#1200 The New and Old Princesses 

Demon Princess Marine. 

The second princess of the current Demon King, Zedan, born and bred in that storied royal bloodline. 

She’s around seven, yet so sharp and well‑spoken I sometimes forget I’m talking to a kid at all. 

Lately, I’ve been spotting little Marine around the farm more and more. 

Not that seeing her is strange in itself. 
The Demon King’s family drops by for weekend outings every so often, and Marine usually tags along. 

The weird part is that this tiny princess is roaming the place...completely unsupervised. 

The first time I saw her, I figured she’d wandered off from her parents, but then I stopped and thought, “Wait, were they scheduled to visit today?” which made me confused. 

After a few repeats of that, I couldn’t write it off as my imagination anymore. 

“Marine’s coming here on her own, isn’t she?!  What’s going on?!” 

The person I grilled was Belena. 

“On her own? Oh dear…  You hadn’t noticed, Lord Saint?!” 

Hey, I’m an oblivious guy, okay?  
I could miss a confession of love and answer, “Huh?  Did you say something?” 

“Princess Marine has been visiting solo several times now. Since… half a year ago?” 

Half a year?! 
How did I miss that?! 
Well, I was making more trips to the development site lately, and my time on the farm’s been spotty… 

Still...she’s, what, seven? Wandering around alone?  
That’s dangerous with a side of danger.  
“My First Errand—Farm Edition” is not a show I want to watch live!!! 

“I wouldn’t worry. Her Highness comes and goes by teleport,” says Belena, totally unfazed. 

Teleport...?! 

“The spell that jumps you instantly to a preset location. The princess set a waypoint in her bedroom and linked it to the one here on the farm.” 

Okay, hold up.  
Teleportation is supposed to be fairly advanced magic, right? 

And a kid’s casting it?  
Shouldn’t she be starting with, I dunno, Magic ABCs? 

“Normally, yes. Teleport’s what a gifted alchemist learns when they’re graduating from intermediate to advanced. Setting your own waypoints is full‑on top‑class. Princess Marine is terrifyingly talented.” 

Belena sighed the sigh of someone whose “blood‑soaked years of study” just got smoked by a grade‑schooler. 
Marine’s displaying her exceptional wealth of talent again. 

“...Oh, please rest assured that it’s safe and secure. The waypoint in her room sits at the bottom of a locked chest. If anyone hijacks the link they materialize inside and get trapped... It’s amazing how kids think of everything, don’t they?” 

Uh, great…  
But why is Marine coming here alone?  
Not once, but repeatedly? 
What on earth did SHE come to the farm for? 

“Well, when one visits Lord Saint’s farm, there’s obviously only one thing to do…” 

Stuff herself with fresh veggies? 

“…Training.” 

*** 

Sure enough, Marine popped in again today.  
I was ready and waiting, so I could tail her all day. 

She patters across the field and stops in front of someone. 

“Master, I’m counting on you again, hon!” 
“All right, come at me whenever you’re ready!” 

That someone is… Letasreit?! 

Why is the ex‑princess of the old Human Kingdom hanging out with Marine?! 

“Let’s start with our usual warm‑ups! Jumping straight into the hard stuff invites injury. Always condition your body first!” 
“Got it, hon!” 
“Here we go! Warm‑up One! Zeryaaaaaaaaaah!” 
“Wataaaaaaah!” 

And then those two start trading punches. 

Fast. Too fast for my eyes to track. They’re on full‑on serious mode. 
Every clash sounds like an explosion. My eardrums wobbled. When you get that many booms per second, your head threatens to crack open. 

Even so, each blow is blocked at the last millimeter.  
Those shockwaves are fists meeting forearms, do they have steel plates under their skin?! 

They don't stay in one place either; bouncing all over the field like they’re blinking through space. 
They’re moving so fast it’s almost like they’re teleporting from one place to another. 

And after about an hour of that intense back-and-forth...  

“HAAAARRRGH!” 
“FO‑WO‑WAAAAAH!” 

They leap apart, both thrust out their palms, focused... 
...And fired?! 
Literal beams of energy?! 

Beams fire from both Letasreit and Marine, crashing head-on at the midpoint between them. 

For a few seconds, they clashed in a tense power struggle, but quickly lost steam and faded away almost simultaneously. 

Silence fell, so still it felt like only their breathing could be heard... 

“Okay, warm‑up’s done!” 
“I worked up a nice sweat, hoooon.” 

Hold it right thereeeeeeeeee!!! 

I burst from my hiding bush. 

“Oh, hi, Saint. Not off to the site today?” 
“Day off, hooon?” 

Look... I’m basically self‑employed, so I set my own schedule... 
Don’t make it sound like I’m some NEET, please! 

More importantly, Marine!  
You’ve been sneaking here alone. What exactly are you up to?! 

Depending on the answer, I might have to report this to your parents! 

“I’m not doing anything shady, hon... This is special training to become a proper Demon Princess, hon.” 

Training?  
From that slugfest? 

“I need to grow stronger so I can help Father and Big Bro one day, hon. Study lots to get smarter, train lots to get tougher, hon!” 

Hence… training with Letasreit? 
Sure, after a few sessions like that her combat power might hit, say, 180,000… 

“Miss Letas is the perfect sparring partner, hon! She was a princess, after all!” 

True, Letasreit was once a human princess, but... 

“Hooooohohoho! Even one so young recognizes my quality! If my experience as royalty can aid her, I suppose I could consent to mentor.” 
“Miss Letas was the pampered tyrant of a corrupt kingdom, hon. Selfish, foolish, ignored her people, textbook example of a ruler who deserved to be overthrown, hon.” 
“BWGHHH—!” 

Letasreit reels as though punched in the soul. 
Okay, yes, as royalty she was a disaster and then some. 

So, why choose a hopeless case like her as a teacher, Marine? Are you trying to learn what not to do? 

“Fufufu, exactly‑non. The world has a concept called… a negative example!” 

A what?! The most dishonorable honor of all! 

“Find a bad example, march in the opposite direction, and you’ll hit the right answer, hon. As a signpost of what NOT to do, no one beats Miss Letas, hon! I can learn tons from her, hon!” 
“GYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” 

Letasreit collapses, writhing in mortified agony. 
 

She’s reformed herself over the years, so seeing her past idiocy laid bare must be torture. 

By the time Marine finishes learning everything, Letasreit’s psyche might be sanded down to nothing. 

Go easy on her, okay, little Marine?!