'Is he really going to cut me? Since I'm a test subject, then yes… He is. Taking a blood sample? Or pulling my guts out? What should I do? I can't defend myself. I can barely move.' The baby's eyes slowly widened as the scalpel approached. 'No… The most important thing is how I react to it.'
Indeed, because of the questions and thoughts that Kain previously expressed, Marcus decided to look at the situation differently.
'A baby doesn't know what a blade is. If I react to it with fear, it'll prove that something is up. A baby that hasn't been cut by a blade yet wouldn't fear a blade…'
The baby remained still as the blade got closer and closer.
The cold metallic feel made the baby shudder as the pointy tip lay on its chest.
'Is he… Going to kill me?'
Just as Marcus' breathing started to accelerate, Kain let out a deep sigh.
"This is the problem with working with things you're not used to."
He remained standing with the blade against the baby's chest, and cursed under his breath.
A second later, he felt the blade being moved.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Kain asked as the baby took the scalpel between its hands. "W-Wow!" He exclaimed as he quickly pulled the blade back and away. "I know babies do that but… Gosh, what the hell am I doing?" Kain shook his head and placed the blade away. "Sorry about that, little guy."
'Doubts cleared! Hurray!' Marcus rejoiced internally.
He had tried to pull the blade to his mouth, as if to suck on it. It seemed to him like something a baby would try to do.
"The child of a Demon… It's only natural that I would be on guard. Still, you are just a baby…" Kain scratched his forehead. "Guess we'll leave blood samples and all for some other time. Normally I would show a baby the city, or at least the castle and gardens… What should I do with you? Can't experiment on you on the same day that you were born, can I?"
As he stared at the baby, Kain got an idea as to what caused the awkwardness.
"You're too quiet. Babies cry and shout and scream… Maybe that's what's weird about you."
'And then the tiny detail of me being THE CHILD OF A DEMON!!'
A quietness settled and remained for a couple of minutes.
"Guess I'll study this instead." Kain whispered as he walked to the other of the desk on which the baby basket lay.
Kain's hand pulled a small vial out of his pocket.
"A blood sample. It's always interesting to study." Kain explained as he lay the vial next to a couple of others, many of which were shades of blue and green. "There's a lot to learn from a Demon's blood. First of all, the color can say a lot. This one's red, as you can see. It's tougher to tell something from shades of red, unfortunately. Blueish and greenish blood help in determining what kind of Demon you're dealing with. Its Species, basically. Demon isn't really a Species, you see. It's a larger classification. Like that Wicka there." Kain pointed. Marcus didn't follow the direction pointed at which his gaze. "You could call it a Goblin with red skin and horns. A Goblin which, one or another, found itself with Demon blood in its veins. Demon blood makes it a Demon. In other words…"
'It's the same as me.'
"It's the same as you. You might look Human, but you have Demon blood in your veins. Just like your mother," Kain made the blood sample rotated between his fingers. "Whose blood is right here."
He remained silent for a moment, before pointing at the Wicka again. Its body was floating in the vial peacefully.
"Wickas have greenish blood, just like Goblins. However, if you closely enough, you can find a difference. It's very interesting when you think about it."
'Can you get to the point?'
"There are two types of Wickas. The type that will target gold, and the type that will target women… Well, females in general. The Greedy type, and the Lustful type basically. If their blood is a stronger green, they're the Greedy type. If there's a tiny pinkish or reddish hue, they're the Lustful type. These kinds of differences make studying Demons difficult, since even two members of the same Species might not be of the same Species… They just appear to be. It's more complicated than that but… Anyways, for Demon blood mixed with a Human's, it's tougher as well. Ah, I don't know if I told you, but your mother is that way as well. Human-looking, I mean. Although… Well, that still makes her a Demon."
'That still doesn't explain anything about why the King would… Well, if they look Human then I guess…'
Kain lay the vial down and walked to the other side of the room as he talked.
"It was real troublesome getting my brother's approval, but I managed. Now, I have a Demon Child for me to study. Humans and Demons are opposite, they say. I'm not so sure about that."
When Kain returned to the desk on which the baby basket lay, he waved a shiny gem in front of Marcus before placing it a dozen inches away from him.
Marcus did as he thought all dumb babies would do. He crawled towards the shiny object.
"You can already crawl, huh?"
'Shit… Babies can't crawl right away? Wait… That's a physical ability. It has nothing to do with my mind and the fact that I was reincarnated!'
"For those of common who live on the outskirts of the Kingdom, it takes months to start crawling."
'Peasants.'
"The closer you move towards the Capital, the less time it takes for babies to crawl. Children of Knights, Nobles, Royalty… The higher up the hierarchy, the faster the babies start to crawl. That simple fact is indicative of a couple of things. Obviously, the newborn's innate physical strength, but also the ability to get stronger with time. In other words, their potential. Physical strength isn't the only thing that increases the closer you get to the Capital…"
'Don't tell me…'
"The higher up the hierarchy the baby is from, the more Mana it holds, and the better its aptitude and talent is when it comes to wielding Mana."
'Magic! Magic!'
"Of course, there are wild variations. It does happen for a commoner to be born with exceptional physical strength and magical aptitude, or for a noble to be born with a feeble body and no magical talent. In your case, it seems like you got lucky."
'Hell, yeah! The King's strength… Wait, as a test subject, being strong isn't actually good, is it? That means I'll be an even more impressive test subject, and a potentially dangerous one! They might keep me in a cage… Or… Stuff like that!'
"Those who hold Demon Blood are known to have exceptional capabilities as well. It took the King's children a couple of days before they could crawl. Since you can pretty much right away, it seems clear that you were Blessed both from your Human side and your Demon side."
'My mother has a Human side as well, so let's not make it seem like a 50-50 type of thing! I'm at worst one-quarter Demon!'
"Out of everyone in the Kingdom, you might be the baby with the most potential."
'Why doesn't that sound like good news when it should… In different circumstances…'
"That makes you the most dangerous as well. The most dangerous Demon…" Kain suddenly took on a baby voice. "But you're going to be a good bpy, right? You're going to be such a good boy, right?"
'I'm a baby, not a dog!'
"You'll be my test subject, but you'll also be raised to live as a Human. That was the condition for my brother to accept this mad enterprise. He wants an exceptional fighter on his side, you see? The questions of what makes a Demon a Demon don't interest him. You'll be a tool for him, a sword. You'll be a test subject for me. As long as you prove useful on both sides of that equation." Kain gave the baby a thumbs-up. "You'll be just fine!"
'Doesn't sound reassuring at all!'
A couple of seconds passed and,
'Huh… Huh?! What's happening? I can't… I can't stop myself from…'
"Ah, finally." Kain nodded at the baby's uncontrollable cries. "Hungry, huh?"
He took hold of the baby basket and started walking to exit the laboratory.
"Time for you to meet your mother."
'I g… I g… I guess!' Marcus could barely form a coherent thought because of the intense hunger and unending cries exiting his mouth. 'Being a baby is so annoying!'