7 A problem (1)

Chapter 7: A problem (1)

Because of the ghost's unusual mood, Beelzebub and the girl exchanged short eye contact.

Luckily, she didn't think of him as someone of demonic origin or even expect him to have the ability to see ghosts. To begin with, the only reason their eyes met was that the ghost floated behind Bruno's mother, to which Beelzebub paid respect by introducing himself.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss. I am David, and your son's knowledge saved me from peril." Beelzebub's soft voice and gentle smile seemingly won over the older lady.

Perhaps, it was the praise. "Really? What did he do?"

"His knowledge of the forest's grounds safely guided us outside. We hadn't met any monsters. It's amazing, to be honest." Beelzebub kept showering praises while looking at the reaction of the two girls.

Bruno's mother, Patricia, sighed with relief as her son had returned, all safe and healthy, without any wounds. On the other hand, the ghost girl energetically bobbed her head a few times, proud of the young man.

Prior to this shower of praises, the ghost had been gazing at Bruno with fierce eyes as though Bruno had returned drank with his drinking buddy, and she was a lonely wife waiting for his return, wronged. It was odd since both of them were so young, but that gave David a lot of idea of this ghost's identity.

She was probably Leya, Bruno's close friend.

The graves of Williard Village didn't have photos, only names etched on the crosses, so Beelzebub couldn't have confirmed her identity — but he was sure of it.

"Enough, you two! I am hungry, so make something quick for us, Mom! I extracted a lot of good resources on my adventure to the chasm and even met a great teacher. I can't wait to go to the basement!" Bruno waved his hands with reddened cheeks, then excitedly explained David's alchemy knowledge.

Not foreign with a shower of praises, Beelzebub took them with a straight face, faintly smiling at the mother-son pair. In the corner of his eyes, he saw that the ghost's face became contorted by anger again, probably at the mention of alchemy…

He acted as though she didn't exist and followed the lady of the house to the kitchen.

At last, Beelzebub could fill his stomach with warm food.

"Delicious."

"Do you want seconds?"

"If possible."

-

After Bruno's mom took Beelzebub to her house's guest room, David also received his first lodging on his new adventure. A vista of a small room with nothing but a straw bed, a desk, and a window made him recall his first days in the game world, where lucky players like him had a safe spot to log out.

He lit up a candle perched on the desk and looked over the window at the darkening sky.

He would soon have his first night in a real, fantasy world. And it seemed like things weren't so terrible now that he was surrounded by four walls.

"Who am I kidding?" Beelzebub shook his head and opened his system window to remind himself of his situation.

[Beelzebub(David) Lv. 7 HP: 1100 MP: Infinite]

[Class: Beelzebub(Legendary) - You've become an heir to Beelzebub's Throne, the Lord Of Souls.]

Demons weren't fully explored during David's time. He became a demonic alchemist and followed the steps of the legendary demon, but he never expected to become his heir upon concocting a divine potion. Not only did it suggest a divine connection between demons and higher forces, but it also threatened current Beelzebub's life more than ever.

After all, Beelzebub was gone for thousands of years.

His throne was empty for such a long time… and worse, demons had wars with players and others, so David expected many hurdles solely from that history.

He was a low-level demon, too, so any demon could try their luck to snatch Beelzebub's legendary class.

'I'll think of it later… as I level up, I should see more through my class. Also, the heavenly lineage… I should be one of them, meaning I should expect some system messages alongside my legendary class…' Beelzebub inwardly thought, not daring to voice out his thoughts aloud.

He was convinced of his thinking solely because he wasn't foreign to inheritance classes. In his case, as an heir to the Beelzebub's Throne and a man named after him, David has been expecting his system to pass him quests upon leveling up, just like how other inheritance classes had in the past.

In other words, receiving an inheritance class was like picking up a quest book.

If not, Beelzebub could only delve more into the demon's heritages, try to locate his chamber, and more, forcefully invest himself in those matters to level up.

'It would have been so much easier if I had all my previous skills and levels…' Beelzebub sighed and stood up, aware that thinking alone wouldn't get him far.

He went to his new friend to personally oversee Bruno's alchemy progress.

Bruno was a key to David's meeting with Mr. Wetherell, and Beelzebub was Bruno's chance to become a significant alchemist in the Williard Village — a trade that was more beneficial to Bruno than he himself ever imagined.

-

Bruno practiced his alchemy skills in his house's basement.

His equipment was poor in Beelzebub's eyes, but comparing the young man's stuff to Beelzebub's prime chamber in which he ordered countless ghosts to prepare ingredients was more than harsh and pointless. In fact, Bruno's cauldron and other utensils were better than the majority of people his age.

"Since I want to see your alchemy, prepare your simplest stuff for me." Beelzebub took a corner of Bruno's workplace, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed.

Alchemists could do more than pills and potions, so he was interested in what Bruno would show him.

There was a needle in his eyes, which was no one other than the ghost girl — David ignored that nuisance.

Unaware of her presence, Bruno brightly nodded and got to work.

Soon, his cauldron's content bubbled with hot water, and while it did, Bruno crushed seeds that Beelzebub recognized with a glance.

David already knew what the young man would prepare for him.

But even he didn't expect the ghost girl to be more than a simple nuisance.

"You're thinking of alchemy instead of me again! I hate it! I hate it!"

Her screams affected Bruno, making his flames lose their warmth. He didn't even know its cause, which left him nervous and worried… to fix his mistake, Bruno hurriedly poured more of his mana into the cauldron, which was another mistake he couldn't see through.

His control over flames suffered because of this unexpected accident, putting a few well-prepared ingredients stuffed in the cauldron to waste.

Beelzebub remained indifferent.

But inwardly, he had already tailored a plan to deal with the problem.

The problem that made him seethe inwardly.