“Mama, mama!”

  A human child’s voice echoed loudly, shrill and desperate.

  “I can’t find it! It’s gone!” the child cried, little feet stomping on the ground.

  “Stop crying!” a woman voice snapped back, sharp and annoyed. “You’re always crying. It’s just a stupid device!”

  “But my iPad!”

  The child sobbed harder, tears streaming down their face like the world was ending.

  I jolted awake.

  I sat straight up in my coffin, my arms stiffly crossed over my chest in a perfect mummy pose.

  “Huhhh?!” I gasped.

  The stone ceiling of my chamber greeted me, cold and familiar. Torches flickered. The air smelled faintly of sulfur and old magic. No humans. No crying child. No angry woman.

  “…It was a dream?” I muttered.

  I rexed back down slightly, one hand on my forehead. “What a strange dream. Why am I dreaming about a human child I didn’t even know…?”

  I let out a small, awkward chuckle. “Am I… homesick? No. Absolutely not. Why would I be homesick? Now that I’m here, I honestly think humans are scarier than demons.”

  [Announcement: The Demon Lord was dreaming for the first time about a human child.]

  I froze.

  My soul left my body.

  “…System,” I whispered slowly, my smile twitching, “you didn’t have to say it like that.”

  I stared at the air in front of me, already imagining the worst.

  “Oh god,” I groaned, pulling myself up into a sitting position. “Please don’t let the demons misunderstand this. That announcement sounds extremely illegal.”

  The heavy stone doors smmed open.

  “My lord!”

  I flinched.

  Grando stormed in, armor cnking, posture rigid and serious as always. I barely had time to sit properly when...

  “My lord!!”

  Charmie followed right after her, practically flying into the room with chaotic energy.

  Instant headache.

  As they both started talking at the same time.

  “There’s a matter—”

  “What do you mean dreaming about a human child?!”

  “an urgent report—”

  “—since when do you...”

  “we must address...”

  “STOP.” My voice echoed through the chamber.

  Both of them froze instantly.

  Grando snapped to attention, back straight, fist to chest. Charmie cmped her mouth shut, cheeks puffed slightly like she was holding back ten more questions.

  In the corner of the room, Lazi was peacefully asleep, wrapped tightly in her bnket, not moving an inch.

  “…How nice it must be to be you,” I muttered enviously.

  I sighed deeply and rubbed my temples. “I just woke up. You two nearly murdered my brain. One at a time.”

  I stood up from the coffin and carefully stepped down, adjusting my robe before walking toward the throne. Both of them followed obediently.

  I sat down on the cold stone throne and crossed my legs. “Okay. Which one is urgent?”

  They both raised their hands.

  “…Of course,” I said ftly. “Charmie, I know you want to interrogate me about my dream. So Grando, you first.”

  Charmie visibly pouted.

  Grando stepped forward and knelt. “My lord, I sincerely apologize for my earlier intrusion. However, there is a serious matter.”

  I blinked. “What kind of matter?”

  “Your thing disappeared.”

  “…My thing?”

  A sudden chill ran down my spine.

  “Wait,” I said quickly. “Important question. Am I female or male right now?”

  “Female,” Charmie answered instantly, face completely ft.

  I immediately looked down and grabbed my chest.

  “Oh thank god,” I sighed in relief. “It’s still there. My things.”

  Grando turned bright red.

  “N-no, my lord! That’s not what I meant!”

  I slowly dropped my hands. “…Oh.”

  Charmie burst out ughing.

  “So what was it, Grando?” I asked, pointing zily. “Say it directly, please.”

  Grando took a breath. “I meant… your ft rectangur artifact.”

  “Ft rectangur... You mean the iPad?”

  [Announcement: The Demon Lord’s iPad was stolen.]

  “…HEY.”

  Grando nodded. “Yes.”

  My eye twitched.

  “…Does Glutto almost eat it again?”

  “Where is Glutto?” I demanded.

  “I believe she is in the kitchen,” Grando replied calmly. “She is there ninety percent of the time.”

  “What about the other ten percent?” I asked.

  “Sleeping,” Charmie answered immediately.

  “…Of course.” i stood up and headed toward the kitchen, both of them trailing behind me.

  As I walked, the dream repyed in my mind.

  A crying human child. A missing iPad.

  “…No way,” I muttered. “That’s just coincidence, right? This isn’t some weird foreshadowing thing.”

  ---

  “Glutto!”

  I shouted as soon as I entered the kitchen.

  Glutto jumped slightly, rice spilling from her bowl, but she looked more concerned about saving the food than my sudden presence.

  “Oh! My lord!” she said cheerfully, shoveling rice back into her mouth. “Do you need something?”

  “Did you see my thing?” I asked. “My iPad. The one that talks.”

  She tilted her head, cheeks full. “Mmm… no?”

  “You’re sure?” I narrowed my eyes.

  She swallowed. “I didn’t see it, my lord. I swear on… food.”

  I nodded. “Okay, thanks.”

  If she swore on food, she was probably telling the truth. I turned and left the kitchen, heading back through the halls.

  That’s when I heard it.

  A familiar electronic sound.

  “…Wait.”

  I stopped.

  The faint audio of a video echoed from around the corner.

  “…No way.”

  I followed the sound and turned—

  And there she was.

  A small demon with green skin and pointy ears, almost goblin-like, sitting on the floor with my iPad propped up in front of her.

  She was staring at the screen intensely, golden eyes sparkling.

  “…My iPad,” I whispered.

  I walked closer and carefully poked her shoulder.

  “Hey, little green.”

  She jolted violently.

  “E...!” She turned around, eyes widening in horror. “M-my lord!”

  She immediately knelt, clutching the iPad tightly to her chest.

  I stared at her.

  “…You took it.”

  “I—I’m sorry!” she said quickly. “But it’s… it’s my precious now.”

  “…Your what?”

  She leaned closer and whispered, voice strange and reverent.

  “My preciiiooouuusss…” She whispered it in a creepy, drawn-out tone, making me furrow my brows as I shot her a look and said, “Don’t mimic Gollum from Lord of the Rings. That’s just unsettling.”

  She lit up the moment she heard the word rings. “Rings?! Where is it? My lord, where are your rings?! I need to see it!”

  I facepalmed instantly, already regretting ever bringing that up.

  I sighed. “Forget it. It’s not important.” I took a deep breath before continuing, “Anyway…” I said ftly. “That’s mine. I fixed it.”

  She hugged it tighter. “It’s mine!”

  I rubbed my face. “Oh no. This is going to take a while.”

  The small demon trembled but didn’t let go, eyes gleaming unnaturally.

  “I found it,” she whispered. “Abandoned. Uncimed. Shiny. Ft. Valuable.”

  “That’s because I put it down for five minutes!”

  “Treasure chooses its owner,” she said solemnly.

  “…Who taught you that?”

  She smiled mischievously. “Me.”

  I stared at her.

  This was bad.

  Very bad.

  And somehow, deep down, I already knew—

  This was definitely one of them.