Reborn As Noble

”Chief! Chiefff!!”

Through smoke and screams, a young beastkin guard sprinted toward the main gate, his armor scratched and blood staining his blade. His breath came in ragged gasps as he dodged collapsing debris and shadowy claws.

Chief Guard Kinot, a towering lion-beastkin with a thick scar running down his right eye, stood firmly at the central defense line. His massive glaive swung in a wide arc, slicing through two dark mana creatures at once, sweat gleaming beneath his helmet.

”Ugh!! I’m busy! What!!” he roared, parrying another strike with practiced force.

”The young noble from Armand—he sent me to find you!!”

”For what?!”

”I—I don’t know! He didn’t say—!”

CLANG!!

The young guard raised his sword just in time to block a pouncing miasma beast, skidding backward to avoid the strike.

Beside him, Javier’s white puppet knight crossbow unit calmly fired a burst of three precise shots—headshots that dissolved the beasts before they could follow up.

Kinot briefly turned, panting heavily.

”I can’t leave this position! This is the main door to the castle!”

”But—”

Suddenly, a surge of lightning and wind mana exploded from above.

Mimi—still dressed in her royal battle robes—dropped from a balcony, twisting midair and slamming a monster into the pavement, cracking the ground.

She spun, her leg trailing lightning, delivering a flawless dropkick into another enemy, then landing in a crouch beside Kinot.

The battlefield froze at the sight.

”Ah—!! Princess!! It’s dangerous here!!”

Kinot’s eyes widened as his instincts kicked in.

”What are you doing!? You’re supposed to stay inside—”

”No way!”

Mimi grinned, her tail flicking behind her.

”Besides—this is my kingdom.”

Kinot grit his teeth.

”You’re impossible! We can’t protect you if you keep charging in!”

”Then don’t! Just don’t get in my way!”

She surged forward again, lightning bursting from her fists, leaving Kinot and the young guard stunned in place.

Behind them, Javier’s puppet knight continued calmly firing mana bolts.

Kinot glanced once toward the eastern tower—where flashes of white light and gunfire still rained down.

A burst of dark mana exploded near the edge of the southern wall—but before it settled, a massive scythe sliced clean through a cluster of corrupted creatures in the smoke.

”Clang! Swish!”

DELYA landed gracefully , her long twin horns gleaming in the flickering light of mana flames, her dress fluttering behind her as if she were a noble specter of destruction.

She leaned on her oversized, dark-rimmed scythe, smiling as if this was just an ordinary evening walk.

”Where is my future husband~”

A beast made of writhing smoke lunged at her.

SWISH!!

Her scythe spun once.

The creature’s head was sliced clean off, bursting into black mist.

”Tehe~ Weak~”

Another monster, thinking it had the element of surprise, surged from the alley behind her.

Without even turning, Delya flicked her wrist, sending a wave of dark crescent energy backward—cutting the creature in half mid-pounce.

She spun slowly, lifting her scythe to rest across her shoulders, humming softly.

”Now then~ Where is he~”

Her eyes sparkled.

”Jaaaaaavieeeer~”

Everyone around her—including guards—took a hesitant step back, unsure whether to thank her or be afraid.

Even the monsters hesitated.

One of the beastkin lieutenants muttered:

”Who—who is this girl…?”

”Demon Kingdom royalty, I think…?”

”Then why is she treating this like hide-and-seek?!”

Meanwhile, as dark mana beasts tried to regroup across the square, Delya twirled her scythe and skipped forward, humming to herself.

”Come out, come out, wherever you are~ My handsome, pouty, trigger-happy little noble~”

”Ah~ there he is!!”

Delya’s eyes lit up as she spotted Javier standing on a high ledge, his mana machine gun roaring in rapid bursts.

”Danna-sama~!”

Javier visibly flinched.

”Ugh!! I’m busy here!!”

He ducked behind a broken spire, fired off three precise shots, and just managed to turn in time to see Delya leap over, her scythe trailing shadows behind her.

A trio of miasma beasts charged her—only to be cleaved in a single swift arc, disintegrating instantly.

She grinned and pointed her scythe at the smoking ground.

”See? My ’dark’ mana can still slash and kill these monsters. Even if they’re dark mana too!”

”So?” Javier frowned, still firing down approaching beasts from above.

”I never said it couldn’t work, I just said it was suspicious!”

”No, no~ You did say—”

She skipped a step closer, spinning her scythe and raising a finger.

”If my dark mana could kill it, you’d marry me~!”

Javier froze in place mid-reload.

”Huh?!”

BANG-BANG-BANG!!

He reflexively fired at a nearby beast, still looking at her.

”When did I say that?!”

”Earlier~”

Delya winked.

”Right before you got binded, dodged my scythe, and tried to run away~”

”I didn’t say it like that!!”

”Doesn’t matter~ You said it~”

She flashed a smug grin and twirled her scythe dramatically.

”Verbal contract sealed by battle, Mr. Armand. Demonkin customs.”

”What kind of logic—?!!”

Just then—

”NYAAA! I HEARD THAT!!”

Mimi, crackling with electricity, dropped from above, kicking a dark mana beast into the wall like a missile.

”He’s not yours, he’s mine!!”

Javier groaned, facepalming while firing sideways without looking—nailing another monster.

”Ugh, no, no, no—not now...! Not during a siege!!”

”Then promise me you agree~”

Delya’s voice was sing-song as she skipped beside a collapsing rooftop, effortlessly slicing through another miasma beast.

”What!!”

Javier grunted, ducking behind a crumbling pillar to reload.

”Agree? Agree on what?!?”

BANG—BANG—!

Two clean shots straight through monster skulls, his focus fixed on the wave coming from the east gate.

Delya leaned casually on her scythe, completely unfazed.

”Just that when this is all over—you’ll treat me to something nice.”

”Like what?!”

Javier snapped, still aiming and firing with focused precision.

”A really good meal,” she purred, twirling a strand of her hair.

”Something cozy… with dessert… and maybe formal attire… something celebratory~.”

Javier didn’t turn to look at her.

”Food? Fine.”

He snapped a fresh mana crystal into his gun.

”Just remind me later. We’ll eat something good.”

Delya’s eyes sparkled.

”So you agree~”

”Yes, yes, whatever—AGREE!”

He unleashed another burst into the enemy wave.

Mimi, landing beside them mid-combat, narrowed her eyes.

”…What did you just agree to?”

Delya tilted her head innocently.

”Oh, just dinner… ceremony… vow exchange… and a public celebration afterward.”

”HUH!?!?”

Javier’s gun nearly slipped from his hand.

Delya beamed.

”You said ’agree~’ That’s a verbal pact under demon kingdom law~.”

Javier paled.

Mimi, arriving in a flash of wind and claws, was absolutely fuming.

”Why is it only her!!!” she growled, tail puffed and eyes blazing.

”Ugh—it’s just food!!” Javier groaned.

”Then me too!” Mimi stepped closer with a proud smirk.

Javier grit his teeth, his machine mana gun rattling as he mowed down three approaching dark beasts.

”I have no time for this!! The soldiers are still looking for someone with authority!”

”Authority for what?” Delya asked, slicing through a shadow hound like paper.

”To use my full power here!” he shouted.

”I’m holding back! If I use too much without permission, it’ll look like an invasion!”

”I am a beastkin princess, nya~” Mimi said, pointing at herself with a cheeky grin.

”Do you have the highest authority!?” Javier shot down a winged horror diving toward a civilian, frustration building.

His mind raced—people were still scattered through the streets. Time was slipping away.

Mimi tapped her lips thoughtfully.

”Hmm~ not highest… but I do have some! If I vouch for you, it counts. But—” she leaned in with a sly sparkle in her eyes,

”Only if you agree to bring me to Lord Garius personally for an ’arranged meeting’~.”

”Just to meet him?”

”Yep~ Just that~.”

”Fine! Just find me the authority already!”

”Nyaaa~ verbal pact accepted. No take-backs!”

”I won’t!! GO!!”

Javier spun and blasted through another shadow fiend.

Mimi grinned and darted off.

Delya leaned in again, whispering with a smirk,

”Now two princesses have marriage claims on you, Danna-sama~ That’s double the dowry, you know~.”

”I never agree on that!” Javier shouted, leaping onto a rooftop to reload.

( End Of Chapter )