53 Matters about the Demon Realm and Anikia.

We arrived at the Weskin Mansion sometime later.

The thing that Vejetar said, about the possibility that I could be Gelda's Daughter still lingers in my head, Enough to make me want to immediately go and meet the Elder Dragons.

But I can't do that right now. I have to do something about Anikia's Situation. She has entrusted me with the fate of her people. I can't just abandon that duty and go wherever I want. I need to solve the pending issue first.

We approach the Weskin Mansion's garden and slowly descend. Caryl and Lucy must have heard us arrive so they came out to greet us. Behind them was a trail of Maids and Butlers.

"Welcome Back, Great Velkra." Says Caryl.

"Welcome back, Velkra-Nee!" Lucy clings to me as I arrive.

"I'm back, Lucy."

I look at Caryl and see that her belly might have gotten slightly bigger. What if the time comes even earlier? That's gonna be a rare phenomenon.

"How are you, Caryl?" I ask.

"I am mostly fine. But having a big belly can pose many problems. I can't walk with ease." She says.

Well, that much is expected in this situation. Taking care of yourself is the best way to go about it. I'm sure Albart is taking good care of her.

"Be careful when you do walk, Okay?" I say.

"I know, Great Velkra." She says

This is kinda cute… I can see Anikia eyeing Lucy behind me. You should come out and say hello Anikia…

I turn back my gaze to meet hers and gently gesture for Anikia to come out. After some hesitation, she reluctantly steps in front.

"Ahem, Let me formally introduce someone," I say as I try to gain their interest.

At that, everyone's attention fell on me and the little girl in front. I put both of my hands on Anikia's shoulders and say,

"This is Anikia. My daughter." I say.

The atmosphere goes silent for a while. The Maids and The Butlers look at each other with lit-up faces and emit an aura of great excitement. Then Caryl's eyes shoot open and she paces to me.

"Great Velkra, Are you saying that this beauty is our Princess?!" she asks.

"That would be true, and be careful when you walk. You might trip." I say.

"Oh My! People! Go ahead and prepare a celebration and a feast! We have a new member in our family!" she says turning to the Servants behind her.

"Wait! Not now, Caryl. We need to talk about some stuff before that." I say.

Caryl freezes in her steps and slowly turns around, her face a bit red.

"What is it? Why are you red all of a sudden?" I ask.

"Does this mean… You have a husband now….? Is her father a demon…? Did you marry already…?" she says in a confused voice.

God! I didn't marry anyone! Why does everyone think of that?

"No I haven't married anyone," I say with a wave of my hand.

"Then does that mean… a secret… child…?" she says.

That's worse! Even marriage is better than that one!

"NO! I adopted her!" I say removing my hands from Anikia's shoulders.

Then she looks at Anikia for a second,

"I thought something was strange, But to think that you would adopt someone…" she says.

"And yeah, one more thing. She's the Demon Lord." I say.

Once again, everyone goes silent and they look at me with a dumbfounded expressions.

"What?!" she says.

"Calm down, Caryl. It's not that big of a deal. She will explain in detail once we get inside, right Great Velkra?" says Albart coming up to us.

"But Albart…" she says.

"Do you not believe in Great Velkra?" he says as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Okay. I know it's not that big of a deal for Great Velkra. But it's a great thing for us…" she says.

If I'm correct, Demons are the enemies of mankind. But that isn't true in her case. Yes, they did attack humans but it was out of pure desperation. Even when Anikia's Father tried to work with humans, The Brinis didn't help him. That is what I hear from Anikia. She's about 700 years old and Those things invaded their realm when she was 91 or something. That's my own approximate calculation from what I heard from Youlias and Anikia.

What is that..?

I look down and see Lucy tugging on my clothes.

"Um… Velkra-Nee… Does that mean I'm her Aunt…?" asks Lucy in a low voice with her eyes on me.

"That would be the case," I say and pat her head along with Anikia.

"It's nice to meet you!" she says and holds Anikia's hands.

"I-It's nice to meet you too." Says Anikia.

"Now be good okay? Be sure to be nice to each other. You two don't have to be careful because you're nearly the same age." I say.

"But Mom…" says Anikia as she looks at me with worried eyes.

"Am I not the older one…?" she says.

That much is true but if you compare both of them, you might see a slight difference. It's just that Anikia has more experience. Aside from that, they're both kids.

"Then that makes you older than me too…" I say.

"But! I don't want to be…" she says.

"Now look at her and yourself. Can you spot the difference between yourself and her? You've lived more because you're from a different race. You're a kid when compared to demons, aren't you? So that makes you the same age relatively…" I say.

"I don't quite understand but… I do know that I am a kid in The Demon Realm…" she says.

"That's what I'm saying. If Lucy was a Demon and would she had lived like you, she would be the same as now. You'd be the same age. Maybe I can't explain it well…" I say.

"I do understand now. Thank you, Mom." She says.

"Thank you?" I ask.

"No- I'm sorry- No! I love you…" she says.

"That's better."

Lucy grabs Anikia's hand tightly with great emotion,

"Come on, Anikia! Let's go play!" says Lucy with excitement.

Anikia looks up at me with eyes wanting to get permission.

"Can I go…?" asks Anikia.

She doesn't even need to ask that.

"Of course. This is your home too." I say.

"Yay!" Lucy says and drags Anikia to god knows where.

Now…

"Vejetar, you should cheer up, you know?" I say.

He's been down ever since what he said that back there. I'm sure that it is probably connected but he shouldn't be down like this in front of everyone. It'll just make them feel anxious. I can see that Caryl and Albart are tensing up from his aura.

"Ah… I'm sorry. Cheer up you say! There! I'm cheerful again!" he says as he stretches.

He looks around and smiles at everyone present. Several of the Maids went running after Anikia and Lucy with excitement, just to make sure they don't hurt themselves. Not that they would get hurt though.

"I never got to say it, but congratulations on having a Daughter. She's very cute." He says.

At that, everyone comes up close,

"Congratulation, Great Velkra." Says Albart along with Willis and Zanim.

Willis especially looks more excited. I think I heard that Willis seemed to love children.

"You have great people under you, Velkra. I know that I don't need to say this and it isn't my place to say so, but I'll say this as your brother. Do take care of them. Even I would want people like them." He says.

"You're right about not needing to say that but It's much better if you say it," I say.

I look at everyone now and they smile back at me.

"Now, shall we go inside and talk? I think you all have many questions." I say.

"Certainly, Great Velkra. Willis, Lead the way will you?" says Albart.

"Understood." He says and starts walking, leading us to a place where we can sit and talk.

Once we arrive at a room with a place to sit, everyone waits for me to sit down. I do so and they take their seats too. This is like a conference room. It must be used for meetings with important nobles and planning. An oval-shaped table lies in between and chairs surround it.

I sit down on the chair meant for the family head.

"Now that we are here, let's talk about what I saw and experienced in the Demon Realm," I say.

Vejetar is sitting on the first seat to my left while Albart is sitting on the right. Caryl is on his side and everyone else sits at their seats. Willis is standing beside me.

"I can tell you about it in several words, Horrible and Destroyed, that is what the Demon Realm is." I say.

Everyone looks at each other with troubled faces at my remark.

"Do you mean in terms of people or… the Realm itself?" says Albart.

"Have you guys ever heard of Mutation due to excess mana?" I ask.

"Yup. It happens when there is too much mana in the atmosphere or in any object or body. The Mana Storms take place because of that." Says Vejetar.

"Thanks, Vejetar. Now, their world is oversaturated with Mana. That is what destroyed it." I say.

"Their world is Oversaturated? Is that even possible? Nature always balances the amount of mana in the atmosphere…" says Zanim.

"It didn't happen naturally, No. It happened artificially." I say.

Zanim looks at me with a confused expression.

"Artificially? Do you mean to say that someone caused that?" he says.

"Exactly. Anikia told me that their world was invaded. Invaded by a much more powerful species. I've fought one of their monsters left behind by them. And yes, if they were to come here, all life will be eradicated." I say.

"Invaded… But what does it have to do with the Demons attacking?" says Vejetar.

"It is equally connected. The demons needed help. If I'm correct, Anikia's Father tried to make friendly contact with humans before." I say.

"But they never reached out like that. They attacked us." Says Albart.

"That is what they made it look like. The one her father came in contact with was The Brinis." I say.

"The Brinis? Why would they? Brinis is the worst option… they discriminate against other races…" says Caryl.

"Exactly. The Demons were made to look like villains. It's pretty clear that no one would go against it if the hero declared them enemies of mankind. And it wasn't even the current hero. It was someone else. I think Brinis is bad news." I say.

"That is true. I do not like that Kingdom." Says Vejetar.

"After reaching out, the demons must have been turned down. After that, Anikia's Father died in the invasion and she was left alone. All alone. Her mother died too. She was the one who held the demons together after the invasion." I say.

"What…?" says Vejetar.

"When she saw that her people were dying, she decided to invade, but she couldn't since they were so weakened. That is when many of her people died over years. Either it be in a war against the hero or dying in the Demon Realm." I say.

"To think that…" says Albart.

"Do you guys understand now? Demons, Anikia. They were never meant to be enemies. Anikia is a little girl you know? How do you think she managed to live without her parents all these years?" I say.

"I… Can not imagine." Says Caryl.

"She even got sick. She was sick from overexposure and oversaturation of mana. She was about to die when I met her. That is when I took all her illness upon me. I was knocked out for a bit but I recovered. If I wouldn't have done that, she would be gone. She was broken too. she needed someone. So she asked me if I could be her mother. I accepted." I say.

"So that is what happened…. The unpleasant force we felt…" says Willis from behind.

"Great Velkra… Are you dissatisfied? I mean… do you not want to be her mother…?" says Caryl.

"How can I be dissatisfied, Caryl? You understand a mother's love, right? It's true that I'm not her Blood Mother but it's not a lie that I love her much more than everyone else…" I say.

"I understand. I apologize." She says.

"No need. I'm just worried about one thing…" I say.

Everyone tenses up from that.

"I think the hero might be connected to the people that invaded Anikia's world," I say.

"The Hero you say, Great Velkra?" says Zanim.

"It's not something I can explain but you have to believe me on this one," I say.

"We believe you, Great Velkra." Everyone says.

"And one more thing, he might hinder our plans in the future so do try to stay away from him. He has a troublesome skill." I say.

They won't be able to defeat him in a flash. He might be even more powerful once he attacks the next time. I hope that my attack killed him…

"Understood." Everyone says.

"One more thing. And this is the most important one. We need to get some help to the Demon Realm. That's why I left Carmine and Felia there." I say.

"What kind of help, Great Velkra?" says Albart.

"The people there are ill. They need food, clothing, and medicine. The biggest problem is the mana oversaturation. I've already put up a sturdy barrier so it's safer but you guys take extra care." I say.

"Food, Clothing, Medicine… anything else, Great Velkra?" says Zanim.

Food, Clothing, and Medicine… what else? Accommodations like… to sleep comfortably?

"Take some accommodations for sleep," I say.

"Understood." Says Albart.

"And yeah, we'll head to the castle tomorrow. I need to tell Youlias about this. He must be worried too. We can put the request for these items up to him too." I say.

"Understood, Great Velkra. Willis, make sure everything is prepared for tomorrow." Says Albart.

Willis turns around to walk out of the room,

"Wait, Willis. Before that, Get me some food." I say with a mischievous smile.

"Understood, Great Velkra. I'll make sure to call Princess Anikia too." he says with a hand on his chest while bowing, a big smile on his face.

Damn right! It's food time!