That should have clearly been the end.

***

‘What the hell is this situation….’

Why must he, whose very soul should have been burned away, lie intact on a bed and chew on the porridge others are feeding him?

[Uhahahaha! That’s hilarious! Are you a baby? What’s with that bib!]

‘…It’s a napkin. You bastard.’

And why is that damn Demon King, who had solemnly declared he would burn his own soul, noisily chattering inside someone else’s head?

Time rewinds to the day before.

When he opened his eyes to the sensation of a damp wet towel wiping his forehead, some middle-aged woman in flamboyant clothing was looking at him with tears in her eyes.

“Morres! My dear child! Do you recognize your mother?”

“Oh! Prince! You have finally regained consciousness!”

In the midst of the people making a fuss, Seongjin blinked his eyes in confusion.

An elegant and lavish room. The devoted care of people who seemed to be attendants.

At first, he thought it might be the afterlife.

He realized that the situation was unusual when he heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere in his head.

[Hey, don’t just sit there in a daze and come to your senses quickly! Are you still half asleep?]

This insolent voice, could it be?

‘…Demon King?’

[Oh, you recognize me! You weren’t opening your eyes for so long that I thought your soul had completely shattered. You know how intense Gehenna’s flames are, right?]

Why is this bastard?

Wasn’t he supposed to be completely finished off back then?

[Whoa, whoa. Calm down and don’t get too excited. You need to be fully alert right now. Your soul is still unstably settled in this state. You just got in this body, so if you’re not careful, you might get ejected from here again.]

What the hell are you babbling about?

If Gehenna’s infernal fire and my punches were insufficient, I’ll destroy you again as many times as it takes.

Seongjin, who was about to get up while grinding his teeth, had no choice but to flop back down on the bed. It was partly because the people around him grabbed him in panic, but strangely, his body felt languid and heavy.

It’s hard to breathe. His arms and legs feel too heavy.

“Morres! What’s wrong? My child, where does it hurt?”

“Your Highness! Please calm down for a moment….”

Let go of me! That damn Demon King is still alive! I have to kill that bastard quickly….

[…Hey? Your blood pressure is rising severely right now? You’ll die again as soon as you’re revived like that. Come on, take a deep breath! Okay? Breathe in-breathe out. Breathe in-breathe out.]

What nonsense are you spewing, Demon King! And who are these people holding me down!

Let go! Let go of me!

“Urk!”

Suddenly, he felt a severe twinge in the back of his head, and his vision spun.

“Morres!”

“Prince!”

The sound of people’s urgent cries grew distant, and everything in front of him turned pitch black.

Seongjin regained consciousness some time later, still lying in the same place and surrounded by the same people.

And that damn Demon King’s voice, coming from who knows where, was the same.

[Wow, I thought you had quite a temper, but you seem to be extremely severe.]

‘You, this bastard….’

Grind, grind.

As Seongjin ground his teeth menacingly, the Demon King hastily continued.

[Oh, sorry, sorry. I won’t say anything you dislike anymore, so please calm down, okay? Let’s have a conversation, a conversation. Doesn’t that sound good?]

‘What? You bastard?’

The conversation between the two seemed to be far from over.

However, Lee Seongjin, who had been expressing his anger to the point where it seemed like he would die from not being able to control it, unexpectedly calmed down quickly in less than half a day.

It was because he learned that the Demon King’s body had already been completely burned, and only a fragment of his soul remained like a scrap.

It was also because he was at a loss as to how to deal with someone whose voice could only be heard, even if he got angry.

Suppressing his anger, he silently listened to the Demon King’s explanation.

After the final battle, Gehenna’s flames completely annihilated Seongjin’s body along with the Demon King, but for some reason, it did not cause much damage to Seongjin’s soul and quietly subsided.

Perhaps it was thanks to the flames evolving unexpectedly quickly that a small portion of his soul remained, the Demon King said in a calm tone.

[Even though most of my noble soul was burned away, I have no idea why you’re unscathed.]

“……”

[Anyway, that’s how I lost almost all of my power and dignity. What remains now is probably just the remnants of my fundamental personality.]

In other words, he can never return to being the mighty Demon King he once was.

‘Then you should have disappeared somewhere long ago, so why are you talking nonsense and making a fuss inside someone else’s head?’

At Seongjin’s blunt reply, the Demon King sighed.

[Well, it’s not that simple. Do you think I haven’t tried? But I can’t escape. When I try to distance myself from you even a little, it’s excruciatingly painful thanks to the sacred energy around us. It’s a terrifying pain that crushes the very core. If time passes like this, perhaps even the remaining fragments of my soul will completely disappear.]

‘The conclusion is clear. Just disappear cleanly. It’s simple.’

[You bastard! Would you do that if you were me? Huh?]

Of course, Seongjin wanted to cleanly erase that remaining soul without leaving a single speck of dust.

However, how can you catch and kill something that has no substance in the first place? There’s no way he could summon Gehenna’s flames again right now.

Although Lee Seongjin tended to charge forward without looking around as long as he had a purpose, he wasn’t the type of person who was so stubborn as to be obsessed with the impossible.

Once he accepted the situation, he thought that the guy chattering next to him might unexpectedly be useful. Because he knew a lot, claiming to be a former Demon King.

The Demon King, who had regained consciousness a day earlier than Seongjin, had already swiftly collected a fair amount of information about this new world and Seongjin’s situation.

Using an efficient method of directly contacting other people’s souls and peeking into their memories, he said.

Thanks to that, while lying on the bed and receiving devoted care from people, Seongjin quickly began to learn about his current state based on what the guy was saying.

According to the Demon King, this place is a completely different dimensional world, far removed from Earth or the demon realm.

[We’re an extremely lucky case. There was a high probability of being scattered into pieces beyond the void, but strangely, we ended up flowing into the Main World.]

The Main World?

[It means a higher dimension. At least a couple of levels higher than the Lower Worlds like Sigurd 34th Earth or Gehenna.]

‘Lower Worlds? What’s Sigurd 34th Earth?’

The Demon King clicked his tongue.

[Wow, such an uncivilized Earthling class. Not even knowing the name of your own dimension. You guys have no concept of dimensions at all? I should have looked into it from the moment you charged at me to die. Wow… these ignorant creatures.]

The regret of not leaving at least the Demon King’s head arose. At least then he might be able to beat him up before he blabbered, right?

As if sensing some creepy energy, the Demon King’s soul trembled.

But now that his soul is felt so directly like this, it feels somewhat disgusting.

[That’s harsh. We’ve become companions of the soul now….]

‘…Shut up!’

Anyway, this place that belongs to a higher dimension is the Holy Empire of Delcross.

It is a powerful empire ruled by an emperor who receives the blessing of the patron god for generations, with many kingdoms and grand duchies under its rule.

The current emperor is the 17th, and he would be this body’s biological father.

In other words, Lee Seongjin had now become a prince. No wonder people’s attitudes were extremely polite.

[Your current name is Morres Klein. You’re the 3rd Prince and the emperor’s fourth child, who is turning 15 this year, but….]

‘But?’

[You’re known as an extremely famous ruffian.]

His mother, 1st Queen Elizabeth Asein, was the daughter of the esteemed Archduke Asein and had the most remarkable lineage among the women in the palace.

She, who was second to none in boldness even in front of the emperor or empress, firmly believed that her son, who inherited the noblest blood among the imperial children, was none other than the crown prince who would succeed the emperor.

And that expectation soon turned into excessive educational zeal and emotional attachment.

Fortunately, Prince Morres was a prince who tried to live up to his mother’s expectations, at least when he was young.

Although he was not exceptionally outstanding compared to his other siblings, at least he diligently acquired the qualities of a prince.

However, from around the age of 7, he suddenly started getting angry for no reason frequently and gradually became more and more high-handed.

He would curse and use violence against maids and attendants for no reason. When he was bored, he would throw and shatter tableware and objects, and he would also severely harass or torment the guard knights.

During classes, he would insult and mock the teachers with words that didn’t even make sense, and after being scolded by the empress a few times, he stopped attending classes altogether.

The Demon King gleefully recounted the dark history of this ruffian prince as if gossiping about Seongjin.

‘But isn’t it too detailed for information obtained in just one day? Is this reliable?’

[Aha! This is information that I directly detected by contacting the souls of the people around us. It’s high-quality information that you alone would be unable to gather in a short time even if you died and woke up again. Be grateful.]

‘……’

After that, the prince’s daily life went downhill.

His once neat etiquette disappeared, and he began to find it extremely bothersome to move his body.

Eventually, he even quit the swordsmanship training he had enjoyed, lying on the bed and idling around every day, constantly munching on snacks.

People had no idea what caused his sudden change. They could only speculate that perhaps the young prince had been obediently following his greedy empress until now, but he might have been under extreme stress without anyone knowing.

After several years of this, the once noblest prince had become an ignorant and ill-tempered pig who was almost morbidly obese.

[And then he suddenly collapsed.]

The anomaly occurred four days ago.

Morres, who had eaten well and gone to bed the night before, suddenly suffered from an unknown high fever from the morning and completely lost consciousness that afternoon. There was no evidence of poisoning, and the symptoms were unfamiliar for a disease.

Skilled imperial doctors rushed to the prince’s aid, but the prince would not regain consciousness.

The emperor postponed state affairs to visit the sickroom, and the queen kept vigil by the bedside all night with tears.

And after 4 days since the onset of the fever, it was not Morres but Lee Seongjin who woke up in this body.

‘Then where did Morres’ real soul go?’

That was what Seongjin was most curious about. He had unintentionally possessed someone else’s body, and even with his lack of spiritual knowledge, he thought this state was not normal.

Wouldn’t it be a big problem if the original owner suffered harm because they had occupied a healthy person’s body without permission?

However, the Demon King’s reaction was not very reassuring.

[Who knows? When I woke up, there were no other souls in this body except us. Maybe he already died from the fever?]

Does that mean they conveniently entered the body of someone who had just died from an illness?

‘Then if we leave here?’

[Why? You want to leave? It’s a body without a soul anyway, so there’s a high probability it will die, don’t you think?]

‘…Is there a way to leave?’

The Demon King’s answer was merciless.

[Why wouldn’t there be? Just die right away.]

‘……’

Lee Seongjin’s expression became grim.

It was certainly not a bad feeling to have unexpectedly been revived.

Even when he faced death together with the Demon King, he knew he could not avoid annihilation, and intoxicated with the sense of accomplishment of having shattered the demon realm─although some trash scraps that didn’t completely burn remained─he thought it was enough.

However, now that he had woken up again, his past life filled with endurance, hardship, and deprivation felt different.

A life of simply grinding himself down to eliminate the demon realm and fight.

Seongjin’s past life could not be called happy even in a good sense.

Then what about now? Could he really live a new life in someone else’s body?

Could he consider this miraculous coincidence as compensation for his unfortunate past life?

As Seongjin was lost in thought, the Demon King, who had no way of knowing his complex feelings, teased him from the side.

[Anyway, who cares if you’re a pig? You’ve become the son of the highest person in the country? Wow, congratulations. You’ve hit the jackpot in life.]

Yeah, that was also a problem.

Seongjin swallowed his saliva as he looked at the obese body spread out on the bed.

The bulging belly that obstructed his view even while lying down, and the thick arms and legs that were so plump with fat that the joints could not fully bend.

The fact that he was out of breath and tired just from turning his body for a short while was probably not just an aftereffect of the fever.

Of all the bodies to enter, it had to be such a pathetic one. Recalling his previous body covered in strong muscles, Seongjin sighed.

‘Is this a good thing….’

This was what had happened in the past day.

And now, Lee Seongjin was lying on a luxurious bed, with a pretty napkin around his neck, grudgingly eating the porridge that Empress Elizabeth was feeding him as if he were a baby bird.

“Come on, Morres, say ahh one more time.”

Although he was so embarrassed he could die, Seongjin reluctantly opened his mouth again at the queen’ tender face.

The sound of the Demon King’s almost breathless laughter echoed in his head.

[Puhahahahaha! I’m going crazy! I’m dying! Are you trying to make me die of laughter? Uhahahahahaha!]

That damn bastard, I will definitely get rid of him someday.

Lee Seongjin swallowed the porridge roughly and stopped the queen who was about to scoop the next spoonful.

“Uh… Mother (-eomoni)? I’m full now. You must be tired, so I think you can stop feeding me.”

“Morres….”

The empress stared at her son with a sorrowful expression for a moment, then lowered her head and wiped away her tears with the end of her sleeve adorned with elegant lace.

“Yes, it hits me again that your memory is not intact. You have never called me mother before.”

“Oh, um….”

It’s unbearably awkward!

To avoid unnecessary suspicion, he had roughly made an excuse that his memory was hazy before he fell ill, but every moment he talked with the queen, Seongjin’s heart pounded, fearing that she would find out he was not Morres.

This time, too, as Seongjin was hesitating, not knowing how to answer, the Demon King, who had peeked into the empress’ soul’s memories, gave him a hint.

[He usually called her Your Majesty without fail, you see?]

Goodness, how would I know that?

Unable to bring himself to say his mother, Seongjin had no choice but to answer like this in the end.

“…I’m sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for? The fever was so terrible. Even though His Majesty personally intervened, the fever wouldn’t go down easily, and this mother was worried that something serious might happen.”

The queen gracefully straightened her sleeve with an elegant gesture and carefully took Morres’ hand.

“Just the fact that you woke up healthy like this brings me immeasurable joy.”

As the soft and warm hand touched him, Seongjin had to put in a lot of effort not to let his expression stiffen. It was because it felt extremely sinful to pretend to be the son of someone who was not his real mother.

The real son had already died, and even his soul had disappeared, but this person could not know that fact, so she could not even mourn. However, it was not as if he could say that he was a different soul occupying Morres’ body. There was no way she would believe those words, and even if she did, it would be a problem. What if she rushed to exorcise him right away? And what if his soul was really driven out of the body? He had no great attachment to this extra life, but he also had no desire to commit suicide in such a grandiose way.

“But there are good things about being sick. To think that my child is sitting so quietly face to face with his mother like this, just how long has it been?”

“Hahaha…”

Morres, you crazy ruffian of a son. How did you live normally that your mother could be happy with such small things?

Lee Seongjin could only laugh awkwardly.