When the demons followed the sound, they saw the little demon clinging tightly to the beam, crying his eyes out. Magic elements continuously gathered around him, being absorbed into his body.

Hearing the cub’s cries, the three little Hellhounds frantically searched everywhere, but the palace beams were too high for the stubby pups to see.

Bazel spread his wings and flew up to retrieve the cub. As a dragon, his humanoid form also had wings, but he usually kept them retracted inside his body, finding them troublesome.

“Alright, alright, we’re down now,” Bazel patted the cub’s head, comforting him with amusement.

“Baobao is amazing! You actually flew so high!”

Lance’s praise made the cub, buried in Bazel’s chest, pause his crying, looking up with tear-filled eyes.

“None of us have wings; none of us can fly. Baobao succeeded on his very first try! That’s incredible!”

“Yeah, Baobao will definitely be a very powerful demon in the future.”

The little demon could roughly understand they were praising him, so he flapped his wings twice, his eyes still red.

“Wow! Amazing!”

The demons applauded cooperatively. Tears were still welling in the little demon’s eyes, but he was already lost in the applause and praise, grinning giddily. His little tail swayed back and forth, displaying its owner’s good mood.

Although the beam had been cleaned before, it hadn’t been scrubbed as thoroughly as the floor. Consequently, the little demon who had flown up to the beam was covered in dust.

The demons decided to give the cub a bath.

The bathtub was bought by Nick during his previous trip to town. Bode filled it with hot water, and Bazel was responsible for placing the stripped-bare cub into the tub.

It was the little demon’s first bath. Seeing the large, steaming tub filled him with fear. He retracted his short, chubby arms and legs, wrapping his tail around Bazel’s wrist and looking at him pitifully.

Bazel: “…Actually, you know, I don’t think this bath is absolutely necessary.”

“Shut up.”

Lance took the cub. Holding him from behind, before the little demon could deploy his pleading-eyes attack, Lance decisively placed him into the tub.

“Ngh!” The cub’s little face scrunched up, and he squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

After a short moment, the little demon stealthily opened his eyes and discovered it was actually quite comfortable. The water temperature was just right, and the large tub was practically big enough for swimming. After adjusting for a bit, he no longer needed the nearby demons to support him.

Like a chubby little fish, the little demon swam back and forth in the tub. He even mischievously slapped the water surface with his tail, splashing water everywhere. The demons gathered around got quite wet.

Bazel and Nick splashed water back at the cub. The little demon then started flapping his wings in the water, creating even bigger splashes.

Demons really are bastards. Bazel and Nick got carried away playing and actually started scooping up large amounts of water to throw at the cub. Their strength was considerable; the water they threw was like a small waterfall, knocking the cub over and sending him headfirst into the tub.

Little demon: “Glug glug glug.”

Lance, who had been smilingly watching Baobao’s adorable splashing just moments before, immediately panicked and started frantically trying to scoop the cub up from the bottom of the tub.

Bode, also watching Baobao play in the water, had a large tic mark appear on his head. Enraged by these two idiots, the slime grimaced fiercely. “Like playing with water, huh? Fine, I’ll play with you!”

The two culprits turned tail and ran.

The blue slime swiftly shot two blobs of pale yellow liquid from his tentacles, whizzing towards the two fleeing demons.

Nick: “Ow ow ow! My butt!”

Bazel: “Oww… my clothes!”

Shadow Demon Nick had the weakest power among the four demons. Facing the enraged slime’s strong acid attack, his butt was injured, making him howl in pain.

Bazel, though often picked on, was actually the strongest and had thick skin. The strong acid didn’t injure him much, but a large patch of his clothes was corroded away.

Another outfit ruined! He howled in anguish.

Having avenged the cub, the slime snorted lightly, finally calming down.

The little demon was scooped up by Lance. He spat out a few mouthfuls of water “Pfft pfft”, and before even opening his eyes, he splashed water twice towards where Bazel and Nick had been standing. Only after splashing did he open his eyes and realize the two demons were gone.

This time, the cub didn’t cry. He seemed to treat it as a game and wanted to win back the previous round, twisting his head around searching for his opponents.

Spotting the two demons kneeling on the ground nearby, the cub tilted his head inquisitively. “Ah?”

Lance smoothed down the cub’s messy baby fuzz, then smiled towards Nick (nursing his external injury) and Bazel (nursing his internal injury).

In a demonic whisper, he said, “Didn’t you hear? The cub is asking you to come play in the water with him.”

Seeing the two demons hadn’t moved, Bode extended a tentacle, narrowing his beady eyes threateningly. “Hmm?”

Nick didn’t want to get hurt again. Trembling, he stood up and walked over in an awkward and strange posture.

Bazel, wearing clothes with a large hole in the back, walked over woodenly.

What followed was the two “injured” demons crouching by the tub and getting splashed in the face with water. The little demon, considering himself victorious, clapped his hands happily.

The little guy, quite thin at birth, had put on some weight these past few days. His arms and legs were now chubby.

He was dried off, dressed in a baby outfit, and placed in the crib. Having flown up to the beam and played in the water, he was likely exhausted.

Sure enough, the little demon sat on the bed, looked around, crawled just a few steps, and then face-planted, lying on his stomach and falling asleep right there.

Lance watched the little one fall asleep in an instant, then got up to help Bode clean up the bathtub and the water on the floor.

The other two demons were completely useless, currently sulking in a corner.

Technically, Nick wasn’t crouching; he was kneeling face-down, sulking. An injury like this was so embarrassing! Why did it have to be there… If he had known, he would have rather taken it head-on.

Bazel squatted there dazedly, recalling how many sets of clothes had been ruined: one, two, three… As he counted mournfully, something suddenly landed heavily in his lap—a milky-scented little demon.

The little demon’s eyes were half-closed, looking like he might fall asleep any second. He folded his wings, pressed his head against Bazel’s chest, and nuzzled his clothes a few times. At the same time, his tail drooped down, seeming to want to find and curl around Nick’s nearby wrist, but it wasn’t long enough. He could only rest the tip of his tail on Nick’s wrist, poking it a few times before the little tail went still.

He was asleep.

Perhaps cubs can keenly sense the emotional changes in other demons. Realizing these two demons were unhappy, the little one fought off heavy sleepiness, fluttering his wings to fly over and comfort them. However, he was simply too tired from playing today and fell asleep quickly before he could offer much comfort.

Nevertheless, the cub’s effect was surprisingly good. Light instantly returned to Bazel’s and Nick’s eyes. Bazel felt the milky-scented cub in his lap, an uncontrollable silly grin spreading across his face, completely forgetting what he had been counting earlier.

Nick was the same. Being comforted, he shot upright, feeling like his injury was instantly healed.

Hiss… okay, his injury was physical, it couldn’t heal immediately. Nick, having just straightened up, sucked in a sharp breath and slumped back down. However, the hand touched by the little black tail remained perfectly still, afraid of disturbing the cub.

Demons have excellent constitutions. The Shadow Demon who couldn’t even walk upright the day before looked completely normal the next day.

Today it was Lance’s turn to go outside and find food for the demonic beast. The other demons stayed in the underground palace with the cub.

The three little Hellhounds were full of energy, spending their days running around when not eating or sleeping. They especially loved following the little demon, and everyone enjoyed watching them play together. Because of this, Bazel even started looking at the three pups much more favorably.

The little demon crawled on the floor, surrounded by the three chubby little ones running around him playfully, yipping happily.

“So cute,” Bode said, standing on the crib railing, his beady eyes smiling into thin slits.

Nick nodded.

“Yeah.” Bazel, who had been fixing his hair, unknowingly stopped, smiling as he watched the cub.

“Indeed.”

The three pups panted, tongues out: “Woof woof woof!”

The little demon, lying on his stomach on the floor, also stuck out his tongue: “Woof!”

The demons: ?

No, wait, is Baobao learning to bark like a dog?!

That’s not something he should learn!

Bazel immediately started looking at the pups unfavorably again, chasing the three little ones back to the female beast.

Bode and Nick picked up the cub, placed him on the bed, and stared at him sternly.

The little demon had been happily playing, then suddenly found himself in a different place. He tilted his head, blinked, and looked quizzically at the two demons.

The two demons were completely disarmed by the cute head tilt. The stern expressions they had just put on immediately melted into smiles.

Bode: “Baobao, you shouldn’t bark like a dog.”

The little demon understood half of it and happily barked once.

“Aiya, you’re no good, let me.” Nick flipped over the railing, squashed the slime who was directly facing the cub, then looked intently at the cub and said slowly, “Baobao, repeat after me: Pa-pa.”

The squashed slime popped back into shape with a boing, looking expectantly at the cub. “Call me Papa first.”

“I stole him, I’m the Papa.”

“Come on, say Papa.”

“Say Papa.”

“Papa.”

“Papa!”

The two demons got competitive, shouting “Papa” at the little demon, each trying to outdo the other, attempting to make the cub say their name first.

The little demon sucked his thumb, sitting quietly on the bed watching the two demons eagerly shouting “Papa.”

Then, perhaps intentionally, perhaps not, he removed his thumb and let out a very loud “Enh!”

The two excited demons suddenly fell silent.

“Pfft~ Hahahahaha! You two actually got played by Baobao! Hahaha, so stupid!”

Bazel laughed so hard he couldn’t stand straight. He had chased the pups to the side hall and was walking back when he heard those two trying to get the cub to call them Papa. He had rushed back immediately, afraid the cub would actually say their name first, only to arrive just in time to hear the cub’s response.

The two silent demons stirred restlessly, looking ready to redirect their frustration and beat up Bazel.

Bazel didn’t care, still gloating loudly, laughing so hard even the little Hellhounds peeked their heads around curiously.

Just as the three demons were about to start fighting, the little demon suddenly called out in a small, milky voice.

“Papa.”