The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads

‘I drew this, didn’t I?!’

Inside the frame was a crudely drawn family portrait, drawn with crayons on a piece of paper.

Next to it, in wiggly script, were each of their names.

⟨Dad Siegfried, Dad Kirios, Dad Cesar, and myself⟩

That’s right.

I drew this picture!

Was I…… this bad at drawing? 

Anyway, that’s not the point!

“Hey, why are you hanging this up here?!” I exclaimed, glancing over at Kirios.

But all he could do was raise his eyebrows as if to ask what was wrong.

“Why?”

“Why?? Because I drew it so badly!”

Oh no, I’m so embarrassed!

As I shuffled my feet, I suddenly noticed a note taped to the bottom of the frame.

Written in Kirios’ trademark slanting cursive, it read: …….

⟨First drawing she ever made when she was five. First time writing my name!⟩

For a moment, I paused.

I couldn’t help but notice.

If Kirios, who hates all the troublesome things, even stuck on notes like that and kept it.

‘Kirios…… treasures that painting very much.’

At the same time, a voice rang out with a laugh.

“That painting, it’s my treasure.”

“…….”

“So even if you’re a little kid, I won’t let you talk about how you sucked at painting my treasure,” Kirios said sternly.

Feeling a little cringe, I averted my gaze, staring unnecessarily at the note on the wall.

“Well, but what if you leave a note like that on the wall? What if it damages the wallpaper?”

“What are you worried about? You can just replace the wallpaper afterwards.”

“……Ah, yeah.”

At Kirios’s smug reply, I stopped making a fool of myself.

Seriously, how can you be so emotionally invested in something when you’re not even trying to be?

And also.

‘Gosh, that’s some strong sticky note paper,’ I internally said to myself.

If I tried to rip that off, it would probably rip right through the wallpaper…….

‘Well, Kyrios will take care of it, won’t he?’

I turned my attention to the desk.

The desk was piled high with papers. Documents relating to the magic of the mages under his command, Kirios’s personal magical research, and the budget for the tower.

A dizzying array of papers.

But they all had one thing in common.

Without thinking, I called out to Kirios.

“You know, Dad.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you think it’s inconvenient to write notes on papers like this?”

The common factor was the underlining and notes plastered all over the papers.

Since the notes were written with a pen, there was no way to correct the typos, so the marks were clearly visible where they had been roughly drawn.

If the papers were destroyed like that, it would be difficult to manage them.

Kirios narrowed his eyes.

“Well, it can’t be helped, but we can’t just write notes and pin them to the papers, can we?”

You see, Kirios has an intense aversion to hassle.

He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d be meticulous about his paperwork…….

Looking at the mess of papers with a pitying gaze, I opened my mouth without thinking.

“Then why don’t you make it so that you can stick them on and off?”

Yes, like the Post-its…… I used to use in my previous life. You know, sticky notes.

If you can stick them on and off your papers, they’ll stay put and the underlining won’t ruin the original documents.

Wouldn’t that make it easier to keep them separate and organized?

“If you apply a weak adhesive to the notepad beforehand, you can remove it whenever you want, right?”

At my question, Kirios looked at me, strangely impressed.

“I heard you’ve been studying hard lately – so it’s true?”

“What?”

“I can’t believe she’s only ten years old, and she can already use such a difficult word as adhesive.”

Yikes.

I winced a little inwardly.

I had forgotten that I was currently ten years old. Adhesive is, after all, a rather difficult word for a child to use, isn’t it?

“Anyway, kid, you’re right. The only type of note paper that can be torn and attached is…… which means…….”

Surprise gradually spreads over Kirios’s face as he tries to make sense of the words.

As if he had just made the discovery of the century.

“Hold on.”

With that, Kirios’s mouth dropped open.

’What, what’s wrong with him?’

I questioned, watching him closely. But no matter how long I waited, he didn’t finish his sentence.

He just continued to ponder.

Impatient, I called out to him.

“Eh, Dad?”

At my unsure call, Kirios jerked awake. His dark green eyes stared blankly at me.

He looked like someone had just slapped him across the back of the head.

“Kid.”

“Ah, yes?”

Kirios’s voice was so serious, I felt a little nervous. 

But after setting the tone like that.

“You must be taking after me after all.”

……What was this out of the blue?

Whether I was dumbfounded or not, he continued solemnly.

“Otherwise, you wouldn’t be such a genius, would you?”

Huh?

I doubted my ears.

But Kirios didn’t bother to explain, he just began snapping.

Snap!

Kirios snapped his fingers, and the desk drawer slid open of its own accord.

Amidst the jumble of inkwells, pens, and other items, a bell slipped out and sailed through the air.

Ding, ding, ding.

A clear bell rang out.

As I stared at the sequence of events, I asked, “Why is that bell ringing?”

“To call Melvin.”

……The bell kept ringing in Kirios’s room, leaving out the question of how anyone named Melvin could hear it.

“Who’s Melvin?” I asked, and Kirios was quick to explain.

“He specializes in patents. Apparently, the Magic Tower has a lot of patents for magic tools.”

“I see…… But why are you calling him?”

“Because, of course, we can’t let this great idea go to waste, right?”

I suddenly understood the scattered conversation.

Apparently, Kirios liked my idea for sticky notes so much that he wanted to patent it.

‘No, shouldn’t you be explaining that to me in the first place?’

I glanced disgruntledly at him.

‘Come to think of it, it’s very rare for him to be so motivated.’

I felt a little better. At least he seemed to have a pretty positive opinion of sticky notes.

But after waiting for a while, the wizard named Melvin never showed up.

“…….”

“…….”

Just an awkward silence.

“Why isn’t he here?!” Kirios, who had been tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk, jumped to his feet. “I cannot wait, let’s go!”

“What? Where are we going?” I said with a stagger.

“Where do you think we are going? We have to meet that guy, Melvin!” Kirios replied, scooping me up in his arms and opening the door.

Bam!

A long corridor opened up beyond the doorway. It was lined with doorways of all sizes and shapes. Round, triangular, sliding doors, and more…….

The usual rectangular doorways were rather rare.

‘Everything else aside, why on earth are there doors on the ceiling?’

I was at a loss for words at the esoteric structure of the corridor.

At the same time,

Boom!!!

The sound of a loud explosion rang out.

Apparently, the rumors of periodic explosions in the magic tower were not a lie…….

At the same time, a mage ran out of the room in a panic.

“Eek!”

The wizard, who had hastily locked the door behind him, glanced nervously at the closed door.

“Damn it, why did it fail? Let’s start by double-checking the formula…….”

“Hey, Melvin.”

“…….”

For a moment, the wizard’s shoulders stiffened, then he turned with a squeak.

Kirios tilted his head sharply, asking, “What are you doing here?”

“Ma, ma, Master of the Magic Tower?!” Melvin, the mage, stuttered in surprise.

He looked as if he’d seen a ghost, and I felt sorry for him.

“Did you blow something up again?”

“No, I mean, I’m……!”

Melvin tried desperately to excuse himself, but sadly, smoke was drifting out of the closed doorway…….

“Tsk,” Kirios clicked his tongue and snapped his fingers once more.

Poof!

At the same time, the smoke that had been flowing through the crack instantly stopped.

Kirios gestured to the door with his chin.

“Open the door.”

“…….”

Melvin broke out in a cold sweat and opened the door.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦