#1201 Love is Power  

A certain negative example, Princess Letasreit, gives little Marine a lesson. 

“Listen up! Do you know what a true princess absolutely needs?!” 
“No, hooon!” 

At least pretend to think about it for a bit. 

“It’s passion, conviction, ideals, brains, class, grace, diligence, and above all... Power!” 
“Strength is power, hooon.” 

That’s… kinda missing the point, but okay. 
Trust Letasreit to come out of left field every time. 

“Power fixes everything! The ancients said so: All is violence! Violence solves all!” 
“It’s totally apocalypse‑time, hooon.” 

Is Marine sinking into dangerous ideology?!  
Maybe I should pull the emergency brake… Or so I thought, but... 

“…Marine, the world really does run on power.” 

Whoa, a sudden mood swing. 

“Yes, the Human Kingdom lost its war because the royals were useless, the church was trash, you name it. In the end, our strength withered, and we couldn’t stand against the demons. Anyone who neglects power has no right to lead a nation. I should know. I did.” 

Her IQ just rocketed. 

“That’s why you, little demon princess, must pursue the ultimate, maximum power! With power, you can do whatever you want! Cultivate might worthy of your noble birth!” 

And she’s back to doofus mode. 

“That’s called noblesse oblige, hooon!” 

I’m pretty sure noblesse oblige covers more than that. 

Yet with her pure heart, Marine pounces on Letasreit to fulfill that warped ideal. 

“Uggghhh! She’s not even budging, hooon...!” 
“Hah‑hah‑hah, kiddie‑grade arm strength.” 

Marine pushes with her whole body, but Letasreit blocks her with a single finger, and even shoves her back. 

Sure, that sounds like normal adult‑vs‑child physics, except Marine is already one of the strongest demons around. 

Her mom, Glasya, used to be one of the Demon King’s Heavenly Four. She’s a mountain of muscle in female form. 
Maybe it’s in the blood, because toddler Marine can already hoist an entire boat. 
Hard to believe, I know. 

So, what does that make Letasreit, who pushes her back with one finger? 

“You’re still wet behind the ears. Relying on raw muscle only gives you wimpy power. Remember this: muscles will betray you!!!” 

That line’s gonna get her canceled. 

“Pure muscle strength has a ceiling. How do you break it? You know, right?” 
“No idea, hoooon.” 

Marine abandons thinking at light speed. 

“Here’s a hint: we’re more than flesh. We have hearts!” 
“Hearts, hooon.” 
“When the heart ignites, it unleashes explosive force that flows into the muscles and becomes power. The heart is the source of everything! The heart is power!” 

Great, she’s gone full idealism mode. 
Normally I’d yell, “Quit talking nonsense,” but with Letasreit, that nonsense is disturbingly close to fact. 

“Mind‑over‑matter power!” 

She flings a punch and pulverizes a boulder nearby. 

“Pour your heart into your fist and you’ll smash rocks, split the sky! The stronger the feeling, the harder your fist!” 
“I’m learning so much, hooon!” 

Letasreit’s absurd strength actually comes from the mana swirling inside her. 
It’s thanks to that thaumaturgy magic we talked about recently. 

Thaumaturgy is human‑only magic that burns the mana flowing through nature and the body.  
Ignite that mana and you move way beyond human limits. 

Letasreit’s super strength had always been chalked up to raw momentum, and no one really questioned how it worked. But it turns out she’s been unconsciously using body-enhancement magic the whole time. 

She is, after all, a descendant of the Human Kingdom’s royal bloodline. Apparently, that comes with a massive natural mana pool. 
Guess it’s not just an empty title, huh? 

On the flip side, Marine’s a demon, so she doesn’t really have a connection to the humans’ thaumaturgy. 
Instead, demons use a different kind: alchemy. 
I mentioned this recently, but alchemy's all about making contracts with spirits or gods and borrowing their power to create miracles. 

That means Marine, being a demoness, can’t use thaumaturgy, So. doesn’t that make this whole lecture kinda pointless for her...? 

...Hm? 
Then, all that ridiculous strength she’s been showing off... was pure muscle all along? 

“So, how do we set the heart on fire and turn it into strength? That’s today’s masterclass.” 
“We’re finally at the crucial part, hooon!!!” 
“Picture what you treasure most. Your love, your feelings...when that bursts, love becomes power!” 

For Letasreit, what she treasures most is... 

“Beans! Think of beans, love beans, and when the bean universe inside my heart explodes, superpower is born! Burn! MY BEAN UNIVERSE, BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!” 

The aura blasting off Letasreit is terrifying.  
A shockwave streaks from her fist, climbs the sky, and splits a cloud clean in half. 

… 
Did her fist just break the sound barrier? 

“Your turn! Picture beans! Beans solve everything!” 
“U‑uhh… beans… beans, hooon…?!” 

Marine is really struggling. 
I mean, only Letasreit can love beans hard enough to split the heavens. 

Most people can’t love beans that much. 
Love still has its limits, after all. 

Seeing her flounder, I step in. 

“Um… maybe it doesn’t have to be beans?” 
“Huh?” 

Marine’s face crumples.  
She’s still a kid; hit a wall and the heart snaps. 

“Think of something you like, Marine. Cake? Ice cream?” 
“What I like is…” 

She falls silent for a good half‑minute. 

“There’s nothing… I don’t love anything…!” 

She mumbles. 

“It’s not sweets or food… The one thing I should pour my whole soul into loving is… this country!!!” 

BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!! 

...A colossal aura erupts.  
It’s coming from tiny Marine, but even adults flinch. 

“Loving my country becomes my strength! That’s how Demon Princess Marine rolls!!!” 

She swings her fist at the sky.  
The shockwave streaks up and splits another cloud. 

Exactly like Letasreit. 
Only this time, the cloud splits in a neat cross. 

“I call it… Demon Kingdom Demon Princess Fist!” 

Marine just unlocked her finishing move. 

Her patriotism turns to power, flies out, and obliterates anything physical. 
A force truly worthy of a royal. 

Right now, Marine just leveled up as a demon princess! 

“…To love your country, huh…” 

Seeing that, Letasreit mutters. 

“Maybe I should’ve been fighting for my nation and people instead of… y’know, beans…” 

A self‑reflection from Letasreit! 

Hang in there! Even if you love beans more than your citizens, it’s fine! 

You’re the negative example, after all!!! 

“Thanks to Master Letasreit, I just sprinted up another step on the adult ladder, hoon! Master, you’re amazing at raising people, hooon! A top‑tier negative example, hooon!” 
“Gwaaaahhh!!!” 

Letasreit: KO’d. 
Has anyone ever twisted her conscience this badly? 

Marine… 
She’s strong, sure, but more than that, she’s one terrifying little girl. 

That aside, she’s a demon with no knack for thaumaturgy…  
Yet she’s pumping out this much power. 

…Could it really be… 

The heart?