Chapter 1 — Raising a Demon King as a Pet by Mistake

In the summer of my third year of college, so poor that I was about to eat the land, I got a short-term job as a maid on a recruitment site in the city: taking care of the children of a demon race. It was said that all the adults had gone to attend the Ten Thousand Demon Alliance Congress, which was held only once every ten years. I was able to live in a manor halfway up Thanh Tu mountain, with food and accommodation included, and a daily salary of eight hundred yuan. Five round, soft furred babies, competing to let me rub their bellies. A happy life is like a fairy tale. There was only a skinny silver-white fox huddled in the corner. Gray fur, cold amber eyes staring at me. I squatted down, lifted him into my arms, and rubbed his soft belly.

“Be good, can you turn over so I can see?”

It's whole body stiffened like a stone, its tail immediately ruffled like a silver needle. I sadly kissed her small forehead.

"It's okay, you will always be my baby."

What I didn't know was— According to the rules of the demon race, rubbing the belly is a grand proposal, while kissing the forehead is a confirmation of the blood contract. On the first day of work, I decided on life imprisonment for the leader of the demon world.

—

Chapter 1 Everything has to do with that job posting.

“Urgently need to recruit a human woman, to take care of five young demon beasts for fifteen days. Requirements: have a loving heart, not afraid of fur, can accept to stay twenty-four hours a day. Daily salary is eight hundred yuan, if you do well, you will get a bonus."

Daily salary eight hundred yuan. Those four words magnified three times in my eyes, and automatically emitted sparkling golden light. My name is Khuong Niem Niem, a third-year veterinary student at Thanh Tu University. The balance in the bank account is sixty-two yuan and seven cents. The internship funding for the next semester is still not available, the landlord has sent text messages asking for rent three times. I immediately submitted my application at a hundred meter sprint. That same evening, I received notification that I passed the interview. The person in charge calls himself Bach Tu. His voice was low and he spoke like an old scholar. He sent me an eighteen-page confidentiality agreement. The core content has only one sentence: Whatever you see, don't tell anyone. I waved my pen and signed immediately. Early the next morning, a black commercial vehicle took me halfway to Thanh Tu mountain. The moment the car door opened, I was stunned. Is this what you call "housing"? It's clearly a Japanese-style manor nestled in the middle of a bamboo forest. White walls, black tiles, gurgling water flowing past. The main house is at least three hundred square meters wide. Outside the ground-level glass door is an entire valley, far away covered in clouds and mist, as beautiful as a vivid watercolor painting. The person who led me in was a middle-aged man wearing a gray Trung Son shirt. Hair is neatly combed back, with a few gray strands on both temples. He introduced himself as Bach Tu, the butler of the manor.

“The young animals are in the backyard, please follow me.”

The backyard is a fenced area, the floor is covered with soft wood. Sunlight passes through the grape arbor and falls onto colorful cushions on the ground. Five cotton balls were rolling into a pile inside. A red-orange fox cub discovered me first. It trotted over, stuck its head in my lap, its tail shaking as fast as if it had a motor attached.

“This is Doan Tu, three months old, calculated vivacious way.” Bach Tu pointed at it.

A milky yellow cub timidly peeked half its head behind the mattress, its round eyes sparkling with tears.

“This is Nhu Me, two months old, shy personality.”

A gray wolf cub was lying on his back, chewing the tip of his tail. Seeing me, it immediately turned over, waddled to my feet and stuck out its tongue to lick my shoe laces.

“Tieu That, belongs to the gray wolf tribe, four months old, extremely clingy.”

A red fox cub is chasing his shadow. Running too fast, he crashed into a fence, bounced back, crawled up and continued chasing.

“Dau Sa, three months old, shows signs of hyperactivity.”

A white rabbit lay motionless on the largest mattress, only occasionally turning its long ears.

“Snowball, belongs to the Jade Rabbit clan, five months old, quiet personality.”

I squatted down and touched each child in turn, so happy that I was about to burst into bubbles. Wait. Bach Tu said he had five children. I counted the cotton balls inside the fence: Doan Tu, Nhu Me, Tieu That, Dau Sa, Tuyet Cau. That's right, five children. But in the farthest corner of the fence, with his back to all the other kids, there was a small silvery white figure huddled in the dark.

"Uncle Bach, there's another one over there."

Bach Tu's face stiffened in the blink of an eye.

“That... that child was only temporarily raised. My health is not good, and I don't like to play with other young animals."

I walked over and gently walked around in front of it. It's a baby fox. The silver-white fur is gloomy and lifeless. It was so thin that every rib could be felt, curled up in the corner, its chin resting on its front legs. It's a whole circle smaller than the others. Only those eyes—Amber, clear, as if containing a forest of ginkgo leaves in the fall. Those eyes were coldly staring at me. Not like a child's innocent curiosity, but more like... evaluation. But there was only one thought in my mind. Oh my god, so pitiful. I raised my hand and lifted it up. It's as light as a piece of paper.

“Kid, why are you so skinny?”

My heart sank. I used my fingers to gently trace the fur on its side, feeling the clearly protruding ribs underneath. Its whole body immediately stiffened. Not the kind of trembling in panic of a fledgling, but anger that made every hair on his body stand on end. But it's too weak. Struggling twice, the claws scratched the air a few times before giving up. I thought it was scared.

“Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."

I held him in my arms, letting his little head rest in the hollow of his collarbone, with one hand gently patting his back. Its body was as cold as a block of ice. I started slowly rubbing his belly. This is the knowledge I learned in animal behavior. For young animals of the canine and feline families, the abdomen is the weakest spot. If they accept others to touch their belly, both sides will quickly build trust. My fingers gently drew circles on its soft belly. Its body trembled violently.