The Prince of Sloth [DxD]

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"Well, get ready, little brother… You're about to be swarmed by a lot of Devils eager to discuss something or other with you."

"Haha… Even if they want to speak with me, I doubt I have anything to offer them," Seir said with a shake of his head. "Sure, I may be the heir apparent, and I may have a bit of strength, but what could an heir apparent possibly offer when he's not even five years old? I'm just a little boy."

"Well, that's true… but they are looking for the long run as they probably wish to establish a 'closer' and 'intimate' connection with you and the Belphegor Household that they might benefit from in the future. And the best way to do that is—" Roygun trailed off as she noticed a lanky Devil dressed in aristocratic clothing approaching, accompanied by a petite girl of similar appearance. At the same time, three more pairs or small groups began making their way toward them.

Seir noticed them as well and quietly finished Roygun's sentence, whispering, "By forming a physical, emotional, or marital connection…" Then, with a hint of amusement, he added, "Which is why they're bringing their sisters, daughters, or nieces, hoping one of them might catch my interest… But I'm just a child. Do they really think I'd be interested in women at this age?"

'Well, I might… but that's only because I'm a grown adult trapped in a child's body. They don't know that… yet they're still willing to offer women to me.'

The women being offered varied widely in age. From what he could tell, there were some as young as himself and others who were already fully grown adults. It was clear that these Devils paid little heed to age differences.

But this was perfectly normal. Even if there was a decade or two of difference between him and the women being offered to him, what would that matter three centuries from now? In a society where beings can live for almost an eternity and die of boredom or madness rather than of old age, age is nothing more than a number. In fact, for devils, the concept of age and passing years held no real significance, heck, not just Devils, most supernatural beings are of the same mindset—only humans concerned themselves with such things since their lifespans are limited to a century or less.

"Yes, they think the very same thing," Roygun confirmed with a quick nod before warning him, "Listen, Seir, you must be careful when choosing a marriage partner. Not everyone is worthy of standing beside the heir apparent of House Belphegor, no matter how beautiful they may be. Based on all the information I've gathered, no one at this gathering is suitable. So, don't entertain any proposals, and don't respond to any advances they make—at all. Do you understand, brother?"

"I know, sister…" Seir nodded. He had already been briefed on this before attending the Extra Demon Gathering, so he understood well enough to ignore any advances.

Seeing that Seir understood, Roygun nodded with a satisfied smile and added, "Also… once this is all over, there's someone Father and Mother want you to meet. So, look forward to that."

"Is that so?" Seir murmured, curious about who his parents wanted him to meet. 'Since Roygun said that no one at this gathering is suitable as a suitor, it's probably not a marriage candidate… Oh well, I'll meet them later, whoever they are.'

As that thought crossed his mind, the lanky Devil in aristocratic clothing finally arrived in front of them and offered a polite bow. "Lady Roygun, Lord Seirios… it is an honor."

And so, it began—or, at least, it was supposed to. That was until Seir somehow vanished from the hall in the middle of conversations, leaving Roygun alone to handle all the lords, much to her dismay.

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"Sigh… I'm sorry for leaving you behind, Sister, but I'm already exhausted and need a break," Seir murmured, leaning against the balcony railing.

He had already endured a duel against Bova and hadn't fully recovered when he was thrust into discussions with aristocrats. The topics ranged from politics to finance, industry, Rating Games, and so on—both in the Human realm and the Supernatural World—under the influence of the Belphegor Household, as well as the Extra Demon Faction, Great King Faction, New Maou Faction, Old Maou Faction, and various other factions from different mythologies.

Of course, most of these discussions primarily involved Roygun, as no one seriously expected a five-year-old to have any meaningful opinions on such matters. However, that didn't stop them from making him sit through the conversations.

'And on top of that, I have to fend off the advances and subtle signals from the ladies,' he thought, exhausted.

It was quite a workload, and truth be told, he wasn't exactly the best-suited person for it.

Therefore, he did what he must do and quietly slipped away, leaving Roygun to handle the growing crowd of people vying for his attention, his affection, and his hand in marriage or other connections or contracts.

Honestly, a part of him felt guilty for abandoning her with all those people, knowing full well that those people had been targeting him. However, another part of him had no regrets whatsoever—after all, she had been handling these kinds of situations for centuries and was more than capable of managing on her own. As for him? He simply couldn't endure another moment of those tedious conversations.

Interacting with a few people had been manageable, but as more and more approached with the same intentions, Seir felt his energy slowly drain. In the end, he decided he needed a breath of fresh air before he lost his patience entirely with all those people. Quietly, he slipped away, leaving Roygun behind to deal with them.

"Haah, this feels good," Seir murmured, taking a deep, relaxed breath.

But his moment of peace was short-lived as a voice suddenly spoke from behind him. "What feels good?"

"Huh?" Seir jolted, taken aback by the unexpected voice, a voice he did not recognize. "Who?" Turning around, he found himself facing a young girl with blonde hair and striking green eyes. She held two glasses in her hands, which Seir assumed were filled with diluted Red wine.

'She's probably a year or two older than me,' Seir concluded as he observed her.

"Did I surprise you, Lord Seirios?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I didn't sense you approaching at all…" Seir admitted, still regaining his composure.

The girl smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said before adding, "I tend to move quietly. It's a force of habit I seem to have developed." She then extended one of the glasses toward him. "As an apology, please accept this."

Seir hesitated before accepting the glass. However, he did not forget to throw a light jab, "Well, you are not suspicious at all…"

Noticing his reluctance, the girl offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Lord Seirios… it's not poisonous."

"That's not what I was thinking…" Seir replied as he finally took the glass. In truth, that was exactly what he had been considering, but he wasn't about to let a little girl think she had read him so easily.

"Hehe… I apologize for jumping to conclusions," the girl said with a light chuckle.

"Well, I forgive you," Seir replied with a small smile before taking a sip of the red wine. He swirled the liquid in his mouth for a moment before commenting, "Watery and sour as ever…" He sighed and added, "I'm not really a fan of sour drinks."

"It'll help you relax," the girl said, taking a sip from her own glass.

"And what makes you think I need to relax?" Seir asked quietly.

"Don't you?" the girl replied, tilting her head.

"I might, or I might not… but why do you think so?" Seir questioned.

The girl shrugged. "I saw you leave the hall… looking exhausted," she answered.

"I see…" Seir nodded, accepting her words since she didn't seem to be lying. He added, "Which means you were keeping an eye on me…" He paused before asking, "Were you?"

"Perhaps…" she replied, offering no clear answer.

"Hmm… is that so…" Seir murmured, taking a few more sips as his gaze drifted over the scenery from the balcony. He then said, "So… this little girl has been watching me, then suddenly approaches me so silently that I don't even notice when I'm alone outside… and offers me a drink… Yep, not suspicious at all…"

Of course, he didn't truly believe the little girl had any such motives, but he said it anyway to gauge her reaction. After all, appearances could be deceiving—especially in the supernatural world, where the existence of a centuries-old loli wasn't impossible at all. In fact, he personally knew a few such individuals from the House of Naamah—two of whom actually served in his sister's peerage, another one is present in the gathering, while their mother gave him a few history lessons in order to prepare him for this gathering.

So yeah, a Devil's physical appearance wasn't always an accurate indicator of their age—or their intentions.

Seir wasn't confident enough to claim he could read everyone perfectly at a glance, and there was no telling what someone might be planning.

In response to his question, the little girl simply stood beside him in silence, "…" Sipping from her own glass as she took in the view—almost as if his suspicions were completely unfounded as well as unnecessary and she had no ulterior motives at all.

After a moment of observing her silence, Seir finally asked, "So… who exactly are you?"

He mentally ran through the names and faces of all the girls he had encountered at the gathering, but she wasn't among them. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder, 'Is she here for the same reason as the others?'

The little girl glanced at him and replied with a small smile, "Not someone you need to worry about regarding a marriage proposal."

Seir blinked in surprise. "That's unexpected… especially since so many have approached me for that exact reason."

"Hehe… yes, I noticed," the little girl said with a small nod. "But I'm not here for that."

"And why not?" Seir asked, curious.

"Because of the difference in our status," she replied before adding, "That difference makes such a thing impossible to begin with, so why even bother?"

"The difference in status hasn't stopped many of them from trying," Seir murmured skeptically.

"That's because they aren't illegitimate children," the little girl replied with a reluctant expression. It was clear she didn't want to discuss the matter, but she still mustered the courage to speak about it in order to clear up the doubts.

After revealing the truth about her parentage, she nervously glanced at Seir, wondering how he would react. Would he look down on her and push her away? Or would he disregard her lineage, accept her as she was, and let her stay here?

Seir's eyes widened slightly. "Is that… so?" Realizing what she meant, he hesitated before offering a quiet apology, "I'm sorry…"

The little girl, noticing that he didn't look at her out of disgust, smiled to herself before shaking her head. "There's nothing for you to apologize for, Lord Seirios. After all, it's not your fault that I was born an illegitimate child."

"Hm…" he murmured.

A brief silence followed as Seir found himself at a loss for words. He simply continued sipping his drink, and the little girl did the same, though she had a smile on her face that hadn't been there until a while ago.

After a brief silence, the little girl spoke. "I watched your duel with that dragon…"

"Everyone did," Seir replied with a shrug.

"That's true, I guess," she said with a small smile. "But you were really amazing. You're incredibly skilled in magic… very talented."

"I suppose so," Seir replied, indifferent to the flattery.

Though she genuinely seemed amazed and sincere in her praise.

"You must hear that a lot, don't you?" she asked, noticing his lack of enthusiasm.

"Hmm? Yeah, everyone keeps saying the same thing. I have grown up while being praised constantly for my excellence, sometimes by my sister or her peerage members, other times by my parents, my tutor, our servants, and so on. At this point, I'm a little tired of hearing it," he admitted with a shrug.

"Tired of being praised? Do you not like compliments, Lord Seirios?" she asked curiously.

"It's not that," Seir murmured, shaking his head. "I don't mind being praised, but hearing the same thing over and over again gets exhausting. All that lip service… It's not as rewarding as some people think. After all, not everyone gives genuine praise; most of them do it for the sake of formality. Flattery and Lip service, if I may put it crudely."

"I see…" the little girl nodded thoughtfully before asking, "Is that why you came out here? Because you were tired of everyone praising you over and over again out of formality?"

"That, and the fact that interacting with so many people is mentally draining," Seir replied casually.

The little girl giggled. "Hehe… you're not a very social person, are you?"

Seir nodded his head. "True, I prefer to keep to myself and avoid too much interaction. Dealing with people can be exhausting." And added, "Especially if they are aristocrats…"

"That might be difficult, given your status as the heir apparent of such a prominent Devil house," she pointed out, adding, "You will have to interact with all kinds of aristocracy…"

"True… it's exhausting and distracting," Seir sighed. "Luckily, I have a responsible older sister who's the current Head. With her taking charge, I don't have to deal with all the trouble on my own for now." He smiled slightly. "I'm really grateful to have her."

The little girl began to respond, "Yes, Lady Roygun Belphego–" but before she could finish, a voice suddenly interrupted from behind.

"I'm glad you feel that way," the voice said.

Both Seir and the little girl turned in surprise to see Roygun standing there, arms folded under her breasts, gazing at him with mild annoyance.

"However," she continued, "your good feelings toward me won't serve as an excuse for disappearing all of a sudden and leaving me behind to handle all those people on my own."

"Haha… I'm sorry, dear sister, but you know how I am," Seir apologized nervously, hoping Roygun wouldn't press the matter.

Roygun sighed and waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. We'll talk about this later." She then changed the subject. "I actually came here to take you to meet the person Father and Mother wanted to introduce you to…" She paused, turning her gaze to the little girl before adding, "But it seems you've already met her."

"Met her?" Seir looked at the girl in surprise. "You mean she's the person you were talking about earlier?"

Roygun nodded before addressing the little girl. "You're that child, aren't you?"

The little girl gave a small nod. "Yes, Lady Roygun." She then turned to Seir and bowed her head slightly. "I apologize, Lord Seirios, for not mentioning this sooner when I approached you…" She hesitated before adding, "But I wanted to have a normal conversation with you before formally beginning my service."

"Ah… I see. You wanted to gauge my little brother's thoughts on your parentage?" Roygun asked, quickly understanding the little girl's intentions.

"Yes, Lady Roygun. I apologize for overstepping my bounds," the little girl said, bowing slightly. Yet, if given another chance, she knew she would still do the same.

Roygun waved a dismissive hand, unconcerned. "It's quite all alright, and I suppose it's only natural," she said before pausing to ask another question. "So, what do you think of my little Seir? Will you accept the order given to you by Lord Abaddon?"

Though Roygun posed the question, she knew the little girl had no real choice in the matter. Even if she disliked Seir, she would still be bound to serve him. But Roygun asked anyway, perhaps to give the girl some semblance of agency.

The little girl smiled and nodded. "I will be honored to serve Lord Seirios." The fact that he hadn't shunned her or looked down on her when he learned that she was an illegitimate child was more than enough for her to willingly accept him as her lord.

"Huh? Serve Me? What do you mean? Why do you say that? What's going on?" Seir repeated, caught off guard.

"You see, Seir… Father and Mother…" Roygun began, but before she could continue, the little girl interrupted her.

"Lady Belphegor, please allow me to introduce myself to the Lord I shall be serving," she said politely.

Roygun nodded, encouraging her. "Alright… go ahead."

The little girl said gratefully, "Thank you…" then gracefully held the sides of her dress and bowed deeply in servitude. "I am Kuisha Abaddon, and by the orders of Grand Duke Moros Abaddon, as per the agreement between the former Lord Belphegor and him, I have been accepted into the Belphegor Household and assigned to serve you. I am still young and lack much knowledge of the world, but I swear upon my name that I will fulfill my duties as your servant and devote myself to serving you for the rest of my life to the best of my abilities. Please, treat me kindly, my Lord."

"Huh? What?" Seir blurted out, his voice laced with surprise and confusion at the unexpected turn of events.

'She's Kuisha Abaddon? The Kuisha Abaddon? The one said to be the [Queen] of Sairaorg Bael's peerage?'

'And she's going to serve me… not Sairaorg Bael? By the orders of Grand Duke Moros Abaddon?'

'What kind of agreement did Father and Grand Duke Moros Abaddon make?'

'What in the Seven Hells is going on here?'

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Author's Note:

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