Yohan felt his face burn as he was carried away by Zane like a child. He knew that his current body was of a child but he was still an adult in mind.
And not only was Zane carrying him freely, but he was also making sure not to hide Yohan from the public eye. That caused even more people to stare at him openly.
‘Zane will pay for this. I will make sure that he-’
Yohan’s mind had gone in a direction it should not have. He was getting a little too trigger-happy when Zane finally put him down. They both looked awkwardly at each other, their height difference making it even more awkward to keep eye contact.
Finally, it was Zane who managed to break the silence.
“Y-Yohan, fancy seeing you here. Wait, you are Yohan, right? I cannot tell because you look younger and different and-”
“Zane, it’s me. I got reborn in this body once I died at the hands of that holy bastard. And I was minding my own business as well when I got sniped.”
Yohan and Zane fell quiet again after that. The disbelief on Zane’s face seemed to be melting away into relief to see Yohan alive as well.
Gears could be seen moving inside Zane’s mind before they came to rest. And he finally asked for the confirmation he had been dying to ask him ever since he had realized the truth.
“S-So Yohan, do you know the truth now? About yourself?”
Zane sounded half-nervous and half-excited to know the answer. Yohan did think of making him disappointed before giving him relief but he decided to rip the bandage off after thinking a little bit more.
There was no need for Yohan to cause trouble with Zane since Zane was a valuable ally to him. What he needed to do was to keep gathering up allies.
“I know that I am a demon and you are one as well. That was why I decided to call out to you as soon as I realized who you were in the hallway.”
“Ah, I see. So you know your identity. Good, it’s good. T-Then, what do you want to do now? Do you want to live your life as a human until you grow up? Or do you-”
“Hell no. Even if I want to spend my life as a human, that archangel bastard made it sound like he would come and kill me. What I need is to gain power. I need to train this body and get my hands on different kinds of artifacts.”
Yohan did realize that it was a foolish thing to disclose all his thoughts to another person. If Zane ended up betraying him then it would be entirely Yoham’s fault.
Not to mention, he and Zane were technically still strangers at this point in life. Yohan was handing over his secrets to an unknown person without thinking anything.
“No, forget it. I don’t think it is wise to-”
“I got it. I will help you out because you are my ki-ma-friend. Tell me whatever you need and I will make sure you will get the best of what you want.”
Surprisingly, Zane took it too seriously. His eyes were almost blazing as he looked at Yohan. He was ready to do his dirty to make their king stronger.
Not that Yohan knew anything about it. He was just surprised to see Zane behaving this seriously with him.
“Then, can you do me a favor and recommend me some trainers and guides on how to gain strength? The sooner I can begin the better.”
“I understand. Should I also get you away from the custody of these foolish humans? I have no idea why you decided to put up with them until now but I have a feeling you will end up killing them at some point. Some of these humans have the potential of being my future underlings.”
Yohan wanted to quieten Zane when he asked that question. He did not want to admit that the reason Yohan had accepted being bullied was that he did not have his memories.
It would be humiliating for Yohan and it would also break the character he was trying to set in front of Zane and the others.
“Zane, just do what you are supposed to and hurry up. The sooner I can start, the better it is for everyone involved.”
///////////////////////////////////////
It had taken two days after Yohan’s fifth birthday for him to be located in the empty Strout mansion. He had no idea how Zane had done it, but he had taken custody of Yohan from his relatives.
The only thing Zane had told Yohan was that it had taken some ‘coaxing’ to make his relatives understand that Yohan needed his space and his funds.
But Yohan was not an idiot and he knew that the so-called ‘coaxing’ had included a lot of threats and sly comments.
“We are here. Say hello to our new home.”
Zane held his hands out in a dramatic pose. He looked extremely proud to be standing in the Strout mansion. It was a funny pose that Yohan would like to make fun of but Zane was also blocking his current entry.
So, Yohan did the only thing he could think of to get Zane off his path. His tiny legs moved out to but Yohan in the ass and it made the older one lose his balance.
“Stop blocking the hallway or you will end up being kicked by someone in the future. And also, stop being dramatic. It is neither mine, nor your first time being in this palace. So stop acting so foolishly.”
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Zane smiled at his king’s words, knowing better than to take them to heart. His king spoke too harshly sometimes but he did not mean most of it.
He also gave a goofy grin from his place on the ground. It had not hurt at all when his king had hit him but Zane would not say that. He might act foolishly but Zane was not a fool.
He had already sent a message out to the watchers that had been assigned to watch over Yohan by the priestess of hell - Roweena. The blue-haired woman had wanted to come herself to check on their king’s soul but had been outnumbered.
And now, the three people who had once been ‘family’ with his king will come back to support him again once he was old enough in demon years to take charge.
“Now that we are here, what’s next? I don’t feel like the trainers are enough for me to progress at the speed I want to. I need more experience to get better.”
Yohan sounded impatient and for good reasons. The muscle mass his body was missing would come with time. But what he lacked in both this life and the previous one was an experience.
Since he had been brought up as a human, Yohan had likely never seen a hellscape or a dungeon the supernatural beasts used for training.
“Yohan, how about we head toward the dungeons first? Usually, any demon below the age of thirteen is not allowed in since they are deemed to be too young but I can pull some strings to get us inside.”
By him, Zane meant his aunt. His aunt was the one person no one would deny since she was powerful. And Zane was sure that she would not mind him using her name for such a small favor.
“A dungeon? Do those things exist? Of course, then do. I should not even be surprised at this point.”
Yohan looked like he was having a realization about something. His face was pulled up in a frown and his eyes were closed.
Zane had no idea what he was thinking but his king had pulled himself together once he opened his eyes again.
Magic and determination clashed in his eyes and it took Zane back to see that. He had not expected Yohan to be able to wield his aura at such a young stage.
“Let’s do this. Let’s go to a dungeon to train. It would be so much better than to sit back ideally and learn nothing.”
With his king’s permission, Zane was ready to trick his way through the priority list. Dungeons were neutral grounds that were not maintained by any singular faction and had tight security in place.
But Zane knew how to get around that restriction.
“Then, I will ask the people to expect us tomorrow. You should rest today and prepare yourself mentally and physically. It will be your first dungeon so things could get tough for you.”
Yohan was more than ready to face any challenge of his first dungeon.
“Yeah, let’s get it over with.”
The next day, Yohan faced his first dungeon. It was a time field of hardship but he got used to moving his body around pretty soon.
The dungeon was not overly complex or tough but it was challenging. His system helped him out a lot and by the time Yohan came out, he felt like he had grown a lot.
He spent the next eight years in and out of dungeons and keeping up with the human world. He grew strong each day and once he finally turned thirteen, it was time.
Time to begin reclaiming all Yohan had lost.