Demon King – Chapter 4 – The Demon Lord Is Off To Buy Groceries!

Come to think of it, Eiru’s dear mother had given strict instructions… On weekends and holidays, if there wasn’t anything important going on, she had to go home.

The Demon Lord recalled the words from Eiru’s mother and father:

“Eiru… You’re living out there on your own. If you’re free, you have to come back on weekends and holidays, understand?”

“Blood is thicker than water. Don’t stay away for so long that you forget where your home is. Come back more often—spend more time with your family. Don’t let it get to the point where no one even remembers who’s who.”

“It’s a sad thing when family start to feel like strangers. Don’t alienate your family just because you’ve been away too long…”

Why did they have to make it sound so serious…? Eiru rubbed her forehead in frustration. Honestly, it wasn’t like she wanted to distance herself from her family. It was just… they didn’t really like having her around.

And let’s not forget— you were the ones who kicked me out in the first place , because you were scared I’d be a bad influence on my little sister!

Still, Eiru genuinely liked living alone. It was freeing. But she should go home occasionally… It’d be bad if her family completely forgot what she looked like.

…Then again, now that she thought about it—they probably really didn’t know what she looked like anymore. (Her real form, that is.)

The biggest reason Eiru wanted to go back, though, was her grandma. After showing some signs of dementia, she’d moved in with Eiru’s parents and Eiya in the Western District so that they could take care of her.

The old woman was starting to forget things more and more, and Eiru was terrified that if she didn’t visit often, Grandma might forget her too.

Grandma had always doted on Eiru and Eiya—to the point of spoiling them. Ever since Eiru’s grades plummeted in middle school and she started skipping class, she’d gotten scolded a lot by her parents. Her other relatives had gradually started giving up on her, and even her sister Eiya had started looking down on her.

Only Grandma never changed—always defending her, always caring. Eiru had always appreciated that.

Eiru could never understand why grades were treated like an end-all-be-all. She started rebelling by going against the flow. Her slipping grades and increasingly frequent no-shows were her way of silently protesting.

Over time, both her teachers and her parents gave up on disciplining her. They just let her be.

They shifted all their hopes onto Eiya. But even if they’d given up on Eiru’s future, she was still their child—so they provided the bare minimum care and support.

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As for Eiya, the perfect student that she was, she did look down on her so-called delinquent brother. Still, she didn’t outright reject Eiru. She still cared about him on a basic level. No matter how embarrassing he might be, they were still related by blood.

“I’ll wait until nightfall to go home,” Eiru muttered as she fried an egg. “Flying in broad daylight is just too suspicious…”

Yes, her method of returning home was flight. It was free, fast, and spared her from being crammed into buses or subways. What’s not to like?

“Since I’m up this early, might as well go buy some groceries…” She was running low on food, anyway. Time to change and head to the supermarket nearby.

And no, she hadn’t forgotten anything—Eiru fully intended to go as a loli .

After all, her appearance was highly deceptive in this form. People were less pushy when shopping near a tiny silver-haired girl. With just a bit of cutesy charm, she could even get people to help her pick out produce. Maximum efficiency.

Dignity? Who needs that?

Humming to herself, Eiru tried on different outfits in front of the mirror. After several changes, she settled on a sailor uniform.

A white sailor blouse paired with a black crop top, as well as black micro-skirt that barely covered her upper thighs. Lastly, she wore black thigh-high socks with white trim at the top.

The exposed strip of thigh between the skirt and socks—the “absolute territory”—stood out dazzlingly against her pale skin.

She added black fingerless gloves and tied her long silver hair into a high ponytail. The look made her appear even more vibrant and full of energy.

After retracting her wings and tail into her body, Eiru hummed her way to the door. She dug out a pair of black ankle boots from the shoe rack, slipped them on, and reached for the doorknob.

“Wait—almost forgot…” She paused and brought both hands up to her horns.

Activating her mana slightly, she ran her fingers from the tips of her horns to the base. Slowly, her bluish-purple demon horns became transparent… and then vanished.

Well, not actually vanished—she just manipulated light to create an illusion. If someone tried to touch them, they’d still feel the two horns there.

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Now fully prepared, phone and wallet in hand, Her Majesty the Demon Lord headed off to the market.

As she walked, Eiru kept her head down, tapping away at her phone. She was deep in an online conversation and had no idea what a stir she was causing in public.

A cute silver-haired loli suddenly appearing on the streets—how could she not turn heads? The number of people who walked straight into poles after looking too long was downright dangerous.

Oblivious, Eiru kept chatting with Yuki on her phone.

“You’re up this early? That’s not like you, Eiru… You usually sleep in on weekends.”

“Don’t get me started. It’s been a bad morning… The neighbors got robbed, and the cops came to question me at the crack of dawn.”

“You mean that gang that’s been all over the news? You live alone, you know. Want to crash at my place for a bit?”

“Nah. I’m too broke to be worth robbing anyway. And I’m heading back to my parents’ tonight. Probably won’t be back ‘til tomorrow.”

“So you’ll be getting death stares from your parents and your sister again?”

“Pretty much… I’m used to it.”

“Serves you right. You brought this on yourself…”

Reading Eiru’s replies, Yuki had zero sympathy—he was almost enjoying her misfortune.

Sometimes, he genuinely had no idea what went on in Eiru’s head. As the only person who knew the full truth, Yuki understood well: Eiru’s current situation was entirely self-inflicted.

She wasn’t a delinquent. Nor was she some loser with bad grades. Quite the opposite—she was a genius.

Yuki, the top student in the entire grade, was someone everyone thought Eiru shouldn’t be friends with. But what no one knew was that… all of Yuki’s grades came from being personally tutored by Eiru.

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During exams, Eiru would deliberately answer wrong. Even at half strength, she could still wipe the floor with most people.

She had already mastered high school-level material back in middle school. But she purposely tanked her grades so teachers and parents would stop paying attention to her.

Yuki had once asked her why—and her answer left him speechless.

Eiru liked living freely. Her rebelliousness was part of it, but more than that, she wanted a life where she could do what she wanted, free from the influence of others.

Some might say: If you’re the top student, wouldn’t you have more freedom?

Wrong. Just look at Yuki.

When you’re at the top, teachers and parents don’t leave you alone. They watch you even more closely to make sure you don’t slip. The higher you climb, the higher their expectations become. District first? City first? Province first?

Human greed knows no bounds. The better you do, the more they demand. More time, more results, more sacrifices. No social life. No fun.

Elite students were the face of the school. One misstep, and it hurt their image. If Eiru had become one of those top students, she’d lose all her freedom. She’d probably be monitored 24/7.

So instead, she went the opposite route. A failing student. If everyone lost faith in her, she’d finally be left alone to breathe.

Turning off her screen, Eiru arrived at the supermarket. The moment she entered, she drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Grabbing a cart, she planned to head for the fresh produce and meat section. But when she passed the candy aisle… her legs froze.

I’m here to buy groceries. Not candy. Resist… resist…

Her Demon Lordly willpower prevailed. She turned her head sharply, wheeled the cart away, and marched straight toward the produce section.

…Though somehow, two packs of pudding and two giant bags of gummies mysteriously ended up in her cart.

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It definitely wasn’t Eiru’s doing. Clearly, the candy jumped in all by itself!

Just as she reached for some vegetables, someone hugged her from behind.

“My goodness… Eiru, all by yourself here? Let Grandma see… Still not growing, are you? You need to eat more.” The woman ruffled her hair as she spoke.

Eiru froze. She knew that voice.

Grandma? Why was she here? More importantly… how did she recognize me ? No one should know that I look like this!

“Mom… That’s not Eiru. Eiru’s a boy,” a couple quickly rushed over and separated them.

“Sorry, little girl. Did we scare you? Grandma’s memory isn’t so good anymore—she must’ve mistaken you for someone else.” The woman turned and apologized.

“N-no problem…” Eiru was still rattled. She’d nearly blown her cover.

Why were Mom and Dad here with Grandma, though? And where was Eiya?

Looking around, she spotted her little sister not so far off.

“What are you two saying? How could I not recognize my own grandchild?” Grandma scolded her parents as they helped her walk. “I might be old and blurry-eyed, but I’d never mistake my Eiru!”

Even like this… Grandma still recognized her. When even her own parents didn’t…

Eiru’s nose stung. She didn’t know whether to feel happy or heartbroken.