Chapter 3: Anna Mary
Lucifer/Shizuki's POV:
I got myself familiarised to the memories so that I could access it with no difficulties for a while and absorbed the information that I could get through them.
"Hmm...so there is something like a 'seal' inside of me that I can break only after I reach the requirements, that seals the power of the previous devil king." I look through the devil's memories for more information about my current identity. Since I am the devil king now, I should know more about myself then.
"The first stage to break the seal is....'Eyes formation'. Hmm...that's some strange stuff. So that's why Lucifer couldn't open her eyes no matter what until she got 8 years old..." I murmured calmly.
Eyes formation was a process to form the 'Eyes of devil' which held great importance in the inheritance of the devil king's power. A devil king's potential was determined through the colour of their eyes. The more redder and brighter as well as bloodthirsty they looked, the more potential the devil king had and could become stronger.
The formation of 'Eyes of devil' took time. Some needed less, some needed more. Lucifer could be seen as an oddity though. Because she took less time to form the 'Eyes of devil', only 8 years but her eyes could grow more redder as she grew up. Before, her eyes were only a bit red, with some pinkish hue but as she grew up, her eyes started to become as red as blood but shone like fire.
I looked around for more information about this but I couldn't find anything on it.
"Maybe it is something like 'mutation'?"
Throughout the generations, devil kings reincarnated in the form of all races. Whether it be a dwarf, elf, dragon, human, etc. They could reincarnate into anything. After they finish breaking the seal, they could finally be recognised as the new generation devil king by the other devils, who then came after the devil king to welcome him back.
"Hmm...I see. So that's like a test to see if the reincarnation can really hold the power of the devil king properly or not huh. But if that was the case then why didn't Lucifer get the memories of the devil king but I got it instead? It's said that the reincarnation can get the memories right after their birth. But why is there an exception for me and Lucifer?" I asked under my breath in slight confusion but then an idea hit me.
" Or maybe...the devil king was never meant to be Lucifer...but me? Her abnormality in the formation of the 'Eyes of devil', the memories that she couldn't get but I could...it somehow makes sense to me. So that means that the real 'devil' is not Lucifer...but me. Maybe that's also why I was reincarnated into her body. But the fever she got, is it also related to me?"
I narrowed my eyes in thought when suddenly a knock was heard on the wooden door.
...
.....
I lifted my head up and looked at the door cautiously. I was weak right now and didn't have the same strength as before so I had to be more cautious around me.
" Who?" I asked loud enough for the person outside to hear it.
"Hey, Luciel, it's me, Anna. Can I come in?" A young girl's voice sounded from the outside.
I finally relaxed a bit after hearing her name. Anna Mary, a friend of Lucifer. She was once saved by Lucifer when she was about to be robbed by some boys and since then she had been following her like a tail. Anna didn't know that Lucifer was a girl and Lucifer told her a different name, hiding her real one just in case.
Anna was strangely unaffected by her red eyes. She did flinch in fright when she met Lucifer for the first time but since then, she hadn't once shown any fear in front of Lucifer.
"... You can come in." I answered and let her in. The door was then opened from the outside since it didn't have any lock and a young girl came inside.
She was quite short, pretty normal for a girl of her age and had a head full of brown hair that was made into a braid. She had slightly dark skin and had some freckles on her cheeks but looked pretty. She was wearing slightly well clothes since she was the daughter of a small merchant. She had a small basket on her hand that must have the food she always brought for Lucifer.
"Luciel, are you feeling better now? I brought some medicines and some nourishing food for you." Anna sat besides me and said with a bright smile on her face. She then put the basket on her lap and took out the contents inside it. Some medicines, a bowl of hot vegetable soup, some pieces of meat and bread.
'She does really care about Lucifer to even bring meat and medicines for her even though they are so expensive.' I took that in mind for now as I scrutinised her secretly but couldn't find any malicious intent on her so I relaxed.
"I am alright now. Sorry for the trouble." I spoke in the way Lucifer used to so that she won't find out that I am not the real Lucifer but Shizuki instead.
"Is that so? Let me check if you still have fever." Anna then leaned over a bit and tried to touch my forehead with her hand but I dodged it in reflex, leaving her stunned.
"Ah..sorry. It's alright. I don't have a fever anymore." I was never used to being close to someone else so it couldn't be helped. I could only speak normally to her without my usual indifference just because I have some impression on her through Lucifer's memories.
" O-oh, okay. If you feel unwell again then you can tell me." Anna quickly hid her awkwardness and smiled at me again. I nodded at her and said nothing more.
After I finished eating the meal and taking the medicines that I checked secretly just in case, I tried asking Anna about the things that I couldn't get to know through Lucifer's memories. She must know more things since she was the daughter of a merchant.
"Anna, do you know about any latest news around the city or the capital?" I asked like I was just purely interested in the things that was happening around me.
"Hmm...latest news? Nothing of such sort, I guess. Hmm... Oh! Right! I once heard the people in the city talking about the recruitment for knights taking place in the city on this Friday. The announcement must still be posted on the notice board in the city square. Other than that, I don't think there is any interesting event going on around us." Anna tried to remember if she missed or forgot something but then gave up after a moment.
"A knights recruitment..?" I asked, looking a bit puzzled.
"Oh, you don't know? Okay, let me explain it then. A knight is someone that is skilled in combat and weapon skills. One can only get appointed as a knight after getting approval from the commander for his skills and ability. The recruitment is a process where the young men of 14-20 age can apply and the applicants have to go through some tests to get recruited as squires. They then go through some rigorous trainings and only get appointed as a knight after they are skilled enough. Only few people can get recruited. Those with great potential and skills can even go to the famous 'Socrates Academy' in the capital to learn magic and other skills!" Anna explained with an excited face when she talked about the Socrates Academy.
" What is Socrates Academy?" I asked after seeing her expression, slightly interested.
" You don't know about the Socrates Academy?! I thought everyone knew about it! It is so famous around the whole kingdom for being the number one magic academy. Only the rich nobles or some exceptionally skilled and talented young people can join through recommendations. It's a great honor for someone to be able to get taught in the academy. They only have bright future ahead!" Anna exclaimed with a look of shock and then explained to me. Her eyes clearly showing her admiration for the so called academy.
'A magic academy, huh....' I got interested after hearing her explanation. Although I didn't care about a bright future or whatever but since it was a place to learn magic then I might as well go there.
Although this current body of mine was weak, that didn't mean that I couldn't even lift a sword. At the very least, this body was agile and flexible because Lucifer learned to steal since a young age that needed great speed and dexterity as well as flexibility. This much was enough for me. With my previous knowledge about martial arts and sword skills, I could handle such a simple matter as becoming a squire or whatever.
"Anna, what day is it today?" I asked after forming a plan inside my head.
"It is tuesday today. Why?" Anna replied with a smile then tilted her head slightly.
"Just asking." I replied calmly and Anna also dropped the subject and spoke about other random things instead.
'Tuesday...I still have 2 days left then.' I thought to myself as a ripple formed in my red eyes, disappearing without a trace in a second.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone