Chapter 177: Amaranth Monastery (1)

The words ‘Help me’ came from the lips of the Demon Realm Branch Manager. That single sentence made me realize my position, and I instinctively knew her request wouldn’t be simple. As I stretched to ease my tension, Milia looked around the room with a relaxed expression and said,

“I just want a simple cup of tea, but do you have any?”

“How about some alcohol? This place is famous for its wine.”

Milia shook her head. She looked like the ace of the pleasure district, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem to have a penchant for drinking. She scanned the cupboards with her eyes and said,

“I prefer tea. It’s hard to find good tea in the Demon Realm.”

“You must have liked tea even when you were human?”

“Of course. I loved tea dearly. Though I couldn’t drink much of it.”

“What did you do originally?”

According to what Sophia had said before, she was also a woman born in the human world who had moved to the Demon Realm. I was curious about what she did back when she considered herself human. Milia blinked her lavender eyes upon hearing my question and replied,

“I don’t know.”

“Hmm?”

I frowned at Milia’s answer. Lumia narrowed her brow, then nodded as if she’d realized something. Sophia wagged her tail, looking back and forth between Milia and me. I asked,

“What gives? Are you hiding something from me?”

“Evan-nim. It’s not that she’s hiding it, she might genuinely not know.”

Lumia cut off my playful question. She placed a hand on my shoulder and looked at Milia, saying,

“Milia. You’re an acquired demon, aren’t you?”

Milia nodded readily at Lumia’s question and smiled.

“Priestesses study things like that too, huh? That’s right.”

“An acquired demon? Are you talking about the kind I made by infusing magic into Carlson?”

I recalled Carlson, whom I’d infused with magic, and the corpses of the thief guild assassins. They were all hideously stained pitch black, with huge horns sprouting from their faces. But Milia looked no different from a human, except for her slightly pale complexion and her eyes shimmering like jewels.

“Similar. But I didn’t do it through such a barbaric method; I made a contract. I became a demon in exchange for my memories from my human days. That’s why I don’t know what I used to do.”

Milia said so. It was quite a tragic situation, but she was someone from hundreds of years ago. It was impossible to find her memories or investigate them now. She didn’t seem particularly concerned about her memories either.

“That’s a shame. So, what was the favor you came to ask?”

The conversation had strayed and become lengthy. Meanwhile, Milia had found some tea in the cupboard and started boiling water. Flames erupted from her fingertips, heating the kettle in an instant, and the lid rattled as steam billowed out. She sprinkled tea leaves into a cup and asked me,

“Want some?”

“No thanks. I prefer alcohol.”

Milia smiled and poured the boiling water into the teacup. As the tea leaves steeped, a pleasant aroma filled the air. Sophia looked like she wanted to drink tea with Milia, but I grabbed her tail to stop her from moving forward. Milia savored the taste of the tea, nodded with satisfaction, and then looked at me, saying,

“You asked what favor I had, right? It’s not a difficult request. Do you know of Amaranth Monastery?”

“Ah, that place. I know it. I’ve even been there. There’s a crazy bastard living there.”

“You’ve been there, so that makes it easier to explain. Recently, that demon called Drak-Sai rampaged in the north. So, we also planned to expand our influence a bit. As the first step of that plan, we intended to swallow up a secluded monastery….”

Milia rolled her eyes. Thinking about it, the brown-skinned succubus who always followed her around wasn’t visible. Her abs were enviable, and her attitude was so insolent that I’d thought I’d definitely rape her someday, but why wasn’t she with her today?

“I sent Kelly as the vanguard, but something seems to have gone wrong at the monastery. We haven’t heard from her since.”

I frowned. Kelly, whom I’d encountered at the academy, wasn’t a terrifyingly skilled fighter, but she wasn’t some pushover either.

“Was it that scary a place?”

Come to think of it, it was a place with many suspicious aspects. The so-called cult leader was praying to a suspicious god, and we even saw ‘something’ respond to those prayers. If the entity the cult leader was praying to was a powerful demon, it wouldn’t be strange for it to easily subdue Kelly.

“Well, maybe the Western Branch Manager was hiding there. Seeing as Kelly can’t even contact me at all.”

“The Western Branch Manager? A big shot appearing out of nowhere. What kind of guy is he?”

“He was part of the pro-Demon King faction. I don’t know the specifics myself. He’s been in seclusion ever since he was cut in half fighting a hero in the Demon Realm.”

“He survived being cut in half?”

“He was an incredibly strong fellow. The current branch managers are the ones who replaced those who were killed when the heroes attacked. I took the vacant seat because a hero killed my predecessor.”

“You weren’t fighting back then?”

Milia nodded. Instead, she looked at me as if asking why she should fight, and said,

“Is there any reason to fight? Most demons didn’t like the previous Demon King. He pushed strange policies, wanting to live peacefully with humans. The branch managers were somewhat loyal, which is why they kept their lives, but once those branch managers died, everyone scattered to look after themselves.”

“A bitter end.”

“Wouldn’t ‘a mutually beneficial deal’ be more fitting? The heroes were happy to defeat the Demon King, and we got a chance to choose a new one.”

Milia looked around. Every time she drank her tea, satisfaction bloomed on her face. I nodded and said,

“So, you want me to rescue Kelly from that Amaranth Monastery? Why aren’t you going yourself?”

“Oh my, we’re not suited for direct combat. We’ve confirmed there’s a strong demon, though we don’t know what it is, at Amaranth Monastery. We need to focus our strength elsewhere. If I were to go to Amaranth Monastery myself, I doubt it would end quietly……. In that case, it would be better if my capable and handsome Evan helped me out.”

Hearing I was capable and skilled made me feel inexplicably good, and I smirked. Sophia kept glancing between Milia and me, gauging the situation, while Lumia whispered,

“You mustn’t fall for the enemy’s ploy, Evan-nim. They intend to weaken us while strengthening themselves. Demons always betray. Succubi, in particular, are known as the epitome of betrayal, a truly vile race.”

I pointed alternately at Sophia and myself. Glaring reproachfully at Lumia, she avoided my gaze and said,

“…Except for you, Evan-nim.”

“Just kidding.”

I patted Lumia’s behind once, then looked back at Milia. She said,

“I don’t want to come back here again, so I’d like you to decide today. Isn’t this place too bleak? I can feel killing intent from the ceiling, and the priestess next to you is practically itching to kill me. Evan. We’re going to be married, you know. It hurts my feelings when you act like this.”

Was her gloomy tone genuine? Seeing as she noticed Taffy hiding in the attic, she really was a Branch Manager after all. I shook my head and replied,

“It’s just excessive loyalty. Please be understanding, my generous Milia. Once we’re married soon, you’ll receive that loyalty too.”

“Really? Then… I’ve finished my tea, so I’ll come back later. Around noon would be fine, right?”

Milia pointed at the clock. The current time showed 6:30 PM. She waved goodbye and winked at me. Her body was enveloped in purple mist, shimmering like a mirage before she disappeared. Her suggestive voice lingered in my ears.

“Then I’ll be waiting for good news. My darling.”

The mist vanished, and the teacup was empty. Sophia blinked and looked at me, while Taffy, who had been in the attic, came back to my side. Lumia said,

“What will you do, Evan-nim?”

“Whether she’s trustworthy or not is another matter… Doesn’t this sound like something worth trying? I think this could be quite a good opportunity.”

“Won’t it be difficult? We don’t know the monastery’s strength, and we’re few in number. Even if we manage to break into the monastery and rescue that demon named Kelly, losing even one person would be a loss for us.”

I grabbed Lumia’s butt. She yelped in surprise, feeling my grip tighten on her rear, and looked at me with a flushed face. I touched her lips with my finger and said,

“Lumia. It’s time for you to play in the big leagues, isn’t it? This job will be the catalyst.”

Lumia looked at me with a puzzled expression. Closing my eyes, I began to lay out the plan I had conceived. If this plan proceeds successfully, we could raid the monastery without incurring any losses.