lucy also noticed Rebecca's reaction to the news and smiled, shaking her head—she, like Gloria, knew well that Alex wouldn't really punish Rebecca harshly for her antics.

The girls decided to relax and wait for Alex to return to find out what he'd been up to after clearing out the warehouse. Suddenly, shuffling footsteps sounded from upstairs, and all eyes turned toward Valerie, who was coming down in shorts and a cropped T-shirt, lazily dragging her feet like an elderly person.

Gloria rolled her eyes yet again at the sight of such attire, reminding herself that she was tired of explaining to Valerie that she shouldn't dress like that, especially since there was a man living in the house. But Valerie would always respond that Alex was like an older brother to her, and there was nothing wrong with it.

Ignoring Valerie, the girls returned to watching TV as she slowly made her way to the kitchen for a late-night snack. Her sleep schedule was like Schrödinger's paradox—it was as if it existed, and yet, somehow, it didn't.

When Valerie disappeared into the kitchen, the girls continued watching the news, where there was talk about the increasing number of cyberpsychos, which grew every day. At first, they thought cyberpsychosis was only caused by cyber implants, but later they learned that it was actually due to the Mechanized Man, who had spread these technologies to expand his influence and control over the world.

His true goal was to enslave humanity, or rather, to watch people destroy each other in the struggle for resources and territory. Alex had already explained why the Mechanized Man was doing this, inciting wars between people.

They were also curious about what Alex planned to do next and how he intended to fight the Mechanized Man. All they knew was that he wanted to trap him in another dimension to prevent him from returning to the digital world. The only dimension that came to Lucy's mind was the mirror dimension, where Alex had taken them when they first learned his true identity.

But this was just speculation. Since his return from the moon, Alex had been constantly locked up in his workshop, creating something, only coming out to grab a bite or complete a job. But ever since GIR mastered the ability to arrange «accidents,» even this wasn't strictly necessary for him.

Lucy smirked, recalling video clips where GIR proudly displayed his «accidents» to the others. Rebecca and Pilar were especially fond of these clips—they were GIR's biggest fans. However, when someone tried to stop him from carrying on, GIR was visibly upset and spent the entire day moping, staring gloomily at the ceiling from his spot on his cushion.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Lucy returned to watching the news, which showed the same updates every day. Soon, a TV series started that everyone in the house watched—except for Rebecca and Alex, who preferred horror movies. Hearing the series' intro, Valerie, who was eating breakfast in the kitchen, rushed into the living room with a bowl of cereal.

Seeing yet another «silly» show, Rebecca sprawled in her chair and pulled out her tablet to

Alex ignored their laughter and called for Chastifol, on which GIR was already lying. Feeling himself being pushed off the pillow, GIR complained and started grumbling, claiming the pillow belonged to him. Alex just smirked and placed Hanako on the pillow so she could recover.

«What?» he asked, looking at the girls with his childlike voice, tilting his head to the side.

«Nothing,» they replied in unison, shaking their heads.

Alex shrugged and turned his attention back to Hanako, who was peacefully lying on the pillow. Nearby, GIR sat glumly, eyeing the «intruder» on his territory with dissatisfaction. Suddenly, a lightbulb flashed above his head—a real one, which no longer surprised anyone in the house. GIR settled down next to Hanako, getting comfortable as if she wasn't an issue.

Shaking his head, Alex walked over to the couch, waiting for Hanako to regain consciousness. He noticed that all the spots were occupied by the girls, and after thinking for a moment about where to sit, he decided to join Kiwi, who was sitting in a chair. He jumped onto her lap and settled down, resting his head on her chest, which greatly surprised her.

«Why don't you return to your usual form?» Kiwi asked, looking at him.

Alex lifted his head and looked at Kiwi, pondering her question. After all, he had transformed into a child just to prove to Hanako that he was no ordinary human. But the situation had turned out poorly, and Hanako had fainted.

«Yeah, I haven't used this form in a while, so I just want to stay in it for a bit,» he replied, gesturing with his hands. «The last time I used it was to show the girls some magic and other things.»

Kiwi nodded, intrigued by why else Alex would adopt the form of a child. Hearing her question, he smirked and began to tell her how, in this form, he had trained the girls of his family and walked around the city. He even shared how several times he was mistaken for his own son—child of Alex and one of his acquaintances, Ais.

When Rebecca heard this, she laughed again and curiously started asking for more details. Alex continued, explaining that once, he was nearly kidnapped for blackmail... but they were after him. His trusty staff came to the rescue, with which he had «taught» many idiots.

«What else can your magic do, aside from all the dangerous spells you've mentioned?» Kiwi asked with interest.

Alex paused, touching his chin. His magic truly could create unimaginable things, even planets and galaxies, but he still needed to «grow» to make that possible. His body and soul adapted too quickly to the destructive power, so he had to impose restrictions on himself.

Deciding to entertain Kiwi a bit, Alex, using the magic Lili used to escape Soma's family, transformed—cat ears appeared on his head, and a cat tail materialized behind him.

«Well, now I'm a kitty, nya!» Alex said, striking a cute cat-like pose.

Seeing him in this form, the girls' eyes widened in surprise. Lucy quickly covered her nose to hide a thin stream of blood, while Valerie and Rebecca gazed at him with shining eyes, looking at him in adoration. Gloria's maternal instinct kicked in, and she barely restrained herself from pulling him into a hug. Kiwi, sitting closest to him, wasn't indifferent either. She reached out and gently touched Alex's cat ears.

«Are they real?» she asked, lightly stroking the ears.

Alex flinched sensitively and, twitching his ears, tried to pull away from her touch. The sensations from the contact with his ears and tail made him feel strange.

«Yes, they're real! And stop touching them—it's a weird feeling,» he said, moving away from her hands.

But the girls' looks indicated they wanted to touch him more. Alex immediately became alert, remembering that when he used this combination of appearance in the Danmachi world, the local girls had started a full-on competition to be his mother. He shuddered, hoping the same wouldn't happen here. Just then, a weak groan was heard—Hanako was beginning to come to.

She opened her eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Memories flooded her: her bodyguard, who turned into a monster, her rescue, the savior's confession that he was a demon… and then his transformation into a child right before her eyes. Shaking her head, she looked around and noticed the child with cat ears and a tail sitting on Kiwi's lap, waving at her.

«Hey, I see you're awake,» Alex said with a smile.

A short-circuit happened in her mind, and she almost fainted again. Trying to make sense of the situation, Hanako slowly slid off the floating green pillow she had just noticed. Hearing the soft click of her heels on the floor, she took a deep breath to gather her thoughts. She walked up to Alex and, standing in front of him, looked at him carefully.

Finally collecting her thoughts, Hanako asked the first question that came to her mind:

«Are you a demon-nekomata?» she asked suspiciously, towering over him.

Alex waited for Hanako's answer, but her words made him laugh—she thought he was a demon-nekomata. Hanako blushed, seeing how much he enjoyed her guess.

«Well, that's definitely something new. No, I'm not a nekomata. If you noticed, I only have one tail,» Alex pointed to his tail with a smile. «These ears and tail are made with magic.»

Hanako, taking a closer look, saw that the tail was indeed only one. But when she first noticed his cat ears and tail, her first thought was that he was a nekomata. The girls became curious about what nekomata were and why Hanako had called Alex that.

«What are nekom... whatever?» Rebecca asked, stumbling slightly over the word.

Hanako, hearing the question, averted her gaze from Alex and explained:

«It's 'nekomata,' not 'neko something.' A nekomata is a spirit of a cat from Japanese folklore and legends. They were once ordinary cats, and then became spirits. Nekomata can be either protectors of the home or vengeful demons if they've suffered at the hands of humans. They usually have two tails, but as they grow older, they develop more tails and become stronger.»

«So, it's just a cat with multiple tails,» Rebecca summarized, not delving into the details.

«Well, in a sense,» Hanako replied with a smile.

She then turned back to Alex with a more serious expression on her face, clearly waiting for an answer to the main question.

«If you're not a nekomata, then who or what are you really?» she asked, staring at him intently.

Alex's smile grew wider, as if he was anticipating how shocked Hanako would be. He braced himself in case she fainted again.

«Let me introduce myself properly,» he said, placing his feet on Kiwi's lap to be at eye level with Hanako. He removed his cat ears, adding seriousness to the moment. «My name is Alexander Voldigoad. I am the Demon King from another world and the first demon created by God. Pleased to meet you, Miss Hanako Arasaka,» he said with a slight bow.

Upon hearing his words, Hanako couldn't hold back a shudder, realizing who Alex truly was. All of this stirred a storm of emotions and thoughts inside her.

«W-Wait, by which God do you mean? Do you mean that God, with a capital 'G'?» she stammered, trying to collect herself.

«Exactly. My father is the God who created everything,» Alex replied calmly, settling back on Kiwi's lap and laying his head on her chest.

Hanako stared at him with her mouth agape, not knowing what to say. Turning to look at the other girls' reactions, she noticed that they had accepted the information calmly, and only a few of them were quietly laughing at her reaction, which irritated her.

Soon, she realized that they were already aware of Alex's true identity. What surprised her the most was that he, the son of God himself, acted so casually and hadn't used magic to fight her bodyguard Oda, even though he was physically much stronger than an ordinary human.

Now she was beginning to understand where his power came from, but many questions still remained. Most of all, she was concerned about what had happened to Oda and whose terrifying voice had called itself a god.

To be continued...