My Dad, the Demon King, Is a Big Problem

"!"
The servants were struck dumb with shock.

Their faces went pale as if they had encountered a ghost.
"Go, young master!"
"H-How did you…?"

Usually, the head of the family and his kin never ventured into the servants' quarters.
The appearance of someone who shouldn't be there sent a chill down their spines.
Meteor Pluto approached with purpose.

"What was that you were just muttering about? A commoner girl? You dared to try to seduce me and covet the family's wealth?"
Every word he spoke was utterly baffling.
How had such nonsense even reached his ears?

These servants had been newly hired specifically for Crescent.
Had the head maid of the Pluto Ducal House entrusted them without a second thought, and this was the result?
Meteor couldn’t believe it.

The servants scrambled to the floor, kneeling and bowing deeply.
"We…we are so sorry, young master!"
"We have committed a grave sin! Please forgive us just this once!"

"We misspoke!"
Their heads nearly touched the ground in their frantic apologies.
Meteor found their reaction even more appalling.

"This is ridiculous. How could the people we hired in our family be so reckless with their words, like some shameless failures?"
Did they not understand how much Crescent fought for the safety of others?
When holy knights fought Magi, most people would offer bread as a gesture of appreciation, recognizing the hardships involved.
But if they were truly grateful, they wouldn't have looked down on Crescent in the first place.

She wouldn't have been the subject of such baseless rumors about seduction or greed.
That these people were nearly entrusted with Crescent's well-being was a terrifying thought.
Meteor's fist clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"To think you would insult a child who was once the noble daughter of our family. Not a single word you spoke is true. As for the punishment for this, I’ll report it directly to Duke Pluto."
"Go, young master!"
"Please, forgive us. We’ve learned our lesson. It won’t happen again!"

"Leave this place immediately and await your punishment. I won’t allow people like you to be around Crescent, not even for a moment."
"Young master!"
The servants cried out to him, but Meteor had already turned his back.

Regardless of the fact that Crescent was the daughter of the Demon King, she was a holy knight who dedicated herself to eliminating Magi more than anyone else.
The knightly order had many respected and capable comrades, but to Meteor, Crescent had always been the most valuable.
It was the same for the other knights, no doubt.

From a young age, Crescent had shown exceptional qualities.
Yet, now, people who didn’t even compare to her were speaking ill of her.
Meteor felt a fire burning in his chest.

Why did she have to endure such humiliation?
Crescent was no one to be trivialized by the likes of them.
She was a knight of immeasurable worth, a shining star…

As Meteor thought that, he paused, letting out a deep sigh.
Something suddenly came to mind.
It was something he desperately wanted to say to those who looked down on Crescent.

Meteor didn’t take long to turn back toward the servants.
As soon as he did, they looked up in surprise, perhaps hoping for mercy, but it was in vain.
Meteor struggled to suppress his anger and barely managed to speak.

"Listen carefully, all of you. Crescent wasn’t abandoned because she was lacking or disrespectful in any way."
"!"
The servants held their breath.

The oppressive aura made it difficult for them to even breathe.
Meteor continued, his voice unwavering.
"Our family simply found it difficult to bear her."

"…"
Though he spoke the words, Meteor felt a weight in his chest.
It wasn’t wrong.

She was the bloodline of the Demon King.
Taking the Demon King's daughter into any family would be too much for them to handle.
Truly, it was such an overwhelming task, enough to fuel his anger….

Meteor clenched his teeth and turned away again.
Even though Crescent was the daughter of the Demon King, she had nothing to be ashamed of in this world.
Her purity had nothing to do with such nonsense as trying to seduce someone or covet their wealth.

For such an innocent person to be insulted, it shattered Meteor's composure.
***
"Nice house..."

Crescent inspected every corner of the newly acquired mansion.
Though she would only be spending weekends here, having a home she genuinely liked gave her a sense of security.
The fact that there was a place to return to also seemed to bring her some comfort.

"But why are the servants suddenly being replaced?"
She was a bit confused, but she assumed it was just a misunderstanding or mix-up.
Crescent shrugged off the concern and headed toward the stables. She had somewhere to go outside the mansion.

By the time she left, Meteor had already returned to the Pluto Ducal House.
Soon, Crescent mounted her horse. The horse provided for her in the new mansion seemed to be a good ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) match.
Before long, Crescent arrived at a shop on a bustling street.

It was the weapon shop of Cyrillote, that damn devil.
She glared at the shop quietly.
Perhaps because it was past closing time, the door was shut, and the lights were off.

Had he dared to appear after his true nature as a demon had been revealed?
Surely, he wouldn’t be so shameless, would he?
Still, she couldn’t be too sure. After all, he was the most brazen of demons.

Since the shop next door was still open, Crescent entered there. A small bell chimed as she stepped inside, and the owner looked toward her.
"Welcome."
"Ah, hello. I was wondering, did the weapon shop next door open today?"

"Eh?"
The shopkeeper stared at Crescent for a moment before quickly responding.
"Oh, no. They’ve been closed for a while now."

"It’s been closed this whole time?"
"Yes."
"Ah, I see. Thank you."

Crescent smiled awkwardly and nodded to the shopkeeper, who also nodded back before going to close the shop and step outside.
"Hmm. So the shop hasn’t opened in a while..."
It seemed the devil still had some semblance of shame.

She had wanted to meet him to confirm a few things.
Well, eventually, their paths would cross, so Crescent decided to leave it at that.
Just then, an idea popped into her head.

"Ah, right."
She couldn’t see him, but she could still enter the weapon shop.
Looking around, Crescent slipped into an empty alley and used her teleportation ticket.

The surroundings quickly transformed into the basement of the weapon shop.
Inside, everything remained unchanged, as if it hadn't been cleaned or packed away. It didn’t seem like they were planning to leave anytime soon.
Or perhaps he had already fled?

Crescent opened her inventory and began pulling out the weapons Cyrillote had given her.
"If you ever come back here, Cyrillote, I hope your hair burns off with your own weapons. Better yet, you could die."
Crescent set up bombs and traps in various places.

She sincerely hoped at least one of them would be effective.
Just then, a voice she knew all too well came from behind her.
"What are you doing?"

The voice, tinged with mild amusement, wasn’t one she enjoyed hearing.
Crescent turned with a nonchalant expression. As she faced the source of the voice, she saw Prima's silvery figure glowing in the darkness.
The light seemed to fill the space.

How could a demon radiate such a holy presence?
By the way, how did she know Crescent was here?
Had she been spying with her dimensional powers all along? That thought made Crescent's anger flare up.

"What about you? What are you doing here? Did I steal something from the Demon Realm for you to spy on?"
"Should I kill you?"
Prima's pure eyes held a faint smile.

Her voice, though low, was composed and pristine.
Her appearance was so mysterious and perfect that it almost made Crescent laugh, despite the words she spoke about death.
"Do you really think demons in the Demon Realm can just kill each other like that?"

Especially since Prima was the top demon in the Demon Realm and Cyrillote was third.
Ah, so you guys aren't getting along?
"If Crescent wants it, I guess it wouldn’t be so hard to kill a third-ranked demon."

With those words, Prima took a step closer to Crescent.
Crescent scoffed sharply and sneered at him.
"I could never live with a debt to a demon, not even if I went mad."

"If you could kill the third-ranked demon in the Demon Realm, I think it’d be fine to lose your sanity just once, don’t you think?"
Prima smiled widely.