CH 8

“Silver…you said?”

The lord asked back with a voice full of wonder. His head was busy trying to find a reason for the sudden question.

“Yes, silver hair and red eyes… I heard there was someone like that working in the castle.”

“Maybe you’ve mistaken the colors?”

“I don’t think so.”

Haron shook his head. They met at night, but at the same time, it was still bright enough for him to see. It was distinctly very different from other colors.

“Do you happen to know the maid’s name?”

“Name… no.”

Come think of it, he forgot to ask for her name. He was able to see her again, but her name was unknown.

“Hmm… I think I would’ve noticed if someone fits that description… I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

After the conversation was over, the lord left the room. On the way back, he thought about what the warrior had asked him, then whispered to his aide next to him.

“Why do you think he brought up a maid all of the sudden?”

“What… maybe it’s because of that.”

“That?”

“Maybe it’s because he’s at the age to think about a woman. There wouldn’t have been any proper meetings since he’s always in battlefields.”

“Oh wow I thought he was just a fool that does nothing but fight, and I guess he’s turning into a man now?”

There’s nothing easier to deal with than a guy who is into a woman. The lord snorted and hit his cane on the ground. Sometimes, he hated the look the warrior gives him but now he felt better after hearing the question from the brat.

“Well, just introduce some people sooner or later.”

“Okay.”

“And make sure he works as much as he can today. Do you even know how much I have lost because he suddenly disappeared last night?”

“Will he be alright? I mean… I think he’s injured pretty bad.”

“Well, the warrior is fine. Besides, those wounds should’ve already been taken care of right?”

The lord clicks his tongue in annoyance. The reason why the warrior came to this estate was to kill the Devil and save the princess, but the lord’s interest was not the Devil.

‘It’s been about 10 years. The fact that he became silent.’ (The ‘he’ is referring to the Devil since no one knows that it’s Lucia.)

The Devil attacked the village like crazy, and massacred people indiscriminately. There was never a time like now where people could walk around in peace. The damage suffered by the Devil was recovering little by little over the course of 10 years.

‘We haven’t suffered much in the meantime.’

People would often ask why they invade the monster’s territory who don’t even come and bother them, which the lord boldly insisted. But what he was really after were the magic souls that he could obtain after destroying the creatures.

There is a jewel that contains magic, which can be called the soul of a demon, and it has various uses. There are some cases where the magical spirit contained inside can be removed and used as a regular jewel. The magic itself can be used for medicine or others. Because of that, the Mahone Stone (that’s what it’s called) is very expensive, for they are also very small.

“We can probably get at least 100 from today’s subjunction.”

“The Devil is quiet, so we can go for 150.”

“Okay, okay. Call Marquis Altor! There will be a lot of stuff.”

The lord exclaimed excitedly. Usually, unknown barriers were placed in the monster’s territory, so only those who crawled out from the barrier could be dealt with. As a result, they could kill 10 at most per day, but thanks to the warrior who can pierce through the barriers, the numbers have multiplied.

‘I’ll have him stay there for a while so I can rip him off as much as I can.’

The lord thought and hurried towards the office with an excited look.

***

“Tina! Lucia!”

The moment we stepped out from the door, I heard a voice calling us.

‘I wish it were more quiet.’

After a small sigh, I turned my head towards the sound.

“It really is you! Are you back in town now?”

“Wow, how many years has it been? It seemed like the lights were on in this house. It’s been a while.”

“Ha-ha, oh, hello…”

Tina, who is more sociable than me, smiled awkwardly and greeted the villagers. We came here when Tina was around 13 years old, so it’s been three or four years since we’ve left. However, the gap was very serious, and all the villagers who passed by showed great interest and came this way.

All of their eyes were glued to us in an instant. It’s really nice to see you after a long time, do you remember me? You’ve grown up so pretty. They gushed and I felt so flattered by their nonsense.

“You said let’s go back early in the morning before people wake up!”

“… Um, sorry. I was tired.”

Tired from accepting people’s words one by one, Tina finally whispered to me while whining. It’s not like I can do anything. I was so tired because I came back early in the morning. I really wanted to go back to the Devil’s Castle and take a nap. I rubbed my eyes again and yawned.

I’m tired.

When I casually looked up, I felt gazes poking at me from the side. To be exact, most of the village adult’s eyes were on Tina, who is fresh, bright, smiling, and cute while the eyes of the youth or married adults were lodged on me, regardless if they are men or women.

‘… Is it your first time seeing someone yawning?’

Normally, I would’ve laughed nervously, but I didn’t want to because my perception of this village is not good. I walked up and grabbed Tina, who was pitifully stuck between the village elders, and pulled her out. She held my arm tightly as if I was her savior.

“Tina, lets go.”

“Wait, Lucia. Just listen to me for a second okay? I have a son at my house who is at the marriageable age, and now I see Tina who is very fresh, pretty, and not short of anything…”

“I don’t care. Your son isn’t enough.”

“Wait, what? That’s what…!”

I heard Mrs. Merkel running behind. Tina’s a nice girl, but she’s not cheap. I felt sorry for her being dragged around by such people. No matter how poor she is, she’s a million times better than being with your son.

Mrs. Merkel was a resourceful businesswoman who lived in a small estate and ran a fairly large group. There were no products, such as fruits or seeds in the village that were traded without passing through her first. The only trouble she had was her stupid, distant son.

“Hey you beautiful girl.”

“Oh… crazy.”

Speak of the devil, here’s her son. I looked at the man in front of me with a disgusted face. He then approached me with a stiff step at my reaction.

“Long time no see?”

“Belsey.”

“Wow, you remember my name? It’s an honor.”

He giggled to himself like a madman. It’s disgusting. I hate it, I feel like I’m seeing a bug.

“Where have you been hiding all this time like a kitten? I’ve been looking for you for a while, but I could never find you.”

“Maybe not you, but your mother too.”

“Ha-ha, mom too. I like you better than that kid (referring to Tina), but she won’t listen to me no matter how much I say it.”

Belsey reached out as if trying to stroke my hair.

“Ha, a pathetic idiot.”

I slapped his hand away. He giggled, not embarrassed at all. I feel like I just touched something dirty. I took Tina’s hand and walked towards the other direction, ignoring Belsey. I hate him the most, but the worst thing about it is that I can’t kill him.

‘Why am I getting involved.’

The moment Belsey is killed, greatly injured, or disappears, it becomes a frenzy and a war might break out between the humans and monsters. It’s possible because his mother, who would do anything for her son, will pour all her fortune into the temple asking for revenge. Then, when she donated all her assets to the temple, the lord, who had always coveted Mrs. Merkel’s property, will secretly send soldiers to the temple to destroy it severely. Seeing that the temple was attacked mercilessly, they’ll mistake the surprise attack for the Devil trying to start a great war against the temple.

There’s a lot of coincidences and stupid incidents. In addition, if I touch Belsey, the aftermath can come in all sorts of different ways.

How do I know that?

…Belsey was one of the common NPCs who gave quests to the warrior who comes into this village in the game. I secretly killed him a few times in the game because I didn’t like that bi… no, I didn’t like Belsey. He was rude to the warrior, but the result of the kill was devastating. I was still nervous to think that I had died several times from him in the game.

‘Maybe he’s more evil in this world than the actual Devil.’

I nodded my head at that thought. The Devil dies at the end, but the warrior can’t even kill Belsey.

“Devil…”

“Oh, Tina.”

While I was thinking, I had forgotten I was dragging her by the hand. She murmured quietly and I immediately stopped and looked back at her. Come think of it, her leg was still hurt. I can’t believe I forgot about that. To check her condition, I knelt down.

“What’s wrong? Does your ankle still hurt? Or did I pull on your wrist too hard?”

“Oh, no! It’s not that…!”

Tina’s face was covered slightly with her hair.

“If… it’s hard for the Devil to kill him, would you like me to do it for you?”

“… Huh?”

“The Devil is too kind and tender-hearted to let such an unlucky and useless man live.”

“Ah.”

“Really, if I were you, I would’ve gotten rid…”

I was wondering what she was talking about. Tina’s eyes, which were filled with yearning and sparkled like stars in the Milky Way, looked at me. How can you say such scary things in a cute face? I have no idea how I raised her up like this. When I didn’t answer her, Tina asked me with her head tilted.

“Or why don’t you use him as part of a magic experiment?”

“… Where on earth did you learn those things?”

“From the Devil.”

“Oh.”

It was the scene of a disastrous failure in family education.