— — — — — —
The next morning.
"Tohru, let's head out for breakfast—and grab some clothes for this little brat while we're at it."
Kazuma took Tohru and Beel out for breakfast, picking up a few outfits for the baby along the way.
Drip drip drip
The moment Beel saw the clothes on him, he became extremely upset. He squirmed desperately, eyes filling with tears.
"Waaahhh!"
As soon as he started crying, sparks of lightning burst out of him.
"Looks like Beel really doesn't like wearing clothes," Tohru said. The lightning hit her harmlessly—dragon defenses were absurdly high, after all.
"What do kids know about liking or not liking? Most of the time they're just asking for a beating," Kazuma said casually. He grabbed Beel with one hand.
"Crying won't get you what you want. It won't make anyone pity you either. It just makes you look weak, and people will look down on you."
"So don't cry. If you hate the clothes, then tear them off yourself. If you can't tear them off, then that means you don't hate them enough."
Kazuma looked straight at Beel, unusually serious.
Drip… Drip.
Beel's crying gradually stopped. He nodded, face turning solemn, and grabbed the fabric with both hands.
He unleashed everything in that instant—powered by sheer disgust for the clothes—and felt a sudden surge of strength. Beel felt unstoppable, invincible!
And then…
Pop.
"Pfft… too cute," Tohru laughed. Beel hadn't managed to rip the outfit at all. Instead, he'd exhausted himself completely.
"This kid has massive mana, but his physical body's weak, and he has no idea how to use his own strength. He's not much different from a regular baby," Kazuma said. "Tearing clothes? Impossible."
He'd predicted this from the start—everything he said earlier was just to trick the child into calming down.
Afterward, Tohru picked out a dinosaur onesie for Beel. Surprisingly, he seemed to like that one.
At first Beel resisted, but once Kazuma put a bunny suit and a cat suit in front of him, he reconsidered and chose the dinosaur. At least it looked fierce.
Once they finished shopping, they headed back toward the school.
"It's peaceful today too," Tohru murmured, gazing at the sky. No smoke of war, no scent of blood—just calm, ordinary warmth.This new life… it really was wonderful.
"Yeah. Good weather. Peaceful," Kazuma agreed.
"Hmm? Something's flying toward us."
Tohru narrowed her eyes, focusing on the sky. A moment later she recognized the figure.
"Looks like a demon."
"Oh. Probably Beel's maid demon," Kazuma said. "Noble demons usually have attendants."
He glanced up, yawned, and waited. "Why isn't she coming over?"
High above, Hilda was circling around, clearly struggling to pinpoint them.
"She probably can't sense Beel's magic anymore," Tohru said. "Our aura is completely overshadowing his."
Her dragon presence alone had blanketed Beel's magic signature, leaving the demon maid unable to lock onto his exact location.
"Beel, cry for me."
Beel tilted his head. He really didn't feel like crying right now. He squeezed his eyes, tried his best, but nothing came out.
"I'll help you."
Kazuma pulled out an adorable plush toy from his treasury and held it in front of Beel. Beel's face twisted in immediate disgust.
He tried to push the ugly (in his opinion) plush away but couldn't move it at all. His frustration built until—
"Waaah!!"
And there it was. Tears.
"Kazuma, you're amazing. You got him crying instantly," Tohru said, grinning.
"It's nothing. I'm not great at comforting kids, but making people cry? That I've mastered."
Kazuma put the plush away. Up in the sky, Hilda finally sensed the magic signature and rushed over. She jumped off her mount, Ak-Baba, the moment she arrived.
Dressed in a black maid uniform and holding a lace-trimmed parasol, she landed and immediately exploded: "You foolish, barbaric, heartless human! How dare you bully our baby master like this! I will never forgive you!"
She drew the sword hidden inside her parasol. As a maid demon, she absolutely couldn't allow harm to come to the one she served.
"I was just playing with the kid. Calm down. Clearly you've never taken care of a child," Kazuma said.
He caught the blade with one hand and crushed it like tin foil, letting the pieces fall to the ground.
"...Hehe."
Beel stopped crying instantly and burst into happy giggles.
"Kazuma is really strong…" Tohru murmured. Until now, she'd only seen him use powerful artifacts. But this—crushing a demon's weapon with bare hands—this was his own strength.
Among humans, this was monstrous.
"Is… is he even human?!" Hilda stammered, trembling. The moment her sword was caught, she'd felt an overwhelming force she couldn't resist at all.
Kazuma looked at her casually, as if it were nothing.
"You hit me. Now it's my turn."
He kicked her without the slightest hesitation. Hilda shot across the ground like a skipping stone, smashing over twenty craters before finally stopping.
Kazuma and Tohru appeared beside her a second later.
"That's enough. Next time you touch me, I'll kill you," he said calmly to the barely conscious demon.
Tohru beamed. "Beel... Dad is so cool, right?"
From a human perspective, Kazuma's behavior might seem excessive.
But to a dragon? Perfectly appropriate.
Dragons weren't human. To dragons, strength, dominance, and mercilessness were virtues. A weak dragon who got hit and didn't fight back, or one who was too soft, would be called a coward and looked down on.
Tohru didn't enjoy fighting, but that didn't mean she tolerated provocation.
"Ah.. yah...hehe~"
Beel felt Kazuma's imposing presence and got excited. He lifted his tiny legs and tried to imitate the kick he'd just seen.
"What… what a terrifying cruel man…"
That was Hilda's final thought before losing consciousness. Compared to herself, the man in front of her looked far more like a demon.
"Hey, weird bird. Pick up your master and follow us."
Kazuma turned to Hilda's mount, Ak-Baba.
"Gah! Gah!"
Ak-Baba nodded frantically. As a magical beast, his instincts were far sharper than Hilda's.
To him, Kazuma wasn't a man at all—he was a monster radiating a constant aura of death. Like standing at the edge of the demon realm's abyss with fear swallowing your heart.
Ak-Baba wasn't wrong. This was Kazuma's Conqueror's Haki, amplifying the fear of death in those around him.
Once his opponent started feeling fear, no matter how powerful they were, defeat was already certain.
---
Back at Ishiyama High School—
"I deeply apologize. Please forgive my earlier rudeness."
"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Hildegarde, the master's maid demon."
Hilda had awakened and, after receiving a rather thorough "lesson," had become humble and clear-headed. Kneeling properly, she greeted Kazuma and Tohru with impeccable manners.
"As expected, only strength earns respect. Anyone who doesn't respect me, I just beat them until they do," Kazuma said, feeling increasingly at home in this world. Whether delinquent teens, dragons, or demons, respect was earned through power.
Words didn't work here. You hit first, then talked.
"Demons are like that. Respect strength, savage, low-quality creatures," Tohru said matter-of-factly. In dragon eyes, humans were weak and foolish, gods were deceitful and detestable, demons were vile and shameless.
In short, dragons viewed every other being as inferior.
"Hmph. Arrogant, brainless, ignorant dragon." Hilda couldn't resist firing back.
"I'll destroy you, filthy demon." Tohru glared coldly.
"Hmph. Barbarians like dragons only know brute force." Hilda wasn't sure if she could beat Tohru, but as a demon, she had her pride.
Ta ta ta.
Beel watched the two argue and became even happier, waving his little arms. Chaos and destruction were his favorite things.
"Both of you shut it. If you want to fight, go outside and settle it somewhere empty."
"Don't bicker in front of me. Annoying. Anyway, Hilda, continue what you were saying."
Kazuma cut the argument short. If they had a problem, they could just go duel. Trading insults here wouldn't kill anyone, so what was the point?
"Ok," Tohru muttered, still unhappy but obedient.
Hilda also shut up. Disobeying this man felt like an express ticket to getting kicked across the school again.
"As I said… master has a noble identity. He came here to destroy humanity, but before the destruction begins, he must choose a foster father. And you are his foster father."
Hilda sighed helplessly. She'd tried to take Beel earlier, but he'd immediately zapped her.
Beel absolutely didn't want to leave Kazuma.
"I see… then let me ask something. Beel can inherit the throne, right?"
"Yes. As the Demon Lord's child, he has the right to become the next ruler. If His Majesty retires… or meets an accident."
Hilda didn't understand why Kazuma asked that. Was he planning to wait for Beel to become Demon Lord so he could enjoy a luxurious life?
"Then how about I just kill the current Demon Lord and put Beel on the throne right away? As his father, then I'm basically the Demon Lord."
"And what if I unify the entire demon world?"
Kazuma started imagining it—ruling the demon world, turning all demons into members of his guild, making them farm quest points for him, then expanding influence across the human world, and eventually other worlds.
"Impossible. His Majesty's strength is terrifying. I admit you're strong, but nowhere near his level."
"Even if something did happen to him, there are still other princes. Each has their own faction. So your plan is impossible."
Hilda sighed. This man was wasted as a human. Even demons wouldn't dare think of something this insane, yet he went straight to it.
"Impudent. Watch how you speak to your emperor."
"Let me ask you—what is Beel to you?"
Kazuma was annoyed. He'd been planning his glorious future, and this demon had the nerve to interrupt.
"He is my master."
"And what am I to Beel?"
"You are his foster father."
"Then what should you call me?"
"S... Sama… Kazuma-Sama…"
Hilda froze for a moment. Given their positions, it was correct—she should address him respectfully. But something still felt wrong.
She looked toward Beel for help.
Beel folded his arms and thought seriously. A moment later, he slapped the ground excitedly.
"Ta ta ta!" (Exactly!)
"Looks like Beel's saying that's correct. What, you don't want to say it?" Kazuma teased.
"As a professional maid demon, I heard you all follow strict etiquette. But it's fine if you don't call him that. Demons break contracts and betray people all the time. We won't mind." Tohru smirked challengingly while holding Beel.
"K… Kazuma-sama."
Hilda lowered her head, humiliated. As a maid demon, she had to follow etiquette.
"Since Kazuma is Beel's foster father, you should add Sama. And since I'm basically Beel's mom, what should you call me?" Tohru pushed her luck.
"The master's… mother… you…"
A flicker of murderous intent passed through Hilda's eyes. There was no way she'd recognize this dragon as the master's mother.
She could accept Kazuma being the father. Beel liked him, and he was strong.
But calling Tohru "mother"? Absolutely not.
"Dada..."
Beel watched tension rise again and grabbed Kazuma's sleeve anxiously, asking for help.
"Suddenly I feel like a pretty cheap father. Kids really do prefer their moms," Kazuma laughed, patting Beel's head to reassure him.
"The word 'mother' isn't something you can just toss around. You need enough responsibility to deserve it."
He wasn't just talking about Tohru. Hilda too, despite calling herself a loyal maid, had been caring for Beel since he was tiny. She had some motherly affection—or maybe big-sister affection. Close enough.
"I'll work hard!" Tohru said seriously. She thought Kazuma meant she wasn't ready to be a wife or mother yet and needed to improve herself. And she agreed—there was still so much about this new world she didn't understand.
"I will take good care of my master. Not as a mother, but as a proper maid demon," Hilda declared immediately. She wasn't going to let some giant dragon steal her master.
"Alright, that's enough."
"Waoh."
Beel looked at Kazuma with sparkling admiration. Such a small matter, yet enough to make a child idolize him completely.
.
.
.