Chapter 7 : Please, touch me. Don’t just leave like this

Using a magic circle that acted as a sort of tunnel, we traversed the mountain range and arrived at Underis after half a day.

We had departed at the break of dawn, but it was already a sunny afternoon by the time we arrived.

The first task was to appease Rupia’s hunger, which had transformed from a cheerful chant of “steak, steak” into a funeral dirge.

It wasn’t the “Hellfire Steak” I had imagined earlier, but we spotted a rather upscale restaurant that caught our attention.

We ordered sirloin steak.

The moment I took a bite, a flavor as intense as molten lava coursed through my entire body.

“It’s a relief that I can still taste things.”

I had no tongue, yet I could taste. I had no saliva, yet I could swallow food.

Having once been human, I wasn’t willing to give up the joy of tasting delicious food. While I wouldn’t die from not eating, that was reason enough to eat.

Moreover, the food I consumed was absorbed into my bones and contributed to restoring my stamina.

“The higher the quality of the meal, the better it is to eat as much as possible… but the issue is the price.”

Each plate cost 2 gold and 50 silver. Considering that Rupia’s monster summons cost 10 gold, just five plates would exceed my worth.

And I had already gone beyond that.

“Nom nom, chomp chomp, yum yum…”

Though I had come prepared with plenty of funds to contract at least a B-class monster, Rupia’s appetite far exceeded my expectations.

It was amazing to see how her small cheeks stored food like a chipmunk and even more astonishing how her stomach seemed like a black hole.

Anyone watching might think she hadn’t eaten for a week.

“My lord, please eat slowly.”

I handed her a napkin as I noticed food stains around her mouth.

Rupia clutched her fork and knife tightly, glanced at her steak, and then at me.

“Mmm.”

Instead of letting go of either, she slid her face toward me, silently asking me to wipe her mouth.

I used the napkin to clean the oil from her lively, chewing cheeks and lips. Rupia immediately resumed eating.

“Yum yum, chomp chomp…”

After what felt like an endless meal,

“Phew, hehe…”

Rupia finally stood up, rubbing her now bulging belly and waddling slightly.

“Let’s explore the market for a bit before heading to the monster brokerage.”

Seemingly in a much better mood from her full stomach, Rupia nodded with a blissfully melted expression.

“That sounds like an excellent idea. I was worried before coming here, but it seems I made the right decision…”

The market in Underis appeared to have everything imaginable. I focused on the equipment section.

There were exposed blades, armor made from unidentified materials, and on one side, ominously glowing orbs the size of fists were displayed.

“The condition seems good, but the grades are low.”

These were likely mass-produced items, like factory-made goods.

I had thought about stocking up on decent equipment, but it seemed better to commission a craftsman for custom-made items.

As I looked away from the stalls and turned around, pia had vanished.

In just that brief moment, she had wandered off, dragging her tattered cloak toward a dessert shop.

How could she already want more food after eating so much?

“…I really need to buy her a proper cloak.”

As I approached Rupia, pondering such trivialities,

“Ack?!”

“…!”

A wolf beastman, larger than Rupia but not quite an adult, had deliberately stepped on her cloak from behind.

There was no doubt—it was intentional.

I acted immediately.

Regardless of age, as a knight, it was my duty to punish those who insulted my lord.

Grabbing the back of the fleeing beastman’s head, I slammed it hard into the ground.

Boom!

Though I held back enough to avoid killing, once wasn’t enough.

I was about to slam her down again when something rare caught my eye in her status window.

[Rain]
Race: Beastman Wolf
Affiliation: None
Rank: D
[Traits]

• Loyalty (S)
• Endurance (C)
• Hard Claws (D)

An S-class trait: Loyalty.

Simply put, once the beastman chose a master, they would never betray them and would follow them to the death.

For players, this trait was considered lower-tier among S-class traits due to the restrictions it placed on autonomy.

However, it was a different story if a subordinate possessed this trait.

I glanced at her stats.

[Rain]
Race: Beastman Wolf
Affiliation: None
Rank: D
[Stats]

• Strength: 24
• Intelligence: 19
• Magic: 1
• Agility: 18
• Endurance: 26

“…Not outstanding.”

Since she was a beastman, I assumed her physical abilities would be exceptional, but they were not just mediocre—they were abysmal.

“P-please spare me! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

…She lacked any courage to resist or fight back.

I considered recruiting her and training her properly if she was decent, but I decided to let her go.

“If it were your foot instead of the cloak you stepped on, I would have cut off your ankle.”

“Y-yes! Understood! I’ll remember this! It won’t happen again…!”

Pushing the lingering thoughts of her rare S-class trait out of my mind, I headed toward the monster brokerage.

The brokerage was a neatly crafted gray stone building adorned with refined beast motifs.

The entrance was a double door made of black steel, engraved with the emblem of a monstrous bird at its center, adding an air of grandeur.

Tall windows decorated with transparent glass and ornate metal frames allowed a faint view of the inside. The building’s apex featured a sharp spire that pierced the sky, beneath which three flags fluttered quietly.

The flags seemed to represent a union of three noble families, likely a warning that this place was under their jurisdiction and not to cause trouble.

Gulp.

As Rupia stepped inside the brokerage, she nervously swallowed dryly.

Monsters of various types and ranks awaited their masters, exuding an intimidating presence. They all turned their gazes toward Rupia simultaneously.

Some seemed to recognize her, smirking mockingly, while others looked curious, wondering if she, too, was a demon lord.

“Don’t mind them. I’m right behind you.”

“Ah, yes, of course. Thank you, General…!”

Summoning her courage, Rupia walked toward the reception desk with as much dignity as she could muster.

Ahead of her, a cyclops was already arguing with the receptionist.

“So why isn’t the demon lord who was supposed to recruit me here? You said the contract would be finalized in a week!”

The dark elf receptionist, who looked utterly drained, responded in an overly professional tone.

“As I mentioned earlier, your requested amount is too high compared to your rank. You can either lower your demands or work to raise your rank by gaining achievements—”

“Don’t give me that crap! If I join the demon lord’s army, I’d at least be a legion commander! And you’re calling that too high? You incompetent half-elf bastard! Hah!”

The cyclops spat an enormous glob of saliva that splattered all over the receptionist’s face.

The nearby Dullahans, likely acting as guards, stood silently without intervening. It seemed they only acted when there was physical contact.

The receptionist calmly cast a cleansing spell, removing every drop of filth from her face, and bowed politely to the cyclops as he stormed off.

“Thank you for using the monster brokerage today.”

…That’s the level of composure you’d expect from someone working at a major firm.

I glanced at Rupia and saw her trembling more violently than before, no doubt due to witnessing the scene up close.

“Welcome. I’m the receptionist, Hina Kraol. How can I assist you?”

“I-I’m looking for a monster…” Rupia mumbled faintly.

Hina, her face shadowed by dark circles, maintained her calm demeanor and continued the conversation smoothly.

“Do you have any specific species or traits in mind for the monster you’re seeking, Your Highness Rupia?”

“I-I’m looking for a combatant. A monster with combat experience would be preferable.”

“Do you have a desired rank?”

“C… no, no. B rank or higher.”

“Understood. I’ll show you the higher-ranked options first.”

Hina infused magic into a projection screen, listing the S-rank monsters in order of rank.

The data considered public evaluations, reputation, magical accomplishments, and actual combat experience.

Judging by the similarity to my status window, the information seemed trustworthy.

I watched alongside her.

“S-rank #1 is… Lauro?”

The species was listed as a Reaper, with expertise in black magic. A closer inspection with my own status window revealed that this one was extraordinary.

Three stats exceeded 90, and all traits were fully S-rank.

Hina responded to my muttering as if offering an explanation.

“Lauro, a young lady of the Reaper clan, is renowned as a genius black magician. Many demon lords are eager to recruit her. Not only in the demon realm but across the entire continent, it’s difficult to find a more promising candidate.”

“Ho-how!? A monster that powerful is still unaffiliated?” Rupia’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Is it possible to…”

She struggled to lift a pouch of gold nearly as large as her body and placed it before Hina.

While demon lords could mark contracts with their sigils or issue checks, Rupia didn’t currently have any checks.

“Pardon me, but how much gold is this?”

“A thousand gold.” Ahem.”

Rupia spoke with a confident expression, but Hina hesitated before replying.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness Rupia—”

At that moment, a sharp laugh echoed throughout the monster brokerage.

Rupia flinched, her small shoulders trembling, and turned to look behind her. I also turned toward the source of the laughter.

A demon lord with bright red hair and horns stood there alongside a hulking beastman.

“I can’t believe it! You seriously came here aiming for Lauro? Haha! Oh, my stomach hurts. I’ve laughed so hard I’m crying.”

Rupia’s face turned pale as she recognized him and stammered.

“D-Damon…?”

“Rupia, you’re as pathetic as ever. A thousand gold? Is that really all you brought to try and recruit Lauro?”

“N-no… I just wanted to look—”

Completely forgetting my presence, Rupia froze like a frog before a snake.

What kind of relationship did they have for her to be so terrified just by encountering him?

Damon’s next words explained everything.

“It reminds me of last time, when you barely scraped together 10 gold to try and recruit a monster. You got beaten up badly by low-tier monsters outside, didn’t you? Some demon lord you are.”

“Haha! And you didn’t even realize you’d been tricked. Watching you confidently summon a monster with just 10 gold was so adorable—hilarious, really!”

Damon’s mocking words dripped with scorn and disdain, as if questioning how someone like Rupia could even call herself a demon lord.

“Even monsters have pride, you know? Listen carefully, Rupia.”

He shifted his icy gaze from Rupia to Hina and asked,

“Hey, Dark Elf. How much did I pay last time to ‘rent’ an hour of Lauro’s time?”

Hina bowed her head slightly before replying.

“…Ten thousand gold, Your Highness Damon.”

Rupia’s face contorted in shock.

With trembling eyes, she glanced at the pouch of a thousand gold she had proudly presented earlier.

The pouch, which once seemed full of dreams, now felt embarrassingly inadequate.

‘This isn’t good.’

I decided it was time to intervene.

Leaning toward Rupia, I whispered,

“…Get a grip, my lord. We came here to find a usable monster, not to recruit Lauro.”

But it seemed that Rupia, her mind completely overwhelmed, couldn’t hear me. Her eyes brimmed with tears.

Satisfied, Damon turned to leave.

“Thanks for the entertainment. I’ll take my leave now. That was a good laugh. See you again, Rupia.”

Before departing, Damon briefly brushed against me, flashing a sly smile.

His crimson eyes radiated a seductive aura, framed by lashes that curled enticingly.

Thump.

For a moment, something inside me stirred violently.

My gaze involuntarily followed him as he walked away.

It was the first time I had experienced such a feeling.

What was this uncontrollable, surging wave of emotion?

I had to find out—before they left.

As Damon’s hulking lion beastman companion passed by Rupia, he lightly tapped her head.

‘Ah.’

In that instant, I understood the storm within me.

It was rage.

“Hey, beastman.”

The enormous shadow turned to look at me, exuding an intimidating presence that seemed to silence the entire room.

“You forgot something.”

“…What are you talking about?”

His arrogant gaze and low growl threatened to crush me if I dared challenge him.

Swish.

Before anyone could react, I drew my sword and severed the beastman’s paw, which had dared to touch my master.

Time seemed to freeze.

Every expression in the room turned to shock.

Damon, Rupia, Hina, and all the monsters stared in disbelief.

I nudged the severed paw on the floor with my foot and said,

“This.”

I had been waiting for the right justification.

The emotion boiling within me had been rage, exploding like a storm.