Chapter 90
The pillow was moving.
Also, is the pillow supposed to feel like it is breathing?
Come to think of it, the pillow on his bed was not a full body hug pillow, so what was going on?!
Ren ended up squeezing the behind of the pillow; it was very soft and squishy.
'Ok. This is definitely not a pillow'
As he opened his eyes, he realized he was in the same bed as Akjan, a white fox demon.
And for some strange reason she was buck naked.
'I see. So it was not pillow but Akjan, huh. I have woken up to stranger things lately, so I should not be too surprised. Though, what the heck am I squeezing here? Oooh…'
He quickly proceeded to remove his hands from Akjan's rear.
Pretending like nothing happened, he tried to stand up, but apparently he was not the only one who was cuddling here.
Akjan's grip was strong even in her sleep, Ren could not break free.
Now he ended up being squeezed face first into her bare chest.
'She is not exactly large' Ren noted.
If she tied a sash around her chest area, she could easily pa.s.s for a male demon.
But he noted that when she hugged him up close to her chest, he could hear her heartbeat.
'Oh well, she is not going to let go any time soon. Might as well take a nap'
After a few minutes, Akjan finally woke up.
"Morning" she muttered with half open eyes.
'Wow, this kind of thing became normal to me…What is wrong with my life?'
"To you as well" Ren replied.
As soon as she heard this, Akjan's eyes became wide open.
"Ren?"
"Yes"
"So it wasn't a dream after all"
"Do you mind explaining?" Ren was a little curious how he ended up here, in Akjan's room.
"I found you sleeping on the floor outside, so I took you to my room. You looked cold so… I thought to warm you up"
"I see. So you don't mind being naked around me?"
"I don't mind if it's you"
'Oh c'mon, you don't even see me as a male?' Ren thought, without realizing he was the only demon she would show this side of herself.
Ren proceeded to get up and exit Akjan's room.
"Now that was a weird morning" he muttered.
* * *
Akjin Tang sat near a lake, waiting for his honorable elder brother to show up.
Yaks were everywhere, grazing in every gra.s.s covered area.
And now, Akjin watched a gigantic rat crawling around the Yaks.
The gigantic rat was now coming in his direction.
Alarmed, Akjin picked up a stick, in hopes of defending himself with it.
As soon as the giant rat came within a meter distance of him, Akjin proceeded to hit the rat with the stick.
"Ouu-ou-ouch, Akjin, it's me!"
"Elder brother? What the h.e.l.l are you wearing?"
Ren Karatengu was dressed up in a gigantic rat costume. It looked rather ridiculous.
But from far away, it looked rather realistic.
"Like it? I asked Shaula to make it for me. A rather useful tool for sneaking away, if I dare to say so myself. Nothing unusual"
"Elder brother. That thing is the definition of unusual."
"He he he" Ren chuckled nervously.
Now the two of them started their usual routine.
Just a white fox demon and crow demon dressed in a giant rat suit, fis.h.i.+ng together.
After a while, Akjin said.
"Elder Brother?"
"Yes, Akjin?"
"Big sister likes you, you know?"
"Oh I know that" of that there was no doubt.
"Really?! But in that case why….How long have you been aware of that?"
"For a while now"
"I thought that…"
"Akjin, I am not that dense"
"That's not what I meant, elder brother!"
"I know, I know" Ren ended patting Akjin's head.
"To be completely honest with you, I don't know what she sees in me. I am just an ordinary demon, nothing more. Frankly, I am weak, dim-witted, and slow. I am not sure why she likes me…I mean, let's face it, I am kind of an idiot. Why would Akjan like an idiot demon like me?"
"What? Is that what you think of yourself, elder brother?"
"Isn't that what everyone thinks of me?"
"Definitely not!"
Now it was Ren's turn to be surprised.
"Every demon in this clan, as far as I know, admires, respects, and loves you. Especially big sister, she is head over heels for you! How can you think so badly of yourself?"
"Well… Akjin, as far as loving goes, I have loved in the past, but I have never been loved. Truth be told, I am not even sure how to respond to someone's affection."
"All my life, at least from what I remember, I have been overshadowed by others, first by my older brother, then my companions…In time I started thinking that I was not worthy of being loved…I know it sounds silly. Sorry for being such a hopeless case, little brother"
"Elder Brother, you really are hard on yourself, aren't you? Not one thing you said about yourself it true! In fact, the opposite is the case, I mean it!"
Ren chuckled a little.
Being complimented by a kid he saw as his little brother sure felt good.
"Then let me ask you this, Akjin. Would you really be ok with someone like me being your brother in law?"
"Absolutely! I can't think of anyone else but you, elder brother!"
"Aren't you a sweet talker, you!" Ren playfully rubbed Akjin's hair
"I guess I wouldn't mind having you as a little brother" Ren ended up muttering out loud.
At that statement, Akjin ended up hugging Ren, but considering he was wearing a giant rat costume, it looked a little weird.
Almost like a giant rat trying to eat a small fox.
"By the way, elder brother?"
"What is it?"
"Why are you wearing a rat costume?"
"I found out that Yaks tend to avoid rats, so I
Ren pulled out a large piece of cheese from the chest pocket area, which was designed to act like a small pouch. Ren used it to store snacks.
He thought cheese was good for his theme as a giant rat.
"Sure thing"
A fox demon and demon in a rat suit, sitting near the lake, fis.h.i.+ng, while eating large blocks of cheese.
Just the usual day for a Tengu clan.
* * *
"What's up with you? You have a rather weird expression on your face. Did you find a fly in your tea?" Sento Draco asked of his fellow Demon Lord, Korgan Karatengu.
"If only it was that easy" Master Korgan murmured.
As the two Demon Lords, they were the most powerful demons in the Tengu clan.
While Ren was the leader, he needed the support and strength to back him up, that's where Sento and Master Korgan came in.
In terms of power, Sento Draco was without a question the most powerful demon currently inside the Tengu clan territory.
Master Korgan was sure that strength-wise, Sento was not inferior to Jaulon Altyn, Master Korgan's arch-enemy.
Being trapped in a stone by a G.o.ddess stopped his aging process, so when he was freed, he was still in his early thirties.
But since he was not a Phoenix demon, Sento did not possess their phenomenal regeneration, meaning if he got hurt bad enough, Sento could get killed.
But in terms of skill and experience, Master Korgan was miles ahead of Sento.
Crow demons, unlike the other types of demons who were born strong, are not blessed with any natural advantages, which is why they spent the large bulk of their lives training and obtaining survival skills.
In fact, crow demons, without training, are even weaker than normal humans.
It is said that bad luck follows crow demons everywhere they go.
Demon-kind, in general, is not known for being luck-p.r.o.ne, but crow demons were unlucky even by demon standards.
That was why crow demons had to go through countless hards.h.i.+ps to get to where they are.
But precisely because of that, Master Korgan was able to obtain countless skills and master them to the point he could teach them to other demons.
However, Master Korgan's weakness was in his age, he was no longer in his prime and he had only one arm.
His golden days were far behind him.
But if it was him just ten years ago, even with one arm, he was confident he could have bested Sento in one on one combat.
Unfortunately, Master Korgan's arch enemy, Jaulon Altyn, did not suffer from the same setback.
Phoenix demons age much slower than other demon types, and are known for having long life-spans that sometimes lasted for several centuries.
While Jaulon was the same age as Master Korgan, his appearance was that of someone of Sento's age.
It would be another fifty years before Jaulon's feathers will start turning white from aging.
Sitting at the table, Sento Draco and Master Korgan were drinking tea.
Even with their age difference, with one being in his prime while the other was middle aged, they got along rather well, most likely because they were the only ones in this clan who were at the level of Demon Lords.
As such, they could drop the formalities and speak casually to each other as equals.
"So what's bothering ya, buddy?" Sento asked.
"Ren handed me this. He asked me to use whatever is left inside for the sake of Tengu clan"
Master Korgan showed Sento the storage ring Ren used during the Second trial of the Selection.
"So?"
"Just take a look what is inside and you will know"
Sento did just that.
In an instant, the table was covered in countless marble-like b.a.l.l.s, tools, and bottles. The bottles of mana Master Korgan gave Ren were used up and now were filled with strange liquid.
Cautiously, Sento examined one of the round b.a.l.l.s.
"Is this what I think it is?" Sento's hand trembled a little.
"Destruction Sphere, a very powerful explosive, specialty of Baris clan. Just using thirty of these spheres is enough to demolish an entire clan's territory"
"I thought only they could make it, isn't the way they are made one of Baris clan's top secrets?"
During Sento's time as Margau Kanat, more than two hundred years ago, Baris clan was infamous for their usage of Destruction Spheres; they won countless battles because of them.
Just having a Demon Lord from Baris clan gave Margau Kanat access to these spheres, but the secret to making them was never divulged.
"It is. None knows how Destruction Spheres are made except for the Baris clan that manufactured them. And since they explode after the usage, they cannot be examined for ingredients. But now…."
There were at least a hundred of those Destruction Spheres on the table, a single barrel's worth of them.
"…We might have a way of cracking the secret to their making. If our alchemists are able to ma.s.s produce this, the strength of Tengu clan would rise considerably"
"So Young Master handed you the Destruction Spheres for the sake of ma.s.s production?"
"That must be it. I can barely keep up with his way of thinking" Master Korgan admitted.
"It must be hard to have such an over-achieving grandson"
"I can't deny that. My grandson never fails to surprise me. Just look at the Yaks!"
In one fell swoop, he solved the food problem.
Now he was planning to increase the offensive strength of Tengu clan.
One problem after another, he was solving them with his brilliant strategies.
Even with his wisdom and experience, Master Korgan sometimes had hard time keeping up with his grandson's schemes.
"I see, but what is up with bottles?"
"Holy Water. I am not quite sure what he could possibly use it for, since it is only useful as poison to demons, but I will keep it just in case Ren needs it"
"Smart choice. As his father, you must be proud"
"Sento, I am his grandfather, not his father"
"But currently, you are the closest thing he has to a father, wouldn't you agree?"
Master Korgan sighed.
"Indeed. And I am quite proud of him. Watching him reminds me of my own two sons when they were young. Ren really takes a lot after Ymit, he even sleep walks just like him! Ha ha ha…"
* * *
Ren was half asleep, thinking in dream-like state.
'Whoever ends up becoming the next Demon King will be one unlucky demon…I might as well make peace with the other clans, just in case one of their leaders ends up becoming Demon King…I will just have to make sure to hide from the enemy demons during the Trials…I am just a cloud…nothing that needs to be killed….'
By nature, Ren was a complete coward.
'I gave back the storage ring grandpa lent me; I hope he is not mad that I ended up using up all the bottles of mana…'
Strangely, the bed felt warmer than usual.
'Ok, the bed is not supposed to feel this warm, so what is going on?'
Ren opened his eyes in the dark.
As soon as his sight adjusted to the nighttime, he could tell that he was sharing a bed with not one but two demons.
On his right side was his supposed fiancée, Lotus Draco, while on his left was Karli, Korkau's sister.
'Forget I asked'
Ren was not sure what to make of his situation.
'Why the h.e.l.l are these two in my bed? I am pretty sure I am in my room this time.'
While he was sleeping, Karli and Lotus both found themselves at the entrance of his door.
Explaining to each other their situations, it became clear that both were Ren's concubines.
At least that's what they thought, which is why they proceeded to enter his room and crawl into his bed.
'I should consider installing a door lock'
'Why do I feel like am in center of a harem or something? I didn't even want that!'
'Seriously, what is wrong with all the female demons I keep encountering? Are they just walking vessels full of l.u.s.t or something? Too strong… Can't break free…'
Physically, Ren was the weakest of the Tengu clan, no matter how hard he tried; he could not escape their cuddling.
'Oh well, might as well enjoy it'
Ren thought before going back to sleep.
'Door lock…definitely must install one…'