On the outskirts of Greenleaf Town, a narrow stone path led into a quiet residential grove known as Eveningscent Oakwood.
Ashu had assigned Ira her "daily mission" for the day—
"Observe human lifestyle patterns."
In theory, this meant market surveys, social interactions, price bargaining—
the usual anthropological fieldwork.
But Ira had redefined it in her own way:
"Buy three cream sticks, help someone carry fruit, and see if I can make a new friend!"
With a cream stick in her mouth, she strolled leisurely through the town market.
Then, her eyes lit up—
at the corner of the street, she spotted an elderly man hunched over, struggling to carry an overly heavy bag of fruit.
His steps wobbled like a green onion just about to snap in a storm.
Ira's eyes sparkled. She scampered over with her short legs.
"Let me help you! Grandpa, you look super tired—you're about to sprout roots!"
The old man blinked.
"…Sprout?"
"Yeah! You're walking like a crooked scallion, all bent over~"
She said it with complete sincerity—
and with cream still smudged at the corner of her lips.
The old man exhaled slowly.
"…It's been centuries since anyone insulted me so sincerely."
She took the bag from him and began walking, humming softly.
And then—
Her fingers accidentally brushed against his right wrist.
That instant—
It was as if a seal broke.
The air froze around them.
The old man stepped back abruptly—
his eyes snapping open, glowing red.
—
He instantly sensed it—
a surge of power that resonated with a Demon King's totem,
but it didn't belong to any living bloodline.
"No… this doesn't belong to this world…"
His eyes sharpened.
The shadows beneath his feet began to twist.
A killing intent rippled outward, quiet as water, yet cold enough to still the wind.
Meanwhile, Ira skipped cheerfully ahead,
humming to herself:
"Fruity fruity fruit parade~ Homey homey baggy bag~"
But just then, Enod's shadow snapped—
and in a heartbeat, his true form emerged before the old man.
His voice, for once, carried a rare edge:
"Suppress your killing intent."
The old man gave him a cold glance.
His tone was low, rumbling:
"You felt it too… that presence. It comes from her—"
"She's not 'her.' She's just a child."
Enod cut him off before the sentence finished.
There was a beat of silence.
Then the old man moved—
his hand twitching forward to test the resonance—
Buzz.
Golden-red sigils flared beneath his skin,
tracing through his veins like glowing scars, racing down his entire right arm.
Ira finally turned around at the sound.
"Huh? Grandpa, you're glowing! Whoa, that's so cool!"
And then she spotted Enod.
"Eh? Mister, when did you get here?"
—
The old man's power exploded—
the pressure alone making the entire street tremble.
His hunched figure straightened by three centimeters,
and in his eyes,
chaos warred with ancient authority.
The bloodline of the Shadowed Night Beast of Yuhuang, long dormant in his veins,
had awakened—
all because Ira touched him.
Ashu floated lazily into view, half of his fluff poking out.
"…She just helped you carry some fruit. Calm down, Grandpa."
The old man muttered under his breath:
"This energy… it resonates with the royal totem…"
Ira raised her hand.
"Did I accidentally press your on-switch?"
"It wasn't a switch…"
The old man exhaled like a man confronting destiny.
"You lit up my entire lifespan."
"Oooh~ does that mean you can grow cat ears?"
Internally, the old man shattered into spiritual fragments:
I could manifest into an eight-tailed scorpion shadow beast, child. Have some respect.
—
The old man took a deep breath and slowly spoke his name:
"I am Logur Anpasithe, former Vice Commander of the Duskwatch Line, Lord of the Shadowed Night Beast, bearer of royal demon blood."
He turned his gaze to the faraway sky,
his voice distant—like a scroll sealed in dust:
"Two hundred years ago, my core shattered in the Sealing War. Knowing my power had faded, I chose to retreat here… to wait for someone worthy of succession."
"I didn't expect that 'someone' to be a child who treats cream sticks like weapons."
—
Enod still looked tense.
"But you're demonblooded…"
And not just any demonblooded.
Logur's tone grew darker, knowing what Enod truly meant.
"We were enemies of Lenathos's line."
"It is chaos, devourer, a world without order. To fight it, we demons signed a ceasefire with the divine domain—offering our strongest magic-forged armor in exchange for Milles' aid."
"She came. Without words. Without an army. Only light."
"And the battlefield stilled. Even we were forced to kneel. Not because she was powerful—"
"But because she could not be understood."
"I once believed I'd been abandoned. That the divine had looked down on us. But today, this child…"
"She showed me that the divine… left behind a successor."
—
Logur looked at Ira, his expression unreadable.
Then, he raised his hand.
A glowing magical seal key floated into the air before her.
"This is the warded villa where I once housed my family. Its defenses remain intact. From today, it is yours."
Ira took it and tossed it casually into her bag.
"It looks huge… I'll probably get lost. I'll just let my friends stay there instead!"
Ashu snorted.
"A villa that can tank a demon king's critical hit just got turned into a friendship inn. Sure. Live your dream."
—
As they walked and chatted, Ira bought a bag of sugar-roasted chestnuts and shared half with "Grandpa."
"You used a lot of magic today! You need to replenish your sugar!"
Logur looked at the steaming chestnuts—
and smiled.
A real smile.
The kind he hadn't worn in lifetimes.
The kind that belonged to someone… normal.
Ashu cast a side glance at Enod:
"You plan to just… stand there all day?"
Enod blinked—realizing he was still in his full corporeal form.
His face twitched.
"…I—I'll just… go back…"
And in an awkward flash, he vanished, retreating once more into Ira's shadow.
Ashu narrowed his eyes.
"…Ugh. So tired."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Mission Objective: Observe Human Lifestyle – COMPLETE Subquest Triggered: Royal Blood Awakening × Shadowed Night Beast Activation Reward Received: Hidden Warded Villa ×1 (Repurposed into Social Guest House) New Follower Acquired: 1 (Demon Royalty, Grandpa-Class Guardian)
The next morning.
Sunlight bathed the cobbled path of Eveningscent Oakwood.
A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, carrying the faint scent of ripe fruit.
Logur stood before Ira again—
now dressed in formal demon attire, looking ten times more dignified than the day before.
His back was straight. His aura, imperial.
No longer a bent old man—
but a commander ready to reclaim his place on the battlefield.
"Ira. Thank you for the biscuit. And thank you for your hand—"
"Which one?" Ira raised both hands instantly.
"…Both. Thank you." He twitched, but didn't refute it.
Logur lowered his head, extended one finger, and tapped it gently on Ira's forehead.
A soft red-gold mark bloomed over her skin like mist and smoke.
"This is the Royal Sigil – Mark of Response. If you ever call 'Grandpa,' I can teleport to your side instantly."
Ira's eyes sparkled.
"Wow! Then I can ask Grandpa to help carry my luggage!"
Ashu let out a sharp laugh.
"You sure she'll only call you when she's in trouble? She fell flat on her face yesterday and said the floor was 'nice and cool.'"
"She might summon you just to escape eating vegetables."
Logur gave a soft smile.
"…That's alright. Even then… it's still protection."
—
Just then, Enod reappeared, standing under a tree with arms crossed and a frosty tone:
"You're the one who's in trouble now. The Demon Council must be waiting for you. Once they sense your bloodline has reawakened, they'll be at each other's throats—again."
Ashu chimed in lazily,
"Yeah. If they're not already fighting, they're on their way to a fight."
Logur nodded solemnly.
"I have to return to the Demon Domain… hold the southern line. Many old comrades are still waiting."
He turned to leave.
But then—
Ira reached out and gently took his hand.
She didn't say much.
Just looked at him, serious and soft-spoken:
"Grandpa, be careful, okay? Don't get hurt… and don't be sad."
She smiled—goofy and warm.
From her palm, a gentle, transparent energy pulsed outward.
Ashu, mid-yawn, suddenly bolted upright:
"W-wait—WAIT WHAT DID YOU JUST DO—"
He watched in horror as an overwhelming force erupted from Ira's touch,
flooding into Logur's body like a tidal wave,
then spreading outward.
—
[Demon Domain – Nightshadow Rift]
A general doing core training clutched his chest.
"W-wait… why did I just grow a second pair of wings?!"
A soldier carrying soup bowls screamed,
"AAAH—my power just spiked and I didn't even grip the bowl!!"
In the demon library, an old scholar suddenly ascended ranks—
the shockwave collapsed the stairs.
"I WAS JUST READING FAMILY RECORDS—WHO BLESSED ME?!"
Even in the dungeons, rebel demons erupted into magical transformation.
"ARGHHH—weren't we stripped of our bloodlines?! WHY ARE MY HORNS GROWING BACK?!"
Somewhere else, an elderly demon grandma screamed from her bath:
"OH MY STARS I'M PRETTY AGAIN—!"
—
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Divine Skill Triggered: Emotion-Based Blessing Spread Blessing Effect: Entire Shadowed Night Beast lineage evolved into "Night-Crowned Hallowed Kin" World Status Updated: Ira Mills → Divine Semi-Entity Tags Unlocked: Species Redeemer / Evolutionary Seraphic Companion / #1 Demon Grandpa Devotional Focus
—
Enod felt his vision dim:
"…That's it. I have to report this to the Divine Realm."
Ashu's fur sparked from overload:
"This is narrative collapse level! Are you hacking the plot or just blessedly oblivious?!"
—
Logur dropped to his knees—
hands on the ground,
eyes brimming with tears.
"How… how could I possibly be worthy of this grace…?"
He knew it.
For centuries, his people had been stuck—unable to break through the final wall between "phantasmic beast royalty" and true "divine demonkind."
Even ancient rituals had failed.
And now—
Ira simply… held his hand.
He knelt deeper.
His voice echoed across the entire Demon Domain, carried by magic like thunder:
"I, Logur Anpasithe, heir to the royal demonblood, swear by all my lineage—"
"The Shadowed Night Beast line pledges eternal allegiance to Ira Mills. Her words are divine command. Her will is fate."
—
Ira blinked.
"…Wow. That got emotional really fast."
She pulled out a biscuit and handed it to him.
"Here, this is for you. Thank-you biscuit!"
Logur took it with trembling hands.
His eyes filled with tears again.
—
And so, by helping an old man carry some fruit, she had:
Reactivated a dormant demon royal bloodline; Accidentally evolved an entire magical species; Gotten herself worshiped by a bunch of demon-king-tier entities; Still not entirely understood what had happened.
Ira hugged her little red backpack, blinking innocently as she looked at Ashu.
"…Did we finish today's mission?"
Ashu clutched his head in existential agony.
"YES WE DID! THANK YOU, YOU LITTLE WORLD-REWRITING GREMLIN!"
"AND WHILE YOU WERE AT IT, YOU REDESIGNED THE POWER STRUCTURE OF THE DEMON REALM! NO BIG DEAL!!"