“Huh, this is delicious”, the young noble said, devouring the food. He was on the outskirts of the village, sitting next to a tree so small that had been ignored by the woodcutters.
“The food tastes better after a long day of work”, Soji explained. “That’s what my father always says.”
“Your father knows of things. And what does your mother say of that?”
“She gets mad at him when he says that, because it sounds like he only likes her food when he’s tired”, the boy said, bringing up a sound laughter from Kumari. “But she actually cooks very well.”
“Do you like her food?”
“She says I must eat a lot in order to become big and strong one day, as my dad is. So, I eat everything she cooks.”
“Good boy!” Kumari messed up his hair in a tender way before returning his attention to his dinner.
“How about your mother, my lord?”
“What about her?”
“Does she cook well?”
Kumari laughed at the boy’s curiosity.
“I think she cooked very well… But I really don’t remember. She died when I was a kid.”
“I’m sorry I asked about her…”
“It’s alright.”
Without knowing what to say next, the boy stood in silence, observing the young noble, curious about his darker skin color. He also noticed that Kumari was looking at his father. Lord Kumari was at the village’s center, next to the bonfire, talking to his soldier’s commander. As usual, he seemed angry as he heard the reports and distributed orders.
“Your father scares me”, Soji suddenly said. Kumari didn’t resist and laughed again.
“Yes, he scares me too”, he admitted. “But he has to be severe. A lord is supposed to be like that.”
“One day you will be a lord too, right? Then you’ll have to be like that?”
- Yes… I think so.
Kumari dropped the empty plate at his side, thinking about the boy’s question. He actually never thought seriously about how it would be to assume his father’s position. And he sincerely didn’t worry about that, especially because demons like them had great longevity. “That’s not going to happen any soon”, he thought.
- S… Sir? – Kumari was suddenly awakened from his thoughts by Soji’s nervous voice.
He looked around, only to see himself surrounded. The lizard-demons had returned.
