A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1467 - 992: Signing the Contract

Chapter 1467: Chapter 992: Signing the Contract

The young girl had a dream.

In the dream, she was happily having dinner with her parents. But then, a man suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of them.

Before the girl could react to what was happening, her father—the kind and gentle man she knew—summoned two swords and charged at the man. However, in the blink of an eye, he was struck down. Her mother raised her hands to summon flames in an attempt to fight back, but soon, she too was engulfed by fire and reduced to a charred corpse.

After that, the girl didn’t remember what happened...

"Ugh..."

When the girl opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Ah, you’re awake."

At the same time, a familiar voice reached her ears. Turning her head, the girl saw a familiar white-haired girl watching her with a smile.

"You’re... Banriya..."

The girl remembered that this was her cousin, Naruse Banriya. She muttered softly and then looked up again, noticing a burly figure sitting on a chair not far away—someone who, if she remembered correctly, was her next-door neighbor.

"Uncle..."

"Who are you calling uncle? I’m not that old yet."

Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes helplessly.

"Are you okay?"

"Ugh... Why am I here? I remember I was having dinner with my mom and dad at home..."

The girl sat up, then lowered her head and looked at the bloodstains on her sailor uniform—at that moment, her previously hazy memories began to sharpen.

"Wait, where are Mom and Dad?!"

"It’s better if you don’t look..."

Duanmu Huai reached out his hand and placed it on the girl’s shoulder. She struggled briefly but eventually slumped back onto the sofa.

"What’s going on? Why... This is all a dream, right? Banriya?!"

As she spoke, the girl—Naruse Mio—lifted her head to look at the white-haired girl before her, who turned to glance at Duanmu Huai without answering...

"Why are you both looking at me?"

Seeing both of them staring at him, Duanmu Huai was taken aback.

"I don’t know anything either! I’m still waiting for you two to explain everything to me!"

"Huh? I thought you were sent here to protect Lord Mio?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s response, the white-haired girl was equally startled.

"Of course not! I’m just the neighbor who lives next door! How should I know what’s going on here?"

Duanmu Huai felt as though he had unwittingly been dragged into a very troublesome situation. In truth, ever since he encountered that old man from the Demon Clan, he’d realized things wouldn’t be so simple. So now, he was also waiting for someone to fill him in on the backstory.

"Just a next-door neighbor, and you can still kill Zorke...?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s response, the white-haired girl muttered in disbelief. But soon, she regained her composure, cleared her throat, and turned to the red-haired girl in front of her.

"Lord Mio, you weren’t dreaming. In fact, those two weren’t your real parents, and I... I’m not your cousin either."

"What?!"

Naruse Mio was dumbfounded by the white-haired girl—Banriya’s—words, and even Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.

Well, this plot just got interesting.

As she finished speaking, Banriya’s body suddenly began to glow. Moments later, the dress she was wearing vanished, replaced by a scandalously provocative black leather outfit. Wings resembling those of a bat and a slender tail emerged from her back.

Seeing this, Naruse Mio was utterly shocked, though Duanmu Huai remained rather indifferent. After all, he’d already seen the outlandish outfits of the Mystical Science Research Society members today.

He’d heard Liliath mention before that many members of the Demon Clan lived secretly within the Human World. He just hadn’t expected them to be so close...

Following this, Banriya proceeded to share a story with Naruse Mio and Duanmu Huai.

Duanmu Huai had already learned that demons existed in this world and that there were Superior Demon Aristocrats—Liliath appeared to be one of them.

And coincidentally, Naruse Mio was also a descendant of another line of Superior Demon Aristocrats. Her father was a man named Wilbert, a Superior Demon Aristocrat and a member of the Sturdy Faction, which had originally supported the truce among the three factions. When Naruse Mio was born, in order to keep her out of the Devil World and away from the eyes of his enemies, Wilbert left her in the Human World to be raised by his loyal subordinates.

In truth, the "parents" Naruse Mio had lived with since birth were none other than Wilbert’s subordinates. As for Banriya, she had come here under the guise of being Mio’s cousin to protect her.

Of course, if everything had gone smoothly, Naruse Mio would have continued living her blissful and oblivious life. Yet, as fate would have it, chaos reigned supreme. Approximately a year ago, Wilbert suddenly passed away, leaving the demon family without its Family Head. Under these circumstances, it was only natural for his daughter, Naruse Mio, to inherit the position.

However... well, what followed was the typical tale of power struggles, internal family conflicts, and external enemies lurking in the shadows. As the heir to Wilbert’s strength and the rightful successor to the family, Naruse Mio became a target in everyone’s eyes. According to Banriya, the demon who recently attacked Mio and her family was named Zorke. Originally assigned to monitor Mio’s actions, Zorke seemed to have developed ambitions of his own upon hearing of Wilbert’s death, leading to his assault on Mio and those around her.