That time I got reincarnated as a Tiefling and knew too much

There she was.

Standing proudly in the middle of a crater, laughing her lungs out like she'd just defeated a final boss, even though her opponent was…

Well, me.

Or rather, a dummy version of me.

It wasn't just some scarecrow, either. The shattered "Akuma" lying crumpled beneath her foot had been a rather expensive homunculus experiment I'd rigged up with a decoy aura. Long story short, I'd wanted to see if my magic could fool incoming detection skills with a walking clone.

Apparently, it could. Right up until it was dropkicked by a Demon Lord from the sky.

"I… can't even be mad," I muttered, hand on my hip as I stared at the poor dummy's twitching arm.

"She's laughing at it like she's five," Shizu deadpanned behind me.

"She is five, emotionally," I whispered back.

"You made that thing look exactly like you," Shuna added with a sigh, walking beside us.

"And gave it my aura, and battle instincts," I nodded grimly. "It even had fake Predator."

"...Then why does it have hearts drawn on its cheeks?"

"…I don't want to talk about it."

Ahead of us, Milim was now poking the dummy's face with intense curiosity, giggling as its head rolled off with a crack.

"Oi," I called out.

She perked up instantly, spinning on her heels.

"Oooh?! So you're not dead?!" Her blue eyes sparkled as she pointed dramatically at the broken husk. "How!?"

I sighed, walking up with hands in my pockets. "That's not really me."

I held out my hand, and in an instant, the broken dummy shuddered before melting into black mist, sucked into my palm.

Predator. Absorb. Analyze. Dismantle. Done.

Milim's mouth fell open.

"Ohhh! You're super cool!" she exclaimed, fists clenched at her sides like a kid who just saw fireworks. "As expected of the Tiefling that ruined Clayman's plans! Wahahahaha!"

Of course she brought that up.

Clayman.

I still could only imagine his reaction—his plans unraveling in the shadows when I intercepted his Orc Lord gambit and shattered the threads he thought he could pull. Poor bastard had been dancing for so long, he forgot the puppet might bite back.

Milim grinned wide, puffing her chest as she prepared to speak again.

"I am—!"

"Yeah, yeah," I cut in with a wave. "Milim Nava, Dragon Demon Lord, Destroyer, blah blah blah. What do you want?"

"Ehhhhh?" she whined, lips puffed in a childish pout. "You didn't let me finish!"

"I know who you are. Everyone with a brain does."

Milim flailed her arms in frustration before finally settling down with a dramatic sigh. "You're so mean."

"Thanks."

She tapped her chin. "Welp! I just heard you were the strongest one in the forest now! So I came to see for myself!"

A long pause.

I stared flatly at her.

She stared back, eyes glimmering.

"…That's it?"

"Yep!"

"Not because you wanted anything. Not for politics. Not for strategy. You just heard someone was strong and flew halfway across the continent?"

"Uh-huh!"

Another pause.

"…Nice to meet you then," I finally muttered, shrugging as I straightened up. "I'm Akuma Tempest, the ruler of the Nirvana Empire."

The moment the words left my mouth, she began circling me—like a vulture, or a child high on sugar.

"Hmmm…" she poked my cheek.

"..."

She tugged on my coat.

"Please stop."

She flicked my horn.

"Definitely don't do that."

"An empire, huh?" she finally spoke, hands behind her back as she swayed on her heels. "Ooooh! Never heard of it."

"We were just made," I muttered through clenched teeth, stepping aside as she followed. "So that makes sense. Can you stop?"

"Ooooh…" she tilted her head, poking at my tail now. "So you really are a Felborn, huh?"

I froze.

My steps halted completely.

That word—Felborn—hit me like a hammer.

I'd spent so long being mistaken for a Tiefling… or just a demonkin… that I had started to believe it myself. Even I'd stopped correcting people. "Tiefling" was easier. Safer. Something with a box around it.

But she just—

"You know what I am?" I murmured lowly, turning to face her.

My tone must've dropped, because Shizu glanced over sharply.

But Milim? Completely oblivious. She just nodded happily, still poking at my side.

"Yup! I remember seeing a few of you before! Papa made them. He was trying to make friends for me when I was little. You guys were suuuper fun!" she laughed, grinning with all the sincerity of someone who thought she just gave you great news.

"They disappeared after he did though," she pouted, pressing at my shoulder again. "It was so boring after that. None of the demon nobles liked playing with me…"

My eyes locked with hers, but she wasn't looking at me anymore—just at a memory, far off and warm.

It hit harder than it should've.

Her words—simple, unfiltered—unraveled something buried.

I didn't even know how to respond to that. That I might've been born as someone's failed nostalgia. A "friend-shaped" species, conjured up in a lab of a being I hadn't even met.

I… wasn't ready to process that.

But I didn't have time to, either.

Because a second later—

"Alright, that's it!" Milim suddenly declared with a dramatic stomp of her foot. "I've decided!"

"…Decided what?" I muttered, still dazed.

She pointed at me with both hands like some kind of double-barreled declaration cannon.

"We'll be best friends! Just like the ones before you!"

"...Eh?"

The whole field went silent.

Benimaru looked like he just swallowed his tongue.

Shuna dropped her teacup.

Souei blinked twice.

I blinked three.

"You… what?" I asked again.

"Best! Friends!" Milim beamed, spinning around once like she just declared war on boredom. "You're strong, interesting, and weirdly squishy! So now you're my best friend!"

I stared at her.

Then at Shizu.

Shizu slowly turned her head away.

I sighed.

And somewhere in the back of my mind, a single thought echoed louder than anything else.

...This is fine... right?