Demon King – Chapter 5 – The Demon Lord Runs Away!

While absentmindedly picking out vegetables, Eiru’s mind was completely occupied by the thought of her family being nearby.

Eiya was playing on her phone, while Eiru’s parents were helping their grandmother shop and keeping an eye on her.

Why are they here? Could it be… because of me? Are they here to drag me back home?

They’ve always told her to go home early on weekends and holidays. Ideally, right after school on Friday…

But our dear Demon Lord always liked to stall as long as possible, usually only heading home late Saturday night and then sneaking away again after Sunday dinner. Her mom nagged her about this constantly…

So this time they came all the way here early in the morning just to catch me? What a headache…

With a troubled expression, Eiru discreetly pulled out her phone to test her theory.

First things first—she silenced her ringtone and switched it to vibrate. Then, she cautiously sent a text to her dear mother:

“Mom… did you guys come to the East District? A friend said they saw you…”

That’s right—Demon Lord Eiru deployed one of the most well-known modern internet tactics: An imaginary friend!

There’s no problem that making up a friend can’t fix. And if there is, just make up more friends.

After sending the message, Eiru peeked over at her mother. She was still focused on picking vegetables and didn’t notice her text. Well, it was a noisy supermarket—no way she’d notice a singular notification.

Should she text Eiya? She was on her phone anyway… but Eiya didn’t seem too keen on chatting with her.

Eiru glanced over. Although her sister was absorbed in her phone, she kept sneaking glances in Eiru’s direction.

Eiru reconsidered. Their relationship was already tense enough—better to not stir up any more trouble with a message.

This kind of thing happened all the time at home. What seemed like normal behavior to Eiru would always set Eiya off somehow.

Like cleaning her room as a favor—instant rage. Asking about school—cue a glare. Trying to joke around—sudden pillow missile. That kind of thing…

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Eiru couldn’t really blame her. Everyone’s different, after all. And if someone dislikes something, it’s better to avoid it around them out of respect.

Despite the tension, Eiru knew her sister wasn’t heartless. She still brought Eiru bubble tea when she bought one for herself, and never forgot about her in any important family matters.

But girls really were hard to understand… Then again, Eiru was a girl now too.

She shook her head, banishing that bizarre thought from her mind and refocused on picking vegetables so she could get out of here quickly.

“Eiru, this one’s no good—look at these wilted leaves.”

At some point, Grandma had reappeared beside her. She reached into Eiru’s cart and pulled out some of the vegetables she’d picked earlier in her daze.

“Here, these are better,” she said, placing a few new selections into the cart.

“Thanks, Grandma…” Eiru smiled.

Seeing her smile, Grandma reached out and gently patted Eiru on the head. Eiru closed her eyes in bliss, clearly enjoying the affection.

“Mom… you’ve got the wrong person again,” Eiru’s parents rushed over to intervene.

“We’ll pick Eiru up and head home later. Don’t trouble someone else’s kid.”

“What are you saying? Eiru’s right here! Look at that little face…” Grandma said, playfully squeezing Eiru’s cheeks.

“Guh…” Eiru let out a soft squeak as her face was squished.

She wasn’t resisting at all, just sitting there obediently like an overly well-behaved child… Her parents were now even more embarrassed.

They gently pulled Grandma’s hand away. Eiru’s father made up a random excuse and led Grandma off to another part of the store, leaving Eiru’s mother and Eiya behind.

“Sorry, little girl… you’re just too cute, Grandma probably wanted to make you her honorary granddaughter,” Eiru’s mother squatted slightly to apologize, half-joking. She finally took a good look at the girl in front of her.

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This kid is unfairly cute. Even my daughter, as adorable as she is, falls a bit short next to her…

Looking at the petite girl barely over 140 cm, dressed like an elementary schooler, her maternal instincts flared up.

So polite, so cute, and even so responsible—shopping alone at such a young age. If only she were my daughter…

“How old are you, sweetie? Do you live around here?”

“Um… actually, I’m already 16. Not that young anymore.” Eiru felt a bit awkward talking to her own mother in this appearance for the first time.

She’d somewhat expected it, and could understand why, but it still stung a bit to realize that her own mother didn’t recognize her

“Huh?” Her mother sensed a trace of sadness in Eiru’s voice and assumed she had misjudged her age.

“Well, you should eat more to grow taller. What about your parents? Are you out alone?”

Shopping alone at 16 wasn’t that strange. But when she thought of her own 16-year-old son—who only skipped class and caused trouble…

“I came alone, but… my family is around here too.”

Her sentences felt contradictory, and for some reason, her mother sensed there was a hidden meaning in her words.

“Sorry to trouble you. Really.” Stopping herself from calling her “little girl”. She knew teenagers hated being called that.

“It’s fine. I’ve picked everything I need. I’ll head out now. Bye…” Swallowing the word “Mom”, Eiru bowed slightly before pushing her cart away, almost fleeing.

“You definitely scared her off. She probably thinks you’re a kidnapper,” Eiya sauntered over and patted her mother on the shoulder.

“Do you have to talk to your mom like that?” she said, flicking Eiya lightly on the forehead.

“But seriously, Mom—didn’t that girl look kind of familiar? Even though it’s our first time seeing her?”

“You thought so too? Well, Eiya, she’s two years older than you. You should be calling her big sis.”

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“Hah? Are you kidding? She looks like she’s still in elementary school…”

As she passed the fresh food section, Eiru casually grabbed some pre-packed pork and chicken before hurrying to the checkout.

After checking out with her arms full of bags, she ran out of the supermarket. She hesitated for a moment, before flagging down a taxi to go home.

While in the cab, she got a reply from her mother.

Just as she feared—they were planning to take her home. The whole family had come in her father’s car to have lunch at her place and then drag her back with them.

They didn’t think that she’d be able to cook, so they went shopping to buy ingredients and planned to make lunch at her place.

After paying the fare, Eiru rushed up the stairs, even using transformation magic to enhance her speed.

She opened the door and shoved the groceries into the fridge. Then she frantically tidied up her shoes and clothes and hid anything that might give away her true identity.

All her plushies, hair clips, ribbons—hidden.

Thankfully she wasn’t human, so she didn’t need makeup or skincare. Her body wouldn’t grow, so she didn’t need feminine hygiene products either.

Her undergarments were stored in a hidden compartment in her closet. Her real clothes and shoes were hidden behind layers of boys’ clothing—her family would never be rude enough to rummage through her wardrobe.

After triple-checking that nothing had been overlooked, and confirming she had enough mana reserves, Eiru activated her transformation magic.

A blue glow enveloped her body, and her height shot up by almost 30 cm. Her waist-length silver hair shortened and turned black…

As the light faded, Eiru returned to her original male form.

Honestly, there wasn’t anything remarkable about his original appearance. Average looks, average height, an utterly forgettable face and build.

Throw him into a crowd and no one would give him a second glance.

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With everything ready, Eiru decisively… went back to his room and booted up his computer.

Nothing much to do anyway—might as well play some games, check out the latest news, see if his favorite streamers were live… Plenty of ways to kill time.

“Urban Legends of Huanghai City”—a forum thread compiled by bored netizens gathering all sorts of strange rumors.

Netizens were truly creative—each legend had multiple wild versions. Eiru often browsed the thread for fun during his free time.

Some rumors really had gone viral, causing quite the stir.

Like the haunted abandoned school in the south district, or a madwoman spotted downtown late at night, or the weird gusts of wind atop a certain skyscraper ¹ Probably referencing the skyscraper in Shenzhen swaying …

All exaggerated stories, really—pure entertainment.

Thinking that, Eiru clicked into one of the most viewed posts.

“Huge Bat Spotted in the East District!”

Over the past two years, many people have reported seeing a massive bat flying overhead on Saturday nights.

According to witnesses, a bat roughly the size of a human could occasionally be seen flying from the East District toward the West, concealed by the darkness.

And by Sunday night, it would fly back from the West toward the East…

Numerous sightings have been reported, with highly consistent descriptions. The phenomenon has attracted media attention.

There have been no reports of injury related to the bat. Experts are scheduled to investigate in the coming weeks to confirm its existence.

A singular thought filled her mind while reading that…

Shit.