" …Sisters…War Demon…haha no wonder, no wonder, haha."
The two star devil lying on the ground had long since lost his senses. What are the chances that he would encounter a favored devil of the Queen of feasts during his slaving?
The two star devil felt he had hit some sort of sick jackpot. He could only laugh at his luck.
"Hahaha- oof!"
"Shut up bastard, we're talking here!" Tired of the devils miserable ramblings, Hannya kicked him in the gut.
Hans could only shake his head, she was quite rough around the edges for a girl, a Luxuria no less. He wondered if such a personality could be tied to her mutations.
"A Luxuria you say young miss? It seems you have quite formidable mutations. Luxuria branches tend to be forms of love or lust devils, could it be that you are a legendary Romance devil? Able to implement the love devils mind magic and the lust devils body charms?" he couldn't help but ask curiously.
Hannya snorted at that. "Nice try old man. You stood there and watched that whole fight, so that should be enough to figure it out yourself."
The old butler could only smile wryly at that. Indeed, as the butler of the young miss' 'older sister', allowing the fight to even occur was a little unbecoming of his status. He could understand the little one's annoyance with his probing.
But he couldn't help but go back to his youth, watching the youngsters fight.
"Cough. Right you are, young miss. Apologies for the late arrival, since the young miss seemed to have everything handled, this old one dare not interfere in the young miss's leisurely hunt."
He bowed once more. Hannya's mouth couldn't help but twitch. Leisurely hunt? This bastard. If Hannya were a betting woman, she guessed this guy was here, lurking in the shadows even before she exited the cave.
Hannya, on hearing his name, recognized Hans from the novel. He was the type to play the part of a perfect butler, arriving when needed, and disappearing when not. He was most likely waiting for her to face troubles and appear as the timely reinforcement.
'Shameless!'
But she had no proof, so she just waved her hand dismissively.
"So?" she began. " What brings you here? From the letter I received, 'big sister' should be back at her temple, stuffing her face right now. So why are you here?"
It was now Hans' mouth's turn to twitch. How can someone say the esteemed queen of feast is in her temple 'stuffing her face'!?
'How crass!'
Hans knew this little lady would need intense etiquette training the second she steps into Sweet Oasis, this sort of speaking will only cause his grace to lose face!
Hans' eyes flashed with a strange gleam for a second, but he quickly suppressed it.
'Rest assured young miss, the temple will transform you to the ultimate lady!'
For some reason, Hannya felt goose bumps all over her body suddenly. She squinted her eyes at Hans.
But he was just standing there with his hands behind his back as usual, but the moonlight in the sky reflected off his glasses at such an angle that she could not see his eyes, which looked a bit eerie.
'Strange, what was that just now?'
Hans, not noticing Hannya's 'Danger Sense' flair, answered. "Her grace has kept an eye on this area ever since your birth, and discovered the greed devils movements to this location. She had assumed the well of desire in her temple had been compromised and left a greed mark on you during incubation. So, to ensure those individuals did not hinder the young miss's growth, she sent me as aid."
Hannya nodded in understanding, having a greed mark was bad news. She was only lucky a two star devil was the one to find her first.
"Also…" Hans then pulled out a folded letter from his chest pocket along with a golden ring. He stepped closer and handed the items to Hannya. "...A message and a present from her majesty."
Hannya eyed the letter and ring in her hand. She then looked at Hans suspiciously.
She sure was getting a lot of favor from the feast faction. What is Gula up to?
As if reading the young miss' thoughts, Hans raised his hands in surrender.
"Rest assured, young lady. It is just Crave- erm her grace, 1st Gula, hoping to form friendly relations with a new rising star. She has no intention of asking anything of you, nor is she offering a contract. She wishes this all in good will."
"But why? It's not like she knew my strength? I could have been a talentless hack. Why is she seeking friendly relations with me?"
The butler chuckled. "Is it really that hard to believe that a devil just wished to be kind to another fellow devil?" He smiled genuinely. He believed it. He trusted the intentions of his Queen unquestioningly.
Hannya was getting more and more confused with Gula's actions, why was she coming off so strong? Wasn't she just a face stuffing nihilist in the novel?
She then thought back to her previous conjecture. Gula's actions leading to her death, her unexpected outreach in Neel after the gates reopened, her push for friendly relations with her now.
'Could it be? Was I wrong?'
If looked at from a different perspective. Gula's actions told a different story. She wasn't a nihilist doing things on a whim, on the contrary, these were the calculated risks of an idealist. One most likely close to giving up on whatever dream she was pushing towards.
Hannya recognized such a personality well, she felt foolish having not seen it earlier.
A flash of memories passed by her mind, but she quickly shook those thoughts away. That person had long since failed in realizing her ideals and died hopeless and alone. She focused back on Gula.
The little girl she contracted with for her village's sake, her branch temple in Neel's southern continent, as well as now, trying to befriend her. They all pointed to a chance to realize her hidden ideal.
"...."
Hannya was getting more sure, Gula's personality held more below the surface than what was stated in the novel.
"Fine." Hannya nodded to the war demon and lifted the letter.
She opened it and read its contents.
[
Dear Little sister,
I hope this letter finds you well!
If you are reading this, that means you have encountered Hans and have stepped outside of the hidden temple!
Congratulations on taking your very first steps into the outside world!
To reward your bravery, I have prepared a special artifact for you. Your very own spatial ring, isn't that exciting!?
Now you can store all kinds of interesting stuff like candy, jewels, and the heads of your enemies! Use the space wisely!
Also beware, you have been marked by the greed devil, so wherever you go you will be hunted by his dogs, and no one would like that! I would suggest coming to Sweet Oasis so your big sister can remove it for you.
Only an archdevil can remove another archdevil's mark, so don't dally!
Hope to see you soon!
Warmest wishes,
Sister Gula
]
'As expected, Gula is fighting for something deep down.'
She shook her head and put on the ring. It resized to fit on her delicate finger.
She then poured a bit of her mana into it, and instantly felt the connection of a separate spatial pocket only she could access. She found such a sensation quite interesting.
As she sunk her consciousness into it, she found that it was half full with jewelry, clothes, an assortment of wines, and a slice of cake. She was initially grateful, but then grew suspicious.
The jewelry and wine were good, even the cake. But all the clothes seemed to be tailored to a…well, more proportioned individual.
'Hand me downs I see!'
These clothes clearly belonged to Gula and would not fit her. But Hannya just shrugged and grinned.
'They'd fetch a nice price.' She took out the cake and began to eat happily.
Hans, seeing this, was pleased to see the cute little devil enjoying his lieges gift. It seems this young one was quite open minded and agreeable. His Queen had chosen well.
Until Hannya also pulled a bottle of wine out of thin air, bit open the corked bottle with her sharp canines, and began chugging the contents with ruthless abandon.
The butler felt a headache coming on.
Did his Queen not clear out her old spatial ring? Watching the young miss drinking the wine like some scoundrel, he could only withhold his grievance, it's not like he could request the contents back.
Where would his Queen's face be?
He also could not watch such unladylike behaviour, he was the royal butler!
He shifted his gaze to the now passed out two star devil. It seems he lost too much blood and the kick he received earlier had broken several ribs, he was in a terrible state.
But the small cracking sound of bones mending and the subtle squirming of his now regrown knee cap said he would most likely wake up in another hour or so.
Remembering his now intelligence mission, he asked the still drinking Hannya.
"Young miss, if I may-"
*Gulp Gulp Gulp*
"Young miss Hannya, that devil over there, may hav-"
*Gulp Gulp Gulp*
"Miss I believe that's devil prince wine, too much would-"
*Gulp Gulp Gulp*
"Young lady please, your proprietary!" he shouted.
Hans couldn't take it anymore! This devil had worse manners than a beastkin!
Hannya finally stopped drinking, letting out a satisfied sigh and turned to Hans.
Her thin brows furrowed. "What does that mean?" Her face was a bit flushed from the refreshing drink.
It tasted like Mountain mist code red from her old world. All she needed now was chicken tenders, the cake was good, but there's a formula to everything. Double sweets obviously cancel out, something salty would be better.
Hans' forehead had a vein popping out, but he dare not voice his exasperation, he was a butler first and foremost, plus he had already used his trump card 'Tactful reminder'!
So he swallowed those words and asked about the devil behind Hannya.
"Sigh…Young miss, might I have a bit of time with this devil? He and his group seem to be using human technology to capture demons and devils alike with such means, and the information gathered would greatly help Queen Gula in future endeavors."
Hannya glanced at the devil lying on the ground, she was starting to feel a little dizzy from all the mountain mist, so she really couldn't tell if he was even alive or not. She shrugged noncommittally.
"Sure." She then grinned. "But you gotta do me a favor since you're taking advantage of my hard work."
Hans froze, one of the few phrases all knew in Hellnia. He had forgotten due to the laid back attitude of the young devil, he was not speaking to Cravings, his Queen and the 1st Gula. He was speaking to a new devil, young Hannya. His queen may have referred to her as 'little sister' but at the end of the day she was not the same as his liege.
Hans clenched his fist at his foolishness. He had let his guard down. And the little devil had recognized that. Now that she knew this information was essential, he would have to pay a heavy price for it now. What would be the cost now? Years of servitude? Promise of one clan eradication in the future? Perhaps a portion of his soul for various uses?
Through clenched teeth he spoke, his voice low and dangerous. "What is it that you require, my lord?" frustration evident in his words. He was sick of the new wave of devils coming from Hellnia, even after all the goodwill Gula has shown, every devil, without question has taken advantage of her and her subordinates without a single scruple!
Hannya, oblivious to Hans' thoughts and changing expression, giggled lightly at the caught fish. She was feeling increasingly happy for some reason, but she paid no heed to that as well.
DING
With a small hiccup she tilted her head up arrogantly, one small hand on her hip, pointed at the darkened face of Hans and spoke.
"Haha old man, in exchange, you will escort me on the road to the Hazy Mountains when your interrogation is finished!"
She kept her pose dramatically, her slender finger never wavering, her nose high in the sky as practised. Such an overpowered modifier like [Devilish Pose], of course, would be utilized in such an overbearing deal.
The old butler blinked, the pose was cute, but the butler's heart was more shaken about the fact that Hannya's only demand was to be guarded on her way to the hazy Mountains, a place much more dangerous than the road that led to it.
"What of the contract?" He asked, surely there was a catch written on it. Like 'as long as she never made it to Hazy mountain, he could never leave'.
She waved her hand somewhat clumsily. "Too troublesome. Plus, Gula seems to not like them, so who cares." She shrugged, then she squinted her eyes. "Don't tell me you wouldn't keep such a simple promise because of that? Are demons here so honorless?" In her blurry state she was genuinely asking, but the butler chuckled at her words, taking it as a wholesome joke.
The butler's heart felt warm, such magnanimity, altruism, and courage! His Queen would be very pleased indeed. To find a devil that shares the values of the Judges of old would undoubtedly bring her joy.
The butler smiled. He then glanced at the spear strapped to her back.
'Such a courageous young one needs more than a bone spear to carve her path.'
He nodded his head. "Sure, that is fine. What about the devil mark? …Ah, and here young miss, I have no use for it, and that spear looks to be on its last leg."
While Hans' mood lightened, he took out an object from his own spatial ring and offered it to Hannya. As she took it and looked it over, she answered.
"I have a means of getting rid of it, and I don't have the time for a stop at Gula's domain." She said simply, studying the object in her hands.
Hans didn't question further and just nodded. He had been informed of her ancestral knowledge. A devil's true secrets, he wasn't classless enough to ask for more details.
He changed the subject. "So, what do you think? This old servant obtained this from the eastern continent of Neel in my youth. Haha, but It's too small for my liking. The dream knights on the Hazy mountains also use this type of weapon."
Hannya just nodded groggily as she marveled at the weapon. It was a curved shortsword covered in a black sheath and black handle.
'Status'
[Logs]
…
…
Warning!...
…
…
[
Name: (Nameless) - Wakizashi of howling grief
Item: Basic Weapon
Type: Sword
Sub-Type: Short sword
Grade: C
Condition: Good - lightly cursed
Description: The wails of its master's victims continue to echo on its blade. A village undeserving of such slaughter. Their village was avenged, but until the mastermind is butchered, the howls of resentment won't rest.
]
Hannya squinted to read the description.
'Damn, Is this thing cursed?' She could barely tell. Her mind began to feel more and more like drying cement, the world around her was slowing down. It then began to spin.
"Ugh!" she covered her mouth, she felt like puking, but why?
Her swaying body looked down at the bottle she had seemingly dropped not too long ago.
'T-the mountain mist…'
She pointed an accusatory finger at the bottle as her body began to collapse.
"F-fucker…"
She fell.
GRAB
But before she could fall completely. The old butler, with elegant motions, caught the young devil before she hit the dirt below.
"Sigh…I told you young lady, the devil prince wine is quite strong, especially for young devils. But to think your body would collapse from that much." He shook his head.
Hannya, with heavy eyes, used all her remaining strength to curse at Hans with her eyes.
If it was that much of a risk, why didn't he stop her earlier!?
Seeing this Hans smiled apologetically.
"It's never a demon's place to tell a devil what to do. Those rules are absolute in Hellnia. But do not worry young miss. This old butler will watch over you until you recover, please be at ease. I swear by the name of her majesty 1st Gula."
He gave Hannya a reassuring smile. He picked her up and carried her to the back of the wagon left by the demon slavers and placed her down next to the cages.
He then took off his outer jacket and laid it on top of her small body.
"Have a good rest, young miss. You've worked hard."
Hannya couldn't answer, her body was rapidly shutting down.
But before her consciousness fully left her a notification covered her clouded vision.
DING
[
Conditions met….
[Feeding Frenzy] is occurring!
[Eye of the Blasphemer] is temporarily awakened.
[Ancestral Knowledge: Heart Devil] is temporarily available
Warning! Consciousness compromised.
[Mark of Madness] is supplementing conscious will.
[Supreme Devil Blood] will follow the instincts of the [Heart Devil].
]
'Something…smells good…'
Was all Hannya thought before her vision fully darkened.