Adopted by the Demon Lord

Chapter 2 (Part 2)

That next morning I woke up in Saymen's bed. I was confused and still a little tired. I constantly apologized to Saymen that day for him needing to put me inside that night.

But, rather than stop me from doing so, he kept saying, "Get used to it. When that man comes back for you you'll have anything you've ever wanted and everything you'll ever need. That's a dream for most people."

I didn't want to live in a dream. I was fine with reality, no matter how cruel it was. That's why I always work for things like money and food, rather than begging on the street like most of the homeless and orphans did.

That night after I was done with what Saymen told me to do, rather than 2 silver coins like usual, he handed me a bag. "One of the gods stopped by last night too. He said that you'd suffered enough and deserved better. So he told me to give you this instead of your usual wage." Saymen said.

I checked inside and there was so much gold coins that I was sure even the smarter kids in town couldn't count them. I dropped the bag and backed away slowly. "No! I can't take this much, not even from a generous god!" I yelled.

"I don't even deserve the two silver coins you give me. I may not know how to count higher than 10 or read, but I'm sure I've seen all of your food costing more and more each day, and yet you never change the price of what I get. If it's just that much I'm okay with working even harder for the same amount, but I can't take this." I told him.

I felt my face get warm around my nose. Then I felt something wet drip down my lip. My nose was bleeding and I knew it before I even checked.

Then I felt so lightheaded that I didn't even notice that I'd fallen down. My eyes slowly closed and I couldn't even hear Saymen who was clearly yelling for help. I wouldn't come back to being fully conscious for a week.

When I did wake up Saymen was waiting for me with a stew in his hands. He fed it to me and made me swallow it even when I had mustered up enough strength to try and spit it out, he stopped me. Then I would stare up at the ceiling without the strength to move and just wait to fall asleep again.

That same scene would play over and over for me. After 10 or so times Saymen came in with something different, it was medicine. As he gave it to me he said, "The Demon Lord came back and was sad that he couldn't see you because of this sickness. He wants you to get better before he comes back for you."

The next time I woke up, I felt better than normal. I got up and then got straight to work for Saymen. I cleaned his room and made the bed he had me sleep on.

I did everything I could before I left the room. When I did, he was waiting for me on the other side of the door. He was ecstatic that I was finally out of the bed.

However I was crying. "How much was that medicine, and that food?" I asked him. "The food was free, since it wasn't a menu item, but that medicine was probably expensive, but that's not my call. That medicine was a gift to you from the Demon Lord." He told me.

I furiously walked outside and to where Me and my mother had stayed for all those years. I wiggled a loose brick out of the wall and pulled out the money my mom only told me to use when I ran out, or if it was an emergency. A medium sized gold coin.

I put the brick back in place and took the coin to Saymen. "Will this pay for it?" I asked. He took out a bag of silvers and counted out 100 of them.

"100 silvers, this is what that coin is worth. So I'm sure that it will buy you anything you could think of. Even a large house is worth about 80 of them and you'd still have enough left over for that potion." He told me.

So I gave him the coin and exchanged it for the silvers. By the next time the Demon Lord came, I had only spent 30 coins on food, so I had 70 left. In that time Saymen had taught me to count to 100 and do basic adding and subtracting, so that I could keep track of my money better, and not get tricked into spending more money than I had to at some places.

Saymen told me early that morning that the Demon Lord was going to be in the main square. He told me that I could pay him back before he took me away. When the time came I ran ahead of Saymen, but being careful not to drop a single coin from my arms.

I made it through the crowd, but fell when I passed the last person. I dropped a few coins and scraped my knee across the ground. Even though it hurt and I knew I was bleeding, I pretended like it didn't happen, so that he wouldn't worry about me again.

He walked over to me. So I picked up the coins I'd dropped and asked "Mister Demon Lord, I need to repay you for that medicine you gave me. Will this be enough?" and he put his hand on my head and said "More than enough, but you should hold onto that for now."

Saymen came out of the crowd and was told to bring me outside the city walls by the Demon Lord. He picked me up and start to walk me out. I looked back to see a fat man in expensive clothing laugh and everyone cheer. Then as the gates to the city shut everyone stopped.

Not to long after the demons went in and the Demon Lord came walking towards us with a red haired wolf-beast woman. Once he got to us Saymen handed me to the Demon Lord. Whilst being held by the Demon Lord I heard him tell Saymen that he was being exiled.

Then Saymen revealed that he had been a demon the entire time. He said that he would be looking for the Naritafu elves. Then he said goodbye to me, and gave me a letter with a unicorn crest pressed on it.

I opened it to see that there was a note, but I still couldn't read. However with the note was a small painting of my mother in great detail, and my mother's old adventurer licence. I smiled and told him "Thank you, I'll see you again someday, I hope." With all my heart. Then the Demon Lord took me to his home.