This is getting complicated. 

I’m Nico, the supposedly demon king of this world. I’m now disguised as a human who somehow knows magic. I’m currently living in the supposedly hero’s house with his family. Now, I’ve saved the village from the royal guards of the human nation.

If the demons back at home were to hear about this… No, I’d rather not think about that now. 

All these while, I had been thinking about how to take over the human nation in order to save my own life. But the plan was messed up due to the fact that there was no hero in this story, and I kept ending up doing heroic things in place of the actual hero, like defeating bandits and saving the village.

“Those people said that they’re from the royal palace, and that this is an order from the king…” Hiro’s voice replaced my thoughts. “That means… They must’ve already taken control of the king…” 

“Mmn, there will probably be more of them coming when they notice how these few didn't return.” I added. The royal guards from before were tied up and temporarily kept in a shed with their armors and weapons confiscated. But that wasn't a long term solution. As much as I'd like to stay here and protect this family, it's almost impossible given my position. If only there’s someone here who could protect the village…

Wait, there is.

I turned towards Hiro, who blinked.

“Do you want to learn how to use magic?” I asked. 

“Wh- what? Me?” His eyes widened so much, it’s as if they were going to pop out of his head. His hands waved frantically in front of him, how cute. “No way! I’m just a farmer!” 

No, you're not just a farmer. You're the man with unlimited potential for magic, the man who will wield the holy sword and cast the holy light that will eventually defeat the demon king. 

“You won't know until you try. What if they send more people after I leave?" Besides, the story needs a proper hero. If I teach him how to fight and awaken his true power, he can be the one to defeat the corrupted nobles and be the true hero as intended. Thought of course, I'll need to make sure that he doesn't come after me or the demon nation as well. 

Sorry, demons. Your king is biased towards the hero. 

"You're going to leave…?" He asked while looking at me with those puppy eyes of his. At that moment, a part of my brain screamed "I want to stay here forever!!!". I had always known that Hiro is good looking, it's a fact. But seeing this up close? With him making that face? While speaking in that tone?

This is cheating. I want to report the hero. 

"Well… I can't stay here forever, can I? But I'll make sure that you can fight against those guards before I do." I pried my gaze away from his face. Hang in there, Nico. Remember, this is the guy who might end up killing you in the future if you mess up! 

"I see…" From the corner of my eyes, I could see him looking down, much like a dejected puppy. Since when did he get so attached to me, anyway? Was it because I protected him back then? "Okay, I understand. I'll learn how to fight."

With his natural talent, it won't be long before he can fight against fodders like those guards. 

… 

Or so I thought. 

It has been a week since Hiro started training under me, but he has shown no signs of improvement at all. This is weird, really weird. In the original game, he was able to learn how to fight and use magic all by himself. Why is it that he's still a complete noob when I'm the one teaching him?! Shouldn't he be improving at an even greater speed? 

"Nico… I'm sorry, you're trying so hard to teach me, but…" He mumbled, hands squeezing on the short sword. 

"It's… Fine." There must be a way around this. Maybe he just needs to face an actual danger in order to trigger his inner power! Aaaand I have just the right skill for that to happen. "Let's stop here for today. You still have to go gather wood in the forest, right?" 

"Okay… And yeah, I should get going." He dusted himself off before turning towards the direction of the forest. Seeing the guilt in his eyes, I almost felt bad for him. But fear not, for I will grind your levels even in this world! Soon, you'll be the most powerful hero of this land! 

Quietly, I followed after him into the forest, hiding among the trees and bushes. Once the time is right, with my Undead Army skill, I will summon a skeleton to go after him. If all fail, I can always cancel the summon so he wouldn't actually get hurt. It sounds desperate, but at least it's a plan. 

Once we had arrived at the deeper part of the forest, I activated the skill. With an ominous rattling noise, a skeleton clawed its way out of the soil. Hearing the rattles, Hiro turned around just in time to notice the skeleton crawling out from the ground. 

Now, what will you do? 

Hiro first took a step back at the sight of the skeleton. Then, he raised a hand with his palm facing it, just like one would do when they're casting a magic spell. But he wasn't able to cast even the simplest of spells so far. 

I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but what happened next was definitely not what I'd imagine. 

"Holy light." Those words were muttered from him. The next thing I know, a white light formed at his palm and soon enveloped the area. The last thing I saw was the skeleton turning into ashes. On top of that, although I wasn't in the direct line of fire, just being exposed to the holy light made it feel like my skin was on fire. 

[Holy damage received: HP -5200]

What was that?

Wasn't he unable to use magic? 

How was he able to cast Holy Light, a high level spell so easily? 

Countless questions popped into my mind. One explanation could be that his power was really awakened because of the skeleton. But that still doesn't explain how he knew that spell. If anything, he should be casting a fireball at it! 

Unless he has been faking it all these while.